Been there twice since my last review, slim pickings in Moraga. Â Anywho, service has GREATLY improved. Â The new batch of waitresses are on it, FINALLY. Â Food is same as always, not bad, nothing special, but not bad. Â My kids love this place. Â They have kid friendly food, video games and always see someone you know.
Review Source:The service was bad!!! Â After the salad, two kids, my wife and I four people sat there for more than 25 minutes and no waitress came to us. Â Finally, we got our food after 35 minutes of wait time. Â It was not due to full house of dinners at Pennini's but because the kitchen was busy making meals for another restaurant. (Michael's Ristorante Italiano, both restaurants use the same kitchen) Â We usually visited Pennini's twice a month. Â But it will be my last visit for now.
Review Source:Been here a few times for both dining in and picking up. Â They only deliver after 5pm so I've had to pick up a couple of times.
Pizzas are great and salads are just so so.
I've tried to make reservations here for large groups and they don't do reservations. Â They tell us to show up and see if there's availablity. Â Once we all met there only to find that they could only seat 8, so we all got back in our cars and went to Round Table Pizza in Moraga. Â RTP has a big "private" room in the back so that worked out really well for our group.
They have a good beer on tap selection.
Amazing pizza, amazing service, and amazing beer! Any place (especially in little moraga) that has 10 beers on tap, and the owner is in the kitchen every day, is alright by me.
Quality- the owner is involved in making your food. Enough said? If not; in terms of quality, the bread they use is fresh daily, the bountiful toppings never disappoint in terms of flavor. Huge servings, and incredible taste.
Service- come to this place more than once, and the servers will know you by name, and have your drink and/or beer in front of you before you even realize they noticed you. Every time I come here, I feel a genuine sense of appreciation from everybody there.
Experience- wow! I have never had a bad one... I've had enough good ones to last a lifetime.
Summary- in long or short- this is my favorite place in moraga to have great quality food and a world-class dining experience... Every time! Whenever someone from outside Moraga comes to visit, I take them to penninis first!
I love the pizza from this place. Â The ingredients are very high quality and the crust is perfect. Â Love the flavor of the tomato sauce. Â This is really excellent pizza.
I have ordered non-pizza food here, however, that was really terrible. They rely heavily on packaged salad greens and tubs of pre-made food in bulk for side dishes. Â I once ordered a fish and chips plate and the fish was horribly overcooked. Â It was a big plank of cod hard and tough as a board and I think it was about $15! Â Don't come here to eat anything but their delicious pizza. Â They do have some nice beers on tap, though.
The ambiance is super casual with big screen tvs and lots of friendly locals.
I am shocked I didn't have a review here, I've been going here for 5 years. Â
They make a solid pizza, always good. Â Crust is on the thinner side, but not paper thin.
The non-pizza food is great. Â Pennini's and Michaels share the same kitchen and menu, so you can get really good Italian food here, good salads, etc. Â The lunch sandwiches are the bomb-- very very good. Â
Nice bar with a lot of beers on tap. Â Friendly bartenders. Â Good bigscreen for games.
Good crowd works there too.
The only reason I'm giving this place three stars is because they let my friend and me sit in the restaurant for a really long time. Other than that, the food and service deserve two stars. We ordered pasta each time we went there (we've been twice) and each time the pasta has been drenched in sauce. So much sauce! It was like I was drinking a soup with noodles in it. The chicken in the pasta was tender, though. Maybe try ordering a pizza instead, since I hear those are better than the pasta.
Review Source:There are 4 pizza places in town, finally got around to trying this one. We'll stick with the other 2 (oh and there's Round Table too, but no). This was bad pizza. Dough just barely baked above raw, bland and cheap tasting sauce and the cheese all slid right off as we were sawing through the slices. Pizza wasn't even cut properly. Expensive too, for the quality. At least the toppings were tasty, but that's not enough for us to go back. I'll drive the extra 10 minutes next time to pick up Mountain Mike's or Lamorinda...
Review Source:Five of us ordered. Â Pizza, lasagna, and $13 spaghetti. Pizza was ok. Lasagna and spaghetti were the worst I have tasted in my life. The waiter stated the chef agreed and stated the sauce was cooked too long. Â I would give them a break, but this was the third and final visit to the restaurant over the past year - each being a progressively worse experience. Â For some reason the restaurant is a Moraga institution though!
