THE MEATBALL REVIEW I went there on a recent Friday at 5:30 pm. I ordered the baked cavatelli and asked if I could add some meatballs. The waitress said that she would have to ask because they were running low on them. Huh?? It's the start of your weekend at 5:30 in the afternoon and you're already running low on meatballs?? She came back to the table and told me that she could not give me any meatballs because they had to save them in case there were other orders. What?! I looked around for a hidden camera to see if I was being punked. Nope, no camera. This was real life. I mean, I didn't ask for free meatballs, just meatballs. A dinner salad and garlic bread are included when you order cavatelli. The salad comes with red onion, pepperoncini, and croutons. I don't really like red onions or pepperoncini so I asked to have them left off. She shows up with the garlic bread and the salad and tells me, "we're out of croutons". Seriously?!?! The only thing that makes a sad, dinner salad worth eating is the croutons, am I right?! TWO, shattering disappointments all within 10 minutes. My frown kept getting lower and lower. The garlic bread was pretty decent, though. Not decent enough to make up for the lack of meatballs and croutons, but I digress. My three dining companions ordered pizzas and they were all pretty happy. I took a few bites and it wasn't too bad, pretty solid, actually. The end of the story is that the cavatelli was very salty and was nothing special. The non-existent meatballs, I ASSUME, would've helped. By the way, you can order two meatballs " ala carte" (I saw it on the menu later). I wonder if I'd just ordered them "ala carte", would they have been on my plate. I guess we'll never know because you only get one chance to make a first impression and I won't be going back. My suggestion to this business is to make sure you're well-stocked up on meatballs and croutons before you let the meatball/crouton guy have the weekend off. Oh, one more thing. They have cheesecake on the menu. You can order it with caramel, cherries, Oreos or strawberries, except you can't. They're out of strawberries. Ridiculous. read more

After a 3,000 mile road trip our EASTside family went to Hilltop for our family favorite pizza. After waiting for our pizza after appetizers and beer and waiting for pizza and waiting...we found out waitress did not get our pizza order submitted. A hungry table of 6 decided not to wait another hour waiting for pizza. What ensued after that was not good customer service. It was unacceptable. They put 1 piece of cake , 6 forks and $160 bill on our table. Facts to follow: Im 68. Although I live in another state now, been going there my entire life. I am a calm, nice person and was asked to leave. I will never go back. AMMENDMENT: I just had a family member say" It's to bad we lost our family restaurant." read more

Wow! What a busy place on a Friday night! Seats a lot and there were a lot of people there and always people waiting! Waitresses are friendly and efficient and plentiful. Hubby enjoyed a Ruthie on tap and I had iced tea. We then shared onion rings and ordered a pizza. Friend had spaghetti and he loved the sauce. His wife had meatballs and a salad and said they were tasty and especially loved the sauce. Creamy Parm dressing on their salad was great. Our pizza could have used a bit more time in the oven. It had lots of fresh ingredients, but the crust was a bit soggy. Next time I'll ask for it to get a bit more cooking time. The bread looked fresh and soft. It's bright and clean and a great place to take a big group. read more

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Food was terrible ordered a New York strip and it was very thin and very dry. Bake potatoes were not done and was told after i got my steak it would be 12 mins for the potato. Will not return.. read more

We celebrated our mother's 105 birthday at Hilltop. The owner Dave and manager Alex were very helpful in guiding us through the process. For our guests we decided on the pizza buffet with onion rings. It was fantastic! All the guests loved it. Our server Mattie was right there bringing more pizza whenever it was needed. She even decorated the drink table with a flower arrangement! The room was set up when we arrived. Everything was perfect. read more

Went on 1/10/26. They were out of 3 dishes that my group of 5 tried to order. The onion rings weren't like I remembered. Cavatelli was good but not 20 dollar dish good. Garlic bread was undercooked and just seemed like a frozen piece. Not the same spot I remembered from years ago! It was also absolutely dead in there for a Saturday night. 2 of my friends ordered Moscow mules and said they weren't good. Wait staff was nice and attentive. Probably will not return sadly. read more

Grabbed dinner after golfing at Grandview. Great food and service. I ordered the Italian beef sandwich with jardiniera and side salad with creamy parm dressing. Salad was fresh and dressing was delicious. The jardiniera was a l spicy, but still very good. Husband had tenderloin with fries.. Husband's tenderloin was a little overdone, but he said it was still good. Brewed iced tea also very good. Server Abby was great. Will definitely return. read more

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An east side classic! Our family's favorite go-to for amazing thin crust pizza and crispy onion rings. Come for the strong drinks, stay for the ranch! Get there early or have a drink at the bar while waiting for a table. Other favorites- burgers, Alfredo, mozzarella sticks, and fresh cheesecake! You won't be disappointed. read more

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great menu and excellent tasty food. fast and friendly service. don't skip this place.

