Piattino: A Neighborhood Bistro — Restaurant in Newark

If you’re ever stuck at the airport and feel like punishing yourself before a flight, Piattino is here to make that dream a reality.

Let’s talk about the pizza first. Imagine a chef who took “wood-fired” a little too seriously—our pizza arrived with a beautifully charred crust, so expertly burned that they thoughtfully pre-cut off the worst parts. How kind! The flavor? Oh, it simply wasn’t there. Bland, uninspired, and somehow managing to taste like nothing. A true feat of culinary emptiness.

Now, let’s move on to service. Asked for water for my kid—never got it. Asked for silverware for three people—apparently, Piattino believes in a hands-on dining experience. Ordered a Stella, and what arrived was a flat, lifeless drink, much like the enthusiasm of the staff.

But here’s the best part: A quick scroll through Google reviews shows years of confidently bad ratings, with management copy-pasting the same robotic “We will address this” response. And yet, here we are, still experiencing the same legendary incompetence.

If you’re ever stuck at the airport and feel like punishing yourself before a flight, Piattino is here to make that dream a reality.

Let’s talk about the pizza first. Imagine a chef who took “wood-fired” a little too seriously—our pizza arrived with a beautifully charred crust, so expertly burned that they thoughtfully pre-cut off the worst parts. How kind! The flavor? Oh, it simply wasn’t there. Bland, uninspired, and somehow managing to taste like nothing. A true feat of culinary emptiness. And the best part? No basil. Despite other diners getting basil on their Margherita pizzas (as confirmed by both nearby tables and past reviews), ours arrived as a sauce-and-cheese-only special. Maybe basil is an exclusive ingredient here.

Now, let’s move on to service. Asked for water for my kid—never got it. Asked for silverware for three people—apparently, Piattino believes in a hands-on dining experience. Oh, and plates? Not a single one. No sharing plates, no personal plates, just vibes and napkins. Ordered a Stella, and what arrived was a flat, lifeless drink, much like the enthusiasm of the staff.

But here’s the best part: A quick scroll through Google reviews shows years of confidently bad ratings, with management copy-pasting the same robotic “We will address this” response. And yet, here we are, still experiencing the same legendary incompetence.

Final thoughts? If you enjoy flavorless food, nonexistent service, and the thrill of wondering just how bad an airport restaurant can get, Piattino is the place for you. Otherwise, do yourself a favor—hit up the vending machine. It’ll be a better meal, and at least you won’t have to beg...

I've eaten here before and food was hit or miss. But this is not about the food. The customer service was the lowlight. This visit frustrated me the most as all I wanted was a pizza and a beer before my long flight across the pond. 50 minutes before their posted closing time, I asked to be seated near a power source however was told by the manager/supervisor to sit at the crowded bar in which I would have no shoulder room and no power source as the nearest one was 3 seats away and not enough room to eat a pizza for sure. Whilst the center counter portion of the restaurant was available, not closed off and still occupied by a patron who is still eating. I asked another staff member if I can sit there and it was ok. A few moments later I was rudely told be the supervisor/manager to move to the bar and that I am not allowed to sit at the center counter. I was not allowed to have a takeout order for the pizza either. I was discouraged and decided not to spend any money and ended up eating a sandwich across the walkway. I was disappointed. I happen to observe the supervisor/manager (not on purpose, only because I had a view from where i was eating my food) She kept looking at her phone and watch most of the time or was away from the bistro. It was as if she wanted to leave and had no interest in taking in customers as she turned away several parties and accepted single customers. Granted this is an hour before closing time, but it is a disservice to the passengers who have late flights, if you cannot service these passengers especially at a peak observed time, the bistro shouldn't occupy that space. I've worked in the restaurant environment before and know it is hard to find good workers, but I do hope there is corrective action for future patrons so their EWR experience and Piattino experience is better than mine this evening. Date of...

I'm not unrealistic when it comes to aiport restaurants, I go in with low expectations and expect them to not even reach that level. The thing with Piattino is that the food was reasonably okay. The roasted beet salad was actually something that would pass at a non-airport establishment. The chicken parmigiana was okay. The sauce was obviously a packaged marinara, but that's what you would expect, and it was cooked well.

But the service- Boy was it unacceptable. Once seated, our server took our drink order relatively quickly, but it fell off a cliff entirely from there. We had to wave him down several times to get a food order in, and when we did he forgot what one of us ordered. The water we asked for never showed up. Once finished, our plates sat empty in front of us for a long time even though he walked by multiple times. Notably, EVERY table around us left and the plates were piled up on all the tables while we sat there. Another employee (a manager, potentially) noticed the unaccounted for dishes and though she started to ensure it got cleaned, she openly chastised the server which just added to the negative atmosphere. We had to basically wave our napkin like a flag to get the bill so we could end the experience. A true 0-star service experience. Thank god we had arrived plenty early for our flight, but I can't imagine how stressful would be to dine here if you were on a...