Rustico

Always a great and chill place in the third ward. Service and staff is great. Nice back patio in the summer.

The first time I ventured to Rustico it was lovey and we enjoyed delicious pizza on the patio. Went there last night and it was a totally different experience! The ambiance and service was great, no complaints there. The food was awful though! Started with the calamari which was super rubbery surrounded by flavorless breading. I paid extra and added chicken to my caprese salad. It was the worst chicken I’ve had in a long time – tasted fake; like it had just been reheated from who knows where. I had my boyfriend try it too just to make sure my palette wasn’t overreacting and he confirmed the awful taste and texture. I don’t know if I’ll be back, but will be sticking with the pizza!

Rustico changed its menu about a year ago and that is why I am not giving it 5 stars. The menu is now a little less accessible and more snooty. Previously, my picky boyfriend loved this restaurant and had we come here for the first time after the menu changed I don’t think he would have given it a chance. Thankfully that didn’t happy.
They surprisingly have a great brunch. The breakfast pizza is legit. Even the simple eggs and sausage combo was nice. The service at brunch was ridiculously slow the first (of three) times we tried it. But I think they were just starting to offer brunch.
They have great gluten free pizza (better than transfer) and I enjoy their cocktail selection — I branch out here from my typical Manhattan. I enjoy the Italian digestif cocktails (more bitter, which many people may not like).
I like Rustico better than the Pasta Tree — its more affordable, better ambiance, and in a better location.

Pizza was ok. I do like a thicker crust versus the thin crust. It was tasty with good flavor.

Rustico has revamped their menu since my last visit. I thought the pizza was great before but now it’s outstanding! The new toppings are creative and delicious. I will definitely keep coming back.

First time visitor and was looking for a quick stop for lunch. Very cool setup both upstairs and downstairs in a historical building. Lunch menu was very limited but well priced. Food came out in under 10 minutes and the portion sizes were large. The Italiano Panino was a good entrée mixed with a homemade dressing on salad made for a solid lunch. Bartender Tiffany was extremely friendly and use my name when paying. Will visit again for some cocktails and dinner.

The service and food was a welcome surprise for a late dinner.
Started with a salad and pasta that had great flavored.
Finished with three pizzas that were delicious.
Service was also great and appreciated the attention.

We decided to stop here because we were hoping to have some water views. Exceeded expectations! The place is quite large inside. Great outdoor patio along the canal. We ordered the homemade pizza and were not disappointed, especially for the great price. The service was great! We will definitely be back.

New bar staff and updated menu make for a great place for pre-​game appetizers and cocktails, dinner or a night cap. A lot of excellent food options and adult slushies to keep you cool this summer! The brie appetizer is delicious, arincici is excellent and the cheesy bread is a nice addition to the menu.

I went here with a group of 8 girls for a bachelorette party dinner before going out on the town. Our reservation was at 8 and we got there about 10 minutes early and the table was not ready. We waited by the bar for our table which wasn’t ready until at least a half our after we got there, which ended up being a different table than we were supposed to have because the party stayed a while. Somewhat annoyed we finally got seated and didn’t order a ton of food since we were going out after. When we were done one of the girls asked to speak to the manager to see if there was anything he could do considering our long wait. He would not come to the table to talk to her so she had to go to him. Long story short he would not do anything for us at all and asked that we pay and leave the restaurant.
The food was good, the drinks were good, the managers attitude and service was unacceptable and I would not go back here.

Came here for a date on Saturday night. Place was packed! We were seated downstairs (the basement) of the restaurant at what appeared to be the only high top table which was awkwardly placed below a set of blinding lights lol. We had to request a different table to avoid leaving with a migrane from the death beams lol. I definitely would’ve preferred to dine on the floor level because of the dim lighting and ambiance, but I wasn’t complaining :-)
Our server was friendly but seemed a bit occupied. My date ordered their special of the night which was some chicken dish with cavatappi pasta and I ordered their salmon. The salmon was amazing! It was topped with what looked to be a pesto sauce, accompanied by velvety garlic mashed potatoes and green beans with onion and tomatoes. Super delicious. My date seemed to enjoy his dish as well. I only wish that they served some kind of bread and oil while you are waiting for your food to arrive.
I am a huge Italian food lover so I will definitely like to return and try some of their Italian dishes. I usually never order salmon at an Italian restaurant but I had to work right after and did not want to be in a food coma at work lol. It worked out though because I was extremely pleased with my entrée :-)
I’d recommend it for a date place!

Took the family for lunch, since we had a groupon to use before it expired. Restaurant has a nice vibrant atmosphere and is housed in a newly remodeled historic third ward building.
Had the pizza with sausage and mushrooms. Pizza came out within 10 minutes and had a good flavor and crust was flavorful and chewy.
Also tried the meatball sandwich which was well seasoned and meatballs were firm and homemade tasting,
Overall good experience, don’t know if I’d come back without the groupon.
FYI — Washrooms are near impossible to get to, have to just follow the maze downstairs.

I really enjoy their brunch menu. It’s definitely a place I’d recommend to anyone.
During the warmer months it’s nice to sit by the river and drink a few Peronis with some meatballs.

