Paizanos

Wow that’s really good pizza!
A friend of mine told me how amazing Paizanos was and that I needed to check it out, and i’m glad I did! I came in on a Tuesday and was unsure of what to order. Wait staff must’ve picked up on that because they told me about their large 1 topping pizza deal for $ 9.99, so I told them to give me that!
On my large deal, which is a thin crust 16″ pizza, I ordered Italian sausage, Mushroom, onion and bell pepper (Yes! You can add toppings ($ 1.95 for each large pizza topping, $ 0.95 for each medium topping). The veggies on my pizza were super fresh, and there didn’t seem to be anything processed at all. The onions were slightly sweet, the bell peppers were crunchy, not mushy, and everything just tasted fresh. I love it!
From order to out the door took about 15 minutes, which is enough time to explore Downtown Norcross for a bit, where Paizanos is located, or just hang out at their bar.
Paizanos looks a lot larger than it looks from the outside, very spacious and a nice sized bar. Friendly customer service and great food round out a really great experience.
Really can’t say more positive things about this place. If you find yourself in Downtown Historic Norcross, stop on in and grab a slice.

The garlic knots changed my life. A true jewel of Atlanta. Cozy, a bit loud but tolerable. Accepts reservations. Decent beer selection. Great menu selection. Even have gluten free pizza and pasta (if that’s your thang). Great service and bartender. Active but not crazy busy week nights. Gnocchi is becoming my fave dish. Although I do love the pizza and calzones also. So much win here. Enjoy!

Only been here a few times on the weekend during odd hours (usually around 3−4pm) because we’re night-​shift workers and lunch usually happens that time for us. Restaurant isn’t really busy at that time, so seating has never been a problem, and service is really good.
Overall in my multiple visits here, I’ve tried their pizza, the Piccata dishes, and the eggplant dishes. All have been excellent. The appetizers are fairly large in size for two people, so watch yourself! Oh, and you must try the spinach salad. It has a creamy horseradish dressing that is amazing…

The service is superb and the food was fresh. We ordered the Fried Mozzarella $ 8.95 for an appetizer and they were great. For dinner the Nu Yawker pizza, large for $ 20.50. The place is right in the heart of downtown Norcross. It is a great place to take a date or a love one to.

This place is boring. The food is bland. It’s staffed by lifeless zombies, and the atmosphere has no creativity or personality.

We stopped by for dinner and got a pizza and a beer. Very good pizza. Super light and airy crust. Needs a little more spice in the sauce though. The waitress was little too interested in talking to a friend of hers who came in. M Train runs next to the building which means a whole lotta shaking going on!

Every time we have been I never had a bad meal and portion sizes always leaves us with leftovers. The staff has been on top of things and friendly. My main complaint is that the ambiance can be a bit noisy. On a busy evening, it can make it difficult when trying to have a conversation.

UGGH!
Tonight my husband and I decided to try Paizanos because it was convenient. We wanted to get something that we could easily take to go so we decided on the chicken and Paizano stromboli. I called in the order and we picked it up in short order. When we arrived at the «restaurant», my impression was that it is actually a bar that serves food.
When you walk in, the huge bar takes center stage and is really all you see until you move beyond a certain point.
When we arrived at our destination, (the First Friday concert), we opened the boxes and agreed that our selection looked great. However, the good news ends there because both strombolis were disappointing. The dough was very heavy, bland and doughy, while the ingredients lacked seasoning and balance. Almost half of the stromboli was empty so you don’t get as much as you think you are getting unless you enjoy eating tough and gummy dough.
This is the type of food you get when you awaken the chef from a sound sleep and demand something to eat. He will get even with you by giving you «angry» food to make sure that you never bother him again!
Needless to say, this was our first and last visit!
** If you are bold enough to get this stromboli and you are not going home, be aware that the plastic fork provided will not be able to handle the heavy crust. My husband and I had to share my travel set of flatware so that we were taking turns eating which was a bit ridiculous.
** You’ve been warned!

Outstanding slice!
The lunch special with two slices is great. Tuesday Pizzas are cheap.

Excellent food and great service. Caesar salad with chicken had generous portion of meat and garlic knots are to die for (if you’re on paleo, but then it might still be worth it). Pizza and Marsala also on point.

Piazanos is a good restaurant with a variety of pastas, salads, and pizzas. I ordered a grilled portobello salad which had greens, tomatoes and a nice balsamic vinaigrette dressing with chicken. The salad was good, but for almost 14 dollars I do expect to to have more food on my plate. I believe that I ordered the wrong item as my friends were enjoying a wonderful fluffy pan margarita pizza. I would recommend this place but avoid the salad. Fresh chips with melted cheese were quite appetizing.

Walked in Friday around 4:45 pm and the place smelled like rotten sewage.. walked out and went to Romanov Pizza in Johns creek.

