Italian Pizzeria

Order at the counter, take a seat, and they will bring you the food. The chicken parm sub was tasty. Add a bit more sauce, and it would have been awesome. The Sicilian pizza was good. It's been a long time since I had this pizza style. If I lived in the area this would be a once per month place to eat.

Was truly impressed by the quality and quantity of the food I picked up last night. This is probably going to be my family's new constant for takeout Italian. Everything tasted great, and all three items were far more than just a single meal.

Worth going for lunch for a break from the cafeteria, but I wouldn't consider it a destination location. I've been here a few times for heroes and fries. The meatball sub is very good. The chicken parm is good, but not very. It's pre-cut into pieces and I get the feeling it's a frozen product, not a freshly breaded and cooked breast. Good sauce and cheese. Overall, good for a middle of the day lunch, but not top notch.The main reason I'm reviewing is to remind myself not to get fries. Self, why did you get fries today? Did you not remember they're completely forgettable? Just bland commercial grade plastic in fry shape? Okay, self, clearly you forgot because they were forgettable. I mean, you remembered when they were served and you saw them, but it was too late then, wasn't it.  And really, even though you only ate a few fries, you're full, aren't you? The heroes are certainly filling enough that you don't need a side. Why'd you order one? C'mon, shape up, self. Will update if I get around to trying the pizza. It looks good, but I haven't put it to the test.

What's different about the pizza?? I've always loved Italian pizzeria because coming from N.J. It was the most similar to that style. Greasy and super thin and great. I went there yesterday and the pizza is WAY thicker and less NY/NJ style. Their cheesesteak was also different. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't the greatness I'd been accustom to for a long time. The restaurant by walltown is still the same thin style so I don't know why they'd want to change something that worked so well for so long...

While I stand by the register, I can see the pizzaiolo reach his paddle into the steel oven. He pulls my Stromboli from the back, squints at it, flips it and puts it back in. I smell melted cheese from the oven, shaved steak on the griddle, garlic wafting out of a big pot. The family behind me orders chicken parm meals and soft drinks while the father rests a hand on the handle of a stroller. Italian Pizzeria is a great neighborhood restaurant. It's been around almost as long as I have --30+ years --and I remember moms serving it at elementary school sleepovers. When I moved back to Durham several years ago, I was happy to find out that it tastes as good as I remembered.There's something magical about the way these pizzas smell in the passenger seat of the car when I'm driving home with carry out. The Stromboli from tonight was generously stuffed with meats and cheeses. It weighed about twice what a large pizza would, and tasted even better than the aroma. The pizzaiolo's quality checks had worked. The crust had sealed in all the juicy fillings and stayed crunchy on the outside. If only I had more room in my stomach ! The rest will just have to wait until I'm ready for a midnight snack !

Awesome daily specials. The pizza is authentic and New York style. Sides include fries or salads. They also have baked pastas and their baked ziti is an all time favorite. The staff is friendly and always happy to help out.

As a regular customer for some 25 years, I agree: food is flavorful, tastes great, portions generous, price reasonable. Their problem is not the food; it is the interior air. I would have reported to their website privately, but no contact sheet is available there. Besides myself, I know of 2 other former patrons who stated they stopped going because of mold in the restaurant. It's NOT the breathing air per se that is objectionable, which can in fact plainly be smelled coming out of the HVAC vent near the drinks machine. It's the extremely unpleasant reaction to otherwise flavorful food either while still at the restaurant or shortly after arriving home. One time the customer might think, "I got a digestion problem today". Twice at the SAME restaurant is starting to look suspicious. The 3rd "strike" and reality is slapping you in the face. News flash: Mold doesn't have to smell bad to be toxic. Old dried-up mold doesn't necessarily smell at all; yet still can do harm. It falls on horizontal surfaces like invisible dust. It penetrates paper bags of flour or other kitchen staples UNLESS plastic bags are used to protect contents, and UNLESS cookware and serving dishes or plates, NO MATTER HOW CLEAN, are at least rinsed again immediately before use. Paper products must be sealed in plastic when not in use. Dishes can accumulate enough mycotoxins from ambient air that, just sitting waiting overnight to be used the next day, is long enough to contaminate the final product. Again, this is not about smelling or tasting bad. With mold, what you can NOT smell is frequently MORE toxic than the obvious odor of "newborn" mold spores. So as much as I would LOVE to continue patronizing this charming old Durham eatery, until they do something about their mold problem, they will lose my patronage, and not just me, because many folks will not speak up; they just cease to come for dinner. It is well known that only 5% of the general population, 1 in 20 people, actually complain aloud or in writing; the other 19 simply simply vote with their feet. So, for the seemingly small number of patron dropouts in us 3 mold-sensitive customers (myself and the 2 fellow sufferers), there are very likely 57 others who aren't showing up WHETHER OR NOT they actually know WHY such delicious food nevertheless disagrees with their digestive system. I really regret saying these things. I repeat: It is not that the food is ill-prepared. Well not exactly. Though their recipes and ingredients are beyond reproach, unbenownst perhaps to the owner, it's the environment where the food is prepared and consumed. The building is very old, so it should be no surprise after years of hot kitchen steam and condensation, possibly undiscovered or unaddressed roof leaks over the years (those brown spots on ceiling tiles can spell real trouble), and/or undetected plumbing leaks hidden inside walls, that ANY BUILDING is vulnerable to mold. Even despite basic housekeeping practices and a spotless health department record, mold does not discriminate. That said, VERY similar food offered at Roxboro Road Italian Pizzeria--same family, very similar splendid menu, but now out of business--caused me NO SUCH violent gastro-intestinal reactions to their equally savory marinaras. Just lucky for them that the building was (apparently) okay. So, to those without this unfortunate predisposition to mold, eat on. I envy you your unalloyed pleasure.

One of the few places that has Anchovy as a topping! The pizza was generally good and the toppings were spread out carefully and neatly. (See photo). This location is never not busy, so expect a lot of chaos ordering at the counter or calling in by phone. The Dining Area is 40 years old, poorly lit, shabby and not a wipe-down priority for the front-end workers. But the outdated decor seems to be the trademark of the entire Italian Pizzeria chain in Durham and Chapel Hill. As long as the food is good and the Health Dept score is respectable, do not hesitate to order from here.

Great owner and food that makes pizza and Italian food seem like more! Service is always good... food is always served hot and without issue.

We decided to eat pizza just for a change.We'd had Italian pizzeria before so I called in my order and asked my wife to pick it up on her way home.Problems included: she had to wait an extra 30 minutes for our order to be ready, the pizza was totally wrong ( I ordered a cheese pie with bacon and onion on half, I got a pepperoni with mushroom on half) and, most importantly nobody in the kitchen or behind the counter was wearing any masks or ppe.We won't be going back anytime soon.