OK if you're going for pizza, this could be your place. But don't miss ordering the Italian egg rolls. They are amazing. Whoever thought you could put Italian sausage, mozzarella and wrap it in a wonton and deep fry it and it not be anything but delicious? Don't miss that appetizer! read more

Well, I've been hearing about this place for many years. So...decided to give it a try today and was terribly disappointed. Got a pulled pork sandwich that was nothing special. I ordered coleslaw, but inexplicably, was given fries. The fries were also nothing special. The pork was tender but didn't have much flavor, and only a small helping of sauce- enough for one bite. My friend got the Italian beef sandwich. He said it was bland. The lunch service took a long time, and we saw our server once in 35 minutes. When I finally had a chance to ask about my coleslaw, the response was "you didn't get charged extra for the fries." No explanation for the lack of coleslaw. I was using the men's room when the food was delivered, so no, I didn't have a chance to ask at the time. Overall, disappointing. I won't go back again. read more

A nice east side experience. When you walk in, it gives you kind of a older crowd cafe vibe. Our waitress was nice and was sure to bring us what we needed. My wife and I started with our house side salads- the dressing was creamy parm and the wife and I loved it! Next was the complimentary bread and onion rings- the bread was fresh and kind of basic and the onion rings were thin and crunchy like we like them. I got the chicken parm over linguini and it was pretty good. The chicken had crunchy breading, the noodles were Al dente. My wife and daughter split a pizza and loved it. My wife said it was some of her favorite. Overall it was a good experience. I'm sure my wife and daughter will be back. read more

We had 32 people go to the Hilltop tonight for my sisters birthday just like we have for many years. My sister called last week to make the reservation and was told by the owner David that he would have to charge of $150 fee for the party room. When my sister told him we will go to to another place then he replied with I will waive the fee for you this one time. I don't have to loose the business. So we decided to keep the party there instead of going to another restaurant. She talked to him a couple more times before going to the restaurant tonight at 6pm to update the number of people joining. So fast forward to this evening. The restaurant was never once business with more then 6-8 tables at once. Another large party was seated outside the room in the dining room. Which one of our servers we have a was also waiting on. We had 5 tables for a total of 32 people. The servers Nikki and Michelle were wonderful and did all they could to keep up with 32 people. The food took forever and we were okay with that seeming there was 32 of us. Again the restaurant wasn't busy at all. There was a total of three servers on tonight two of which were on our party as well as other tables. We all ordered drinks, appetizers and our food. We all ate. Then it came time for the checks to be handed out. The owner waited for the restaurant to be empty before giving us our checks because he knew that what he had just done this us was going to cause an uproar. The checks are handed out and there is a ROOM RENTAL FEE OF $10 per check on there. The owner didn't have have to guts to come tell us all that after saying he would waive the fee he still put a fee on our checks. On top of that they charged $2.95 service fee and the 18% gratuity was added as well which we all knew would be. One my bill alone there was an extra $28 added to my bill. And it was that way for pretty much everyone. The dishonest owner charged us $120 for the room anyways. When he was confronted to ask what the charge was for he said he didn't say he would waive the fee. Then started backtracking on what he was saying. He also told us he had to charge us because he had to bring on extra staff for our group which meant he would have only had one server one the floor. We explained the fee was to be waived and that is when he proceeded to tell us to just pay our bills and get our of his restaurant and never come back and he was going to call the police to have us removed. Last April for my own birthday I called asked for the party room as I was having a party of 40 people joining us for a birthday dinner. I spoke with this same owner David and he never once mentioned a fee. Nor were we charged a fee. We were in the same room as we were tonight and we only had one server. We have ate there for 15+ years and had multiple large parties at the Hilltop and NEVER have been charged for the party room. After tonight events with the Hilltop Restaurant has lost the business from all 32 of us. I will never step foot in the establishment again. read more

