Papa Giorgio’s

Worst pizza. No one in the restaurant when we arrived for takeout pizza which took 30 minutes. The pizza had no tomato sauce we could find. It was top heavy with cheese. No flavor at all. It looked like it had been reheated from another order, gobs of cheese congealed on top. What a disappointment. Other reviews said this place is hit or miss. It will never be on our radar again for pizza.

I’ve been here plenty of times and I love this place. One of the best authentic Italian in the area. I don’t know what the bad reviews are about but I’ve always had exceptional experience here.

The service in this restaurant was phenomenal, Jason really toke care of us! We sampled some amazing homemade sauced wings– perfectly cooked, best penne a la vodka I’ve had in Florida, and homemade pizza crust and fresh hot house made bread. Overall good experience!

Tried this place based on location and groupon offer. Ordered pizza and calzone. They were good and worth the try. Server was friendly. We came during lunch and the AC must not have been working.

What a great place for great Italian food?!? Definitely a top 10 italian restaurant!, and best of all, right here in Sarasota! Great atmosphere, great food, great people, and a great owner!

My name is Stephanie and I actually work in the plaza Papa Georgios is located in I eat there probably more than I should but the pizza is almost irresistible the cooks will make the crust however you would care to have it then and crispy tick and chew. Just sat that are all about there dinners. I actually drive from South Sarasota where I live because no pizza in my own area compares to the quality of pizza that Pablo can provide for you he is the owner operator you’ll see him there when you’re there just say hello

Small unassuming Italian joint in a strip mall. Consistently superior product. Just had veal that was perfectly cooked. Homemade bread, excellent specials and homemade sauces. Perhaps a little out of your way, but aren’t most good places? Give them a shot.

Went again during the week for a pizza. We started with a Caesar salad which was drenched in dressing and not very good. However, the pizza more than makes up for it. It was piping hot with a crispy crust and delicious sauce. That alone is getting 4 stars.
The service although friendly is not very professional and there were small children running around. The atmosphere could use some work and it’s definitely what I would call a dive.
All that aside, the pizza is excellent and another time we tried some dinners and they were good. We had the eggplant parmigiana.
Lots of local regulars there. It’s a friendly crowd and clean. If they worked on some of the details, they’d really get a lot more business I think. The couple of times we’ve been there there were groups of neighbors, golf groups and some singles having dinner at the bar.
Prices are good and they do deliver.

** Our 2^nd visit to see if we caught them on a bad day: Ordered take-​out. Upon arrival, no hello. After paying there was no thank-​you. This was on ²⁄₁₄ Valentines day too. Small pizza w/​sausage and 10-​wings. Pizza was tiny and tasteless, rubber for cheese. Decent crust. The wings were tasty and cooked right, ranch dressing was good. Typical wings though, not special by any means, but good.
This place was not good enough for a 3^rd visit with so many other restaurants in the area that are not only much better food wise, but they’re friendly too. A simple hello or thank-​you goes a long way in the food service industry!

Whoa, the reviews of this place are B R U T A L.
I guess I would write the same things if all that bad stuff happened to me as well, though. Anyways, because most of the bad reviews are based off of take-​out orders and Groupons, we decided to just visit Papa Geogio’s in person and get the scoop.
After seeing a photo of their vodka sauce, I have been lusting after a plate of the stuff for months now. The plaza it is located in brings me back to my 1980’s childhood, love it. Some people are creeped out by the location and décor, but I love it. The restaurant looks like a great neighborhood pizza joint that families would come to at least once a week. Almost all of the customers in here are from New York or New Jersey— for a reason, because it is good.
The service is awful. The only decent server in the building is the bartender, who just happened to be waiting tables because there were no servers present. The owner/​manager was there, he does nothing. Halfway through our meal, one of the slowest moving, aloof waitresses showed up and proceeded to walk back and forth from the kitchen, carrying only one plate a time each way. What is wrong with these people?
The pasta is good, the sauces are better. Ask for them to cook the pasta Al Dente if you don’t want it to become mush on your plate. The vodka sauce is rich and textural, so good that I cannot even describe it. I cannot wait to try the pizzas and calzones.
The sandwiches are decent, but it appears that they use store-​bought bread for the sandwiches. Why not use the amazing house-​made bread for the sandwiches?
Avoid the salads, they are comprised of wilted iceberg lettuce with some sort of pink dressing.
Most of the dishes come with complimentary bread, it is a fabulous rolled ball of their light and fluffy pizza dough.
There is a second dining room, but they just try to cram everyone into the main room.

