My husband is obsessed with anything wood fired - and since Il P's location isn't far from our north side abode, we have been making frequent visits to this place. The pizza here is really great--anything we have had (margherita, veggie, and something spicy I can't remember the name of) had been awesome. Their appetizers are great as well--the calamari here is up there with the best I've ever had. I wasn't "wowed" by the salads for the price, but they definitely weren't bad. They have a decent draft beer selection and an extensive (Italian!!) wine list. Most of the wines were unfamiliar to me, but the servers do a great job of helping you pick one if you let them know what you like. The service here is pretty great in general, actually. This place gets really busy, so don't come here for a quiet date night--but it's busy for a reason. It's a great place!! read more

The appetizers are great (calamari, mussels, buffalo mozzarella, meatballs)!!! BUT the pizza for being a certified member of the American Italian AVP Napoletana. WAS PATHETIC... it was soggy, floppy, and no taste... (should be soft, flavorful, etc...) this was my 2nd attempt to try at their downtown location, compared to Mt. Lebanon and same result....disappointment. Pathetic and why have a brick oven if that's the final product. Great selection however for a simple menu though.... veal, chicken, fish..... stick with those and the appetizers. :) read more

Several weeks ago, I made a 9:00 P.M. reservation for 4 people on Open Table for Pizzaiolo Primo. In the special requests section I wrote: "We are celebrating my daughter's college graduation. May we please have a table in the upstairs restaurant by the window. Thank you!" We arrived at the restaurant at 8:45 P.M. to be told that the restaurant was booked. The only table that would be available that night was a high top in the very back of the bar right in front of the kitchen doors. When I requested that the hostess please check our reservation notes, she said that they gave our table to a bigger party. When we expressed surprise over this, she very rudely replied "Well, that's just how this played out tonight." Obviously, we left and had a wonderful dining experience with great food and service across the street at Sienna. We will never go to Pizzaiolo Primo again! Be warned, your reservations mean NOTHING there and the very rude staff couldn't possibly care less. read more

I can't lie, I was a little against going here. I go to an Italian restaurant in Shady Side that served pizza the same way and is delicious. So walking into Il Pizzaiolo all I could think was "there is no way this is better." It was divine! I got pizza, of course! Just got the margherita pizza with prosciutto on top! Seriously what is better than prosciutto? Absolutely nothing, it would turn a vegan! I had gone with family so I had a few other things to try as well! Such as the calamari, umm delicious! I never had it before and I'm so happy I waited to try it. The pasta was equally as amazing. Let's just say my tastebuds were on a whirlwind of flavors! The server was just fantastic. Everything you want in a server.. lol. He was prompt with things and checked on us constantly which made the experience here even better! The prices were a bit higher, but hey money buys happiness. At least in this case it does! I would suggest going here!!! read more

Solid - the food in my opinion tastes exactly like the Mt. Lebo location. That may sound odd...food that is equally comparable at a restaurant with multiple locations, but we've all had that disappointing experience where you think and hope the food tastes the same but doesn't. Well I can assure you that it's equally as great as the food in the Mt. Lebo location. My one issue was the service. I realize they are new to the market square location so will give them time to work on improving the service aspect. A work day lunch hour turned in to two...and while my co-workers and I were all for a relaxing lunch with some wiggle room on our hour lunch, the time it took for the food to come out after placing our order seemed excessive. Especially since people that were seated and placed their order after us received their food before us. Our group was only 3 people so not unusually large. I ordered the margherita pizza which was fresh and cooked to perfection. My co-workers ordered the sandwiches and said that they enjoyed them. I'll definitely be back again with the hopes that service has improved. read more

We always have a great experience whenever we visit. We celebrated Mother's Day here today and could not have had better food or service. Our server, Anna, was amazing and ensured we had a wonderful celebration! The arancini and stuffed banana pepper appetizers should not be missed. We look forward to our next visit! read more

