12/26/06

not for me

by queeniect

After seeing this restaurant on "Oprah", I told my brother, who is in Phoenix regularly on business, to be sure and go eat there. He asked me for the address, but after reading the negative reviews, I decided to not recommend it to him. I would never send my brother to a place where people might be rude and snotty to him and over charge him for "average" pizza after he waited for 2 hours. Good grief, I agree with the person who said they would rather save their lire and go back to Italy for pizza. In Italy, dining is a happy experience -- it doesn't sound like Pizzeria Bianco "gets it".

05/02/09

My Top Worst Food Experience of All-Time

by agavero

Had a reservation for 6, showed up with 5 and got turned down for dinner. When we asked the hostess to accomodate us she said it would be at least a 2 hour wait! When we inquired with Chris Bianco, he stepped outside and yelled explitives in our face (while standing on the curb to feel taller) his ego precedes his size and he had a knife from his kitchen that he seemed prepared to use. They have no regard for customer service. I would suggest Pizza Hut for a better service experience. If you like to fight and argue to get your table then Pizzareia Bianco is for you...otherwise avoid this place like the plague. Thanks Chris!

• Pros: None
• Cons: Chris Bianco, owner/chef & The Hostess

01/28/09

Watch your elbows.

by McBeaver

Watch your elbows at the bar. I just had a great pizza, (Sonny's) and it was fantastic. The wait is brutal, over an hour and a half. I had the strangest situation happen while eating by myself at the bar. The hostess came over and told me I was taking up too much space with my elbows/shoulders???? I asked her if I was in a F*&^ing twilight zone or if she was kidding me. She was not and it truly turned me off to the restaurant and the meal. Who the hell tells someone to watch their elbow space while sitting at the bar?

Best of luck, and bring your elbows in a bit.

01/24/09

Slow, Poor Service, & Arrogant = Never Again!

by DonQ55

I eat at the best pizza places wherever I am, including New York City. This place is good (in terms of the pizza taste and quality) but it is NOT as good as Patsy Grimaldi's in downtown Scottsdale (both in terms of the pizza and the quality of the service).

As others have suggested, Bianco's service is abysmal. I don't know if they were like this before Oprah's plug, but the poor service and arrogance in this place are second to none. First, they forgot about us for a full hour (didn't know we were there even though our name was on the list), so we had to wait for a table longer than the already long wait times. Secondly, once we were nearing the end of our dinner, we felt as if we were being pushed to finish up and leave. We'd never experienced anything like this in any other eating establishment.

We would never dream of returning to Pizzeria Bianco.

• Pros: Good Pizza
• Cons: Very Long Wait Times, Hostess, Service

01/14/09

Fabulous food, WATCH OUT for the hostess. She will turn on you like THAT.

by acw0219

We'd heard Pizzeria Bianco was voted Bon Appetit's best pizza and the country, had been featured on the Food Network, etc. We were very excited to dine here while in town for a convention. We knew there would be a long wait, but they have lovely tables outside to have wine and appetizers. Very nice atmosphere. The only issue was, as many have stated, the hostess. She started out very nice, we were nothing but nice and understanding to her, everything seemed fine. Our group arrived at about 6:45, we were told a 3 hour wait, which we were prepared for and planned on spending the wait at the bar. After checking in a few times upon HER request, we noticed that she had wrote down our seating for 10:45, not 9:45 which it should have been since we arrived at 6:45. We went to ask her why she had wrote us down for a 10:45 seating time, which would have made our wait 4 hours instead of the 3 we were quoted, because we arrived at 6:45. Again, we were still being very nice at this point, we just wanted to clarify our confusion. She then proceeded to FLIP OUT on us, telling us she was NOT going to argue with us, we arrived at 7:45, not 6:45 as we had claimed, and that she knows our group is outside getting drunk and we are hungry, and that we had been in there four times already bugging her. Remember, SHE mentioned that we needed to check in. We walked away ready to tell our group we were leaving because the woman was obviously an idiot who can't tell time. We had proof we arrived at 6:45, as our friend sent a text to a friend at 6:50 saying "Just arrived at Pizzeria Bianco, 3 hour wait". Well, we didn't have to show her the text to prove it, because a few seconds later she "suddenly" had some tables for us right away. My guess is she realized her mistake, but still never apologized for her rudeness. MY ADVICE FOR THOSE GOING TO PIZZERIA BIANCO: Have the waitress right your arrival time next to your name on the wait list. Once we were seated the food and service was great!

• Pros: Fresh and delicious pizza and salads, outdoor ambience
• Cons: HOSTESS WAS RUDE, long wait

11/08/08

THE BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD!!!

by Tedd4Green

I LOVE this place!!! This is my favorite place to eat, period! Chris is a super hardworking guy, making masterpieces, that make my mouth very happy! I live in Chicago, where there are some fantastic places to eat, but Pizzeria Bianco is the best. I was skeptical at first, but I've been there three or four times, and it's always way better than my wildest imagination could possibly remember it being. The last time we were there, we arrived at 4:20 PM, and were lucky enough to get in as the first 45 people being seated, otherwise we would have had a two hour wait. We've waited two hours in each of our past visits, waiting seems to fly by, as you go next door to have wine & delish appetizers (goat cheese, stuffed olives, & the like), and everyone is so excited with anticipation. I, honestly, cannot believe anyone would not love this place and the best pizza, ever! And that's coming from a Chicagoan, we have good pizza in Chicago. The crust is light & airy, with a smoky flavor, never burnt. The margharita pizza, with fresh basil, is to die for. My favorite is the Rosa, with pestaccios on top, sooo good. Everytime I'm there I take extra time to thank Chris for his out of this world creation and to thank my server Dave for his extra special care & great service.

