Rustique Pizzeria — Restaurant in Suamico

• I would like to clarify again due to response from Rustique.. our reservation was at 6pm.. the restaurant changed our reservation to accommodate their needs! When we arrived and all the events then unfolded is when as stated the frustration ensued. A table was NOT ready at 636pm since that is the time one member of our party was on the phone outside making other arrangements with a different restaurant, and if the table was ready why would the owner have directed us to " wait in our car"? Our frustration was not without basis. *

"You don't need to be here!" What an amazing thing for my family and group of 14 people to hear when I inquired (admittedly frustrated and using some language I am not proud of.. but hey my daughter got hurt at the end of this) about why our reservation was delayed. I originally called to make the reservation at 1224 pm and was told we could NOT do 630 pm due to a reservation schedule and a large party time limit of 1.5 hours, but if we could come at 6 pm and be gone by 730 pm they could accommodate. I stated to the hostess on the phone I would contact my entire party and we would be prepared to order. It was also made clear to her we had a member of our party post-surgical who was in a wheelchair or on crutches. Due to a range of 12-14 people I had given the hostess I called back and confirmed for 14 and the highchair at 318 pm at which point I was told no problem. 413 pm Rustique representative called and asked me to change our reservation to 630 pm, and at this time I made sure we would still have our 1.5 hours at the table and was assured we would. Fast forward to 630 pm when we arrive... my sister calls me as I am parking to tell me she has overheard there is, "no way that table is getting sat on time. I'm not rushing them. They're big tippers!" The seated table tips well ok.... so the table time limit?? I ask to find out what is going on and I am trying to speak to the owner (as I found out as we left to never return) trying to explain the reservation situation and that they already moved our time back and that we at minimum need a chair for my daughter who is post surgical. The OWNER tells me if one of us needs to sit we should go wait in our car!!! She wanted my daughter, on crutches to go back into the snow storm that had started and down a ramp to wait in the car!!! Unbelievable. At this point is when she stated we didn't have to be there and we started making other dinner plans. My daughter did attempt to go to the car and wait after a chair was eventually brought and placed in front of the restroom door.. her crutch slipped and she landed on her surgical foot! We are in communication with the surgeon's office. The water was in the building on the floor, and we were following the owner's recommendation to leave/wait outside so any injury my daughter sustained she is liable for. Fourteen people watched her slip and she had to be physically carried to her car after. Such a shame.. we always went to Rustique everytime we were in town sometimes twice, not to mention the 12 other family members that were with us who live locally who will likely never come back. And to the waitress or whomever didn't wanna rush the good tippers... we are also excellent tippers, but you wouldn't know that cause you didn't bother.. I worked in customer service 15 years. 30-50% is standard for us... on a party of 14.. you lost out! The wonderful amazing girl who did take care of us where we went definitely benefited from your ignorance! To the owner... hope the good tippers were worth the loss of 14 repeat customers and revenue from last night (I'm guessing based on last time we were there with a large group few hundred bucks) not to mention you are now liable for my daughter's ankle! Have a great day... you were right about one thing.. we don't have to be there, and I don't care how good the food is poor customer service won't...

Our group of 6 made a reservation ahead of time since we were a larger party. Parking is a little challenge - their parking lot is too small for the quantity of customers they get. Some people have to park on the side road, which is kind of steep, since the restaurant is on a hill. The parking situation is one item that is a downside of the restaurant.

We were seated in the main dining area which I found to be a bit cramped. I think the table layout is done correctly for the space, but the one we were at was hard to get into and felt like people kept bumping into us throughout the meal. It is also a super loud restaurant, so be prepared for that.

We started our dinner off with appetizers - we ordered the pesto fries ($7.50) - shoestring fries tossed in pesto, topped with balsamic glaze and manchego cheese $11.50, half order $7.50. These were pretty good - I think you should at least try them if your coming in for the first time. Also we ordered a special of the day I believe which were fried garlic parmesan bread type bites. These were AMAZING and we will we ordered two orders of these instead of the fries.

For pizzas, I like they they allow you to do half and half. For my husband and I we chose half to be the Fun Guy – portabella, shiitake, cremini, and yellow oyster mushrooms, caramelized onions, fresh mozzarella, and garlic herb butter. The other half was Sausage & Basil – Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, fresh basil, and tomato sauce. The sausage and basil was average, but the Fun Guy was AMAZING! I would highly recommend that one.

Another person in our party ordered the San Mateo - prosciutto, spinach, red onion, roasted red pepper, mozzarella, goat cheese, and pesto sauce. They are Italian and that is their personal favorite pizza offered. They order it every time they come.

Overall a really great restaurant with great food. It is a MUST TRY if your in the...

If I could give more stars, I would! This place was top notch. It is a bit out of town but worth the hike. My friend and I were in town for the marathon and always eat pizza the night before. This is challenging as she has a gluten intolerance. Rustique's reviews for their gluten free pizza drew us to their establishment. Wow!! I ordered a gluten free pizza as well and the crust was AMAZING! Probably one of the better gluten free crusts that I have eaten. I ordered a pizza from the special board, Steak with Chimichurri Pizza. OMG! My mouth is watering writing this. It was THAT good.

There was a bit of a wait on a Saturday night for dinner. We both got drinks from the bar while we waited. The drink menu is inventive. The drinks were delicious. I got a Mango Habanero Margarita and my friend got the Blue Raspberry Mule, both fantastic.

Once seated, the ambience is simple. I have an appreciation for old buildings. I love the church conversion. We started our meal with an order of the Pesto Fries. They came so highly reviewed, why not….. They brought out a huge plate with a mountain of fries. My friend and I eyed it suspiciously, predicting leftovers. Nope! Gone! They were that good. Get in the car and go! It is so...