I'm gonna preface this review by saying that this is a restaurant that was in Jacksonville for a very long time over off St. John's Avenue. They recently moved over to Orange Park on Wells Road. I didn't get to post this review immediately because life got busy for me. But when we went they were still getting settled in and were still trying to get the landlord to fix the air-conditioning unit so it was a little warm inside. I'll be trying to go back very soon to see how things have changed and update my review, but I am not taking into account the temperature and the fact that they may not have everything you expect them to have as they do advise you of that right away as to what's available and what's not.
Food-10/10. I've tried a lot of places for Chicago pizza in the area. I can honestly say that from my short time living in Chicago none of the ones down here have really felt like they've come close. So I've unfortunately been disappointed many times when trying to find something comparable. This is the first one I have found that has satisfied that craving. The crust was perfect. A nice crunch outside without being overly hard, and a soft chewy interior, and a cheesy, cheesy, cheesy goodness that I delighted in. The sauce was wonderful not too acidic not too sweet. Just a lovely balance of tomato perfection. My son had the chicken pesto pasta and he loved it. He may not like a lot of herbs, but he loves a good pesto. I didn't even get a garlic knot but my son said they were quite good. I definitely will be coming back soon to try another deep dish loaded with veggies this time, but for my first visit, I just wanted to taste the basics of it.
Service-10/10. I'm very surprised to read some of the other reviews about the service. Because when I went in, it was a very hot day in early August and there was no AC running despite that the staff was constantly checking back with us even though we had sat farthest from the counter. They were welcoming and thoughtful. The owner came over and talked to us and apologized about the heat and thanked us for visiting. He explained the situation and that they hope to have it remedy very soon. So I felt that they were very hospitable and service oriented.
Atmosphere-10/10. This restaurant is located in a small strip mall that is obviously an older strip mall on Wells Road. I think they do very well with the space they have and you can see that they are continuing to decorate. I personally like the darker interior as it feels like those small cozy restaurants you would find in Italy.
Overall, I think it's definitely worth a visit. Obviously, they have some issues that are still being worked out with their transition. I feel like they probably had a lot to go through with suddenly not being able to continue their lease because costs rising astronomically over where they were and losing some of their staff to being much farther away and them not being able to travel to this job. But I'm glad this restaurant has taken steps to overcome that and remain open versus just close up and leave Jacksonville entirely. read more