Peri Brothers Pizza & Modern Italian — Restaurant in Raleigh

The wife and I wanted a little different experience this last weekend. We are serious pizza/Italian food lovers and were looking for something to sink our teeth in to. We arrived at Peri Brothers and while I we were making our selections on food and beverages this little puff of a person rushed up next to me, bent over sideways and recommended a certain beer/ale and then zoomed off.... Odd. as I have never needed help ordering my own beer before. We ordered the New York style pizza with 1/2 anchovies. I am not sure what I expected but since they boast " NY style pizza" we figured it had to be good. I also asked about a big ole antipasto salad! I was told this was huge, we would be full and was delishh!! We were brought a couple of slices that were not ours, a salad that was apologizing to us before it got there due to its portion size and in a stale bread bowl that was 2 inches high and maybe 10 inches around ( ish) . Our pizza arrived and after the 3rd plea we got plates . I kid you not , when I lifted the first slice up it went totally limp and was like a piece of paper. The toppings included a little sauce and not even enough cheese to not be able to see all the sauce. The other side had 1 or 2 bitty pieces of anchovies on them. OK, so I had 4 bites of salad and the wife had 2, the bowl was empty. We were dealing with the pizza as best we could but not real happy and then the same little puff of a person appeared at our table and asked " How is everything?"... I asked if she was the manager? She says no " I am the owner".. I proceeded to tell her the above mentioned comments of her food in a low voice, no curse words and pretty much monitone. I then stated that if we were comparing a $ for $ value, little ceasars is a far better value. She said " Do not compare me with little Czers!" I said " I didn't, I said I would give them a far greater $ for dollar value" She then told us to " leave her establishment" I refused as we did pay for our food, were sitting there eating said "food" and I did not seek her out to complain yet answered her questions when she came to me ( obviously for positive feed back) She ranted and raved a bit then made a big show of going to call the cops. Her husband ( very stand up guy and their son, our server a nice kid with whom we had been joking with 15 minutes prior) came to talk to us..All was good, she is a bit over the top and we were told we could come back anytime that she was not there. Our remaining pizza was boxed up and brought home but it was thrown in the trash after I got up for a midnight feed and it was still too limp and actually almost did a reverse curl when I picked it up. I was told I would be refunded which I have not ( I did say that it was not what I desired as we were eating it and didn't seek anyone out to complain) Longggg story sort..I do not recommend this place unless you are willing or able to tell her to her face how awesome her food is whether you agree or not. Shame I couldn't give less than 1 star. The husband and son were nice though and are not to blame for...

Most of the food I ordered was very good. I ordered the salad in a bread bowl and was brought a small salad in a plate. It was $8.99. I told the server that it should come in a bread bowl & he replied it doesn't come like that. I explained that I would have never ordered a side salad for that price. He said he'd send the manager over . He never came. After dinner, we received the bill. I had a separate bill from the rest of my group (6 all together). The salad was still on the bill. I went up to talk to the manager, and he said their was nothing he could do because he hadn't served the salad in a bread bowl in more than a year. I said, "1st of all, I am a new resident in the state, and secondly, it was on the menu." He checked the menu & said it was not supposed to be there. I said that I feel at the very least I should receive a discount as it was not my fault that his menu was in error, and when I ordered it, the server did not tell me. I felt that for this reason, it should have been removed from the bill as a courtesy. Then I negotiated and said well $5 was fair, as I did eat it" He said he couldn't do that. My daughter then came up to the counter and said to me that we weren't coming here again. He stepped away & then came back, apologized, and said he can't take $3 off, but he will give me a free dessert to go. I agreed and chose a $7.99 cheesecake. Still don't understand the logic, but at least I somehow I felt compensated, although I really did not want the cake. The food was pretty good, I ordered the upside down square. Their claim to fame is that they have NY pizza. When inquiring where in NY, the waiter said Buffalo, although there was a Brooklyn sign, which led me to believe the food was going to be great. They also put Queens next to the upside down pizza, which is most famous in Brooklyn as in L & B pizzeria/ Spumoni gardens. I guess Buffalo is in the state of NY, but I truly have never heard anyone in the 5 boroughs say, 'Hey, did you ever go upstate to Buffalo and have that delicious pizza'. I must say that the round pizza was pretty close to Brooklyn tasting pizza. The 'upside down' square pie wasn't as good although its price was extreme. Lastly, it was hot and not a restaurant atmosphere, just a eat in pizza shop. Our entire bill, with the separate check, came out to about $150., so going back to the original salad problem, the manager (owner) should have taken it off the bill. I will not be returning, considering I drove pretty far...

As a hairstylist with my salon suite, Little Shop of Hairdos, at Phenix Salon Suites, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the opening of the restaurant side of this establishment. I’m a frequent visitor to their pizza side and have watched the restaurant’s progress with growing excitement. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait!

The food was spectacular, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere struck a perfect balance — fancy yet casual, with a fine-dining vibe and a great bar experience. My husband and I started with the Meatballs and Ciabatta (San Marzano, Parmigiano Reggiano), which were tender, flavorful, and paired with an incredible marinara sauce. My husband declared them “some of the best meatballs I’ve ever had.”

For our mains, my husband ordered the Chicken Parmigiana (spaghetti, tomato sugo, bufala mozzarella), which was crispy on the outside, juicy inside, topped with a delicious cheese and homemade marinara. He said it beats Olive Garden any day — a huge compliment for a small business Italian restaurant! Raleigh desperately needed a place like this and now we have it. I had the Vongole (capellini, clams, garlic crumbs, wine cream), and it was divine — perfectly portioned, flavorful without being too rich, with clams cooked to perfection.

Our sides were equally impressive. The Brussels Sprouts (colatura gastrique, guanciale) were a standout, with guanciale and a balsamic-like sauce that was to die for. The Roasted Broccolini (white wine, Calabrian chiles) had just the right kick — not too spicy, but full of flavor. Next time, we’re trying the Crispy Potatoes (pecorino, rosemary, +3 truffle add-on) because they sound amazing!

For dessert, we enjoyed a layered chocolate cake with a rich, ganache-like texture.

We also ordered hand-battered chicken tenders and buttered noodles with Parmesan for our two-year-old. He devoured the tenders (which were delicious — I snuck a bite!), and even ate the in-house made noodles, which he usually refuses.

We’re already planning our next visit to try the Seared Salmon (broccolini, confit tomato, lemon butter) and Branzino (orzo risotto, sundried tomato, caramelized fennel), while my husband is eyeing the Lasagna (béchamel, ricotta, pork and beef, tomato sugo). This place is our new date night spot, and we’ll be back...