Dolce Carini

Visiting the Philadelphia area is always a treat. Due to the 6 hour schlepp to this amazing city of brotherly love, our hunger pains warranted the least-​preferred method of culinary experiences — DELIVERY. With it’s cornucopia of cultural possibilities, our options were reduced to scattered take-​out menus and a near ‘EENY MEENIE MINIE MOE’ final decision. With five members to this cast of «Hungry’s,» Dolce Carini became the majority vote due to it’s broader menu appeal. 40 minutes after we ordered, the doorbell rang and the bags were all unloaded and paid for. Without going into a thorough amount of detail, suffice it to say that I might have preferred eating the bags the food came in over what I ordered. Our collective choices were: A Tossed Salad, Margarita and a Veggie Delight Pizzas, 12 piece Boneless Buffalo «wings» (they were really McDonald sized nuggets) and a Turkey Club. The nuggets were soggy, as were both pizzas. Let’s just put it this way, you’d find more crunch in a bowl of pudding than you would in either of the Dolce Carini Pizza crusts we ordered. Sadly, the seemingly impossible-​to-​ruin Turkey Club sandwich featured processed, turkey… the kind that makes you squeal, «WTF WAS THAT?» so because of that fact, the sandwich failed big-​time. The winner (and this is only a guess since all of our appetites were broken by now) was most likely the salad since, really, how can you Fcuk up a salad? Maybe we should have seen how. Sorry, this spot gets our STAMP OF DENIAL and recommends that you bypass Carini veloce!

Good place to grab a slice. Consistently good and always has hit slices ready. Beware– this restaurant has super weird hours that don’t correlate with Google or their own website.

I’ve only ever ordered delivery from here, so I can’t comment on dining in. With that said, we’ve ordered pizza from here numerous times because it’s convenient and relatively cheap. The pizza is OKAY, nothing to write home about. I find that the best pizza is simply the plain one– that one is actually very tasty with just the right amount of sauce and cheese. Once they start adding toppings, however, it becomes soggy and laden with grease and hard to pick up– no added crunch in the crust at all. Avoid the veggie one that’s literally raw white onions and a few measly green bell peppers.
As for the other food, we recently ordered lunch here and I decided to opt for something else other than greasy pizza. The chicken pesto & red pepper Panini sounded tasty, as did the pasta fagioli soup.
For one, delivery took longer than the allotted 45 minutes to an hour that we were expecting. Secondly, my chicken Panini was impossible to eat without falling apart into a heaping mess. Rather than thinly slicing or cubing the chicken and pressing it into the Panini, they basically took 2 monstrous pieces of dry chicken breast and slapped it on toasted bread with pesto. The pieces were not cut at all and were so gigantic, they slid right off so I had to eat all the components separately. The fries were soggy, not crunchy, and lacked salt.
Additionally, the pasta fagioli soup was absolutely horrendous. The broth was SO thick but not in a good, creamy way. No meat at all (which is fine) but the noodles were scarce. It tasted like a can of Progresso soup that had been left out for too long. I got a giant cup of it and only had less than a fourth and had to throw the rest away.

This review is for their speciality pizzas. If you like your pizza soggy from sauce overdose, this is your place. Sadly, I don’t.

Why can’t the layout of this pizza place be more functional?
You walk in and it’s immediate tight quarters! The only upside is that they have good food for a great price. Our office has ordered pizzas from here and they have been pretty delicious. It’s not anything fancy, but it does that job when you’re craving cheese fries and a greasy slice of pizza!
I would definitely return if I were ever in the area again!

Delivery took an hour and a half and my pizza was cold and SUPER soggy by the time it got to me. I’m bummed to say the least. I can’t hardly eat it, and I’m not a picky eater.

