Li'l Nick's Pizza — Restaurant in Arvada

Soooooooooooooo disappointed...

Been a loyal customer for over 20 years. Although, I am not able to get over there as much as I would like to, I really look forward to it when I am able to go.

Went a month and a half ago for my Anniversary on the way back from an overnight outing in the Mountains. Was VERY surprised the menu had somewhat changed. I still ordered the norm (Italian Grinder) and was above pleased as usual especially for the fries, I didn't remember them being done that tasteful. I literally couldn't stop thinkin bout them fries for the last few weeks. Even told a few people to go there just for them.

Fast forward to tonight..... Oh what a difference 6 weeks makes!

In the past 20 years I've been going, I have never been there without seeing the familiar faces of the Owners. I was quite surprised not to see them there tonight. I sure hope they were just taking a well deserved Friday night off and we're not there due to any emergency or anything.

However, with them not being there tonight was a perfect example of a scenario of "when the cats away, the mice come out to play..."

The service we had first off was below acceptable. Aside of having 1 refill of Tea (the entire night) after my mom had to ask for it 5 minutes before we were leaving, the Waitress basically paid no attention to us. Example.... I had to get up and find my own spoon for my sons pasta, and again had to get up and find my own ketchup since the waitress was too busy. Now, I've worked in the restaurant business for many years and especially on a Friday night you tend to get busy and have to accommodate you other guests I get it... Too bad she only had 1 other table to service and they were completely done with their dinner before our food even came out and were just socializing at their table.

After they had left while she was clearing their table, when frankly she should have been servicing ours, the "cook in charge" came out of the kitchen and I overheard him ask our Waitress (Madi I think her name was she never officially introduced herself, personality of a ROCK), "would you like anything from 7-11, I'm going to do a trade with them." Now, I don't really have any beef with that, because its not my call if they "trade some of their food for snacks", but I just think it wasn't very professional and shouldn't have been discussed in front of their guests, if that's what you want to call us....

I think the key would have been to sit in the bar area since that's where the "party was" for all of the young people sitting at the bar and running the restaurant. Our waitress was pretty interested of what was going on in the bar area since she was in there the majority of the time we were there and that's NOT an exaggeration.

After we had left, on the ride home it was discovered my mom still tipped the waitress 20%. She claimed she was so flustered she didn't calculate the gratuity correctly and didn't want to wait for change and just wanted to get out of there. Honestly that bothers me.... Again having worked in this industry I know what it takes to earn that 20% gratuity providing spectacular service and I think what bothers me most is that waitress had no idea we were displeased so in here eyes she thinks she did a good...

To the Attention of Robert, Owner of Little Nick’s Pizza 5016 Kipling St, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

Robert,

My wife and I, both business professionals, had the opportunity to visit your restaurant this afternoon while out meeting with clients. We decided to give Little Nick’s Pizza a try, and were initially pleased to see all the North Denver Italian neighborhood memorabilia — a nod to our own roots, as both of us grew up in that very community enjoying authentic Italian cuisine. That moment of nostalgia quickly faded, however, due to the appalling level of service we received.

Let me be clear: your food has potential, and the ambiance could be a great tribute to its heritage. Unfortunately, that potential is being severely undermined by a front-of-house team that lacks professionalism, awareness, and basic hospitality standards. The young woman who served us, whom I suspect may be family or a close acquaintance given the family-run feel of the establishment, seemed entirely uninterested in offering even the most minimal level of service.

We requested a well-done, crispy crust on our pizza — a simple detail that was completely ignored. Instead, we received an undercooked pie that I now have to finish baking at home. The pasta was uninspired and in desperate need of a refresh in both flavor and presentation. The garlic knots were inexplicably served stuck on top of a puddle of melted mozzarella, as if plated without care.

What truly shocked us, however, was the server’s demeanor. At one point, she brought napkins to our table and tossed them down without a word — a gesture that was disrespectful and unprofessional. Worse yet, she never brought us plates and displayed a noticeable attitude when we politely asked for them. We watched her offer far better service and multiple check-ins to other guests around us, yet we were effectively ignored. We sat waiting for acknowledgment that never came.

We expected to be treated with the same courtesy afforded to any guest, not as nuisances. The fact that your more experienced staff member allowed this kind of behavior to go unchecked is just as troubling. Not to mention when we were checking out another paying customer already in transaction got detoured as she was short a few dollars and had to step out she came back in with her money. The senior member then stated "Let's just get them outta here" There was no apology, no recovery, and certainly no follow-up — which is why we left no tip. That zero tip was not an oversight. We can only hope it sends a clear message.

If your establishment has any intent of operating at a high level — the kind that draws regular clientele and positive reviews — then a complete retraining of your service staff is not just recommended, it is essential.

We sincerely hope this feedback is taken seriously.

Lifelong Italian...

The food here isn’t that bad, we just had a very negative experience with our pick up order last night. We ordered our usual, a plain cheese pie and some fried ravioli. When my husband went in to pick up the food, he asked for some paper plates (I was running the dishwasher and had no clean dishes to eat off of). The cashier was obliging and inquired as to how many plates he needed, when from the kitchen the cook interjected loudly in a mocking tone ‘as many as I can get’ (inferring that my husband was asking for plates as a ploy to get some kind of undeserved extra, as though he was attempting to take advantage of the restaurant, like the request was ridiculous). My husband replied that he just needed a couple of plates. The cook’s comment was alienating. It honestly made us feel like our loyalty was not appreciated and that we were in some way inconveniencing the staff by requesting something which most pizza places have no problem providing. When my husband got home, we also noted that there were only 5 fried ravioli in the container (it was just missing one ravioli, but we did pay $8.50 for them). We called in and were offered another order of fried ravioli for free, but of course when my husband went down to pick up the ravioli, the cook’s grumbles were audible from the pick up area. The cashier was, again incredibly friendly, and said they even threw in an extra ravioli in the new order. This is generally our go-to pizza spot, but after this experience I am not sure I want to support this restaurant. After a long day, ordering take out pizza is supposed to be a treat- a positive, relaxing alternative to cooking. Being made fun of by restaurant staff ruins that experience. Even if an employee doesn’t generally have face-to-face contact with customers, he should still be respectful of them. I am very...