Pietro's Italian Bakery — Restaurant in Frisco

Rule No. 1 - Don't be fooled by the name. Yes, it is a bakery, but not just a bakery. I learned this after my wife texted me the name of the restaurant with the note "this sounds like fun." My assumption was, "this sounds like a nice place for a pastry and coffee on a Sunday morning." Therefore, I was confused when she told me we were going there fore a dinner on a Saturday night. That's because, as I learned, they are part Italian bakery and part EXCELLENT Italian restaurant. Rule No. 2 - Bring your appetite, and expect to be leaving with a doggie bag. The food was very good (discussed below) and plentiful. They are not shy to fill a plate. THE FOOD - I got the chicken parmigiana. It's my general go-to at Italian eateries and I'm kind of a connoisseur. It was possibly the best I've ever had. The chicken itself was moist and flavorful. But the real surprise was that it's served on pasta with a creamy parmesan sauce rather than a red sauce. I quickly found myself eating a bit of chicken and pasta on every bite. My wife got the fettuccini alfredo - her go-to. And she loved it. One of our friends got the lasagna and, likewise, loved their meals. the only people who were not raving were the two that got shrimp. Both said it tasted a bit too fishy. Not that they did not finish their meals, but . . . Before the main course, one couple got a large salad to share as an appetizer. The restaurant was nice enough to serve it on separate plates, and each could have been a meal in itself. One person got bruschetta, which she shared, and it was heavenly. The crust was light and crunchy and perfectly topped with tomatoes and cheese, and drizzled with olive oil and vinegar. We had them leave the plate so we could enjoy the left over oil and vinegar with the baskets of rolls that complimented the meal. Finally, since we were in a bakery, we did something our dinner group rarely does; we got desserts. Of course, as would be expected, everybody loved their choices. My wife and I shared a chocolate cream filled lobster tail which was terrific. THE SERVICE and ATMOSPHERE - The place is small, but we had no problem getting a table for 8. Unlike many restaurants now, the place did not feel the need to blare music - a blessing for a bunch of old folks who want to sit and talk. The waitress was absolutely delightful and really seemed happy to wait on us. FINAL GRADE - Welcome to the neighborhood Pietro's Italian Bakery. We hope you are here for...

The quality of the café has steadily declined over the past year. I literally craved their Greek salad, which I ordered today and after a few bites threw out and made myself a sandwich.

What you get with the Greek salad has always depended on who was making it. One chef uses iceburg and spring mix lettuces and chops up the veggies (tomato, cucumbers and tomatoes) which creates a texturally pleasing, homogenous salad. The second only uses iceburg, and the few slices of tomato, cucumber and onion that are thrown in are very large for a salad.

But the Feta cheese and dressing made the salad out of this world, even the one that looks simply thrown together. Sadly, both have changed for the worst. An employee told me they were having supply issues getting the dressing they used so they were going to make their own. This new dressing is what made me toss my meal. It is extremely tangy at first followed by an overwhelming sweetness. If the candy Sourpatch kids were a dressing, Pietro's is where you'd find it. The feta is different as well – it’s simply bland and the texture is simply odd. There is nothing to balance the strong tang and sweetness from the dressing.

The rest of the food I’ve had there is just average. Basic tomato sauce, basic chicken parm, basic meatball parm sub. At this point, I’d rather eat at Olive Garden. At least I know what to expect.

The picture is of my salad after I’d taken a few bites. The iceburg lettuce was old, chunky and starting to become opaque and brown. There were four wedges of tomato, one chunk of cucumber and a handful of pepperoncinis. No onion, a sprinkling of Feta cheese and two cups of the...

My food was a serious disappointment. I ordered a meatball sub…coming from the east coast it’s just one of those basic things that if you can get that right then likely the other items are just as good. Let’s start with the only thing I liked, The marinara sauce. It’s is light and fresh tasting. The bread however was chewy and not in a good way. Almost like an undercooked bagel. It’s had no toast to it and was very much on the blond side. Now I’m not going to say they are frozen but I definitely have had these meatballs before…meaning there is absolutely nothing special about them and are comparable to ones you can buy frozen. And I’m not saying I wanted more but if they were actually good I would have appreciated more. The sandwich itself is 2 meatballs cut in half(so 4 small pieces) and for the price it has absolutely NO substance.. Next: The cheese seemed low quality. It was rubbery and tough. Which normally happens when you heat low quality cheese. But who knows I wouldn’t be surprised if they manage to pull all the moisture out of the cheese somehow while failing at toasting the top of it. Overall the end result was a super mushy- meatball and soggy sandwich. From an Italian bakery at the very least I would have appreciated some quality bread. I gave two stars because the young lady at the counter was super sweet. But that meatball sub...