Fortunato Brothers Pizza — Restaurant in Maryland

Picked the pizza up this way (see picture) and brought it back in with my concerns to management before leaving, in order to offer an opportunity for improvement. I even mentioned we'd be willing to pay more and wait longer for what we wanted.

I explained the pizza it's not what I imagined for a few reasons, but they didn't seem to be receptive of my concerns. The reasons it was not what I imagined was the puddle of water on the pizza (the cheese was not quality because this), some slices had no cheese on them, basil was sparse and burnt, the ingredients were not evenly distributed, the slices we're not evenly cut, there were 3 slices of cheese steak and 5 slices of margarita (maybe due to worry of food cost, despite high prices), we were under the impression a margarita pizza would include tomato slices (my fault for not clarifying), and thought a cheesesteak pizza would include onions and peppers (my fault for not clarifying).

At this point, the management showed very little concern and instead of inquiring more information on the issues, they simply defended themselves (which they were right about my mistake for not being 100% clear on my ingredient expectations due to me not seeing the cheesesteak on the menu, they said they could make it, and thinking all margarita pizzas are the same). Upon arriving at home, the breadsticks ended up being sub-par due to very little seasonings and flavor, and the souffle cup the marinara came in was melting, which is a cause for concern due to the warnings of chemicals released into food by melting plastic.

The ingredients are of high quality, but I'm under the belief there's more to an experience and a business than just quality ingredients. For example, how the ingredients are prepared within the dish and ensuring the paying customer gets what they originally wanted to pay for. I hope this level of product preparation, product presentation, product completeness, communication, and concern for customer perspective does not persist, as this shop has always been a favorite hometown pizza shop. From my perspective, something critical has changed.

Just a last note that as any great business knows, feedback is critical, especially the feedback pointing out areas of improvement, and improvement is always possible. I hope this experience was a one time fluke and others don't have to go through this type of experience.

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Ordered take out; two slices pre-made pizza, garlic knots, Greek salad and cheese stake sub. Waited about 45min for order!! A couple with one child arrived after order was placed for dine in and was served their complicated order before mine was ready. I understand catering to dine in, but they had finished their meal and I was still waiting for my order. When I checked in twice they said “it will be up soon”, when I checked in a third time at the 40min time frame an man (possibly store owner or manager) looked into why my order was taking so long, although no one had a straight answer for me he said “it will be right up”, 5min later I had my order; cold pizza slices, warm garlic knots, cheese steak sub, salad made mostly of feta cheese and iceberg lettuce. I give good reviews where deserved and tend NOT to review if unsatisfied as a customer. I’m writing this review because my husband and I feel it’s important to spread the word about our experiences. We’ve ordered take out several times and always have a problem; my biggest complaint is lack of customer service. If there’s a problem with the order or a question about what’s ordered...check in with the customer!!!! We’re left in the dark every time (not exaggerated), so order is wrong, cold (when food asked to be heated- pizza slices to go) and/or takes longer then it should. My husband had gone back to speak with the manager about a prior order (we had ordered a veggie pizza: got cheese pizza from the slice display with veggies-some raw and some cooked thrown on top, not heated and no fresh cheese added), his issue with the order was not received well and was told there was a miscommunication nothing they could do. The lack of accountability and customer service for carry out has turned us to other pizza places. Both my husband and I come from service industries so we gave them one full year to show us they weren’t just having ‘bad service days’, unfortunately they proved to us every day is a bad service day. It’s sad because we support local businesses in the area, but can no longer support this one. I hope this message helps...

So it took 2 years to try Fortunato's since my last review. NOT COMING BACK EVER AGAIN. $55 down the drain AGAIN. Calamari and mushrooms overcooked and in grease so old they left a bitter aftertaste, honestly they tasted like fryer sludge. Cheesesteak sub with small portion of meat and tasted bland. Called and complained to the manager and he was very polite and was willing to remake the entire order. I picked up the remade order and was even more disappointed. Both the Calamari and the mushrooms were crisp but tasted even worse than before. The Cheesesteak was better but the remade meatball sub tasted bad. The meatballs were tasteless and the sauce was salty, bitter and pasty. I threw out everything but the Cheesesteak.

My original review read: I love Fortunato Brothers pizza and will always go back for more. HOWEVER, I tried their wings for the first time tonight and I regret to say that I am greatly disappointed. The mild buffalo sauce was good but the wings were dry and tasted stale. To be honest, they seemed to be leftover wings, reheated in the microwave and then had buffalo sauce splashed over them. I would normally have taken them back and had them make fresh ones but we had already waited to eat and an even longer wait was not an option. Pizza, Great! Wings, the...