Pellegrino's Trattoria — Restaurant in Troutman

The to-go pizza is always good. Was looking forward to eating here for anniversary. Right away the “feel” of the atmosphere was off. Huh. We were taken to the back (only 2 tables/booths occupied) and were about to be seated at a 4 top (nice … plenty of room) but hostess changed her mind and put us at a 2 top in the middle of the room. Huh. Waitress got our drinks and we wanted a few minutes to decide. A couple came in and was seated at the 4 top we almost got. Huh. Another waitress got their drinks and read off the specials. Huh. Our server came back and asked if we were ready to order. When I mentioned that we overheard specials from the other table and asked if we were going to get to hear them, the response was “sure if you ask”. Huh. Ok. She read them. I asked about table bread and was told “if you order pasta”. Ok. I was going to order a pasta dish and that helped me decide not to order bruschetta toast as an appetizer. So I ordered mozzarella sticks app and a pasta dish. Wife orders a chicken parm sub. She was asked about the chips or upgrade to a side salad and she chose salad. Bread arrived and later the appetizer arrives. I was about to think out loud that I hope the appetizer order and dinner order didn’t arrive close together. No sooner did I think it and poof the orders showed up only part way through the appetizer. No sympathy from the delivery… we just had to make room with bread, oil, appetizer, plates, on our tiny table. The delivery tried to take dishes away but we were able to stop her - we’re still eating this. Huh. Pasta dish was solid. Had it before and would get it again. The chicken parm sub was lacking. Perfectly identical chicken pieces (from frozen) on sub roll with sauce and cheese. The “side salad “ was actually on the same plate as the sub … 6-8 pieces of lettuce, a few strips of onion (ordered no onion), one cherry tomato cut in half, 3 olives. Huh. All for a $3 up charge. Heck of a profit...

Let me first say, I've been here many times and have enjoyed the food. This past Friday night was a different story.

Friday night around 7pm my friends and family went for dinner to Pellegrino's, I ordered a large calzone. I ordered it with the included regatta cheese and I also ordered chicken and bacon.

The calzone came out and it was quite large. I took my first bite and I spit it out. I tried a second bite and I spit it out. The regatta cheese was like a cheese sauce. It was a taste I've never experienced before, honestly it was disgusting. Since when is regatta a runny cheese? See the attached picture. Regatta is a fluffy type cheese that is almost like a lite paste. The cheese in this calzone was anything but. It wasn't seasoned, no egg, no salt and pepper, no fresh parsley, nothing. It turned into an unseasoned runny mess.

The waitress stopped over and asked how everything was, I admitted to her the calzone was gross, and explained about the regatta cheese. She immediately went to retrieve the manager and he came over. He said they use fresh regatta and he did admit maybe it was over cooked. He never once asked to remake it or take it off the bill.

Now, I grew up in NY with Italian parents, grandparents ect. I've eaten regatta my entire life. Never in my life have I ever seen regatta turn into a runny cheese, even when boiled in a ravioli or baked in manicotti, stuffed shells, or lasagna.

So their I sat not eating. The waitress came and gave us our check and I was astonished they charged full price plus some for the calzone. I didn't even eat a single bite.

Not wanting to cause a scene in the restaurant, my wife just paid the bill. $26+ is an absolute crazy price for a unedible calzone!

Sadly, this experience put a bad taste in my mouth (pun intended). Next week we will go to Mi Amiche in Mooresville. Sad, I really liked...

I want to preface this review by saying the food was delicious and service was fast, but I cannot give it 5 stars due to issues regarding the reservation/check-in process.

Went to eat there with fiance and her cousin last Friday. We had a reservation at 7:30PM for 3. When we pulled up to the place, parking was a nightmare with people just parking wherever. I ended up parking in front of Domino's.

There was a line out the door, which is fine and shows the community loves the place, but this is where things went wrong. Once we figure out where we are supposed to check-in for our reservation we are told that they are still seating people from a hour ago. What is the point in having a reservation system if you're not going to hold/reserve the table for the party? I can understand giving the table away if we're 10-15 minutes late, but to show up 5-10 minutes early after driving a hour and then having to wait 30-40 minutes to be seated is unacceptable. We were not alone in this issue as I overhead the party behind us also complaining about the wait.

Once we finally sat down the service immediately showed up to take our orders. The food was brought out quick and tasted delicious. We liked that we could do a half-and-half specialty pizza so everyone could be satisfied. The booths are bit narrow if you're an overweight/obese person, but I managed to fit after scooting the table around.

All in all, the food was good. I recommend trying the place, but the restaurant needs to expand. I'm torn on whether I'll return or not until they get more space or fix their reservation system. Reservations should take priority over walk-ins otherwise don't offer...