Il Pizzaiolo — Restaurant in Mt. Lebanon

Two stars for value. My wife brought me here – a pizza shop with a hidden restaurant and bar, out back. It was interesting that you have to know or know someone who knows, to enter the unmarked door out back and find yourself inside of the tiniest bar with the tiniest lounge and dining room. The sign says the area is rated for something like 37 people, I think it was. There must have been 50 people in there, shoulder-to-shoulder. We had a few drinks while we waited AN HOUR AND A HALF for a table. I paid that tab and remarked – “That’s the least booze I’ve ever drank for $58.” We were led back out front to the ‘pizza shop’ half and got a seat by the window, where the instant draft from the door guaranteed a chilly dinner. Nothing on the menu excited me, so I ordered the lasagna and hoped for the best. It was NOT the best. It was barely even good. They ought to hold the quarter-ounce of meat they put in there and call it vegetarian. For a $22 piece of lasagna, I expect billowing layers of cheese, meat, and sauce – thick as a cake and large as the plate. This was none of those things. My buzz was, by now, wearing off and I slammed glass after glass of water. The waiter was nice, but not overly attentive. Dropped another $100 on dinner (with no additional drinks) and tried not to let the wife detect my disdain (she likes the place for some unfathomable reason. She can go with the girls if she ever wants to go back, though, because I’ve had my fill…so to speak). If long waits, high prices, loud and crowed tiny spaces, staff trying to muscle through the crowds with bins of dirty dishes and food, and mediocre food are your thing, then this is your place!

I would have preferred two fish sammiches from McDonalds and a couple of beers for $10. I don’t mind paying big bucks for a meal, but there had better be SOME value in the experience, somewhere. Here, there was naught.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the thing that made me realize I would be posting a review. They brought us bread and oil as is expected and the tiny saucer of oil made me want to ask if they were joking. Plain oil - no salt or spices in there (which there should be) and only a dribble of it. The very simplest thing to get right and they get it SO WRONG!...

Pros: Good Pizza (mostly the crust from the oven) Very good Wine Server at wine bar has been on point with wine suggestions

Cons: Slow Service Staff members on multiple occasions have given wrong wine/food orders Food is generally mediocre, and therefore overpriced for what they give.

This restaurant is generally well liked and spoken highly of, but in my last 3 occasions the experience fell short each time more than the last. My first experience we were placed in their garden in the back where there are several tables. The service was generally good and our waitress was friendly and attentive, however she gave me the wrong salad and the wrong wine order, both however were still good so I did not mention the mix-up. Overall our pizza was tasty and wine well matched. On my second occasion, the Wine server in the bar in the back gave great suggestions, however the Gnocchi dish served in red sauce was mediocre (sauce was disappointing, gnocchi were good). The final experience was the worst as we had a large party make reservations for 11. When we got there, even after they confirmed 11 people, they only had 10 seats. Our last friend was running late and when she got there had to pull her a chair on her own to our table even after the wait staff had asked us earlier if we needed another table (they never ended up bringing one). The same salad I got there several times was drenched in a vinaigrette that seemed heavy on the vinegar. The server told us only after bringing the check that she could only split it 3 ways maximum, and when we were trying to split the bill she had to ask us several times to repeat the split. She asked me personally if I wanted a box for the rest of my pizza and then proceeded to question if I needed a box not 3 minutes later. This restaurant has good wine, but the rest of the food is generic Italian-American cuisine dressed up as expensive and high quality via their Italian-worded menu.

Will definitely have to re-think taking people here for anything other than wine and...

I had dinner with a friend on a Friday evening. We had a reservation for 6:15 and sat on the patio. We both ordered a drink, about 10 mins later my friend’s drink arrived. Our Server was friendly but didn’t notice my drink never came, I get it, people forget. It didn’t come until midway through our appetizer and I was just finishing it when our server asked if we wanted dessert, we declined but said I’d take a second drink. She dropped off my drink with the check, and came back about 3 minutes later to take it, before we’d touched it. We took the hint and my friend paid the bill. A few minutes later, the manger came to our table. He asked if we could please get up and go upstairs to the wine bar, to free up the table, a 2 top on the patio. I had 3/4 of my drink left and we had just paid the bill a few mins ago. The manger said I could finish my drink on the couch upstairs in the wine bar and there was plenty of open seating. We were confused but said ok, and went upstairs to the wine bar. It was absolutely packed, not one place to sit. We stood in the packed room while I finished my drink, then left. I’ve worked in restaurants my entire life and am extremely sympathetic to servers when someone is camped out in their section on a busy night taking up one of their tables, and sit long after they’ve paid the bill. This wasn’t that. It didn’t take us long to eat and we were given our check while we were still eating. The server dropped the check with my full drink, and just a few minutes later, we were asked to leave our table. The manager absolutely knew there was no where upstairs to sit upstairs, he just wanted us to leave so he could seat that table again. I’ve never asked a table to leave, even those who sat for hours after paying their bill. I’d never expect to be asked to leave with an almost full drink just minutes after we had finished. There’s no excuse for that, I...