Swarthmore Pizza

I don’t understand how these guys received so many stars? The pizza part of it was not even good. Under cooked is more like it, plus they say they are brick oven, but I didn’t notice it. I love brick oven pizza, I know what brick oven pizza tastes like and should taste like. They are far from it, I’m sorry, but I am not trying to be «That Guy». I have to call it like it is, and I really don’t like giving a bad review, especially if it deals with pizza. I love pizza!
What set me off about it is a few thing, we’ll do the Pros/​Cons
Cons:
— You don’t display your pizza, this being your main seller I think you should display it.
— Topping were cold when I had asked for a sweet sausage, it looked and tasted funny.
— Under cooked pizza where you can still see the dough not fully baked.
— Bland flavor to it, your sauce that you use tastes like day old ragu, it didn’t have that impact where it hits you on the sides of your mouth. (We all know that feeling)
— Calling it brick oven.
Pros:
— You sell beer and wine, with some good, to decent selections
— Your waitress assisted an elderly couple to their car.
— You maintain the space used, plus you have outside seating.
I know it’s my opinion, and maybe I got you guys on a bad day (Friday), but I wasn’t impressed. I’d try it again though, maybe this will change, maybe I just got you guys on an off day.

Celiacs avoid! I was wary when the waitress blithely said «All of our salads are gluten free,» but took a chance. I asked if the chef salad was real meat or lunch meat; when I was told it was lunchmeat, I had her check the brand with the cook and was assured it was one of my two standby GF brands. Salad tasted great, but I quickly became violently ill. (I suspect cross-​contamination, and maybe the dressing). I barely made it to the bathroom, was so sick I was shaky and clammy afterwards, afraid to drive the 5 minutes home. Nice people, nice casual atmosphere, but I’ll never eat here again. I never want to feel that sick again in my life.

Stopped in for pizza for first time. It was a nice dining area with both booths and tables. Had a good pizza and great service. Our waitress was pleasant and patient because there was a lot on the menu that sounded really good and even daily specials. Had the recommended veggie pizza that we enjoyed very much. Greek style pizza with crispy crust. The selection of types of pizzas was varied– regular, white or square with the thick crust. The beer selection was excellent and served in a cold, frosty glass. Overall we thought was very good and we did not experience any bad service mentioned in other reviews. Prices were somewhat high but that is par for the course for Swarthmore. Salads were $ 7 – 9. Looking forward to trying it again. Nice that there were patio tables outside.

I preface this review with this — I am a pizza snob. I think NY Style is the best and DiFara in Brooklyn is Mecca. I temper my expectations here in Delco. You just aren’t going to get great pizza in Delco. New London, Gaetanos and Renatos each do a decent job in the «Its Not NYC BUT It Is Delco» category. Thought it was time to give Swarthmore Pizza a try.
Ordered a side salad to start. Lettuce didn’t look fresh. Couple pieces of green pepper and Tomato. Nothing special as far as dressing.
They offer traditional or brick oven pizza choices. Got margarita pie from brick oven. Small in size. Crust was not crispy. Cheese ok. Sauce ok. Not very distinctive taste. Disappointed.
Two ice cold imported beers from fridge reasonably priced.
Service was good.
You can do better elsewhere.

The food is just ok, he makes great soups and his sandwiches are ok. One problem, when I want to have a nice meal like the chicken marsala, I would love a baked potatoe or some roasted potatoes to go with those type of dishes. You instead get the choice of pasta or some mixed veggies… blah…boring…pizza is ok but don’t look for a lot of topping. IT IS NOT unusual to get a large and have slices with nothing on them… very skimpy with the toppings. Staff is always friendly and nice atmosphere. Prices are fair.

very disappointing. soggy brick oven pizza!!! how is that even possible??? I ordered the margherita pizza and it was horrible. the Basil tasted like it sat in cow dung until they used it! I mean really it tasted really bad and bitter. ill never eat here again!!!

Looking to expand my Unilocal Reviews… uh…I mean pizza choices, I settled on Swarthmore based on a few important criteria.
— nearby– it was about 5 minutes by car and didn’t require me to hop on any major roadways.
–affordable– a large pie was under $ 10
— brick oven– when those two words accompany the word pizza, you can count me in.
When I went to pick it up, the place was bustling on a Saturday evening. I definitely got the Pinocchio’s vibe here (this is a good thing).
When I called, I tried to order a 10″ pizza and was told they only do 12″ now. This actually saved me as I forgot that an average large pie is normally 16″.
All told, I essentially got 2 medium pies and 1 small for about $ 30. Normally I wouldn’t be ok with this but I’m willing to sacrifice size for quality (that’s what she said).
The fact that it was brick oven was evident. The cheese/​sauce/​toppings (pep and sausage) were above average and the crust was above phenomenal for me. In fact, everyone agreed that the pizza was great.
My picky son polished off his small cheese no sauce with ease and there were few to no leftovers between the rest of us.
Overall, I’d get it again over most of the places nearby. In getting to the point where I don’t just want any pizza anymore and will pay extra for quality. Number one on my pizza criteria now is dough/​crust and Swarthmore wins that battle easily.

