Pizzaiolo Cafe & Bar

Great pizza, if overpriced. Bad service. They’re not rude, just inattentive. They forget you’re there. And if you call in an order to pick up, don’t trust their estimate of when you’re pizza will be ready. Three times in a row, they told me it would be ready in 20 minutes, and you go there in 20 minutes, and you wait another 15 minutes.
The last time, I kept standing there at the bar, where they have you wait, asking them where my pizza was, and after 30 MINUTES, they told me that they hadn’t even made it yet, because they forgot! Now, they did offer me a beer to make up for it, which was very nice and did soothe me a bit, but the pizza that was supposed to be ready in 20 minutes took over 60. Basically, if you want to get some very good tasting pizza and you don’t mind overpaying a bit, maybe have it delivered.

New York Style Pizza with Pepperoni stands out as one of the best in the DMV. Not too greasy and the crust holds up well. The Eggplant Parmesan sandwich is a favorite of my too. There are service issues at the restaurant and delivery can be a pain too! But I really enjoy the pizza and think its worth a try for yourself.

I have tried to like this restaurant since it is so close, but the consistency is just not there. I have had good pizza and I have had incredibly bad pizza. I had some good lasagna but other pasta had been so so.
We recently ordered a penne pasta w/​sausage, a side of sausage and a side of meatballs. I found one meatball in the sauce, the other two had disintegrated. The sausage was absolutely foul. Tasteless with the consistency of canned dog food. They must buy the absolute cheapest sausage they can find.
Another gripe is why do all the salads come with balsamic? A greek salad with balsamic drenching my feta cheese is not appetizing.

Amazing pizza but get it delivered. The waitstaff is not very attentive and forgets you are there. The price and food is great — but save yourself the stress and have it at home.

Sad to say instead of getting better over time, this place has gotten worse.
The teens wanted to head out there last weekend so we did. We were sat at a table without a light overhead (in the back corner, in the evening) I suspect it could have been romantic but well, not with our crowd. The kids like the table bc it’s where they usually sit so no worries overall.
Our server was disinterested at best. I don’t know if he’s also the maitre’d or what, but he was walking around with a phone attached to his hip throughout the entire time we were there and often stopped in the middle of the restaurant (one time with our pizza in his other hand) to take a call.
We ordered a pizza with half cheese and the other half with 3 specific items (prosciutto, garlic and hot cherry peppers — what can I say?). When the pizza arrived (room temperature) the server placed it on the table and pretty much took off — presumably to bring the other items that were waiting for us.
There was NO PROSCIUTTO on the pizza.
When our server meandered back I asked, «why is there no prosciutto?» (logical, right?!) and he stared at me a second and said, «Oh, right, well, we’re out of it.»
«did you know you were out of it when I ordered it?»
«Yes.»
That was how it went. for reals.
Just silly stuff like that makes think a round-​trip to Jersey may be a wiser choice for my pizza.
Oh and it’s still loud. Like Old Yankee Stadium Loud.

The pizza here is OK but the service is HORRIBLE. I have been here twice and each time I been there the wait for food has been much too long and the servers are very inattentive. The first time I went I thought it may have been a fluke but no.
The latest time we went the server forgot to put in our order so we waited 35 minutes to get a pizza. When we talked to the manager her response was «No problem, its no big deal…» No apology nothing.
Also this restaurant is very loud. I do not recommend.

Had their Neapolitan pizza over the weekend and was pleasantly surprised. Expected an average pizza, no real reason why but it was really decent. Thin, crispy crust, sauce was good not overpowering or dripping with too much, tasted fresh and not greasy at all. Will def. give another go here soon!

This is one of my go-​to places when I can’t think of what I want for lunch or dinner. It’s close to where I live, so I’ve eaten here countless times. Even though «pizza» is part of this restaurant’s name, I’ve only gotten pizza here twice — I’ve enjoyed it both times. I think where this place truly shines is with sandwiches. The grilled chicken with smoked mozzarella panini is nothing short of amazing, and the burger is so delicious I get a little sad when I reach the last bite. Another standout on the menu is the chicken parm sandwich. I also highly recommend the Insalata Caprese — if you like tomatoes, you’ll love this salad. The pasta dishes are great, too. I have found that the quality of the service varies depending on the time of day you go… and sometimes where you sit. The café part sometimes turns into a Chuck E. Cheese (minus the violence) with kid birthday parties — but then again, often I’ll go to Pizzaiolo & it’ll be really quiet with just adults. Although the bar has that stale beery smell, I find the service to be better at the bar. Also, if you’re a fan of dives and people-​watching (especially watching and/​or talking to some real characters), you will LOVE the bar here after 5 or 6 pm.

