Rotolo's Craft & Crust — Restaurant in Texas

As we are always looking for good pizza in the area, we were excited to try out Rotolo's at the Gosling location in Spring. OVERALL PROS Very fresh ingredients. Everything was cooked fresh to order. Restaurant was clean. Staff was polite. Good beer selection. Reasonable prices

OVERALL CONS Wall decor stuck up with push pins? Really? Tacky, but easily fixable. Everything was "almost" good. Didn't love the almost constant yelling (screaming) coming out of the kitchen.

SERVICE Brian, was prone to (many small) mistakes. He had a pleasant personality, but continually forgot things, like: ketchup, lid for ranch, ranch, wrong discount on check, dropped lemons on table. Probably should have sent manager to the table when (a few) pineapples were on our Jalapeño Popper pizza. Maybe he had an off night, but overall 5 out of 10.

FOOD CHEESY FRIES - 6.5 out of 10. This could easily be a 7-8 out of 10 dish, but execution and concept hurt it. Unnecessarily served in a hot pan with a plastic ramekin of ranch. Get rid of the pan. Children could easily burn themselves. Flavor was good. Fries were good, but needs a little more jalapeños, almost double the cheese, and more ranch (especially if you don't get ketchup). Maybe add a garlic butter dip? No hot pan, little more cheese, ketchup, extra dip... that turns into an 8 out of 10 dish. PEPPERONI PIZZA (The OG) - Okay, so the pizzas are made in a more traditional style with pieces of mozzarella instead of American-style shredded mozzarella. If you enjoy a cheesy pizza, you probably won't like this. Let's look at the components. The sauce was above average. The pepperoni were plentiful and good. It's hard for me to grade the cheese. However, every time I bit a slice with cheese, the entire piece of cheese came off, leaving the rest of the slice cheese-less. The crust was average and had a slight doughy taste. I think if they ever change the concept and go with cheese on the entire pizza, I would enjoy it more. As is, I give it a 5 out of 10. MARGHERITA PIZZA - 4 out of 10. Would prefer a olive oil sauce option and fresh tomatoes. I don't usually eat this kind of pizza, but there were two people at the table who prefer it. Both only ate one slice and didn't enjoy it. Ingredients were fresh, but too much sauce and lacked garlic flavor. JALAPEÑO POPPER PIZZA - 2 out of 10 - I don't like weird pizzas. However, if you're going to go for a Jalapeño Popper flavor, you gotta go all in. There is no Alfredo sauce or chicken in poppers, so it just became a chicken alfredo pizza with jalapeños. Change the sauce (olive oil & garlic?). Get rid of the chicken or make the meat Customer choice (sausage? Chopped meatballs? Pepperoni?). I really did not like the dough on this pizza. I think the Alfredo sauce made it too doughy. My daughter jokingly suggested cream cheese, but small chunks sprinkled on the top might actually work. BREAD PUDDING BITES - 7 out of 10 - Very poor 'form over function' presentation. Served fresh and hot, the flavor was good. It could've used a little more sauce. Serving it in a wine glass is just not practical and makes getting the sauce very difficult. Serving size was a little small but matched the price well. Maybe offer a large and small option? Better plating and a little more sauce could make this a 9 out of 10 dish.

I think this place has potential. It's not there yet, and there needs to be some real changes. It could really become a good pizza place for the area. If things remain the same, I would not choose it as a place to eat. That is unfortunate because I did enjoy the freshness and quality of their ingredients, which is hard to...

We strolled into Rotolo's, Craft and Crust with the aroma of sizzling chicken wings and bubbling cheese filling the air, our appetites already teasingly awake. The cozy ambiance of the place welcomed us as we settled into our seats, ready for a night of indulgence. My friends and I had come in for our usual fix of hot wings and cold beers, but little did we know, we were about to embark on a culinary adventure that would leave us with more than just satisfied stomachs.

Allec, our unexpected protagonist, emerged from behind the bar, a friendly grin on his face as he welcomed us to the restaurant. It was a slower night, giving us the opportunity to strike up a conversation with him. As we chatted, he recommended the spiciest wings on the menu, a warning gleaming in his eyes as he cautioned us about their fiery nature.

When the wings arrived at our table, they glistened with a tantalizing sheen of sauce, their aroma carrying a hint of danger that only fueled our excitement. We dove in eagerly, the heat of the first bite dancing on our tongues, but it wasn't enough to satisfy our craving for spice. You see, we were connoisseurs of heat, armed with our own secret weapon – a stash of dried scorpion pepper powder that we carried with us for occasions just like this.