I’ve been to RUSTICO about 5 times and I’ll probably won’t go back.
In the past, the food was good (it still was) and the service was also nice. In fact, the first time I went, there server was super cool and helpful. The last two times, I had the same server, and he was one of the rudest servers I’ve ever encountered. I think the server pretty much knew since he messed up on the food and drinks that it was downhill from there (it was). When we arrived for dinner at 5PM on April 1^st (His rudeness was not an April Fool’s joke), the server said something like, «If you have a groupon, let me know now». We had no groupon, but they were running a special. The entire group could tell he was going out of his way to let us know he didn’t care that we were there. When the bill came, he slapped on his gratuity for terrible service, and there was no discount on the bill. After I mentioned the special discount, he argued that they only offer discounts in the bar area, he begrudgingly took off the advertised discounts after I insisted he at least ask his manager. Interestingly, the gratuity was still for the $ 140 bill even though the discounts did bring it down to $ 113 on the revised bill. I didn’t even want to argue with him at that point, I I was just ready to leave and I felt compelled to write this review to let the manager know that Lloyd was our server and he pretty much put on a gratuity that he didn’t even remotely deserve. I’m a very generous tipper, and I’ve had plenty of mediocre service and still leave a good tip. But when I get terrible service twice, I should be afforded the opportunity to let a server know that I don’t appreciate a bad attitude AND bad service.

We’ve enjoyed the pizza at Rustico several times and recently discovered Il Grotto (lower level). Last night we shared that space with 12 friends for a birthday celebration. It was wonderful — service was outstanding and the food was incredible. We had appetizers — meatballs, fried olives (the best!), garlic bread and a vegetable platter — and five of their outstanding pizzas. Everything was delicious! We rented half the space and had our own private bar. It was perfect for a group our size.
Looking forward to returning in the summer to enjoy their outdoor space.

I’ve eaten here numerous times, for lunch and dinner. Service and wait times can be a bit inconsistent, but I am usually pleased with my food. That being said i usually go there expecting a wait and to be on my second glass of wine when the food comes.
They do have a wine happy hour. So if you are one of the lucky few that works or lives close enough to make a 4 – 6 happy work for you, you’ve got a nice little perk.
Go for the ‘spicy’ meats if you want a better pizza experience.

A thoroughly «meh» pizza place that earns three stars instead of two because of its beautiful patio along the river.
Other than that: We had a mediocre appetizer (fried stuffed olives – not as exciting in practice as they are in theory); a mediocre pizza (prosciutto and arugula); and draft beers at $ 5+ a pint. Our server kept wearing sunglasses past sunset which was upsetting but I think we fixated on it because the service was also quite mediocre, if not lousy. Even with a Groupon, it’s hard to get excited about Rustico. I won’t be back unless I’m ravenously hungry after a barre class next door and need to annihilate some carbs within a 50-​foot radius.

I dined at Rustico on Valentine’s Day and had a great experience! We made reservations several days prior, and there was a table ready for us when we arrived.
The service was wonderful throughout our visit. She visited as soon as we sat down, went over specials, answered questions, and checked back at the appropriate times. We had looked up the menu online prior to our arrival so we knew what we wanted: the All’Amatriciana pasta dish with chicken and the Siciliana pizza.
The pizza was fantastic — I loved the seasoning and the eggplant was perfect! The pasta dish was also very good… however I wasn’t blown away (I experiment with pasta dishes regularly at home, so I felt it was something I’ve cooked myself before). I would definitely recommend ordering pizza over pasta here.
We split tiramisu for dessert. It was amazing!!! Ordering this desert was one of the best decisions of the evening. It was so moist, fluffly, and flavorful, like heaven on a plate.
The atmosphere is laid back. They have a couple tvs over the bar, and the people sitting at the bar seemed to be having a great time as well. My only complaint is that the bathroom is down the stairs and down the hall… you don’t want to be wearing stilettos (or any other uncomfortable footwear) and in a hurry to get to the bathroom while dining here.
I would love to come back here and try other pizza or just sit at the bar and order a drink and tiramisu.

I am basing this on bar service — which is consistently fun. There are always other industry folks crowding around to play bar dice with the staff — who are fun and engaging. The service in the rest of the restaurant and the kitchen probably deserve closer to 2.5.
I ordered a pizza that literally had 9 artichokes, tons of olives and some cold sundried tomatoes. The cheese I ordered was unnoticeable and the mozzerella that was supposed to come normally was missing. It was a bare bones pizza — so imagine the surprise when it was rang out at SIXTEEN NINETY FIVE! Absurd for the quality and the ingredients.
Tons of taps and nicely decorated, but it’s in such a strange place to park and drink, that I wouldn’t go out of my way to stop back again.

Sat out on the deck and watched the sun set over the river and the buildings. And while I was here, enjoyed a new beer I had never had before. Great service, the waitress and I hit it off nicely (or she just wanted [and got] a good tip).
After the sun finally went over the horizon, I committed to ordering some dinner. Starting with the meatballs. Let me tell you, these are AWESOME meatballs. Spicy, tender, juicy, delicious. If you eat nothing else here, have the gosh darned meatballs! Mine took a little while to arrive because the fresh bread was still baking. Yeah, I’ll wait for fresh bread. Thanks! I ate all three meatballs, scooped the sauce up and nearly lifted the dish to lick out the contents. Yeah, it was that good.
By this time, the pizza I had forgotten that I had ordered arrived. None of the set toppings really appealed to me, so I had made my own. Goat cheese, fresh garlic and chopped chicken. Excellent. And the young lady had no problem putting the five (of six) slices into a box for me to take back to the hotel for lunch the next day.
Great music from the speakers. Great meatballs. Great beer. Great meatballs (did I already mention those?). Great pizza. Love sitting on the deck on a warm evening.
I liked this place. I’ll be back.