Rico's Pizzeria — Restaurant in Sarasota

First I'll share the pros of this place and then give the reason for my 1 star experience which may not be a factor for your decision to choose this place to eat

Pros Pizza taste and quality were great (I got the Hawaiian style pizza) -On this particular day which was a busy Saturday evening they were able to seat 7 of us luckily with no problem. We got there as soon as a large family left BUT it seemed like everyone who came in found seats right away -As far as I could tell place was well kept together and clean

Cons Usually I don't let one Con dictate a 1 star review But when it comes to service I personally am a lot more critical so if you could care less for the way you get treated and just want food then this is your spot.

Here was the situation: My party of 7 all went up to order food and some got bottled water. We all eventually sat downs dn waited on our food. Some of my party just asked for cups of water and they were given large red cups and these were free. We paid if I can remember right $2 for these generic bottled waters( which are disgusting by the way). After I realized that we already bought a couple bottled waters AND are automatically leaving a tip with the purchase AND that some of my table got a water I asked the waitress for 2 of those waters.

.......this is where the 1 star comes from

Without any smile or friendly tone she responds with "We only sell bottled water" . I went on saying how we already bought some bottled water and that my table was given free cups. She responded with blaming the new hire for giving out free waters because they don't do that. Right there I was stunned. But it doesn't end there. I sat down still trying to justify the way the waitress was handling the situation.

I've worked from positions of a dishwasher all the way to a manger of restaurants and one thing I've always known is the best way to separate yourself from other restaurants is your service. Anyone can replicate good pizza. Hell, a lot of people replicate bad pizza and still sell it because it's food and people are hungry but what sets restaurants apart IMO is their service.

I went.back.up to the where the soda fountain was and asked her and she turned around and gave me these tiny cups of water. Now,I'm 6'2 250 so walking all day at the beach in the sun makes me thirsty and to be handed this after the rest of my table got these huge glasses was a slap in the face. I looked at them and asked for the larger cups since that's what they got and she yanked them out of my hand flinging water on my arm(which may or may not have been intended since she looked away when she snatched them) and finally gave me what I had originally asked for.

What made it worse was while I asked for the waters and she was getting them a customer stared at me and then to her friend said "Oh man.....Tourists am I right?" . For one I live here and I told her that.

I'm not writing this to get her in trouble or anything. The waitress I could tell is a hard worker and may have been overwhelmed from being short staffed possibly,I don't know. But holy cow that whole situation should have been handled differently.

I respect and understand the concept of making money on the bottled waters.

But the moment a new hire(if that was the real reason) gives waters to the rest of the table,you NEED to honor that if someone else requests it from the table.

This may be something so insignificant and minute to some people but it's the little things like this and the principle of the matter that drive me away from business. When I bring a party here and spend a certain amount on your food AND buy bottled water and I have to PLEAD for large waters,that's saying something about...

Man, I didn't ever want to write this review but here I am. Having been a customer for about 4yrs as a local resident, this was the absolute best place. When slammed with back to back Hurricanes, I was so happy that they had decided to re-open and was excited to be one of the first customers after the re-opening. However, it has seemed that the vibe has quickly faded. We visited twice within a week. We thought bad service was maybe because we showed up around 8pm one night. So we gave it another try and went earlier but service was still awful. Google states that hours of operation are until 10pm but the two guys running the place say differently. By the way, what happened to all of your staff? Only the two guys running the place now? One of the guys that cook the food that is from Long Island is extremely rude. He is constantly on his phone while trying to cook the food and actually got our order wrong. We didn't say anything instead just decided to write this review. He constantly rolled his eyes at us and the amount of food we witnessed that was just tossed into the trash was astonishing. How about offering that food to someone passing by for a free taste to regain business? Or better yet, offer it to someone which may be in a bad position in life who may need it. Unbelievable that this has became of this place. After tonight's visit, you have lost two customers at this location. What...

Came here a few days ago after wanting pizza and reading a sign in the window advertising that they have the best pizza south of jersey. This really intrigued me being born and raised in jersey myself. I learned that the owners were from jersey which I’m like wow ok the pizza should be great. Ordered one cheese slice to go. Got my slice it was hot and looked good thin and great size. Unfortunately dont let the looks fool you. It literally was the saddest pizza I’ve ever had. I didn’t taste any tomato sauce whatsoever. I’ve only noticed some towards the crust. I think they must have took a cooking brush and dipped it into the sauce then brushed it lightly on the crust and then covered it with cheese so that all you taste was cheese. I don’t know how they can claim to be the best pizza south of jersey when that’s the biggest lie known to man. I literally grew up eating the best pizza in the country. The sauce to cheese ratio is always on point between bites. I also didn’t like how the workers there were not super welcoming and seemed like they hated their lives or something. The guy who’s heating the slices is the only one with great personality. I would never go back here again and i definitely don’t recommend it. Oh and nearly$5 for a cheese slice is a...