Tony's Pizza Napoletana — Restaurant in San Francisco

The flawed service here ruined our opinion of the place and experience. Pizzas are good but not any better than a number of pizzerias in the Bay Area. Our server did not take our request for gluten free (GF) crust very seriously, then refused to admit her error when it was obvious she was wrong. The manager tried but failed to make amends as well.

My daughter has a medical issue which requires a GF diet, and my husband and l are also sensitive to a degree. For contrast to the following story, we went to Italy last year. My daughter researched prior to our trip and found that in Italy, they take GF diet restrictions very seriously. The servers and staff at every single eatery we frequented were well-educated and extremely careful in catering to our needs. More often than not here in our home country, there is a lack of knowledge and regard for GF dietary needs. Our dinner the other night at Tony's is a case in point:

The first thing I said when ordering was that we wanted to order 2 GF pizzas. Then I asked which of the pizzas could be made with GF crust. Everyone at our table of 5 people heard our waitress say, "We can make any of our pizzas gluten free." So we ordered 2 pizzas, and the other couple we were with ordered their pizza with a regular crust. When our first pizza, the Artichoke Joe came out, the crust looked remarkable fluffy. My husband and I shared it. We were impressed. When our Clam and Garlic pizza was served, it was huge. That raised a red flag because GF pizza crusts are usually small. My daughter then asked if that was a GF crust. The server said it wasn't and it turns out neither was the Artichoke Joe. It's a good thing our daughter didn't try the Artichoke Joe pizza. She does not have celiacs disease but the gluten would have triggered debilitating symptoms. The waitress came by and told us, "You just need to let us know your dietary restrictions when ordering." I said that I had made it very clear by stating our GF needs first off, and then asking which type of pizzas could be made GF. I reminded her that she had told us any of them could be made GF.

Instead of apologizing, she said it was so loud in the restaurant that she couldn't hear over the noise. The manager came to our table and was more apologetic, but then said, "You're in the wrong place if you don't want to eat gluten." That was very insulting and unnecessary, since they do offer GF alternatives. That is why we go there, and in the past never had a problem like this. We ordered a new pizza which they said could be modified with a GF crust. About a half dozen times throughout our meal, the waitress stopped by to say she was sorry, but then made it seem like our fault again by stating that we just need to let them know our dietary needs. I had already told her several times that I did in fact do just that, which everyone at our table attested to. I finally just said it was OK just so she would leave us alone. On our bill, we were not charged for the GF pizza, or the other 2 that we were mistakenly told were GF. That was gracious of them, and it was the right thing to do. Thank God we did not have a serious life-threatening reaction to the gluten, but what if we had? Their sub-par handling of the situation and lack of accountability has left us with a bad impression of this establishment. and we will look for another option that doesn’t require a...

I have gone here twice now and noticed the same thing both times. If you don’t order alcohol and multiple things they basically forget you exist. My husband and I were seated outside. It was cold and there was no heaters where we were seated. We agreed to be seated outside when we remembered thy had tables with heaters above them. We were taken to a small table with no heater near it…. We already waited a while. So we just accepted it and decided to just order pizza and see how we’re feeling weather wise. We sat briefly glanced at the menu and decided what we’d like. We waited maybe ten minutes before anyone took our order. Which after our first time there was fine. So we were happy, the waiter then asked for drink orders and more. We stated we just want the pizza and water. We don’t drink alcohol or anything too exciting. We said maybe dessert once we’re finished. That’s when I noticed my suspicion after my first time here was true. If you don’t order alcohol and multiple food items. You will basically be left alone for quite some time. No mention about it taking a while. No drink refills. Nothing for close to fifty minutes. We never saw our waiter. I noticed another table near us get food before us. Even though we ordered first and ordered less than they did. We finally asked another waiter if they could find out how much longer on our food. As we were getting pretty cold as the sun set. The other waiter agreed to check and magically our food arrived. It was warm, but definitely had cooled a bit. But we were starving and ate it all. We waited a bit longer for the waiter to get the check. Funny enough he brought water refills for the first time. As we sat with our empty table. He asked if we’d like dessert and we declined. We went else where for hot chocolate. I’m sorry but having the same experience almost twice now doesn’t feel like a coincidence. Which is sad. The food is good, when it’s fresh and hot. The waiters need to be retrained. Just because someone doesn’t order alcohol and multiple pizzas doesn’t give you the right to ignore us. That is why the wait tine is so high. Some tables order multiple pizzas and wine. Which takes a lot of time when you have a table sitting for over an hour and half eating many items. Then you have the rest which is the tables that just want a simple meal that are stuck there forever waiting for the waiter to decide to pay attention to them. I get it because the table orders hundreds of dollars probably leaves a larger tip. But the table that just wants pizza and dessert deserves the exact same service as the others do. Which is not what I’ve seen happening. I can forget the cold weather. It’s the Bay Area it happens. It’s fine, but I can’t forget being ignored. They also need to invest in a few small heaters for the tables not under the street coverage. But sadly I give three stars really...

The restaurant is very busy and crowded. When you go, if you want to sit, you need to provide your phone number to make a reservation and wait for your turn. You receive a notification via SMS. By clicking the link in the SMS, you can track your place in line and view the menu through the Yelp app.

The physical menu is divided into three sections: the food menu, the non-alcoholic beverage menu, and the alcoholic beverage menu. The average wait time for a table is 25-35 minutes due to the high demand. After ordering, the wait time for your food is also around 25-35 minutes. If you're very hungry, I don't recommend this place as you have to wait quite a while.

Finding a table inside is difficult. The outdoor heaters are not sufficient, so you might have to eat in a cold environment, and the food gets cold quickly. The items marked with a cup on the menu are award-winning pizzas. You cannot choose the size and thickness of the crust; it varies according to the pizza you select. The pizzas are cooked in a wood-fired oven and served with a slightly charred crust, which adds a distinct flavor.

One of the award-winning pizzas is the CAL ITALIA PIZZA, which comes with pork pastrami on top. Since it wasn't clearly stated that it contained pork, we mentioned that we couldn't eat it, and they made a new one without the pork pastrami. The unique flavor of this pizza comes from the Italian gorgonzola cheese, which has a stronger taste compared to other cheese pizzas.

Another award-winning pizza is the MARGHERITA PIZZA, a lightly cheesy pizza that became my favorite. These pizzas are 12 inches in size, which may not be filling if you're very hungry. The New York Pizza, on the other hand, is meat-heavy and has a very strong taste. It's a large pizza, so it's very filling. You can add extra toppings to your pizzas; just inform the waiter when ordering. The prices are a bit high compared to a typical pizza restaurant.

Your pizza orders do not arrive at the same time. When you go with a large group of friends, the easily cooked cheese pizzas come out first. This creates a situation where one person is eating while the others are waiting. On the bill, we noticed a charge called Large Party (%20) and asked about it. They said it’s an extra service fee for groups of six or more. We mentioned that we were five people, but they then stated it's a standard tip application. We couldn't get a clear and accurate answer on this matter. The non-alcoholic beverages are tasteless because they are served from open containers. You have to wait a long time in line for the restroom. The staff is not sufficiently...