Grimaldi's Pizzeria — Restaurant in Dallas

So Sad When Good Things Change Grimaldi’s in West Village was our very first experience with this establishment. We pride ourselves in finding the perfect eateries for the foods we hold near and dear to heart. It’s no surprise to most that our Pizza quest in Dallas was over the moment we tried Grimaldi’s “The Don” pizza. We were hooked. But it wasn’t just the pizza, it was the warm and inviting environment that Grimaldi’s in West Village offered. WELL THAT ALL CHANGED TONITE! Gerald was always our goto guy when visiting Grimaldi’s but we’ve also had other servers who were at the very least, attentive, polite, courteous and warm. Not tonite. Our server was preoccupied from the very moment she asked what we would like to drink. She paid much more attention to her co workers at the bar than our table. Was she polite? Yes. But that was about it. Attentive? Not at all. My sons sat with empty glasses as she laughed the night away. So after 45 minutes, I ask for a manager. I first make note that we’ve been waiting for our pizza for nearly 45 minutes which she proceeds to go and check on the status. While checking, we notice that she and our server have a conversation which may or may not have been in regards to our pizza being delayed but nevertheless she eventually comes back and lets us know that our pizza will be out shortly and even though the place is no where near being packed, she states that they are backed up and that’s the reason for the delay. But in the meantime she asks if we would we like complimentary bread while we continue to wait. I reply yes and we continue to wait. She brings over the bread and as we are all talking, one of the members at our table states that the bread is really cold. Now in my mind I’m really getting perturbed because this is soooo unlike Grimaldi’s but it seems like the level of blatant lack of care for the customer is at an all time high tonite. So I ask another server could we speak to the manager which come to find out is the lady who brought us the bread. I calmly explain to her that not only have we been waiting well over 45 minutes for our pizza but the bread you offer us is cold which means you didn’t even care to check and make sure you were giving us something fresh or something that was sitting on the table for a while. Coupling that with the fact that you are very much aware that we have been waiting longer than usual for our pizza you would have thought more consideration would have been taken from that point on. But it wasn’t. Once I finish talking, the manager looks at me with a smile and asks “ what would you like me to do?”. I’m not an idiot and to ask me that implies that you believe me to be complaining to get something for nothing. Tonite was the wrong nite to take me down that road. So I replied “ You’re the manager, so you tell me what do you suggest”. She offered to cover our pizza cost and I said thank you. After our conversation, our server was very polite, very short and immediately brought the check after we were done eating. Maybe with expansion and commercialism, you lose the quality found in keeping on good people to represent your name. That’s why it’s So Sad When Good...

This was my WORST experience at Grimaldi’s! Jacoby was the bar tender and really sucked for me as a server. I was extremely inattentive, as if I wasn’t even there after my food arrived. I was very thirsty and wanted water refills and I had to continually ask him to refill my water and he waited on the white lady sitting two seats over like she was the only person at the bar! Not once did he ask ME if everything was okay or if I needed anything. But he asked the white lady several times and just kept catering to her. When she asked for her bill, he brought my bill over at the same time without asking me if I was done or anything! Just set the bill down and walked off. I ignored the bill because I wasn’t done, had originally intended to order dessert, and continue eating my pizza & watching the football game. He had the nerve to come by a few minutes later and check the bill folder to see if I had left my credit card in the folder. When he saw that there was no credit card in the folder, he brought it back and walked off again. If that wasn’t bad enough, he came back over about ten minutes later to ask me if I was done. I still wasn’t done and was biting into a piece of pizza as he asked me if I was done!! At that point I said NO! I kept eating since he was acting like I was going to run off without paying my bill or something. He was just too overly obvious about his complete lack of service skills. So I decided not to order any desert, finish my pizza, pay and just get the hell out of there!! He was just too rude for me. I’m a classically trained chef and trained to the Culinary Institute of America and I know a professional server when I see one versus someone who couldn’t be bothered to show me any actual server skills. I normally tip 25% -30% just on general principle because I know what servers/bartenders go through. At this particular Grimaldi’s, I usually was waited on by a guy who was a Hispanic flight attendant and only works on the weekends, or I make the drive to the Irving location if it’s NOT the weekend. I’m not sure what happened to him, but he was sorely missed by me today! I may not ever return to this location ever again the service was so poor. It’s a shame because I live in Uptown and this one is walking distance from my apartment. Jacoby just ruined my entire meal and I don’t want to risk ever getting him as a server. He was just that bad. It’s unfortunate, that they had him at the bar and he didn’t bother to engage with me like he did with the white lady. It just proved to me that he knows how to earn a tip, he just doesn’t know how to treat all customers the same/fairly. Perhaps some training on that would help him get larger tips, but he shouldn’t stereotype people and assume they won’t tip or can’t pay. I make plenty of money and tip heavily to all those who deserve it &...

I visited this location of yours with my family on Feb 21st for dinner. The dining experience was one of the worst I have had in my life. We were sat by the server, only to not receive water or never see a waiter/waitress for 30 minutes. Several tables were greeted by a waiter/waitress and had orders taken before us who were seated after us. We finally flagged one of the wait staff down and begged them to take our order, for which we then proceeded to wait 1 hr. This might make some sense if the restaurant was full, but tragically it was half empty on a Friday night. No wait staff actually checked up on us during this hour to let us know of some delay or to refill water. After an hour, we flagged down the wait staff again and inquired as to what was happening. Our waitress offered us a free appetizer, which was an interesting choice given that she was going to give additional food on top of the food that already was not coming out. Would the appetizer take another hour? Two? The next day? Curious. We asked for the manager, Krystal, who we voiced our frustration to about how poorly the restaurant was being run and how bad of an experience this was. She proceeded to tell us that it was her first day, the she had been yelled at today already, and that our bill would be free. Proceeded to wait another 20 minutes, bringing the new total time for 2 pizzas at Grimaldi’s while half full on Friday night to a grand total of 1 hr 20 min. During that 20 minutes, one of the front staff came over and asked if we were going to order anything, and to get up and leave, as they were closing and also needed the table for other guests. Very confusing, given than we ordered now 1 hr 20 min ago, and the restaurant is again only half full. We told her we just had it out with the manager and that our bill is free and pizza is coming, for which she remarkably doubled down and said she just discussed this with the manager and still asked us to leave. We again asked for Krystal. Krystal proceeded to not show up for 30 minutes until after we had eaten, despite us seeing her in the dining room by the pizza chefs. Finally, we were denied the corporate phone number after request, but provided an email to voice complaints. Ultimately, you guys sincerely need to replace your front staff, as rudely demanding that upset customers to leave after your manager has tried to repair the situation, is unprofessional and inappropriate. You should probably replace the manager as well for sheer incompetence at running a restaurant. You should probably figure out a way that wait staff know which tables to wait on after they’ve been seated. Overall, a miserable experience, and I hope you can work to fix the issues above for...