Luigi's Restaurant — Restaurant in Akron

I’ve been to Luigi’s to dine in twice total. The first time was a wonderful experience overall regarding their food, atmosphere, and service. Tonight was my second time to Luigi’s in months and again the food was amazing as was our waitress Kati who had great customer service. Kati was a great server all around so it’s a shame that when leaving the establishment the 2nd visit that one of the hostess’ working was very condescending and rude when I simply was trying to understand how the girl at register had counted the change back to get that amount. I was very nice and said “oh, I was doing it another way in my head and that’s my bad” and the hostess that was called over by the original girl at the cash register was snarky and asked me “why was I called over if you know how the change was dealt” even though I obviously didn’t or I wouldn’t have asked the hostess at the register to explain that to me. The girl that was called over then proceeds to cut me off when I ask why she’s being rude and says “anything else for you guys? Okay have a nice day” very curt and rude with that comment and I then said “I still would like to tip my cashier and wasn’t told how I can do so” she continued to talk very condescendingly so I then asked for her manager. I’m not one to ever enjoy causing a scene and asking for a manager but this girl was that rude. As I stand by the exit/entrance of Luigi’s with my friend and his daughter we awkwardly have people cramming to get around us to exit and enter as well as pay at the register where this had occurred. The manager took well over 5 minutes to present herself and once she did she had a look of complete puzzlement on her face so I said “sorry to even have to ask for you to come up here” as I proceeded to explain that the one hostess was so rude and that I didn’t understand why someone would act so catty and nasty to someone over explaining change. The manager then asked me “was everything alright with the change and did the payment work out then?” and I said that was never an issue.. the issue was solely your hostess’ rude service bc the other girl at register was totally nice and great as was my server Kati. The manager never once apologized for anything and even acted like I was making a big fuss over nothing bc she kept giving me the facial expression that she thought I was completely lying. It’s very disheartening to love an establishment and one negative moment that makes you feel low because of how one worker has to be demeaning and then have their manager also have bad customer service by treating you like you are the issue when I was as nice as a person can be when having a person speak to me so rudely. It was a very high school drama/mean girls atmosphere with that whole scenario as if the manager spent time letting her worker complain about me before she even came up to speak with me and then when she does she already had a preconceived notion and wasn’t ever going to hear me out to begin with.

The world has enough things people have to deal with like bills, their own jobs, family issues, etc. so food is one way all people can spend a moment to smile and enjoy the little things amidst the chaos. So for people working to be rude for no reason and make a person’s day crappier rather than good when simply leaving a restaurant .. it’s disheartening and I won’t be back with how I was treated especially after the manager’s response to the entire ordeal. It’s a shame people that have a great work ethic like Kati have to have their good service overshadowed all bc one worker has to be that rude to you on your way out.

Fyi this hostess had brown hair in a low ponytail probably in her 20’s and the manager was a young blonde woman probably around my age in her 30’s. I hope they work on their customer service for anyone else’s sake because I had a great time and the last 5 min ruined the entire experience....

I'd give this a 3 1/2 star review if I could, because 4 stars is a bit too generous, and 3 stars wouldn't be quite fair. I rounded up to 4 stars in the end given that it's overall a good place. That being said:

Quite frankly, their pizza is overrated at this point, and Luigi's notoriety is surviving on a legacy. There are plenty of local competitors nearby who can now produce a pie of superior quality for the same price or lower. I'm not saying that the pizza is bad, as it is still very appetizing, but Luigi's wouldn't be my first choice.

In my 20's, there were plenty of nights where I was on the cusp of inebriation and I could come here with some friends to enjoy some pizza, and if I were writing this review 14 years ago, I'd be giving it a 5-star review, but alcohol makes everything more appetizing. Think about it - you've probably eaten at Taco Bell before, right? That place's business model relies exclusively on alcohol consumption. Luigi's is that kind of place....but better. It's like a person that's at the bar that's already attractive, but not astonishing. A few drinks later, and you swear they were created by the heavens for your visual enjoyment. This restaurant embodies that perfectly, and I'm sure plenty of the superlative reviews are reminiscent reviews by folks who had a couple too many the night they dined there.

Bottom line is:

Pizza - superior product with only a few competitors nearby who can claim to make a better product. But those few are actually a lot better.

Meals - Subpar. This isn't an Italian restaurant in my opinion... it's a pizza joint. If you order other items off the menu, you'll get mediocrity at best.

Sides - Even less impressive than the meals. Think bowling alley cuisine.

Decor/environment - It's definitely not upscale or fine dining. Cheap tables and chairs with an amalgamation of unique signs, vehicles, anything that they could affix to the wall or ceiling. Again, think inebriation..... it's like a really drunk person did their best to decorate for a wedding and got a little too creative in some parts, not giving enough attention to others.

Prices - Pretty inexpensive, but a bit much for what it is at this point..... I'm going to say my last time there is probably my last in general.

Overall, it's worth a trip if you've never been before. Just make sure to toss a few back if you want to leave feeling impressed...

UPDATE on 12/09/2024

It's been a few years since my last review, but I ended up at Luigi's again last night, and I can sadly say that quality of food has continued to decline.

I ignored my own advice of sticking to their pizza and ordered the baked spaghetti with Italian Sausage yesterday.

The sauce tasted like they emptied out a cheap can of Spaghetti O's and baked it into my dish. The actual pasta wasn't too bad, but it takes a special someone to mess up pasta. The sausage? I'm pretty sure someone in the back combined Meow Mix and Fancy Feast together hoping I wouldn't notice. It was nearing inedible.

The "star" of the meal was the bread, which is pretty sad (but it was good). I had to downgrade to 3 stars...next time...pizza only. I won't make this...

I will never go here again. The cashier and girl managing front were rude and acted as if they hated their jobs. No notification of a cash only business until paying for the meal. Only businesses that accept cash or check are shady with their taxes. Everyone knows that. I don't think $11 is a fair price for an iceberg lettuce salad for 2 people, do you? The entrance to this restaurant is stressful. The area for you to walk into the restaurant runs directly into the people all standing in a long line to pay for their meals, one assumes because they don't trust their wait staff to check people out. Why else would you not have a system where your server checks you out, like every other restaurant in the world, and create this chaos leading towards the register? Nobody knows where to go to be seated once they step inside the small entrance door and hit a wall of people. There is no direction. When people came in the door to sit down and eat, they would ask the cashier where they should go. Every time, she acted like it was a problem. There is nowhere to stand or sit while waiting for your pickup. There are diner style stools on one side, with customers eating, a mass of people in the middle, and booths on the other side. A woman was sitting in the last booth, smack up beside the entry door, because there was no space to stand or sit and wait for her food. A waitress, very rudely, told her to get out so she could seat people in the booth for their dinner. The woman told her she couldn't get up until the people who just walked in figured out where they were supposed to go because they were blocking her legs in the booth. The waitress told her to "just get out." The woman was so upset and shocked, as well as I was. I witnessed all of this because I had to wait a ridiculous amount of time for my food. This used to be a nice place to go back in the 90s. But not anymore. This was my last visit ever. I have decided that people who don't treat others right will never get a cent from me ever again. And this small space, rude workers, and a business decision to not update their systems with current living conditions and technology should just pass it on to somebody who will run the business correctly. I was not going to give a review of this restaurant at all, but Google keeps harassing me to give a review, and for some reason, won't stop sending me messages about this particular restaurant to review. So here is the truth...