Emmy Squared Pizza: Durham — Restaurant in Durham

UPDATE: We gave it another go this past weekend and had another fantastic experience. I've adjusted my review to a 4 star rating, but to the credit of Emmy's staff they did make it right. Hope we don't have issues again, but will likely continue to go back in the future!

Original post:

Quick TL;DR for the below: We had a 5 star experience the first time we went, and a 1 star experience the second time we went, less than a week later.

So! Let’s unpack my experience with Emmy’s thus far. Our first time going there was September 1. My wife got a reservation for lunch time before a bulls game that day that was intended to be a birthday celebration. Everything was great! That day, I had arguably the best pizza I’ve gotten since moving down here in 2021, and the cheap pitchers on Sunday came in clutch for the 5 of us there. We absolutely loved it, so much so that we decided to come back the following Friday, September 6, for a date night, just the two of us…

Friday comes around, and we got there before before our 6:00 reservation. They had a table ready for us, we got in an order of mozzarella sticks as an appetizer, and it all seemed things were going well. Our waitress came back to us, we put in an order for Pizza. My wife really wanted to try the Miranda pizza. She usually just prefers cheese, but was excited for this one, so that’s what we ordered.. about 45 minutes or so after ordering (and feeling like we were waiting quite some time) our waitress came over to apologize. She stated that the kitchen had made a mistake and they were remaking the pizza. “Oh well, things happen” we thought. And continued waiting.

Moments later the table next to us, got their order.. this detail is important to understand our frustrations, because I had overheard that they either ordered a large but got a regular, or asked for a second pizza to go. Some more time goes by, and the staff bring them a second pizza as requested. Probably about half an hour later or so. Us? Still no pizza.

We had a show at DPAC at 8:00. We gave ourselves a hard cut off at 7:30.. unfortunately 7:30 rolled around and we did not have our food.. I flagged down our waitress and informed her we had a show to catch. I asked for the bill for the mozzarella sticks, which she waived off and apologized again for the issue, but there’s a lot of unanswered questions here: what was wrong with the pizza the first time? Why did we end up waiting over an hour and a half for nothing? How did the table next to us have time for a second pizza to come out before we even got the first one?

Needless to say, I’m upset about second experience. It kinda ruined our date night, especially since we had a reservation and all.. the mozzarella sticks were great. I imagine that the pizza would’ve been great too considering our first experience, but I guess I’ll never know.. I think we’ll give Emmy’s one more try at some point, but this was a...

If you have a SESAME ALLERGY look out because its NOT LABELED on anything and they're EVERYWHERE. Also the pans aren't cleaned right and the old black burnt pizza charcoal dust sticks to your pizza and makes the crust and bottom inedible.

The first time I came around lunch time to greet a host that was very kind and inviting, but I didn't want expensive pizza at the time but I kept note of this place because of the reviews. I ordered a pizza online through DoorDash the next day. I have a mild pine-nut allergy and a severe sesame allergy, but I've never had a problem with pizza if I avoid pesto. You can imagine my surprise when I started having an allergic reaction after 3-4 bites that were completely fine. I immediately called the restaurant to be somewhat rudely answered by what I assume to be the hostess. I asked her kindly if the pizza had any sesame seeds or pine nuts and then it seems she lightened up and she told me "no, that one doesn't have anything on it you're allergic to." I tried to keep eating my expensive pizza, but to my dismay, the itchy tongue scratchy feeling kept persisting, so I simply just stopped eating the pizza.

A few moments later I noticed a stray sesame seed peeking out from the edge of my pizza. And I found many more glued to the bottom and edges of each slice. My sister then did a google search (outside of the images provided on doordash) to reveal that like almost all of the pizzas in this restaurant are sesame crusted. Excuse me, but that isn't labeled ANYWHERE on ANY of the menu items online. And it wasn't visibly marked ANYWHERE on the original menu I had seen when I walked in in person the first time. A sesame allergy is now a FEDERALLY recognized allergen that MUST be labeled and properly managed for consumption. I just so happened to pick one of the only pizzas that didn't have a sesame crust, but there was still an insane amount of cross contamination. Also you can tell that the pans the pizzas are made on are not cleaned, the grease on my crust was dark black with charcoal from the burnt build up from the pizzas before.

The people at this restaurant should acknowledge that there is the possibility of INTENSE cross contamination and not just wave off severe allergies. Hospital visits cost upwards of THOUSANDS of dollars. And people with allergies don't always take the threat on their lives as a light thing either. Do better.

Side note: I only interacted with two people to take that with a grain of salt. The first host was great and the second person wasn't being considerate enough to entertain the idea of telling me every other pizza in the joint was covered in...

We had a bit of an unexpected twist to our evening when the fire alarm went off, and we all had to evacuate due to a non-urgent emergency in an adjacent establishment. Despite the chaos, the staff at Emmy Squared handled the situation with grace. The manager was exceptional at keeping everything under control, remaining composed and friendly throughout the ordeal. Huge shoutout to our server, Alexa (I hope I have that right), for being so personable and attentive while still giving us space to enjoy our meal. Also, kudos to the bartender, Lucinda (again, sorry if the spelling is off!), who consistently crafts amazing cocktails.

Now, for the food… we shared two large pizzas between three of us, and we had plenty of leftovers. We kicked things off with the Colony — a classic favorite. The combination of spicy pepperoni (on the side for myself, a vegetarian, but my spouse enjoys it), pickled jalapeños, and a drizzle of honey makes for the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. The crust? Perfectly crispy and caramelized on the edges — just as it should be.

Next, we tried the seasonal pie, The Jefe. While it’s not your typical red-sauce pizza, the flavors were absolutely divine. The vibrant house-made tomatillo sauce paired beautifully with the bell peppers, and a signature cheese blend. The pecorino and cilantro lime crema on top were the perfect finishing touches, and the queso fresco brought everything together. It was a true standout.

We will absolutely be back. The combination of great food, outstanding service, and a welcoming atmosphere make it a place worth revisiting. I do wish the beer on tap would rotate, but I appreciate that the draft selection is local. Reservations are highly recommended, as it...