AJ's Pizza Joint — Restaurant in Winter Garden

West of Orlando, in Winter Garden, AJ’s Pizza Joint is serving some amazing za. I’ve been meaning to try them for a while because they offer a variety of styles of pizza, including New York, Sicilian, and Detroit. When getting a table on a Sunday afternoon the hostess said a table was about a 20 minute wait but we could sit at the bar (which looked full to me) but she pointed out their “pizza bar” which was further back in the restaurant and instead of having the bar and tv backdrop was set up to see their kitchen assembling and baking the pizzas. To a foodie, this was the best seat in the house, and I’d recommend and would prefer sitting there in the future so I can see how the magic is made. The person expediting (which turned out to be JC – the general manager) gave us menus and told us to let him know if we had any questions as soon as we sat down. Our server came to get our drinks and order shortly after. We watched JC quality control (checking for a proper cook and undercarriage) on every pizza that came out of the oven before finishing and sending them out (even sending one or two back when he thought they needed another minute in the oven (serious props for the attention to quality and detail). We got garlic knots and a meatball slider to start. Both were great, but I’m partial to a good homemade meatball (bonus points that I could order just a single slider instead of a set). Our Roni Detroit pizza came out, but these pictures don’t do it justice. It was beautiful. Crispy cheese edge, thick but fluffy crust, cupped pepperoni, and thick red sauce spread across the top. Everything about this pizza hits right for its style, melty and crispy cheese, fluffy interior, hearty tomato-forward sauce, and freshly grated parm on top. With the apps, we only at one slice each, but I’m not mad about having leftovers to be able to eat later. While the Detroit-style pies run about $30 each, you could get at least a couple of meals out of a single pizza, especially if you get or have any apps or a salad with it, and even at that, the quality of the food is absolutely worth the price in my opinion. JC chatted with us while very steadily cracking out food the whole time, and the servers were also very nice. We’ll absolutely be back and would highly recommend everyone who enjoys good pizza to check them out! Also, looking forward to trying their NY style pizza, they all looked great, and JC said they do great specials and pizza by the slice during the weekdays...

I honestly wish I could give this place negative stars. After reading half of the reviews I believe in my heart that the only good reviews are from friends, employees, Family, or people who have no taste buds. I started off my meal with what they call hearty Sausage soup. At one point, I actually questioned what I was eating. I shrugged it off to possibly being old soup that maybe had expired since it was 8 o’clock and maybe someone was too lazy to put out fresh soup so late. Next my boyfriend and I ordered mozzarella sticks as an appetizer. Not only were they burnt but they were extremely salty that I felt nauseous after eating just one. We both only had just one, because they were that horrible. Once again I figured it’s 8 o’clock, maybe the cooks over cooked them just a little because they were busy doing pre-close side work. About 10 minutes later our entrées came out. My boyfriend ordered Chicken Marsala, which he said had no flavor and the chicken was hard and rubbery. I ordered chicken Parmesan. I had about three bites of spaghetti when I was hit with that overly salted sauce again. Chicken Parmesan is one of my favorite meals,and it was very disappointing just looking at the food in front of me because it literally looked like they had taken cardboard, breaded it and covered it in sauce. I couldn’t even try it and made my boyfriend try it just to have him confirm that it tasted as bad as it looked. The goofy server asked how everything was and when I replied it was the worst meal I’ve ever had, he said he’d make sure to tell the cooks for next time. Seriously?!? Next time??? Are you kidding me?!? He then brought me back boxes, as if I was going to take any of my barely touched meal. He then brought me back a bill for $44 and change. At which this point I asked to speak to a manager who was oblivious to the fact that I complained about every aspect of the meal. Thankfully she only charged us for our drinks and sincerely believed me when I say that was the worst meal I have ever had. I honestly don’t know how this place gets more than 2 stars from...

THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I've ever experienced at a restaurant, especially if you have kids. My family and I went on New Years Day, it wasn't at its busiest as well, since I have gone many times before and experienced their busy times. We had 5 kids 6 adults in our party, and some of our family were from out of town visiting. We went in and barely greeted by the waiter, asked how long the wait for a table for our party and she said 10 minute wait. The kids were of course hungry as we just came from the Park. We told them ok we will wait. We waited patiently and the wait became 20 minutes. By 15 minutes my 20 month old baby niece started crying as she was terribly hungry and we gave her snacks to calm her down. I politely asked how much longer and then the waiter began to get our table together, while they had open booths and tables available already. My brother calmly asked for them to clean the table again properly as there were leftover crumbs and oil left on the table after the waiter quickly wiped it down. This particular waiter got an attitude then came back and rudely answered my brother cause she was upset he asked for the table to be cleaned" for him to take his kid outside as she is bothering her patrons with all her crying!" Then she looks over to me and yells at me and my family pointing to the table to "Go AHEAD!" I asked her" do you speak to all of your patrons this way because it is uncalled for and extremely rude. We have been waiting patiently without complaints and if he nicely asked for you to clean it again shouldnt be a problem" She reacts saying well "he was the one who asked to have it cleaned again and making a problem!" I replied" What does the child have to do with this? She is hungry and waiting to eat!" My family and I also felt disrespected being a mixed race family and felt her discriminating against us as she made us feel as if we weren't due respectful customer service and cooperation to our situation with our children. We just walked out and left disgusted.

I would never step foot in this restaurant especially if...