Have come here several times over the last 5 years. They must have recently remodeled. It is much more bright and open now. Food is always good. We love the pizza and onion rings but anything I have ordered here is good. Prepare to wait on a Friday or Saturday night, but I don't mind. It is never too long. Price is very readable and portions are hearty. I would highly recommend checking this place out on the Eastside of DSM read more

Bianchi's Hilltop Restaurant - Meat lovers thin crust pizza! Sooooo good!!! - Pizza Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

"Hilltop pizza, has the BEST Italian sausage pizza in the state of IOWA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" You can thank me later.... Bill from the Southside of Des Moines read more

Super bummed, this is the gathering place for our family every few months. They had the best onion rings and pizza- now it's edible. Service was ok, she did her job nothing bad or great. Everything is overpriced and the price of a mixed drink is $10 for about a half shot of liquor. Then the cup wasn't even filled to the top with soda. Unfortunately we will not be back as this has been our place for 40 years. read more

Great pizza but the homemade, warm, decadent bread pudding was the Star of dinner!! Delicious!!

Great place to eat lunch or dinner. Italian sandwich or grinder pizza few of my favorites. Staff was friendly and the cook actually cared if we liked our food and came and checked on us was. Something missing from a lot of places. read more

Great pizza and onion rings. Literally only negative is the stuff that they clean their tables with smells very strong and it stinks, but I guess the positive of that is that it's clean. read more

"I had a dream last night" Nova's dreams are never normal unless normal involves world domination, painful revenge or sex games. "I dreamed that we were at Keith Richards house in Jamaica and Patti was making Shepard's Pie. When she wasn't looking in snuck in my secret ingredient that I use in mine. When he tasted it he told her that it was the best she's ever made". "I have no doubt that it would be the best. Your Shepard's Pie is amazing" "I'm hungry now and I want to go someplace that we've never gone" Some place we've never been to before makes it tough. We decided on Hilltop because we drive past it all the time and because we've eaten at Bianchi Boys Pizza & Pasta in Altoona numerous times and they are owned by the same clan. We arrived around 8:30pm and were seated immediately. Our waitress handed us a couple of menu's and took our drink orders, 2 blood marys and a pepsi. Nova takes forever to decide what she wants and this was no exception. Also tuck in the back of your mind that she makes the best cavatelli on the planet. She asks me what Im getting. "I think Im going to go with the cavatelli" "Hmmm well I want something big" "Yeah, don't we all but what do you want to eat. There is no reason to bring up my modest dimensions over dinner" "Shut up" Right then our waitress brought the 2 bloody marys that we'd ordered and Nova's pepsi. I downed half her pepsi before she realized what was going on. "Are you ready to order"? "Give us a couple more minutes please" Nova then decided that she was going to order the cavatelli "Have you forgotten the rule? We never order the same thing at a restaurant that we haven't been to before. We order differently so we can try multiple things" "But I want the cavatelli" "Fine, I'll order something else" Nova ordered the cavatelli and I choose the fried chicken. Yes fried chicken because i love fried chicken. I got a side of spaghetti with it and Nove ordered cheese bread. Each came with dinner salads and bred and butter. The bloody marys were no frills and not overflowing with all kinds of crap. Yeah a couple of olives and a pickle but most importantly they were delicious and went down way to smoothly. I ordered a second one. The salads were salads but they were fresh. No complaints at all.The cheese bread was cheesy, warm and delicious. The cavatelli was fine. No bullshit here but Nova's is far better probably because she juices it up to an entire level adding pepperoni and meatballs to go along with sausage, but what Hilltop served was baked cavatelli just like your grandma makes. The fried chicken which consist of a leg, thigh, wing and a breast was exceptionally crunchy although on the small side. Maybe they source miniature chickens but for basically an Italian joint it was cooked perfectly and quite delicious. But here's the thing that sets this place apart. Nothing tasted like restaurant food. What I mean by that is this. After you attend the church of your choosing on any given Sunday then head over to Grandma's house and for whatever reason she has decided that she is going to cook fried chicken and cavatelli for the Sunday dinner, that is what this taste like. That my culinary friends is a winner in my book. This is down home Grandma cooking, minus the old people smell, plain and simple. What others strive for, Hilltop has down pat. I can't give them 5 stars because they didn't make me cry out of pure taste bud and experience happiness, but they did far exceed my expectations. read more

