Rendino’s Pizza

I almost gave up on trying to order. My guess is they don’t have a «wait» system on their phone lines and I had to call 4 times before a person answered rather than getting automatically hung up on. Didn’t even ring through. But, raves for this pizza led me to be persistent.
I was prepared for a long wait (again, due to reviews of the place) but was told 30 minutes to pick up. A pleasant surprise. I showed up on time and still had to wait 10 – 15 minutes. The lady who was there was not rude to me or tell me to wait elsewhere, but I sort of got the impression that she was the type that doesn’t take people’s crap, so maybe that’s what other reviewers refer to.
It didn’t appear to be that busy – one other person showed up and picked up an order while I was there – they appeared to be old friends and chatted it up while I stood there. Whatever, small family business. Nice that they know their «neighbors».
As for the pizza itself (I got a small pepperoni, mushroom, black olives since it was just me), the flavor was really great and I was overall satisfied. However the crust was a bit chewy and crispy at the same time and while I wouldn’t chuck it out for that reason alone, I prefer not to get into a tug-​of-​war with my food. Seemed like the outside of the crust fried itself in whatever they use to grease the pans while the inside, rather than being soft/​pan/​thick or whatever it was supposed to be, was almost tough. That being said, I am a pizza lover and wouldn’t ever turn this pizza down unless another place nearby proves itself to be better.
I’m new to the area and passed the place up at first. It is true that their «voted best» sign is huge and far more visible than the restaurant sign itself. It’s in a rundown little «shopping center», if you want to call it that, with plenty of parking and otherwise easy to get to – right on Manchester Rd.
I’ll be glad to try some of their other food in the future.

Had a neat experience here the other night. I stopped in hoping to get a spaghetti or a sausage sandwich, but it was close to closing time, and they were cleaning up for the day. They offered to make me an Italian sub, and said I wouldn’t be sorry. I took her up on the offer, and I was glad I did. The owner kept up a friendly banter with me and other customers while I waited, and it was actually pretty fun. There’s no place to dine there, so I took my sub home. Very good sandwich with lots of salami, ham, & pepperoni, with cheese, peppers, lettuce, and good dressing. For my tastes, the purple onion was a little too strong, but it was otherwise a great sandwich. Sure beats a fast food chain sub! I’ve had their spaghetti before, and enjoyed that as well. It’s been a while since I’ve had their pizza, so I’ll order some soon. Updates to follow!
UPDATE: Tried the pizza. Yum. Great slightly spicy pepperoni. Crust was good, different from some, I guess I’d say denser, and crispier. Sauce was good, not sweet like some. Anchovies were great, and they suggested next time try some green olives with those anchovies. Guess I’ll have to try that next time!

The family and I just moved to the area from Alabama. We were shocked at the amount of family owned pizza shops. We decided to try each of them until we found our favorite. We’ve tried many places and some more than once but none were our «favorite «. Last night we gave this place a try. Like the other reviewer said, there was an unusually long wait for the pizza, close to 50 minutes for 3 large pizzas. Also the older lady that took our order was not friendly, at all. We told her we would wait for the pizzas to be done but she made it clear that we should leave and come back. Not a big deal. The lady that gave us the pizzas and took our money was very freindly. She asked us about ourselves and seemed very interested in getting to know us. Pizzas looked awesome, not overly cheesy or oily. Toppings were cooked on top of the cheese, which we like. Dough was fresh and cooked to perfection, not the least bit doughy. Sauce was perfectly seasoned not too salty or sweet. Overall a wonderful pizza!

Rendinos is a family owned pizza shop, and they are one of the Beacon’s Best which they proudly advertise on the front of the store. (more so than the name of the store). They make some of the best pizza to be had in the Portage Lakes, and I’ve always enjoyed it along with their delicious salads. Only drawbacks are the time it often takes to get a pizza — expect to wait about 45 — 60 minutes — and don’t show up early else you may be scolded. 4 stars due to some bad service experiences here (ie, we made your pizza wrong, hope you don’t mind)