Antonio’s New York Pizzeria

The calzones are made to order. I prefer mine with spinich, garlic & pepperoni. Their pizzas and pastas are insanely tasty. I prefer to go here over Bostons, if the choice is available.

Food is good… buy the service is a bit below average. The bathrooms were disgusting. Would not go back.

I was looking for some east coast style subs and pizza. Yes other reviewers are correct in saying that the owners and employees are not in any way friendly or polite, Also the place is not clean by any means. That was not enough to turn me off since east coast people are often hard and bitter like their weather can be.
What really sucked was how cheap they were. I am accustomed to having the options of ‘hots’ on a hoggie or sub free of charge. They did not know what they were but offered to give me some jalapenos for a dollar. Fine, but when I asked for some more ketchup for my fries and some napkins, the guy was rude and aggravated giving one packet and one napkin stating that more would cost.
Sometimes its just the little things that determine whether you will tell others to go to the place or to stay away. For the price of some ketchup and napkins, it seems that the few cents would be worth holding on to a potential customer and getting a good reputation.
I gave two stars because the food does taste ok.
That’s my two cents

I thought the pizza here was decent but a tad disappointing. Of all the times I’ve tried it, I felt as if there is something missing. Nothing special to say about the place but I really had to try it because of the name «Antonio’s New York Pizzeria» and I’m glad I did. If you didn’t try it, don’t worry because you didn’t miss much.

Hi, my name is Richard, and I’m a pizza snob. («Hi, Richard!») I say this earnestly and unapologetically, and wear the label as a badge of honor. You see, I grew up in New York, home of the best pizza in the country (quiet back there, Chicago), and when that’s part of your regular diet for the first 20 years of your life, you can’t help but turn your nose up at what passes for pizza in many other parts of the country. Hey, it’s just the way I am. I was bred this way.
I first moved to Hawaii way back in A. D 1992. Grunge was king, no one had yet heard of Lewinsky, fanny packs were still popular (though never cool), and AOL hadn’t yet taken to sending out those CDs en masse (and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, go back and bury your head in your Nintendo 3DS, because you’re making me feel pretty damn old). It was during this more innocent era of the late 20^th century that I read some «best of Hawaii» list in one of the local publications, and Pizza Hut was voted the favorite pizza in the island.
Pizza the frickin’ Hut was the best this state had to offer??? My god, I was in Hell.
On a couple of visits back to NY, I remember going to our local pizzeria (in NY, pizzerias are as ubiquitous as plate lunch places are over here… every strip mall has one), buying a pie, wrapping the pieces up in foil, freezing it, then packing it in my carry-​on luggage to bring back to Hawaii. It was a soggy mess by the time I got back, but I didn’t care. That’s how badly I missed my precious NY pizza.
Now, it wasn’t an utter and complete pizza Hell over here. I did discover a few places that did help scratch my pizza itch, even if they didn’t completely wow me. Then I did begin to frequent new (at the time) pizzeria here that, while not NY, proudly touted their Northeast roots in their name. Again, not quite NY, but this was as good as it got over here, and I must say that I was pleased. And yes, I’m sad to say that I came to tolerate Pizza Hut, Domino’s and even (gasp!) Little Caesar’s. Beggars can’t be choosers, after all.
I’d even gone to Antonio’s at one point about 10 – 15 years ago. It didn’t leave an impression on me, but I can’t say it was because they sucked. I was younger and more foolish, and knowing me, probably in some altered state of mind, so my judgement may have been clouded. The other aforementioned pizzeria with Northeast roots did fine by me in the meantime, so I wasn’t crying.
Then on a fluke, while at work and trying to decide what I wanted to eat for lunch, I said to myself, «self, I really want pizza.» I went to that brick oven pizza truck in Kalihi only to find out that the wait was about 45 minutes (that’s what I get for not calling it in!). I settled for Zippy’s that day. But my yearning for pizza was still strong so later in the week I gave Antonio’s a call and ordered a mini 9″ pizza and a salad. Brought it back to my office, took a bite, and I had a minor epiphany.
«Where have you been all my life, Antonio?» I wondered, even though I darn well knew the place had been there for well over a decade. The crust was thin and crispy, firm and not soggy like is often the case when other places give you a thin crust (or when you try to ship pizza in your luggage for a 12+ hour trip). The toppings were fresh and flavorful. I didn’t care for the sauce too much (a little too thick and sweet/​tangy for me), but dang, this was pretty darn good. Since then I’d had other varieties of the mini pizza as well as their calzones. I was pleased with all of them.
But the snob in me inevitably kicked back in. This still wasn’t the pizza of my youth, the grand exalted food of the gods that nurtured me for years, the cheesy goodness that nothing nowhere could come close to touching (Hey! I said ZIP IT, Chicago!!). No, sadly this still was not quite the New York style pizza I remember. Granted, I was judging them by just from their calzones and mini pizzas, not quite a fair assessment of how a whole large pie would turn out. So with that said, I’ve promised myself to one day soon order a large pie from them to really dive in and get the full experience. Plus, they’ve got a bunch of pasta dishes and hot sandwiches that sound and look good, so there’s far more for me to sample and hopefully enjoy.
So is the pizza good? Hell yeah. I think if Antonio’s pizza and the pizza from that other pizzeria chain with Northeast roots got married and bore hybrid pizza offspring, I’d have that perfect pizza that I’ve been searching for since I touched down in Honolulu almost twenty years ago. But until those two hook up and have their little mutant kids, I’m good. No more complaints from me. I’m no longer in pizza hell.

