Capo Pazzo Pizzeria + Kitchen — Restaurant in Siesta Key

Working nearby and decided to try this place out for lunch, walking in it seemed nice, the man at the register seemed preoccupied, the cook took my order and seemed like he was going to get it started so we stood there just inside the front door for a few minutes while the man at the register was on his tablet trying to multi-task I suppose, because even though the cook said he could make me a half and half pizza exactly how I wanted it, no one ever rang it up so the ticket never got put in... nobody told me I had to pay upfront, I told the man at the register we were going to wait in the truck, and he said okay, so we wait in the truck for 20 minutes and I go in to pay and check on the food and as im getting my receipt the cook starts making my pizza... now im running late on my scheduled break, and the pizza is just now getting made... i went back to the truck and realized my receipt had the sausage instead of pepperoni on it and when i went back in to ask the man at the register if he charged me for the wrong order because it was the wrong toppings and he told me "I just rang it up like that because it was cheaper that way.".....and then the cook made my pizza with the wrong toppings because that's what it says on the ticket... even though i told him specifically when i first got there and he asked what we wanted and i told him half normal sauce and pepperoni and half white pizza carmelized onions on the whole pie... so now I've paid over $50 for the wrong pizza($25 white pizza + $3 onions + $3 sausage) and garlic knots ($5 for 6) that tasted like they were a week old stale and reheated because they were soo hard i could only eat the middles... and TWO drinks ($4.50 glass bottle coffee soda that tasted terrible + 3.50 for a 20.oz MUG rootbeer) [+ $ TIP 15%]...My friends half was supposed to be pepporoni and he got sausage instead which he does Not eat and they replaced that half a pizza with 2 slices of pepperoni that they made from the smaller, by the slice cheese pizza in the display case, which was all they had available at the time... My half of the pizza was a white pizza... and it was the worst one I've ever had from any place and I order them from nearly every place I go that serves them. Only two cheses on a white pizza?!? The mozzarella was sparse and lacking leaving whole bites dry and crispy like a saltine cracker, The ricotta was sweet and needed salt, even though the cook realized this and mentioned it to one of the staff he said NOTHING to ME about it PERSONALLY and * The cook put THE RICOTTA my pizza with his bare left hand, while holding the scoop in his gloved right hand!* I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone I care about, I will never return. The whole process was frustrating and the food ABSOLUTELY underwhelming... especially for the price. Marinara was watery, knots had no herbs like in the pictures online, and overall everything tasted cheap and poorly made at best... I would have been happier with GAS STATION PIZZA... and I probably wouldn't have been late back from lunch either. They did offer a refund, however at that point, I was already running over my lunch break and did not have time to wait for the man at the register, who couldn't even sincerely apologize for his mistake, and made no effort to rectify the situation beyond a weak apology and walking off into the back, until we left. The cook took initiative, and at least tried to help with the extra slices of pepperoni... but it pretty much all ended up in the trash, even though I hate to waste food and even more so my hard earned money, Because it was Disgusting... To each their own, but if this is authentic NY style pizza, then that's where it all belongs... the DUMPSTER.

If you have to ask why I would leave a review like this after "all you did for me"... and ruin a small family owned businesses reputation... maybe you need to read the review again in its entirety. I AM NOT GOING TO CARE MORE ABOUT YOUR REPUTATION THAN YOU DO. DO BETTER , EARN THE REPUTATION YOU ALREADY ...

