Lemons on the pizza and in the service
Written: Jan 07 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Food and Presentation: |
 |
|
| Ambiance and Decor: |
 |
|
| Quality of Service: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Great pizza with some interesting toppings
Cons: Slow, unfriendly service
The Bottom Line: Food is good, service is awful. Decor is nothing special.
|
|
|
| blanders76's Full Review: Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizzeria |
I went to a Bertucci's Pizzeria in North Andover, Mass., for the first time a couple weeks ago. I was there at lunchtime on a Sunday. My first impression was that the place wasn't very busy (I'm not sure if that's good or bad!), but the atmosphere was ok, a little industrial and uncozy in feel though.
The prices on the lunch menu are moderate. There is a selection of individual-sized pizzas for $6.99, which includes bread and a salad. The bread was good - small rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. The salad wasn't very fresh though, and, although you can ask for more, they are skimpy on the portions. I was there with three friends and we all ordered pizzas with salad and they brought out a bowl of salad for us to share that was about as large as most restaurants would serve as a single portion. Granted, most places give WAY to much food, but this was a ridiculously small amount. We had to have two new bowls of salad brought out. The waitress also only brought two very small cups of dressing, so we had to get refills on those too, and the four of us really don't eat that much (no, really!). Also, we didn't get separate salad plates/bowls - we had to put the salad on our tiny bread plates.
Before our pizzas came out, the waitress came to the table and said our food would be out any minute and that she'd clear some space, and she started to take away the salad and the bread (both of which she'd just, literally 30 seconds before, brought to the table). We thought she was just moving them to another spot, but then started to walk away with them, causing us to call out to her that we weren't done with them. Meanwhile, it was still another 15 minutes before our pizzas actually did come to the table.
When they finally did arrive, they were good. I ordered a pizza with chicken, broccoli, cheese and a lemon-cream sauce. It was very tasty, with a thin, crisp, classic brick-oven crust. It could've used a little more of the yummy sauce though. Two of my friends ordered pizzas with peppers and onions, and another ordered plain cheese. All were satisfied with their food.
We then ordered dessert. I ordered a lemon gelato, one friend ordered chocolate cake, and another ordered orange sorbet. Five minutes after ordering, the waitress said our orders would be "right out" (we'd heard that before!), but that they needed to get the orange sorbet from "downstairs." Another five minutes later, the waitress came by with the lemon gelato and the chocolate cake and said that they were out of the orange sorbet. Ummm... that took ten minutes to figure out!? So my friend ordered the lemon gelato instead. She brought that to the table immediately. So why did it take ten minutes to get the first ones? Anyway, the gelato was good, but not worth the $4-plus is cost. I'd suggest skipping dessert and going somplace better and more affordable.
After dessert, we asked for the check. After a long wait, the waitress finally brought it to the table, but it was the wrong one! So we had to wait (again, a while) for her to come back, then wait while she went to get the correct bill. Then she took quite a while to process the credit card. I'd say the whole process from the time we asked for the bill until we were actually able to walk out of the restaurant was at least 15 minutes.
Overall, Bertucci's was ok. I really did like the pizza, so I'll probably go back sometime. But I'll make sure to leave plenty of time and frustration for the slow, unfriendly service - maybe I'll just order take out!
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Food is good, service is terrible. Order take out!
Best Suited For: Friends
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
blanders76
|
|
Location: Cumberland, Maine
Reviews written: 134
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
View my reviews on Disney World, kitchen gadgets, beauty products, baby gear, books and more.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.