Antonio’s New York Pizzeria is quite… a place to eat at. There! I believe that’s the nicest way to phrase it.
Like the many other reviews, I’ve had and witnessed similar «bad experiences» but I won’t bore you with my many stories. More importantly, I’ve learned that these people won’t change their attitude for you (but they have gotten a «little» nicer on the phone). So if you don’t like/can’t stand obnoxiousness or crabby people… I would suggest you take your business elsewhere. Back in my high school days I use to occasionally dine at the dark, semi empty, no AC pizza joint; since it was sort of in the neighborhood. Throughout all of my experiences I learned that it’s better just to take-​out!
But if you call in an order to take-​out, you CANNOT eat in… say WHAT?! That’s right! If you call in an order to take-​out you MUST take it home/​outside (you cannot eat in the restaurant). Its just one of those bizarre rules not posted anywhere to be seen.
Anyways on to the food! Whenever I get a pizza from Antonio’s I always get a Medium Bronx Bomber pizza
for about $ 22. I’ve tried some of their other pizzas but I just like to have a pizza with a lot of meats! The pizza is thin crust and the medium size pizza is equivalent to a large at Pizza Hut/​Papa Johns. More importantly, it come out piping hot (if you eat in)! I honestly haven’t had pizza in new york, so I have nothing to compare it to, but it’s pretty darn good… when you’re hungry ha!
With Antonio’s being one of the closest pizza places around my neighborhood, I feel that it’s a nice change from the other delivery service pizza places (Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, etc).
Although I wouldn’t eat in, I think I can tolerate bad employees for a few minutes just to take-​out!

I’ve always wanted to try this place so when my boyfriend and I were in the neighborhood we decided to try it out. We walk in and it’s dark, we look around for the menu but can’t seem to find it. We ask the man sitting the the counter where it is and without looking or acknowledging us he points to his left. When we were unable to locate it, with a stink attitude he just says «you just walked right past it» I saw he meant the takeout menu and I realized that it was literally within arms reach for him. It would’ve just been easier (and nicer) if he would’ve just handed it to us. As I’m looking through the menu this is the conversation that ensues:
Me: «I’ve never heard of a Philly salad, does that really exist?» (I’m from Philadelphia)
Employee: «bottom left of the menu»
Me: «oh I’m just saying that I’ve never heard of a Philly salad (friendly tone)»
Employee: «Yeah, you’ve never heard of it so it just doesn’t exist then»
Me: (Smiling and covering the Philly salad on the menu with my hand and trying to be funny) «Yea, now it doesn’t exist»
Boyfriend: (Trying to lighten the mood) «Hun, just cause you’re from Philly doesn’t mean you know all the salads»
Employee: «well the boss doesn’t like bread so he wanted a salad with all the meats on it. He told me to name it and I called it the Philly salad because like the city, it full of Fu*king Sh*t. But the food’s good…»
He then looks directly at me with a smirk. It took me a minute to take in what he just said, I was in shock. There wasn’t even anything I could say at that point because this guy was clearly being hostile.
The service if you can even call it that was the worst I’ve ever had not to mention I was extremely offended at what he said. I know we should have left right then but we ordered anyway. To make matters worse the pizza sucked. New York style? What an embarrassment.

