Apollo Pizza — Restaurant in Florida

Unlike some others, I am not a big fan of this place since the ownership change. Personally I had heard some not so good reviews from friends that had been there since; today was my first time back. The positives: I do like how they made the place roomier; has a more open feel than before, despite the fact that they still seat you primarily where they always did and in that respect winds up feeling the same; just different when you walk in. The manager is very good, and the waitstaff are competent. The negatives: Plain and simple - the food. They no longer offer breaded clam strips or scallops (at least we were told, and they do not appear on the menu). If you want seafood you're even more limited than before. I ordered the pasta with clams, but I could not have been more disappointed. The alcohol did not cook off completely so you could still smell it. I cook with white wine frequently and while I love the flavor, mine never reeks of alcohol after it's prepared. The 'sauce' was mostly water, not even a smidge of cornstarch or flour to thicken things a bit. It was the consistency of water and literally filled the bottom of the bowl. It had virtually no flavor at all, which was surprising given the white wine and garlic. Extremely light flavor if any at all. I could not detect any - my friend said he could detect a very slight flavor. That would have been enough, but the dish was filled with onion. The only way I can explain is that it was completely out of place; I guess like putting clam juice on your french fries. The onion did not add anything and in fact made it worse. We've decided this is our last visit as it simply is not what it once was (and even then it was just acceptable). If you like the run of the mill food - pizza, burgers, fries, standard land food, then you're likely satisfied. My friend had pizza and I tried some of his - it tasted like pizza; however I've never been a huge fan of pizza that is baked to the point that the edges of the crust is black; but I know some folks like that blackened flavor. In short it will all depend on you. I'm just telling you my personal experience. Our bill was comparable (now) to something else near which I wont name, and I get much better food and...

In a world of culinary exploration, we have been provided with so many choices and opportunities to branch out the taste buds and dining experiences.

Then, there are those almost hidden gems that take us back to a different time. A time when the menu choices maybe weren't ten pages long. Maybe when the flavors were simple classics and not pretentious over refined, over thought processes of artistic interpretations.

Alpha is one of those old school back to the simple Italian/Greek/American fare that I remember growing up with.

I had the Veal Parm (comes with spaghetti) along with a simple salad with house dressing and some fried shrooms.

The marinara sauce is simply perfect. Some might call it the old Italian red gravy. But it was thick and hearty, not over seasoned.

She had the stuffed shells with some added meatballs in their La Greco sauce (think scampi with a little extra citrus bump). Wow, what great flavors and textures. Again not over seasoned so that all of the characters come through.

This place has a simple 2-sided menu and a full service bar with some decent offerings.

It has been around a while. The decor is old school warm and welcoming.

These are the places that bring back memories and bring back customers with good service (thanks Taylor), and decent prices too.

*Have been back twice since the first review.

2nd visit was a Hawaiian Pizza on regular crust (outstanding) and Jumbo stuffed shells (don't think you can try to eat all 3 in one sitting, wow!)...them is some serious rich and delicious shells!

Popped in to grab a pizza before heading next to to a cigar shop to watch a football game. Went with double pepperoni on thin crust. First, I will say that it was a very good pizza.

I have to be honest and say the regular crust is much better. SO next time, I think I am going to try the double pep on regular crust. Trying to zone in on what we called "Ohio Pizza".

I know there are Ohio connections to this establishment and I wonder if that is why the regular crust is starting to feel like the right choice.

Oh well, just means more visits and more food to try, right?

Nice...

We've been going to "Alpha's" for years. The atmosphere reminded me of a Grandma's basement, but in the best way possible. However, the new owners have completely removed the best parts of the restaurant. The familiar servers are gone and the fan favorite foods are gone. I ordered the fried mushrooms and marinara was a my favorite! However, today it looked and tasted completely different. I told the server, who told.. I'd imagine a manager or maybe owner. And he came over to basically bad mouth the former restaurant, saying the sauce is EXACTLY the same minus the large amount of corn starch and sugar. It was a different color and tasted nothing close to the former sauce. It was gross! I ordered "Chicken Parmesan" for dinner. Again, a favorite of mine. It was actually spaghetti with the same lame sauce and chicken tenders. I'm not sure how you can call it chicken Parm if it's really chicken tenders. Besides it being totally misleading, the tender were super dry. I AGAIN voiced my concerns. And the guy.. said they use chicken tenders for everything chicken related. And AGAIN talked about how the old folks only used frozen food and how Apollo only uses fresh food, including the tenders. Everything is fresh, per the dude. Well, I didn't see the gyro meat on a stip and the fried mushrooms were the same old frozen ones they've always had. So, I guess not EVERYTHING is fresh. Oh. And the chicken wings.. the garlic parm.. wings are melted butter and parmesan cheese. I didn't see, smell or taste one nugget of garlic. It's a darn shame how the new owners are completely screwing up a family favorite. We...