Inviting Allec to join us when he got off his shift seemed like the natural thing to do. After all, what better way to make a friend than over a plate of fiery wings? With a twinkle of curiosity in his eyes, he accepted our invitation, unaware of the fiery fate that awaited him.

As he took a cautious bite of our concoction, his reaction was nothing short of dramatic. His eyes widened in disbelief, his face flushed with a fiery hue, and his breath caught in his throat as he struggled to contain the inferno raging within. "Why would you EAT THESE THINGS!?!?" he gasped between desperate gulps of water, his voice tinged with disbelief and admiration.

We chuckled at his plight, ordering him a soothing drink to help extinguish the flames that ravaged his palate. "It's The Cure!" we assumed him. Eventually, he regained his composure, albeit with a newfound respect for our daring taste buds. My friends and I joke now that if anyone offers him hot wings with scorpion power again he will say, "Cluck U!"

From that day on, whenever we graced the doors of Rotolo's, Allec would greet us with a bemused smile, shaking his head in mock disbelief. "Why? Just why?!?" he'd exclaim, a testament to the unforgettable encounter that had forged a bond between us.

As we explored the depths of Rotolo's menu, savoring each delectable dish with gusto, it became our home away from home. My wife and son developed a particular fondness for the margarita pizza, its crispy crust and fresh toppings a testament to the culinary prowess of the kitchen staff.

So, if ever you find yourself in need of a memorable dining experience, I implore you to seek out Rotolo's and ask for Allec. Let him regale you with his side of the story, a tale of spice, friendship, and the unbreakable bond forged over a plate of wings.

I wish I had taken a picture that day, but I didn't, so I've asked tried to recreate the scene as best it could using an...

I… Well… I had seen RAVE reviews about Rotolo’s Craft & Crust so we decided to go tonight to celebrate our daughter not having a broken bone. I had been SO excited and dying to try this place because of all the good reviews I saw. We walked in, no one was there but a couple people but it was an off hour and they have only been open for like a week so 🤷🏼‍♀️ Ordered drinks… Daughter’s sprite arrived quickly. Ours sat at the bar for 5-10 minutes ready before delivered. Ok… Sangria was full ice and only 3/4 of the way full with beverage. Meh.

Ok ordered appetizer calamari, one ”first timer deep dish,” and one kids spaghetti and meatball. Kids spaghetti and meatball came out within minutes (wish they would have asked because we eat together it also even came before the appetizer). It was hot so she waited. Calamari came out and looked great. Had their own take on it with like an orange chili sauce. Flavor was good but the calamari was super cheap and just 🤮 It was just lukewarm and we didn’t even finish it. My daughter ate a couple tentacles and really liked the flavor. Ok no complaints they’re new and learning appetizer may just be a fluke.

Then our daughter started on her meatball (finished it first) and dug into a HUGE bite of spaghetti. She promptly spit it out (she’s 6) and said “this is the worst spaghetti I’ve ever had. I’m not eating this. Can I just have more meatballs?” My husband and I both tried it. They advertise the sauce as “gravy” and oh my god. This is not an Italian gravy. It was the absolute worst sauce I’ve ever tried. Tasted like it had been in a can for 3 years. My husband was skeptical of our pizza at this point and it hadn’t even arrived yet…

Pizza arrived. YUM! Looked SO good!!! We were both excited. First bite, yummy! Second bite, where’s the meat? Third bite, Wow this is a super thick crust… Fourth bite, where’s the meat? Finally, this isn’t a true deep dish… Next to zero meat and it was supposed to have sliced Italian sausage and pepperoni (max. 3 slices of small pepperonis per piece). There might have been 10 pepperonis total honestly and on my 1 slice there was zero sausage. However, they had to be at least two giant onions on the pizza 😂 My daughter tried to eat it because she was still hungry but the amount of onions - she just couldn’t handle it and she’s a pretty adventurous eater (caviar, sushi, steaks, all types of pizza, she will try anything once and almost always likes what she tries).

Our daughter was set on getting their “ooey gooey 8” cookie” we bribed her with ANYTHING from ANYWHERE of her choice not to have to order anything else from here it was so bad. You can see a side view of the deep dish. If you’ve ever had true deep dish pizza, this is not it! 2 drinks, 1 app, 1 kids meal, and 1 deep dish pizza with a 20% tip was $105. I have no problem paying for a dinner, if it’s worth it. This was 100% NOT. We didn’t even complain it was all so bad it wasn’t worth it to complain.

If you read this whole thing, go you. Although this review is long, I honestly don’t even think it can accurately depict how bad this place was. Save your money, go...