Il Paesano Pizza & Grill — Restaurant in Suffolk

I would give no stars, but I had to give "something..." I have been ordering from this Sal’s pizza for the past five years that I have been living in this area, but sadly, today was the last order for me. I ordered three garden salads and a medium cheese pizza this evening and when the pizza arrived, it was very “soupy” and watery. The cheese was “moved” and the slices were unevenly cut. My husband reinforced the cut slices; when I tried to take a slice of pizza out of the pan, the entire “wad” of cheese came off (stayed in the box) and the crust below hung down like a sad face (very soggy, wet, watery, and gross). I called Sal’s pizza to inquire about getting a replacement pizza and they said it would be up to another hour before I would receive the replacement and was told to make sure I had the original pizza ready for pick-up when the driver arrived. I inquired about getting it sooner and was told that it would arrive asap and was reminded again (for the second time) to ensure I had the original pizza ready for pick-up when the driver arrived. I was very taken aback by this, because I heard the young lady on the phone the first time she referenced the original pizza needing to be retrieved. It seemed as if the priority was on ensuring they received the soupy, watery pizza back (that I did not want, trust me) and not on ensuring that they fixed the issue in a timely, professional manner that was focused on customer service/satisfaction. I called back a few minutes later and inquired about getting a refund, as I was no longer interested in the replacement pizza either. I was told that I could either return the pizza and get a refund, or get a replacement for no refund; I felt that the pizza joint was insinuated that I was trying to “get over” on them or get a free pizza, which I was not. I repeated that I wanted a refund and was told that the driver would have to come and retrieve the soupy, watery pizza before I could get a refund, which to me was appalling considering my family was still hungry and I still needed to figure out what we were going to eat, but now, I had to wait for the driver before I could move on with my evening. I took the pizza (in a snowstorm) to Sal’s in person in an effort to expedite the return and move on with my life. While at Sal’s, the manager blamed the driver, for the pizza, but I do not believe it was the driver’s fault that the pizza was watery and soupy. I received my refund and ordered dinner from Mason’s instead. Upon returning home, my husband and I sat down to eat our salads (from Sal's) with the food we ordered from Mason’s. As we opened our salads and as I started to eat mine, my husband stated, “do not eat that.” I asked why and he showed me a dead baby roach laying on its' back on one of his roma tomato slices. I immediately wrapped up the untouched salads and returned them to Sal’s. (Too bad I had already split the third salad up amongst my children and it had already been eaten; that one would’ve been returned as well). When I arrived to Sal’s (for the second time that evening), I informed the manager of the situation and showed him the roma tomato with the dead roach. He stated they did not have roaches, “but ok,” gave me my refund, and then apologized. They have lost a faithful customer and I am doing this review to forewarn others out there. The customer service is poor...and they also have roaches. This is my first online review, but I felt compelled to say something after the chain of events I experienced...

For starters, the layout of the restaurant is a semi-organized train wreck. A host/hostess stand with no host/hostess. They yell from behind the counter and tell you to sit anywhere.

Fifteen minutes later, the least friendly waitress I've ever met takes our drink orders. When I tried to be cheerful and friendly, she stared at me like I'd just insulted her mother. When the drinks came back, my wife's tea tasted like a glass of ice water with a slight splash of lipton.

The mozzarella sticks were good. And the marinara sauce was adequate.

The veggie calzone? Not so much. My wife and I are NOT vegetarians, vegans, or any other kind of hard-line herbivores. Quite the opposite, we generally have meat of some kind with every meal. However, every once in a while, we enjoy the different flavors of a vegetarian dish. I've had veggie calzones and strombolis at dozens of restaurants. I've cooked hundreds of them in the various restaurants I worked in during my younger years. And this one was, hands down, the worst. The top crust was flat, paper thin, and brittle. The botton crust was nearly burnt, hard as a rock, and couldn't be cut with the steak knives they gave us. And the crust at the folded edge was a soggy wet mess. The top of the thing was drenched in so much garlic butter and grated parmesan cheese you could barely taste the contents. And the cheese inside was nothing I've ever seen before. There was some mozzarella at the outer edge. But in the center and near the folded edge, I don't know WHAT that was. It didn't taste like any cheese I've ever had, and it was the consistency of warm mayonnaise. Like when it gets that semi-clear yellowish color to it. It wasn't mozzarella or ricotta or gorgozola or provolone.

We each took three bites. Now, I'm a fat guy. I love food. I even like most bad food. I took three bites. We both put our barely eaten plates on top of the other half of this monstrosity to hide it from view. And we covered the plates with our napkins. Twenty minutes later, we managed to flag down our waitress. Who never once came back to ask how the food was, or to offer drink refills, or to tell us to go to hell. Nothing. It sounded like a threat when she asked if we wanted a box. I said no rather emphatically, and handed her my credit card. I didn't want to discuss it, or argue about it, or even wait for a bill. I just wanted to be anywhere else.

In that moment, I knew EXACTLY how The Sugar Hill Gang felt in...

Had to make a stop at the ABC store and told my wife I would bring home dinner. Never noticed it before but next door was Sal's Pizza. I notice they had alot of traffic going in and out, so I figured what the heck I'd give them a try instead of stopping at one of the other fast food pizza shops. My problem is my wife likes her pizza completely different from mine, so I usually have to order 2 as the others will not divide a pizza 2 different ways down the middle. I really never understood how that is so hard to do. When I went in, the dining room was full with only 2 tables unoccupied and several people awaiting on take out orders. When I was able to give the waitress at the counter my order I asked if I could get one large pizza but with different toppings on both sides. I was expecting the same answer, but to my surprise she said yes, no problem. That alone was a big plus for me, one pizza, instead of two. So I gave her my order and the toppings for both sides. She said it would be 25 to 30 minutes. Rather than stand in the middle of the restaurant I asked her if she could call or text me when my order was ready, again sure, no problem, I was really starting to like this place now. So I waited in my vehicle just outside the door in the parking lot and called my daughter in TN and we chatted a bit to pass the time. Got a call about 20 minutes my order was ready. This was faster than I was told at order, again, another plus. Well I guess the only thing left after all that went right so far was the big one, how was the pizza. It was great! Both sides of the pizza had the correct toppings, crust was brownish black on the bottom, but not overly done, sauce tasted homemade and cheese tasted fresh and was soooo much better than the fast food ones and they even sliced it all the way thru and exactly down the middle of the two different sides. I would give the pizza itself 10 compared to the other fast food ones, but the service to me is off the scale. In today's environment to have both is extraordinary! Oh, and I...