Grioli’s Italian Bistro & Pizzeria

Ok, well, I feel like I am telling an old friend to take a hike and I apologize if this gets a tish wordy.
Whenever we move somewhere it seems that one of the highest priorities on our to-​do list is to find the best restaurants within a decent driving distance. Italian, Chinese and Fried Chicken are always sought after and when they are found they are locked into our hearts and tummies and cell phones.
Pizza is the litmus paper of Italian restaurants. When we first ate at Grioli’s it was a dine in experience and we had non-​pizza dishes and they were delicious. After several tries at slightly closer, meh, pizza places we thought we would give Grioli’s pizza a shot. Their pizza is the best we had so far within the logical driving distance. Then, one night we were in the mood for wings and gave their wings a try. They then became our go-​to place for pizza and wings even though one time the wing order was completely messed up. They make their own bleu cheese dressing and the wings are plump and perfect.
Tonight, sigh, tonight we decided to dine in and have non-​pizza dishes. My partner ordered the Steak Grioli. It was supposed to be a 10 ounce sirloin steak topped with a marsala mushroom sauce and accompanied by a twice baked potato. It arrived with a plain baked potato and no sauce or mushrooms whatsoever. The server did ask when he ordered if it was ok that the steak was a ribeye because they were out of sirloins and we did agree to that. I ordered the Quattro Stagioni. I won’t describe it completely but it was supposed to have blackened chicken and the chicken that arrived on top was not blackened. I honestly do not know why we did not say anything although I did say out loud that there was no sauce on his steak when it arrived the server did not acknowledge the statement. I was a server for almost thirty years and I do not like to be the complainer at table 10 but in my defense for not saying anything, as a server I would have known my menu backwards and forwards, up and down, left and right and would not have brought such a blatantly different from the menu description dish to come out of the kitchen. So, after careful consideration we are saying Ciao! to Grioli’s as we would rather have mediocre food prepared correctly than good food we have to hope is prepared correctly.

Great food, great service. Chicken parm was great! We had a large party and they were able to accommodate us with great service, no wrong orders.

I had Grioli’s cater my daughter’s wedding shower. We ordered enough food for 40 but they sent enough for twice that many. The food was terrific and everyone kept saying how good it was.

Waited 45 mins for a pizza and stromboli… restaurant was not even busy!
Ordered the Mr G’s potato chips, tasted like they were fried in old burnt oil.
Pizza & stromboli were average at best. Not worth the wait at all.

I liked it! Had a spinach and pepperoni calzone that took about 16 minutes to get our business t tasted very good. They shouldn’t charge a dollar for extra marinara. Would definitely try it again and want to try the pizza!

Very disappointed. Our Sicilian pizza was horrible. The crust was burned to dark toast and the crust was thick but not tasteful. Too thick for my taste and I really like Sicilian pizzas. We complained about the crust but she seemed not to care. The service was not very good either. Our waitress didn’t have a good understanding of how to politely ask for our plates or glasses when refilling them. When asking for our plates or soda glasses, instead of asking for them, she would say «give me your …». Not a very warming feeling. Seemed to be a very bossy person. Not what you expect from a waitress or waiter. And, she seemed to be more interested in chasing someone’s kid Round the restaurant and kitchen than she cared about customers. Maybe they were family members, but this is a place that you definitely don’t take your kid to work. We won’t be coming back, but I feel the need to review to help anyone interested in this restaurant.

Our server was good, but just an order of the homemade chips took 15mins, then we ordered the «Godfather» pizza which boasts about the 3 – 4 different types of meat, but what we actually got was 85% veggies and 15% meat, if that. They said that’s how it’s measured out and did nothing. Our first and LAST visit.

This place used to have great food and service. I was a regular customer for many years but within the last year they’ve changed management which has completely changed everything. I would not recommend this place at all!!!

Not impressed with this place at all. Chose lunch at this place based off the reviews and was very disappointed. Asked the waitress if they could make an Italian dish not on the menu and she said it would be no problem. The dish turned out horrible and far from authentic. Also, the waitress was scatter-​brained. Forgot to put in our appetizer order, left to get more water but never returned. All in all a bad experience which leads me to wonder who is writing these favorable reviews. Clearly this place is a below average establishment. We will not go back.

