For starters, the young punk apparently running the place tried to sit the four of us at a table upstairs that was crammed in a corner barely big enough for two. We told them "not gonna happen, wouldn't be prudent" and proceeded to leave before being stopped on our way out and offered an alternative, a poor one at that. Even though there were loads of empty tables, they tried to seat us at an equally small plastic table in a corner outside on their covered patio. We politely asked if we could put two of the small tables together and they finally agreed after some huffing and puffing, a rolled eye or two, and tossed out some Neapolitan expletives that I cannot repeat here.
OK, then we tried to order, Our server (cameriere and I use that term very loosely) seemed to be in quite a hurry and more than a bit distracted, so he had difficulty getting our order right even though my wife (who is Italian and speaks flawless Italian) helped to translate. He finally got it down on paper with a bit more huffing and puffing, coming back with our wine (the best deal of the night at €7 for a bottle of house red) and a bit later with an €8 ($9.25) Caprese Salad that was 1/3 the size of a €5 ($5.75) version I had in Montecalvo a few nights before. We also got a ball of mozzarella (fior di latte, not mozzarella di bufala) and four paper thin slices of prosciutto crudo for another €9 ($10.35). Both the Caprese and prosciutto e mozzarella were quite forgettable, especially for the price.
We asked for some bread with our antipasti, which I have never had to do in a restaurant anywhere in Italy, but it never did arrive. We had barely touched our starters when the pizzas arrived. I will not go into any more detail on the food other than to say my salami pizza (€7/$8.05) was the saddest excuse for pizza napolitana I have ever seen. It was half the size of a normal pizza, taking the shape of some rather odd looking asteroids I have seen and with just three tiny slices of salami on top. Again, I had a much better pizza just a few nights earlier that was the correct size, cooked perfectly, and only €5 ($5.75). There is no excuse and no reason to go on ... other than to tell you what happened next ...
Apparently, someone else got the same rude treatment that we got in addition to getting ripped off for €10. The group left screaming at the staff and threatened to call the police, which I guess they did. While the staff were waiting for the police to show up, another party stormed out, seemingly very unhappy with something or someone I can only guess what or who it might be. The polizia finally arrived, two inside and several more waiting outside, at which time we figured it would be a good time to leave.
The food was mediocre at best and well overpriced, but I have never seen such rude behavior by staff in a place of business, especially in an Italian restaurant where customers are normally treated with dignity and respect. It is somewhat comforting to know that we (three Americans and an Italian) were not the only ones being victimized by the staff and that their Italian clientele were given equally crappy treatment. It is no wonder this business remains unclaimed. Did I mention that this place sucks? What a merda hole!
CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria Mattozzi 1 Bomb Out Of 10 - Mostly Because Of Their Unprofessional Behavior - And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better! read more