Rotolo's Pizzeria — Restaurant in Louisiana

Oof. First visit tonight and not a good impression. Went with the kids after practice at 7:45pm, and the restaurant was not busy, maybe half of the tables empty. Got drinks, Ordered four small simple pizzas. It took them 40 minutes to make them. Yeah. 40.

I mean the reason we stopped is we were sick of hitting drive-thrus on the way home and knew that pizza was a pretty fast sit-down meal the kids would like. But ummm...no. “Pretty fast” ain’t part of the Rotolos experience. The food quality was fine which is why it gets 2 stars, but good grief, people, get it together. We were joking that we could have gone to any other pizza joint in the vicinity and gotten a hot pizza and brought it back to our table faster than Rotolos could bring theirs. Seriously.

Our server either had no sense of time or didn’t care, apparently, as there was no apology, no explanation, no...acknowledgment that anything was amiss. Maybe this is par for the course? Even with few customers on the floor? Shrug. If you have tons of time to kill, this might be the restaurant for you. Bring some snacks, though. If you’d prefer to have a pizza while you’re still hungry, try...

We used to love this place. It was pricey but very good. Just went last Sunday. The menu has changed, and not for the better. Fewer selections for sure. My meal wasn't served until the rest of my dinner party was more than half finished with their meals. So what did I order that could possibly have taken so long to prepare? Spaghetti and meatballs. So the restaurant must have been super busy, right? Nope! We were one of six families. So it must have been an "off time" to eat. Nope! About 12:15pm. Now, I will have to say that without my asking, the server did take my meal off of the bill, which was the right thing to do and I appreciate the fact that they recognized their issue. But you know how it is, when everyone else is eating and you are sitting waiting, you lose your appetite. I took a few bites and brought the rest home. We won't be going back anytime soon. The value was Ify at best before (I mean, what Italian restaurant doesn't automatically serve salad with its pasta dishes??). But after this experience and the downsized menu, the value really just isn't there anymore. So...

I usually create my own calzone with chicken, bacon, tomato and garlic and has been delicious in the past. Last night there must have been a different chef.

The crust and dipping sauce were great, but the chicken had no flavor, not even salt or pepper. So I added some myself along with some herbs. I had to remove half the garlic pieces as they were completely burnt. And, at random bites, a very strange, almost garbage-tasting, flavor came through. Couldn’t put my finger on just what it was. After 2-3 times of this happening, I just ended up throwing the whole thing away. Even after sleeping on it, I can’t get that taste out of my head.

I’m sure we’ll give Rotolo’s another shot, but it will be quite a while before...