Sonny's NY Pizza — Restaurant in Maryland

Sonny's has been open for five weeks (as of mid January 2018) we learned on a busy Friday at the lunch hour, and for better or worse, it shows. On balance we liked it and plan to be back.

The good: very friendly staff, fair prices for what you get (see below), tasty fast Italian in a WYSIWYG way (what you see is what you get), prompt service, clean, well-lit and convenient (space formerly occupied by Frank's Pizza), very fast counter service. Folks looking for Frank's likely constitute some measure of a built-in clientele (and the overall aesthetic presentation is cuter and cleaner than Frank's).

The "Needs improvement" - Organization. The young and exuberant staff (of whom there seemed to be a great many over the lunch hour on Friday) were crushed by the need to serve a half-full restaurant. They were almost comically overwhelmed. Certainly its solvable and I expect it will be in time. It almost was fun to be a part of staff training.

We enjoyed our food a lot. We elected not to think about the calories, fat or cholesterol. Sonny's is a guilty pleasure in that sense; it does not pretend to be health conscious (i.e., its not Panera).

There was no visible trash receptacle, and a place like this should be bus-your-own-tables. It would be cheaper for them. As it was, diners left their dirty dishes, empty cups, food wrappers and dirty napkins wherever they were sitting. Later in the lunch hour, diners may be hard pressed to find clean seating, as whatever busboy employees who may exist certainly were not visible. This too is easily solvable, but needs solving.

A big slice of behind-the-glass speciality pizza, a small salad (regular, caesar or Greek) and fountain drink was $7.49 on "special", which I found to be quite adequate in quantity and fair in price. No arguments there. Change from a $10 at lunch is a good thing - Sonny's compares to Panera in this sense too. A market for fast, competent Italian always exists in the Baltimore burbs (expanding belly risks, notwithstanding).

It is said that restaurants sometimes like to cluster, and if so, this little corner of the Safety shopping center in Eldersburg is becoming quite the destination, with Kismet (still my favorite for taste, variety and imagination), Five Guys (WYSIWYG burger joint) and now Sonny's. Probably there is enough business for all three. Safety in numbers?...

So for all the people complaint about the space, it’s a pizza joint, not a restaurant. The pizza places in NY are smaller. The spacing is not bad, but they need to direct people to wait in the area in front of the counter and not by the door to allow easier foot traffic to the dining area. After two visits, the staff has been friendly and helpful in service. No complaints there. I know a local foodie said he like the garlic knots at Sonny’s better than Frank’s, but Frank’s makes it more traditional as you would find it in NY. The steak sub is great. The middle is chewy, plenty of meat and cheese and the bread is fresh and crispy on the outside, but chewy in the inside. My only complaint is the cheese selection. I don’t mind it with American cheese, but the option for provolone would be great as that seems original if you’re going to call it a philly cheese steak. Fries were good. The pizza is almost exactly like NY. It is really good and it will give Frank’s competition. However, Frank’s is better for one reason. It’s less salty. Not sure if it’s in the cheese, but more likely in the sauce Sonny’s uses. I don’t expect to get a large selection of alchohol choices. It’s a pizza joint, not a liquor store. I love the decor and especially the white subway tiles. They have a great Tuesday and Thursday special offer, which will get me in the door. Overall, it’s great and I will go again especially if it’s convenient. Frank’s still has my heart and I love their Pizza more, but being the only two great places in the area (sorry, J&P is a distant third), Sonny’s won’t have a problem gaining a healthy following. There’s room for two good pizza...

Excellent location taking over where Frank's pizza once was months ago. Yesterday was my first time trying out their menu. Let me start with food, which is the most important for folks. It was excellent. You can order pies or just by the slice, dine in or carry out. My wife had the 'Greek' pizza slice and I had 'the godfather' slices. Wow. We immediately found that the slices we're crispy, but soft. The toppings were thinly sliced adding the flavor but not overwhelming the cheese, and sauce they use. It complimented the other ingredients. The pizza team was happy, quick working, direct and wanted to get your food to you quickly so you can enjoy. We also ordered the garlic knots--these we're phenomenal. Browned on top with the knots lightly soaked in a garlic marinade. I like these knots more than Frank's pizza. I am so happy we have a solid amount of choices for pizza in the eldersberg. This NY pizza is amazing. We will be...