Saybrook Pizza & Restaurant — Restaurant in Old Saybrook

I used to like to boast that there were no bad Italian restaurants in Saybrook, but our recent experience with Saybrook Pizza has me rethinking this.

All told, 1 item out of 6 panned out for us on a $70 order. You can throw a rock from the Saybrook Pizza parking lot and hit at least three much better Italian restaurants... my advice would be to try any of those before coming here.

The service was quick and everyone was very nice, but man the food was just disappointing from appetizer to dessert. Of all the food we ordered, only one dish wasn't a total disappointment. Here were the major issues:

The walnut & cranberry salad sounded like a great start, but was missing half the items. No olives, no tomatoes, no cucumbers... do the chefs not read their own menu? We had added crispy chicken to add some kick, but the breading on the chicken was flavorless and was so soggy it had mostly fallen off into the salad before we could even serve it.

The eggplant parm grinder was the biggest disappointment. While the bread was great, the eggplant just wasn't fresh and was inedible. It seemed like the cook opted to try to cover this up by smothering the whole sandwich in a giant pile of cheese. The whole thing ended up being a soggy, sloppy, off-tasting mess and went straight into the trash.

The garlic knot order was only half the size we paid for, and the knots themselves were way overcooked and almost too hard to bite into. The chef's solution here was apparently to try to drench them in enough butter to cover this up, and even as I type this my fingers are still slick from the massive overdose of butter.

The pizza itself was not half bad if you don't mind greasy pizza (as in two paper towels per slice to mop up the grease), and if we were just having pizza I'd probably give the restaurant a solid 3 stars.

Also the pasta dish was good but it was literally just butter pasta... thank goodness they got "how to boil...

Tonight, I found myself in Connecticut for the first time. I headed over to Saybrook Pizza based on the reviews. As I walked up, there was a lone gentleman sitting out on the patio wearing a chef's coat. He opened with "picking up?" and I countered with "Thinking about ordering". I asked if it was his place and he said it was. I mentioned the reviews and he said he'd been making pizza for 30 years.

I ordered a small pep and sausage.... well done. He introduced himself as Oki and said his family had a number of restaurants. I sat outside waiting for the pie.... Unsolicited.... He brought out some bread twists with olive oil, parmesan and homemade marinara for me while I waited. It was amazing. Finally, I got the pie and rolled out. It was great. Friendly staff, family owned and Oki went out of his way to answer questions about a bad allergy I have. Great place, great atmosphere and the food...

We stay in the area every summer but this was our first time at Saybrook Pizza. We wanted Italian for dinner and didn't know what to expect but the 4.8 stars on Google was persuasive. The inside was not at all what we expected. It's small and really has the vibe of a place that's strictly takeout. But we were welcomed and treated kindly. Our meals came with garlic knots and side salads. The garlic knots were incredible. They're as light as air. The perfect combination of crisp and chewy. The fresh garlic, oil, and Parmesan kept them light and so flavorful. We ended up ordering a second bowl to enjoy with our entrees. The side salads were the perfect size with fresh ingredients (not just Romain or iceberg) and a great house Italian dressing. The stuffed shells and penne Bolognese were excellent. And the garlic knots were even better the second time around, dipped in sauce! This place is a true gem and should not...