Il Focolare Pizzeria — Restaurant in Columbia

Best restaurant in #COLA! Whomever says otherwise doesn’t know food or doesn’t know how to eat! I am actually surprised by the 4.5* rating as this should likely have 5.0 clean stars, but I am not surprised!

A lot of the complaints 2-3 star reviews are individuals who possibly do not know this type of pizza and are likely used to Dominos pricing and sizing. While that is okay, everyone loves Dominos every once in a while, this is not that, enjoy something different, traditional, much better tasting.

Almost all of the 1 star reviews are exclusively people complaining about everything but the restaurant itself or the food. Its people with hang ups in their own life who need, read the room, and live a happier life!

From my perspective, the food is nothing short of AMAZING. The menu is limited which allows the chefs to focus on quality. The specials, small plates, and salads change fairly frequently so the food isn’t stale. The menus has great seasonal offerings. They serve good unpretentious wine and great beer. They have a frozen drink which is stellar. The service is consistently friendly and knowledgeable.

The restaurant itself is well kept, fresh, vibrant, and clean! Which is amazing because most places, ever the nicer places, are not what I would consider "clean." Try the bread, try a special, try a salad and...

We had a GREAT first experience at IL Focolare on a Wednesday evening. It's a cozy environment and even on a weeknight was quite crowded. So you probably should go early or make a reservation. It is definitely worth it! Since it was our first time, we ordered three pizzas for the three of us, far too much food but we wanted to sample more than just one. All pizzas were amazing. You can't beat the standard pepperoni with their delicious little pepperoni "cups". The roasted mushroom pizza was also delicious as was the spicy double pepperoni. The crust has an amazing chew, perfect on the bottom and the edges are wonderfully chewy. We also shared a chopped salad that had lots of "extras" in the lettuce (pepperoni cubes, at least two different cheeses, olives, etc.). Nicole was a fantastic server. This place is a hidden gem! It is a small dining room so be prepared to get there early or you might not get a table. It's worth your visit. No gratuity policy is refreshing and we were happy to pay slightly higher price in lieu of the additional tip. We will...

I ordered the skyline pizza for pickup. The system said it would notify me 10-15 minutes before it was ready. That did not happen. I was notified when it was ready, not before. It took me 10 minutes to get there. It was dark, and there was not any good lighting or signage I could see. I went in to pick up the pizza and mentioned this to the staff. He simply said,'You can't trust computers', then reached under the counter, handed me my pizza, and walked away. The box was barely warm, and after my drive home, it was cold. The pizza itself was great. However, anybody who knows Skyline might see room for improvement. I did not get the side of oyster crackers as advertised. These usually are with a 3, 4, or 5 way. There was mustard on top, usually only on a Skyliner. They kind of mixed both. Cheese should have been Cheddar, as classic Skyline has. Maybe some hot dog pieces to go with the mustard. The chili itself was spot on. I would like to go again, but I would order it inside to get it hot and fresh, but some service improvements...