Each dining experience my family and I enjoy here has been a great one. We love the options to choose from and I must commend the staff for my most recent visit. On our most recent visit I asked my waiter if the chef would be able to prepare pasta carbonara. The waiter went in and asked the chef if the ingredients would be available in order to do this and he came back stating they could! I was very pleased with my dish as well! Carbonara as I know it. Also, my wife absolutely loves the raviolis. The hand made pasta is very good but there's just something about their combination of ricotta filling and tomato sauce that really takes the dish up there. Thank you for a great meal! read more

Great fried mozzarella, Service was very quick and easy at the bar, no wait. The carne pizza was really good , the meatballs on top were the best! Def recommend a stop if u enjoy wood fire pizza! read more

The food and drinks are delicious but overpriced. No gluten-free options for pasta and no labels on the menu to help identify options that would be safe or possible. Comfortable outdoor seating! read more

What a great place for lunch outside in Market Square. They have the no 1 or 2 Tiramisu. I've ever tasted. their gelato is grand. They have real Italian meatballs? If your at the market on Thursdays, looking for the farm fresh produce, stop by have a pizza and a desert. Their cappuccino. Enjoy yourselves. read more

We sat on the outdoor patio and enjoyed delicious food, incredible weather and fantastic service! My husband ordered the bolognese and I had the ricotta ravioli. Both were very good! We people watched those in market square while filling our bellies with pasta and wine. Cheers! read more

The spicy fusilli was SO good. I was nervous it would be too hot for me, but it was perfect. I am glad that I went with my server's recommendation over the usual chicken parm. Can't go wrong with the fried cheese appetizer either! read more

We went there last week to celebrate my sons 16th birthday. This was his choice, since they get to pick the place on their day. We all love the original so we figured this would be good, but could it be as good as Mt Lebo? Suprise, maybe better!. We always start with the vegetable antipasta and this time they ordered the calamari also.Both were perfect.Then they ordered the D.O.C, the diablo and the lasagna.But even though I loved all those the main thing I wanted was their eggplant.You might not know it, but they have the best eggplant in the city ! I am kinda a fanatic about eggplant and order it everywhere we go.The only one that compares is this restaurant from Venice. Il Pizzaiolo is obviously a lot closer! As for the service: oustanding! I think our server"s name was Vincenza, assisted by another server named Kyle. Hopefully we get their section again. Which should be soon. Real soon read more

Great choice for dinner while visiting Pittsburgh for the Steelers game. My daughter's choice, but so glad she picked it. Nice atmosphere, although the downstairs tables can be a bit cramped if there is a good crowd in there, which there was. And sitting by the door during the cold weather is not a good choice with the door opening about every 30 seconds from people walking in. Glad they turned the heat up for us! Hostess, waiter, and I'm assuming manager that came over to our table to see how everything was, were all very pleasant and friendly. Waiter was awesome, very knowledgeable and friendly and attentive. I had the eggplant parm and my daughter had the ravioli...both very yummy!!!! We also tried the appetizer....little mozzarella fried balls....so good they melt in your mouth!!! Will definitely visit again next time we're in Pittsburgh!!! read more

Went last night for a birthday party of eight. we had fantastic service. No reservations on Saturdays so we put our name in and walked across the Square for a drink. We were told an hour wait but it was about half that. The restaurant is on the small side so we expected to wait... Really nice lighting. Would be great for a date, everyone looks younger in that room, I heard one of our party say. The calamari was tender and well seasoned, one of my benchmarks for a restaurant. All other starters were what was expected with a few nice surprises. That authentic pizza oven is one of the only wood fired ovens I know of in the 'burgh. The dough is phenomenal. Everyone at the table raved about their meals. It's a fun location and a great place for a more authentic Italian meal. read more

Food was good . Pizza was fresh with tomato sauce, but not spectacular. Eggplant parm was great but bucca de beppos is way better. I didn't care for the drink menu but the vodka mint mule was very good. Too many families were here so it's not exclusive. Then a baby carrier came in. It's a tiny place and having kids around makes the evening feel cheap and adds extra noise and chaos Our server Rachel was awful. She never checked on our food after it arrived, never came to offer another drink and we had to ask for the check while she brought the wrong one and made us wait by taking another tables order in the meantime. She was sloppy looking. The blonde hostess was professional looking though. Servers should cover up arm tattoos and have hair neatly contained. We won't be back read more