After hearing wonderful things about Il Pizzaiolo for years - literally years - I finally had the opportunity to try this restaurant last week with a group of co-workers. I had a wonderful time! First, we ordered wine. The wine list was insanely long and confusing, so we asked the waitress for her recommendation. She told us that there were three house wines, conveniently called the #1, #2, and #3. I believe they were Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, and Merlot. I shared two carafes of the Pinot Noir with a co-worker and thought it was very tasty. The team shared two appetizers, Panzarotti and Fiori de Zucca. The Fiori de Zucca was fried zucchini slices that were good but not my favorite thing ever. I loved the Panzarotti. It kind of tasted like a fried risotto and mozzarella ball. So yummy. Even at the risk of potentially embarrassing myself for taking too much food, I snagged the last one. For my entree, I ordered the Ravioli alla Caprese. The entree was very simple but superbly executed. I hope to come back to Il Pizzaiolo very soon! read more

This place is a great authentic Italian eatery right in the heart of downtown in Market Square! We had the special appetizer of the evening, zucchini blossoms stuffed with mozzarella and then fried. They were so delicious I would have gladly downed a whole plate of them as my meal. I shared a pizza with my mother. We got the margherita, so nothing out of the ordinary, but it was nonetheless delicious. I think I still prefer Mercurio's pizza over Il Pizzaiolo, but it's nice to have two great authentic pizzeria restaurants within our great city! For dessert, I had the chocolate cake with chocolate gelato and it was so so decadent and rich. I thought I was only going to have a bite or two, but ended up scarfing down nearly the whole thing. Yum yum. read more

The calamari was good.... The marinara sauce is to die for and so is the mozzarella cheese... Service is good . Now the cons.... The gnocchi tasted as it came from the supermarket isle.... Not good at all.... The pizza.... Where is the cheese ?!?!?!? The cokes.... They sell these tiny coke bottles... So we probably had 3 each.... And the dessert we saw the tiramisu it looked amazing!!! But our big mouths said we wanted to have some gelato and they told us they have gelato.... Gelato $9 for 3 scoops.... It Tasted as regular frozen burn ice cream.... Not gelato.... I will not be coming back here..... read more

I was craving pizza for my birthday so we headed to this cute little place in Market Square. Made a reservation beforehand and they even called to confirm which I thought was odd since it was for Saturday lunch. Service was a bit blotchy, we didn't get bread until we asked for it and my man's espresso came our lukewarm which we promptly sent back. My man got the LUINGUINE ALLE VONGOLE and I got my birthday wish--PIZZA (with mushrooms)! My man ho-hummed his pasta but my pizza was perfect, thin crusted, hot, and flavorful! read more

Authentic italian pizza. My Sicilian husband gave it a big thumbs up. He was very pleased with this location. read more

Pizzaiolo Primo - Very authentic italian pizza - Italian Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Best part of the night was how incredibly informed the waiter was... however after we got our food he pretty much disappeared. someone else had to ask us about dessert and clear our plates. Appetizers very good (mozzarella ball was 5 stars!!), drinks ok. Bread was ok and served with infused olive oil that really needed some olive purée, balsamic, or other herbs on the side, but they were nowhere to be found. Mains ok, but not for the price, even the pizza was 'meh.' The pasta with mussels, clams, shrimp, and scallops was way off with the spices for my taste (too spicy for a seafood pasta dish, and I love spicy food, but not for this). We were very happy with walking in on a Friday and them being able to text us when a table was ready, but otherwise I'll keep going to other Italian restaurants no matter if they are cheaper or more expensive. read more

Found on Yelp while visiting Pittsburgh. While they weren't accepting any more reservations when I called, they encouraged us to come and sit at the bar but when we got there, we got a lovely table and a great waiter! We love Italian wines and he guided us to a great bottle at a (for restaurants) reasonable price. My salad was fresh and perfectly dressed, my gnocchi lovely pillows of potato heaven. My husband's marinara pizza was very good as well, with a perfect crust. The only small criticism - the bread served with olive oil was just meh. Our favorite restaurant at home uses the dough from their pizza to make a delicious dipping bread. To their credit, the olive oil was the best I've had in an American restaurant - fresh, green, just wonderful! And so glad to see Market Square hopping! Go Pittsburgh! read more

