TL;DR: We visited Julianna's with family from Italy and were quite embarrassed by the experience. Despite the packed restaurant, we were seated quickly, but the waiter was rude and unwelcoming. We were rushed to place our order and then ignored for the rest of the meal. After being bluntly told "kitchen's closed" when we tried to order coffee, we noticed the waiter and host discussing us and rolling their eyes. Even the owner, Patsy Grimaldi, witnessed our uncomfortable experience from a nearby table and said nothing. As NYC establishment owners ourselves, we were shocked by the poor treatment and will not be returning. There are plenty of other coal-fired pizza places in Brooklyn and Manhattan that would appreciate their guests—namely, right next door 👀.

The Full Saga: We visited Julianna's with family visiting from Italy on Monday evening (four of us total) and left feeling embarrassed. Despite the packed restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised to be told we could be seated in 10 minutes. We waited, happy to get a seat so quickly. Once seated, the waiter approached to take our order without introducing himself and seemed annoyed, as if we were inconveniencing him. We were hosting family and trying to keep the vibes very lively, so I personally chose to ignore his attitude.

We ordered a few pies and some other items right when he dropped off drinks. Right in the middle of our order, the waiter abruptly told us, "You need to get your order in within 4 minutes; we are closing." This was surprising since every single table was still full and the host hadn’t mentioned anything about closing soon. We definitely would have gone somewhere else and come back another time. Nevertheless, we were already there with drinks, so we hurried and finished placing our order.

Throughout our meal, the waiter never checked on us. After finishing, we got his attention to order coffee. He bluntly told us, "Kitchen's closed." Just like that. We pointed out that 3/4 of the restaurant was still occupied and we had only been there for 30 minutes. We inquired how the kitchen being closed affects coffee. He curtly replied, "I warned you when you ordered dinner that you only had 4 minutes." Warned? Okay. Moving on, we took the check as this was no longer where we wanted to be. I then noticed our waiter talking to the host, clearly discussing us while looking at our table and rolling their eyes! It really was a bizarre experience. Maybe if I were reading a review like this, I would question what the party did to warrant what happened, if they were being entitled, loud, rude, etc. But we did nothing wrong (take my word for it, LOL). But really, we came in happy and excited to eat and show our family a good time.

We felt so embarrassed for choosing Julianna's to take our visiting family, and it really put a damper on the evening. The craziest part was that the owner, Patsy Grimaldi, was sitting at a corner table directly next to us with dark sunglasses on and witnessed our experience from start to finish, yet never said a word. There is no way he didn't see how uncomfortable we felt after each encounter. I'm just so surprised and disappointed at these standards. As owners of two busy establishments in NYC, my husband and I couldn't imagine ourselves or our staff making guests feel so unwelcome. There are many other coal-fired pizza restaurants that would be proud and grateful a guest chose them over the dozens of other options. Thus, we won't be returning to Julianna's and will be advising our friends and customers to join us elsewhere.