I’m not planning on going back there ever again. I took my cousin out to lunch and she wanted to try Antonio’s. Okay. So first of all, parking sucks because of all the businesses in the tiny plaza. Secondly, I love flavor on my food, but not when I have to eat through a layer of salt. Lastly, oh my gosh woman, stop watching TV and get my order right.
My bad experience:
My cousin orders a Crispy Chicken Caeser sandwich and I asked for a Tony Soprano with a side of french fries. The employee tells me «Oh, we’re out of french fries.» So my reply was «Oh, that’s okay.» My cousin pays the cashier.
So here’s my cousin sitting across from me, eating a huge salad placed on a hoagie roll. For the next 5 minutes I continue to wait for my food. All the while I’m getting hungrier, irritated by the second and ready to explode. The place has 5 customers including us, so the place is virtually empty. And everyone else is eating. So finally I walk up to the counter and say:
Me: «Excuse me. Is my Tony Soprano coming out soon?»
Employee: With a shocked look on her face says, «I thought you didn’t want the sandwich.»
Me: «What made you think that?! I’m fat, of course I want the sandwich.»
Employee: «Oh, I thought since we were out of french fries, you didn’t want the sandwich.»
Me: «What?! But didn’t my cousin pay for the sandwiches?»
Employee: «Oh no. She just paid for hers.»
Me: I turn around and stare angrily at the cousin, «I thought you were going to pay for lunch. Why didn’t you tell me the price didn’t include my meal?»
Cousin: «Oh yeah. Oops. I didn’t notice.»
I thought she had paid for both of us, but apparently not. She just paid for her own lunch (cheap skate). See if I ever pay for any of your bar tabs or lunches ever again. The cousin’s retarded and the employee’s cuteness saved her from my wrath, but she was still retarded. Grrrrrrrr!!!

Let’s start the review by saying we were exhausted, we didn’t care what we ate. I also need to say that I am a pizza snob having grown up in Chicago. I love me some Chicago pizza but can appreciate different styles of pizza. Pizza was the one thing my sis and I could agree on that day, so in we went to antonio’s because it was the closest to our hotel.
Some people have expressive faces, like that of disgust when the customer forget what you ordered. But fine, whatever, our food was ready in 15 minutes.
The pizza wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. I liked the veggies, but the crust was bad. If this is what you think NY pizza is, you are sadly mistaken!

Antonio’s new york pizzeria? or antonio’s new york attitude.
i called to ask if they had any specials and the dude that picked up the phone said «TWO MEDIUMS 21.99» i said thank you and click, he hung up.
So i called back after we knew what toppings we wanted and the same dude picked up the phone.
Dude: Antonio’s
me: can i order the special for take out.
Dude: K
me: one pepperoni mushroom one italian sausage spinich thin crust pizza
Dude: WE ONLY MAKE THIN CRUST. NOTHING ELSE
me: ok
Dude: NAME?
me: Jayson
Dude: 20 minutes. (phone goes click)
Yeah so the dude is a little rude, but the pizza is good right? Meh, it was okay.
When we finally opened up the pizzas, my sister’s first thought was, «so skimpy» I looked at the pizza and realized what she meant. There were 15 mushrooms and 15 pepperonis on a 14″ 8 slice pie. Okay so i didn’t count, but you definitely could classify this pizza as a cheese pizza with a few mushrooms and peps.
if you saw it, you would think there was a shroom shortage in the world. but last time i checked, there wasn’t.
Luckily the spinich italian sausage pizza was much more full looking. and it tasted not half bad. I can see why antonio’s got the nod for hawaii’s best pizza in 2004, BUT i can also see why it hasn’t been given the honor since.
Dominos changed its game antonio’s, maybe you need to shake it up a little.
P. S. customer service is important still. and by important i mean if you don’t got it, your business is DEAD.