Review Source:I don't miss living in Moraga, beautiful as it is, but I certainly miss Pennini's! Â The food here is amazing, particularly the salads. Â Moreover, they have THE coolest and nicest bartenders I've perhaps ever met. Â And I love the mix of college students, families, sport fans, and old-timers who frequent this place. Â Highly recommended.
Review Source:Just went there today. Service was ok, but the pizza was just plain swill. I was so excited that they offer gluten-free pizza, so we thought we'd try it out. After about a 40 minute wait for our pizza's, I knew instantly before I even took a bite that it was Mariposa's gluten-free crust- which was a promising sign, because I LOVE Mariposa's bakery in Oakland. I had ordered the chicken and vegetable pizza and it came out with a mound of RAW vegetables on the pizza??? And the cubed chicken was clearly pre-cooked, and cold in the center. The cheese was barely melted and all of the veggies were raw and cold on the top. NASTY. What a disappointment. My husband got a regular margarita pizza, thin crust, and it had cold, chopped tomatoes on top and the crust was no where near thin and crispy. Dont waste your time and money on this place... especially being in the "mecca" of amazing food in the bay area.
Review Source:Well, I will never know how their pizza is because I just called to place a large delivery order for my son'e bday party tonight and a guy answers the phone with a harsh tone, "Pannini's!" I said, "Hey, how are ya?" He yelled, "BUSY" and hung up on me. Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Their pizza could be fantastic but it doesn't matter. When your customer service is that bad and rude- that will trump the quality of food any day. Â Whatever happened to, "Thanks for calling. Can I place you on hold?" You've got a lot or work to do in the customer service department, Pennini's.
Review Source:A place for the family to go and enjoy an informal and kick back and watch a few moment of sports, whether St. Mary basketball or the World Series. The pizza is superior to Round table and Lamorinda pizza, although the latter now has seating and can serve you a slice if you are on the run.
The service is always great and the food is above average for the standards; we have been going there since the kids were young for the sporting event celebrations at the end of the season. I love the calzones but they take a while to make so be prepared. The standards of mushrooms and pepperoni work best for me with spinach added to the mix for fun!
There is a full bar if one is interested and the restaurant has the higher end Michael's attached to it, and you can sometimes manage to get the staff to see if you can crossover when it is a slow ntght.
The only issue I have is that their hours are bit odd, as they are not open for lunch and are closed on Sunday evenings, and I would think those are times you would want to capture the crowds. In any event, I think the locals enjoy the place, but with other alternatives now opening up in the adjacent towns, the owners will have to step up their game to compete as they now have real competition to deal with.
I've been here six times over the past month with friends and family so I am comfortable with my review.
The pizza is very good. Price is higher than average. The calzone and pastas are ok. Kitchen staff never acknowledges you even though you pass them on the way in. Never have we been directed to a table. You walk in and just have to find a table while trying to let someone know to bring you a menu. All times after we ate, it took forever to get the check and just as long to get it back. The last time I just put cash down since I did not want to wait another 10 minutes to get a credit receipt back to sign.
Pizza - 3.5 Stars
Other Entrees - 2 Stars
Service (Overall) - 1.5 Stars
The good thing is that it's better than fast food and is one of the only sit down places open late at night.
We like this place...and truthfully, have only tried their Calzones, salad and lava cake. Â Prefer another pizza place, but for Calzones, this is the place to go. Â Delivery service is great, as is their counter service. Â
Only have eaten inside the place once. Â Kind of crusty, loud, out-dated and full of loud soccer moms and kids running a muck. Â Prefer to bring this home. Â
Over-priced, otherwise would have been 4-star.
The three of us came here for lunch, starved after spending an hour at the nursery in the same mall, choosing and buying trees, flowers and shrubs for me to plant. My daughter ordered the teriyaki sandwich, the beloved the veggie sandwich and yours truly, the fish and chips. Why no pizza you ask? Â We eat pizza all the time and keep going back to Skipolinis, so why switch now? Â The food was average. The wait time was awful. Â 40 minutes to get our food. I could almost undertand the wait for the fish and chips, not the usual order for this place, but the sandwich's? C'mon, take the chicken out of the freezer, slap it on the grill, put sauce on it and serve. The veggie? Â chop up some vegies stick it between the bun and serve. Â Oh and the server? Â Annoying as hell with the "my friends comments" Â I don't want to be your friend, I just want my food! Â I'm not saying I'll never come back, but this place won't be my first choice.