Normally, I just go and pick up couple slices of the spinach and mushroom pizza, which is great here. However, I decided to eat more healthy and ordered online for pick up the veggie wrap and jalapeño poppers. The jalapeño poppers were crispy and excellent. Although I’m not a big fan of veggie wraps, I really enjoyed this veggie wrap, which was loaded with cooked vegetables and tasted really good. If looking for a non-​pizza vegetable only option, I would definitely consider the veggie wrap (mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, roasted peppers, green peppers, tomatoes & onions). Ordering online was simple and convenient.

I am staying at a hotel and needed some dinner last night, but didn’t feel like going out. The front desk gave me a few suggestions on pizza places that will deliver but the reviews weren’t very good on here. I came across this place and checked out their menu. Their pizza selections are vast! I had a hard time choosing, but I ended up ordering a small buffalo chicken and two sodas. The man on the phone was very nice and said he’d be here in 35 minutes. Just 20 minutes later I got a call on my cell phone saying he was in the lobby! I was so thankful he brought me plates and napkins too! The pizza was amazing, I couldn’t stop eating it until the whole thing was gone!!! Try this place out, you won’t regret it!

Great pizza slices and the chicken steak was so big.

I really like the Pizza here. A simple pie, with not-​too-​sweet sauce (I am not a sweet sauce fan, and sweet sauce is definitely a thing in Philly). This is probably one of my favorites places to get a pizza with just a few toppings or plain cheese (I usually get my specialty pies elsewhere and have not tried the specialty pies here yet… but I will!). They are always generous with their toppings and never skimp on the cheese! The sauce to topping to cheese ratio is pretty much always spot on!
I also enjoy their mega fries, pizza fries, or buffalo fries!
They have good chicken wings as well. Not the best, but if you have a hankering for wings, theirs will hit the spot.
Fast delivery, very friendly staff and the prices aren’t bad to boot!
I wish they were open a little later, at least on the weekends, sometimes I like a late night za!

We’ve ordered lunch from here a few times and all in all it’s okay. Nothing over the top amazing, and definitely nothing bad. A decent place to order lunch from and the food is consistently good.

Solid 3.5 stars
Chicken Dolce Carini: delicious hot sub with chicken pieces grilled with mushrooms pepperoni peppers and onions! Great hoagie bread and overall a tasty (but oily and a bit heavy) sandwich!
Pizza was alright with a tasty crust that lacked perfect strength (a bit soggy). The cheese ratio was a bit high, contributing to the heavy load on the crust.
Was more impressed with the sandwich than the pizza. The pizza search continues!

Had a Hawaiian pizza here last night. Have to agree with another post that recommended more basil, oregano, other spices in the sauce. Was a little bit bland.
Probably would not go back.

So we were hanging out in our center city hotel room, a little burned out on walking for the day and not really wanting to go anywhere. We’d also eaten a late lunch. Seemed like a good choice to order pizza.
Dolce Carini was close by and offered delivery, and sure enough they delivered to our hotel lobby. We ordered simple: a pepperoni Sicilian.
OK, you should know that the Sicilians are huge. They take up an entire large pizza delivery box. Even the corners, because they’re square. Nice thick (though not ridiculously so) crust.
It was really delicious, with great cheese and a zesty sauce. The crust was also quite good.
We did not finish our pizza. We did not finish it the next night, either. So beware — unless you are two VERY hungry dudes, you probably can’t eat a whole Sicilian by yourself.

I have ordered from Dolce Carini for two years and never had a problem with my food. I usually order the sausage tomato pie (YUM-​ME). Always hot. Always delicious. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger once. It was so wonderful.
–DELIVERY–
I’m finally posting a review because I ordered a sandwich, fries and soda. When my order arrived (within the time they said it would, by the way), my sandwich and fries were hot and my soda was cold. Did I mention that the night before it snowed several inches and was about 20 degrees out?
–FOOD–
I ordered a chicken cheesesteak. I always ask that preparers scoop the extra bread from the roll. So when I got the sandwich, it was HUGE. I thought they had failed to scoop the roll. Not so. The sandwich was so stuffed with meat, it made the sandwich appear ginormous! Then add to that hot and gooey cheese. I’m salivating just writing this!
–SERVICE–
The service has always been straightforward. Not poor. Not obnoxious. I guess when you know you’re providing your patrons with decent food at a decent price, you don’t have to act all fake nice. I prefer that.
Go.

