Pizza & Libations — Restaurant in Bargersville

On July 19, 2025, my family and I visited Pizza and Libations to celebrate my wife’s and her sister’s birthdays with a group of ten. Having dined here a handful of times over the past couple of years, we were excited to share this special occasion at a familiar spot. Unfortunately, this experience fell far short of our expectations, leaving us deeply disappointed despite a few redeeming moments.The atmosphere was pleasant, as always, with a lively yet cozy vibe that suited our celebratory mood. However, the evening quickly took a downturn. I ordered a Crown and Coke, served in a small 6-8 oz glass with ice, only to be shocked by an $11 charge on the bill—$10 for the Crown and $1 for what was barely a splash of Pepsi. Our group ordered a baked Burrata appetizer, enticed by its promising description. To our dismay, it arrived watery and flavorless, a far cry from the rich, creamy Burrata my wife and I adore. After just one bite each, we couldn’t continue—it was unappetizing and poorly presented. I politely asked the server to remove it, pointing out its watery texture, but it remained on the bill despite being barely touched. This oversight was frustrating and felt dismissive of our valid concern.The entrees were equally underwhelming. My short rib ragu and my wife’s shrimp ala vodka pasta were mediocre, lacking the depth and flair we’d hoped for. Others in our group echoed similar sentiments: my mother-in-law left her pasta untouched, and my son-in-law found his pizza unremarkable. The consensus was clear—nothing stood out, and the food didn’t justify the price.The service, however, was the most disappointing aspect. Our server rarely checked on us, despite most of us having alcoholic drinks that went unrefilled. After waiting several minutes without a drink, I had to flag her down to order another cocktail for my wife and me. Even then, she didn’t bother to ask the rest of the table if they needed refills, despite empty glasses being obvious. My brother-in-law, seated next to us, was particularly frustrated, expecting her to inquire about his needs as well. As the meal progressed, our table became cluttered with plates from appetizers, salads, and entrees, yet nothing was cleared—not even when desserts arrived, leaving us cramped and uncomfortable. Adding to the frustration, we were seated right by the kitchen doors, where multiple staff members stood idly just a few feet away, seemingly oblivious to our needs.The final straw came with the bill. The server hovered over us as we paid via card reader, creating an awkward pressure to select a tip starting at 18%—a gratuity that felt undeserved given the lackluster service. Our total bill came to $172.80, a steep price for such a disappointing experience. While we cherished the time spent celebrating together, the subpar food and inattentive service overshadowed the evening.Pizza and Libations has been a go-to spot for us in the past, but this visit left us questioning why we’d return. Several in our group shared this sentiment, and with so many other dining options offering better value and care, we’re hesitant to give it another chance. I hope the restaurant addresses these issues, as it’s disheartening to see a place we once enjoyed fall so short.

Table...

What a great atmosphere. The decor is very modern, and there are some impressive paintings on the walls. The service was on point, and our server did a great job of recommending meals, drinks and desserts.

We ordered the Focaccia bread as an appetizer. A bit pricey for four small slices of bread with a red dipping sauce and small serving of olive oil. We were disappointed that the Focaccia was very dense. Not even close to the authentic version which has a light and airy texture. The red dipping sauce was outstanding because it tasted like a rich Sunday Gravy that my Grandma and Mom used to make.

Then each of us ordered pizzas for our main courses. I'll be honest that these pizzas are quite pricey for the amount of food one gets. The average cost is $20 for a personal size. My son ordered the Buffalo Chicken Pizza. Sadly all we could taste was the strong Gorgonzola cheese because it overpowered all of the other ingredients. Either the ingredient ratios were way off or the chef was very heavy handed on the Gorgonzola cheese. My son only had three bites, and said he couldn't eat it anymore. We then ordered a build your own pizza with chicken, Buffalo sauce, mozzarella cheese and the Ranch Sauce drizzle. He said that this pizza tasted more like a Buffalo Chicken Pizza because he could taste all of the ingredients, none of them competed against each other, and had a nice buffalo chicken flavor. I think the kitchen should make buffalo chicken to put on the pizza as opposed to putting chicken on the pizza and then cover it in a buffalo sauce. The Margarita Pizza tasted as good as it looked. I ordered the Fall Harvest pizza, and enjoyed the flavors especially the sweet potato. The downfall was the fig jam, when heated up, was far too loose, and slid off the pizza. Overall we loved the pizza dough because of the chewiness of the inner part of the dough, crunchiness on the outside of the dough, and how the thin crust held up to the ingredients.

The desserts were a hit and miss. The Butterscotch Budino was delicious. The creamy and flavorful butterscotch pudding which was topped off by a deliciously chewy salted caramel. The Lemon Cake was a major disappointment. The cake was overly dense and flavorless, and I could barely eat even half of it. It was topped with candied lemons and almonds. The candied almonds were good, but the candied lemon was very inconsistent. Only one piece of candied lemon was candied properly because the pith was yellow and edible. The other candied lemon's pith was white and inedible.

We believe that the prices of food, and for the amount of food one gets this is not a good value. I believe that spending an average of $30 to $50 per person in Bargersville is wildly outrageous, and not sustainable for the area. The menu is chock full of complex pizza and meals that are good at best. Italian and Neapolitan cuisine is all about simplicity, and making the ingredients shine, but I just don't see that yet. This is a restaurant that we will not visit very often, maybe once a year if that, because the price points are far too high for the quality of food...

So my husband and I were really excited to have a new pizza place to choose from and bonus points for being Neapolitan. Figuring it would be crazy busy at night, we went in on a Saturday afternoon. The place is very easy to get to and the inside is not fussy. The booth was very comfortable and easy to get in and out of. Our waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable. We decided to try a little bit of everything. My cocktail Julian’s Last Word I liked and Taxman beers are always excellent. We had the Caesar salad and unfortunately it was very nondescript. The lettuce was huge chunks and what little dressing was on there we couldn’t taste. The croutons were also soft. Next we had the bruschetta. When the waitress brought it out she said “wow, they are being generous today because you usually on get three pieces!” On the board were 5 pieces and they weren’t that big so if that’s true it would make the appetizer very over priced. While I expect the bread to be toasted for bruschetta, this bread was so hard it cut our mouths up. I would recommend not toasting it as long because it was actually pretty good. For our pizza we did a build your own and had red sauce with bacon and ricotta. I can report that this pizza is wonderful! Very light and very close to what I used to get in Italy. The one thing I would note is that there isn’t anything on the table like olive oil or Parmesan or pepper flakes. While I know that they are trying to be true to how it is in Italy, there will be people who are going to want them. Size of the pizza is perfect for two people to share. Last, we ordered stracciatella gelato and the Butterscotch Budino. We were aware that they were vegan but we’re unprepared for the coconut flavor of the gelato. It put us off. The Butterscotch Budino was actually too salty and while creamy we couldn’t taste butterscotch. The only dessert they offer that isn’t vegan is Panna cotta so maybe we’ll try that but we won’t order the others again. I think they need to rethink the coconut milk for the gelato. It might also be nice to have a not vegan gelato choice. For two people sampling this and that it was $100, so a little pricey. Most likely we will only ever order pizza and beer. One other note is that they state they will charge you $25 for bringing in dessert. So be aware that if you want to have a birthday there, if you bring a cake it...