Jay Luigi — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

We ordered the Ciccio House Salad, Cannellini, Queen Margherita, Stella, and the Impossible Meatballs online for a quick Sunday dinner. I'd like to start with the negative part of my experience, and finish on a positive note. I waited in line to go to the register to ask for my pickup order. The people ahead of me were a bit slow at ordering, and the young man at the counter needed help to designate an order to-go instead of dine-in and needed a manager/owner to help. It was nice to hear that the presumed manager/owner said they will fix that issue so no assistance to change an order from dine-in to to-go would be needed in the future.

While standing in line waiting to pickup my order the woman behind me was greeted and asked about her pickup order. I was not greeted or engaged at all by any of the staff to see if I was there to pickup an order, or still needed to order throughout the time I was in line. While waiting for the people in front of me to finish ordering another person walked in and a server greeted her. I was able to overhear that pickup orders could be picked up from the shelf on the wall. I then went to the wall and picked up my food that was not held at any temperature (hot food hot, cold food cold) and took my order home. My two pizzas were warm, not really hot. My cold salad was at the bottom of a paper bag with two initially hot dishes so it was not as cold as it should have been, and my hot dishes weren't as hot as they should've been. To paint a clear picture, I arrived at the time that my order was estimated to be ready so my order still should've been hot/cold, and I only live 3 minutes down the road.

On to the dishes. The Queen Margherita was good, I don't think I would order it again though. The crust was good, the sauce and cheese were okay, and the basil was chintzy. The Stella pizza was the same pizza as the Queen Margherita, but had thicker, chewy crust, with char on it. I preferred the charred part of the crust.

The Ciccio salad, despite not being very cold did still have crunch and lots of flavor. The vinaigrette was zesty and acidic, and the celery added a nice crunch. The Cannellini dish was seasoned well, the beans were not overcooked, and the cauliflower was a nice base for the medley. The Impossible Meatballs we're flavorful, not too dense or dry at all, and the sauce could be a dish itself with some crusty bread.

Despite the negatives of my first time visit I would go back to Jay Luigi's to explore more of the menu because the food that was good, was...

Fantastic Management and Customer Service!! Put Uber Eats customer service to shame! Here’s how Jay Luigi St Pete won a customer (and all my friends too) for life: I placed a big order via Uber Eats and I saw the order payment process successfully. The order was accepted and I set my phone down beside me on the couch. It was unlocked and the app was still open. I sat on my phone and I picked it up and locked it. No ding notifications alerted me to a change in the status of the delivery. When the order didn’t arrive, I opened my phone and saw that the order was cancelled, by me! I was baffled and very upset because we spent $85 and I got charged for it. The worst part was that we were eagerly awaiting our delicious food. It took me a minute to grasp what had happened. I guess my hand or my leg hit the cancellation button when I sat on my phone??? Imagine that. It was a crazy thing to happen. I immediately reached out to Uber Eats Customer chatbot. No help whatsoever. I escalated to a human. They simply regurgitated their cancellation policy and essentially told me “sucks being you”. I was out $85 and was hungry for the food I thought was on the way. My husband suggested calling the restaurant directly. I told my story to a nice guy who let me speak to Pandora, the Manager. She understood the situation and was incredibly kind! She was just as shocked as I was about Uber Eats refusal to help fix it. I wasn’t asking for my money back. I wanted to correct the accidental cancellation and get the food. Pandora offered me a credit and allowed me to place the order all over again. I drove over to pick it up. I applaud her top-notch service skills and kindness. The restaurant has won my loyalty “for life”. I will be sharing my story with friends, neighbors, and family. They will become customers as well. Uber, on the other hand, has lost my and my family’s business. They don’t care about the happiness of their customers or reputation with their affiliates. Thank you, Pandora at Jay Luigi’s!! You are excellent. The meal...

Being new to the area coming from New York City I was in search of ofcourse, the best Italian food. This review deserved a lot of attention and so does this great restaurant, Jay Luigi. One of, if not, The Top Italian Restaurant in St. Petersburg. Sitting on 4th St N, Jay Luigi offers authentic Italian cuisine; using natural ingredients down from the Pizza's starch down to the dessert.

Jay, Co-Owner, comes from an extensive background of creating restaurants that still sit today in the heart of West Village in New York City to Westhampton Beach in Long island, amongst other beautiful restaurants. Jay has competed in food competitions and has been Creative Director of many restaurants, but the team he also has surrounding the restaurant including his partner Chef, Luigi; they have created something truly special in this emerging city of Saint Petersburg. Sitting down in the restaurant you feel comfortable and welcome, the food is why you come here. Some natural ingredients Including the starch, are imported from the homeland, Italy. The pizza is authentic Roman and Napoleon style, and the pizza talks for itself. The dough is airy and fluffy with the thinnest crust on the bottom of it creating that crisp crunch (how pizza is meant to). The top layer of the pizza can have your jaw dropped. The food is intentional with its special natural ingredients, you can feel it and especially taste it. Fried Artichokes, a natural staple of original peasant food of ancient Italians was phenomenal and crispy. Dessert: Limoncello Cake; phenomenal. The lemon taste kicks you in the taste buds immediately with its density but softness at the same time is enjoyable. Whether it's Jay Luigi, or the other restaurants that are touched by Jay and his partners, you know it will be...