Mr Gatti's Pizza — Restaurant in Maryville

Visited last nite 12/30 @7:15 at Maryville location first time... Me my wife & 9yr.old grandson, was meeting his mother who lives in walland. I suggested pizza at Gattis, as we hadn't had dinner yet. So my daughter her boyfriend & his 15 yr.old daughter met there & went in. At this time I'd expect it be kinda busy, sat.nite dinner time... It was pretty dead. Maybe 3 couples with a couple kids each was there. We had a party of 6 & had to sit at 2 separate tables because of all the food & plates scattered on the bigger tables & alot of smaller ones as well. Pizza crust & lettuce on the floor in several locations throughout the dining area. I get our cups & head to the fountain for drinks. My grandson tries both orange Fanta & nothing but clear carbonation comes out. I also had to settle for a different drink. One of the coke dispensers was out as well. I go find a couple tables as my wife brings food for them. I grab a plate & go to get mine... First thing I see is hard, yellow looking spaghetti & pasta shells...nope, not touching that I thought. Several pans of pizza, but all the same...3 half pans pep/sausage, 3 half pans old & cold looking cheese pizzas 2 half pans of Supremes. Was 1 pan of what appeared to be Buffalo chicken. Was a pan of breadsticks. I found the freshest, hottest looking pep/sausage & got 2 slices & 2 cold cheese slices. The pep/sausage was warm at best. The cheese was not. All the other pans looked like they had been there for a while, & no variety what so ever..., no barbq,no pepperoni, no bacon anywhere, no meat lovers? The best thing I had was a salad. My daughter went for dessert, the choices was chocolate pudding from the salad bar & a slice of Bavarian something or another, which she said was flipped upside-down in the pan. I go for 2nds in hopes of something fresher, still more of the same old looking pizza & still no pepperoni, was a new cheese pizza up but all the pans of old stuff. I asked what seemed to be the main man cooking, "no dessert pizza"?, ...he replied with there a Bavarian-whatever coming up... I asked is that what was up here earlier?, he said yes. I asked again is there any other options? He says I can make a coconut, I said no thank you & walked to my table. The busboy coming by taking plates was the only staff person that even spoke to us other than the cashier telling my wife the total. Definitely alot different experience at this location than the Halls location we've been to. I see all the positive reviews & wonder what went wrong, every employee seemed worried about shutting down & going home asap. There's still a job to do & a service to be done to paying customers. *First...

Very unimpressed. Pizza buffet style dining is not for me. My friends suggested we visit Mr. Gatti's on an early Friday night. I have not visited nor dined at a Mr. Gatti's in decades. Like most everything, nothing stays the same. I shouldn't have let nostalgia overcome me. The Mr. Gatti's of today is totally different than the Mr. Gatti's I remember from the 1980's. Mr. Gatti's is now a self service, buffet style restaurant, geared towards families and children. The Mr. Gatti's I remember and enjoyed was a full service restaurant with servers providing table service. If my memory serves me correctly, Mr. Gatti's was more orintented to adults, with large screen TV's in the dining room. The Mr Gatti's of today has now added a game room (separate from the dining room) for kids and families. I was also not impressed with the pizza itself, it doesn't taste anything like the Mr. Gatti's pizza I remember. Did they change recipes?? There was nothing wrong with the pizza itself, but it was not the unique, quality pizza I remember from years ago. Although I was disappointed in the Mr. Gatti's of today, it didn't seem to bother anyone else. The restaurant was very busy and getting more crowded as the evening progressed. Mr. Gatti's also offers a salad bar, pasta bar and self serve beverages. The staff was very pleasant and did a great job managing the large crowd. Considering the sizeable crowd, the dining room was relatively clean and well maintained. One really nice attribute; if you're sixty years of age or older, you qualify for a senior discount! In closing, Mr. Gatti's is a great, inexpensive option if you are really hungry for pizza. Mr. Gatti's is also ideal for large groups and families. Although I didn't visit the game/ amusement section of the restaurant, I have no doubt the kids will love it. One word of caution; if you haven't visited a Mr Gatti's for a while, it may be very different from the "Gatti's " of...

I may be biased towards Mr. Ghatti's, at least this location, having come here frequently since the mid 90s when it was a lot smaller (and our town was a lot smaller and less crowded), but I literally cannot think of a negative experience ever at all. We've had concerns on some visits throughout the years but they were remedied during that visit. I'm 35 and to be able to bring my kids to enjoy Mr. Ghatti's as I have growing up is a true blessing that I'm extremely grateful for. We'll see new younger employees from time to time (definitely look like high school kids) but they do a good job as they try to and the older employees (one of which is a brown haired, shorter gentleman compared to me being 6' 2" which I have seen working there for a long time) always lead excellently. I recognize him every time we go for the last several years and I would be happy to point him out and brag about him to upper management. I've had professional leadership training and these guys are it. They give orders when needed in a firm but positive way but at the same time they are working and sweating more than anyone, leading from the front by example. The last time we were there Saturday, March 23rd, it looks like some new stuff was added to the game room. It's nice to see them keep up with that. I don't know if anyone can ever replace the Mr. Ghatti's that was in Sevierville with its huge arcade several years ago where Quaker Steak & Lube is now but this is definitely close. Because me, my wife and now our kids have been there so many times for close to 30 years (or more), it just feels like home when we come in to eat. This native Blount County guy looks forward to carrying on the tradition and planning birthday parties there for my future...