Pupatella — Restaurant in Virginia

I read about this place online and liked their FB page. I love pizza. I love Naples style pizza from the brick oven most. I was really looking forward to this. When I found them I couldn't find parking. They have maybe 8 spaces. So I had to circle a few times and finally parked illegally in the Safeway parking lot across the street. When I got in the place was packed. So I waited in line for 10 minutes to place an order. The tables seem to close together. Also the self serve refrigerators were right beside the waiting line so people were constantly trying to go through you to get their beer or whatever. Finally when I got to the head of the line I was told 45 minutes wait. Naples style pizza only takes 90 seconds to cook because the wood fire brick oven is very very hot. I said 45 minutes is too long. So they said 25. I was already here so I might as well wait. The pies coming out of the oven looked delicious so I wanted to try one too. I wasn't able to have more then 4 toppings. I don't know why. That really sucked. But anyways I said ok. So I sat down in the waiting area where strangers had to share tables. It was very Bohemian in a cafeteria way. It seemed like they were trying too hard to be trendy and cool. It's not NYC, its Arlington, VA. And not even a good part of Arlington.

So finally my buzzer went off and I went to the take out section of the counter to pick up my pizza. It looked small and since I was a new customer I asked the pizza maker if this was a large? He responds condescendingly "It's all one size MAN"

He was wearing a bright yellow Italian soccer jersey, sunglasses (even though it was 8PM and indoors) , and a hipster hat. He obviously thought he was too cool for me, and too cool for everyone else too. I got the impression that the staff thought they were rock stars and everyone else were groupies. As if we were lucky just to be allowed to eat there. Kind of the vibe you get a a pretentious nightclub.

I was like "wow" that was a trip. Ok..so let me drive home and try this pizza from this "special" place. I got home and shared it with my family. None of us were impressed. It had sausage that was more like ground beef cut into tiny bits. The pepperoni was dried out and tasteless. I love pepperoni. What a let down. Even Papa John's pepperoni was superior. The sauce wasn't very tasty as well. All I liked was the dough. This place was a complete let down. I would never come hear again. There is another place called pizzeriaorzo in Falls Church that I want to try. I walked by and they had staff in uniforms like an Italian restaurant. It had a nice atmosphere. It was packed and had a waiting list so I didn't go inside. But I will return to Orzo because from the reviews it seems like the right place.

These egotistical little businesses need to learn that not only is the food important, so is the atmosphere and attitude. The attitude was bad at Pupatella. And btw, what an AWFUL name to have for a restaurant! It does not translate well into English lol. It's kind of gross to be honest.

It doesn't matter if the food is good. To have an enjoyable dining experience a person needs a certain amount of space and low noise level. If you have people bumping into your table and you have to self serve then there is no difference between McDonald's and Pupatella. Except McDonald's has better customer service.

To wrap this up, SKIP Pupatella and go to Orzo. There is a fabulous Naples style pizzeria in Sterling/Cascades called Don Corleone's. Amazing pizza. Fresh ingredients, fresh everything. The sause is amazing. It comes in a few sizes. There large is very large. One slice is 10" x 12" in size. The crust is to die for. And they have drive up service. Infact I just ate there...

1 because zero not an option. I have enjoyed their pizza in the past, but as a business I experienced disgusting/appalling/unprofessional customer service from management. I brought to their attention CRITICAL food safety violations (I have held food safety certification). The Gen Mgr was very responsive by taking ownership, accountability and promptly correcting the specific safety issues. In July I made my 4th visit to Pupatella, driving from Fairfax/Oakton area to get a couple pies. The business had made a serious blunder according to the MOD. They accepted a POS system that did not have cash handling functions. Covid is no longer a valid excuse as the Govenor lifted restrictions a while ago. So they cannot/will not accept cash payments. I paid cash on my prior visits, but can't now. I will state I was clearly lied to by the Mod, provided bad information and totally ignored when having complained and wanting contact info. The kitchen mgr tried to get a simple question answered upon my request and was trying to help me get info. The MOD was hiding in the back for some reason and the young lady answering the phone hung up on me. The MOD proceeded to call the police on me for some reason, unbeknownst to me. I never cursed her or did anything inappropriate. I simply wanted redress of my concerns and was treated exceptionally poorly. A different mgr, Torrie (sp?) showed up while I was there, OUTSIDE on the public sidewalk waiting for contact info verification and status of GM presence, and was very unprofessional in allowing clerks to listen in on my conversation with her and the kitchen mgr. She even generated a trespass warning by the police, which was grossly unjustified. Pupatella is a business to not support with this kind of outrageous behavior. This unprofessional service experience coupled with the major CRITICAL food safety violations in the past rate a very serious "drive by and keep on going, do not stop" rating. Be safe...

I am obsessed with Pupatella! It is my absolute favorite place to get pizza. I am here at least once a week and I tell every one of my friends to come here. I have gotten to even know some of the employees by name since I frequent this place so much.

When you walk in you see the wood-fired oven which is built by bricks made from volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius. It allows the oven to reach higher temperatures so that the pizzas only take 1 minute to cook. There is a glass wall that separates the employees making the pizza, which is fun to watch while you are waiting in line.

I usually get the diavola, which is a bit spicy and always cooked to perfection. I have tried many of the pizzas on the menu (the burrata pizza, the mushroom pizza, the fig pizza) but I always go back to the diavola. The crust is probably my favorite part, always so pillowy. The tomato sauce is amazing. I believe they import the tomatoes to make a true neapolitan style pizza.

I have bought the pizza for take-out but I always regret it because it's always the best when it comes out of the oven. Although I've done it, I'm not a fan of reheating this pizza. The crust just isn't the same.

They also serve wine and beer and for dessert you need to try their gelato.

The parking is not the best. There are only a few spots outside of the restaurant. but I usually park at the grocery store across the street. I don't believe this is official parking, but I've never...