The Downtown Market Square IL Pizzaiolo was the worst, no comparable to the original 'il Pizzaiolo'! The Pizza dough was raw in the middle of the pie. The mussels smelt and tasted fishy, and pasta dry. Would not recommend this place. No after work specials and horrible food! Spent $75 on a dinner that I was completely unsatisfied. I would have rather gone to Nine on Nine and eat decent food. No wonder the outdoor seating was wide open in the gorgeous weather! Total BUST! read more

Our third trip to this spot and probably won't return. Our previous visits were amazing both in service and food. This time not so much. Super slow service. Food was rather bland. Orders the pappardelle funghi which was totally flavorless as was the Bolognese. Chef needs to add spice. The only highlights were the calamari and the pizza. Dinner for 4 with wine was $180 plus tip. Expensive. read more

I loved the Mt. Lebanon location and I love the downtown location. This place is a true gem and I don't believe until the new culinary renaissance (there, I said it) in Pittsburgh, did a place like II Pizzaiolo get the attention and growth it truly deserved. They have so many fresh pastas and at prices that make sense. Also, the downtown location has outdoor seating that makes Market Square sparkle like a Lower East Side cafe. If you haven't experienced the new vibe that is budding in Market Square, then you're totally missing out. Get out of the "east end only" mentality and make your way back downtown, to the south, etc. read more

My girlfriend and I decided to give Il Pizzaiolo a try before a show downtown. Upon arrival we were seated outside, let our server know about the show, and ordered drinks. The menu looked very appealing, but would be hard to decipher if you're not a foodie or Italian. There were several instances where I had to translate. We decided to order a pizza and ravioli. The pizza tasted fresh, with quality ingredients, but was fairly traditional otherwise. It was a little strange that they didn't cut the pizza, though. The ravioli was also good, but not overly inspiring. At this point, we began to have trouble finding our server. We had to flag her down as she was about to go back inside after serving another table. We ordered the tiramisu for dessert and it did not disappoint. This was probably the highlight of our meal. We again had trouble finding our server afterwards to pay, though. Overall, Il Pizzaiolo serves pretty decent food, but I'm not quite sure that it's worth going back for due to the prices compared to other italian places and the quality of service. read more

Located in Market Square, close to downtown Pittsburgh. It's nicely located for local workers to grab a bite or for tourist, like myself, who are discovering Market Square to get some great food and enjoy the view. Firstly, the interior is so adorable and definitely worth a look. The menu offers, not just pizza, but delicious salads, pastas, and great appetizers. The day I visited, they had a steak salad special which I got. My only complaint was that it wasn't cooked medium, it was more medium well than anything (which I despised). The service was great, and our waitress gave us a great run down of the menu and provided some clarification when we asked. Definitely check it out if you're in the area. read more

Really nice place to go to dinner with someone or get drinks at the bar. Quiet, pleasant atmosphere.

Wow, I was really impressed with their pizza here. Very good. They do it in the Italian style where the pizza is not cut into pieces but where you eat it with a fork and knife. Almost everything about this place is European style right down to serving glass bottles of Coke instead of a bottomless plastic cup (a plus if you ask me). They also had pretty decent espresso that I had after lunch. The place was not too crowded a lunch time and we were able to get back to the office in plenty of time. I would definitely go back here the next time I am in town. read more

