Rudy's Pizza Napoletana - Nottingham — Restaurant in Nottingham

This was our first ever visit to Rudy’s in Nottingham, and overall, it was a mixed experience. We walked in without a booking and were greeted quickly, which initially made us feel like we had a reservation — a nice surprise. Luckily, they were able to seat us even though the restaurant seemed quite busy, which we really appreciated.

However, we were taken to a more isolated part of the restaurant, behind the pizza oven, where no one else was seated. It felt a bit like “no man’s land” — totally lacking the lively atmosphere we were hoping for. We asked to be moved, and thankfully they were happy to accommodate our request and seated us in a much more vibrant area, which really improved our experience.

For starters, we ordered the Caprese, which is a cold dish — but oddly, it still took around 20 minutes to come out. When it arrived, it was quite disappointing: about 90% tomatoes and only 10% mozzarella. For a dish that’s all about balance, it felt one-sided and underwhelming. We had ordered it as a sharing starter between two people, and it came with just three and a half small pieces of bread — definitely not enough for two, especially given the price. It felt more like a garnish than something to actually enjoy with the dish.

There was also a long wait between finishing the starters and our mains arriving. That said, once the pizzas did come, they were hot and clearly freshly made. With the open kitchen in view, we noticed that while the chefs were busy making the dough, it was actually the waiters and waitresses who were handling the toppings and serving the pizzas themselves. This raised some concerns for us — particularly around hygiene and potential cross-contamination — as I had ordered a meat pizza and my husband had ordered a vegetarian one. Seeing the same staff handling various food items, as well as plates, cutlery, and other things in the restaurant, made us question how strictly food handling procedures were being followed.

Unfortunately, the pizzas themselves were a real letdown. Both my husband and I were so unimpressed with the taste that we ended up leaving three-quarters of each pizza. They were just really bland and lacking in flavour. When our waiter, Tyrese, came to clear the plates, he noticed the leftovers and kindly asked if we had any feedback. We weren’t planning to say anything as we didn’t want to come across as rude, but since he asked, we gave our honest opinion and explained that it was our first time trying the place and the pizzas just didn’t hit the mark for us.

To our surprise, when Tyrese brought the receipt over, he had taken both pizzas off the bill. We told him it wasn’t necessary, as we had chosen to order those pizzas, but he was very insistent and handled the whole situation with real professionalism and calm. To be honest, the way he dealt with it made us genuinely consider coming back again, purely because of the excellent service we received from him personally.

One thing I really liked about the restaurant is the bar section, where guests can sit and watch the chefs prepare fresh food — it’s a great concept and adds to the atmosphere. That said, a couple of those seats were taken up by staff who had brought in noodles from elsewhere and were eating them at the bar, which felt a bit odd and slightly took away from the experience.

I would have given this review a two out of five stars, but due to Tyrese’s accommodation and professionalism, I’ve...

Rudy's pizza is situated in the heart of the city of Nottingham very close by to the hockley area & it's premises are clean & spacious with plenty of seating available with various seating options available eg chairs & benches . The decor is an eclectic mix of classic architecture & semi modern industrial , with some Italian retro advertising features & some Italian film posters , & it is very reminiscent of some stateside eateries & one could almost think you were in the big apple NYC or Boston mass . The food here is as stated pizza & it's many accompaniments , which vary from salads & some classic cold cut Italian cured meats & sausages . The pizza's are hand stretched & can be seen prepared by the pizza artists who make each one a work of edible art as no one is ever the same & might I add that they are quite large ! Ideal for those with a good appetite . The service here upon our visit was very good & our waiter was rob who talked us through the menu & was keen to advise us on choices , as they have a very different choice of pizzas from the mainstream that are the norm in other pizza restaurants . The timing between courses was to our liking & was perfect , with a sensible space between courses Rudy's also has a good dessert selection & we honestly really did fancy a homemade tiramisu , but we were absolutely full up after the starter & main , but look forward to one upon our next visit . Rudy's does serve a good selection of Italian wines also available either by the glass or the bottle , & for a city the cost is reasonable for DOCG quality wines . Rudy's pizza oven I noticed is probably one of the biggest here in the UK & has been imported especially for the restaurant & it is in itself a work of art ! Clad in azure blue tiles that are the traditional colour of Naples the home of the pizza. So if you like classic rustic pizza & classic Italian wines , plus good service & pleasant surroundings then Rudy's pizza could be your next restaurant choice , Idea for couples & families alike . Can...

Ordered on Deliveroo last night and they sent us the wrong pizzas!! They acknowledged that they had indeed sent the wrong ones but their “policy” of operating with a third-party (Deliveroo) means they won’t do anything about correcting it. We spent over £40 on two takeaway pizzas, both arrived stone cold, one of them was wet in a wet soggy box (due to the awful weather) and one of them wasn’t a pizza at all - they sent a base with tomato sauce on it, not even cheese!

I called because I’ve eaten there before and their staff had been wonderful and helpful - this was the only reason we spent so much on takeaway pizza, it had been so good when we ate in their store - but the manager I spoke to on the phone refused to put the order right and kept telling me to report it to Deliveroo for a refund but that doesn’t fix our issue does it? It’s 9pm on a very wet Monday night and we didn’t have our dinner after spending over £40 and waiting an hour!! The manager told us that our options were to “pop in” to their store in town to collect a pizza from them or that we could come the next day instead for a meal. This was 9pm on a super rainy Monday - I live a 30 min walk from their store and it’s not like they have parking so we couldn’t drive. Dreadful service from them and as someone who’s gone to the restaurant and knows how great it was in person I am so disappointed and can’t believe the horrible attitude from the manager on the phone. She simply did not care one little bit about putting our meal right, no understanding, she was quite dismissive and verging on rude to be honest. Not what I expected from them.

If you can’t get two pizzas right (we ordered two the same, how could they even mess that up!) then don’t operate on “third party” delivery sites, especially if you have no interest in correcting...