Illiano’s Italian Pizzeria

Food and service exceptional! Shame inside décor isn’t a little more attractive? Some Illiano’s have garlic salad dressing-​awesome! Why don’t all?
Thank you Paesano’s –Illiano’s in New London!!!

We’ve going here for many years, and the pizza has always been great. They have the standard cheese pizza, but they also have great specialty pizzas like baked potato or cheeseburger. The baked potato pizza has potato slices, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, and ranch dressing. The cheeseburger pizza has ground beef, ketchup, and American/​cheddar cheese (I forget since I haven’t had it in a while: D). They also have all sorts of other food like calzones, garlic knots, pasta, Italian ice and many other things that I’m probably forgetting. And the staff has always been very helpful and friendly.

Great pizza! We enjoyed the cheeseburger pizza. Quick service! This is our go to pizza house

I’ve gone to the Meriden Illiano’s several times and today I went to the Washington St one. When I called to order a chicken dish, I was told they were out of it. Out of a dish on a Sunday at 2? Oh wait, you mean out of foodservice grade rubber chicken… Makes more sense.
When I went to pick up my order, I stood at the counter waiting to be noticed. A waitress pushed past me 3 times and didn’t say a word. Two guys at the counter acted like I didn’t exist, talking amongst themselves and then aimlessly cutting the garlic knots that sit out on the counter. When he finally came over he acted like I was an inconvenience. After paying, he immediately asked the two hookers behind me what they wanted. Well played, scuzzball.
My bathroom is bigger than this place, it’s dirty and duct taped door handles really lend to the atmosphere. I’m currently writing this in between bouts of sickness from their crap food. The Meriden location is not much better in terms of customer service.
If people think THIS is good Italian food, they are sadly mistaken.
P. S. You don’t put roasted peppers, kalamatas and pepperoncini on a Cobb salad.

I’ve frequented this place since 2004, it is the best of the illianos by far in food quality and service. Grab a slice, or order out a dinner or Pizza and you will not be disappointed. Jay and his staff are top notch in service and making you feel welcomed. Jay is always creating his own takes on pizza toppings (Mac and cheese, hot dog topping-​try it it’s great). Don’t hesitate to stop by or call ahead you will not regret it.

One of my top 2 pizza places in Middletown.
Great pizza, great pasta (better than most of the Italian restaurants in town). The Stacciatelli Romano is one of my favorite soups– always hot and fresh when I order it! My son LOVES the stuffed meat pizza, so we always get a slice of that, too.
Pumpkin cannolis, when it is that time of year, are to die for!

I used to make a point of going to the Washington street location when I was in the area. I love pizza places that have a ton of different kinds of pizzas ready for you to get slices of. The steak and cheese pizza with american cheese was always really good. The pepperoni bread or wheel or whatever they call it was also a must, as were the garlic knots. I need to get down there again soon!

I stop at this restaurant on a regular basis because I enjoy selecting a unique slice of pizza, and its always good. However, this time the attitude from the guy behind the counter was so atrocious I thought I would give the restaurant two stars. Notwithstanding, the pizza was excellent! The staff member that normally mans the counter was not working today, and whoever they decided to replace him with needs some training on how to be courteous to customers, because that’s who makes the business successful. If you are reading this and you are from Illianos, I suggest talking to the guy with a beard and tattooed arms about how to treat customers kindly.

We usually come to their Washington Street location for there huge selection of delicious Pizza by the slice or sometime phone in a pizza order to pick up. I can’t think of a time that we were disappointed. Tonight we decided we wanted something more than pizza but didn’t want to go inside to eat. We ordered a Chicken Parmingina dinner and Penne alla Vodka dinner to pick up and bring home. When we got there they were busy as usual. We were greeted promptly and within a few minutes were out the door and back on our way home. Upon arriving home we were pleasantly surprised that instead of a couple hunks of Italian bread with each meal we actually got fresh made rolls that were still steaming inside when we broke them open. Both Dinners were still hot and delicious. We made sure we finished the Chicken (because it’s not as good when you microwave it) but were unable to finish our salads or the Penne. We will definitely go back for more than just pizza from now on. Thanks Illiano’s for not disappointing us again!!!