First of all, Nice place. Great patio and wonderful service. Ordered the Calamari Arrabbiata style with a glass of 2011 Aglianico Terredora. Excellent.... Insalata Salmone next... Even Better ! Finished with the Tiramisu. . Outstanding..... Ask for Jeremy, he'll walk you through the wines and the menu. I'll be back.... read more

Went a year earlier and returned this past week to give another try. I think the pizza size has gotten smaller while the price remains ridiculously high at $16 for a Margherita pizza. Way to small to share unless you fill up on appetizers or aren't very hungry. Pasta dishes don't offer much better value, a la carte for $22. Dessert more of the same, 3 scoops of gelato for $9. I will say the quality of food is excellent as was the service. But this isn't gourmet preparations or fine dining. In no universe should a small Margherita be $16. Also the soundtrack was terrible....trying to be the hippest place on the block playing some type old school punk rock music. Sorry the Ramones don't make for good digestion or atmosphere in an Italian restaurant! This place could be a lot better if they weren't concerned with trying to be hip or gauging the customer with outrageously high prices. Go for the authentic pizza and the atmosphere of sitting right in Market square, but realize you will pay a ridiculous price for it. read more

I always get a shrimp salad when come here! The shrimp are so plump and delicious I get full off the salad lol! It can be a little pricey but it's worth it read more

Primo??? Really??? Here at 8pm & they're out of bread!! And the worst part is after we specifically ordered it with our appetizer they didn't even tell us until after we asked why they didn't bring it. Moving on. read more

There was a long wait to get in. Seemed like there were a lot of loud mouth italians and mobster-wanna be's. The place is pricey. I ordered margherita pizza. It looked nice but there was NOTHING great about the flavor, it was plain. Not really looking to eat her again unless they improve the flavors. read more

Great atmosphere good food reasonable prices. A must do. What can I say other than Good Italian Cuisine an all around pleasure the waitress was on top of everything we care for naught If you find yourself in downtown Pittsburg this is a must do read more

Very good - yet not fabulous - Italian restaurant in centrally located Market Square. Perfect choice for pre-theater crowd. Most recent visit before Les Mis was good with a few faux pas. Our waiter forgot our antipasto platter. We had to forgo it since our entrees were on their way out. Had some wonderful pastas but the "al dente" was taken a little too serious for a few entrees. We were running late so we did not send dishes back. Some advice to restaurant owners/chefs... do something about your bread!! I've been to the restaurant twice. First time they had no bread at 6pm. They ran out! This past time we asked for more bread since what we were given were miniature rolls. We were told "sure" but we would have to pay extra!! The rolls were small and stale. And the dipping oil is nothing but olive oil - no herbs or Parmesan cheese. "Boring" as my daughter described it. You have a great location, nice looking place, and overall pretty good food. Step it up a tad without increasing prices which are already on the steep side. read more

Great place and service! The food was amazing. All of us in the group enjoyed what we got. The penne vodka is really good. I strongly suggest the pasta Fresca. Slightly expensive for lunch good a good place to go for dinner. read more

Had dinner upstairs at the bar before the Wicked show over the weekend with my mom. While I don't love dining at the bar, I was happy to get in without a reservation and had plenty of space to dine without feeling cramped. Staff made great recommendations about the wine list and the prosciutto and arugula pizza is fantastic. read more

What a great little spot on the square. From he homemade past to be fine list of wines. His place is a must while people watching in market square. read more

My wife and I went here today and as amazing as it used to be, it was that bad today. First when we walked in the place was empty and they took us upstairs with out asking if we would like to dine down stairs. Then they stuck us in a corner by the window with the other three tables that were occupied. Not sure why they did not spread people out in there vrs cramming everyone into a small corner. Then the meatballs came out which were cold and my wife's fried cheese was not cooked well and the center was cold. The waiter took forever to take our main food order and we he did come back we ordered two pizzas which we were both looking forward too. The pizza cam out and the dough looked flat like it was old dough or had not risen enough. The pie was soggy and not even close to what the place used to be. We each tried one slice and that was more than enough to tell me I will never be back. As we were leaving the staff seamed like they could care less about even being there and right before we walked out the manager was standing there and didn't even take the time to properly greet us as we left or even ask how everything was. I could tell the manager in this place is the reason for the decline and the staffs lack of caring. Whatever this place used to do before, you really need to go back to your old ways. read more

