PINO — Restaurant in Phoenix

Well this is sad to leave a 1 star review. I have eaten here 4 times in the last 4 months, I told other people to eat here, the veggies and ingredients are good quality.

Now, to preface; I have spent 12 years in hospitality, 2 of those years I was a secret shopper for restaurants, most my experience is in high end resorts like Princess or Phoenician. (Just want you to know that I’m not coming from a place of ignorance)

It’s interesting to see that the manager is one of the most common topics in the reviews of this establishment. The past times I have interacted with the manager, it has been pleasant but this time my steak was over cooked and tough so I brought it to his attention. Instead of apologizing and attempting to correct the issue, this man pulls out his phone and tries showing me what medium cooked steak looks like. I tried to explain that medium is pink throughout with a thin line of red, the steak was barely pink on the outside which is medium well. This is a super easy problem to correct but he chose to argue with me. He continued to argue so I just ignored him till he went away. I should mention, as he was scolding me he THEN offered to take the steak back but I was not certain this man wouldn’t tamper with my food. I couldn’t finish the steak so I set it aside and a bus boy came to retrieve it, I told the buss boy that I wanted it removed from my bill. That triggers the manager to, again, come over and raise his voice at me to the point that other guests were staring at me. He stated “This is my restaurant and I make the rules, not you”. After this interaction I noticed him pacing back and forth glaring at me, he said something in French I think, pointed at my table, then noticed I was looking at him and then yelled from across the restaurant “I wasn’t talking about you” like what the heck is this man’s problem! So, to avoid a more severe interaction with this person, I paid the full bill and even left a 20% tip for the server.

What’s interesting is the staff seem to know that the manager is like this and they were apologizing every chance they got. This seems to be a thing at this establishment, he likes praise but hates any criticism.

I think the owners name is Paco or something… so Paco, if I were to say anything, please hire a trained restaurant manager and manage the restaurant from an office somewhere. Customers pay your establishment, if you treat your staff/patrons like crap, it shows… your food is good quality.

As a point, my average check at Pino is $100 so I have provided $400 to your restaurant. Imagine if you upset 10 customers the way you’ve upset me. Now take this review that will probably be seen by thousands of viewers. See how your behavior affects your restaurant and your staffs pay?

Complete other side note, someone mentioned in other reviews that the booth upholstery cushions showing wear, they need repair… also the table height is not the proper height, the menu needs reorganizing and the patios need to be cleaned prior to the restaurant opening.

Take...

I cannot believe how horribly we were treated at this pizza place in Scottsdale. After hearing good things and seeing the pictures, we decided to give it a try. When we walked in, there were only a few tables seated, and we were greeted by the owner, who seated us. The server seemed uninterested in her job, but we didn’t think much of it at the time. The owner himself came over to take our order. I ordered a small Caesar salad, and he asked if I wanted anchovies. I told him no, as I do not like them. My boyfriend and son sat on the opposite side of the table, and they ordered a pepperoni pizza.

When my salad arrived, it was clear something was wrong. The lettuce was warm and wilted, and the dressing was drenched in what tasted like heavy anchovy oil. I took one bite, and all I could taste was the greasy, fishy flavor of anchovies. I had clearly told the owner I didn’t like anchovies, so at this point, I kindly asked the server to have the salad removed, explaining the issue. She took the salad and walked away.

But then, the owner himself brought the salad back to the table. He slammed it down and said, “You ordered it, you’ll eat it.” I was shocked. I tried to explain again that I had requested no anchovies, and yet he still insisted. At this point, my boyfriend, upset, said, “We’ll pay for the salad and the drinks, but we’re leaving.” The owner responded with, “You will not leave. We already put your pizza in. You’ll pay for the whole order or you won’t leave.”

Again we said we would pay for the drinks and the salad already served, but we still wanted to leave. That’s when the owner looked me straight in the eye and told me, “You can take your salad and shove it up your ass”—right in front of my 3-year-old son and other families in the restaurant. I could not believe what I was hearing. My boyfriend, understandably furious, confronted the owner about speaking like that in front of children, but the owner just kept yelling at us, using profanities, and demanding we leave.

It was incredibly upsetting, not just for us, but for the other patrons in the restaurant, many of whom had children at their tables. We tried to call the non-emergency police, but were told there was nothing they could do. I’ve seen reviews that mention this owner’s nasty behavior, so this clearly isn’t an isolated incident. How can an owner treat people like this, especially in front...

Ok, asking what your favorite pizza is, is like asking what's your favorite beef... so many kinds and styles, how can you pick one? But either always, or at least occasionally, you want classic thin crispy hot-oven crust pizza with fresh flavorful toppings put together to make a pizza that just surprises you with how good it is. When you want that kind of pizza, and if you're in the Scottsdale area, you need to to go Pino. It's not a fine dining place... too many "fine dining pizzerias" out there. it's just a nice, clean, airy pizza and pasta joint - and with a nice bar. Tonight I had their "Falilo" pizza - tomato sauce, mozzarella di bufala, tomato slices, portobello mushrooms, garlic, and parsley. Oh my... first off, the crust was perfect - thin, crisp, just the right amount of char - held up to the sauce and toppings - I'm guessing 00 flour here. I saved some of it to dip in the provided flavored olive oil. Next the flavor and texture: this combo was excellent. The sauce was simple yet robust and smoky and a touch sweet and a touch peppery and just the right consistency. The toppings in this one were very well thought out - the large tomato slices providing most of the "bite", the darkened mushroom pieces, the mozzarella melted across it all - really, really good, tasty, tangy, spicy. Size wise, I ate all of one pizza, but for smaller appetites one could possibly serve two, especially if you're planning on dessert or having a side salad or something. The house overseer tonight was a grandson of the original owners - he really kept the house in order, walking around the tables, checking in on diners, getting staff to up their game a bit. He stopped and asked me about dessert - clever guy, asked what flavor I might like, I said "lemon", and he said okay, I'll surprise you -- and what came out was a classic coppa al limone... round glass ramekin with a bottom layer of sponge cake, topped with ice cream, topped with lemon, and sprinkled with grated pistachio. It was very good and made more so by the icy cold limoncello I ordered with it. SO - next time you want classic thin crispy crust pizza, give Pino a try. Honestly, Pino's is better than many I've tried all across the U.S. If you live in the Scottsdale/Phoenix metro, it's really...