Piesanos Stone Fired Pizza - St Augustine — Restaurant in Florida

I have been reading the positive reviews of Piesanos around the internet and was excited to stop in for dinner this evening. Upon entering I was immediately impressed by the transformation from the same building that used to house Crispers...you would never know it was the same place.

We were quickly seated and was soon greeted by our awesome server/bartender. I didn't catch her name but she was extremely friendly and answered any questions we had about the menu. I will say they have some unique dishes here but, IMHO, the prices are a little high for a chain restaurant. The entrees seem reasonable until you realize the majority of dishes charge extra for the protein and a soup or salad isn't included with your meal, ($3.99 extra).

I ordered Pasta Arrabbiata, (fresh garlic, spicy calabrese peppers, marinara and parmesan tossed with mozzarella and fettuccine). This dish was reasonable at $14.99 but I wanted blackened chicken added which was an additional $6.49. I also opted for the house salad for $3.99. My partner ordered the Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce and a Caesar Salad, (very reasonable at $14.99 and $3.99 for the salad).

The rolls were the first thing to arrive at our table. They looked awesome but were covered in Italian Dressing. Apparently this is the way they serve him here but we weren't fans. The warm rolls were delicious but the dressing was very acidic and didn't pair well. The salads came soon after and we were, (again), disappointed. While both salads were large the dressings were very bland. My house salad only consisted of lettuce, a few cherry tomatoes and a couple of slivers of onion.

The entrees came out long before we finished our salads and this was the biggest disappointment of the night. The spicy peppers in my dish had a good bite but there was no sauce. The pasta sat in a very watery orange liquid but it was flavorless, didn't stick to the fettuccine and wasn't like any marinara that I have ever had. The lasagna was even worse as the noodles were a little too Al dente and the entire dish was dry and void of sauce.

It could have been an off night or we may have ordered the wrong dishes but we were really underwhelmed. I did notice the majority of orders coming out were pizza and they looked awesome...I might stop back in the future and give one of their pies a try. In the end our meals and drinks came out to almost $61.00, (before tip), and I thought that was a little high for a chain. We have many locally owned Italian restaurants with amazing food at a similar, (or less),...

Overall a very nice experience for our group of 5 adults and 1 toddler. Server was attentive and friendly and provided refills without us having to ask. The decor is comfy-casual with booths and tables. My one criticism is they put us in a booth that really was for 4 people to sit comfortably so the three adults on one side were rubbing arms. Good thing we are a close family!

Food was delicious. We started with the boneless wings to share. The chicken was crunchy and moist. They provide their complimentary warmed rolls in dressing, so tasty you have to fight yourself not to over indulge and save room for your meal.

We ordered dinner salads, shells with a large meatball, a meatball hoagie, the Pizza Antica, and a child's pizza. Here's a tip - they won't serve pizza slices after 4, even like 5 minutes after, so be prepared to order the child's pizza. It's like a personal size cheese pizza and worst case you'll take some home!

The salads were a gorgonzola and summer, both light and refreshing. The summer salad order opted for the grilled shrimp, and let me tell you the smell alone was awesome. I don't say that often about shrimp, but they were done right.

The meatball sub came with fries. The sub was loaded with two large meatballs nestled in a comforter of cheese. Note, I didn't say blanket - there was a lot of cheese! Bread was toasty and sauce very good. Meatballs are well-seasoned and did I mention large?

Antica pizza was ordered in the personal size and was a great not too heavy meal. Crust is super thin and very crispy. Fresh mozzarella, those wonderful crispy cup-shaped pepperonis, and fresh basil. Very good pizza.

This was my second visit here and the food quality remains consistent, so there will definitely be a third! Well...

The food was pretty good, but could have been better. They served rolls as an appetizer, and while tasty, I found it odd they were cold. They'd have been much better hot. The menu was a bit hard to understand as to which pizza style you'd get. Some were marked as being thin, while others were not. The pizza I ordered was not marked thin, yet did come that way.

i wasn't a fan of much more. I found the decor to be right out of the 1980's strip mall food court. It was very sterile, and not homey or welcoming. They were very overstaffed, it seemed to be about 3 staff members for each customer, including a big guy who just walked around like a bouncer. That just increases costs, and puts this location on the list of places that didn't last long.

Our waitress was very inattentive, and almost argumentative when an issue arose. Also found it weird that we were seated by one person, ordered from another, food delivered from a third, and a fourth person to take our check. Despite the abundance of staff, we did sit without drinks for a while, and our food took an exceptionally long time to come out. I've had hotter pizza from delivery, where it's been boxed up and in a car for 10 minutes.

We had tried previously to go to Piesanos, but were turned away at the door. Apparently it was an invite-only grand opening, and we didn't have invites. We'd just followed the signs. Anyway, such an event gave me a false sense of what this place was. It's not a high class Italian restaurant, but just another pizzeria, in a town with a hundred.

It's close to home, so I'll probably try it again. When I go in with different expectations, maybe I'll have a...