Pizzaiolo has great NY style pizza. I think its the best NY style I’ve had in the area. Very comparable to places I’ve been up in NYC. They have a few decent cheap wines by the glass and always have a few respectable beers on tap.
They have a selection of gelato for dessert and a few traditional Italian desserts. Steer clear of the pasta, though. It’s really mediocre. I almost knocked them down to 4 stars since their pasta is so blah, but their pizza really is that good.

3.5***
I recently ordered their Mediterranean pizza (chicken, feta, kalamata olives, sliced whole milk mozzarella, basil and spinach), and it was de-​LISH! There were serious structural issues with the crust (too thin to hold up any of the toppings), but the taste was really quite good.

What a great neighborhood bar and restaurant! Delivery is quick and reliable, but don’t miss the opportunity to visit. Everyone is always friendly and goes out of their way to make you feel at home. It is nice to have this place in Del Ray. And a perfect neighborhood bar!
The pizzas are always good. And the Diavala Pizza is amazing. Very spice and unique. And love that you can choose NY or Neapolitan crust.
But if you aren’t in the mood for the pizza the also have great sandwiches. The Italian Sausage panini is great as is the chicken parmesan sandwich.

tried it twice. first. need to say. vegan reviewer. yes, i still love pizza, just without the cheese. toppings, crust and seasoning become more important.
first time in, they goofed my order up. it came with cheese. i get it, it’s weird. forgiven. second time it came out, two toppings were missing, charged for it all, i told her about it, they offered me free gelato. hi, i’m vegan. she said, «oops sorry». full price. still, the pizza was relatively tasty.
second time. it took forever to get. i got the grilled eggplant i wanted the first time around– didn’t seem grilled to me but soggy and drenched in oil, almost inedible. rest of the toppings were skimpy. very little sauce. ZERO flavor this time. ate half, accidentally left the to-​go bag on the table. my bad. i only live next door. i went back and they’d thrown it out. sadness all around.
even on half price tuesdays, it’s still overpriced and not worth it. sorry pizzaiolo, wanted to like you guys. your staff is nice and the place is cute, but i don’t think i’ll be going back, which is sad for an area with 2 other restaurants within walking distance.

This is really a hard review. Being close to my house, I really wanted to like the pizza here — particularly the Neapolitan — would be nice to have an alternative to Valentino’s for good pizza.
But I’m tired of giving places a higher rating than they perhaps deserve just because a lot of pizza in the DMV is so miserable. Just because you’re better than the awful and mediocre, does that really make you all that great? I’m at the limit of my generosity and just can’t do that anymore with pizzerias in the DMV.
Tried both the NY Style and Neapolitan pies here. Let’s just get one thing out of the way — don’t head here expecting anything resembling authentic Neapolitan pizza. The only discernible difference between the 2 crusts was the very slight sourdough taste to the NY one. But the Neapolitan crust while thin wasn’t at all tender or light. And I’d only consider it «soft» in comparison to the NY, which was also thin, but the crust was overcooked, hard and nowhere near the «Crunchy with a Slight Chew» it was advertised as (though I suppose that could depend on your definition of «slight»).
The Neapolitan I got (plain tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil pie — otherwise known as a margherita most other places) was the better of the two. Nice fresh tomatoes, but the mozzarella while plentiful wasn’t that good and the basil could have been fresher. My NY Style pizza basically had tomato sauce wafted over it, ending up in a thin ring around the outside and the quantity of shredded mozzarella was way out of balance to the toppings and sauce. Most bites were a layer of cold cheese as thick as the crust it was directly on top of.
I got my food to-​go, but feel confident enough to comment on the service I observed. Everyone was very friendly, but the place seemed understaffed and service was very slow. The bartender (from the bar side) was doubling as the only perceived waitress for the café which was about ¹⁄₃ full for lunch (only 3 dishes came out of the kitchen the entire time I was waiting — and one of those was a cold-​cut sandwich).
It took 25 minutes to get 2 small pizzas and an order of onion rings. The onion rings I know sat for at least 10 minutes on the kitchen counter, because I watched them sitting there, and I suspect my pizzas sat boxed for a bit too as they were almost cold by the time I traveled the short distance home.
Bottom line, the place is simple and nice, the prices are fair, but the food (at least pizza) wasn’t very good when I compare against my internal pizza barometer. I’m just not inspired to come back any time soon.
2.5 stars, but I’m rounding down as I’ve had much better.

