Lubrano's Pizza & Italian — Restaurant in High Point

(3.5 stars) Housed toward the end of a somewhat dodgy plaza, Lubrano’s looks like the classic, hasn’t changed in thirty years, good for a slice neighborhood pizza joint, the kind of place the locals swear makes the best __ but first-timers think looks like a dump. There may be shades of truth in this description, but it does not fully do Lubrano’s justice. Get past the dated aesthetics, and you’ll find a higher-than-expected caliber of red sauce fare.

My wife and I stopped by around 12:30 on a Saturday to find Lubrano’s mostly empty. The lone server on duty was new to the job, but he handled himself well. Lubrano’s menu offers pizzas (regular and Sicilian), calzones, and strombolis as well as some promising-sounding chicken dishes, but we were craving pasta. Thus came an order of a fried calamari starter followed by a shared (no split plate charge) Merone’s combination (lasagna, eggplant, and manicotti with sauce and cheese).

The food came out quickly, and there were more hits than misses. The calamari was nicely breaded and neither tough nor greasy albeit fairly bland. A few squeezes of lemon, however, made a big difference. The entrée came with a side salad that was very basic and mostly greens. Complimentary bread, on the other hand, was a lot better: fresh, hot, and seemingly homemade. The tomato sauce (basil notes and no cloying sweetness) and manicotti filling were similarly above average. One thing that wasn’t well above average was the price: our app was $9 and our entrée was $15, and neither portion was small.

Lubrano’s may be a takeout rather than a dine-in option in the future, but no matter what the form, a return is...

Things didn’t start off well. And they didn’t improve. When the cashier answered the phone, she gruffly bellowed: ”Lubrano’s!”— not “thank you for calling Lubrano’s may I help you?” or some other more standard, polite greeting. When I asked if they had garlic as a topping, she continued to be dismissive and brusque—right at the edge of rude. I actually considered going elsewhere, but it was getting late and I was already there, so I proceeded with my order. As for the pizza itself, the toppings were just ok— too many mushrooms and not enough garlic. The crust was tough and didn’t have much flavor. There was not enough sauce and what was there was bland. As I was eating it, I was continuously saying to myself, something is missing here. The price was about average. The dining area of the restaurant is actually quite nice, but you won’t find me...

We went there several times awhile back but the last time we were there was the last time for us. We’ve eaten there at lunch and dinner numerous times over the years. Service and food were always good until the last couple of times we were there. The first bad experience was the waitress on a Saturday evening. She was very rude and dismissive. We went back for lunch a few months later and the salad I ordered had a long dark hair in it. I told the waitress and there was no apology. I have blonde hair so it obviously was not mine! She offered to bring another salad. I told the manager when we paid our check. He also offered no apology and would not take it off the check. It is obvious they do not care about offering good...