Bella Roma Pizza — Restaurant in Raleigh

If you’re wondering about the new Uzbek part of this restaurant’s menu, my suggestion is to order a pizza instead. The four of us visited recently and ordered most of the items from pages one and two, and were sorely disappointed. We love Uzbek food and having had ample opportunities to eat it during our visits to Uzbekistan, we were very excited to learn about a new offering from 3 Olives right here in Raleigh. However, our experience was disappointing. Plov, the heart and pride of Uzbek cuisine, was sorely lacking. The rice was severely undercooked as to render it half raw. The few pieces of meat on top of the lack luster pile of rice were OK, but the rest of it was quite awful. Manty, another signature dish, were cooked with dough too thin and too tender, resembling ravioli, and had more onions than beef in them, and yet failing to mask the strange flavor of beef. Samsa, on the contrary, had a relatively decent shell, and poor quality filling that tasted exactly like the Manty. Dip served with samsa tasted like Mexican salsa from a jar. Borscht was truly poor, with the same strange unfresh flavor like the Manty and the Samsa. Overall, every single dish we ordered that contained beef had that unpleasant taste, making us think the beef used in all these dishes was of poor quality. Lamb chops were reasonable, however for the price, we expected sides that are more inspired. The same undercooked rice like in Plov rendered the dish inedible. Similar fate had befallen the Salmon kebab which was OK in itself but contained equally terrible undercooked rice. Even the tea wasn’t served right and came with a cup instead of a traditional drinking bowl. All in all, over $150 worth of food, and the only dish that left a positive impression was house roasted potatoes. So disappointed. We so wanted to love this place. Very poor quality, repetitive, musically offensive Russian pop blaring through the speakers like a hammer driving nails into one’s skull didn’t add to the atmosphere and completed the poor impression the food gave us. While we enjoyed attentive and kind service and admired the cleanliness of this establishment, the food left us with such a poor impression, we are sure to never come back. Please, do not judge Uzbek food by...

Review of 3 Olives – A Masterclass in Mediocrity and Misdirected Arrogance

Our family of four recently placed an order with 3 Olives in hopes of enjoying a casual sub night. What we received instead was a deeply disappointing experience that showcased not only a complete lack of culinary quality but also an alarming disregard for basic customer service.

Buffalo Chicken Sub: Dry would be a generous description. There was virtually no sauce, the bread was so over-toasted it bordered on inedible, and the sandwich itself was pathetically flat with a measly amount of chicken. It was more bread than substance — and not good bread at that.

Italian Sub: Flavorless and forgettable. There was no oil, no vinegar, no seasoning — just a bland heap of lettuce. Even basic condiments like mayonnaise were absent. Once again, the bread was over-toasted to the point of distraction. It was essentially a salad trapped in a tanning bed.

Philly Cheesesteak: A sandwich that managed to insult the very concept of a cheesesteak. Tasteless, dry, and entirely devoid of any richness or seasoning. If there was cheese, it was hiding in shame.

We attempted to address these concerns in good faith by contacting the restaurant directly. Unfortunately, Manager Shawn responded with the type of dismissive tone that makes you wonder if the company trains its staff in customer deflection rather than satisfaction. There was no empathy, no accountability — just a robotic “No refund,” followed by the suggestion that we should physically return the food ourselves after it had already been delivered.

Despite providing photographic evidence of the subpar meals, we were told they were made “correctly,” as if that somehow excused the utter lack of quality. The tone on the phone came off as light and almost mocking — not the demeanor of a team that values its customers.

In short, 3 Olives managed to underdeliver on food, service, and basic professionalism. If you're hungry and hoping for even a decent sandwich, look elsewhere. If you enjoy being insulted while paying for substandard food, then by all means,...

This review is for the Raleigh location. I just finished my first meal from 3 Olives and I have to say I was happily surprised. We’re new to the area and from NEPA where their is a Mom and pop pizza place on every corner. Most if not all of the chain places go out of business because they can’t compete. This place reminds me of PA. I ordered a sampler of pizza, Stromboli, Italian sub, and Chix Parm Sub.

Pizza was awesome. Tasted homemade; dough, sauce, cheese, and toppings were delicious. 9/10

Stromboli was awesome. Marinara for dipping is on point. Only complaint here is what often happens with stromboli the ends are pretty bare of meat and cheese. As a child they were my favorite because I was picky. As an adult, I expect the dough ends, but spread the meat out a little better and cut smaller steam slits. You’ll thank me later. 9/10

Italian sub was very good. True to form with the meats; ham, salami, and pepperoni. Recommend you add a few extra slices of each meat to make it mom and pop versus Subway, Jersey Mike’s, etc. People should brag they barely finished a small (trust me it will only cost 25-50 cents more and people will brag about your subs). 8/10

Chicken Parm Sub was good. I actually prefer when they’re made with food distributor chix tenders. The marinara is great and it’s topped with provolone. Recommend you add one more tender for value. Nothing I’d call Home about, but would order again without hesitation. 7/10

Written by a former Grotto Pizza cook for any Yankees familiar...