I moved back to the area after being away for awhile, and I wanted to visit Colarusso's after not going there for 10+ years. It was quite possibly the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. First of all, when my boyfriend and I got there, there was no one there to greet us. We waited several minutes before seeing anyone. When the "hostess" came to seat us, she stopped about 10 feet from us, asked how many, then turned and tossed some menus on a table and walked away before we'd even stepped into the dining area. We should have walked out at that point.
Our waitress was very pleasant; I have no complaints about her at all. But when we received our pizza, it was nothing short of gross. Thankfully, we had asked if the mushrooms were fresh (they're canned), so we requested fresh mushrooms. When I'm paying $16 for a pizza, I expect fresh ingredients, not slimy canned ones.
The pizza was also made with American cheese. I'm sorry, I know that's a thing in Old Forge, but it's disgusting, and I did not expect a restaurant that calls itself Italian to not use mozzarella. In fact, when we asked about it, the waitress said that they use no mozzarella at all - except in their mozzarella sticks. What?!?!?
We took a total of three bites of a 12-slice pizza, and the waitress apologized but said there was nothing they could do about our check as long as there was nothing wrong with the pizza. (I think using American cheese on Italian pizza is kind of a problem, but whatever.) My boyfriend asked to speak with a manager, a cook came out and spoke with us and told us that the menu specified American cheese and that if it did not, he would "see what he could do." After seeing that the menu did not specify American cheese, he still refused to do anything, citing other restaurants in the area that used American cheese and the fact that they've been around for so long. By the way, the actual manager turned out to be the cranky woman who "seated" us, and she did not come and speak with us at all.
My boyfriend even offered to pay for half of the pizza that we didn't eat, but he was told that we should have known we wouldn't like it and demanded that we pay for all of it. I understand not being happy about not getting paid for a pizza, but to act in such as way as to not even be willing to meet the customer halfway leaves a bad taste in my mouth (and not just from the American cheese.) My boyfriend and I discussed it later, and we both would have been willing to go back and try a pasta dish or something else, but after the way we were treated, there is no way that we would ever go back.
Long story short, Colarusso's has appalling service, is unreceptive to reasonable complaints, and has food that is barely edible. I have no idea why people go there. read more