DeGaetano's Village Square Pizza

From the outside, this place sets the bar pretty low, but then manages to actually clear it...

Yes, it's a crappy-from-the-outside looking little Italian joint nestled in a strip mall.  Honestly, from the inside it looks like the place has existed forever, and the rest of the strip mall was built up around this quaint little place over the years.

The food we have for lunch was surprisingly good.  Two of my coworkers had calzones that they seemed happy with.  I had a house salad with the house dressing, and a white pizza with banana peppers.  The salad was great with the shredded cheese and the bitey dressing.  The pizza was perfectly done and the cheese was just to the point of browning on top, and crispy in the places it had bubbled over the edge of the crust.

You have to approach this place with the right frame of mind.  Is it going to be the best Italian you've ever had?  Doubtful.  What it does deliver is food of decent quality at a decent price.

Seriously who gave this place four stars?????? Maybe you should go on a drive pick a random pizza place and eat there. Chances are you would find something better. First off..........all I will say is that the owners live in beachwood... if you know beachwood... you might be aware that there are not many italians living there. The owner is this place is not one of them either. The food is awful.... awful. The place has not been remodeled probably since I was born. Diners, Drive-in's and dive's would not even go to this place. The owner does look bored. Very bored. Like he won this place on a bet. Its just bad. But somehow it is still in business. Probably because the people in Beachwood and Woodmere are so high and mighty on themselves that they will stand behind any restaurant that has been their for years and could be considered an area staple.

Cleveland doesn't do pizza that well but this was one of the better spots in town. Cozy, family-type atmosphere, red-n-white checkerboard tablecloths, that sort of thing. The pizzas were decent but can get very expensive if you get the "gourmet" toppings...best to avoid those (though there was nothing otherwise wrong with them). Not worth a special trip but a good local place to hit up every once in a while.