Dino's Italian Pizzeria — Restaurant in Bessemer City

Update 2025 We’ve visited Dino’s Italian Pizzeria about five times now because it’s been one of our go-to Italian spots in the area. Unfortunately, this last visit wasn’t quite up to the usual standard.

I ordered my usual favorite—the Chicken Piccata—while my husband had a sandwich and my mother chose the Alfredo Lasagna. We also shared the bruschetta and breadsticks, which were both as great as always.

When my entrée arrived, it didn’t look or taste the way it usually does. (I forgot to ask for linguine instead of spaghetti, so that’s on me.) Still, I tried it—ate a few pieces of the chicken and a few bites of pasta—but it was drier than normal and lacked the flavor I’ve come to love. I let our server know, and she brought over someone I thought was the manager, who turned out to be Dino’s wife.

She listened and said Dino wouldn’t be happy to hear it didn’t meet expectations, which I understood. I also explained that I’m legally blind—but that doesn’t affect my taste buds. I know food, and I also cook. What disappointed me most was that I felt like I had to repeatedly apologize and defend myself. I even showed a photo of the dish from a previous visit (which is the same one featured on Yelp), only to be told it wasn’t Chicken Piccata. A customer shouldn’t have to keep apologizing for something they didn’t do—especially when offering honest, respectful feedback.

In the end, she said she only charged me $10 because I ate “half” the dish (which I didn’t), but I didn’t argue. I respect the effort that goes into cooking. I had asked our server for a senior portion, knowing a full plate would be too much, but I received the regular size. I also didn’t realize there was a Veal Piccata special for about $26.99 that day—possibly what I would've been charged.

Now, to be fair: my mom’s Alfredo Lasagna was absolutely delicious, and my husband said his sandwich was great. The cheesecake was also top-notch, as usual. The restaurant was very busy that day, so maybe it was just an off moment.

Our server was okay—not particularly warm or memorable—but she may have just been having a tough shift.

I’ve always been honest in my reviews, and I’m not here to tear down any business. I truly hope this was just a fluke, and that our next visit will return to the great experience we’ve known in the past. /

We've been here three times, and I waited to write a review because we've been to some places that were hit or miss. But thank heavens Dino's doesn't let you down. Emma was our server, and we were quite pleased with her personality, smile, and willingness to go above and beyond for us. The Philly cheesesteak that my husband ordered was one he really appreciated. Now that I was venturing outside the menu, I enquired as to if a Chicken Picatta could be prepared. Dino, I must say, did not let me down. Bless his hands, goodness. One of the greatest chicken picattas I've ever had, by far. At home, I make my own at home mind you. The tiramisu is expertly constructed on-site. We must definitely...

We have been two more times since last update, delicious as always and great service from Ashley and Amber! Wish I had some of that yummy alfredo lasagna tonight! Cheesecake is always a MUST and I am sure they think we are nuts, especially since we got half of a caramel apple bourbon cheesecake last weekend so we had enough to share with family for my grandmother's 96th birthday!

Update: 3rd visit and delicious as always! Great service (Shout out to Amber again!) Food was excellent. We got the combo appetizer and wow the chicken tenders were great! We had not tried them before. The mozzarella sticks/triangles were good, not great, but we definitely always like the fried zucchini! The marinara for dipping is delicious. I ordered the twin lasagna (large portion of traditional lasagna + alfredo lasagna on one large plate), wonderful and would definitely order again and again! My fiance ordered the mama mia's tuscan chicken pasta which was what he ordered the last time and we both just love that sauce, it is so good! We both had at least half of our entrees leftover. We ordered a slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake to share and each got a slice of caramel apple bourbon cheesecake, which was out of this world! Seriously! Great cheesecake and food! Service is always good and Dino's wife is so friendly, I can tell they appreciate their customers.

Our 2nd time and it was delicious! I ordered the Angelinas Butter Cream Chicken pasta (i ordered it without onion and mushroom) and my fiance ordered the mamma mia's tuscan chicken pasta (if i remember the name correctly). Both were outstanding and great portions! We both had over half to take home for tomorrow's lunch/dinner. Entrees come with breadsticks and salad which were very good...love the ranch dressing! We also ordered the fried zucchini appetizer and enjoyed them as well...surprisingly not greasy at all. Our waitress was great and super helpful with suggesting dishes. I think her name was Amber, but I am not 100% sure. We also got 3 slices of cheesecake to-go because you just can't go without getting cheesecake! The cannoli cheesecake, snickers, and cherry cheesecake were all delicious. I hope they have strawberry shortcake cheesecake next time, as I have heard it is great. Highly...

After moving to BC two years ago, we tried Dinos for first time. Our first order was a simple pepperoni pizza and order of mozzarella sticks. I know I'm particular about my pizza dough/sauce combination and concede that most places here are not gonna have what I prefer. So I wasn't too surprised to not be knocked out by theirs. It was good, but not a place I would grab a pie from regularly. The mozzarella sticks were not done enough to be fully melted, so we finished them in the air fryer. I thought they were okay. Certainly better than most places frozen ones, but lacked seasoning in the breading. Our 2nd order, about 3 months later, was Pasta. Spaghetti for him, Broccoli chicken alfredo for me. The portions were more than adequate for the price, very nice, however, the pasta in both dishes was over cooked and the Alfredo, in my opinion, had no flavor other than cream or milk. No seasoning to taste, and the sauce was very thin. The broccoli and chicken were cooked perfectly. The spaghetti sauce was good, but with overcooked noodles, not very appealing. We said that was it. But this evening, out of necessity and convenience, we decided to grab a couple of subs. I got the meatball sub, which I found very dry and again, lacking seasonings. The chips are handcut and house made, which is lovely, though more than half of them were so hard I couldn't eat them, and again, thought they needed salt or seasoning. My husband got the deluxe Philly with onion, peppers and shrooms, with a side of fries. He said the Philly meat was tasty but his sub roll was hard on one side. His fries were fine. Honestly, I am disappointed because the place stays busy and looks beautiful inside, but after not enjoying several different types of meals, they are obviously not for us. My husband said maybe we picked the wrong day and time and we keep getting the "fluke zone" (All three times have been Friday between 6-7pm) He was joking, of course, but honestly, they are always packed out with an overflowing parking lot so the community obviously loves them. They are doing something right, so I urge you to try them for yourselves, this was just our experience(s), and unfortunately three...