Our experience at Illiano’s was just bizarre. I’ve heard great things about the food, so was excited to try it. After going to the North Pole Express train in Essex, my aunt, uncle, little cousin and I decided to swing by Illiano’s on our way home. Since it was about 7 pm and we had a hungry 5 year old with us, we thought calling our order in ahead of time was the best bet. We planned to eat there, not take the food home. This is something I’ve done before, for instance on my lunch hour when there is a limited time to actually eat.
When my aunt called, they acted like this was a really off-​putting request. We asked for an order of just meatballs and sausage, maybe baked with sauce and cheese, since my uncle isn’t eating carbs at the moment. Maybe that’s a special request, but I wouldn’t think it would be too hard.
We also ordered a large tossed salad, a small cheese pizza and a small eggplant pizza. They told us that large pizzas were only a dollar more, so we said sure, make them larges. We said we’d be there in about 15 minutes.
After discussing it, we decided two large pizzas was too much. We called to change one to a small, and the man who picked up the phone said «you know you can order once you get here, right?» Of course we do. Really?
When we arrived, the waitress basically threw down the plates of meatballs and sausage. They were cold. (We arrived in less than 15 minutes from the call). She also dumped down the salad with no plates and only 2 sets of silverware on the table. She didn’t tell us her name, ask us if we wanted drinks, or welcome us in any way other than confirming the name on our order. We had her heat up the meatballs and sausage.
It took another 5 minutes to get plates and dressing so we could start on the salad. She didn’t get us drinks until after taking the drink order of a table that came in 5 minutes after us. As she was filling their order at the fountain next to our table, she said «you want drinks?»
The pizza was good. She was generally rude and not at all friendly.
At the end, my aunt asked if our ordering ahead was a major inconvenience, and if that was why we had gotten such attitude from the staff. Instead of apologizing, the waitress started by saying «attitude?» and eventually conceded that there was an issue, saying something like «it was just a confusing situation and we didn’t know what was going on.»
It’s confusing for someone to say «I’d like to place my order ahead of time and eat it when I get there»? After my aunt explained our reason for doing this, it was like that made it better. Like we had to explain ourselves. Again, no apology.
In my opinion, we could have simply ordered take out and eaten it in the car. Since we decided to sit down, we gave her the benefit of getting a tip on an order that was taken by phone. Instead of appreciating that, she acted like we came in and started insulting her.
It was awkward and uncomfortable. We won’t be going back.

Have been to this location twice now and have been pleased on both occasions! Food is excellent, and service is 5 star. Pizzas are a tad expensive but they look delicious, although admittedly we have come for the eggplant grinders! No complaints with Illinois on Washington Street. Meriden location also boasts friendly staff and the South Main location seems like a nice location for a date!

Soups are the bomb! Meat stombolil wicked good. And they make scaccitta (I no I spelled that wrong lol). An Italian delight. People don’t make it anymore. And here it’s worth every bite!!! Salads are huge. And the dressing I can drink it!!!

This is a review for the salads only, and i feel compelled to write this due to the many reviews below that say the salads were awful. I ordered 2 salads twice last week and i have to say they were the best salads i ever for from a take out pizza restaurant. My boyfriend and I got the chef and cobb salads. They come in a massive bowl, the lettuce was romaine (crisp not wilted), cucumbers, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, cherry peppers and olives. Then the meat depending on what you got; cobb had 3 big pieces of chicken, bacon, and an egg.
Every time we got it we couldn’t finish it. And it was our first time ordering from here and the fact we ordered it again in the same week says something.
We plan on trying other things now and ill have to update once we do!

Omg. With a capital O M G. Seriously epic pizza. They give you small sliver as a taste while you wait. There are an obscene amount of choices. The bacon cheeseburger literally tastes like a bacon cheeseburger. Best ever. You need to try it

Friendly staff, good quality food, and a free sample sliver of pizza while you’re waiting to pick up your order — all great things about Illiano’s. I’ve only had take out, but there are some tables if you choose to dine in. Seems like most people get take out from here, as the door is always opening and closing with people coming to pick up their orders. They have good pizza and grinders. I particularly enjoy their eggplant parmesan grinder– great flavor and it tops every other eggplant grinder I’ve had from anywhere else.