In general pizza in Philly is really amazing. I am not sure why NY pizza is so popular. Philly should be! Even this humble local pizzeria makes amazing pizza.
I always get their creamy spinach pizza. Their Alfredo sauce is really good. It’s simple but has so much flavor. It’s perfect with baked spinach. The pizza crust is so crunch and delicious. I never Thorpe away their edge. Yum yum yum.

No complaints. A solid pizza joint with a lot of different slice options.
I’m a bit of a pizza snob though and this whore has her favorites.
I had the California slice (tomatoes, fried chicken, + bacon) and a Taco slice.
Usually I forbid such Frankenstein concoctions from bastardizing the seduction of a true slice. But I was never there before and was overwhelmed by the slice selection so I just pointed at what my stomach told me to.
A good place to hate yourself after eating way too much pizza.

In the Rittenhouse area, Dolce Carini is definitely one of the better pizzerias if you’re looking for delivery or pizza by the slice, though from previous experience, the Sicilian pies aren’t that great.
Mega Fries [$ 6.90]
Bacon, cheddar, mozzarella
If you’re going full-​on heart-​clog, try their mega fries. Creamy whiz, tons of mozzarella, and crispy bits of bacon was interspersed throughout the well-​seasoned fries. Be sure to have your Lipitor prescription on standby.
Eggplant Parmigiana Sandwich [$ 7.50]
Fresh, crusty bread was filled with oven-​roasted eggplant that wasn’t overly breaded. Mozzarella covered it all, with a tart marinara dressing on top. Not bad.
Tomato White Pizza [$ 17.15]
Dolce Carini being a pizzeria, I had to order some. Looking for creamy garlic and cheese flavors, I went with a white pie. This thin-​crust pizza was fragrant with garlic and was studded with ripe tomatoes, which lent some acidity to each bite.
So if you’re in the Rittenhouse area, pop on into Dolce Carini for a few slices and don’t hesitate to try their garlic knots or sides.

Man I was so happy when I found out these guys deliver. I was starving and yes, that may be influencing how amazing I thought everything was, but I’d like to think that I’ve had enough freakin pizza by now that I can tell when someone does something right.
My beautiful wife and I ordered a buffalo chicken pizza and an eggplant parm sandwich. Side note– their «personal,» size is basically the size of a normal small or medium from some other spots. Anyway, a personal is a good enough size for just one or two people.
The buffalo chicken was loaded with chicken, hot sauce, and blue cheese. I loved it. I don’t remember the crust being anything amazing, but the toppings were great and I loaded that thing up with crushed red pepper and went to town. Thank you DC, that was legit and I will order it again as soon as my wife is out of town and isn’t monitoring my health as closely.
The eggplant parm– also, awesome, taste was decent but I think I just really loved the size of this thing and how much sauce and cheese got thrown on, plus the breading on the eggplant, that was pretty solid. And it was just huge, chewy, melty, goodness all in one.
Improvements– bros– add some spices and herbs to your dough, bread, and sauce. That is the extra mile you need to push you way to a 5 star spot. I’m talking oregano in your sauce, basil, garlic, etc. Or, if you’re doing that already, we need to see more.

I’ll admit — partner-​in-​crime and I are pizza snobs. We’re Brooklyn-​based, after all.
Cheese pizza was okay. It wasn’t crispy enough and it was a little too soggy. I would probably try something else next time. But the cheesesteak pizza? Spot on. It was cooked to perfection and delicious. Plenty of steak on the pizza. Honestly we were both surprised at how good it was we ordered another slice. (And sadly split it.)
Service was pretty good as well but it was very tight/​crowded in there.