We went there a couple weeks ago. Positives first: we ordered two Michelob ultra’s, and they arrived promptly. Then we ordered a large pepperoni and mushroom pizza. It also arrived at our table outside promptly. The crust was thin and crisp, which we like. Negatives: the first thing we noticed was the mushrooms were black which made me wonder if they were canned mushrooms. The mushrooms apparently were pre-cooked or sautéed. They smelled awful. Mushrooms that have been precooked and allowed to sit around or were stored somewhere acquire a nasty smell. It was gross! So we took them off because I wanted to taste the pizza. Well they used little small pepperoni slices instead of the traditional larger pepperoni. They looked like dog treats. These seemed to make the pizza very very salty. I know that pepperoni is salty anyway but I think these little roni’s put it over the top. Then the our server came by to check on us and we told her what we thought. She replied: “we make the mushrooms ourselves.” That’s a weird statement. So are you growing them? I have had pizza all over this country and in Europe and never have I had precooked shrooms on a pizza. Everyone else uses fresh mushrooms. Then I mentioned the pizza was very salty. Our server then identified herself as the owner and said “we don’t put salt on our pizza”. Another weird statement. But you might have salt in your sauce, mozzarella may be salty, but no doubt it was the little dog treat pepperoni’s that were very salty. She could’ve just said that. I didn’t say there was salt on the pizza! I just said it tasted salty. Then she offered to make us another pizza, which was the right thing to do, but we said we didn’t want more of the same. Which was a bit harsh, I admit, but then the “owner” said to my wife “you’re being very rude!”. Whaaaaat? Isn’t it RUDE to say that to a customer? It is. She did not know what was going on in our lives or what kind of day we had had so she just made a poor experience terrible. I was flabbergasted! She just guaranteed that we’ll NEVER come back and NEVER recommend this place to anyone! In fact quite the opposite. She never once showed any empathy or stated an apology. She became defensive and abrupt and seemed to take it personally. She’s in the wrong business if she takes customer’s comments personally. In addition, the inside area was cramped, dark and loud, and the outside patio area had the loud noise of the HVAC system running in the back. So it wasn’t very relaxing. We probably should left at that point. Then she charged us the full amount on the bill!!! I would’ve gladly paid for the beers but she should have taken the pizza off the bill as a sign of good will and asked us to come back and try something else even as take out as there’s more than just pizza on the menu. But that didn’t happen. Clearly the “owner” doesn’t want any shot at a second chance which I find unbelievable. And no, I did not tip her. That was the first time I have not left a tip. The restaurant business is very competitive and there are plenty of great pizza places to go to in Sarasota such as Valentino’s on Clark and at UTC where you’ll find great food and great,...

Try the New York style cheese pizza. Once I bit into a slice that had a bit more cheese, it hit the marks and blew my mind. 🤯 When the other slices lacked enough cheese however it missed the marks. So it needs a little more cheese overall for every slice to be popping. My advice is to simply make sure you ask for EXTRA CHEESE. That should get it into the goldilocks zone for perfect NY style pizza. The sauce was phenomenal. The under carriage is nice and crispy as well. I had mine with root beer. 🍕

My wife had the Rigitoni Bolegnese with Burrata and a Michelob Ultra. It came out a perfect Al Dente. We both thought the dish was average in flavor however. Mind you, we are world travelers and my wife is a chef. But we both thought we've had tastier Burrata at other restaurants in our lives. That said, we eventually got the dish to be more flavorful by loading it up with the parmesan, chili flakes and oregano that was on the table. That actually worked well and caused the dish to be mouth watering and delicious. But straight out of the kitchen, as I mentioned it was probably just average if we're just being honest. 🤷🏼‍♂️

The atmosphere is active, hustling and bustling busy. It's tight and a bit cramped inside (kinda fun like that/intimate) and there's a nice outdoor patio seating area as well. 🗽

We bought a pack of decadent Italian "cookies" (think: biscotti's etc) on the way out and I had them with a coffee when we got home. They were outstanding and tasted like being in Italy. For only $8 the pack of Italian cookies were an absolutely great value! 🍪

The staff and owner are excellent people. Our pizza took a while to come out due to a slipup in the kitchen, so the owner comp'd us some drinks and apologized. But honestly it wasn't terribly long and it certainly was worth the wait for the pizza. But the main point is how good of human beings they all are. That goes a long way. A long long way. I'd come back literally just on knowing that I'd be treated with care. The owners are from NY and are putting their whole heart and soul into the place and it shows. ♥️

Although it was a bit of a drive to come out for me (25 minutes from the I-75), I could see myself coming back with the kids next time to have the best NY pizza in Sarasota. 🌟

I hope this honest review helps out! Enjoy...