Paesano's Pizza — Restaurant in Traverse City

While on a short stop during a travel around the lake shore me and my family stopped here as our second restaurant for the day due to relax being on the schedule (fishing ,swimming / zen any how as we approach the pizza parlor, there was a sign that there was a private party, but it did not stay close to the public carry out only as exactly what it said honestly as my daughter use the bathroom well, I place a pizza order while being treated very rudely, I even had to ask for the service with the employee bundled in a corner (who’s gonna serve me) ! Then the young lady Peyton, the customer service/register employee approached the counter very stand offish and then stated we have a private party coming in so it’s takeout only I said perfect. We didn’t wanna sit down anyway she asked if we would sit outside. So we did all the while waiting for the pizza, I did witness two groups of takeout customers sitting inside waiting for the pizzas ! Maybe 18 mins later I re entered to check on the order , the total vibe here was un welcoming!!!! The pizza wasn’t ready so I asked for a cup of ice for the water I already had and was given less than half a a cup I ask” please may I have a whole cup of ice it’s pretty hot outside then the register employee Payton gave me a smirk and proceeded to fill the cup. Long story short when The pizza was ready. I asked to speak with the manager, which was so preoccupied. She couldn’t even approach me and stated from the corner that I was trying to speak with her before her establishment was full of customers. I was not happy with the service nor was I happy with the way that I was treated by her employees, at that point, everyone seemed pretty standoffish gave me my pizza and when I walked out, I let them know. I would leave a review and asked for management’s name which was Grace, I have to say not only as a consumer but a human being. I don’t appreciate the biased treatment nor do I appreciate the displacement in their community when I was here spending my money just the same definitely makes the experience pretty unpleasant as a visitor in such a beautiful place may I add my family and I are diverse and multicultural! Not acceptable treatment for anyone! Now I will say the pizza was pretty good but I’ll never spend a dollar here or with its affiliates ever again . I do not...

I stopped here on a Tuesday afternoon after reading about their $5 lunch special. It sounded delicious, and I couldn’t beat the price. So is it worth a stop?

When I stepped into the restaurant, I realized how small it was. I noticed a table for two and some video games. As I walked up to the counter to place my order, I saw the kitchen was to the right and the dining area appeared to be in the back to the left.

The lunch includes a slice of pepperoni pizza, two breadsticks and a small drink for $5, tax included. Since the sign didn’t specify a topping (although I had read pepperoni somewhere online), I asked if pepperoni was the only option or if I could get cheese. Normally, it was just pepperoni, but they had just prepped a new pizza and left a plain slice for me.

After ordering, I took my Coke and went to the seating area in the back. There were a couple of larger tables that could seat six comfortably, maybe one or two more if you squeezed them in. They also had a row of six or so booths along the one wall. I later discovered they had some seating outside.

Most orders were carry out, so I didn’t have a problem finding a place to sit. And about ten minutes later, they brought out my lunch.

The thin slice of pizza seemed massive, and the cheese was simply gooey and plentiful. The two breadsticks looked to be about a foot long each and were very soft. I had two options for dipping sauce, so I had selected a small cup of marinara instead of the ranch. (One minor quibble here: I wish the marinara sauce had been warmed, so maybe you could request it to be warmed up.)

I also found out later that I could have upgraded my drink size for the difference in price from the small to either medium or large.

Parking can be a real pain. Basically, it’s street parking, so busy seasons mean less parking options. It is paid parking, but the meters are fairly cheap. I was able to get 48 minutes for $1 by paying at the meter; the app was almost the same price for 24 minutes.

I’d definitely recommend this place. The pizza was delicious and the service was friendly. If I were to go with two people, I might consider getting the special for one person and a drink and a slice for the other person and then sharing the breadsticks. Overall, a fantastic spot for a...

I am going to start on a positive note, and say overall the pizza was decent. Now that that is out of the way, down to the nitty gritty. They boasted legitimate Chicago style pizza. The price tag was hefty for a plain cheese at $22 for the smallest size, but we figured hey, which Chicago style a lot of cheese and sauce is used and some extra time so whatever. We were surprised when we were told it does not come with sauce, and that was extra to get it on the side, after paying over $20 for the pizza. Um, okay. Fine, we bought sides of sauce. We were the only people in there aside from one other table, and we waited for about 25 minutes. That's ok, we thought. Chicago pizza is thick and might have to go through the oven twice or more. The pizza came out and... It was not Chicago style pizza. It was just a slightly thicker handtossed crust with diced tomatoes sprinkled on top, and majority of the crust arpund the edge (Chicago also does not have a crust on the edge) was black and burnt. Did I mention it was over $22? The pizza itself was good, but not worth the price tag. While I understand that local pizza places do cost more, for the same price at other local spots like Thatsa Pizza or Jets or Crusted Creations, I could get a large pizza with lots of toppings and not wait nearly half an hour to get it when the place was slow. The pizza in of itself was good enough but not... $22 worth. For ONE PIZZA AT THE SMALLEST SIZE AVAILABLE. On top of that, the service was kinda rude when I was questioning about the sauce, and I was told over and over again in a rude manner how it was real Chicago pizza. But hey, rude service is just something we all understand and have to deal with downtown so that did not effect my...