We couldn't decide where to go on Friday night at 9pm before going out for some drinks, and Il Piz came highly, HIGHLY recommended by quite a few of my girlfriends. They normally go to the Lebo location, which I've heard is "even better" than the downtown spot, but both Bobby and I thought our dinner and experience on Friday were excellent. We were seated right away by a polite hostess in a two-top in the back corner. Our waitress was Barbara and she was adorable...so friendly and honest when we asked her opinion of items on the menu. It was buzzing for a Friday night with most seats at the bar filled as well as the downstairs dining room - a nice little crowd. We started with the complimentary bread and olive oil, then ordered two mixed drinks and the mussels in spicy marinara sauce appetizer. The mussels came out in a very generous portion and the sauce was absolutely amazing. I was eating it by itself with a large spoon!!! Our drinks were also basic, but well-made. We tried the Funghi and the Diavola pizzas. The Diavola was a little too spicy to my liking, but the Funghi was perfect. It had the same tangy, flavorful sauce that I loved and the buffalo mozzarella was amazing. We ended up having two pieces from each left to take home, so we really took home a full pizza. There were a few different people that had cleared our table and brought out our food in addition to Barbara, and all of them were equally as friendly. We happened to be sitting under the air vent and it was really chilly. Hating the fact that I am, actually, a spitting image of my mother's daughter, I politely asked one of the servers to please turn down the air, if possible. He had no problem accommodating my request and didn't make me feel like I was being an annoyance. Overall, I have no complaints. We had great food and great service. It was around $70 before tip for two mixed drinks, two pizzas and an appetizer. 5 stars from this girl. read more

Eh.. I'm sorry, I wanted to love this just as much as the Mt Lebo location, but eh... not so much. JH and I went for a celebratory lunch. And for how much it was, thank god we were celebrating. I knew that JH was upstairs as per a text as I was walking over, so when I arrived at the store, I said that my friend was upstairs. The hostess asked if we had a reservation. I said that I thought so and that I knew that my friend was upstairs waiting. I start to move towards the stairs and the hostess moves in front of me. Are we seriously going to have a showdown in the lobby? I give her a look like, are you kidding me? She then said to go upstairs. Really? Really?!?! We started with the fried zucchini. I had just gotten back from Italy, so I can say with some certainty that this is seriously the most authentic fried zucchini ever. However, that is not to say good. When I was in Rome, I ordered fried zucchini and it came in this bubble of dough, fried super crispy and greasy as all get out. Sadly, this was the same. It was so greasy in fact that I was ill most of the day. I then had a pizza with meatballs and it was pretty tasty. Pretty on par with their other shop and I was pleased. But weirdness walking in and greasy fried zucchini make for an unhappy girl when I am dishing out this much money. read more

If you come here stick with the pizza. Rest of the items on the menu are average, especially for the cost. This place is really expensive for the mediocre quality food / service you get. read more

We hosted a private event for around 40 people here. The process was fantastic and the end result was extremely positive. The food is terrific and the service is top-notch. The employees catered to members of our party with dietary restrictions and made to-go boxes for leftovers without us asking. Excellent from start to finish - would definitely recommend this restaurant in general and for private events in particular. read more

My partner and I have walked past this restaurant many times along with myriad Christmas shoppers in Market Square. It's the sister restaurant to a Mount Lebanon location and we thought it would make a cozy New Year's Eve destination. Il Pizzaiolo offers five different house-made pastas and the other pasta dishes they offer are from Pasta Faella, which the house claims as the best pasta in the world. Well, I don't know about all that but our pasta dishes were damn delicious. For starters, we ordered arancini, which are ping pong ball-sized fried balls of rice, coated in breadcrumbs and lightly fried. Two were filled with creamy cheese and two were filled with salty pancetta. We've eaten arancini in Milan and these rivaled the originals, although they appeared a bit more carefully prepared here.The meal opened with a sliced round of warm, fragrant bread that had been baked in their 1000º brick oven just moments before. Just that is worth the price of admission. My partner enjoyed Cavatelli con Rapini and I ordered Sedani alla Norma. The pasta was perfectly al dente (to be honest, mine was a smidge too al dente, but that was to my preference anyway--perhaps they have psychic chefs?). The house wine was a Nero d'Avola that was a nice compliment to the pastas although not earthshaking. The pasta dishes were expertly seasoned and generous in portion...neither of us could finish so we got to enjoy more for lunch the next day. Our waitress, Sara was a wonderful part of our meal. She was pleasant and knowledgeable and checked on us just enough times. We sat on the first floor and were pleasantly surprised that (although it was New Years Eve) we had a table suitable for four all to ourselves. After an appetizer, soup, salad, two entrées, bread and a mezzolitro of house red, our bill (including tip) came to about $118. Every swallow was worth every dollar. We thank her and Il Pizzaiolo for a delicious welcome to 2014. There is no doubt...we will be back. Perhaps next time to try one of those wonderful-smelling pizzas that our fellow diners couldn't stop shoveling in. read more

