Brooklyn Pie & Cafe — Restaurant in Mansfield

My wife had a craving for pasta tonight (July 12, 2025), so I started naming off a few fancy (read: pricey) spots, both here in Mansfield and beyond. But then it hit me—Brooklyn Pie & Cafe isn’t just an excellent pizzeria. They’ve been quietly advertising their pasta dishes in their emails, and apparently, I was listening more than I realized.

I’ve had their pizza plenty of times, but never their pasta. That changed tonight.

Now, the dining room isn’t anything fancy—three booths, a long 12-top table running down the middle, and a few two-tops scattered around. Bright lighting, instrumental music playing on a TV with a looping Italian landscape… it’s casual and unpretentious.

Like most pizza joints, you order at the counter and pay upfront—eat in or to-go. One upside: no waiting around for a check. Just enjoy your meal and head out.

So, the pasta: My wife went with the manicotti; I ordered the lasagna with meat sauce. We split a caprese salad. Total cost? $30 or so with two waters. The restaurant is BYOB.

The young lady who took our order brought us glasses of ice and a carafe of water with lemon slices—a nice touch.

The salad? Beautifully simple: sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. Fresh and full of flavor. (We ate it before taking a photo).

The entrees arrived piping hot—seriously hot. Once they cooled, I took a bite and noticed the sauce right away—bright, tomato-forward, and clearly made from scratch. Turns out, it is.

Each pasta dish came with a small cup of breadsticks, perfect for soaking up every last drop of sauce. Which we did. Plates? Completely clean.

Then Maria, the owner, came by to check on us. She shared that the café was her late husband John’s dream—he passed away just a couple years into opening the place. Now she runs it with their daughter and two sons. It’s truly a family effort.

They’ve been open six years, and somehow this was our first time trying the pasta. It won’t be our last.

Brooklyn Pie & Cafe 2851 Matlock Rd, Mansfield (Next door to No...

I had high hopes after reading reviews but this place was not worth it. Will NOT return. Not child friendly. Pizza took ONE hour. One worker, extremely slow and ZERO service skills. The man doesn’t smile- he looks like hates his job. The atmosphere felt heavy & depressing, like walking into a funeral home. It was also super warm, like owner doesn’t wanna spend money on AC- felt like an oven. The Cheese and pepper on table jars were so old they had no color and smelled awful. This is place is just a NEVER again for us.

EDIT AFTER OWNER responds:

So apparently the man working IS the owner and he was not too happy about my HONEST review. He is Incredibly rude and I want to edit my post so that if any parents with young children consider coming here- be aware- this man doesn't like or welcome children into this establishment. I did not expect any sort of entertainment as I had PDF books that we were reading while we waited an hour for one large pizza. We moved tables because the one we were at was closest to the kitchen and it was very hot, my children were sweating. Anyone with children under 5 yrs of age will understand this trouble. Nobody expects entertainment, we simply expect decent customer service. I am so sorry that your heart is so troubled by children. I will share this experience with everyone I know especially parents, I don’t need anything from this business just to share the experience and warn others.

Also the fact that you think buying groceries at Walmart is an insult says more about you than me sir. FYI- i grow a lot my own foods and like to feed my children healthy meals, we like to support locally owned places on the rare occasion we eat out- your comment is so uncalled for and glad you show your colors so people can see for themselves the kind of owner you are and what...

Mold on my cake. Not ok. I ordered via doordash, and after calling me to tell me they didn’t have the cake slice I originally requested, they send me an old, moldy piece of cake. This was my first and last time eating there. I also was not impressed with the pizza. It was very mediocre for the price, and did not taste anything close to New York style pizza. Trio’s is WAY better. Definitely would not recommend. If I could give them negative stars, I would.

Edited after owner response:

The owner’s response is screen shot below and more of a reason why I will not ever be coming back to this establishment! It’s really sad that you have to bash another business to attempt to make your business look good, but good customer service speaks for itself. Trio’s has been around for YEARS, you just got here, so humble yourself. Also, you didn’t care to even check the quality of your product, just like you didn’t check (spell check or grammar check) the quality of your response, but I should have picked up the phone to give you a chance to correct it? I think not. As a business owner you should be willing to correct it regardless of my negative review, because I paid for what I expected to be quality food, but instead I got food that made me sick. So please be glad that all I did was give you a negative review and not call the health inspector. I left my honest opinion of your disgusting restaurant and I do not want to eat there again after you served me old, moldy cake. So no, I cannot call you to allow you to fix anything. You should have made sure you were serving good, quality food from the start. I really hope my review saves someone money and much time spent in...