Russo's New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen | Galleria — Restaurant in Houston

This is possibly the 3rd time I've ever placed a review on a restaurant, and usually they are very good ones. This is not one of those times.

I have been ordering 1 pizza every week from local pizza restaurants, and I plan to venture out to more to find the best italian sausage and pepperoi pizza. So far the count is 4, and this one makes 5. Each one before this restaurant has something about it I don't really care for, but I usually say "eh, it's about 17 bucks, it'll do". Like Marcos has good cheese and semi ok pepperoni, but the sausage is bad. Zalat's sausage is horrible in taste, but the pepperoni ain't too bad.

I saw the prices for Russo's Pizzeria and winced, but then looked at the pics and reviews and I thought it would be worth the $30 dollars for it. A whopping $30. It got to me, and I opened it and it looked 3x better than the prior 4 restaurants I tried. The crust looked amazing, the ingredients glistened and looked so appetizing. I was like "this is the one, this will be the best so far".

Let me say that again, because I do want to make sure this is known: The pizza looked like one of the best in the world.

One bite. I took 1 bite and wished I had that $30 back in my pocket. Like I'm no food critic, but... wow. I picked the "Russo Pizza sauce" cuz usually house made sauces are better, but this one was sweet, didn't have much seasoning of any kind like oregano or basil, and was very low salted. Like marina sauce for breadsticks type sweet but for a pizza....

The Italian sauces slices are also very bland, and again it's not like it's just missing salt: It's missing things like fennel (or more of it) and... well salt! I'm not tryna take a mouthful of the stuff, but im trying hard to taste any taste.

Pepperoni is the same boat, but worse. This also somehow had a sweetness outside of the sauce, "looked" crispy but was instead very soggy, and bland. I tried to eat it alone cuz pepperoni is my favorite pizza topping, and I couldn't even do it. A bag of hormell pepperonis from Walmart would have provided much more flavor. Not the healthiest, but who orders pizza for that reason...

Crust looked good, and was. Thats where the 1 star comes from.

Lastly was the peppers that were included, and those too were ok. I would think that a bell pepper being sautéed costing probably no more than $.78 cents a serving would taste ok. My $30 meal, with the only good thing being $.78 worth of bell peppers.

This isn't to discourage others from trying this place out, but to specifically stray away from those ingredients. Which are some of the most common ingredients, so I guess I kind of am saying that. I am angry because I paid $30 on a pizza that looks absolutely stunning, but I know I can get a $5 hot and ready from you know who that will taste 3x better (not an overexaggeration, this really was that bland and sweet!!). And...

⭐☆☆☆☆ (1 out of 5 stars for pizza, but higher for wings & service)

Let me start by saying, this was one of the most disappointing pizza slices I’ve ever eaten. Here’s why: the restaurant sells you an old cheese slice—likely made earlier that day (or even the day before)—and then charges extra to add fresh toppings. Afterward, they reheat the slice in the oven, which burns the crust and dries out the old cheese. The result? A slice with the texture of cardboard, no flavor from the sauce or toppings, and an overall stale, reheated taste. Honestly, it reminded me of taking leftover pizza from the fridge and microwaving it—just not fresh.

That being said, not everything was bad. The wings were surprisingly delicious, cooked perfectly and full of flavor. The atmosphere was also enjoyable, and the staff were extremely friendly and hardworking, which I truly appreciated.

Overall, if you’re coming here, I’d recommend skipping the pizza and sticking with the wings. Great people, nice vibes—but the pizza recipe and reheating method really need to change.

As you can see, Russo’s commented under my review. Instead of acknowledging the positive things I mentioned about their service and other food I’ve tried, their response only focused on the pizza. In fact, they confirmed in their own words that the slices are made from day-old pizza.

I want to be clear — I love pizza, and I’m sure their large, made-to-order pies are delicious. But the pizza-by-the-slice I had here was still extremely disappointing. There are plenty of places that serve slices fresh, without reheating old cheese and crust. For example, Frank’s Pizza in downtown, or even another Russo’s location I’ve visited (I-10 & Silver at the Marq-E), where the slices are always fresh.

That’s why it’s frustrating that the same chain can serve pizza by the slice in completely different ways depending on location. My point isn’t to tear them down, but to be honest for other customers: if you come here, I’d recommend skipping the giant slice. There are better options elsewhere — including at other...

We ordered pizza, pasta and wings from the Westheimer location on Christmas Day 2020 at 615p via their app. The app and email confirmation showed the order would be ready in 20 minutes. This ETA seems to be a default setting because the items took much longer.

When I arrived to pick-up the food there was a line and there seemed to be many to-go items waiting to be picked up, so they were busy.

Here's the problem, my ticket/order was only half received. We ordered about $190 worth of food but the kitchen only received the first 5 of 9 items. The staff apologized for the system error after i showed my email confirmation with all the items ordered. They made it right by putting the missing orders in, but i was over hearing orders were taking 30-60 minutes to complete.

I discussed with the staff that I would take whatever was ready and return to pickup the rest... they were apologetic and thankful for my understanding and patience. By the time I left with most of my order it was 715p, so that's 60 minutes to complete part of the order. I left to bring the food home and returned for the last items. The items were ready by the time I returned. So in all, it took 90 minutes to complete my entire order on busy Christmas Day night.

The best part was the staff remembered me and my order because they brought the items to the table where i was seated without me having to hover over them like the other 5-8 people waiting for orders. I really appreciate this attention!

This was the 1st time we have ordered from Russo's and it definitely won't be the last especially if the staff continues to do a wonderful job with keeping their cool and composure during their busy times.

I neglected to get the names of the 2 ladies who helped me, but i certainly hope to see them there the next we return.

We truly enjoyed the...