PIZZA domenica — Restaurant in New Orleans

Sub mediocre experience here. I came here on a research trip, trying to find good pizza in NoLa. Pizza Delicious made many lists as the best, but while I was in town they were on summer break. Pizza Domenica made many foodie lists as the second best, so I wanted to give it a shot. I was also very intrigued by the fact that Alon Shaya was the owner/chef of the restaurant, as I've heard nothing but amazing things about him and his food. First things first. When I walked in I was immediately made to feel not cool enough to dine here. The staff more or less ignored me. I kindly told them I'd sit at the bar. So, while at the bar I was only acknowledged by the lady behind the bar (cute petite Latina lady). No one else made eye contact, let alone spoke. It was weird. They have this amazing happy hour deal, half priced pizza and discounted draft beer. You can't go wrong with that right? Well, maybe you can...... I ordered a half and half pizza, half margherita/ half tutto carne. It came out a sloppy mess, with a liquid center with a crust that couldn't hold itself horizontally. It's a common problem with wood fire pizza, you're baking a pizza at extremely high temperatures and this doesn't allow for the dough to bake properly..... unless you're a maestro at it. And these folks ain't. In fact, these folks are a majority of kids. You can look in the back and see the assembly line going on. And for me that's a bad sign....... I lived in Brooklyn for 10 years. I've also traveled multiple times in Italy. In both places they have sublime pizza. You know why it's sublime? Because the people making it love it, and they put their heart and soul into it. Pizzaiolos at Di Fara, L&B Spumoni, Keste, Roberta's, Enzo's (Guys like Enzo Coccia, Dom Demarco, and all the old timers at L&B) handle their pizza everyday. It's their art, their passion, and their soul. There isn't any passion here, and it shows in the lackluster pizza. It's more or less a tasteless affair, with little to differentiate the meat toppings on the tutto carne; and the margherita was a sad sad example of what should be the ultimate pizza. Furthermore, the dough itself must be fermented fast because it has zero depth of flavor. I'm guessing a 4-8 hour ferment. I'd be shocked if it was even overnight. Many of the best pizza places in the world do a minimum 12 hour ferment, places like the aforementioned Di Fara, Robertas, and newer places in NYC such as Pauly G's and the sadly defunct Franny's. To give some credence to my claim, I observed that many diners left much of their crust uneaten. That's a bad sign. To add to my poor dining experience I was told one of the beers on tap wasn't part of the happy hour deal. It is an amazing beer brewed by Parish brewing (Ghost in the Machine), and I really wanted it. But they had it at full price for $9. You can almost buy a 4 pack of it for that price at nearby stores. This is a shameless markup, not to mention a deceptive happy hour deal. Very disappointing. Perhaps chef Shaya might need to take some more trips for "pizza research". Or, better yet, maybe he should get behind that beautiful wood fire oven himself and actually make some of the pizza's instead of employing a group of people who may or may not care passionately about what their making? I don't know exactly what needs to happen here, but there are some serious problems that have to addressed. I have no...

The food is consistently superb. The pizzas are well balanced and delightful in both texture and flavor. The rich sauce, smooth cheese, and various toppings combine into a tasteful experience. The roasted carrots is of particular note. Meatballs and polenta or the garlic knots are among the best I've tasted and make me want to go back for more.

This review would have been five stars were it not for the spotty service.

Earlier this evening we entered the restaurant and asked for a table of 3. There were multiple tables available with about 30 seats among them. The host informed us that it would be a 30 minute wait.

I counted about 22 people at the bar and otherwise not seated at a table so I imagined it would be quick enough. 46 minutes later after watching only two parties of 4 and 2 respectively be seated, we were escorted to our table.

The table had no silverware, no cups, no plates and was next to two tables which had been properly prepared. After about ten minutes a waiter brought us water and three plates. Two were dirty.

When we asked for replacement plates we also ordered our appetizers. The appetizers arrived without plates and we still had no silverware nor did we have napkins which I then requested. The server brought us three forks and we asked for napkins again and ordered our two pizzas.

After waiting for the server to bring napkins and unsuccessfully trying to get his attention I got up, walked to the host stand and after unsuccessfully getting his attention, I walked around and got three napkins and walked back to my table.

Due to the wait for silverware and napkins our pizza was ready well before we finished our appetizers. The waiter then dropped off two pizzas and the two plates we requested without taking the dirty plates. Our table was very cluttered as a result and our water wasn't refilled until after we had completed our meal and after the third attempt to request.

With that said the food was very good and arguably some of the best I've eaten. The meatball was spicy and meaty with the smooth polenta balancing it out perfectly. The doughy garlic knots and sauces were complemented by the trio of dipping sauces.

The pepperoni pizza was ordered with egg and mushroom added. It was excellently prepared and the ingredients were top notch as usual. I had the prosciutto pizza with an egg that was hauntingly good.

Again, the food was great as always, the service was...

I'm not a picky guy. We walked into Pizza Domenica on a Sunday at 5:15pm or so. It was fairly busy but the entrie time we were there several tables remained open. We were told there would be a 45 minute wait for a table. We proceeded to the bar for a cocktail and to look a the menu. There was one lonely spot available so I took it. I asked to try a beer that I hadn't heard of, and the bartender brought me a full pint. Guess I'm committed, hope I like it. My wife and her friend thought lets just order food and bring it back to the house. The bartender made it clear that was a no no for the happy hour special, that fine, I understand. She really had enough of my questions. I figured well let's order and eat there then. At 5:40 we order an app & 2 pizzas. After 15 minutes the app, Bread knots cam out burnt. Tasty but burnt. Oh well, I still enjoyed them. My lady friends found a spot at the bar next to me after a couple people leave. The bartender made a big deal that we cancel our name on the table wait list, I'm sure so she can get the tip vs us taking our food to a table. i watched the couple next to us eat their pizza and the bartender boxed up what they had left. I really had to wave to get a second beer from this gal. Like pulling teeth to get acknowledgment from her now. Roughy 6:40 our pizza shows up after a trip to the hostess stand to find the manager to see if she actually put our food order in. It was pretty darned good pizza. Love the crust. We ate our fill and the bartender asked if we wanted a box she just tossed it on the bar, guess we'll put our own pizza in the box. Bill comes, guess I have to ask if I want the special price on beer too. Overall the pizza and app were good. The service on the other hand needs some help, ok, lots of help. Would I recommend...