II Pizzaiolo was the perfect setting before going to the theater . Great salad, appetizers and pizza. The atmosphere was great and the waitress was pleasant and professional. Cathy K read more

Got the special pasta and the Funghi pizza! Excellent choices and quick service! Great selection of wine! Fortunate to grab a table for 2 on an early Saturday evening! Will come back again! read more

My Italian boyfriend wanted to take his parents to get some pizza. They obviously know a thing or two about pizza, so he picked this place based on recommendations about the quality of the pizza. We walked in on a Sunday night at 7:00 pm and got seated right away without a reservation. The weather was beautiful and we got a table on the patio. Great start to a meal! Everybody else at the table got pizzas (Margherita, Funghi and Diavola). Prices are a little on the high side, $18 ish. Everybody liked the pizza, so, it was worth it. I ordered mussels, unknowing how rude and unprofessional out waitress Barbara was going to be. One of the reasons I order mussels is because I love to dip the bread in the sauce. The menu doesn't mention per sei that there is bread included, but I have never had a bowl of mussels without bread. When the mussels arrive, I get no fork for the mussels or a bowl for the shells. No problem, I use my regular fork and the side plate we were given in the beginning. When Barbara comes around, I ask for some bread. She tells me that someone dropped the wrong kind of bread (rolls) this morning and they don't have any. Ok, no problem. I ask if I can have one of those rolls or some plain pizza dough. Before even asking the kitchen she tells me that they prepare the dough in a special way and that I probably can not have any because they have to make sure they have enough for pizza. She comes back a minute later and she tells me that I can't have any. I kindly told her that she should have told me in the beginning they don't have any bread for the mussels and I would have ordered something else. She told me she doesn't take her mussels with bread, so she didn't think it was a big deal that they were out of bread. Then she said they will have bread tomorrow. I said, that's great, but I won't be here tomorrow, she looked me straight in the eye, said OK with an annoyance in her voice and walked away. When she came around again, I asked for a bowl for my shells, her response was: "They were supposed to give you one!", well lady, you are my server, you are supposed to make sure I got one. I was a server as well, and I know that when a restaurant is half way decent, they first off, tell you when something is not available, offer a substitute or a discount. None of these were offered by Barbara, instead we got an attitude. At the end we asked if we can get a discount because my dish was incomplete, she said she asked the manager which said no, because it doesn't say on the menu it comes with bread. If it weren't for my boyfriends' parents there, I would have asked to talk to the manager, but I didn't want to cause a fuss. Also, it wasn't for the few dollars discount I was looking for, it was for the principle of such bad service and not letting customers know before they order that they were out of bread. Btw - I got the mussels in spicy marinara, and they were good. Too bad I wasn't able to enjoy too much of the sauce, just some with the outer crust from my boyfriend's pizza. So, if you run out of pizza dough do you not tell people you did and you bring the rest of the ingredients baked on a plate and tell them you didn't think it was important because you are on a carb free diet? For the prices that you have on the menu, there is a minimum service level required, which was not delivered. I have to agree with other reviews that your service is bad. Your location will get you the tourists customers, but not repeat local customers if you don't train your wait staff. Service and Professionalism: 0 stars Food: 4 stars Recommended: No read more

My 24th birthday was ruined! Last night was my first experience at I'll primo and I've been wanting to go for sometime now so we made a reservation for 8pm. 8pm came around and our table wasn't ready 8:10 no table 8:20 no table. My group is beginning to wonder if we were actually going to be seated. After telling the hostess we need the manager to help us get our table they threw a table together for us at 8:30. While sitting at the bar I was a upset along with everyone else we haven't been seated yet. So The Bartender thought it would be a good idea to make a smart remark to us about negative energy and kept saying that's not gonna get you a table. I'm not sure what she thought but our reservation should have gotten me a table. I'm sorry but if we made the reservation at 8 I don't wanna be seated at 8:00 not 8:30. We order our food at 8:40 and didn't see the food til 9:45. I understand we had 10 people but that's unacceptable. Topping off this horrible dinner our waiter tried pulling a fast one on us and put a 20 dollar tip on all of our bills! Not 20%, $20.00. So we asked if this was write and he said "i dont want you to think I was pulling a fast one on ya". Well that's what happened. Overall I would never step foot back into that restaurant. Service 2/10 food 4/10. If you wanna celebrate at an Italian place for dinner go to Olive Garden before going here. read more