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Made a reservation for 20 people on a Saturday night. They were busy, but no fear, they were ready for us. They even accommodated us in a different area to have more room to be social. The staff was amazing, the food was delicious. The remodel looks great! Will definitely be back. read more

The service was excellent and the pizza was too! This was the first time we've been there but not the last! My wife enjoyed her cocktail too. read more

Great food...we had Italian egg rolls, tenderloin/fries, and pizza. Staff very timely and attentive. Restaurant clean and it appeared to be recently painted. read more

Great service for our son's rehearal dinner. Food was great. Everyone loved the pizza, onion rings, great salad & breadsticks!

I went because the Des Moines Register said that they had the best pizza in the Des Moines metro area. And it is pretty good.

Friday night carryout pizza with a side of rings to take home to eat while watching a movie rental...This is what I did as an eastside kid in the eighties, the only difference is now I rent on demand instead of VHS. Hilltop's pizza is fantastic, old school pizza that I appreciate even more today than I did 30+ years ago. Keep it up Hilltop! read more

First timer and it was a gem. The tenderloin I had was amazing!!! My husband came specifically for the cavatelli and ate every bite it was so good. Came with two super fresh thick pieces of garlic bread so he was in food Heaven. Their homemade cheesecake is fluffy and flavorful and the perfect end to a lovely meal. Definitely a place we will come back to next time we are in town. read more

Great food, great service and a wonderful place to eat!!!! It might be a drive for us but we absolutely love it!!!

Good old fashioned home cooking. Old school type family restaurant serving up tasty comfort food. If you want to be reminded of going out to dinner with your family when you were a kid, this is the place for you! They have great fried chicken, and their spaghetti sauce is my favorite. Super soft bread and house-made creamy parmesan dressing on the salad...yummy! Their pizza is worth a try as well. Plenty of variety on the menu...you're sure to find something you enjoy. They're always busy on the weekends, but there's never a long wait. There's plenty of room for everyone. They also have a party room for private parties and large groups. read more

We have been loyal customers for years. We ordered in tonight as I just got out of the hospital 2 days ago due to acute rejection of my kidney, E. coli and pneumonia. I ordered a burger because it sounded really good and Hilltop makes good burgers. I ordered mine well done because I don't want to risk another E. coli infection. When Matt got home, I cut into my burger to make sure it was well done. Guess what? It was medium rare at best. I am so pissed. I actually cried because I am so hungry and was really looking forward to this burger. I had to stick it in the microwave and cook it so it is safe to eat. I am going to have to re-think ever going here again. read more

Bianchi's Hilltop Restaurant - Very undercooked burger. Supposed to be well done. - Pizza Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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If you don't want to get ripped off and have very poor service. Do not go here!! Never again!!

