Puccini’s Smiling Teeth

My wife and I really miss this Puccini’s restaurant. We often stopped there when in St. Mathews. Their pizza was far better than Papa John or Pizza Hut or many of the other fast food pizza chains. I especially enjoyed their calzones. I hope they eventually open another outlet in Louisville.

I very much enjoyed the Bama Jam. I had extra done crust. It is a combo:
Pecans, sweet onion marmalade, gorgonzola & fresh rosemary
So maybe not a true pizza.
Worth a visit while you are in Louisville.

I can’t help but think that it’s a dental clinic whenever I hear Puccini’s Smiling Teeth. Haha I just have to let that out first.
I don’t have much to rave about this place. It’s literally, «Meh», for me. They do have decent food but there are lots of other pizza and pasta places around Louisville which are far better than Puccini’s that would give you more bang for your buck! The only thing on the menu that caught my attention is their Campfire pizza. It had smoked sausage, sweet onion marmalade, gorgonzola & fresh rosemary. I was apprehensive at first because I don’t like onions, but then it was followed by marmalade… so it must be sweet and that might just make up for the onion-​y taste. It did, and it didn’t even tasted like onions at all. It was different and it was really good. It’s on the sweeter side so if you’re not up for that, I say skip this and just look for something else on the menu.
I’m not a big fan of servers not writing down orders. I can see that at super high end restaurants, but for a chain to be doing that, it’s just so pretentious. They’ve also proven me right, that they would do something wrong because of that. My sister-​in-​law had a few special substitution requests on her pizza because she’s vegetarian, and they put meat on it. What is wrong with jotting orders down especially if you don’t have excellent memory, and you are serving a large group?
Also, do not mistake this for Porcini’s, they’re definitely not the same thing! :)

We got carry-​out on a Saturday night.
After we placed our order, my wife commented to me on how dirty the kitchen floor was (visible from the carry-​out desk). For the price, the pasta portions were somewhat small. The pizza was average; better than Domino’s or Little Caesar’s, but not what we expected.
I felt it was not worth the money and I was disappointed. It was not necessarily bad, it just wasn’t good. We do not plan to return.

I had a Groupon that I had bought that expired today. We figured we should make our way out to Puccinis and use it before it was only good for what I paid for it! We arrived on a Tuesday night at around 5:45 hoping to beat the dinner crowd and we did. We were seated right away and given our menus. We decided on an order of cheesy garlic bread and a medium pizza with sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms. And of course a kids cheese pizza for the girls to split. Overall we really liked all of the food. The pizza was not quite thin crust and not quite thick either. The sauce was sweet but also tangy like a good pizza sauce should be. The toppings were all good quality and I especially liked that they use fresh mushrooms instead of canned. Over all I would give four stars for the food. The service on the other hand left something to be desired. Our server was friendly enough but when our three year old spilled her drink he was no where to be found. Not a huge thing since when something like that happens my husband or I always make an effort to clean it up ourselves and we did but good servers will usually come to help or at least bring extra napkins or some towels and then once the mess is under control they will bring out a replacement beverage for the one that was spilled. Not only was our server MIA but when we told him about the spill (as if he couldn’t see the puddle on the floor) he just sort of brushed it off so we had ask him for a new drink for our daughter because the foam cup had cracked when it hit the floor and extra napkins to finish cleaning up the mess. As I said we don’t mind cleaning up after our kids we feel like we should but to not be offered any help or at least supplies was strange. I also would have liked another refill on my drink that went unnoticed by our server. He wasn’t terrible but not great either. Maybe a bit below average. Another not so great thing (and this happens at a lot of restaurants) was that the highchair we were given for our youngest daughter had a broken buckle. This never would have been an issue with our first born but with the youngest it’s a huge issue. If she isn’t tightly buckled she stands right up in the chair every time. I guess I just wish that restaurants would inspect and fix or replace those buckles so that we would be able to eat a meal without having to hold her down in the highchair. It seems like that would be a safety/​legal issue for the restaurant. Anyway rant over. We liked the food so we will go back and give the lackluster service another shot!

