Pagliai's Pizza — Restaurant in Maryville

I've been a fan of Pagliai's for a while, thoroughly enjoying their food. Their hours are rather unusual though, making it tricky for me to find time to come in and eat. My family and I managed to get in on the buffet on a moderately busy day.

Like many customers, I'm not a fan of the recipe change on the pizza. It's a noticeable step down in quality, to the extent that I compared it to Jack's frozen pizza (it even looks the same). The pasta on the bar was pretty good though. Toward the end, they put out an absolutely delicious dessert pizza that almost saved the visit.

That is until we made our way out. Most of the staff were pretty friendly, if a little hands off. Shout out to a taller, older gentleman who was bussing tables and just doing an amazing job of representing the restaurant. As we left though, we saw someone cooking the pizza. They weren't wearing any gloves as they put toppings on the pizza, and my mom watched as he rubbed his nose with his hand, then used the same hand to put toppings on the pizza.

It's probably just a reflex from allergy season, but there's no excuse not to put on gloves, and this is obviously a pretty big health violation. I already likely wasn't going back because of the poor pizza, but I definitely don't want to go to a restaurant where I could get someone's snot along with my pizza (and given the taste of a few, it's possible). I'd highly recommend staying away until they fix a...

Pagliai's Pizza is a hometown tradition. It has been in business for decades. Their style of pizza is different than the usual carry-out style and it's interesting to watch them make the pizza right at the front door as you walk in. They are generally very busy whenever the doors are open. The staff are very attentive. Their salad/pasta/pizza bar is great and one will find it difficult to go away hungry. Their spaghetti, one of the things they're most famous for, is still as delicious as I remember it when I was a kid. It doesn't last long when it's set out on the bar.

The only downside is when it's busy . . . which it usually is . . . seating is at a premium. I would like to see them expand their dining area a bit, and perhaps have more room for larger groups of 10+.

I definitely recommend it. And, if you're coming to Maryville, this is one of the three long-running restaurants in or...

Lack-luster experience. What should have been anticipayed to be a busy night turned into a fail for Pagliai's tonight. (Up-town trick or treat). The spaghetti was scorched, when they brought it out, they've been told twice their buffet was empty. There hasn't been any pizza on the buffet for over 20 minutes and yet there are two sitting on the counter. Every table in the house is waiting for food to be added to the buffet. The salad bar is filthy and the only thing that looks fresh is the lettuce. We had a spill and were offered two towels after we asked,to clean it up but no help in doing so. Not a...