Positives: Nice, cozy location in cool historic district; friendly, upbeat and attentive service; reasonable prices
Negatives: I had a draft beer, house salad and lasagna. Beer was fine. House Greens salad was very blah and was honestly 40% leafy greens and 60% big stems. Not my idea of an appetizing salad. Lasagna was just ok. Decent portion but it seemed like it was just barely warmed and lacked any depth of flavor. Certainly had better for same or lower prices. Overall, not a terrible experience but I doubt I’d recommend it when there are other options in the area.

A traditional looking pizza shop in the historic downtown Norcross district. This restaurant all is located more on the edge of the plaza of restaurants. Parking is pretty easy when not busy, with open spaces all over the district. I have been here during peak hours where it’s not so easy, though.
It was maybe 6ish on a Monday night, and the restaurant was completely empty: my friend and I were the only two people seated. Of course, as time went by, people started to trickle in, but it was still pretty scarce; but maybe that’s how it usually looks on Monday night near suburbia.
My friend and I settled on the Hell’s Kitchen Sink Pizza pretty quickly. Nice play on words. The pizza took ages to reappear, but at least that means it must be freshly made?
The pizza itself was delicious. For some reason, I expected a little kick to it, which I had to add myself with the hot chili flakes. The toppings seemed fresh.
A tasty little Italian spot in downtown historic Norcross. Be sure to check it out!

Very very nice Italian dishes and their New York pizza pie… actually put a tear in my eye!

Bartender was actually the manager and very good natured and friendly. Pizza special on Tuesday is worth the price. Two pepperoni 21.89 — ordered it Tuesday night picked it up Wednesday at 5:30p.
Coulda cooked it longer to meld/​melt cheese but other than that no complaints.

I can see why people like this place. It’s comfortable. It’s right in Historic Norcross. The food was pretty good. I grabbed an early dinner here with a friend and was happy with my meal. When I say early, it was really early. Like we were the first ones in for dinner and had the whole place to ourselves, early. Even at that time of day, the place was dark and intimate. And I’m glad we came early, because I hear there’s sometimes a line out the door for a table. Paisano’s is the kind of place you might bring a date, even if you’re both just wearing jeans and a t-​shirt. It’s the kind of place you might just grab an adult beverage at the bar and hang out for a bit. Either way, I think you won’t be disappointed.
I had the Chicken Marsala. It was good, though I’ll admit, it didn’t grab me right away. But the accompanying pasta was good. In fact, next time I will probably stick with the «known» items of greatness here. Folks rave about the garlic knots and the gnocchi with vodka sauce. Folks seem to rave about the NY style pizzas. I will be looking forward to those things on my next visit. Holler if you’re coming with!

Coming here is always a delight. Nice staff and delicious food!
The Garlic Knots and sauce are to die for.

Large portion meals! However, waiting time is a little longer than expected.
Our waiter was very kind, but as a hungry customer, I was very anxious on the delivery time of the entrees, so that is why I give this place 4 stars. The meal took about 30 – 40 minutes in between platters. (maybe that’s usual? I was STARVING)
Ordered, calamari and garlic bread for appetizers. DELISH! I think they use a sweet chili sauce for the calamari dip and it was so good, I used it on my garlic bread.
I ordered the lasagna and about half way in, I was already full from my garlic bread.
My meal came with a spinach salad (included some creamy dressing and blue cheese) however, I did not enjoy it.
Great for family and date nights. It’s located in a quaint area in downtown Norcross.

How have I only just discovered this place?!
Paizanos is located in downtown Norcross and is on the end of a row of historic buildings with tons of old brick and vintage painting. When you walk in the door you see a seating area to your left, the bar area to your right, and a quaint dining room straight ahead. The hostess was kind and seated us right away (protip — book your table on open table for dining points!) and gave us expansive menus.
The establishment is super family friendly and the food is pretty affordable. The table next to ours ordered the garlic rolls and I immediately knew we had to get them. They came out in a warm round bowl with a huge marinara tub in the middle. The order came with 6 fluffy rolls (imagine giant cinnamon rolls but with garlic!) and they just melted in your mouth. Totally worth having to run two miles to work them off.
Next up — the main dishes. They have about 8 types of pasta with another 8 sauces that you can mix and match to make your own in addition to the 25 dishes (both pasta and otherwise) that you can order. I opted for the gnocchi with tomato vodka sauce and HEARD THE ANGELS SING as soon as I took my first bite. It was topped with basil and was perfectly balanced flavorwise. The sauce was rich and warm and soaked into the gnocchi perfectly to make it super creamy and delicious. It came with a side salad which wasn’t necessarily anything spectacular but they had Gorgonzola dressing which was really yummy.
My date had the chicken parmesan which also came with a side salad and spaghetti. The chicken was moist and the cheese perfectly melted and stringy when you would cut a bite. The spaghetti was dressed well with marinara so it didn’t stick together or get clumpy. The portions were accurately balanced and there were plenty of both my pasta and his chicken to make a lunch out of the next day.
BONUS — my tomato vodka pasta heated up incredibly well the next day. There was none of that weird oil separation that happens with some sauces. I can’t wait to go back and try more of their choices! The clientele ranged from high school students, a birthday party, a few after-​work dates, and a family or two so I’m confident that everyone can find something here.