I’ve reviewed the 23^rd St. location, and after trying the Del Ray location recently, I had to Unilocal.The Del Ray location is EAT UP with rugrats («eat up» is what we say in the South to mean «full of»). There’s a «café» area and a bar area. I didn’t venture into the bar area, and I won’t, until VA outlaws smoking. The café area was rugrat city (which I wouldn’t mind if the little buggers weren’t so loud). It was SO loud in there! Also, my friend and I were served our pastas about 15-​yes, 15– minutes before my other friend’s pizza– that’s ridiculous, to be sitting there while your food gets cold, waiting on your dining companion to be served. So, service was definitely lacking but the waitress was apologetic and brought a free salad. The food was just as good as the Arlington location, I had the beef cannelloni special which was delicious. But, I went for a girls’ night out, and it was just way too loud for conversing. I’ll stick with the 23^rd St. location from now on.

I’m not understanding the blah reviews. Maybe I’m biased since it’s so convenient to where I live? I used to go to the one on 23^rd street and this one recently opened up within walking distance of my home. Everything I’ve eaten here is delicious and prepared well. I’ve had the eggplant and meatball subs, a few of a the pasta dishes and the pizza. I’m from NY so of course I’m going to be a little picky about the pizza but for me it’s decent and I will eat it which is more than I can say for 99% of DC area pizza. The wine is really well chosen and both desserts I’ve tried (gelato and tiramisu) were really really good. Right now they are having a dinner special on Monday nights that is an extremely good deal, 2 entrees, 2 salads, 2 desserts, 2 glasses of wine for 27.95. On the downside the outdoor patio is next to a parking lot instead of a sidewalk and the dining area seems a little cafeteria-​ish. If you are all about the food at a decent price this is a good bet.

Ordered Bell’s Oberon, but tasted much hoppier like the 2 Hearted Ale. Waiter was adamant it was Oberon.
The marinara sauce with the Mozzarella sticks was bland and watered-​down.
Ordered both the Neapolitan and New York pizzas, both were undercooked.
Will not be trying this place again.

Stop 1 for the Unilocal Saturday Night Crew
I met Cadence R and Alicia C here for some dinner before Jeff Ws gig.
I came stuffed from a bridal shower, but I had to eat a slice so I could get a good review for this place.
First of all they had Bell’s Oberon on tap, and that made me happy. It wasn’t to pricey either @ $ 4.75.
The pizza, nice and greasy. I personally like a greasy pie — and the pepperoni and sausage definitely delivered on this front.
The one real detractor from this place was the heat. We sat in the bar area and the door was open, so it was really warm and humid inside. The caps fans at the bar didn’t seem to mind, and it wasn’t completely unbearable.

Had the NY style spicy pizza… pretty good 4 big slices.
Decent beer and wine selection BUT at 3 on a Saturday I was the only diner. Waitress was busy with a big catering gig they had that night so I just wasn’t feeling any love.
Del Merei Grill next door is usually packed and has a following so this place needs to step it up. I probably would have been there buit Del Merei doesn’t open until 5. :(

They’ve got a good selection of beers on tap, the pizzas are simply okay, and the service is lacking a little, but that might have been because my sister joined me for dinner and she worked at the place so she was getting up from the table constantly and helping herself to putting in the orders and pouring water and whatnot. Nothing outlandish on the menu. It’s your typical Italian type place, a few antipasti, pasta dishes, and pizzas. If pressed I’m not sure I’d come back to this place if my sister wasn’t with me to get her employee discount.

It’s damn tough to find good pizza. The perfect blend of mozzarella and fresh tomato sauce. The crunch of the crust at the end of a slice. I almost want to go and get a slice of heaven right now. And maybe I will mosey over to grab a slice from pizzaiolo like I did last weekend.
Atomosphere: First off, I’m surprised this place hasnt been reviewed yet. Featured in the Washingtonian (which its reviews are sometimes hit or miss), the restaurant sits on Mount Vernon Ave, under a somewhat shady apartment complex. But don’t let that fool you. Inside is a friendly family dining room with damn tasty pizza, and a small bar in another side of the restaurants who don’t want to hear the kids screaming. Overall, there are about 20 tables in the entire restaurant. Just dont come here if you are looking for an intimate, low lit dining experience.
Food and Drink: The Pizza is some of the best I’ve had in the area, particularly if you are dining in. They also feature a good wine list and other entrees, which makes this restaurant a cut above the rest.
Service: If its anything that pizzaiolo needs, its an improvement in service, but not in ways that you think. The waitresses are swamped, too many tables, too few people. This leaves diners easily forgotten. Regardless, the service was friendly, just don’t expect them to give you a wine recommendation.
Overall: An excellent spot for a slice of glory. Just be aware that this is a family restaurant so while it may be a delicious meal, it may not be a quiet one. Also allow some time for dining, as the service is a little slow.