Rotelli Pizza and Pasta

Lost their lease. Closed for business

Unless you are there for trivia…
This place is fantastic for the trivia crowd. It is decent trivia that makes you think but not impossible (i.e. news of the day vs. what baseball player did xyz on such and such date yada yada).
I have been going to the trivia night for over a year now and absolutely love it. The waitress knows us all by name and always makes sure our drinks are filled. The owner is the bartender and he is a really great guy if you ever want a good conversation.
Food is OK, ambiance isnt really the thing. Definitely would not take a date there. But I will get together with friends and enjoy the food and trivia there.
SUMMARY: good atmosphere for friends, decent food, beer selection is meh, but the staff and trivia is excellent!

I enjoyed the stromboli. The place was hectic with trivia, but otherwise fine. Would return.

First off the pizza is FANTASTIC. that is if the waitresses ever come around and serve you.
The first time my husband and i went and had dinner before trivia. the waitress acted like it was a bother to wait on us.
We went several times after that and just got dessert or something small and it was no problem.
The last time (and it will be the last time) we had the pizza. It was fabulous, but I couldn’t even tell the waitress that because the two of us had eaten the entire thing (i’d say at least 30 — 40 min) before we tracked her down and asked for drink refills and the check. we waited another 30 or so minutes and she brought it. (another 30 minutes went by) and finally she came over to table and said «are you waiting for me» no joke. it was the worst. I felt bad leaving a tip, and that says alot. I mean i can see where the pizzas are and where the drink machine is. could have done it myself.
I won’t be back.

Owner is present every time I go in here!
He really seems to care about his customers and the quality.
I got food to go this time. I pizza and pasta. Both were very good.
Stayed for drinks at the bar while we waited.
Drink prices as well as food prices were reasonable.

I love Rotelli’s. I love the convenience, the prices, the wine list and my dinner. Sadly, it seems the kids meals are pretty tasteless. I don’t think I’ll ever get my kids in there again. They ordered chicken strips and french fries… and spaghetti and meatballs. I tasted them and they were bland and flavorless. I had the angel hair «light» entrée and loved it… of course, the wine helped. So Rotelli, PLEASE spend some time on the flavor of your non-​pizza meals for children. I want to eat there and I can’t convence them to go back!

Horrible

Discovered this place through the Charlotte Citipass coupon book… We’ve already been there twice, once for lunch and once for dinner. It was great both times. Quick service, fair prices, and YES, the garlic knots are great! Will continue to go there, even after we run out of coupons.

My family and I have dined here for several years and the food has definitely fallen to sub par (except the pizza.) Rotelli’s is a family gathering place for us as it is centrally located, so we end up there for birthdays.
Went there again last night for a birthday and, as usual, the pasta was not good at all. I had the baked ziti and only nibbled on it. The sauce was SO bland. I’ve also had the ravioli and linguine with clam sauce. Yuck! No taste at all. My 16 year old son, who will eat anything, stopped halfway through his Chicken Parm and said he couldn’t eat anymore because the sauce tasted terrible. If the restaurant hadn’t been packed, we would have sent the two dishes back.
When this restaurant first opened, we were enthusiastic. The food was very good and we had reason to go. It’s as if they sold their Italian soul in order to have a full house every night. It’s my wish that the owners would start paying attention to their Italian pasta dishes and get the taste back. The garlic knots are definitely the best thing about this restaurant. And the pizza hasn’t suffered either.
I’ve given Rotelli’s chance after chance, and they’ve failed every time. It’s amazing that not one pasta dish tasted good.
Unfortunately, I’m sure I will go back. If it’s another family members birthday, we end up at Rotelli’s. When it’s one of my immediate family members birthday, we go somewhere else. There are far better Italian eateries in the area.
Don’t boycott this place if you love garlic knots and pizza. They are very good. Just stay away from the tasteless and expensive pasta dishes. THEY SUCK!

First of all, please remeber this review is for PIZZA, not Italian entrees. Please place your review in «Italian» if that is what your after. As the former founder of a small local well reviewed pizza chain, Rotelli’s PIZZA gets 5 stars from me! As a former purveyor of pizza, one has to realize the biggest determinents of the overall taste experience of pizza is the dough and especially the sauce. At this spot definately order your pie with EXTRA SAUCE. Actually I ALWAYS order ZZA at any place with extra sauce. Theirs is well balanced, not too sweet, not too «over herbed». The dough is more flavorful than some of my other favorites. I will list them, not in order. Portofino’s, Hawthorne’s, Zio’s, Due Amici, Lorezo’s, Villa Francesca, Libretto’s, Picasso’s and La Strada. They have an insane special on Tuesday… a 16 inch cheese for, if I remember correctly, only $ 6.99, One topping $ 8.99! If you really like doing it at home, order you Pie with EXTRA sauce, half baked and NOT CUT! Preheat to 400, put on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for a few minutes and you will have one of the best New York Style Pie experinces in Chartlotte. Ask for real sliced Italian sausage… Sasacchia, you’ll be in for a real treat!

