MORE Perreca's — Restaurant in City of Schenectady

We felt like we were not in the Capital District. The mood and ambiance of More Perreca's brought us back to Little Italy in NYC. Yes, it seemed to exude that type of atmosphere and transport us to where we last experienced a similar environment. Our friendly and knowledgeable server Jeremy certainly helped to contribute to this enjoyable viewpoint.

My objective was to try my first coal-fired pizza. But our first decision point was to decide if we were going to take advantage of Wednesday's special of half-priced bottles of wine. My wife was only interested in a glass of wine, so that was my cue to inquire about beer choices. She requested a glass of Montepulciano ($7) while I got a can of Chatham's Czech'rd Past Pilsner ($7). Chatham knows how to make an excellent pilsner. The Montepulciano was rather nondescript.

While reviewing the appetizers, we both were attracted by the Heavenly Trio ($10.95) - deep-fried Perreca's dough balls (think savory zeppole) no larger than a golf ball, on beds of Italian ricotta impastata seasoned with black pepper, salt, EVOO, and freshly torn basil, all surrounding a pillar of imported Prosciutto di Parma. These were as tasty as they looked. A wonderful blend of flavors.

My wife ordered the Eggplant Rollatini ($17.95) as her entrée and was informed that the eggplant had arrived fresh today. There were three battered eggplant rolled and stuffed with ricotta, goat cheese and parmesan, topped with marinara and melted mozzarella, and served with a side of ziti. There was no evidence of oil soaked into the batter or eggplant, no bitterness, and the filling was light and full of flavor. The marinara had good flavor and was only slightly sweet.

My first experience with coal-fired pizza I will say was mixed. From the chef's four recommended combinations, I chose the Fennel and Sausage ($14) - roasted fennel with sweet Italian sausage, fresh and low-moisture mozzarella, and tomato sauce. I also requested spicy peppers to be added. I will first rave about the delicious raised crust around the edge of the pizza (cornicione). It is both light and airy while still having a nice chew and good flavor. The blended flavor of all the toppings was actually a surprise to my taste buds. There was a bit of sourness, almost like a balsamic vinegar, mixed with the sweet sausage and shredded fennel, cut by the creaminess of the fresh mozzarella. The slices of pickled peppers gave a little bit of spiciness. With all that flavor, I'm not certain I noticed the tomato sauce, except for its color, most obviously around the cornicione.

Initially, I thought it was odd that the pizza was served with a large steak knife since the kitchen had already cut it into four slices. However, it became apparent that all of the toppings had gravitated to the center of the pizza making it impossible to pick up a slice to eat by hand. Even cutting one of the four slices in half did not rectify this problem, not to mention that the knife found it very difficult to slice through the bottom of the dough, especially at the center of the pizza. A view of the underside of one of the slices showed not only some golden brown crust but also a white stain-like area similar to unmixed flour. This did not, however, seem to diminish my enjoyment of the cornicione or crust.

Since we watched other customers, who had reached their dessert course before us, deplete the available cupcakes on display, we inquired what was still available. We narrowed it down to two and ordered both - a Cannoli ($5.50) and Tiramisu ($6). Both were perfect with an Espresso ($3) and a coffee. A portion of both needed to come home with us along with some of our entrées. And speaking of leftovers, we only ate half of the highly popular Perreca's Italian bread that was served in a basket when we first sat down. Because there are no preservatives in the bread, the server suggested we take those slices home also. (I froze them.)

I definitely am looking forward to returning and trying some other items...

SAVE YOUR TIME AND MONEY.... not ONLY is their menus wonky... Because pickup/delivery option show different menu options....

So I walked in there with what I wanted to order at 1pm. They told me the earliest they could do (because it's dinner items is 3 because it's not prepped)

Mind you I ordered: caprese salad, bruschetta, and veal Parm.... Sooooo tomatoes, and tomatoes, and cheese.... And the veal Parm was the Only Thing that I understand as a dinner item... But really, I had to wait 2hrs to cut up some tomatoes???