Had a late dinner here with my boyfriend on a Thursday. Small space, so definitely make a reservation beforehand. Pizza here is obviously the main attraction, and we got a quattro frommagi pizza, HIS favorite. I ordered the cavatelli rapini with sausage. Huge portion, so definitely shareable! About half of the pasta menu is made with fresh pasta made in-house, which in my opinion is ALWAYS the better option. The cavatelli was among those. The noodles had a decent bite to them, and not mushy. The sausage was average, but not bad. Overall we had a good meal and would come back again if in the area. Not sure if I'd make special plans just to come here though. read more

Showed up from.out of town with family on Tuesday night. Not too busy but big concert.in town so steady crowd. 830 walk in seated outside. Ordered drinks and appetizer. Antipasto meat and cheese served without bread or silverware. Waiter didn't offer an explanation but when questioned smiled and said "we are out of bread". No explanation. Just out of bread. Wtf?!?!? Don't know what bothered me more...out of bread or that waiter didn't think it was important to say anything.....Italian restaurant without bread...isnt that like a hamburger joint without buns? Why not just come out and apologize and offer to comp the appetizer? Hey management....get your act together. Been in the service biz for over 30 years...send your staff to some training. read more

This is a nice little place. Mainly staffed by college kids I would imagine, so please don't expect anything remarkable service wise. Even the bartender looked like she was just old enough to drink. And poured wine with a jigger. I kid you not. Pretty high prices, food wasn't great but wasn't terrible. Nothing really to say all too positive or negative. Yes, the gnocchi were almost perfectly done, but on the other hand my pasta was still chewy enough to almost qualify as gum. The main issue is that there are so many great traditional real Italian restaurants in Pittsburgh, I think this place is working 95% off of it's location downtown. So, cannot recommend, but if you have some time and are stuck downtown, give their gnocchi a try and let me know what you think. read more

There's better Italian food out there! To start, Italians are famous for bread and pasta, this place had neither . Bread tasted like it came off the super market shelf, not even olive oil could make it better. My wife had the Gnocchi which were suppose to be home made. Again the tasted like the came out of a bag or frozen, definitely not fresh! I had the Veal Parm. Breading was soggy, soaked in oil and over done. The Spaghetti was too Al Dente and overwhelmed with sauce, I couldn't even finish my meal which says a lot for me . Trust me, we have had better Italian food! read more

Average pizza with a decent wood fired taste but the price is outrageous. Undercooked pizza with nothing out of the normal products. Would I return ? Maybe. Not a first choice in the future. read more

Pizzaiolo Primo - Wood fired but under cooked. - Italian Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Favorite Italian place in Pittsburgh! Always enjoy our food and time every time we visit!

We arrived from Las Vegas looking for an amazing place to eat and we found the park in the square Olga was an absolute amazing server the first night..... so we had to come back again. The deserts were homemade the pasta was perfect, everything we ordered was amazing I would have to say I don't understand why everyone isn't giving this restaurant for the food and its service 5 stars being from Las Vegas we ask a lot, being in the business of hospitality for 30 years..... I ask even more and this restaurant lived up to it all. read more

