Pizza Palermo (Shadyside) — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

This place is absolutely terrible. They can't even take an order for a sandwich correctly and don't even have the humility to make it right once it is brought to their attention - which I believe is the worst part. I've honestly tried to give them benefit of the doubt- but at this point, I'm convinced that they truly do not care about the customer experience or quality of food. I've ordered on multiple occasions, i.e. when it is busy, empty, late night, etc. And every time in go in there, I have trouble with getting my sandwich ordered correctly - which is their Smoked Turkey Deluxe without any bacon or provolone. When I visited the store yesterday, I ordered the same sandwich those modifications. Upon returning home, I noticed that there was cheese on the sandwich. First, I called back and the person at the counter tried to tell me that I didn't ask for the cheese to be removed. I maintained that I didn't because I'm lactose intolerant!! The person offered to make the sandwich again, which I agreed to. So, one could only imagine my dismay when I returned home and found that there was still cheese on the sandwich despite emphasizing no cheese when I called. At this point, I decided to chalk it up to a loss for both parties- me wasting the money on a sandwich and them with never seeing my business again. Because of this experience, I will be sure discourage my friends, colleagues, classmates, and neighbors from visiting this establishment because their practices are unacceptable. Again, try to give them the benefit of the doubt because I do believe in supporting local businesses - however, there needs to be some...

Atmosphere: Pizza parlor dining room with some TVs playing Internet channels (Fail Army) or local broadcasting stations (local news) as staff work behind the ordering counter

Cost: My Smoked Turkey "Deluxe" Hoagie used to cost $10.99 pre-tax (looking at my menu from yesteryear), but with fries I recall paying closer to $16+ this time around

Service: The girl at the counter was nice, friendly, and even apologetic when I incorrectly insisted my deluxe hoagie got swapped with someone's basic (though that shockingly wasn't the case)

Experience: I came here because I recalled having a delicious smoked turkey deluxe hoagie (I remember multiple layers of shredded, smoked turkey), but I ended up getting something that looked like a basic hoagie with less meat on it than an elementary school kid's Lunchables snack (exactly three thin slices of non-smoked turkey on each half). There were about 4-5 shriveled pepper rings on each half and I realized I could have had a better experience buying a custom-ordered sandwich from the nearby Giant Eagle for half the price, or even from the almost-mediocre Subway next door. Probably the only saving grace was the gratuitous amount of fries I received, but the sandwich killed my mood too much to really enjoy them (they were alright, though).

I wanted to write a review praising their smoked turkey deluxe sandwich as the best thing they offer, but apparently I've either confused my memories with another place or the Pizza Palermo I've been to no longer exists. And it certainly doesn't help that the store's prices have inflated over the past...

Palermo... it works. If you've got a hankering for a late-night pizza, Palermo's is a sure-fire plan B - just make sure to eat it quick while it's hot. Starting on the right foot, our delivery time was commendable. We had an estimated arrival time of 40 minutes, but the pizza arrived at our door within 30 minutes. Our pizza was also a great temperature - not too hot, not too cold... that kind of thing. We were also happy with the amount of topping options. However, none of the above is truly applaudable (or arguably notable) when you realize that under an hour delivery time, warm temperature and topping options are common practice in the pizza business. The toppings were also, in our opinion, overpriced. Grossly overpriced for the overall quality of the pizza. The ingredients were sub-par (bar the bacon... that was decently prepared.) For some reason, the core ingredients did not blend well together whatsoever nor did they have any special or desirable individuality. They were all bland yet they all stuck out. The crust was chewy and sweet in a way that reminded me of the pizzas at my public high school - quick and unplanned. The cheese was clumpy and (also) chewy with a sweaty, though moderately enjoyable saltiness... And, the Sauce, the sweet, sweet sauce... was definitely more of a paste. With all of that said though, it does the job and this is just my own humble...