PizzaVola — Restaurant in Indian Harbour Beach

So this isn’t usually the sort of thing I will post, I am very laissez faire when it comes to life and business, and very big on “live and let live.” If it weren’t for the complete lack of respect the General Manager at this location has shown me on multiple occasions now, I wouldn’t be saying this. This is their circus and monkeys. I am a former employee. Remember, the best defense against liable is the truth, so this is all verifiable information.

1.They have recently had treatment for a pest problem, I was informed. The order of the day, multiple days straight from Vito’s mouth and the other gentleman who trained me, “Open the pizza boxes and check(for roaches) before you put a pizza in there!” This was relayed several times.

Constantly running out of ingredients, and changing recipes/switching ingredients.(see point 4)

Lack of basic Safe food handling knowledge. Some of the most egregious would be counter servers going from counting money to grabbing slices without washing hands, putting in the oven. Dishwashers/delivery drivers doing the same after washing dishes.

It seems Vito in general doesn’t understand how to run a restaurant. The most common phrase was-”It’s on the truck!” A reference to the GM’s inability to properly order and stock consumables, sauces, ingredients and cheeses. We regularly ran out of pizza staples like grated parmigiana, ricotta, various veggies and toppings he’d have to run to Publix to restock(while complaining about labor, LoL.) One time we were out of ricotta so he went and grabbed Polly-o. Which is a fine ricotta, but a different grain and closer to tenera, a smoother and creamier ricotta that melts, while we use sopraffina, a ricotta that holds its texture. The results were a white pie that had ricotta all over it looking like mozzarella. Another prime example is the day before Thanksgiving, the BUSIEST DAY OF THE YEAR, which everybody and their mother knows about and he reminded us of several times the week leading up to. The restaurant ran out of mozzarella cheese, and had to stop taking pizza orders. Mozz cheese, the 2nd most important ingredient to a pizza... at a pizza shop. And here’s the thing- you have a whole years notice this thing is coming up. Buy an extra case. You will use it, maybe wait 3 days to make your next cheese order if anything. Or if you are a proactive and knowledgeable manager, you will keep your stock built up by an extra case as you are now heading into the busy season and you can FIFO it so that next time there’s a run on Pizza(like say during christmas shopping season,) you don’t run out. You will use it before it goes bad, I promise. Logic dictates... Well, there’s a first time for everything and this is the 1st pizza place I’ve ever worked for that ran out of pizza

5.Vito(GM, lead pizza guy but poor leader of pizza restaurant) like to blow air underneath the pizza. Apparently was warned by health department after being seen by customer. Instead of slapping the crust and edge of dough on the pizza board to create a bubble, as an experienced pizza guy would do.

he owner is nice enough, but my issue is with the spineless GM. Dude fired me not once but twice by taking me off the group chat(not even the schedule) and wondering if I would call to find out when I worked next. Isn’t man enough to say “Hey look man you’re done here.”

Fired me first time like that, then comes running begging for help for the day before Thanksgiving and will work with my schedule and wants me back and missed me. I have an entire other career, I am going back to school and looking for something on the side a few days a week. I signed up for 2 and a half days, and apparently this was a problem, then it wasn’t, but then it was again. I should have known better than to take such an unserious individual at their word. Get thru the busy days, receive compliments from coworker, owner, even the snake GM himself came in that day and said how well I was doing, and how was I feeling, and blah more pissant...

Honestly, I want this place to get 5 stars, but the last time I went it was a horror. •I ordered a salad and a stromboli to-go and waited 1hr 10 mins. Yes, it was packed that day, but in no way should I have waited more than 30 mins for a salad and stromboli, at least without being given prior notice of a longer than usual wait time. I stood in the pizzaria for at least 45 mins waiting and that was after ordering 30 mins prior. •My salad was nearly $20... and the sad part is that the grilled chicken that costs $5 to add to any salad was dry and very under seasoned, peppered boiled chicken bland taste. The stromboli was good ...no complaints about the stromboli... only THAT I WAS GIVEN MY STROMBOLI NEARLY 30 MINS BEFORE MY SALAD.... HOW LONG DOES A SALAD TAKE TO MAKE ?!?!?!? This was a terrible way to treat my gf out to a nice valentine's day meal. What was supposed to be a romantic evening, turned into a sad waste of time over a $20 salad that took 1hr and 10 mins to make, which tasted sub par at best. Im sorry to say that this is the only pizzavola to ever disappoint me. When I finally recieved all my food the only thing that was said to me was similar to " sorry about the wait" ... wow ... how nice... seriously if you know your guests/customers are going to be waiting a long time....at least offer a cup of water while they wait for your lack of time management to be fully evident. If you are looking for a decent slice to grab during a non busy day I'd say you're unlikely to experience what I did, however the nearly $20 salad is a joke no matter the day of week. This isn't...

I am giving this restaurant 2 stars because the food is really good. But our service was absolutely horrendous. We ordered a side of garlic knots as an appetizer and we did not get them until AFTER our food arrived. I told her to not even bother bringing them out. But she did after we’d already finished our food. She did not clear any of our dirty dishes from our table, never refilled any drinks until the end when I asked to refill my daughter’s cup and she brought it back with soda and no ice in it... when we ordered dessert she brought out 2 of our 3 desserts and only then decided to tell us that they didn’t have the cake we had ordered, and then while my daughter was trying to decide which other dessert she wanted the server literally walked away from our table and didn’t come back for 5 minutes so we could order something else. It took forever to get our check and to -go boxes. She was seriously so slow, no hustle whatsoever. The only reason I did not complain in the restaurant is because we had been there over an hour and a half and I was there by myself with my 3 small children and I didn’t feel like being there any longer... I then tried to call the restaurant to speak to a manager about my experience and of course no one answered. This restaurants food is very good but unfortunately the slow service is a major deterrent for me...