Service is HORRIBLE here but that’s no surprise given the signs posted all over the restaurant, like this little jewel: «Your mother doesn’t work here, please bus your own tables.» Hey, at least they said please! I really don’t mind helping myself but it’s feel like a crime if you even smile at these guys!
Now, I wasn’t in a pizza mood so my review might be of little significance to you. To start we got the garlic fries (SO excited about that) but no, they managed to get that wrong too. The fries were so dry, practically burned and tasted nothing of garlic. To add a little «flavor» they dumped some dried Italian herbs on top which only enhanced that fact that you need water after every bite.
I got the breaded chicken sandwich which was, again, very dry. Someone needs to teach these guys about the definition of «breaded.» Unspectacular. Unimpressed.

Let’s just keep this review short.
«Buyer Beware»

I don’t know why, but Antonio’s pizza reminds me of the movie ‘Goodfellas.’ After years of driving by this little pizza joint, I think I just always pictured that’s what it would be like eating here. Joe Pesci to my right. Lorraine Braco to my left. My silencer right next to my pizza plate. And the bound and gagged troll in my trunk who we’ve kidnapped and will soon dispose of, but we got hungry so we stopped at Antonio’s for some NY style pizza. I think my Dad just let me watch way too many violent movies as a kid and I now have this dark overactive imagination.
Back to the pizza… We met up with our Unilocal friends Russ & Kar for dinner at Antonio’s because I had the kiddies in tow and they were much more likely to eat cheese pizza over greek food. It was my first time eating Antonio’s and I was ready for a pizza showdown. I’ve been slightly obsessed with V Lounge lately so that’s where the comparison lies. As with anything else I feel like pizza is such a subjective experience because we all have our preferences for cheese, toppings, crust, texture, crispiness, it’s like choosing a boyfriend or husband. I have girlfriends that I adore to death like long lost not insane sisters (long story) but there is no way that we could even picture being with each other’s guy. It makes my stomach turn a little. Perfect for you, but definitely not for me!
So we ordered a large sized pizza that had red sauce, pepperoni, onions, sausage, bell peppers to share and our friends, being the lovely wine freaks brought out some lovely red wine (BYOB of course) to drink with the meal. I being 7 months pregnant had a few sips of my BF’s wine and I must say that I CANNOT WAIT to be able to drink again! (Licks lips and frowns.) Antonio is definitely a New York kind of guy and his place is a place for guys. There’s sports blaring on the TV, the tables aren’t very clean, the bathroom is really gross (sorry dude, but it’s nasty in there), but you know that people are not here for the ambiance. They love his pizza! Our pizza came pretty quickly and he was nice enough to bring out my kid’s food before the main dish. He must have kids or at least nieces/​nephews! We had caesar salad to share at the table which was okay but nothing to write home about and the pizza was edible but definitely not my fave on the island. I think I just didn’t really care for the toppings but if you’re a dude you’ll enjoy the sausagefest. Har har har.
Even though I wasn’t over the moon I still think you should try Antonio’s because who knows, it may be «the one» for you. It’s just not for me. Sorry pizza, it’s not you, it’s me. I really mean that. And yes, there’s someone else. One day someone is going to walk through that door who is going to make you more happy than I ever could!

I went tonight and a bought a couple of pizza’s to take home. Right away from talking with the guy on the phone I knew they weren’t friendly and slightly rude! I brushed it off and thought they were probably busy; he did mention a 25 to 30 minute wait. When I arrived about 20 minutes later there were no customers and the employees were pretty much sitting around watching a movie and talking story. Even before noticing there was no one in the restaurant I was hit with the strong smell of mildew. The restaurant reeked of it; even the smell of fresh cooked pizza couldn’t cover the smell.
I had the opportunity to peer in the kitchen as the dick at the front counter was ringing my order up. It was pretty impressive to see how dirty the kitchen was. At that point I should have just left because the place smelled so bad and the employees were so rude. They didn’t even say hello, good bye, thank you, etc!
Overall, the pizza is OK nothing special. Prices are decent and the portions are reasonable. However, with their attitude and a myriad of other negative things I will not be going back. Run while you can.