I stopped in to make an order to go. While standing at the counter there was a man that didn’t even greet me. He just walked away and ignored me as he fiddled around with the oven. (I think he was the owner).He was rude for sure. Eventually an employee came over and took my order. The food was average.

reliable italo-​greek diner for sitdown or takeout. the homemade crabcakes are terrific as is the coffee. our kids like their food. lunch & dinner specials. beers & wine.

This was the most disappointing experience I have had in a long time. My roommate and I placed a fairly large order this evening and EVERYTHING was incorrect.
One cheesesteak had the wrong cheese, another didn’t have any cheese at all.
We asked for «Texas fries» with the ranch on the side, the ranch was on the fries…
We also ordered a calzone that was supposed to come with marinara but they forgot that as well.
Oh and the caesar salad… that contained pieces of lettuce bigger than my face, no exaggeration.
Haha oh and we tipped before we checked our order. Needless to say we won’t be ordering from you guys anymore!
–p.s. I didn’t want to give this place any stars but Unilocal makes you select at least one in order to post a review.

This is one of our date night go-​to places for several reasons… its minutes from home, which allows us to squeeze a few more minutes of fun into our date nights, they serve beer — which is great if you happen to live in a dry town, and they make pretty good food for a really good price — so it keeps date nights affordable!
We gotten many things off the menu but the home run items have been: the wood fired brick oven pizza, its pretty damn good; the Texas fries — fries topped with ranch, bacon, and cheese — not for the faint of heart (or heart patients…), they are, in a word AMAZING!; the salads are really freaking good — not what you would expect from a pizza joint — made with mixed greens, pasta, and a lot of chicken, yum!
Did I mention they serve beer? Definitely a selling point and you can order from their large selection to compliment your food.
The not so good: their «regular» pizza, I’m not a fan but taste in pizza is so subjective its hard dock them on that; and yeah, we’ve heard the wait staff can be a little rough around the edges but in all honesty, we’ve never had a problem with any of the people that work there. They are not fawning all over you, but they bring out the food quickly and make sure you are OK throughout your meal. Just keep in mind that its a pizza joint, not Le Bec Fin, ok?

Swarthmore knows how to make great pizza. Can’t speak for other items. Keep it simple. A good pizza just needs the basics.

The employees here treat you as if they are doing you a favor. They are unfriendly and
I will never ever eat here again!

The best thing about Swarthmore Pizza’s is that their pizza’s crust is thick, and the cheese gooey as anything. I love them, and they’re as fresh as they come.
Contrary to many other reviews, I’ve only had good experiences here at Swarthmore Pizza. Most times I’ve come with friends were that when the restaurant was half or ¾ full. I didn’t think service suffered at all — out waiter stopped by every 5 minutes to check up on us. With that being said, I find their pizza to be pretty top-​notch. Prices and variety are comparable to other nearby pizza establishments such as Renato Pizza, the now defunct Peace-​a-​Pizza, and Media’s Pinocchio.

Cheese steak was actually pretty excellent. The meat was good and the whiz was plentiful. Nice place, not very fast with service, but good enough to make it an occasional lunch stop-​in.

Ordered a cheese steak an chicken cheese steak. Although the service was very fast, tHe sandwiches were very greasy.

This pizza was pretty good… we got the BBQ chicken pizza (sans pizza sauce) w/​chicken cheesesteak on top. The crust was light and fluffy and there was just the right amount of BBQ sauce on top. The price was VERY reasonable (but then again, I live in Center City, so my perception may be skewed). I did take-​out so I can’t attest to dine-​in or delivery, but the manager seemed very nice, though the employees were all pretty unprofessional. Solid pizza!

My favorite neighborhood pizza shop, period. Consistently the best pies, including their brick oven offerings as well. I have been coming there for years long before they got their liquor license. It’s been owned by the same family for over 30 yrs. It’s always good to see them when I stop in or pick up take out. Their inexpensive microbrewed beer selection is very nice & available at the tables too.

I have not been here since 07, and with all the not so great reviews, Im wondering if it has changed. I used to get the square pizza, and I loved it, the sauce was always very tasty, and the crust was perfect. Never dined in, always take out, and never had any problems with the staff.

The food here is mediocre. Greek style pizza, take out or eat in. Sadly I chose to eat in and had to deal with a rather rude staff. I ordered my cheese steak and waited about 10 minutes (not long) and it was served hot. The sandwich was pretty good although the roll caught a little much gristle from the grill. Then as I’m about four bites in, the waitress asked me to pay for my food right then, as if I were going to run out of there without paying. I could understand had she asked me to pay prior to serving the food, like right when I ordered. But to ask me to pay you, and handle money while eating is absurd.
If you want to scare away your customers, by all means, ask them to pay while they are trying to enjoy your food.