Pizzeria Davide — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

"And they even forgot the ranch"

I am aware of the phenomenon describing the higher likelihood of an individual to share a negative experience as compared to a positive one. I look back at all of the pizzerias I have ordered from and enjoyed, gone about the rest of the night and the next day looked forward to the leftovers sitting in the fridge, and wonder why I was not compelled to speak positively of my experiences. I am remiss that only a negative experience brings me to the platform that is Google reviews, but after the disappointment of this Sunday "pizza and wing night" I feel this is the only option.

Pictures posted proffer delicious pizza, but our reality tonight leaves me pessimistic about the state of pies in Pittsburgh. Our order consisted of a plain cheese pizza, a small order of buffalo wings, and mozzarella sticks with a side of garlic aioli and marinara sauce. The sauces were fine, and the mozzarella sticks were familiar, no different than those that you would find anywhere else. Unfortunately, this mediocrity was the high point of our meal. Upon opening the white cardboard box proudly announcing "Pizzeria Davide," we were greeted by lifeless mozzarella cheese melted on an unremarkable plate of dough, hiding a red sauce trying to shine through, almost as if this was the last hope for redeeming the meal. Upon grabbing a room temperature slice from the box and bringing it to my mouth I was greeted by an aggressively average pizza. The spattering of dried herbs sprinkled over the top proved to be little more than decorative, and the only redeeming quality was the layer of parmesan cheese that seemed to have been thrown onto the pizza as an afterthought, existing as a separate part rather than an integrated component. Finally, the wings. As the first thing we saw, they didn't leave us optimistic for the meal. The purported buffalo wings were black, sitting in a pool of orange-tinged oil. While blackened wings are not necessarily bad, burnt wings are, and any buffalo flavor that may have existed was masked. When opening a box of buffalo wings, one is normally greeted by the sharp aroma of the sauce and upon taking the first bite challenged by the spicy, saucy flavor. They were soft, greasy and, upon reaching for a dip of ranch, we were disappointed to find this part of order missing - rounding off an all-around disappointing meal.

I will caveat this review by saying we ordered delivery and some issues may not be the fault of the restaurant. We may have had an altogether different experience if dining in person, but in a city where there are countless options to get an outstanding slice of pizza, I don't see myself trying Pizzeria...

This going to sound super strange, but even though they have never actually made my order right any time I've been there, I still rated them five stars. That should speak to how much I like them. To their credit, our orders are usually super strange; like five weird toppings on one side, and five completely different super odd toppings on the other. They've never accidentally put meat on my side, as I'm vegetarian, and that might actually be part of the confusion, because the other side will usually have some type of meat. So maybe they are just being ultra careful. We also tend to order the seitan wings, so again, it may just be consistent with what they assume is a veggie order.

They are also always nice and polite when I call back and say something; which I have only done if they completely neglected part of my order, which does happen occasionally. They also refund me immediately for those mistakes.

That said, I think the pizza is amazing. We always get the NY Style, so I can't speak to the other types, and while no one will mistake it for authentic NYC pizza, it's really good. The suace is rich, lots of cheese, and the topping variety is extensive. Everyone should be able to find something they like. They even have Lebanon Bologna, which makes my Lancaster County born husband really happy.

Even the house salad is excellent, if you're into that type of thing. It has chickpeas, roasted red peppers, and olives; definitely a cut above your standard pizza place salad. I never use their dressing though, I use my own, so I'm not sure how it tastes. It actually reminds me of the salad at Girasole on Walnut, for a quarter of the price.

Overall, I really have been so happy with everything we've ordered. I recommend checking them out if you're near the Strip. I've never actually eaten in, as I live right around the corner, but it has a cute outdoor seating area, with alcohol if that's your thing, so it's perfect for a summer dinner with the kids or with friends. Definitely a gem in the...

Ordered a 16" NY style pizza and a Deluxe Steak Hoagie tonight.

Ordered directly at the window and the wait was around 15-20 minutes as promised but something to note is that when they turned the tablet around at payment, it had a 20% tip option already selected which I thought was pretty shady considering it was not mentioned at all. I tipped either way as I was planning to but I didn't like the feeling of being pressured into it.

Pizza was hard to judge on taste since the entire pizza had so much oregano on it. It was almost as if somebody grabbed a whole handful and just tossed it at the pie- very overpowering and not really even spread out around the pie at all. Dough was decent and cooked all the way through. My personal taste I would've cooked the pie a little bit longer and added just a little bit more cheese but definitely not undercooked. For as many positive things I've heard about the pizza leading up to today I was pretty let down. I'll probably try again in the near future to give it a second chance but I'm nervous that I've already gotten my answer on the quality here.

The Deluxe Steak Hoagie was pretty solid. Good amount of meat and good bread. Pepper relish mayo was a bit spicier than I expected but tasty nonetheless. Hard to compare to a real Philly Cheesesteak but I would say it might be the closest to it that I've had in Pittsburgh.

Pizza - 2/5 Deluxe Steak...