Pizzeria Bianco

01/28/09

Watch your elbows.

by McBeaver at Citysearch

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.

01/14/09

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

by acw0219 at Citysearch

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

08/23/08

pizza good, but can get the same at cibos

by jb8017 at Citysearch

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

05/01/08

Great pizza, but is it really worth it?

by bobnlaurie at Citysearch

There's no question that the pizza hype is accurate. Fresh ingredients, herbs clipped right on the property, authentic wood fired oven, and the passion of the owner/cook. But to be completely honest, this experience isn't for the feint hearted. The waiting process is unreasonable unless you know the routine and use it to spend time with friends and drink wine for hours before eating. Also, there is some truth to the comments about the receptionist's attitude. I'm sure she's had to put up with a lot from unknowing customers, but that is pretty much self-imposed by the restaurant. They need to either change the process to put her in a better position, or they need to find someone with thick skin, patience, and super-human service orientation. Back to the food. As mentioned, the pizza is praise worthy, but the choices are limited, the wine selection at the restaurant is very limited (and the wine is warm), and not much else on the menu. I realize the point is to get your pizza and move out so they can get more customers in. There is only room for 44 customers at a time. My suggestion is to get your wine from the wine bar next door and bring it into the restaurant. They allow that and the selection, and temperature of the wine, is much better. My bottom line, yes the pizza and the experience is worth it, but know what you're getting into. If you want almost as good of pizza, much better wine selection, more consistent pleasant service, and ability to make reservations or get seated within a reasonable time, go to Gracie's.

• Pros: Pizza is unsurpassed - but realize it's Neopolitan style
• Cons: Seating process is horrible, receptionist can cop an attitude

12/26/06

not for me

by queeniect at Citysearch

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".

12/08/06

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING...

by becket3 at Citysearch

This is going to come off as arrogant and I don't mean it to but here goes. Anybody who thinks this pizza is qualified to be regarded as "the best of'" anything, clearly has never traveled beyond the perimeter of metro phoenix. This place is over priced, over hyped, and under executed. The margherita pizza is of EXACTLY the same quality as the frozen pizza at Trader Joes. I had the "sonny boy" which really should be called the "salty boy". Thick cut cured meats and olives tend to be a salty combo, one that shouldn't really be on a pizza. I had the farmer salad...shaved fennel and some apples. Not bad but for 8 bucks, forget it.

Here is the grand daddy problem for me. Everybody knows that the soul of a pizza is it's crust. This crust is toilet paper thin and within 15 seconds of it's arrival at the table it's a dripping wet, totally flaccid, doughy mess. Along with this, you get to enjoy, inconvienent service, poor parking, and uncomfortable tables. The regard given to this place totally defies logic. Pizzaria Bianco is a one trick pony not worth the first, let alone future, visits.

11/17/06

Wonderful Babe

by tinkerbell101 at Citysearch

i love you place it is one of my favorites i would really like to know why you desited to make a wonderful place? why do you only make you pizza by yourself? also i saw you on Opra i thought you were wonderful!!!! thank you so much for letting my kids experiace a wondr pizza.

09/30/06

Delicious, but might not be worth the hassle

by silverbear at Citysearch

Opinions about this downtown establishment tend to split into two extremes: fans who love this restaurant and skeptics who think the food is certainly good but not worth the long wait.

After several experiences at Bianco, I find myself among the skeptics. I have no complaint about the food, which is uniformly delicious and has wonderful sense of craft that infuses everything on the menu. Nevertheless, my time is precious to me, and I find that the Bianco ritual of lining up before 5 PM and spending hours waiting in the nearby bar is just not worth effort.

Those willing to endure the wait continue to flock to Pizzeria Bianco and make it a perennial favorite, while those like me with less patience find excellent pizza elsewhere or make it at home. Everyone should probably experience this restaurant at least once. The decison of whether to return will hinge on the constraints of one's schedule and one's willingness to endure significant inconvenience in order to enjoy a delicious meal.

• Pros: good food
• Cons: circus-like atosphere, intolerable wait for tables

07/24/06

No pizza is worth this wait

by myronfrye at Citysearch

There is no pizza on the planet worth the aggrevation of this place. Pizza is really good, but long waits,apathetic and arrogant staff and managers over ride what should be a quaint little pizza shop.

• Pros: food is pretty good
• Cons: long waits, arrogant staff and management

07/16/06

Just OK

by chesney95 at Citysearch

I heard about this place through freinds. I waiting 2.5 hours to get in and boy was I disappointed. Being a New Yorker, was expecting Pizza. This is gourmet, wood fired, thin crust pizza which smelled and tasted like it was cooked in a fireplace. You leave the restaurant smelling of a fireplace.

The staff is very rude and unprofessional. While we were online, waiting to put our name on the list, a group of ladies walked up cut in front of the line and got their name in. When people complained, the girl stated, hey, don't yell at me I just work here.

• Pros: Located near downtown attractions
• Cons: Too many to list