We love Illiano’s…it’s our go to pizza spot in Middletown. We usually go to the South Main Street location to dine in or take out, but occasionally we go to the Washington Street location. It’s a little more casual and has a much larger selection of pizza available by the slice.
It’s normally good, but the stars aligned tonight and it was a perfect 5 star dining experience. We checked out the available slices and went to find a seat. We ordered wings and a Greek salad to start, and then we all got different slices. I almost always order the Greek salad, no anchovies, with house vinaigrette for me and parmesan peppercorn for my husband and stepson. Tonight the salad was the epitome of fresh and tasty. Lettuce, roasted peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, feta and stuffed grape leaves. The toppings were plentiful and everything was just so fresh. It was a huge salad, the 3 of us each had a serving and we still had a good amount leftover to take home. I love their house vinaigrette dressing, it’s so garlicky and good. Don’t get it if you don’t love garlic! At the last minute we added on an order of 3 garlic knots. Garlic upon garlic, I dipped my garlic knot in the dressing. It’s like heaven, and I’ll definitely be warding off any vampires for at least the next 2 or 3 days!
The wings were good, as usual. They’re crispy and not drowning in sauce. There is extra sauce in the bottom of the dish if you want it. They gave us both blue cheese and ranch as requested, and they weren’t stingy with it. Sometimes (at other restaurants) you get attitude when you ask for both dressings, or they give you tiny little cups. Not Illiano’s…generous portions are present for everything you order.
Then it was time for the pizza. The three of us all have our favorites and rarely deviate. But once in a while there is a new flavor that we just have to try. I was beyond thrilled when I saw the new pizza they had tonight — broccoli rabe and sausage. One of my favorite food combinations since childhood… now on a pizza. I’ve never seen this combo on a pizza before. It was great! The sausage was thinly sliced and there were good sized pieces of broccoli rabe that tasted like they had been sauteed in oil with some seasonings. It was really good. I hope it becomes a permanent addition to the menu so I can have it again!!! My husband got the baked potato pizza which is always creamy and good. My stepson got the buffalo chicken pizza, always a favorite, though he did say it wasn’t as spicy tonight and that there were not the characteristic larger chunks of chicken on it (smaller pieces). But he still enjoyed it.
In addition to the wonderful food, the service was wonderful. We were greeted by several employees as soon as we walked in the door, and allowed to look at the pizza choices without being rushed to sit down. As soon as we sat down, a woman came over to take our drink order. Our server was very nice and staggered the food perfectly so that we didn’t have to wait, but didn’t have a dozen plates on the table at one time. When we were done, a man who worked there came to wrap up our leftover wings. We were never left waiting and always felt like we had the staff’s attention when we needed it. It was a team approach and it made for excellent customer service. Even as we were leaving, they were all calling out «thanks» and «have a good night».
Overall, it was just a great experience. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not a fancy pizza restaurant, but there are a lot of times you don’t want that. If you want a little more of a sit down restaurant vibe, head to their South Main Street location for the same great food but a little more ambiance. If you want great pizza fast, the Washington Street location is perfect.

It’s SOOOO EXPENSIVE. The staff is horrible, they don’t smile, instead they frown and look depressed, or angry. Food isn’t that good

Best pizza in the area. Thin, crispy crust. Plus the staff is super friendly and will usually give you a ‘free snack’ sized slice of pizza. Wonderful!

First off, make sure you check which address you are planning on going to, because there are TWO Illiano’s restaurants in Middletown (and seven or eight elsewhere in the state). They have the same owners, so the food quality is similar, but the menus are different.
This one is a straight-​up Pizzeria; super casual, great pies, laid back staff. They have a dining area and full waittress service but if you are looking for a romantic evening with your secret lover, I suggest going to their South Main St. location. It is fancier, and has a larger entrée menu. This location hosts a lot of Wesleyan students, families with kids, and fans from the ball parks across the street, so it tends to get loud when busy.
Illi’s on Washington St. focuses on the Pizza, and they do an excellent job in that regard. Slices are big and tasty, but not cheap. The Pies are large (16″), and they have several interesting specialty gourmet pizzas, plus of course all the more traditional pizza options.
If you’re in the mood for great pizza, good grinders, or tasty pasta dishes, look no further than Illiano’s Pizzeria on Washington St.
If you’re in the mood for a great salad… keep looking.

Another Illiano’s location in Middletown, I prefer this one over the S. Main Street one, mainly because I drive by it every day and it feels more like a pizzeria to me.
As with the other location — the Pizza is good here — neapolitan and sicilian, lots of specialty pizzas — if you like white pies try the white veggie if they have slices — tomato, red onions, scallions, broccoli, garlic, basil, and mozzarella. they have non-​pizza food as well, but i have never ventured beyond the za..