Punch Pizza Grand Avenue — Restaurant in Saint Paul

Reviews are on a scale from 1-5, 1 being inadequate, 5 being exceptional

Ease of use menu: 3 As we entered the restaurant the single menu was far away and too small. It wasn’t until we saw pamphlet located at the cash register that was more user friendly and provided further details on the items on the menu.

Customer service: 4 The lady who took our order was understanding of our lack of experience of the menu and helped make ordering easier. When the food was delivered the employees were very polite and offered us if we needed anything else. Upon leaving we were thanked by an employee which left us with a good taste in our mouths..

How good it was: 4 We got the Bruni and Toto pizzas. The Bruni had Sausage, spiced salami, onion, oregano and the Toto had Prosciutto, arugula, goat cheese, cracked red pepper, garlic. The Bruni was flamboyant, every bite was a satisfying flavor explosion. Unfortunately the middle did seem slightly undercooked but overall a great choice. The Toto had a nice balance to each bite. The Prosciutto and Garlic was not overwhelming and had a nice greeny appearance helped of course by the arugula. The Toto is a pizza for those who are a tad adventurous and are willing to try new flavors. Both crusts had a nice and salty charred tastes to them adding to the depth of each pizza's flavor.

Ease of store: 2.5 The fountain drinks seemed to be placed in a spot which created lots of congestion as it was very close to the cash register. Still not sure if a bathroom is available. The layout of the tables were a bit compact making it difficult to have two people walk down at the same time. When we finished our meal we had leftovers so we went to go find the togo box, which were located at the drinking station and were easy to find. When we went to put our plates away it the trash and dirty plates tray was placed in a logical way making it quick and easy.

Would you go back: Yes, we are excited to go back and try the multiple different types of pizza and see the same customer service as we did before.

Time of day: Thursday 1:00 P.M. Speed of service: 5 Minutes

Finals Thoughts: We would highly recommend this pizza place to those who enjoy diverse flavors. We recommend Punch Neapolitan Pizza who are willing to step out of their comfort zone for a meal and those who are just looking for a pizza to...

Making a great Neapolitan pizza takes a great deal of skill, much more than your typical pizza. The quality and handling of the dough, the quality and quantity of the sauce and toppings and the management of the wood-burning oven need to be spot on or you end up with a sub-par result. While I enjoyed many aspects of my visit to Punch, the quality of the pizzas and focaccia left me disappointed.

Things I liked: The open kitchen allows you to watch your pizza being prepared. I appreciated how the staff promptly cleaned the tables once the diners departed. The dining area was impeccably clean for a busy Friday night. While Punch is a seat yourself establishment, our server provided prompt and attentive service. She promptly delivered our pizzas and checked back in on the quality of our meal. When we had a problem with the focaccia, she immediately served up a replacement. For a large open space slammed with customers on a busy Friday night, I thought the noise level was not too bad. The quality of the cheese and sauce was excellent.

Things I didn't: The heavily salted focaccia we ordered as an appetizer was nearly inedible. As I mentioned earlier, our server quickly delivered us a replacement when we shared our concerns about the level of salt. While the kitchen corrected the salt level, they badly burned the rosemary topping which left the dish with an acrid aftertaste.. As I mentioned in the intro, the rugala pizza was a letdown compared to other Neapolitan pizzas I recently consumed. I know the crust in the center of this style of pizza is going to be softer than American-style pizza, but bottom of the crust was undercooked, giving it a doughy taste. Placing the arugula underneath prosciutto contributed to a sogginess of the center of the pizza and made the greens mushy as they steamed under the blanket of meat. The crust also would have benefited from a little more char along the edge of the pizza.

While the disappointing quality of the pizza and focaccia won't have me rushing back, the wonderful customer service may draw a return visit on a future trip to the...

I had the Margherita and the artichoke dip and was grossly dissapointed with nearly every aspect of both.

The pizza crust served with the dip held so much dried rosemary that it was barely edible. the upside to this was that it masked the horrid flavor of the dip itself. the consistency of the dip, combined with the flimsy nature of the crust made it impossible to actually dip, while the unnecessarily large chunks of artichoke made it impractical to spread. overall I would describe this dish as a failure.

The service was friendly and prompt, as it should be on a Monday night. The apetizer was delivered quite shortly after I was seated, with the "pizza" following less than a minute later. So much for enjoying one before the other.

The "pizza" was horrid. there are no other words to describe it. While they advertise San marzano tomatoes, I refuse to believe that this bastardization of the term sauce could result from such a product. What the sauce lacked in quantity, it made up for in overabundance of wretched flavor. What appeared to be a complete lack of seasoning left it simultaneously bitter and sour, two words that should not be used to describe pizza. The crust was undercooked, it was so soggy in the middle that it literally fell apart every time a slice was picked up. What they claimed was fresh mozzarella was anything but. It was your typical garden variety shredded mozzarella combo, most likely provided by Sysco.

Take my advice, don't eat here. You would honestly have a better experience at Pizza Hut, at least they don't lie to their customers about the quality of...