NYPD Pizza Lake Cay — Restaurant in Oak Ridge

Awful customer service! When my family and I attempted to eat here, we were not warmly welcomed and were immediately told that it was a 20 minute wait for our party of 4. We had our names added to the list and stood outside to wait. A Hispanic family with 4 or 5 members came behind us and were told the same. About 15 minutes into our wait, a group of 5 white young men walked up, spoke with the same woman who told us there was a wait, and were almost immediately seated. When we voiced our concern, the men confirmed that they didn't have a reservation and didn't know that we were ahead of them. While the men were kind and respectful, it shouldn't be the guests responsibility to ensure that other guests are seated in a timely and orderly manner.

Definitely will NOT be coming back!

Update in response to Owner: I’m not insinuating anything, just telling the facts. If those facts make you uncomfortable then maybe you should do some introspection or some Cultural Training with your staff…

I watched the group of men walk in, one of them walked inside to speak with the Hostess, then walked towards the back of the restaurant looking for a seat with the Hostess. Then comes back to the door and calls in his friends from outside. The group of men waited an additional 15 minutes ONLY because my party along with the other party commented on the unfairness of them being immediately seated as they were getting ready to walk through the doors. Standing with the door open, the men then offered to let us have their seats, but at that point we didn’t want to eat at an establishment with this kind of practices. The other party also declines as she didn’t have all of her members anymore because they had gone to wait the estimated time, as directed by the Hostess. It wasn’t the Hostess who fixed the error or even who came out to speak with us, but the young men themselves… which is why I commented on how...

You will find delicious pizza and Italian cuisine here for a reasonable price. The ambiance is simple and perhaps a touch insulting to New York's finest, but the litigation that took place regarding the NYPD logo and name was finished around '05. Just keep in mind that if you are going to the place because you back the blue, you are being played. The judgment they received insisted that they must post a message that states they are not endorsed by or connected with the New York Police Department and that they cannot run their establishments in the domain of said organization. I am not saying that the logo and name aren't clever, but to some, they may seem a touch disingenuous and misleading.

That said, I found that the Rustic Salsiccia pizza was a delight. The caramelized onions and garlic really stood out, and the sausage was wonderfully flavorful. They have done well at putting themselves squarely in the middle of the fresh ingredients pizza movement that has risen out of the dust of the old corporate model. The garlic knots were nice, but perhaps a little overdone. My mother's calzone, which was the pepperoni roll, was quite nice if the bite I sampled was any indication. Other members of my table enjoyed the meatball appetizer and the chicken club Pizza. Based on my experience, if only for the food, this is generally going to be a very good bet in the area of International Drive.

Our service was wonderful. Our waitress, Hunter, took excellent care of our table and made sure everybody's cups were full, food was promptly distributed, and that everybody was satisfied with their meal.

So, short of some personal qualms I have about the marketing strategy employed by this chain, I have to recommend that you consider them seriously if you are looking for New York style pizza in this region of Orlando's...

As an Italian ex-New Yorker, I have eaten a lot of pizza and other Italian food here in Florida. From Key West, to Jacksonville, I never miss an opportunity to grab a slice or some other Italian American classic. Well, of the hundreds of pizza places I've eaten in this state, NYPD Lake Cay has the best Italian food by far. The pizza reminds me of home and whatever things you have heard about "the water in NYC making the best dough" doesn't apply. This is the best slice of Pizza in Florida, and is easily equal to any slice you can grab in NYC. It's so good, I ordered here three days in a row when I first discovered it. After being so thrilled with the pizza, I tried the chicken parm, and it was phenomenal! The chicken was tender and flavorful, had the perfect amount of breading, sauce and cheese, and the spaghetti on the side was perfect as well. I also want to add, I'm not a soup person, but I got the Italian Wedding soup as a side with the chicken parm, and it blew my mind. Easily as good as the wedding soup I had at "fancy" places in Manhattan. Whether you are an ex-New Yorker like me, or just a person who loves Italian food, you owe it to yourself and your tastebuds to eat at NYPD Pizza. Now I know food quality is always number one, but the staff is also really nice as well, from the person at the front desk, to the take out register, to the waitstaff, to the delivery folks. This place is a jewel here in Orlando, and deserves all the accolades it gets. Heck, even my kids, who are the pickiest eaters I know, love the place, and if it was up to them, we would just have them automatically deliver dinner every night. To be honest, I wouldn't mind...