Sugo Pizzeria — Restaurant in Adelaide

Let me start by saying that I really, really, really wanted to like this place. Owner is really personable and friendly, and before I tried it I read all these reviews saying their pizza is a m a z i n g.

Maybe I am missing something. Maybe, because I am European born and bread, and I learned pizza secrets from more than few amazing Italian pizzaiolos, maybe my expectations when people state they are serving authentic pizza is too high?

Positives: Really friendly owner, and friendly staff. Their logo and branding is likeable, and I love the name Sugo. Sugo immediatly brings memories of growing up on Mediterranean coast, and Nonna always preparing sugo al pomodoro fresh from the scratch to mix with pasta we had for lunch... So for me, name just brings range of emotions and connections.

But unfortunately this is very it stops for me.

I personally can't take seriously pizza shop stating they are serving authentic Italian pizza's when the first thing you see when you walk into the store is conveyor belt oven. We can debate toppings and does pineapple belongs on pizza or not, and I am the first one to say you eat what you like on your pizza. But there are few non negotiables if you are stating you are serving "authentic" pizza or that you are "Traditional Italian Pizza Bar" and one of them is wood fired pizza oven.

You can try pizza from Trieste to Genoa, Florence to Rome, Naples to Palermo, and one thing is constant - yes, wood fired pizza oven.

No one in Italy would even dream to use conveyor belt and claim they are "Traditional Italian Pizza Bar".

When trying new pizza, I always go for Margherita. Dough, cheese and sugo have nowhere to hide on Margherita so true quality is coming true.

For me, this was a letdown. Not much to write home about, but than again, I am yet to eat good pizza coming out of conveyor belt where it cooks on metal tray and missing out on dry heat from the fire and stone. One thing to commend them for is that at least they did add some of the ingredients after it came out of the oven, so your usual overcooked (read burnt) toppings were omitted.

Golden Grove shop (I have not been in the other one which I understand is now closed) is just another corner pizza bar, nothing in there really feels like traditional Pizza Bar you will find across Italy and Europe.

All in all, I really wanted to like this place and if you do, good on you. But this is not traditional Italian Pizza Bar serving "authentic" pizza's in any...

Very bad food hygiene standards since they changed owners 2 weeks ago. I went in to order a pizza and decided to sit in while my order was being prepared. Immediately, as I entered I noticed a whole group of 'friends and family' milling about both in the FOH and kitchen/cool room area (BOH). Only the new owner, Karin/Karim (?), seemed to be the only one actually working there but he was flanked by two women, two men and a toddler.

Here's what was wrong: There was no hand washing or gloves worn before or during food prep. The owner later put glove on and then touched things he shouldn't - it completely defeats the purpose of wearing gloves if you've contaminated them; The owners friends (General public) were allowed to walk in and out of food prep areas unattended; The toddler was being stood up on the FOH table in its socks (who know's where he's been crawling or if his nappy was clean); One of the friends was picking at his nose behind the counter; The other male friend reached into the tub of sliced mushrooms and helped himself - he grabbed one, popped it in his mouth and threw the other back in! Are you kidding me?!

I think I only sat there as long as I did either because of shock/disgust or curiosity because I wanted to see how bad it would get. Suffice it to say, I cancelled my order, asked for my money back and left and I will not be returning as long as they are running the shop. So, so disgusting.

And when I voiced my concerns, Karin the owner was terse and dismissed them saying they were his 'guests' and he was "showing them around". Sorry, but no - none of this is ok.

Obviously it's only my opinion, but as far as I'm concerned you don't hold 'open day' with your whole family in you place of business, especially if they're not trained, on-the-clock food and beverage workers and you certainly don't need to show them around during trade. It of course goes without saying that you should DEFINITELY not be letting them put their unwashed, uncovered hands and feet on and through everything.

It'd be zero stars if it...

They burnt my pizza twice in a row.

Firstly, I ordered several pizzas including a ham and cheese pizza with no sauce, and a cheese pizza. When I got home and opened the boxes, both were burnt (photos attached). I called to let them know, and they said they’d remake them for me to come back and collect.

So I went back. This time I opened the box in the store, and the ham and cheese pizza was burnt again (photo attached of second attempt). I couldn’t believe it. They burnt the same pizza twice in a row, even after I complained.

To make it worse, they blamed it on the “no sauce” request. That makes no sense; the photos clearly show the cheese and the edges of the ham burnt, which would sit above the sauce. The problem is obvious: either the oven is too hot or they left it in too long.

I can’t understand how they could pull a pizza out of the oven, see that it is burnt, and think it’s acceptable to box it up and give it to a customer? Especially after the customer just complained that the first...