Review Source:This pizza's ingredients are very fresh. Â After I had this pizza I don't think I can go back to the chain restaurants' pizza. Â I now know what real, fresh ingredients taste like on a pizza. Â The staff was also super friendly and helpful. Â I absolutely recommend this restaurant for take out, delivery, or dine in.
Review Source:Very solid pizza/pasta joint
The pizza is top notch, although they serve it a little dry sauce wise. Me and my friends typically order it extra sauce, and well done, so the extra sauce doesn't kill cripyness
The pasta I have only had ones, but is pretty good. We mainly go here for Pizza and beer before a Saint Mary's game.
I'm Italian and from the East Coast, so when it comes to pizza, I know what a good pizza tastes like. Â And let me tell you, Pennini's makes a great pizza. Â I live a half hour from Moraga, and found out about Pennini's when I stopped in before going to a St. Mary's basketball game. Â The pizza is fantastic, and they have a killer calzone. Â The staff is friendly, and they have about 20 beers on tap! Â I eat at Pennini's every time I go to a game, and some times just to get a great pizza! Â Highly recommended.
Review Source:I like this place and use them exclusively for my Pizza delivery. Â The service in phone ordering has always been a tremendously positive experience; excellent service, I even get asked if I would like to order what I ordered last time. Â These guys are really trying to get to know me! Â Their keeping a record of what I get and offer me my favorites. Â Nice concept! Â
It does seem a bit pricy to me. Â
I have eaten in the restaurant once and enjoyed their fantastic meat lasagne. Â A friend enjoyed a seafood linguine, or linguine and clams and was a little disappointed. Â
The atmosphere was a bit like a sports bar and a pizzaria, which is ok,, but it almost feels as if something is off, but overall a great place. Â The staff are friendly and appear to be as kind to each other as they are with their guests.
That was cool to experience the sense of friendship among the staff. Â The night I dined in the guys in the kitchen were singing songs together and working together and seemed to enjoy and care about their work. Â Nice touch!
I like Pennini's... Â
I'm a little confussed, there is a sister restaurant literally doors away and you both have almost identical menus???
Just moved to Moraga and am very pleased to have a place like this in such a small town.
I lived in NYC for 10 years and haven't had pizza that actually TASTED this good since I left the city. The crust, sauce & cheese have clearly been well thought out.
Oh, and awesome beer selection.
The chick who compared this to Mountain Mike's has clearly never, actually, tasted a pizza...
I got food poisoning after having their shrimp scampi last night. I never get food poisoning, so something is really off there. Ever since the new owner took over the quality has gone down hill.
The pizza is not bad, but you can get the same or better at Mountain Mike's. (Although, gluten free is a nice feature for those who need it.)
Thanks - but I will not be back, Just because they have a captive audience, that's no reason to slip on hygiene. Avoid the pasta dishes.
Eaten pizza and salad here several times.
Great for families and sporting events on TV.
Great beer on Tap also.
The pizza is perfect for what you pay. The addons may be a bit overpriced though.
Great friendly service here! Â Matt in particular has great energy and seems like a great guy.
I am glad that a place like Pennini's exists so close to where I live. This is the most happening place in Moraga, even if that isn't saying much. It is the only bar in Moraga, and they feature a large projection TV for watching sports.
That said, there is more to a restaurant than bars and TVs. The food is actually good here, although it is not top-of-the-line. The pizza is decent, but the crust is pretty weak and soaks through too easily. The pasta dishes are the highlight of the menu for me. The chicken linguine alfredo is fantastic, but you better bring ample appetite for it. The linguine alle vongole is another well done dish, but to be honest I doubt you can go wrong with any of their pastas.
The atmosphere here is festive, which I find enjoyable since I expect it to be that way. Anyone who goes to Pennini's expecting a romantic candlelight dinner experience will be sorely disappointed, so do your homework before taking your honey out! Michael's next door is more suited for that kind of meal.
The service here is nothing special most of the time, but sometimes they hire high quality waitresses. At any rate, it doesn't end up making much difference. I am too busy watching football and eating to care!
If you want a fun Italian dining experience, you like watching sports, and you live in Moraga, I would highly recommend paying Pennini's a visit!
Meh. This place kind of sucks. Not even going to bother to write out a thoughtful review.
Service? Shit. Food? Meh. Not bad, but not notable. Decor? Meh. Not terrible, but lame. Atmosphere is also kind of lame. Usually is very noisy, hard to have a conversation.