We stopped in on a Friday evening, hoping for some good food and a chill date night. We were seated in a booth right next to the waitstaff's station, and it provided a lot of entertainment over the course of our dinner, but more on that later. The environment of the restaurant lets you know right away that they have been around for a long time. The decor is a little dated, the booths are well-loved, and it's a little dim inside. I was a little excited because I love old, family-run establishments. Our waitress was really busy, so another waitress offered to take our orders and get our drinks for her. I ordered an ice tea, we ordered onion rings, my husband got a pizza, and I got a steak with a side of spaghetti. The waitress took our order and went on her way. About 10 minutes later, our actual waitress came by our table and apologized. She said that the waitress who had offered to help her out and originally took our order never put it in to the kitchen, and then left for the night. She was obviously frustrated (for good reason) and retook our order. **I do want to note that despite some of the service issues I mentioned above and will mention below, our actual waitress did a good job the rest of the night** My dinner came with a salad and bread, which came out a little after our order of onion rings came out. Onion Rings - These were good onion rings. The onions don't slide out of the breading, and they were nice and crisp. Salad and Bread - My salad greens tasted really old and dusty, so needless to say I did not eat much of my salad. The bread was okay, but was nothing special at all and is barely worth even mentioning. A little while later, my steak and spaghetti came out, as did my husband's pizza. I got a refill of my iced tea, to which I noticed that they must use a granulated instant iced tea. One of my teas was a really pale, golden color while my next glass was almost a dark brown. There's necessarily nothing wrong with using instant tea, but staff should be instructed on using a consistent amount of it. Steak - I ordered it medium, and it came out REALLY rare. I want to mention that I never complain about the food I am served, and have never sent anything back to a kitchen before. But this steak was so rare that I couldn't eat it, and I ended up sending it back to be cooked a little more. When it came out the second time, it was much better. However, there was almost no flavor to the meat, and it definitely wasn't worth the hassle in the end. Spaghetti - I wanted to order pasta, since it seemed to be what they sell a lot of. It was HORRIBLE. The pasta was really chewy and tough, and the marinara was straight up tomato water. I couldn't even tell that there was sauce on it because it was just puddle in the bottom of my bowl. I only ate one bite before instantly moving it to the side. Pizza - The pizza was really good to start out with. The bottom was crispy, and it was cheesy and greasy. The flavors of the meats on the pizza were really good. By the end of the meal though, that grease had made it's way down to the crust and it got pretty soggy. So, eat it fast! Waitstaff DRAMA (I mean, service) - So, to the entertainment of being seated near the waitstaff station. Oh my goodness you guys. It was DRAMA central. I wonder if they had new staff working, because they were making errors all over the place. Two different waitstaff kept putting the wrong table numbers on orders, so everyone around us (including us) kept getting food delivered to their tables that didn't match what they ordered. There was a lot of bickering at the station because of the messed up orders and tickets. Then, the receipt machine started to beep because it was running out of paper, and no one knew how to fix it. At one point, there were 5 different waitstaff crowded around the thing trying to figure it out. That's fine, but several of them were just standing there either yelling at each other or just laughing at the people who couldn't fix it. Overall, I did not have a very good time here. The service was not very good and the food was not worth what we paid for it. If you do stop by, just order onion rings and a pizza, and get it to go! read more

Today I had the BEST tenderloin sandwich EVER! The light, crunchy homemade breading was amazing and the tenderloin was huge. The tenderloin itself was a perfectly cut: not too thick and not too thin. Add a side of yummy fries and you are in lunch heaven. Already making plans to go back. Best tenderloin in town!! read more

Hilltop is a classic. If you are on the east side and craving pizza and onion rings, this is your place! They seem to have their carry out down pretty well and are taking great COVID precautions. read more

Old eastside favorite for thin pizza and onion rings. They have daily specials and are affordable. Open for lunch and dinner. Banquet room for private groups. Very casual. read more

Bianchi's Hilltop Restaurant - Pizza Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Wonderful restaurant. My family visited after a funeral today with a large group right before the end of lunch service without notice. The staff graciously accepted us, provided wonderful service and prepared the food impressively fast. The food was delicious. My wife and I shared a 12" meat lovers pizza. As a fan of thin crust pizza I was very impressed. I would definitely recommend trying them out and I will visit again next time I'm in town. read more

We've always enjoyed the pizza. Haven't found anything else on the menu to give good reviews about. There's a lot better cavatelli, and sausage sandwiches close by. The negative I have on the pizza is the price. They charge per topping, like most places do, but these guys charge you full topping price whether you have the topping on the whole pizza, or half of the pizza. Every else I ever been will only charge you half the topping price, because you're only putting it on half the pizza, which only makes sense, and what Hilltop charges per topping is higher than most other places. You are paying top dollar for a pizza that in my opinion is average at best. read more

best pizza ever, but kinda pricey. almost $40 for a extra large 14" pizza and large onion ring. but the onion rings are heavenly. truly a great pizza place with lots and lots of options. read more

Prices online way different than in-store was ripped off by more than 15$ pizza was cold the mozzarella sticks had absolutely no cheese in them.i called and spoke to manager and told her what happened(I probably could of handled it a little bit nicer)she was sooo unprofessional rude and patronizing,however in her defense,she did start to say she was gonna try and make it right but after the serious attitude she gave me,it wouldn't of been enough.i will never give this place my money again read more

Had a great time this Friday night. It was busy when we first arrived but tapered off eventually. Wow...onion rings. Everything that you have ever wanted grease, this is for you. Delightfully greasy and crunchy. I had the combination pizza and it was fantastic. Loved the crust and toppings. Friendly service. Would go back definitely! read more

Bianchi's Hilltop Restaurant - Small pepperoni & mushroom - Pizza Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa