Pizzeria Pezzo — Restaurant in White Bear Lake

My husband and I just got home from the single most baffling attempt at a dining experience. We wanted to have dinner at Pizzeria Pezzo this afternoon, and arrived just as they were opening at 4. We were seated, and had already decided to do what we've done in the past here; enjoy a coal-fired pizza for our "appetizer" and a deep-dish for dinner. We placed our (nonalcoholic) beverage order with our server and gave our meal order - one Pera pizza for an appetizer, and a Gold Coast deep dish for dinner. The server remarked on the choice to have pizza appetizer and pizza dinner, so we assumed that our order was understood. We received the appetizer pizza promptly, and enjoyed a couple of slices while chatting and drinking our Coke and lemonade. We didn't want to fill up on the coal-fired pizza, so we set the rest aside and were waiting for the main course. The server asked if we wanted a box for the leftover appetizer - sure - and then confused us by asking if we were interested in dessert. Um, we're still waiting for dinner. He disappeared, and took our dirty plates and unused silverware with him, which we thought was a little weird, but OK, we get fresh stuff for our dinner. We continued to wait, sipping our beverages and water because the server never came to check on us. A little over an hour after we placed our order, the deep dish arrived... uncut and in a box. We were also given our tab. WHAT IS HAPPENING? We were both quite taken aback, as we thought it was clear that we were there to dine in... not just the appetizer, but also the main course. It felt like we were clearly unwelcome and needed to get out of this restaurant immediately. Rather than raise a fuss, we decided to take the hint, take our pizza, and go home. Since our server had been so inattentive during the hour we were there, we thought we'd just pay on our way out - they do offer take-out, so we assumed we could bring our tab to the front pay station - only to have this suddenly attentive server notice that we weren't at our table and come charging toward the front as though we were pulling a dine and dash. By this time the folks at the front had been explaining that we'd need to pay our server (why I do not know) and the whole thing turned into a rather awkward and embarrassing scene. The server ran our card at the bar and addressed my husband by name as he handed the card and receipt for signature. We are typically very good tippers (25% being our usual) but in this case, we had to opt for no tip. We live a half-hour away from Pizzeria Pezzo, so we would never willingly get a pizza to go; they are best when they are served hot and fresh. Although the food is excellent, the service was the worst we've ever experienced, and the atmosphere... well, it's a restaurant full of hard surfaces, people, and no music... we won't...

First and foremost - the food is very good. That being said, we went there with 5:30p reservations for a party of 10 for a birthday party and were sat in the back room where the air conditioning is either broken or non-existent. It was in the high 90s outside and the room was pretty close to the same temperature but without the benefit of any air movement at all.

That probably would have been okay if it wasn't paired with VERY slow food. We ordered three salads and one meatball appetizer and then 4 pizzas to share across the table. Between ordering and salads/app was about half an hour, and pizza was another 45 minutes after that meaning it was close to 7p when our dinner arrived - all while sitting in what could have passed for a sauna at any spa.

I know that sounds dramatic, but we had people in my party asking for extra glasses of water which they used to soak napkins to wrap around their necks to cool down. We asked about the heat and the response was "it's just like that" and that we could "bring our own fans" next time. The server also suggested maybe we step outside if needed to cool down which makes me believe complaints about the heat from the open pizza ovens is not uncommon (but again, it was in the high 90s outside so that was hardly a relief).

It seemed like the main dining room was a bit cooler and the bathrooms and reception area were nice and cool (we took the kids to the bathroom to cool down a few times). My wife and I had to leave early because she was feeling dizzy from the heat and was worried about passing out.

We have dined here several times and had good experience though those were always in the winter, so I can't say how often this situation occurs.

I would recommend this restaurant for winter dining or to-go if offered, but we will not be back...

I’m not sure if they’re not training their staff or if the management is lacking. We had a party of 5 adults and 4 littles. Not many tables occupied at all. Something I could’ve handled alone as a server. The guy that served us never came back and offered us a refill on our drinks. We got our food in a decent amount of time but then I ordered a side of sauce and was waiting for it to eat my pizza with. By the time I got it everyone was done eating and my pizza was cold. I even asked multiple times for the sauce and multiple servers. He finally brought it out and said be careful it’s hot, I said well good because my food is now cold! No response. This guy didn’t even bus one dish out of our way. Hello, kids… The time it took to get our to go food and bill was longer than the time from when we got there until we finished our food. Then we were given wrong bills. Missing sauces on the to go items. This guy has no idea what he’s doing, no idea how to upsell the tab or how to turn tables. No wonder the place was dead. That service is not worth the food. Oh and he brought out the cold (to go) dessert lightyears before the hot to go food, cmon lol. And never offered dessert to the table. Hopefully something changes otherwise this place isn’t going to last. And no I’m not going to email you with the info. It’s all right here. Email it to yourselves. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen such an unorganized, clueless server this bad before. So, so much time wasted, he mostly just walked back and forth between the computers and the kitchen while ignoring customers. One table even walked out from not even...