Gondolier Pizza
| Address: | 674 S Gulfview Blvd, Clearwater, FL 33767, USA |
| Phone: | +1 727-441-3353 |
| Site: | gondolierpizza.com |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 8AM–12AM 8AM–12AM 8AM–12AM 8AM–12AM 8AM–12AM 8AM–12AM 8AM–12AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
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M CC
My 13 year old son and I went to dinner here because were locals and recently had enjoyed it so much on his birthday. It was a busy Saturday night and we were seated in a booth with a pretty moving water partition that went to the ceiling connected to our booth. Trouble was, we were also directly underneath several a/c vents directing the flow down the partition into our booth and as soon as we were seated we mentioned how frigid it was and it remained so for the duration of our meal. Had it not been so packed, we might have switched booths. The wait for service wasnt long. Delivery of our appetizer and then our meal were timed well. Drink refills were also prompt and without having to ask. The food was excellent. We had Calzones: one spinach & feta, the other the Gondolier. They were fresh, hot and wonderful. After our meal, however, it was well into 15 minutes and there was no sign of our server. The crowd had thinned a bit and I asked another server for two boxes (leftovers) and our check, which she indicated she would bring. Almost 10 minutes later our server returned to ask if we needed boxes...I indicated we did and also requested our check....6 minutes later we had the boxes and the check. On a scale of 1-10 at our overall dining experience was a 7. The food was an 10 (for relaxed Italian) and the atmosphere was an 8. The attitude of both servers was, however, rather cold and aloof. At no time during our experience did any employee smile at us or anyone else. The only person smiling was a friendly looking man who bid us farewell as we left. Our server also wasnt keen on eye contact. Therefore, the service score is a 4 because although the meal was well timed and the food everything we expected, the server couldve been a chimpanzee and had a more welcoming, friendly demeanor. Im writing this review to both encourage others to patronize The Gondolier because it is one of our favorite laid back Italian restaurants to eat in, however, Im also hoping management reads this and provides training and guidance to the staff that they are the face of the place and that they should be smiling at everyone, being pleasant & treating each guest as if theyre welcome. Sincerely, ~MCC
RI
Riley Smith
Wow cant believe this place received such great reviews. Dont get me wrong the food was good but the service was displeasing to say the least. Throughout the meal our waitress done a fair, not great job but honestly a fair job. At the end of the meal is were things got completely crazy! Check came, total was $34.03, used credit card, signed check, placed 18% tip in Cash on the table. Thanked everyone on our way out the door. Once outside our party started Window shopping at the nearby shops. @ 5-6 minutes later, the waitress from the restaurant appeared, chasing us down the sidewalk saying we were Cheap and that something was not right with the signature placement on our receipt! We immediately stopped to see what her issue was. Once we signed the receipt again, she kept saying we were Cheap and did not leave her the correct amount on her Tip! We tried talking calmly with her to explain that even though we were from out of town, that a 18% cash tip was way more than a good tip for the brief service we had received! This calm approach had absolutely no resolve. Being completely embarrassed and discussed by the waitresss demeaner, we pulled out another 15.5% tip in cash in an attempt to satisfy her. Now the total cash tip given came to 33.5% and only seemed slightly pleasing to the waitress! Never in all our travels have we experienced such treatment or behavior. Never have we been chased down the sidewalk by any employee of any place of business that we have ever patronized! We were vacationing from out of town in this area but rest assure, neither we or any of our family, nor any of our many local friends will ever spend another red cent in this place ever again! We will also be passing this experience on to the 2 nearby resorts that recommend we eat there! So sad to see such good food be presented by such poor service and professionalism!
EM
Emaleen Franz Maputi
This is my second time here. Today I was very disappointed. I went to pick up my order. I was bringing my one year old boy on a stroller. It was hard for me already to get in their door let alone exit the place bringing a large sized pizza. So heres what happened. I got in and told them my name and handed me the large pizza. I asked them if they have a big plastic bag that I could possibly put the large pizza in it. I didnt expect to have my request granted. I explained to them its kind of hard for me bringing the pizza while pushing my one year old on a stroller. This being said, they didnt even bother open the door for me. There were like half a dozen of them by the register and they were just looking at me. Not bothering to help whatsoever. I dont demand much of their help what surprised me nobody even attempted to open the door for me. Imagine a mother with a stroller on one hand and bringing pizza on the other. So it took me at least 30 seconds to maneuver myself out of that restaurant. While servers were looking at me. They say they are a family friendly restaurant but today they manifested a total opposite of what they claim to be.
WA
Walt G
Im honestly surprised the reviews were so good for this place. We go in and ask the older employee what he recommends. He says, chicken marsala. So we order that and Kalamatiano pizza. The chicken marsala was not good at all. It tasted like very little effort was put into the sauce. Tasted like it was made from powdered beef packets. No flavor at all. The marsala flavor comes from the wine. There was absolutely no marsala flavor in there at all. It tasted like beef gravy. The chicken pattys in the marsala tasted like frozen patties with a little freezer burn thrown in. Absolutely no effort at all. I dont know why the guy recommended it other than they make it in bulk or something. The pizza was ok but, the olives were not cooked right either. The pizza should be cooked longer than just enough to melt everything together. All in all, terrible. If you want real Italian food that taste right, go elsewhere. If you just want a pizza, theyll be fine. I may give them another opportunity with the pizza but they dont have chiefs there apparently.
MA
Mary Brown
We had breakfast twice here during vacation. Loved the relaxed, diner-like atmosphere. Neat decor! The food was delicious, made to order, and the desserts were incredible!!! The service was very personable, our server remembered us and our NINE drink orders on day two, even with the millions of tourists that must parade through everyday. We really enjoyed this experience. The best prices and quantity we found during our vacation to Clearwater. Wish we could have made it in for lunch/dinner, but our family did and they said it was a great experience. Same quantity, far better quality & service, for half the price as IHOP across the street!
6S
6ssteinbach
Normally I dont write reviews this lengthy so I apologize. This place is amazing, yes they do have great food and a menu that can please anyone, yes they do have a clean restaurant, yes they do have a lot of art/ tvs with views from Greece to keep you entertained, however what makes this place is the people. I overheard one waiter recommending various tourist attractions to a couple that were traveling. Our waiter was great with our child, loved sharing the story of the restaurant, and even had the decency to tell us he had to step in the back for 3 minutes in case we needed to find him (it was like he was never gone). A+ job!