Well it’s all over but the shouting. We’ve heard of the amazing Pizza from a few friends but have never ventured in. Just enjoyed the V lounge, Inferno, JJ Dolan’s, etc. Well the best Pizza (according to my East Coast Wife (yes I had her imported) is Antonio’s by a Country Mile. We had the Extreme Pizzaola and OMG! Really good. Large 18″ Pie is $ 22– approx and really good. Dave took good care of us and is there 6 days a week. Go early because it gets very busy.
Reason we finally had a chance to try it was Olive Tree Café is closed till Oct 4^th. It all worked out. Did I mention it was REALLY GOOD? BYOB

Let me preface this by saying that I grew up in NYC. The pizza here is OK! But nothing compared to what I need/​want from NYC. Sad! Definitely better than Boston’s Pizza! When I ate in the restaurant, I felt like if I didn’t like the pizza, I would get seriously beat up. That is basically the atmosphere… so… get take out!

I’ve only been here a couple of times. The first time, I swear we waited so long for our food, and it wasn’t even crowded. I don’t understand what took so long. It’s also pretty pricey… not ridiculously expensive, but I expected more for what we paid.
The second time was better. The pizza was really crispy… NY style.
I think the best thing about this place is the fact that you can pick your sauce… and definitely the walls. They have pictures and what not all over the place, and it helped pass the time as we waited for our food.

This place gets 4 stars for the food but I gave it 3 stars because the day that I went there the doors were all open and there were birds in the restaurant… which just seemed a little unsanitary to me. Anyways, the pizza I had was the chicken pesto which was good the thing that was awesome was the garlic butter rolls… goodness they’re even better than the ones at bravos… mostly because they’re SOAKED in butter garlic sauce. There’s so much butter garlic sauce that I started dipping my pizza in there too… mmmmmm heart attack incoming but so worth it.

I used to live in Diamond Head for a few years, and went to Antonio’s once or twice a month. I enjoy almost any pizza, but as a NY pizza snob, I REALLY love Antonio’s and am bummed that it’s so far from my home in Kailua now.
They use top quality ingredients… the sauce, the cheese, the crust, the toppings… they’re all excellent. I miss the pizza just thinking about it right now. Argh. Anyway, they also have excellent sub sandwiches and cheesteaks. But, what really gets me, are their cannoli and cheese cake. Wow! If you’ve never had authentic NY desserts like that, check ‘em out. WOW!
By the way, the pizza is a pretty thin crust, so beware that if you take it to go then it might need a re-​toasting when you get home. And definitely don’t expect much from the pizza if you do Delivery in Paradise.
Finally, to address some other reviews, I’ve heard some people had bad service there. I’ve personally always had excellent service, though perhaps that’s because they knew me after a while. I do know that they have some pet peeves about giving to go boxes and things like that. So, if you’re likely to be upset by sometimes odd or potentially rude service, then just be forewarned. Again, I’ve always thought they were very nice, but I wanted to address what others had said.

The previous report I did on this place talked more about my pizza experiences here which were good. Antonio’s still remains my favorite pizzeria on Oahu, hands down. Today I tried something new.
Saw a special there tonight called a «meaball slider» which is a single meatball, topped with a nice tangy pizza sauce and melted mozarella cheese on in between two pieces of toasted french bread. It’s about the size of a tennis ball. Did I mention it’s only 99 cents? It tasted okay but was just a precursor on what was to come. Also, I hate to say the sauce on mine was still cold.
Their chicken parmigana hoagie is still one of my favorites on the menu and tonight they did not disappoint. It’s the same sauce and cheese on the meatball slider but on an 9″ toasted bun. They used to leave it as one piece but no they serve it is halves. Still the same great moist, nicely marinated and well seasoned battered pieces of chicken breast from last time, $ 8. Another thing to keep in mind here is that they serve their fries baked and not deep fried, similar to high school cafeteria style. Plain and unseasoned. So If you don’t like them this way, I’d stay clear, even if bake is obviously the healthier alternative. They come in regular and large, which might run you up about $ 2.50.
4 stars
Antonio’s New York Pizzeria on Waialae.