We were referred to try this restaurant by a server in an adjacent restaurant the day before. My husband was eager to try the restaurant after a long day of military drilling with early morning starts. We drove through Friday evening traffic from a nearby surburb passing many other restaurant options including those there in the StoneHill shopping complex. Although our server was kind and apologetic, they seemed very inexperienced in having the ability to take initiative and communicate with their staff. After we ordered our pasta that would be a single dish without accompanying sides, we asked if bread is available while placing the order. We were advised that after 5pm is their busiest time, so they were out of bread at the time that they are aware will be the busiest for them daily. We were also told they were short staffed with only one cook who is able to make bread although others with aprons were in the kitchen area that can't assist. Keep in mind that this is a restaurant that makes pizza, which is bread with toppings that customers were ordering and receiving. We asked if we can get the bread with the meal when it's available since we have to wait for the meal to be served. The server said they would "try" to serve it with the meal. 4 individuals who arrived at the same time as us received their full meal of various meal varieties while we continued to wait on our lasagna 30 minutes later as we did not order other appetizers and there were no complimentary substitutes. The server said they would check on the bread's cooking time status, but could never provide any time estimate to us making us question whether they were asking the cook at all. 2 individuals next to us arrived at the same time as us ordered bread & received it rather quickly within 10 min with their full meal being delivered within 30 min that included pasta. I asked how those individuals were able to get bread since they were supposed to be out of it at the time of both of our arrivals while waiting for more to be cooked. We asked if we could have that type of bread since it could be prepared quicker. We were advised that it is a different type of twisted bread that can only be available if we order it. We asked the length of time it would take if we ordered it and were advised about 20 min. Being that we had already waited nearly 30 min for lasagna, in another 20 minutes we figured that the complimentary bread would be available because surely it wouldn't take 50 min to an hour to be available. The lasagna was served after 30 min and we asked for the status of the bread since we were told they would try to serve it with the meal. When it was not served with the meal, we asked again if they'd checked the status of the complementary bread since they told us they would try to make that effort. It was as though we were having the conversation for the first time as the server said they would check on its status. We had the understanding from the previous conversation that they would check prior to serving the meal. To serve and still not be aware of the status was an indicator that they did not follow up as they told us as they did not anticipate that we would ask again. I stated that it was the first time I'd been to an Italian restaurant that had no bread. After the first 10 min of having received our food, we ate slowly as the lasagna with an after taste and iced tea didn't seem to be as appetizing hoping that 40 min was sufficient time to get bread to go with the order. The server went back to check. At around 50 minutes of being there and half of our meal consumed, the bread finally arrived. I observed that the complimentary bread they serve is basic flat bread like the kind flatbread pizza is served on. It was astonishing that a place that was cooking and serving pizzas left and right took nearly an hour to produce flat bread. When the bill arrived, I asked if they offered a military discount. The server stated they did and they would ask their manager. The manager came to our table and discount
I wanted to warn about ordering Russo's pizza using their app. This past Sunday, I ordered 2 giant pizzas and a large Detroit-style pizza, $150 total via the app and ordered ahead for a 2pm pick up. When I arrived around 215 my order couldn't be found in the system and obviously hadn't been made. There was no manager on premises that day so the employees weren't sure how to resolve the issue. I was told the charge would fall off that night since the order was never made. I asked if the pizzas could be made but I was told I'd have to wait for all the other customer's orders to be fulfilled, even though I ordered ahead and paid with email receipt in hand. Ended up grabbing Double Dave's. Charge never fell off so I followed up with Robert, the manager, today and was basically told "sorry it was a computer glitch" and he made it seem like he was doing me a favor by refunding my card. The management's ability to handle customer service is non-existent. It was extremely disappointing how the situation was handled. The employees that day didn't even know they had an app. We never had issues ordering online and we love their giant pizzas for gatherings, but this whole lack of care from the management really turned us off the place. ?
We had spaghetti and meatballs, mushroom tortellinis, and garlic bread. I didn't try the spaghetti, but I was told it was tasty. We're big fans of Maggianos until one day they changed their recipe of their tomato sauce, so we wanted to find a new Italian place. Russo's was around the same price just without the take-home pastas. I could eat that mushroom tortellini all day, but I'm still only at 4 stars because we spent $37 for two adults to eat dinner and takeout.
Not sure why many negative reviews.. but my first time and stuck to pepperoni and wasn't disappointed as Dave portnoy would rate it 7.2*update second time trying and it was perfect once more consistency is key updated rate 8.1
Terrible service. We went with a party of four. An appetizer was ordered and never received. We asked for more bread...had to ask several times before we got it. We requested drink refills...never received them. One entree was received nearly an hour after the other three were served. One of the party had a pasta dish that was undercooked...she was sick later in the night. We used to enjoy Russo's but their quality and service have declined. They have lost our business.
2nd Time ordering and I honestly don’t see myself eating any other pizza! The flavor is “this is what pizza should taste like” and the bread is so tender yet crispy. Today we tried the Italian Market Pizza and the Eggplant Parmesan. So good! Their large pizza is definitely bigger than other pizza places but the cost is more. Worth it though!
When we arrived, someone pointed at the menus for us to grab from the host’s desk and to sit wherever we want. We were also told to go back to the cash register and place our order. We ordered a the Truffle and Mushroom Pizza which clearly states that it comes with fresh Arugula (but none were on it). The tray that it came on was dirty and had sticky mush at the bottom of it. We also asked for the Calamari appetizer that was just given to us without any plates (tasted old). When asked for plates we were pointed to the host’s table for plates, napkins and plastic wear. 20min later i felt an awful stomach pain and headed to the bathroom which was the most disgusting bathroom i have ever been to. To summarize, the food was bad, the service was bad, the general hygiene was bad….
I tried this place for the first time, I just moved to the area and was looking for some good Italian food. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The pasta I had was mediocre and the service was awful. Okay the server was by himself and doing the cashiering and serving, but it was lunchtime and only about 5 tables of people. He was rude and couldn’t be bothered to check on the tables. The prices are high for the portion sizes and I have had better pasta for much less. I read the reviews after I had ordered and paid, but I was hoping that since there were so many complaints, I would have better food/service. The owners can apologize all they want for the service, but actions speak louder than words and there is no indications they are trying to improve.
Take out is there primary business now, while we eat in we had to get our own drinks and order up at counter, it's just not the same as it once was pre covid.
I wish I would've checked the reviews before spending the amount of money I just spent. I also wish I would've realized it was franchised. I can be a bit picky with Italian food having grown up all around it in NYC. Everyone makes sauce differently, etc. So I'll say if maybe the flavor wasn't my favorite, but it's just a my preference type thing.It's not that this wasn't my cup of tea. The canoli and tiramisu - awful. The sauce - awful. That was not vodka sauce either. I am very disappointed. I had high hopes.