I don’t know guys, I wasn’t impressed. We ordered from the this week for delivery for 6 people. We had different pasta dishes and some pizzas. I found all of the pasta dishes very bland, the pasta was overcooked and they used too much garlic. The pizza was alright I guess, but nothing compared to a Wolfman or Lorenzo’s. The appetizer soup was very good, some sort of navy beans with ditalini pasta. All in all it was just OK, I probably won’t go out of my way to order from the again.

Best thing about Rotelli’s… FREE GARLIC KNOTS!
Those things are
! I could east baskets full of them!
I would probably give Rotelli’s more stars if they had more exciting vegetarian dishes. They definitely have a handful of veggie friendly options, but mostly boring. I usually go with the Sausage and Gorgonzola Penne, without the sausage… OR a calzone.
Food comes out fairly quick here and quality is really great. Never any complaints about the quality.
The seating here is limited, but I do like that they have mostly booths (my favorite seating option = cozy). But then again Rotelli’s is in a strip mall, so I guess you can’t expect it to be too big.
I usually come here for work when I’m babysitting kids and we’re going out for dinner. Rotelli’s is definitely kids friendly!

I have been waiting to write this review for a year. I actually intended to send the owner a letter. We used to get Rotelli’s for takeout and meals quite often but I will never set foot in there again. I feel sorry for the owners… this is a case of a bad manager and a terrible server.
My wife cut a coupon and we took the family to Rotelli’s. The food was good although the server (a «rode hard and put up wet» attractive late 20 something) was surly for having to wait on a family. She might have been trying to get out of there so she could still catch «Ladies Night» at the Epicentre. The manager/​bartender spent all his time schmoozing the server so it was obvious he was trying to woo her. Anyway, we have a pretty decent meal and they present the bill. My wife remembers the coupon and kindly gives it to the server with apologies that she forgot earlier.
I am a notoriously high tipper but I also get very pissed off when a server makes a conclusion about serving a family. Anyway, she stomps off and I see her and pathetic «manager-​boy» peeking around the corner. He comes to her «rescue» and adds an 18% gratuity on the original «pre coupon» amount. Now I know to tip the original amount and I am a very good tipper since I run a large private club in Charlotte. I just signed it and left. I hope she took care of him later that night and it was worth it. I assure you it’s only the owners who will suffer.
This is a great example of how one bad person can sink an entire restaurant. I will never go there again and the ten to one hundred people I have spoken with will never go there in the first place since I… 1. Tell them NOT to go to Rotelli’s and 2. tell them to go to Riccio’s just down the road. Riccio’s food is OK… but to be treated with that much disrespect is simply unforgivable.

Not only is the food delicious (the pizza especially!) but the owners are the best!

The Pizza is a Yes here! This review is not for the Pasta dish, nor the Soup, nor the Canolli, all ordered, photographed and eaten on this visit. I’ll just say I only recommend the Pizza and if I give a Pizza four Unilocal stars, I like it pretty well! This pizza is a simple, perfectly cooked every time, moderately thin Crust, great simple sauce and Cheese not the taste of the trendy three Cheese Blend that I despise that so many places use and I avoid! The Owners are serious about great service and some of the servers are pretty good, though I rarely, very rarely is service a factor influencing my Unilocal rating on a restaurant.

I don’t really care for the pasta dishes or the service here. My Chicken Parmesan was supposed to come with a salad which the waitress forgot until she brought my meal and asked if I still wanted it after my main dish was sitting there hot — NO. Then my pasta (which is half of my entrée) was still hard and undercooked so I ONLY ate the chicken breast. I was still hungry so she asked if I wanted to order something else from the menu! She didn’t get it! My meal sucked — I didn’t get half of it and the other half was inedible and she wants to charge me for something else because I’m still hungry! I settled for a piece of cheesecake which had strawberry drizzle in the picture and it came with nothing on it. Blah. Nothing was great but their location.

I work across the street from Rotelli’s and have always enjoyed their pizza. Our office orders in at least every other week and the pizza is good. I like the sauce and ingredients — all great flavor. I can’t speak for anything else, as I’ve only had the pizza, so that said… I recommend the Za! They have a decent size restaurant for sit down meals, as well as an outdoor seating area too.

Been a couple of times and has always been decent. Picked up food yesterday for me and my parents. Yuck !!! My moms chicken parma sandwich was over done chuncks of chicken and cheese no red sauce or anything, my dads steak/​cheese sub looked dry and my pecan encrusted chicken salad was not pecan encrusted. It consisted of a over friend greasy piece of chicken laying on greens, with a couple of pecans, a couple of mandarin oranges and a couple pieces of blue cheese. Somehow I also got a ceasar salad I didn’t even order. I will never go back —- EVER !