Il Pizzaiolo — Restaurant in Porto

I'd like to recommend and leave a mostly positive review for this place. I've eaten in several pizzerias in Porto, and in most of the cases it was a disappointment!! A huge disappointment, because after you live in a place for a while, you start craving for other things, we need variety from the traditional local cuisine. And after so many centuries of proximity and globalization, you'd think that there'd be some good pizza in Porto, well, it's not so easy. The pizza, calzone and salads at Il Pizzaiolo are really great and tasty! Their lemonade was also, delicious and refreshing! The white chocolate mousse was a delight! However, in the same day I went there for a late lunch and spent over 20E, which is considerable expense for 1 person in Portugal, I met some people new in town and after some great adventures through town, we ended up where? well, basically on Rua Gallerias de Paris, searching for an affordable restaurant, and I mentioned this one on the parallel street R. de Cândido dos Reis, and craving for some pizza, my friends chose to go there; so after a matter of 3 hrs, I was back to the same place I had just had lunch. I didn't eat again, just ordered a lemonade, had drunk wine there earlier and more w. my friends. It turns out that I was thirsty and the lemonade was a little on the strong side, so I asked for a glass of water to the same waiter (for thirst and to dilute my lemonade a little). I got the (usual) reply from the waiter (who had been all congenial + flexible 3 hrs earlier), "we do not serve water" - of course, I'm aware of this ridiculous petty habit most portuguese restaurants have, with intent that you pay for bottled water, soda or drinks so they can make a profit, I know, it's the beverages that bring the most profit to a restaurant (I had one). Well, it's absurd, times are changing, you're charging way more than restaurants used to, you're getting millions of tourists every year! Get on with modernity and humanity, it's inhuman to refuse a glass of tap water to a costumer. I had just eaten there and spent a good sum, I had ordered now, and my 5 friends were eating and drinking plenty! I wasn't asking for a glass of water for free, I brought business, I plan to return! And even if I had not brought my friends, I ordered, so please, just give me a glass of water! - no, I'm not picking on just this one venue, I'll write it in all portuguese restaurants that I review! You want tourists, expats like me, you want people to return and even recommend your joint? Well, don't be cheap! If people sit & order food, give them...

We came around 8:30PM on a Saturday night and it was quite busy. We were lucky enough that we came at a time where a bunch of people were leaving so a lot of tables opened up. Unfortunately our waitress was stressed by getting so many tables at the same time. The poor thing was getting help from some of her colleagues, so that is nice that they help each other out. But because she was busy, so wasn't too attentive to the tables. And they kept having to ask for oil or wait a while for the questions to be answered. Another comment on the service: a couple were served pizzas and someone accidentally spilled wine on the pizza. The server was so kind to get the woman a new pizza (which came quickly) and they gave her a refill of wine 👍🏼

The pizza was surprisingly served quickly, for being busy I expected it to take longer. We were happiest with our Il Pizzaiolo pizza. We also ordered a díavaloina, which was like a Spicer version of a pepperoni pizza. Nothing wrong with that, but we just had different expectations. Some people complain that the pizza is burnt but that is the delicious part of a neopolitian style pizza, which we LOVE!!! But neither pizza was spicy 💔

We also ordered a bottle of Vinho Verde Azerelo (sp???) which was 14 euro. It was alright, nothing special. But we are new to Vinho Verdes.

If we had friends or family visiting Porto, we would highly recommend this time...

DO NOT COME HERE if you have any sort of allergy or intolerance, or simply do not like certain ingredients.

I came here in February with my friend, hoping to enjoy a delicious pizza based on previous reviews. As my friend is vegetarian, we asked to remove the meat from one of the pizzas. We were told this was not possible as this was a signature pizza and the manager wouldn’t allow it. As this was the case, we then asked to order another one of the pizzas without mushrooms due to an intolerance. The waiter agreed and placed the order. 10 minutes later, the pizza finally arrived with mushrooms. The waiter was very apologetic as this was simply a mistake from the kitchen. He went to inform the kitchen, and suddenly the manager was involved. When he mentioned that we wanted to remove the mushrooms, she shouted from the bar « NO! », causing everyone to look. This was very aggressive and no way to treat the staff or the restaurant’s patrons. We will not be returning or suggesting this place to anyone who is visiting Porto. It is understandable to not want to change your dishes, but it was not acceptable the way the manager spoke to her employees or her clients. It was off putting and made for a very uncomfortable...