Nello's Pizza Mesa — Restaurant in Mesa

I really wish I didn't have to write this, but I'm going to... It's actually depressing, but I won't be going back to Nello's anymore, after this last time.

Nello's has been a part of my life since i was 9 or so. It was ALWAYS my family's go-to pizza for every occasion: family in town, birthdays, Friday nights, rainy days, dates, celebrations, etc. We've transported their frozen Half-baked pizzas to people out of state on numerous occasions, because we got them hooked while they were in town. Suffice to say, we have history with Nello's- three generations' worth, thanks to my daughter...

The past couple of years, I've seen/tasted the decline in quality. My favorite, go-to is their thin crust combo. LOVE IT! (used to) I started noticing soggy crust, and said nothing a couple of times, since it was the exception to the rule at the time. A couple more of the same experiences, and I spoke up. I was told it was not the norm, of course, and my food was either replaced, or refunded. That's all fine, but then it just kept happening! Under cooked pizza had become the norm, at least for me.

Next time I was met with soggy crust, the excuses started, and suddenly I was told I needed to order my pizza "extra crispy", or "well done". By the way, when I say "soggy crust" I mean the center of the pizza was uncooked dough. Then I was told that the combo is so laden with toppings, that it can be a bit soggy, and so I pointed out the difference between somewhat soggy, and NOT COOKED PIZZA. Also, it wasn't until 2018 that anyone had ever mentioned this secret code to ordering pizza to get it done right.

This last time, today, I had my daughter with me, and all was well. We were greeted, the guy behind the bar (turns out to be the owner) greeted me, and got our table, and was kind to my daughter. Server was good to us as well. I ordered something different, with less toppings, and it still came out raw in the middle! What excuse is there now??

Long story shortened (a little). The owner himself was horribly underwhelming with his customer service. He never even came back to the table after he said he would "look into it" to see what had happened. I had to track him down, and he just gave me some excuses, and said he wished I could stay. (I never said I couldn't, btw). I told him about our family's history with Nello's, and that after today, I just didn't want to come back anymore. It's not worth it, and that's really a sad thing to type right now...

It's a real damn shame, Nello's. Seems like the family (or maybe next generation of family) has lost the passion. Also, I've seen a lot of other reviews, citing the same problem with crust,...

I have been a patron of THIS Nellos since I used to live 1/4 mile South of here in Summit Lake Apts. back in the Fall of 1993. When I bought a new house in East Gilbert in 1997, I wasn't able to frequent Nello's nearly as much as in the past, eventually not returning for a long time. But I kept telling myself that I have to come back here. Finally, about 2 yrs ago, I did return and I'm glad for it! The pizza was just as awesome as I'd remembered and, perhaps it's me, but it seems that their prices haven't increased much, if at all. I do have to be honest, though. The service, although still quite good, is not as exceptional as I remember. Nothing against young people (I was one a few years back!) but, what was quite obvious to me, was that the sub-par customer service came mostly from the 18-25 year old staff. With that one exception, I can still give this place 5 stars for the simple fact that the pizza more than fills the void left by the small dip in the level of great customer service. In addition, the rest of the staff was very much on point. One more quick comment...I am a 1st generation American (My father was born & raised in Sicily) and grew up in New York (Up-state) so I am obviously partial to New York style pizza. So, for me to be so passionate about a Chicago style pizza, it has to be on a much higher level than your run-of-the-mill Chicago pizza. Stop in if you get a chance. I think you will agree... p.s. Addressing the woman who made the comment that the pizza was too hot (oven-hot, not spicy), "Piping hot" I believe is how she described it...The owners of Nello's are probably quite pleased that she described it in this fashion. I mean, myself at least, I WANT my food to be "piping hot" when it is served to me (and not microwaved, either!!)!! Was she expecting it to be luke-warm, I wonder? Or cold, perhaps? If you want barely warmed over pizza, or any other food, then go to Little Caesars or, for that matter, McDonalds, for Pete's sak e!! If you want cold pizza, then have one delivered to you from one of the "cookie cutter" pizza places, stick it in your refrigerator, and eat it for breakfast the...

I'm from out of town, but visit the Valley a couple of days each month. I drove rather out of my way to visit Nello's to try the original crust pizza. At first I was disappointed, and felt misled by the high rating here. So, I gave it a little time for me to cool off before posting a few thoughts.

The staff was inviting and courteous. The interior of the restaurant had a bit of what my wife associates with "dive bars." It was a bit too dark, and people were at the bar with only beers. That would never turn me completely off, but it would cause my wife to immediately request we leave, had she been with me, so I feel that deserves mention.

I ordered my pizza to go, and had it in under 15 minutes, which seemed fast to me, given that the original crust was a bit thick. I ordered a large "Numero Uno," with fond memories of that (now defunct?) chain. I somewhat assumed there would be some tomato on the top, as Numero Uno used to do that. There was not.

I told the cashier that it was my first time there. Coming from a pizza restaurant background, I also assumed I was going to get their best effort to keep me coming back. On a pizza that was a "specialty," with sausage and mushrooms, I was shocked at how few toppings were on the pie.

There were like 3-4 slices of mushroom on each piece. A bit more sausage, but not much. Mushrooms are inexpensive, my friends. It seemed almost comical, at first. The cheese was very thin, with patches near the middle of the pizza with almost none. (It was not as if cheese had shifted, causing there to be more elsewhere, either.) It was very light on sauce also, which was a shame, because the sauce had a VERY nice flavor. If I had known, I would have asked to pay a few bucks more for more of all. However, at $20 for a large pizza, maybe I shouldn't have to ask for that? I'm still undecided about that. The original crust was EXCELLENT!!!

This meagerness on the pizza means I probably won't make the drive out again to try anything else on their menu, sadly. My guess is, I got the wrong cook, if others have loaded pizzas...