Fast forward to their menu ADVERTISING the bruschetta as "grape tomatoes with balsamic and Parmesan cheese OVER bread" and I get literally tomatoes, with NEXT TO NONE BALSAMIC in one container... Then soggy soft bread in another dish... EVERYTIME I EVER ORDERED BRUSCHETTA ANYWHERE ELSE it's literally bread that's pretty hard with everything on it/melted to it. Not shards of rock hard parm and big pieces of tomatoes in a bowl separate from the bread...

Next, veal Parm... Only complaint was that the veal literally was so hard and chewy! Even though they just assured me they were "just plating it" when I called to check if ready for pickup. Only good experience of this was they offered to remake it for me... Which I appreciate.

Lastly.. the caprese salad.... ADVERTISED as tomato/mozzarella with FRESH basil and balsamic...

I got 3 pieces of cheese, 4 tomatoes (cause ya know not even an even amount) NO BASIL and again, barely balsamic...

So when I went back up there to get my replacement veal, I asked them to just refund my caprese salad because again, not as advertised... AND THIS IS EXPENSIVE to not get what I paid for. I didn't even open the container.... They disregard my request like they didn't even heard me ask for a refund for the one item as I didn't even open it... They said they'll remake it...

I LITERALLY WATCHED THEM OPEN MY SAME CONTAINER UP... ADD A SMIDGE MORE BALSAMIC... AND then they added the "fresh basil" which was literally black... And it was shredded... Not actually fresh green leaf basil! And they still didn't put any seasoning on it like it has in the picture on the menu either.

Then told me to have a nice day....

If you're thinking of ordering from here/eating in here... Whatever... I truly recommend you don't... This restaurant is located in "little Italy" and as an Italian... My Nona is rolling in her grave! This was a terrible and expensive attempt at Italian food. 100/10 I don't recommend....

I would give -1000 stars if I could.. I only gave 5 stars so this would be visible to help save someome...

What a horrible experience I had at Perreca's, from being overcharged and being argued with over it, to a waitress that kept insulting me because their menu was missing items and was unclear and I had to keep asking questions, to the overcrowded space, and the tiny water glasses. I was dieting and just wanted a salad or a bowl of soup. No soups were mentioned on the menu, so I asked the waitress. They had one, but it wasn't to my liking so I went with the Caesar Salad listed for $10, a bit pricey, as were their dinners considering they didn't come with any vegetables or extras, save a little pasta, at least judging by what others at my table got. Then I was asked if I wanted chicken on my salad. My mistake, I thought Caesar Salad normally came with chicken. No she said, it's an add-on, it comes with anchovies. The chicken option was not on the menu. OK, I'll take the chicken, but no anchovies please. Because I had to ask so many questions to get information not on the menu, she thought it was funny throughout the evening, when coming to ask how everything was at our table, to single me out, nudge me, and say that she especially wanted to make sure I was happy. I didn't find that appropriate or amusing. Meanwhile, the furniture was so packed in that place that I was constantly being bumped by a waitress trying to get behind me to other tables. When dinner came, my salad was outrageously huge, with the lettuce heaped so high, it was ridiculous. I ate only a little of it. Finally the bill came. It listed (my wife's) Chicken Marsala $17, a Caesar Salad $11, and (my wife's) beer for $6. Under that a line and the Total Food at $34, and the next line listed Liquor $6. And with tax it was $43 or more. I pointed out that they actually charged us twice for the beer, our total with tax should have been about $37. I asked that she recalculate it. She had to come back with someone else to argue about it. They noted the chicken was an extra $4, though it wasn't listed on the bill. Even adding that in, the bill was still too high, and why wasn't it listed at all on the invoice, where everything else was so specifically? I also pointed out that the salad was listed as $11 on the bill, but $10 on the menu, so I assumed $11 was the final cost after substituting chicken for anchovies. So they offered to refund $1 after adding the cost of the chicken. After all that, I was still overcharged on the final bill. I paid it, but would never go there again nor recommend the place. Just ridiculous and...