Cenzo's Pizza & Deli — Restaurant in Dallas

I truly had high hopes (not expectations) for this place (I don’t set my expectations high for any establishment - I believe that’s asking to be unfair and underwhelmed) but unfortunately it was a bit underwhelming nonetheless. Hopefully it was a one off experience on an off day for them.

The staff was very friendly, that’s one consistency throughout this experience. I’m not down playing their kindness whatsoever but, kindness doesn’t make the food quality nor the experience perfect.

The appetizer was the whipped Ricotta with Calabrian chile, served with toasted crostini ($14)… not sure if this item or the cheese was bad but both myself and my partner had digestion issues for hours after the meal.

Also, I ordered two different pizzas. The first being the Marlborough ($26.50) - good on taste but certainly not a crispy and firm slice such as a New Haven pizza is supposed to be. The other reviews had me thinking that each slice, being New Haven style red pies (aka Apizza (“Ah-Beetz”) would hold muster.. but these were soggy and flimsy at best and nothing close to what an initial interaction with a New Haven style pie should be like. However, the ingredients on the first pizza were very good. Sausage especially. Seemed like it came partially seasoned with caraway seeds perhaps? Regardless it tasted great. The soggy slices unfortunately made for a mediocre experience.

Second pizza was the Montclair ($26) - again, soggy and flimsy slices. No charred bottom that held its own weight (worth noting that the Montclair ingredients were likely much lighter than the more heavy meat oriented Marlborough and still, flimsy/soggy). The first slice made me realize that I may not be a leeks guy, and I can’t hold that against Cenzo’s. Ultimately, I did not enjoy this flavor at all and only got through one slice before deciding that it was not for me (fyi - I’m more of a meat lover’s/pepperoni/add Jalapeños type of pizza lover - also enjoy supreme. Some may disagree with my assessment).

As per service, again, very kind, but all of the sauces I ordered I had to remind the staff that they didn’t bring them out. It wasn’t busy. There were also a handful of kids playing soccer in the open yard (I’m not a prude, let kids be kids, but the fact that they have signs saying no games to be played in the yard and then let kids in the yard kick a ball at the patrons struck me as odd… all in all I didn’t really care but thought it worth a mention - maybe just get rid of the signage).

In sum: I needed more traditional and true New Haven style out of this location, especially for the price. I’d say it’s still worth a visit, and hopefully I’ll manage to convince myself back there soon for just a slice or two of a new pie but it won’t be...

My wife and I began a new tradition tonight. After 34 years married, we are doing a regular date night and I have to say, for date #1, we could not have picked a better spot. I'm a food snob to say the least and have often been disappointed in places within my own Dallas neighborhood, Oak Cliff. Tonight was an exception. First off the service when we walked in was GREAT! Welcoming, polite and informative, the young lady at the registers was perfectly pleasant and accommodated my custom pizza. I wish I'd caught her name so I could mention her but I hope she reads this review.

We had the meatball appetizer which got our party started right. The meatballs were cooked right on point and sat in a flavor rich sauce with a nice amount of melted mozzarella cheese. We made a little sandwich and drowned it in the sauce. Next was the antipasto salad which was so fresh it had to have been picked from a garden that morning. Great house vinaigrette gave it such a wonderful flavor. I especially liked the eggplant in the salad.

The highlight of course was the pizza. I ordered a custom pie with Pepperoni, sausage and mushrooms. It took a little while to come to the table but I didn't mind because the conversation from the pretty girl sitting across from me was what I was really there for. That said, before we could ask about the pizza, one of the owners Johnny, came and told us that our pizza had come out but was not up to their standards so they were remaking it. KABOOM!!! I gave a thousand cool points for that. Who does that? We were impressed! He made sure we were happy and went out of the way to make sure our food was going to be exceptional! My family and I have worked in the restaurant business for a long time and don't often see this level of service in a small neighborhood place. I met the other owner Chad and thanked him for everything. He was grateful and I assured him that we would be back soon!

It's a great place for date night and if you have to bring your kids, its a cool spot for that too. We'll be back real soon for that deep dish pizza and the chicken parm sandwich. Thanks Cenzo's!!!

P.S. I didn't take any pics because rule #1of Date Night is that NO PHONES ARE ALLOWED ON...

It’s very unfortunate that I have to write this review. We like to support local places, but this is the second time we’ve been here and they’ve been out of gluten-free pizza crust both times. When I asked him what the situation was, they were just very Flippin about it. The chef/owner didn’t even care and wouldn’t even answer. The manager tried to say something, but they just have excuses. Nobody was very concerned with customer service here. Very sad because the environments very cool and everyone wants to see an excellent restaurant succeed, but Customer Service needs to be at the forefront which is nonexistent here

EDIT: Dear owner, I saw your reply, I think you missed the mark completely. Not only have you not gotten this Problem solved in over a month with your supplier which is on you… I would be looking for another substitute ASAP. But you accuse me of “intimidation” ..

For your information, there was nothing to threaten there or intimidate. It’s rather asinine that you would assume I’m there to threaten or intimidate when I was offering the opportunity to help them be better and actually help me sold the problem first , but everyone was flippant. NO your chef did not explain a thing he didn’t even communicate with me. He looked at the floor and said “supply issue.” Not once telling me what that meant or Why it had been over a MONTH. The little girl that was taking the orders just repeated, what the CHEF said and offered no other options. And NO, None of your employees offered me any other options as to what might be gluten-free.

My whole point of writing the review was that no one treated my frustration seriously there. No one explained what the total situation was, and no one offered any alternatives for me to enjoy a meal at your place. So I ended up just not eating.

But seeing your attitude on this review, makes me realize that Customer Service is not at the forefront of your business and your employees are only following suit to...