My aunt and I went here for dinner on Thursday (third day open!) and it was great! We ordered the the Antipasto Napoli ~ 8 types of cold cooked and seasoned vegetables to start with and paired it with La Fin Du Monde. Each veggie has its own taste and cooking method. It was easy and fun to share. Although we were trying to be healthy by ordering the vegetables, I have to wonder. Next we ordered the Prosciutto E Arugula Pizza. It was eleven inches of heaven. The crisp and chewy dough was fire oven cooked with mozzarella and sliced cherry tomato, than placed on top after cooking (I think) were handfuls of arugula and thin slices of fresh prosciutto. The waitress said this was her favorite pizza when she dropped it off, but I'm sure they are all good. I took my time eating because it was so good. The buildings renovations must have taken time, taste and money. At one point during my conversation we just started to list things we liked about the decor. "I like the big windows that let in all the natural light" "I like the detail on the paint job" "I like the floors" "I like that you can see the mosaic fire oven" "I like the shiny espresso machine" Needless to say the new Market street location is worth a visit. read more

I can't express enough how fabulous my pizza Santa Lucia was. This was my second time this week, but this time I didn't share it! The combination of fresh basil , tomatoes , garlic, anchovies and capers on top of the most wonderful wood fired dough is perfection . This place is as good as it gets for authentic Italian Pizza in Pittsburgh. I found it easy to get into and get served during a busy Thursday in Market Square. It's not cheap, but great food never needs to be. read more

Haven't had a bad meal here yet! When we're going downtown for a show, this is my go-to - just leave a bit of time. Great antipasto platter and cocktails, good liquor selection. The pizzas are fantastic. Tonight I tried the octopus salad - it was definitely the most octopus I've ever seen, and (for once) NOT overcooked and rubbery. Admittedly, I order the same entree every time - the pasta with mushrooms. Had a few glitches with the service, but not a big deal - just misunderstandings. The food more than made up for it and the staff were great. read more

Great pizzas for a quick lunch hour. We were in the area for work and wanted something pretty tasty but didn't have a ton of time. This place isn't fast food by any stretch but for a fresh pizza, it is pretty quick. A local friend recommended it to us and the menu looked awesome. I love an authentic style pizza and anything with prosciutto makes me happy! The pizza came out after a pretty quick wait and it looked awesome. The flavors were rich and wait for it, real! I am so sick of the canned sauces and the dried herbs used in most places. Even the "fancier" places are cutting corners. But this place was the real deal. Amazing tastes from the real ingredients. I was going to take some pizza home but that didn't last and I ate the whole thing. Oops My only complaints was that the pizza could have been a little more evenly topped. I had a small issue with the distribution of the toppings. I'm not really complaining here, just trying to explain why I only gave 4 stars. A very easily fixed problem and it didn't take away from our experience. Still very good and I will be back for sure! read more

Great atmosphere and service, and I absolutely love the wood fired oven. I had the calzone and I must Say the dough was awesome, the wood oven with the smoke and the char was outstanding. The filling was mostly a creamy ricotta which had a great texture and flavor but was simply too much ricotta to crust ratio. Next time I'm going to have a pizza but if you choose to go with calzone ask for easy on the ricotta and you will have a winner of a lunch. read more

Another great visit at this restaurant ! We came for dinner for my fiancé's birthday. We sat upstairs (which is adorably charming ). Matthew was our server, he was excellent and so was the food ! I had the pappardelle with mushrooms and cream sauce, he had the linguine with seafood ! We loved everything and will be making the drive from greensburg to come again ! read more

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Outstanding pizza, pasta and chicken. Salads were fresh, delicious dressings. Had Caprese with smoked mozzarella.. delicious! The lemon chicken was outstanding with broccolini! Big enough that I will have for lunch again today. read more

Pizzaiolo Primo - Italian Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Loved it! We ended up trying to find a restaurant late in the evening and ended up sitting at the bar here. The staff were very friendly and attentive. Suggested to the bar manager to put purse holders under the bar. Both my rigatoni with meatballs and my husband's ravioli were delicious. The portions were ample, especially mine. I got 6 meatballs. Great food! We'll be back! read more