10/15/08

rude!!!!!

by unhappyarizona

My husband and I with another couple went into Pizzeria Bianco around 9:30 on a Saturday night. All four of us were extremly excited to try the restaurant, we had heard about it on Oprah. My husband and friend were shocked at how rudely they were treated by the hostess. Basically asked them to leave and step away from the bar area. They asked if we could sit out on the patio, which was empty, and they said we couldn't sit out there either.

I called and spoke with Susan the "manager" and got treated even worse. I was blown away. I told her I didn't want anything free just wanted to let her know what was happening in her establishment when we went in. She continued to agrue with me and told me what I was saying was here say. I eventually hung up because I didn't call to argue with her. She called me back twice. The second time I answered and she told me I was calling to complain about her staff being rude, but I was the rude one. AND THE TOPPER.... she asked me if I was raised by wolves???? Repeated it again because I didn't comment, "did you hear me were you raised by wolves?" I couldn't even believe a manger of such a well known establishment treated me the way she did. So, they have a 5-6 hour wait she told me, does that mean they can be rude to anybody that walks in the door???? Since Oprah recommended this establishment, how would Dr.Phil diagnose Susan????

• Pros: nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Cons: the staff!!!!!!

10/15/08

Rude Rude Rude!!!!!

by CJVanderpool

My husband and I enjoy going out to dinner and finding new exciting places to dine. After hearing so many wonderful things about Pizzeria Bianco, we decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, our excitement ended there. We have NEVER been treated with such disrespect. In fact, before we could even put our names in to get a reservation, we were rudely told to ?Move away from the bar, someone is sitting there!? (We were standing by two empty seats waiting for someone to help us put our names in for a reservation) This was said by an employee of the establishment. This employee continued her ill-mannered behavior throughout our short stay.

Customer service is important in any business, and although people may rave about Pizzeria Bianco?s so-so food, it is not worth the wait nor is it worth the appalling behavior of the staff. This includes the management, who seems to have complete disregard for how their staff treats others. I guess the staff must learn it from someone, right? I strongly suggest that someone gives these people some tips on customer service. There is a right and a wrong way to approach customers.

I have worked in customer service since I was 16 years old. Which means, the last fourteen years. I have also worked for one national chain of restaurants for five years. I was one of their corporate trainers and for three years I ran one of their classroom programs, in which I trained and tested all their new hires before they had actual hands-on training. I taught them all about customer service. So when I say I received poor customer service, you can be sure I know what I am talking about!

What goes around comes around, and if the staff continues to treat people this way, I do not see good things in the future for this overrated restaurant.

• Cons: Horrible service! Rude management!

10/09/08

Never again!!!!

by danielgonzalez1972

I have heard so much about your restaurant over the past few years, and was dying to try it on my next trip to Phoenix. (I visit family and friends in Scottsdale all the time.)

Upon arrival at the restaurant, the blonde woman who greeted us (term used extremely loosely) was so rude and had absolutely no idea how to talk to people. I just don't understand how a person can treat a total stranger with such disrespect. In our current economic situation of our country, we don't go out to dinner as much as we'd like. You know how many choices there are for food in this city, and we chose to visit Bianco's.

If I wasn't with my wife, I would have told this woman to go #@ck herself. There is no reason to treat customers like this when I am bringing my business and hard earned money to this restaurant. I spent over $95.00 on food and beverage, and it made me feel terrible that I was giving my money to such rude business owners. Like I mentioned before, the blonde woman (whom I later found out is the owner's wife) needs to take a class in common courtesy.

I'm not one to be rude to total strangers, but I'm from the school of respect. If you disrespect me, I'll call you out. This woman was horrible and embarrassed the restaurant she works for.

You should fire her immediately.

Thanks,

DG

• Pros: Pizza
• Cons: Rudeness of blonde woman at the front door seating people (owner's wife)

08/23/08

pizza good, but can get the same at cibos

by jb8017

I went expecting to get the best pizza in town. It was good however you could get the same type of pizza at Cibos in Phx for the same price but without the long wait. Basically, if you like pizza that is not pizza hut then you should visit. It you like good pizza with out the long wait then go to Cibos. Both were equally as good but Cibos has better service without the a 4 hour wait. Otherwise make a reservation for 5pm at Bianco then no wait.

• Pros: good food, nice place
• Cons: long wait, can get the same elsewhere

07/28/08

Food Poisioning from Pizzeria Bianco

by MarieCutre

My wife and daughter got food poisioning from Pizzeria Bianco! I am very upset as I contacted the owners and they bluntly told me I was a liar.

I waited 4 hours to get food poisioning from their undercooked sausage!!!!!!!!!

Do not waste your money, your time or risk your families health. Stay away from Pizzeria Bianco and it's nasty, ungreatful, prideful owners.

• Cons: Rude, Prideful Owners, Food Poisioning, 4 Hour Wait, No Parking