Fortunato's Authentic Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in South Pasadena

I wanted to love having a noteworthy New York style pizza on the doorstep of the Coquina Key neighborhood. Sadly, I'm still waiting. I was pleased finding the 18" cheese pizza on the menu. True test of a chef, cook a perfect egg. True test of a pizza maker, a perfect 18" New York style cheese pie. Remember friends and neighbors, New York style pizza doesn't have to come from New York. A wonderful New York style pizza is even very hard to find in New York. I've tried over and over. You have to know someone who knows where to find it. But I digress. I can report the service from order to pick up was great. Servers all smiling and perky. Parking in front, run in, pick up, run out, smell the wonderfulness driving quickly home. On opening the box, the pizza smelled and looked great. Hot and gooey cheese. On reaching for that first slice and folding it in half, I'm sorry to report my love affair was short lived as many are. First off let me say I'm very familiar with Roma products as I suspect as the purveyor of the pizza's makings, flour, cheese, tomato sauce, as the generic, any place, pizza box, had the Roma name on it. I like Roma, I like their products, I've used them myself making pizzas. This pizza somehow went wrong in the combining of the Roma supplied ingredients. Crust: Overworked, overcooked, gave my jaw muscles a workout like no other which is to this pizza crust was the toughest of the tough. Hi gluten indeed on steroids. The sauce was pedestrian at best, inoffensive at the least unless the salt can fell in the tomato sauce with a smidge of oregano and roasted garlic. I can say the pizza on the whole was evenly overcooked, the marking of a good oven minder. Perhaps, a bit longer at this location will reveal the pizza makers and oven minders finding the oven's inherent hot spots. This was a brick deck, gas fired oven from the look of the crust. Could have been too hot, who knows. I wasn't there over their shoulder. I don't do that anymore. The cheese, while stringy and gooey, a very good part skim mozzarella, there was an excess of saltiness that dried the mouths of myself and my cohort to the point of dehydration. I suspect a very heavy hand with salt from the bin. Woooo weeeee. Of course, this is also a drinking establishment where the thirsty are well served from the tap. Overall, a good try, at a new location for Fortunato's, perhaps better later, but for me I'll make my own in the meantime. I did keep one my old ovens from one of our family stores. Full disclosure: My father, brother, and I operated our small pizza restaurants at the other end of I-4 for 20 years and 20 years ago. I know first hand how tough it is to make a noteworthy New York style pie. I'm now as ruthless as my customers were then. The...

11-28-2020 at 5:00pm I stopped at Fortunato's Pizza Italian Restaurant I ordered two grinders (the Italian grinder with no onions , no dressing, add sun dried tomatoes and add fresh mozzarella also the steak and cheese), Also ordering two drinks and two salads (Fresco one salad no onion). I took food Togo. Upon opening the food the salad was latterly smothered with onions mixed throughout. The Italian grinder's bread was dripping with dressing, onions on sandwich, no provolone cheese, and no sun dried tomatoes. I called the restaurant and explained to the girl that I was allergic to onions and was unable to eat any of the ;food. I was called a liar, was told I looked like I eat everything around me, she added the onions to make sure I would never come back, I advised the girl that I worked until morning and was unable to come back right then, She told me she had a business to run and she was not doing anything to help or correct the mistakes unless I left my job drove 20 mins back to her restaurant, waited for her to remake the wronged food, drive 20 mins back to my job and explain to my boss that I left his place of business unattended due to the poor service from the restaurant that I just paid $52 for a pile of onions that was clearly told to them that I could NOT have. I asked to speak to a manager or the owners and she hung up on me. When I called back to get the owners information I was told to stop calling they had NO owners and I was out the food and the money. I don't understand how I could pay $52 to a business and receive NOTHING I ordered correctly then badgered and degraded verbally, was told to leave my job, was told I was to blame and then not have anything corrected or refunded. PLEASE STAY AWAY BOYCOT THIS PLACE IF AT ALL...

I come to this place very occasionally. I always come for one thing to have, pasta with aurora sauce & veggies. Food is always good, Today, October 25th, 2025 - I came in, ordered a bottle of water, I placed order of ziti pasta with aurora sauce (only) no SHRIMP with some add on veggies onions spinach and bell peppers. As I finish my meal, for the pasta without shrimp I got charged the actual price of $18.50 ( that has shrimp) but I never ordered shrimp! I told the server, and goes to the lady upfront, I explain also you’ve charged me for the dish of shrimp, but I don’t order shrimp. She was mentioning that they can’t do anything to that, that our system don’t give us things to change, so I say who’s the manager? She says she is, I said please call the owner, because it’s not fair to get charged like this. She was very rude and unprofessional with me. I come here once in a while to have the very nice dish of pasta with veggies and I never gotten this rude behavior. I am not happy…. So, she goes out back and calls the owner ( not sure if she did or not). I’ve been into restaurant business… this is not being professional charging me for a full dish that has shrimp when I don’t order shrimp. Aurora sauce is basically mix of red sauce & white sauce. I wasn’t born yesterday.

Once I pay; cashier she said; make sure you TIP!

“Best service comes with great care and respect, not being told to tip”

I was always happy coming here and eating dinner, but after this unprofessional and talking in a rude way… makes me not come...