Caliente Pizza & Drafthouse — Restaurant in Hampton Township

“If Caliente Pizza isn't the best pizza you have ever had, I'll give your money back!” That’s what was written on a menu I obtained.

Before ordering, I told my friend this is a pretty cocky way to market pizza. Seems like you’d be setting the bar unreasonably high with that line, to the point of compromising your own business.

I got the Luca Brasi Award Winning pizza.

Was it the best pizza I’ve ever eaten? That’s hard to say. But I WILL say that I wouldn’t have asked for my money back, for it was AMONG the best I’ve ever had. It was so impossibly satisfying that the owner of Caliente should have the right to make such a claim. They’ve earned it.

It was simple, but checked all the boxes. An angelically perfect ratio of cheese to sauce. The texture was SO satisfying. Soft and chewy with the just-right amount of airy crispiness. The sausage and pepper combination was incredible. The flavor was present in every bite. I found myself overindulging and inhaling most of the box, which is rare for me. And I didn’t even feel sick afterward!

Ultimately, if anyone has any complaints with the pizza — as far as the Luca Brasi one goes — it’s because of nitpicking or personal preference. Universally, it was a 9 or 10 out of 10.

My only criticism is regarding the green pepper in the pepper medley. Are they jalapeños? I think the spice or kick is a necessity to complement the other flavors, but the spiciness was overbearing in some bites. I’d be interested to see them opt for a less spicy...

So maybe I had too high of an expectation based on the reviews. Table for three Only customers in the entire restaurant Donuts and bread sticks to start donuts didn’t come until the end even after she specifically asked if we wanted them first and after the bread sticks came we asked again still they were the last thing out to our table. Out came fries then one sandwich then some more fries 5 mins later then a sandwich another few mins a sandwich then some fries lol it’s almost comical at this point It took well over 25 mins for the first of our party to get any food and everyone was finished with there sandwich before last one even came out. My steak hoagie was pretty good but one of them came out with very little meat “imagine 2 steak’m steaks” service was ehh but not being able to bring out three half hoagies with fries at the same time for one table is sort of sad and they acted as if that’s how it’s always been done Very inconsistent quality and portion size Not good for groups of two or more who want to eat together Not good if you don’t have up to 45mins to kill for a sandwich Steak hoagie was good 1/2 the time Donuts with strawberry’s where good Breadsticks were great Caliente pepper oil great Fries got left at the table except for the loaded fries they were good I would not return to this location however I’ve heard the original Caliente’s is one of the best in Pgh so maybe this is a franchise or this is a distant distant distant relative of...

This place makes a great pizza and flatbreads, especially the cheesy buffalo chicken. HOWEVER, the service here is pretty much the worst I've seen anywhere. It seems like there is no management of the workers in this place and most of them tend to run around like chickens with their heads cut off. Last night was the first day of PCBW 2017, so we went there anxious to try to collab beers, arriving promptly at 430. What a major disappointment, as this Calientes was NOT ready. It wasn't until 520 that we finally got our first flight of beers, and to be honest since the collabs are different one-offs, I'm not sure we even got what we ordered. During the time we sat there, they passed out three different beer lists as people came in, changing them on the fly without telling us they were changing (we were ordering from the first one we were given). Since the waitress we eventually got wanted to take orders by the number of the list, what you got depended on what list the person pouring the beer was using. Lots of excuses were given, like taps freezing, etc.; totally unprofessional for a PCBW Gold Sponsor. In fact, what a joke of an excuse for any craft beer bar! I tried some really good collab beers, but unfortunately, I couldn't tell which one was which. There are a lot of other places to go for PCBW, and for a good craft beer in general. So, don't waste your time and money at Calientes in...