Paisano's Pizza Grill — Restaurant in Charleston

Overall. It was an okay experience. For fairness, I won't hold Paisanos Pizza to NY standards. In which i judge the pizza's cheese, sauce and dough ratios and balances. Maybe the pizza i ordered was meant to be unevenly portioned (ingredientwise). But i felt like it was more cheese than anything else. The dough was very thin and could barely hold the ingredients on its own without collapsing to my pants. Yes! It happened with my very 1st slice of the pie and it was the beginning to a benign pizza experience (atleast that's what i thought). Then i realize the heft of ingredients under, over and in between the cheese. I can only conclude that if the Balboa has that many ingredients, Paisanos Pizza should let the champ stand on a heftier foundation (thats the dough). The taste was rustic, robust and satisfactorily incomplete. The sauce could be more on the savory side, especially when the ingredients in the balboa ushers in a bit of bitterness as an aftertaste. Maybe it comes from the onions (try sautéed red onions instead) Bring that marinara to taste and counterbalance the bitterness that results from the toppings. Can't use the same sauces for all your pizzas (Listen up Paisanos I'm dropping a million dollars worth of game). Some balsamic Vinegar in your sauce and a pinch of sugar could be a game changer to your most basic sauce. Sautéed garlic and spices in a pan to add to the marinara can completely upgrade the entire profile and overall flavor.

Overall, Paisanos Pizza was a good find in North Charleston, SC. I dream of coming back to this place in the future to find a thicker crust on my pizza, a much balanced sauce and the bitter aftertaste in the ingredients to be a thing...

I’m not one to normally leave reviews but this time I felt it was necessary. I’ve personally worked at this restaurant, just like my brother and other various family members have through out high school and beyond. So I know what this restaurant can be. Last night I took my family there to celebrate my daughter’s graduation and was thoroughly upset by the service and food. We placed a relatively large order that was repeatedly messed up. First, we were told the drink machine was down after being sold fountain cups but was told I have to pay the differential for bottled soda. Then, our appetizers came out after some of the food. From there, our pizza and sandwiches came out over the course of thirty minutes, including after other parties who arrived after us. We got every excuse from pizzas getting caught in the oven from the kitchen was busy. However, the amount of staff they had on 6/6/25 was more than enough and I can’t tell you how many times we saw employees in the back standing around, taking selfies, etc. And to top it all off the kitchen then forgot about our desert order, making us wait an additional 20 minutes and get that order to go. The front end staff was extremely unprofessional, rude or not knowledgeable about the menu. Extremely upsetting for a restaurant that used to be so good. I personally worked with Ralph for years, who I believe is now the manager. I know how much of a good guy and hard worker he is. Crazy to think this restaurant could have gotten this bad under...

This is coming from someone who used to love Paisano's and would order from them frequently.

Last night, I called the West Ashley location from multiple phones and couldn't get through--I was receiving a garbled message. So I called the James Island location to see what the deal was and how I could get in touch with the WA location to place an order.

The girl who answered said she didn't know what to do and seemed unwilling to help. When I asked if there was a solution in place - for example, an alternate number I could call to place the order (e.g., a manager's number) - she was clueless. She handed the phone to the owner, who told me that he had just tried calling the WA number and got through fine. He said that other people have called in reporting the same issue.

But no solution was provided. I was told to call the WA number again.

I was getting a little irritated at this point, so I said something along the lines of, "Well, to be frank, if I call the WA location and am unable to get through again, I'm going to have to order from someone else."

His response? "Well, I hope you get through!"

Really great management, guys. Great problem-solving skills and customer service. (If you can't catch the drift, I'm being...