Italian Garden Pizzeria — Restaurant in Winter Garden

Three stars for the pizza. Two for the wings. Minus ten stars for the ridiculous attitude I got from the minute I called on the phone to when I walked out the door. Even now I can't stop shaking my head in disbelief at the hostility directed at me for, well, I dunno, having the nerve to walk in and try to give them some of my hard earned cash in exchange for a pizza.

My ire is directed specifically at the manager, who I assume is also the owner. So basically it went down like this: I was craving pizza, had rented a movie for the family so we could have a pizza night to chill in front of the tube. I found a Groupon for this place, and I thought I'd try it out. I bought it. I called. I got halfway through my order when he interrupted me and said he wouldn't accept my Groupon unless I came and dined in the restaurant (I'm assuming for the extra tips). I was a little flustered by this rejection, so I told him alright, thinking I must have missed something in the small print. I didn't. There was nothing in the Groupon terms, he was just making up an arbitrary rule after the fact. Going out to dine there was not the plan that night, so I faced a choice--give up on the pizza idea and settle for peanut butter sandwiches, or try again.

I called back. He answered again, and I started to tell him there was nothing in the terms of the Groupon that said it was dine-in only--and he hung up on me. Seeing red, I called back. This time a friendly girl answered, who was very helpful and suggested that maybe if I exchanged the beers in the meal for soda, take-out would be no problem. That was fine with me because I don't drink, so I said that sounded great.

But first she had to go check with her manager. Then someone hung up on me again. At this point I was furious out of my mind, and was ready to go down there and start a yelling match in front of the whole store. Yes, over pizza. And normally I'm a lover, not a fighter. But come on, seriously?

But I called back yet again, got the manager on the phone, and let him have a piece of my mind. He sort of brushed me off and said fine, come down, I'll give you one 20 oz drink to replace two beers (??) and we'll get your order in. I didn't have the energy to argue, so I said fine. When I got there, he tried to stiff me again and not give me the drink. Then he charged me an extra 99 cents (??) over what the Groupon deal had stated (plus tax, which is standard). 99 cents, really?

The pizza was not bad. But it tasted like warmed over bitterness. Don't go here, they deserve to go out...

Went in for lunch. Big pie is sitting on the counter, sliced up for slices. Guy in front of me orders one slice cheese. Worker puts a big old slice in oven, heats up, serves. I order 2 slices pepperoni. Worker puts 1 slice in the oven, same exact size as guy before me, rings me up. I figure ok, he'll put the other slice in a second. I sit down. 2 minutes later, he pulls the slice out, cuts it in half, right in front of me, and sticks it in my to go box. Now before you assume it was 1 giant slice, and he made it two decent sized slices, which would be understandable, see my pic (on yelp, not sure you can add photos on google)

I was late getting back from my lunch break, so I didn't have time to even start with the guy on me ordering 2 slices, not one slice cut into 2 pieces. Funny thing is, this was my second time here. The last time was lunch again, there was a pie that looked pretty fresh, and 1 slice from a second pie that looked literally 2-3 hours old. Same worker gave me the 3 hour old slice.

One bad day, fine, two times in a row, no thanks. O, worker behind counter crazy unfriendly both times as well. "Please, thank you very much, have a nice day, etc" is met with no response at all. Not going back at this point, which is a shame, 5 minute drive from my work. Would've been a weekly lunch stop if they cared at all about giving you a good experience.

The extra cost for what I was actually served won't break the bank, but it makes a normal slice anywhere else $6 here, which is a joke compared to your other options. Close by (depending on where you come from) is Slidders, which I've been to twice for lunch as well. Better pizza, prices include tax ($5 for an 8'' with up to 4 toppings!), and very friendly and outgoing workers both times. Will make the extra drive...

Very sad to share this review. Yesterday, I had a bad experience using their delivery service. I called to place an order and was greeted by a female voice. I asked if there were any specials. She replied that they had a special for 2 medium cheese pizzas and 1 bottle of soda for $21.95. It sounded like a deal even though the order was just for me, so I said I'll take it. I asked if I could add toppings. She said yes, so I added pepperoni, mushroom and fresh basil. She never gave me a total and said it would be 30-45 minutes. 1 hour later the delivery arrived with my pizza, but no bottle of soda. I was handed a bill for $37. I explained to the man that I was not told of the up charge and asked if we could call it even since they did not provide the beverage. He told me to call the restaurant. I spoke with the woman and explained the situation. She placed me on hold to ask. When she came back, she said they are willing to discount the order by $1.50. I explained that I was not willing to pay that price and that I am rejecting the order. Rather than keep a customer, salvage some of their cost (since now they have pizza that they cannot legally sell), and not waste their employee's time (not to mention overhead for delivery and making the pizza), they chose to not make the situation right. I have been in a customer service/sales role for my career, and never would have treated a customer this way. I hope that if you decide to eat here, you do not have a...