Vitale's Pizza Grand Rapids — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

I usually have a great experience at Vitales on Leonard. The restaurant itself is a great place to go for a quiet, romantic dinner and the daytime buffet makes for a nice, affordable way to just go out.

But time and again getting take out orders are not only wrong, but also facing with terrible customer service & lousy excuses. After driving to the restaurant and driving back home, I found that I had the wrong pizza. Calling back, I’m told that is what I ordered. I have to explain and re-explain the pricing and what that means before they realize that what I’m saying makes a lot of sense; why would I pay for a two topping pizza, but ask for no toppings?

They then tell me that they can write me down to pick up the pizza later. “Great” I think “I can relax here, have dinner and buy some more breadsticks when I go to get the new pizza later.” Then they say they’ll need me to bring the pizza THEY got wrong, back to the shop when I come to get the new pizza. I clarify with them “So you’re going to write down in a book that I’m owed a pizza, but to get the pizza I paid for, I have to drive all the way back with the one you guys messed up on in the first place?” They tell me “Yes, we need you to bring the old one back before we can make you a new one.”

So what’s the point in writing my name down that I’m owed a pizza?

So now I get to drive all the way there again just to get the pizza I actually ordered and then drive home to cold breadsticks.

What’s worse is that this isn’t the first time. It’s happened like this now 2/3 of the times I’ve ordered take out from there. Now I feel like an idiot because I tipped those guys for what started as okay service and has devolved into terrible customer service.

You know what the icing on the cake was after they demanded that I drive all the way back and deliver THEIR mistake to them? They tried blaming it all on some poor 15 year old kid that was probably doing his first job. Real class act there guys...Then they checked the pizza that I brought back and tossed it on top of the pizza oven.

You fellas plan on selling that to another unwitting customer or you just make mistakes like that so you can eat them when customers drive them...

Good burger. Gluten-free pizza is AWESOME. Everyone loves their pizza.

It is odd that no one has reviewed their burger at this location yet, but here goes.

Classic Burger - $13: Half pound patty, ordered medium and was served medium to medium well. It was medium quality meat. I liked the shredded lettuce. It was a tad on the sloppy side with the mayo and ketchup I ordered, but was tasty. The bun was a tad tough on the exterior, but plenty soft otherwise. Served in a wire basket on wax/paraffin paper, which is unique.

Overall, I have no complaints at all. The price was actually spot on compared to what is out there, the quality you get, and the size of the patty. Actually, if you factor in the fries, it is great value.

Fries - (comes with the burger): Excellent battered fries. A tad thicker, served hot, and goes down easy. Cooked just right, soft inside, crispy outside, and delicious.

10” Gluten Free Cauliflower Crust Pizza - $17+toppings: Expensive, but the best I know. I couldn’t even tell it was gluten-free or cauliflower! It is my daughter’s favorite, so I decided to check it out with her. It is a thinner crust, but still soft. It is greasy. Everything about it is true to the Vitale’s mode of operation. Tons of toppings, full of flavor, and absolutely delicious!

With Pepperoni and bacon, it cost $19. For a 10” that fits on a dinner plate rather than a pizza pan, it is not much. My daughter will take leftovers home and have two meals to eat, though.

Vitale’s knows pizza. That’s for sure!!

Service: Happy, pleasant, helpful, and punctual. We were taken care of very well. Nothing was left undone for more than a minute.

Atmosphere: Casual and a bit of an American bar and grill feel. Sports is a huge emphasis, but they have a wing with a bit more classy feel to it that they open during higher volume times. It was generally clean and well kept. Our table was quote wobbly, though (very back corner on the northwest).

Conclusion: I’d recommend their burger and HIGHLY recommend their pizza.

If you are gluten-free and want a special treat, this is THE place in Grand Rapids for sure!

Visited on a...

I grew up with Vitales in the 70's & used to be my all time favorite pizza ever.

Sadly the quality is hit or miss - doesn't matter if it's restaurant, sports bar or take out. Most times now it's burnt or wrong, and if it's "correct" it's way skimpy for the price.

Tonight I ordered a sub & spaghetti/meatball dinner online & paid before I arrived.

The gentleman who was running the register was very apologetic and kind.

However since the take out area shares a kitchen with the sports bar, your dinner ticket (spaghetti) goes behind everyone else in the sit down area while whatever other food you have made 30-40 minutes earlier sits hardening on top of the ovens to stay warm.

Id prefer my food all come out roughly at the same time & be correct, tasty & worth my time, effort & money. $25 for spaghetti, a sub and a bottle of Coke is pricey (welcome to yet another recent price increase).

After waiting the 15-20 mins I was told it'd be delayed, they sent one of the takeout workers over to help the bar kitchen staff because my ticket was still 5 behind where they were.

This is crazy and why we've avoided this place if we had other options. I honestly thought it'd be better at 9pm on a Tuesday. I was wrong!!

And by the time I drove the 20 minutes home, because I went out of my way for this meal - my food was WRONG!!! I ordered NO mayo & mayo was slathered all over the dang sub. When I called to complain (like I did when the Ada location did the exact same thing 2 years ago) - I got “ok....and?” Well I’m allergic and can’t eat my $9 dinner thank you very much. “Ok....and?”

SERIOUSLY?!?!?

I recommend anyone from this point forward who has ANY special orders no matter how clearly communicated or written out - double check it yourself before leaving the location because they damn sure don’t care once they have your $ & you leave.

This is not how it used to be run and it’s really sad such an iconic restaurant has turned into...