Emmy Squared Pizza: Birmingham — Restaurant in Birmingham

Arrived two days ago without a reservation walked in and was bluntly told you need a reservation, sorry.

So we came back this evening to celebrate my wife’s birthday and made a reservation noting that it was a special occasion. We arrived roughly 3 minutes after our reservation time, and the table was not ready, and we were seated at the front table next to the check-in desk, despite noting that it was a special occasion.

We placed our drink and food orders at the same time, the waitress did not write down our orders. The salad was first to arrive, so we had to remind her that we ordered drinks which were brought after we finished our salad.

Next to arrive was the pizza, delivered by someone we had not seen yet who mentioned that the pizza was done, and it was arriving before the burger because the burger was requested to be well done. Ten more minutes passed until it arrived. It was for our two boys, 8 & 6.

Once the burger arrived, it showed up smothered in cheese while the rest of the ingredients were on the side. One of my boys doesn’t do cheese, so our “everything on the side” request was intended to mean everything.

About halfway through the boys eating, we had to waive down our waitress to ask where the waffle fries were that we ordered, she said “those cost extra.” Yep, we were aware of that when we ordered them (hence, the flaw of trying to take an order off of memory alone). So, we dismissed the order and the boys had half plates.

We again had to waive down our waitress to get our bill. At that point, the entire experience was a swing and a miss. Cool concept for the Summit, but an $18 burger (no fries, which would have cost another $6) and $20 pizza (6 square slices, very greasy) is a bit steep for the chain style quality.

The vibe in there was a little out of touch. We watched 3-4 parties get turned away, with open tables held for reservations. I totally get the operational benefits of reservations, but for a new restaurant, it simply screamed “our time is more important than your...

I'm from Detroit, and this style of pizza is right up my alley and my favorite, so I am a little biased.

With that being said, I built my own own pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and onion with their red sauce. The pizza was cooked perfectly with the crispy edges. The red sauce had a good blend of sweet and tangy. I got extra sauce, and it was just right. So, with that being said, I suggest ordering extra due to it might not have a lot on it without it.

The toppings were real good and high quality. I wish it had more sausage and onions on it, but I'm greedy and like my toppings loaded. I will also say I wish it had more cheese, but that is typical Detroit style pizza, and again, I'm greedy.

I got a side of honey just to try and will say it didn't add anything to the taste overall.

We also had the Emily burger and will say it's one of the best burgers in the city. It was big (half-pound) and juicy and very cheesy. It was cooked done with no pink. The waffle fries are seasoned and were cooked crispy. The pickels are sweet, and I love those types of pickles.

Overall, the experience was great. The only real knock was that we sat for a least 10 minutes and no one came to the table to get our drink orders. Yet I asked our hostess about it, and she took drink and food orders even though that was not her job and I appreciated that. So she got the tip for excellent service.

I also ordered two Moscow mules with Titos vodka. The bartender was heavy-handed with the vodka on the 1st one (to my liking), but the 2nd one wasn't as good.

I will say it is a little bit pricey but not too bad for the quality and portions you get.

The pizza was 4.2 belly rubs out of 5, and the burger was a perfect score.

My overall score is 4.6 belly rubs out of 5.

I definitely...

I just kept hearing so many friends and colleagues rave on and on about how great this place was. (At least the one in DC) Figured I had to try it for myself. I ordered online through Uber Eats so I can't speak to the service or actual atmosphere of the restaurant.

However, for $45 before any tip to the driver or taxes, I'll certainly give my two cents on the food. It was deplorable. The pizza is only an 8×10 starting at over $20 and their "premium" toppings include illustrious food like SAUSAGE (which was basically so dry and broken up it was the consistency of 75% lean ground beef for $3 extra). That was just one topping.

The only olives they had were kalamata so good luck if you love black olives and want a substitute.

The crust was a hot mess. It was so moist and undercooked in the middle that the first piece I picked up fell apart and the "sausage" went all over my couch. Here's hoping that stain comes out...

The pizza, overall, was flavorful but entirely too salty. It detracted from any authentic Italian flavors otherwise.

The icing on the cake was the $10 brownie that tasted like some PTA mom quickly whipped up- and scorched- a Betty Crocker mix. Absolutely inedible. Took one bite of that charred mess and chucked it in the trash.

For reference, see the remains of the brownie that were so burnt and dried up, I couldn't even scrape them off the to-go pan. To add insult to injury, it looked like someone took a bite out of the batter (spoon imprint) before baking it. Weird.

For $45, there's no way this place is as good as Alabamians make it out to be. Not sure if the one in DC is any better but do yourselves a favor and go to Slice or somewhere- anywhere- else. Just ain't worth it if you've actually had good...