Dear Lord this place was awful. It didn’t stay in my stomach long if you know what I mean. The grease — geez – the calamari was deep fat friend beyond words. I have the veal parm. and that was a serious mistake. Good veal should allow you to but it with the fork… I thought I needed to ask for a saw. Never again. If you have had the pleasure to eat good Italian food… stay away from this place. The waitstaff was friendly though.

This place is AMAZING ! My mom and I really had a craving for calzones, but we wanted them from a legit Italian restaurant. This is the place to go! The food is fresh and well worth the price. We will definitely be back!

They have wifi but it is VERY slow. Food is ok. Service is ok. Overall underwhelming.

We have been to Grioli’s 3 times. The first time was stopping for dinner after a camping weekend since it was on our way home. WOW! Not only was our food delish… the staff could not have been more friendly and accommodating! I have tried different dishes each time… the steak salad is great… the calamari is really good, the house salad was so fresh and had little extras that other places do not offer! We don’t eat out often, but Grioli’s is on the top of our list when we do!

Pleasantly surprised!
When we first moved to the area, we went to Grioli’s and it was awful. Food and service were much to be desired. The owners then revamped and made personnel changes, & now this place is our new favorite! Great food and excellent service.
Thanks for the hard work Grioli’s! We will be making this one of our regular stops

Amazing pizzeria! My husband and I both had calzones and we were both very impressed. They are huge and have amazing flavor. Probably one of the best calzones I’ve had in this area.

Ooooooo awesome place. Love the family type atmosphere. Very friendly staff and awesome food. I’ve came here a few times now and for me just stopping in this area when traveling has made this exit of I95 a regular stop for me.
Pizza is freshly made and calzones are amazing also. Like I said above the staff are very friendly and make you feel at home. Must go

My wife and I ate here for lunch as a last minute decision. It was great. We both had the buffet and a drink. A small salad comes with the buffet. The buffet was really good with a great selection of pastas, meatballs and pizza. All very tasty. When we were leaving we thanked them and told them it was our first time here, they gave a $ 15 promo card for use on our next visit. Great service and food! Don’t miss out.

Improving all the time it seems. A year ago I would have given this place one star. Today they are getting the job done.
Not world class mind you, but not bad at all.

Grioli’s is a surprising little restaurant! My parents and I came Sunday for Father’s Day lunch and I thought they were a mostly take-​out spot, but evidently they are a very nice, calm sit-​down restaurant.
Your meal will begin with a friendly waitress taking drink orders and bringing out warm bread, with butter or with seasoned olive oil. The seasonings in the olive oil are fairly typical, with some extra red pepper flakes.
The menu is varied with soups, salads, appetizers, sandwiches, wraps, pasta, pizza, calzones, and dessert. The variety makes this a great family restaurant since there is something for everyone.
The soup of the day was Wedding Soup and I ordered this with their house salad for a nice light lunch. The soup was piping hot, so as that cooled, I dug into my fresh salad. There were croutons, tomatoes, olives and cucumbers and it was a pretty good size. Once the soup cooled down it tasted home-​made with tasty broth, lots of little meatballs and pasta. The only thing it could have used was a touch of parmigiano for saltiness and richness. The soup was served with two thin slices of toasty bread with minced garlic. Overall a pretty filling and healthy lunch. My parents were pleased with their sandwiches as well. Sandwiches come with their homemade potato chips or you can upgrade to fries. The choice is yours!
Breakdown,
The food: It was good! I was pleased.
The value: Soup was around $ 4 and the salad was around $ 4 and the servings were very generous.
The experience: We arrived after 12 and it was quite empty. The after-​church crowd started to coming in and I don’t think the restaurant would have a problem serving a full house. The service was very good.
Would I return?: I think so! Other food to try after all!
4 stars?: I think they did a good job! They were better than ok.

Very nice lunch specials. I had the Philly Cheese Steak. Toppings piled on instead of mixed in. Caused the sandwich to be a little messy. Meat and cheese quality was very good though.
Very friendly staff and the ambience gives that of a local restaurant even though there are a few of these in the Mid-​Atlantic/​Southeast.