Pomodori's Pizzeria

This is a sad review to write but I feel compelled to do so. I've been coming here from across the river off and on for the last 11 years and I've noticed a steady decline in the quality of food and service.  I've been in restaurant management for over 25 years and I can smell a dying establishment a mile away. The 1st "Red Flag" was pulling into the parking lot on Valentine's Day at 6:45 in the evening and noticed that there were only 7 or 8 cars in the parking lot. I thought "Wow this place is dead", and it was in fact quite slow for what is normally (in the restaurant business) one of the busiest days of the year. So, I'm waiting for an order for two wood fired pizzas I had called in 30 minutes prior to my arrival thinking I'd only have to wait but a minute or two, wrong!. The 2nd "Red Flag" was virtually no management presence, none, zip. After waiting 30 minutes I asked to speak to the manager and was told "Oh, the owner (Tim) is here cooking tonight but he rarely talks to guests if ever". I couldn't help but laugh because I thought the waitress was joking, she wasn't, he never came out the entire 45 minutes I was there except to open the cash register and other guests were visibly anxious due to the long wait for their food. The waitresses here run the show and I could tell even as slow as it was they had more than enough to do with just keeping up with their tables let alone managing the shift but I was told "That's how it always is here".  The 3rd "Red Flag"! Dirty restrooms (or at least the men's room). The restroom speaks volumes for how a place is managed because anyone who visits the restroom will likely view the cleanliness of it (or lack of) as a direct reflection of who's running the place. Dirty nasty restrooms? Makes you wonder what the kitchen looks like. Eeewwwwww! Actually, the entire restaurant appeared as though it hadn't had a good cleaning in months!
OK! Lastly, the food! I ordered 2 wood fired pizzas, the Prosciutto and the Chicken Portabella. The menu description says "fresh pressed garlic on an olive oil crust" but nothing could have been further than the truth. The crust tasted like cardboard and I'd bet the cardboard the pizza came in tasted even better. My guess is he did away with the oil and garlic to save money. The pizza's have shrunk or at least not the same size as I've seen in the past and again, probably trying to save some money at the guests expense. Total bill with tax was $24.98 which is by all means a very poor value for subpar food and to top it off I was told I couldn't use my gift certificate because it was for "dine in only" (this was not disclosed on the certificate). Not a problem though, I just walked to the nearest table and gave it to them as I had already made up my mind that this was the last time I'd ever set foot in a Pomodori's. My message to the owner Tim is simple, if you no longer have the passion to serve great food along with great service then get out of the business, retire, be done. Don't assume that the UC student body and surrounding community will support you just because you've been around for umpteen years, they won't. As UC grows, so will the choices for places to spend their dining dollars and you will for sure (at the rate you're going) get many less of those dollars. You got my last dollar for sure......

It is usually fairly easy to get a spot in the Pomodori's parking lot.  It is usually fairly easy to find a table as well.

The food is usually really good at Pomodori's.  The wood fired pizzas are outstanding and the salad and pasta options are also excellent.  The service on the other hand, while friendly, is usually extremely slow in all aspects (drinks, dishes, and check).  We stopped by for a quick dinner recently and ended up being there for two hours due in part to the fact that the check took about 30 minutes to prepare and process.  If I were to review this restaurant solely on the quality of the dishes I would give it 4 stars, however the wait, especially for the check is exceedingly long so I really cannot justify more than two stars.

I've lived in the Clifton area for over 20 years, and have been a customer of  the Pomodori's location on McMillen St. for much of that time. For many years, I've enjoyed the food. And while I didn't dine in at the restaurant location much, I would order delivery or take-out pizza at least 2-3 times a month. Fairly recently though, I've quit being a customer, because the service (which was never great, but was usually acceptable) has taken a sharp turn towards terrible, and more importantly, the quality of the food has decreased, and quality control of the food coming out of the kitchen seems non-existent.

My story - I would usually order the Goat Cheese, Leeks and Pancetta wood fire pizza.  Over the last 20 years, I have probably ordered that one pizza over 200 times. The last 3 times I've ordered it, smoked county bacon was substituted for Italian pancetta. And for those who don't know, there's a very big difference between the two. Country bacon is smoked, and smoke is a key component of the flavor. Pancetta isn't smoked, and has a more distinctive, delicate flavor.

After this happened the 1st time (the pizza was delivered 45 min late), I made it a point, the next time, to ask the person on the phone if they had pancetta on-hand. I was told "yes." Yet still, the pizza arrived with soggy country bacon on top, and bacon grease lining the inside of the pizza box and crust.

The final and last time, I took the time and effort to politely inform the person taking my order that the last two times I had ordered, the cook had put country bacon, not Italian pancetta, on the pizzas. I also informed the person that the last couple of orders had arrived very late, and the pizzas were cold. Again, I asked if they really had pancetta on-hand, and was told "absolutely." The person on the phone actually laughed at me when I told them about the problems - no explanation or "sorry sir" or "we'll fix it" - but a contemptuous laugh. And I'll admit, I wasn't surprised when the pizza arrived late, with soggy country bacon on top, bacon grease covering everything in the box, and this time, the bottom of the crust burnt completely black from edge to edge. I can't help but wonder if burning the pizza was intentional, and done out of spite.

It really bums me out. I like to support local business, and have given Pomi's a number of chances to improve. Unfortunately, the business appears to be hiring employees who don't care, which is ultimately hurting the quality of the food, and I suspect, destroying the business.