Piola

Reviews 7

TA

Tara Wright

My family and I were traveling to Houston to visit relatives and take my 11 year old to the space center. We had dinner here as this spot is listed in the book in the hotel we stayed at and sounded great from the website as well. Since we were traveling we only had casual clothes and I called ahead to ask if there was a dress code. The person answering the phone laughed and said no. We showed up around 7:00pm and although the food was tasty, the evening was pretty ruined due to the hostess trying not to seat us. I understand that we were not dressed to the nines like all the younger people that looked very trendy, however neither were we wearing dirty workout clothes either. Shorts and tee shirts should be fine for July for dinner at a place that states they have no dress code. The hostess continuously pointed to one table on her seating chart layout paper and stated that it was reserved then looked at us as if she expected us to leave. Another waiter kept telling her there were other tables available in another section but she kept brushing him aside and informing us the one table was reserved. It was so rude that I felt we did not thoroughly enjoy the pizza and gnocchi like we could have. I wish we had picked a different restaurant that had an inviting and welcoming hostess. My family and I will not be patronizing this chain again, and hopefully the hostess will not continue her pretentious and snobby behavior.

---

DO

Dodie Kalteyer

After having visited Naples recently, we were hoping to get a taste of that same style of Pizza here in Houston. While Piolas pizza is OK, its just lacking something, perhaps some olive oil on the crust and maybe some salt in the sauce. We found it quite bland, and it wasnt hot or even warm when it reached our table. Also, they were really stingy with the fresh basil. I got only 3 small leaves on the whole pizza. In addition to pizza, we had the caprese salad as an appetizer. Surprisingly, it was more of a make-your-own caprese kit. We were given a ball of mozzarella on a plate, surrounded by plain tomato slices, four small basil leaves, and bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was OK, but Ive always had it already marinated and served at room temperature. Another oddity we found at Piola was chilled red wine. We had one glass each, and it was ice cold--not good. On a positive note, the atmosphere is great, at least when the restaurant isnt busy. While the guy working at the door was really complacent and looked as though hed rather be anywhere other than there, our server was EXCELLENT. She was both friendly and superbly attentive. We tipped her very well. I cant imagine having cravings for Piola, but I wouldnt be surprised if I end up there again someday.

---

RO

Robert Bril

We had the Capricciosa and the Lisbona pizzas here. Both were terrible and massively over-priced for the quality ($23pp). I believe this is supposed to be a Neapolitan thin style pizza but its hard to tell given how crappy the crust is: it might be a restaurant version of a frozen pizza. The crusts are tough, chewy, flat disks of dough that managed to be both overcooked and uncooked. Some very mild charring on the bottom and none on the top. Imagine an unsweetened shortbread cookie - it looks that pale and that dense/flat only chewy and tough. There is no appreciable lip on the edges. For pizzaphiles: zero oven spring, no cornicione, no hole structure, no leopard spotting. Try Pizaros if you want a good Neapolitan style pizza The problem appears to be an under-powered or over-stuffed oven with none of the pizzas hitting the floor at the right temperature. You could tell by the gradient of overcooked to under-cooked from one end of one pizza to the other. I would have sent it back but the waitress would go missing for 10 minutes at a time and I wanted to go eat somewhere better. Left half of it on the plate. . Fun looking place though. Wish the execution was better.

---

FE

Fernando Gonzalez

I must say although I did enjoy my visit and the place, I simply wasnt impressed by the food. A pretty large selection to choose from on the menu, they do have happy hour and outdoor seating which is a plus if its a nice day outside which it was when I went. It has a pretty modern design and feel. The waitress was courteous. I had the Rio and I honestly did not like it. They have a variety of 12" thin crust pizzas for about $13-16 . I was not impressed. Its a nice place, nice area and a wonderful experience if you sit outside on a nice cool afternoon or evening. I did not have a bad experience and since they do have other types of pizza and other food selections Id say check it out for yourself and you decide. I probably will go again whenever but Im not eager to return. Hopefully then I like the pizza I select which you can be assured wont be the Rio.

---

KI

Kimberly Guel

Me and two girlfriends ate here yesterday evening by accident. We planned to go to Raku, but I guess its closed...? Oops. But anyways, It was around 6:00 pm so there wasnt a crowd. The atmosphere is inviting and the decor is modern and vibrant. The server was friendly and fairly knowledgeable. We had the Firenze Pizza (mushroom and sausage), the Brooklyn Pizza (chicken, broccoli, Gorgonzola) and the Carpaccio. The pizza wasnt the best Ive had but I guess it wasnt the worst. I couldnt really taste the Gorgonzola and thats a pungent cheese. It tasted a little overdone on the bottom although it was flimsy. We each ordered the mango Bellini-those were yummy! In conclusion, I probably wouldnt get pizza again because I dont think its worth the $14. Maybe Ill come back for a drink and happy hour one day though.

---

KA

Kate Nilsen

An Italian friend of mine recommended this place. She seems to have a map in her head of all of the more authentic Italian fare in the city, so when she said check it out, I gave it a shot! The food was quite good. We were there for lunch so ordered the pizza. I loved the Bianca, white pizza. So delicious! The Born in The USA pizza also looked delightful as well. The crust is thin but not too crispy or greasy. The ingredients used for the toppings are clearly good quality, so dont worry about lackluster meat or cheese there. I also liked their patio area. It was slow for lunch time, but I could imagine an evening crowd would be quite nice out there. Ill definitely consider it for my Italian meals in Midtown!

---

VI

Vikram B

I ate a salvador pizza here yesterday afternoon for lunch. 7 hours after in the evening I suffered from severe nausea and headache for about 3 hours. I spent around 30 minutes in my bathroom to vomit the food out but couldnt do it. And then I got tired and I went to bed with the same feelings. I am still suffering from nausea as I write this review from my office. I am still waiting to vomit the bad food out soon. I did not eat anything yesterday except this pizza. It can not be anything else. Request to the managers: please make sure your food is good all the times. I am not giving a 1-star only because I ate the same pizza here several times before as well. I never had to suffer like this.

---

---