My husband & I recently moved to Sarasota from Chicago. We’ve been trying to find pizza that would compare to our favorite pizza place in Chicago. We found it at Papa Giorgio’s! We both prefer thin crust pizza – not a cracker crust, but thin with a crunchy outer edge. We ordered the White Pizza made with garlic butter sauce, & a mixture of ricotta, mozzarella & provolone cheeses. They make everything from scratch, so the short wait we had was well worth it. Not only was the staff friendly, but so were the customers. After a couple seated near us left, the owner came over & said they had paid for an order of buffalo wings for us. They make their own chicken batter & dipping sauce. The wings were crisp on the outside & moist on the inside. Delicious! A couple at another table said their chicken & pasta was also very, very good. We look forward to trying some of their other meals.
They have several reasonably priced weekly specials.
It’s true you may have to wait a bit for your order or to pay the bill, but considering the food is made from scratch & it’s a small restaurant, that is understandable. This is a family run restaurant that we plan to visit often.

My wife and I love the eggplant Parmesan. One order is more than enough for both of us.

Back again last night and a couple if weeks ago. It appears if you spend over a certain amount you will get a $ 10 certificate.

I had to get my fix of the fettucini w Vodka sauce and shrimp… so delicious, husband had linguini pescatore which he loved.
We have been almost a dozen times for dinner, food has consistently been served piping hot, tasting delicious and a good value. Service has been perfect on every visit despite having different servers

Great neighborhood restaurant. Easy to get in with no waiting and good food and prices.

They have great food but the service is always horrible. They are always understaffed. They have great early bird specials but the staff doesn’t always give it to you. My husband had to point out to waitress who we somehow always get that the special was advertised in the rest room after she told us that wasn’t a special. If the service was better we would go more often because you can get good deals during the week. If you go prepare for a long wait and don’t sit in booths by kitchen. You will burn up from the heat.

They do $ 6 large pizza every tuesday which i am a fan of. its better than hungry howies for the price. though could be better for a independent pizzeria

Don’t even bother with the pizza it tasted like frozen pizza, nothing fresh about that. Very overpriced

Yuck! Frozen pizza! I tried their pizza on their $ 5 pizza night, and it was horrible! You can get better quality frozen pizza from Publix! I decided to give them another chance and tried their calzone. I ordered the chicken and broccoli calzone, and after I got home I discovered it was chicken and spinach. After the girl argued with me that I ordered the wrong thing on the phone, I drove back to get what I ordered and they told me they had ran out of marinara. How can an Italian restaurant run out of MARINARA! Will definitely not go back.

4 strikes and you’re out. Yes, they were close to my home and I gave them more than a few chances for convenience sake. The only time I dined in the establishment, there was a roach climbing on the wall.
I recently bought a groupon and they refused to take it. In the same order, they forgot half my meal when I did take out. I drove back in a massive rain storm and the manager never even apologized. The time before that they lost my order and prior to that, they hung up on me 3 times. Finally, when I got through the man who answered told me to hold and after ten minutes of holding, I called back to remind him I was waiting to place the order. They had forgotten I was on the line apparently.
The website proclims one could place an order online, but it never works. The prices are twice as much as listed. Customer service is a joke. The place is disorganized and poorly managed. I’m done wasting my money. Do yourself a favor and just order dominos.

We don’t eat pizza very often but when we do, we want it to be great! This weekend we decided to try Papa Giorgio’s and either place it on our top 3 list or write it off.
There are a couple places in the area that have wood fire ovens that we prefer however we really liked Papa Giorgio’s. We had a very basic pepperoni and mushroom pie. Very good flavor and not skimpy on ingredients. I would call this a «medium thickness» crust and although I prefer my crust really thin, it was cooked well and crispy.
We also ordered some mild wings and those definitely got an A from us. The mild was just spicy enough without burning, plenty of flavor but not dripping with sauce and cooked crispy.
All in all a solid 4 stars for Papa Giorgio’s. We will go in for a sit down and try something from the entrees next time.