Service is horrible! Messed up my friends order, served her something with meat when she got a vegetarian meal. It was in the sauce, perhaps the kitchen was just a bit sloppy. So we took our take out order outside and decided to eat while we waited. 15 mins later a waiter came by with the replacement meal, no apologies and said "Just for future reference, we don't allow you to eat on premises when you have a take out order." Are you kidding me! We are waiting because of your mistake and then you're saying we can't sit!. Ridiculous. The girl at the bar was very curt and then was throwing a semi fit, could see through the windows. I suppose it was we were sitting outside ON PREMISES. The food is pretty good, but not the best. Pizza was chewy, which was a little disappointing. Mozzarella is fantastic. Was recommended by a Pittsburgh native who says the Mt. Lebanon was is better. Would go there, never here until they get some new staff. read more

I always have to eat here when I visit Pittsburgh. This is some of the best Italian food I've ever had. Everything is always hot, fresh, and delicious. Well worth a visit read more

It was our first time at Pizzaolo Primo in July. Excellent food, great service and friendly staff. Everything we tried was very delicious. My wife loved rice balls. We're going back this weekend for our son's school. We're definitely going to dine there again! read more

I have taken a handful of interviewees and colleagues to Pizzaiolo Primo and the food and service are always great. The pizza is fantastic and all of the people I have taken think the same. Keep up the great work! read more

We were here twice during our visit to Pittsburgh one weekend. Our hotel was right on Market Square, and we were looking for good restaurants within walking distance. The first time we visited was for lunch and we split a pizza - Salsicce and Rapini and it was outstanding. Wonderful, thin crust authentic pizza. The second time we needed a light night snack and sat at the bar. Il Pizzaiolo had no Cabernet (my red of choice) but the knowledgeable bartender offered me a few options and I picked one and was really happy -an Aglianico. I would definitely order it again. We split salumi - excellent stuff. The kitchen was open late on a Saturday, the service was friendly and helpful, and while there were lots of customers, seating was available. There is a wine bar upstairs, but we didn't have an opportunity to visit that part of the restaurant. read more

This was my first time at any Il P. First the good... I thought the service was adequate for the cost. The beer and drink list somewhere between good and great. That's it for the good in my opinion. None of the bread varieties were noteworthy in as much as I don't have anything to say about them at all. The pizza was almost identical to Stone at a higher price. The menu was fair but not vast. The first time I asked for a substitution I was shot down like a 9th grader asking a senior to the prom. I don't blame the server, she's simply doing her job and honoring the orders of the kitchen. This wasn't an outrageous request at all. It was something they had, I just wanted more of it. Fine, I understand you need to manage your supply of food back there. However, this put me in the mindset that nothing on the menu can be changed at all, which is probably true, I ended up with a marked up Stone pizza and a fried zucchini plank or two (which were good by the way). I remember saying, if these planks don't come out with sauce I'm gonna lose it. They didn't- but some was provided promptly by request. My wife had meatballs. Yes, meatballs. As in on a plate. You see, there is no dish that incorporates both pasta and meatballs, odd for an Italian restaurant if you ask me. Bottom line, if you look at the menu and see something you really want it'll probably be good. If you want some control in what you're buying, don't bother- next time, I won't. read more

Came here for lunch by myself and sat at the bar on a lovely sunny afternoon when the lunchtime crowd had already passed. The bartender, Lee, immediately greeted me and gave me a place setting and menu. After chatting with him about rapini and what it was, I continued to look over the menu at their pizza. Upon ordering, I said I wanted the "salsiccia" pizza which is the one with tomato sauce, not the "salsiccia e rapini". I will credit this as my mistake considering he may have thought since we talked about it, he assumed that's what I wanted. If you don't know what rapini is, buyer beware. This little broccolini sibling belongs NOWHERE on a pizza. My goodness. It's SO bitter and leaves the pizza at a B-. Without the rapini, it might be a winner as a white pizza...which I'm not a huge fan of to begin with. The mozz and sausage were tasty and the crust was...mama mia, amazing. I'd go back here, but I'm disappointed I spent $27 on lunch that I didn't quite enjoy to the fullest. I recommend omitting the rapini on your pizza selections. read more

Went here for lunch slightly before noon on a weekday. The place wasn't too busy so we were seated within a few minutes but after seeing two servers seat other parties after us and then walk past us to give those parties water first, we left. Very disappointing experience. read more