Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria — Restaurant in San Diego

Disappointing Customer Service Experience – Lost a Loyal Customer

Regrettably, I had an unsatisfactory encounter with Lefty's Pizza that has compelled me to share my experience and led me to sever ties with the establishment.

On 11/30/23, I placed an order for 3 Italian beefs totaling just under $42 with my military discount. While the food is generally great, a significant error occurred with one of the sandwiches. It was supposed to be pepper-free, but it turned out to be loaded with spicy peppers and even included more in a cup on the side.

Initially, an employee offered to rectify the error by replacing it, assuring me I could return that day or the next. It was a 25-minute drive there and about 45 mins back home due to the time of day so I told him I would come by the next day. I tossed the sandwich and my mom and I split hers.

The following day I called to schedule a pickup. Unfortunately, a different employee, supposedly a manager, flat out refused to replace the sandwich. I believe he said his name was Ryan.

He said the previous employee misspoke and shouldn’t have offered to replace the sandwich. He asked me if I brought the sandwich back from the night before and insinuated that I might be lying about not consuming it. He then cited previous dishonest incidents from other customers and how it was affecting their bottom line.

His refusal to replace the inedible item and his insinuations of dishonesty left me disheartened and frustrated. I expressed my dietary restrictions and told him that I would not do that, especially because I come so often.

Despite my efforts to clarify and seek a resolution, Ryan dismissed me with a mere 10% discount instead of replacing the inedible item. I told him that I already receive the military veterans 10% discount to which he then offered 25% off. I told him it wasn’t about the money and that I couldn’t believe that he was being so unreasonable and accusing me of lying, to which he told me that I was “putting words in his mouth” and that I could “believe what I want”.

This unfortunate experience has permanently impacted my perception of Lefty's Pizza. Despite the generally excellent food, Ryan’s dismissive attitude, accusatory tone, and refusal to honor their initial commitment have cost them a once-loyal customer.

It's very disappointing when a previously positive experience is overshadowed by a business that seems to prioritizes short-term financial gain over a long term customer relationship.

While they may not feel a significant financial impact from losing my business, I hope this review serves as a warning to others seeking both quality food and respectful...

It’s always a chore to get close to food from a given city when you’re not in that city or state. Whether it’s cheesesteaks from Philly, bagels from New York, BBQ from Texas, gumbo from New Orleans…it’s just difficult to replicate. And it’s supposed to be that way.

What would be the point of people telling you how great Chicago pizza is if you could get it anywhere? It wouldn’t be special to Chicago anymore. Same way we talk about San Diego and the “Taco scene”. They can’t replicate it in Kansas City and they’re not supposed to be able to.

That aside, this place…Lefty’s….of all the places that I’ve had “Chicago style pizza” across the country, this is as close as it’s ever gotten. That’s code for….”This place is great!!!” Here’s how great it is….

My brother was in for a visit a few weeks ago and I wanted to take him to a few places just to experience the food. Oscar’s Mexican Seafood, In-N-Out and although he didn’t really care much to at first…Lefty’s for Chicago style pizza. I mean really…he lives in Chicago and has lived there for 18 years so why would he want to come to San Diego to eat more Chicago style pizza?

I’ll wrap it up by saying this….and I quote, “That right there, that’s almost better than some of the places in Chicago. It’s better than a lot of them actually. It is really, really…..really good. Very authentic. Very Chicago.” - my brother.

So yeah, go check it out. It’s great. And it’ll make you feel like you’re in the Windy City not only with the food but also with the decor in the restaurant. All things Bears, Cubs, Bulls, Blackhawks, Sox.

Disclaimer…I’ve never had anything there but the pizza and don’t plan to. I guess no different than I wouldn’t go to a steakhouse and order the salmon filet. I don’t go to Lefty’s for wings or burgers. That’s what BW3 and Burger...

We came here for dinner on Friday, May 23rd. The staff was initially friendly and as the restaurant was busy, they told us to check the back to see if there were any open tables. I went back, there was an open table, and I asked a server for more information on how seating worked. This is when another employee interrupted and berated me for asking about tables. When I told her we were told to check on open table availability she became even more upset. She followed me back to the entrance and started yelling at staff to not tell people it was open seating and it was clear the staff was afraid of this employee. She then made a big show about offering a table to another group of people and said tables were for people who followed rules and patiently waited. While all of this was upsetting, had the interaction ended here, I probably wouldn’t be going out of my way to share this story. As we were leaving the restaurant, the employee followed us outside and told us we were welcome to order pizza and eat in the alley if we wanted. I am writing this review 3 weeks later because I am still floored by how rudely we were treated. I have replayed the interaction in my head over and over again to understand what we did to deserve this kind of treatment and all I can some up with was the employee was either overwhelmed by the holiday weekend or it was due to our groups ethnic background. It saddens me to leave a negative review for a restaurant whose food I didn’t get to try. While I will not be coming back, I hope this feedback inspires the restaurant to take corrective action on their seating policy and employee-customer engagement. It feels like they could have just given us a wait time and all of this could have...