New York City Pizza — Restaurant in Bluffton

Let me begin this review by noting that a member of our dinner party left a review yesterday that was promptly deleted. That in itself should raise concern.

Our experience at New York City Pizza left a lot to be desired, and while the food was decent—no complaints on that front—the service was severely lacking and unacceptable by any hospitality standard.

Poor First Impression

Upon entering, we were “greeted” by a middle-aged woman with dark hair who looked visibly annoyed by our presence. She never introduced herself, nor offered a polite welcome. Instead, she audibly groaned when we announced our party size of 12 and responded with: • “Well, you can’t put the tables together.” • “I don’t even have that many menus.”

To clarify: We understood the limitations of seating a large group without a reservation and never asked to sit together. We expected to wait and were fully prepared to be patient. However, the restaurant was completely empty, which should have been a red flag.

Hostility Toward Younger Guests

The first six guests from our group were young adults (ages 21–30). From the moment we walked in, the dismissiveness began: • “You’re not going to sit together.” Again, we never asked to. • “I don’t have enough menus for all of you.” We simply asked for one. A lack of menus is not a customer’s problem—print more. • “I don’t have pitchers for water, so what do you want?” We politely asked for multiple waters and inquired about a pitcher to save her time. The response was unnecessarily rude and unaccommodating. • When asked to serve alcohol, she said, “I need to see a real ID,” completely ignoring the passport that was already being presented.

Perhaps most telling: when we asked whether the calamari appetizer was any good, she didn’t answer—she just walked away. It wasn’t until the third time the question was asked that she gave a response.

A Stark Change in Tone

When the rest of our party arrived—parents included—her entire demeanor changed. Suddenly we were getting pet names and charm: • “Yeah, baby.” • “Of course, honey.”

It was like flipping a switch. Friendly and attentive service was now available—once older adults were present.

Final Thoughts

As someone who has worked in the restaurant industry for over a decade—front of house, back of house, and management—I’ve seen the best and worst of hospitality. But rarely have I felt so quickly judged or unwelcome.

I sincerely hope future diners have a better experience than we did. If you’re the management at this establishment, I would love to have a conversation about your training protocols, as they appear to be both ineffective and damaging to your...

So I was just stopping in for lunch and needed to clear my head a bit. I was a bit surprised after the visit that it asked me to rate 'em 'cuz I thought I already had!

Basically, it's a pizzeria and bar. They serve a few of my favorite things here-pizza, calamari, antepasto salad. Looks like they've also started to sell wings for the sports bar crowd.

IMHO, they have the best pizza and fried calamari in town.

They are a little expensive, but it's great pizza. The owner and I got into a passionate discussion about inflation and supply chain issues, and considering my previous job, I understand better than I think I conveyed there. I'm praying for him and all our local businesses this lets up.

Stop in for lunch, get some pizza by the slice, great value. Bring the family, order a whole pie, and expect a two part tragedy-one where you get the bill, and the other where all the wonderful food is...

One of the worst dining experiences me and my family have ever had . Over priced, our server was miserable , barely smiled. The food was mediocre at best. The house salad was pitiful and the pizza was flimsy despite me personally asking the pizza cook to make it more crispy. The only good thing was the mozzarella cheese sticks because let’s face it hard to screw that up. The real kicker to the whole experience was my younger son was out of water and took it upon himself to get his own refill of water to which the other waitress ignored. He then by accident proceeded to dump his old water in their ice bin and she just walked by. No offer to help…..so I just walked up and paid. To say I’m disappointed and underwhelmed is an understatement. I will never eat their again and I will tell everyone I know to not frequent this...