Adriatico's New York Style Pizza — Restaurant in Columbus

We tried this place last Saturday for the first time. The food is amazing! The service, not so much. We had made a reservation for a party of 8. When we got there they still tried to seat us at 2 separate tables. Then they sat us at a table near the restrooms which was fine, but was sure to tell us that we have to stay out of the walk way. So why sit us there in the first place? Also, why all the hassle of a reservation was made days in advance? We placed our order with the waitress. We wanted the inflation fighter, but listed the 9 toppings we wanted on it instead of the 9 it came with. My husband made a joke to the waitress about how she must have a crazy memory because she wasn’t writing anything down. We were with a party of 8 and everyone had placed their order with her, how are you going to remember 4 separate and complicated orders, but she was cocky and assured us she has our orders. Appetizers come out, she sits a basket of burned breadsticks on the table. She says as she is sitting the breadsticks on the table, “they are a little dark, so you want them remade?” Umm yeah? Also can we get the Parmesan ones that we orders instead of the plain as well as an extra side of marinara that we also ordered? She brings out the new sticks, so o order another drink. The pizza then comes out and one of the sizes are wrong, she she says she will just put in another medium pizza to go. Our pizza comes out and it’s wrong. We call the waitress over to tell her and she starts arguing with us. Instead of putting out pizza topping that’s we wanted, she added them to the toppings it already comes with. She did not clarify with us, just assumed that we wanted them added. So you mean to tell me it’s normal for someone to order a pizza that comes with 9 toppings and add another whole 9 toppings? No apologies on her part and we definitely got charged for the 9 extra toppings. We did not see the waitress again after this complaint. I did not receive my other drink I ordered and she avoid our table all together. It was such a shame but the food and drinks were so good but I cannot justify the price for the type of...

This pizza is NOT low carb, or gluten free! 😀 It is a dietary challenge for your body, from stomach to arteries. Are you up to it?

I remembered this pizza from my college days, and when we were back in town staying at an AirBNB it was time for a trip down nostalgia lane. Blood pressure and cholesterol meds be DAMNED, it was time to throw caution to the wind and get a pizza loaded with as many toppings as they could load on. We started with the meat pizza, and went to town with added toppings!

40 minutes later our driver was at the door. When we explained our unit had no plates or flatware, he ran back to his vehicle and produced a stack of paper plates, forks, and knives. He got a handsome tip.

We carried the HEAVY pizza back to our room and were rewarded with the pizza I had craved since 1987, the last time I had it. My memory hadn't failed me. It was everything I'd remembered, and more.

The crust was perfectly-baked, delightfully bread-like, yeasty, crusty, and seasoned slightly with garlic oil. Grain! One food group down.

The sauce was rich in tomato flavor. Basil was a clear note, as was garlic and parmesan. A hint of red wine? Exquisitely balanced. A fruit!

Plenty of cheese. A nice blend of Italian cheeses. Dairy!

Pepperoni, sausage, good bacon, hard salami(?), and mini hamburgers on top? Meat!

Mushrooms, onions, black olives. Veggies!

Yes, this was proper nutrition as I remembered it. I haven't eaten at the three places above Adriatico's on Tripadvisor, but what I can say is that Adriatico's has the top spot in my memories, and in my clogging arteries!

I'll be back after my bypass,...

An update: within 12 hours of this posting, I heard directly from Greg Fortney, the person who opened Adriatico's in 1986. He directly addressed the issue and the circumstances that led to my criticism. I'm completely convinced this was a one-off - an extremely rare happening that, through training and awareness, Greg has taken solid steps to guard against in the future.

I understand now why Adriatico's New York Style Pizza continues to be one of the best-regarded and best-loved restaurants in Columbus. I'm also convinced that businesses like this are the kind that actually do care about their customers. My regards, and best wishes for a prosperous 2020. CM

It's important to care about your customers. Arrived today shortly after noon, ordered and paid for two medium pizzas to go. Not bad - one thin and the other Sicilian crust, with good fresh toppings. Sit down to wait for the order to be prepared - and am promptly and permanently forgotten. My two pies had been prepared and baked, then sat. And sat. And sat. Chip, who took the order, couldn't keep track of it, even though I was like about 10 feet away from him and the cash register. 45 minutes after the order went in, I stood up, and one of the three equally non-observant bar tenders asked my name, and shore enough, produced the pizzas that had been sitting. and sitting....