Valentino’s Pizzeria & Restaurant — Restaurant in Gainesville

So my last name my hint , I’m Italian. Grew up with my grandfather making homemade pizza pies long before the likes of Pizza Hut or any other chain was even founded. I’ve always been spoiled when it comes to pizza . Sadly my grandpa is long gone as is are his glorious homemade pies, sauce and mozzarella! Tonight I had to drive from Warrenton to Haymarket ( Home Depot ) and stumbled upon this place. I always try to support Mom and Pop shops over chains being a business owner myself. Upon entering it was a clean feel with a display case of different kinds of slices , calzones, pepperoni pinwheels , Stromboli and more. The specialty slices immediately caught my eye. The choice was going to be hard . The pizza maker asked if I needed help, I was thinking some simple like a slice of Pepperoni but there was what looked like a piece of artwork and I assumed was BBQ Chicken and cheese grabbing my attention ( along with 4 other flavors! ) this was not an easy moment! Hmmm, BBQ Chicken, Not my go to flavor but it was so lovingly prepared it put me on the fence. I asked him , ( pointing to what looked like art) is that BBQ Chicken and Cheese? He replied, pointing to a slice next to it on another pan . No, no, no, that’s Chicken and Bacon. Another piece I had been eyeing! I decided it was a sign and decided to go with it. A friend with me got their Ham and Pineapple.only thing he ever gets and we got the garlic knots with marinara and two large drinks. When the slices were ready I was surprised by the size , the slice was as big as the paper plate! I kid you knot. One bite is all it took. I looked up at my friend and said OMG. This is the best pizza I’ve had in 30 years!!!! The cheese is their success! Creamy , chewy deliciousness. The crust is the perfect thickness for a NY style pie. There was NO SKIMPING on the toppings either!!! One slice was a meal! I noticed a steady clientele of regulars coming in for pickups on that rainy night. Why this place has a 3.8 rating is beyond me. I’d give it a 10 if I could. Oh, by the way, my friend got a slice to go and I got that piece of BBQ CHICKEN and Cheese Artwork. It’s sitting in my fridge as I write this review.

4 slices of specialty pizza* Garlic knots with marinara 2 large Pops All for $20 Best Meal- Best Deal I will be a regular from here on out. Great owners and staff too! *Not just pizza , I mean...

We were traveling through the area and were starving for a decent meal. The restaurant looked clean and inviting from the outside but once we walked in and saw a huge selection of pizzas sitting on the counter we were skeptical. The menus are pamphlets located next to the register and are not displayed anywhere else that we saw in the restaurant. We ordered a small pepperoni pizza, a meat filled calzone and an order of fries. The fries came out first in a basket with a few ketchup packets tossed on top of the fries….no plates were brought out at this point. The fries were mediocre at best in our opinion. Tasted like they were air fried…maybe?? Just not very good texture or flavor. The calzone and pizza came out a few minutes later with a single thin paper plate and plastic cutlery. (I could not use the plastic cutlery to cut through the calzone and had to use my hands to eat it) The calzone was odd….. it tasted like unidentifiable meats and was over flowing with cool ricotta cheese. It seemed to have been unevenly heated in the microwave and put in the oven to finish it off. The pizza was extremely greasy as seen in the pictures and had a strong taste of salt. Overall a very disappointing meal. I read all the reviews after getting home and hope we just had a bad night. If this restaurant were closer to us, I’m sure we would give it a second chance before deserting it. Hopefully they change things and get...

The pizza here is fine. Not the best I've had, but decent. I went to pick up two pizzas on 6/13/20, and was disgusted when I saw that the cashier was not wearing a mask. The owner was not wearing a mask. The guy cutting the pizzas had a mask around his neck, which isn't effective. I used to work in the food industry. We had to wear hair coverings, the men had to cover their facial hair, we wore gloves, etc. It had nothing to do with politics, and no responsible person should be making it about politics. People who work on food lines have had to wear the appropriate protection because it benefits public health. The fact that the employees at Valentino's who were working with my and my family's food did not care enough during the COVID health crisis to do something as simple as wearing a mask spoke volumes to me about how little they care about their customers' health. Shouldn't health departments be making the wearing of masks during food prep a requirement during this time? And even if it's not made a requirement, care enough about your customers to...