Emmy Squared Pizza: South End — Restaurant in Charlotte

Emmy Squared Pizza: A Tale of Two Halves (3/5 Stars) Emmy Squared has garnered a reputation for its Detroit-style pizza and juicy burgers, and in that regard, they mostly deliver. However, our recent experience was marred by significant organizational issues, making for a frustrating evening. We had made a reservation for 12 people at 8:30 pm. Upon arriving at 8:20 pm, we saw that our table had been given away or simply forgotten, or they expected the last group to leave sooner and didn't take action to make another table for 12. This was a disappointing start, especially for a large group. The situation worsened when they attempted to seat us at a booth meant for eight. After some discussion, they scrambled to push a couple of tables together, which felt like a last-minute, inadequate solution. Adding to our concerns was the sanitation rating of 84. While the dining room appeared clean enough, it did raise questions about the kitchen's hygiene practices. The wait time for our food was excessive. We didn't receive our pizzas and burgers until 9:40 pm, a full hour and twenty minutes after our reservation time (and after we arrived). The delays didn't end there; we didn't receive our checks until 10:30 pm. The entire experience felt disorganized and poorly managed. The one saving grace, and the reason this review isn't lower, is the quality of the food itself. The pizza lived up to the hype, with its crispy crust and flavorful toppings. The burgers were also juicy and delicious. If the food hadn't been so good, this would have been a completely disastrous experience. Overall, I can't recommend dining in at Emmy Squared. The poor reservation management, long wait times, and questionable sanitation rating outweigh the quality of the food. My recommendation would be to opt for takeout only. That way, you can at least enjoy the delicious pizza and burgers without the hassle and frustration of a subpar...

Kinda pains me to say this, but I left feeling there are much better value option for this type of food and style of atmosphere. We had a Big Ang pizza, an Emmy burger, and an order of fries. Added one neat bourbon drink for him and one premade frozen margarita drink for her and it was $90+ after 20% tip. We made a 6:30 reservation and walked in a few minutes late due to finding parking in South End and the host said “Oh I was about to take you off the list.” That seemed a little stuck up for a place that does pizza and burgers but it’s just words. We were sat in the only booth left which was a two top by the bathroom. It smelled like sewage. Our server was kind and good. No one knew what bourbons they had or what price points those were. Our food took quite some time to arrive. The burger was dry and pretzel bun was not great. Pizza was very good if you like that style but not the best in Charlotte or in my top 5. Fries were comparable to Chick-Fil-A but were $7 and don’t come with the burger. I usually try to stay very positive about restaurants because so many people in the service industry are trying to make it all work out and they deserve our patience and positivity. That said, this feels like New York prices without anything worth paying that much for. If you’re going to a chef driven unique concept and unique atmosphere $70-$120 date night is not a big deal, when it’s burger and pizza and not executed absolutely perfectly it stands out as a disappointing experience. You can get better pizza and better burgers for 50-60% of the cost elsewhere in town, perhaps even in South End. TBH I had burger and fries from a food truck the day before that was better quality and...

I’ve been to the plaza location and had a pleasant experience. This location was significantly under prepared to open. We came in for a birthday with a party of 7 and we’re able to sit quickly although it was busy. There was only beer and wine listed, when I asked if they had liquor, the response was “oh we can do something we have some in the back”. Okay…. Confused if that was legal or if they had a liquor license yet. We order all food and drinks. First round of drinks comes easy. Second round of drinks had to be asked for multiple times with a few people in our party not ever getting them. Food came out all but one pizza because “it had a bubble in it” so whatever that means that makes it not edible. All other people had finished eating before the “bubble” pizza came out. At this point there are only our table a 2 top and a 4 top in the restaurant. When the server was asked about the pizza he said “we are busy” I point to the nearly empty restaurant. He says, “well to go orders”. Just seems on an opening weekend, with a kitchen/cooking error, the inside customer experience should be prioritized. The servers tone was not appreciated when he asked us to divide the check and then was surprised we were disputing our late pizza. The pizza was eventually comped after a conversation with the server. In summary, if you’re not ready to open. Don’t open. Or don’t use it...