The only good thing about it is it's location. I suppose if you want some pizza and are too lazy to drive out of town (Pizza Antica is great but much more upmarket) it's your choice.
Decent place to come here for pizza and beer. The food isn't bad but not great. The service is ok. Their calzones are pretty darn good; you can custom order your calzone. Don't expect prompt catered service, for this place get really crowded and sometimes take awhile (30-45min) to get your food on a Friday and Saturday night. They have one kitchen supporting Pennini's and their sister restaurant right around the corner (Michael's).
Review Source:Zero stars. 0. Â Nada. Â None.
Absolutely horrible. Â Forced to go here on occasion for a post-season sports event...their pizza is tasteless - as in have 1 bite and don't bother with the rest tasteless. Â On rare occasion it's tasteless and mealy - as it spit it into a napkin mealy. Â When in your life have you actually NOT eaten pizza beyond a single bite?
One wonders whether it requires a genuine, deliberate and concerted effort to make pizza, calzones and everything else with no taste whatsoever (at best).
Try something other than pizza? Â Sure, go ahead...it won't be AS bad. Â It'll still suck, though. Â How about a salad with hair? Â How about a salad with bugs? Â The manager will generously credit you $5 off your tab, even though the hairy or buggy salad (depending) were $7.
This place has no redeeming value whatsoever. Â Except for the fact that there are two exits to get the hell out.
Gluten-free pizza. 'Nuff said.
OK I'll say some more. Peninni's began serving a gluten-free pizza option yesterday. My pizza orders this evening were numbers three and four. The reason I give five stars is this: The guys have nailed it with regards to serving up a gluten-free pizza in a laid back and casual atmosphere.
I ordered two pizzas just for the heck of it, and stuck to the basics: Pepperoni. My two boys and I (they are 4 and 7) dusted everything. Gone. Zip. Destroyed. Game over man! One, two, three, up with the skirt, and it's gone! I am the only celiac in the family, but the boys could have cared less. They ate more pizza than you could shake a stick at.
The things were delicious. Real pizza on a thin crust, nice and traditional-like. But the best part was that the guy that cooked it, Greg (I asked if I could print his name here), came out and described in detail the steps he took to ensure that this pizza was indeed as free as possible of any potential gluten contamination.
Since I like to work as a human guinea pig, I can attest to the quality of their process. It is two hours later, and I am happily here sitting on my recumbent bike machine at home doing at least an hour's penance for the debauchery that just ensued - grease, cheese, oil, and processed meats are the stuff of pizza made the way god intended. If there were even a tiny bit of contamination with wheat, I'd be sick by now. But I'm great!
In summary: Great gluten-free pizza, totally laid-back atmosphere, awesome friendly staff, family loved everything else they tried on the menu, and I'm stuffed.
See you guys again real soon.
Wait. Â Hold the phone. Â There is a bar in Moraga? Â What the...? Â Granted this bar is located inside a pizzeria, but wow. Â I was just there to pick up a pizza but seeing all those beers on tap got me excited. Â Now I can be a drunken mess somewhere in my own home town, yes! Â JK peeps, I am always a sensible drunk, except for that one time at Lime...(see review below). Â
I wasn't that impressed with the pizza, I mean it was good but not the best I've had. Â I tried the mushroom and sausage and the Pesto Lucca (pesto sauce, pancetta, sausage, olives, pinenuts). Â I definitely liked the Pesto Lucca better. Â Pizza crust is my favorite and always an important factor for me in judging a good pizza. Â The crust here was too soft and doughy, it would have been better had it been a more crunchy and crispy. Â (For really good pizza and crust go to Georgio's--review to come)
While waiting for my pizza I was looking over the menu when one word caught my eye: STROMBOLIE. Â Ever since Kevin L. and I watched an episode of "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" on the Food Network we have been obsessed with strombolie--actually we haven't talked about it since that night, but it looked really good on the show and all the memories came rushing back when I saw it on the menu. Â I told Kevin L. about said strombolie and although he is usually insane about food, he was strangely subdued. Â I still plan on taking him here though, and making him pay (don't tell him I said that). Â
Pizza in Moraga is fairly limited, that being said I think Pennini's is my favorite place. Â I will be going back for a beer, or 5 and a strombolie. Â I hope it's as good as that place on the Food Network.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