Puccini’s is a welcoming and comfortable restaurant with a creative menu and a large gluten free offering. However, the food was lackluster.
We stopped into Puccini’s on a Friday night and even though the place was packed the service was still friendly and attentive. Multiple servers stopped by to check on us throughout our meal.
The menu was impressive with a huge variety of pizza toppings including some unusual ones like cilantro and potatoes. They also had quite a few pasta dishes and other Italian staples. We also noticed that they offer a gluten free menu.
I ordered a Margherita Pizza while my boyfriend tried the Quattro Formaggio. We also ordered garlic bread with cheese. The garlic bread was very heavy on the garlic. I enjoyed it but my boyfriend found it to be too much. Margherita Pizzas are my favorite because they are normally light and have pure flavors. This one lacked the lightness due to a bulky crust and heavy serving of fresh garlic. It was still a good pizza, just not a classic Margherita. My boyfriend’s Quattro Formaggio had giants chunks of undercooked carrot in it. This puzzled us both as carrot is not listed on the menu and is not often an ingredient in Italian ziti. He was so bothered by the carrots that he only ate a few bites of the dish.
All in all I wouldn’t make a special trip to St. Matthews to go to Puccini’s but if I were already in the area and I was craving a really bizarre pizza topping I might try them again.

This is our favorite spaghetti place — once you’ve lived in NY, ya gotta have an Italian neighborhood pasta place. Puccini’s is our choice for a weeknight. There are many menu choices (all good) including soups, but we shoot for the spaghetti or ravioli every time with just sauce (maybe a meatball or two on the side). Salads are fresh and crisp and wine often on special — and garlic bread shows up warm soon after one sits down. We frequent Puccinis and highly recommend — nothing fancy, just right.

On a first trip to Puccini’s, my eldest son questioned the name «Smiling Teeth», commenting that it sounded more like we were visiting an Italian dentist. I couldn’t exactly disagree with him as I can’t seem to wrap my head around every tooth smiling, it only reminded me of those anthropomorphized molars that you would see in educational cartoons in elementary school.
Italian dentistry aside, Puccini’s seems more of a cross between the atmosphere of a Fazoli’s combined with a more upscale Italian menu a la Olive Garden. The servers are dressed very casually, possibly too casual, as it seems confusing to discern who’s a server, a hostess, a cook, a busser and that college-​aged kid who just happens to be hanging out near your table.
After perusing the menu, the boys decided on a meatball calzone for the youngest and the shrimp diavolo for the eldest while I had an Italian sub. The service was a bit slow but the food was above par. I’d go back now that I can tell everyone apart.

The Diavolo is awesome, I just get it plain, but you can get it with shrimp or chicken. I thought their chicken tasted a bit processed when I had it, but my boyfriend really like the shrimp. I’ve been there a couple times and I’ve placed a to go order several times, and they are pretty quick with service and food. They also have good portion sizes, you get a salad, and bread with an order so it’s good for the price and it fills you up.
I’ve heard they have good pizza but I’m sticking with what I love!

Bought a Groupon for this restaurant & used it the next day. Have been here before & really enjoy it. Food is very good. We both got a calzone that arrived hot & cheesy. Good beer selection. The only negative would be the carpet on the floor. It is dark & every little crumb shows up. I would like to see hardwood laminate & if they use carpet use it sparingly.

SHort and sweet, good place for kids. Good Gluten free menu (extra well done on the pizza crust thank you). Eat in, delver, or take out. This is not change your life Italian food but it is very good, at a good price. The house salad is huge and does not skimp on the goodies.

This had been one of my favorite places for pizza. Recent visits have left much to be desired. Today’s visit was worthy of 1 star. Our server was not so much the speaking type. When our pizza arrived, it was missing one key ingredient. When I informed the server he mumbled and then said something about checking with the kitchen. When he didn’t report back, I asked him as he passed our table. He said, «Oh yeah, they forgot to add it. I took it off your bill.» Wow! Saved us $ 1.95 for a pizza that was other than what we ordered. Probably will not be going back.

Yum! Why did I wait so long to try this place? The kids and I went there for an early dinner yesterday and I had a $ 40 Groupon so I felt like we had a ton of food. We had a dinner salad to split with ranch and the ranch tasted homemade. It was great. We had the artichoke dip, a large pepperoni and sausage pizza, full order of garlic bread and the baked roman holiday. The waiter kept the drinks full
The interior reminds me of a fast food restaurant, but it was a great experience. We will for sure be back. Great food. They have good beer too so that’s always a plus in my book.

