OTTO — Restaurant in Arlington

I kind of have a love/hate relationship with Otto. Their pizza, at least a couple of the kinds I usually get, are pretty good. And since they're a block away and a quick lunch I can get for under $5, I will go once in awhile when my fridge is low (I work from home). I really like their cauliflower/mushroom white pizza and they have another with pear, goat cheese and arugula that's nice too. But there are some annoying things they've done since they moved into Comella's old space (and I do miss Comella's $5 pies) that kind of ruins it for me overall. For one, they don't seem to cut the pizzas symmetrically. Sometimes you will wind up with a huge slice, other times with a tiny one, but pay the same price either way. You have to POINT at the one you want, or else you might lose if they choose for you. This seems to have improved slightly recently but not by much. Also, and this is the big one for me, they are wasteful. One time they filled up my reusable water bottle with water when I requested it, the next time, they wouldn't, citing sanitation laws. Fair enough (though I wonder why cafes then can use your reusable coffee containers? Are they bound by different laws?). But then when I asked for water in a glass instead, one time they would do it and the next time (only a week later), they gave me guff about it. They said the only way they give out water, is in these pre-poured plastic cups with lids and plastic straws. Now, I am an environmental scientist by training and I've seen firsthand how plastic is destroying our oceans and killing wildlife (over a million a year die from ingesting plastic waste). It seems really wasteful and environmentally irresponsible. Not to mention, I have a chronic health condition that is exacerbated by the hormone-mimicking chemicals in plastic, so I do my best to minimize exposure (difficult in this culture). But when I quickly said these things (just that I have a chemical sensitivity to plastic and that I didn't want to be wasteful), I was just told, "sorry, but glasses are only for beer orders." I was then asked if I wanted a beer instead. What? Is this to make me buy something? At the time it was 1pm on a weekday, and the place was empty....they had dozens of glasses on the shelves, so it's not like they had limited available that they needed to save for beer. I ate my pizza and waited till I went back home to have my water. And then didn't go there for a good half-year. On a side note, I also got a couple of pies there and each time there was this weird plastic netting in the box, under the wax paper. Again, what? I've been ordering pizza for decades. I am from Brooklyn. I've never seen that in my life in a pizza box. Seemed to serve no purpose, and again, so wasteful. I can't recycle it. Needless to say, we don't order pies from there anymore either since then. I want to say after the water fiasco, both myself and my boyfriend wrote them to ask about this policy and issue a polite complaint. No one ever replied. Now, I only go once in a blue moon when I am either really out of food at home or if I am craving a slice and too lazy to go further...but I mostly stay away. Please Otto, care for the planet and be more...

To whom it may concern,

I went to Otto on 202 Massachusetts Avenue on Saturday, November 23 at approximately 9:25PM. As soon as I entered the pizzeria, I was asked if I was here to pick-up an order. I responded saying that I am here to order in the store. The customer service was terrible. I was rushed to make an order and got my pizza heated up for 10 seconds. I requested to have it to stay. However, the cashier rudely said that all the tables were cleaned and was currently not seating any customers, because they were closing. Upon opening the pizza box, I was surprised to see the slices carelessly thrown in. To top off the horrible experience at Otto, the pizza was THE WORST I have ever had. There was barely any tomato sauce and the dough was spread out so thinly that the light was able to shine through it. I was basically eating a cold cheese flatbread. I am extremely disappointed, not to mention how incredibly expensive it was for the quality and service that was provided.

I have attached pictures of the slices as proof of how poor the quality was. I hope that you will take my complaint seriously.

Thank...

WARNING: Do not order pizza online for pickup unless you tip, otherwise you will be retaliated against and receive a poor quality pizza.

Third time this has happened. I've ordered from this place several times over the years. Three times I have forgotten to tip, and three times I received a horrible, practically inedible pizza (and ONLY those three times, this only happens when I forget to tip and never in any other circumstance).

This is completely immature and unprofessional. Seriously? You're going to deliberately ruin the pizza I paid for because I forgot to click a button?

The first time this happened I ignored it as a one off, the second time I became suspicious, after this third time today I am 100% sure this is what is going on. I'm not here to start a tipping debate but this really rubbed me the wrong way and honestly, it made me wonder what else they might do to a pizza out of some...