Average

OK so I really wanted to like everything about this place mainly because it is so out there and somewhat interesting of a name.
We went in around Dinner time and were seated by a kinda disheveled looking guy with long greasy hair and holes in his shirt. I wasn’t bothered by it but I am thinking the dress code could be better.
We waited for the waiter to come by and he basically didn’t really inform us of anything it was like OK what do you want? I think he was more interested in the table behind us where a bunch of cute girls had sat down that were his friends. we were wishing we had the waiter behind us because he actually engaged the people he was helping asking if they had been there before and suggested things on the menu.
We also had to hear about how they were at this really cool party and how he was going to go and that he couldn’t and Blah Blah blah.
I don’t mind mingling with your friends but take Care of other people first or give good service. Needless to say he was holding our order hostage while he flirted with the girls. After we ordered our garlic cheese bread and salads they came out rather quickly and the bread was tasty but the salads were not great it was like left over bagged salad that was all end pieces and half cut up onions.
The pizza was another story though, it was excellent and worth the bad service over all.
Oh yeah the great thing was that the owner or at least I am guessing he was, came over to the table of girls and gave them all free appetizers. My wife and I were like wow that is not cool especially the way he didn’t even try to make it quite so we didn’t feel like they were getting treated special.
Either way he looked pretty old and it was kinda creepy how he was acting and it just threw the whole dinning experience off a little.
I would go back for the pizza if I am in the area but I will be taking it out not eating in.

I ate here a few times in college with fond memories, and our recent trip to the Louisville location only reinforced the positive feelings I have about Puccini’s. Though the interior is not quite as charming as the Lexington location, the food is just as good.
Pizza is my go-​to order, and while I don’t think anything will blow you away, I’ve always left pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed my meal. The inventive combinations of toppings bring life to the good (but not great) crust, and you end up with a situation of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Every pizza I’ve had has been very good, if not very very good. I’m not sure why it still surprises me at this point. Try it out, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Pizza was decent. The experience however was quite entertaining. Didn’t make it better, but did make it fun. Here’s what you do:
Order a pizza over the phone but not for delivery or take out; for dine in. They had no idea what I was talking about. Then when we got there they had it boxed up and didn’t understand that we wanted to eat there. The concept of ordering ahead so we don’t have to sit and wait 30 minutes for a ‘za was too much for their 17 year old minds.

Cheap and delicious. That about sums it up. When I want some tasty, fresh Italian food at a low price point I head to Puccini’s which, luckily for me, is only 5 minutes away from my house.
I’ve had the Bruscetta and Artichoke Spinach dip off of the appetizers. Very tasty. Appetizers are discounted after 4pm on weekdays. They also offer a glass of Chianti under $ 5 that isn’t too bad, and it is a hearty pour. The pizzas are fresh and tasty. I am a fan of the Veg Head pizza, and I add meatballs or chicken. The medium is enough pizza for dinner and lunch to take home for at least the next two days. A friend of mine had the calzone and it was excellent, too.
I highly recommend this spot. Nothing fancy, but solid fresh food at a great price.

I don’t believe in chain-​restaurants, I just don’t. But when you’re in Louisville, your choices of eateries are limited just by default. In any case, we were by starving by the time 5p rolls around so we decided to stop here for dinner. Not a soul in sight when we stepped in but we were immediately greeted by a cheerful and eager waiter (who looks like he’s still in high school) who sat us in a booth seat.
After we ordered, they gave us bread and olive oil except the bread tasted as hard as rock. Seriously, if I chuck it at someone, it might actually hurt. All the while, the BF just laughed as he despises all things carb or just all things bread.
Thankfully their entrees redeem this place, I ordered chicken piccatta sautéed chicken with a lemon-​butter sauce w/​capers tossed in linguine. It was surprisingly light and not drenched in sauce (or ahem fat) which was nice. The BF can testify that I chowed this baby down in no time. Chicken was moist and the tartness of the capers cut down any sort of grease the sauce would have which made it easy on the tummy. And linguine was cooked just right — al dente.
BF ordered chicken torino — which was chicken breasts stuffed with pesto, monterey jack, pecans, bacons and mushrooms. He liked it — chicken was moist and with the pesto and all the fixings it made it very flavorful. Although it tasted a bit heavier for my liking with the cheese and the pesto. But that’s just me.
Decent size portion for the price and food arrived promptly. Not much atmosphere but it’ll fill your belly if you’re craving Italian. Would I come back again? If I was starving and feeling too lazy to cook — sure. But else I’d rather cook some recipes from GDL if I really want Italian.

I’ve been waiting to find a place where I can get a fantastic margarita pizza, and my husband can get pizza with smoked meat on top. Thank you, Puccini’s, for making my dream a reality.
Our group of 6 was satisfied with our 2 large pizzas. The waiter was nice, attentive, and kept the refills coming.
Don’t let the shopping center location fool you, this place is top notch.
Tip: they have a patio with the most comfortable looking patio furniture I’ve seen in a while.