Insider Pages Reviews for Caioti Pizza Cafe

1 Stars: Pricey, below average service, and so-so Pizza (by Guinivere)

Guinivere — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:00:00 GMT

They screwed up my simple order on two occasions, pizza was cold, and very slow staff. Over priced for pizza that could be much better.

5 Stars: Delicious! (by fillaramalama)

fillaramalama — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:00:00 GMT

If you're in a hurry, you might get mad. But if you're not, this is a great spot to grab some really interesting and unique food in Tujunga Village. Really interesting pizzas, salads, and homemade pastas.

2 Stars: Just WHY (by stanley12bar)

stanley12bar — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:00:00 GMT

I liked this place for awhile and have been at least 10 times, but I will never go back. For one thing, I have never appreciated the staff there - One girl in particular likes to make weird and off-putting comments in some effort to be witty, and really it's just uncomfortable. Most of them seem bitter to be having to work at a restaurant instead of being on TV or something, and they tend to be slow and disinterested.
The pizza is only ok for how pricey it is, and last time we went an insect of a certain persuation walked right by us on the counter where you can sit to eat. I know that even fine restaurants can have trouble with these things, but it was pretty crazy to see one right out in the open during a busy dinner time. YIKES. Other people saw it, and we were tempted to leave but didn't. Go to Pit Fire Pizza in Noho instead - Better pizza for cheaper, nicer people.

2 Stars: A bit grossed out... (by firebetty74)

firebetty74 — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:00:00 GMT

To be fair, this review is based on the last time I went to this place about 2 years ago. My co-worker and I went for lunch on a Thursday. This was apparently the busiest day they'd had on record, because we sat outside, and it took a good 20 minutes for anyone to even check and see if we would like something to drink. It appeared that there was only one server, and being that I worked in the service industry for a LONG time, I understood...when the place is full and it's just you serving, you need people to cut you a break. Thus the extra star. However, with that being said, when we finally did get our order taken, and when we finally did get our food, (nearly 45 minutes later ) there were small insects in my salad. They looked like teeny tiny dragonflies. When I flagged down the one, lone waiter, (who I was, up to now, sympathetic with) I showed him the creatures in my salad, and he said..."Those aren't insects...that's part of the lettuce." to which I calmly replied..."then you eat it, because I'm not going to. Those are insects." He was perceptibly frazzled, and I know this was the last thing he needed, but honestly, I was being very calm. It was almost comical at that point. He didn't know what to do, so he asked me if I'd like another salad, and I gently told him, "No, that's ok. I've sortof lost my appetite. I'd rather just not have to pay for this, and we'll be leaving."

I'm sure it was a one time incident, but it has had a lasting effect on me...and I will not be eating there ever again.

2 Stars: Caioti Pizza (by Keiko N.)

Keiko N. — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:08:00 GMT

My husband and I have been curious and been looking forward to eating at Caioti so we went a month ago. It's a very trendy cute place but that's it. The pizza was nothing special and neither their salad. the garlic bread was pretty good. I found that the price to be high for the quality. I was pretty disappointed with the service- we waited about 10 minutes just to get drinks and waited 45 minutes for pizza. I would much rather gone to Numero Uno's or something.

4 Stars: Pizza turn heads at Universal (by JFBoisvert)

JFBoisvert — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Salatiously mouth watering, deliciously colorful, heart warming, fresh and tasty pie seen tempting patrons at Caito Pizza Cafe.

1 Stars: Avoid for the service (by irlsanders)

irlsanders — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:00:00 GMT

Pizza has gone downhill and become dry over the last year, and the service has gone to hell. Spent 45 minutes waiting to pick up a take out order that was phoned in in advance. Not only was the order wrong, but I was chastised by a snippy waiter for eating out of my take out box while we waited for my friends pizza to be remade. This was after we had graciously changed tables to accommodate other customers. He then had the nerve to stand there and glower at me for 15 minutes while ignoring other customers, before forcefully sliding a plate onto the table and saying I MUST eat off it. What a putz. Rather than graciously fixing the existing failure of the restaurant, go ahead and antagonize the customers. Brilliant. Any one need a restaurant space? I'm sure Caiotis' will be available soon.

5 Stars: Our favorite local restaurant... (by sunox)

sunox — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:00:00 GMT

My wife and I are regulars here and we stop by about once a month or so. The wait staff and kitchen folks are all very friendly and always have a moment for a quick hello. The weekly specials are always very good, as is the delicious pizza. I enjoy anchovies on my pizza (I know most people don't!) and it is pretty hard to find a place that even stocks them anymore -yum!.

The bread pudding is fantastic. I never was much of a bread pudding fan until I tried it here at Caioti. If you like bread pudding, you should definitely try some. It is made fresh when you order it and it is pretty darn tasty.

They have an unusually large selection of off brand sodas to wash down your meal with as well... and don't forget the BYOB option. We usually bring a bottle of wine ourselves and the staff promptly pops down a couple of nice glasses for us to fill.

Good food, good service, good location... three g's for Caioti!

5 Stars: Great at night for a dark, chill vibe (by hypemike33)

hypemike33 — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:00:00 GMT

This place has great pizza and salads and is a good laid-back date place for a weeknight...then take a walk to the Gelato place next door! If you are from the East Coast do not expect authentic, but hey, this is Cali and they have developed a different style and this place tops the list in that area. Leave your pizza ego in NY and enjoy some great gourmet Cali style pizza. They also have a pretty cool soda selection with blue cream soda and some other neat ones. There is a salad there with mozzarella in it, I forget the name, but it's unreal!

5 Stars: Excellent customer service!! (by dosprez)

dosprez — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:00:00 GMT

Thank you City Search! I stumbled on this listing for being named the top BYOB---didn't even know there was such a place. Anyways I went this weekend on Saturday night (not forgetting my wine!!) the place was really busy, but we were sat within 15 min. I have to tell you this place is very small,but it has such a nice vibe they had nice blues and jazz playing and dim lights. Its kinda of like the when your here you family, I could tell that there were many regulars as they seemed to know the servers . There are only two of them and a guy working the register. They are definately in sync with eachother and so nice and helpful. The place offers 3 styles of pizza. We tried them all!! We had a new york, Old world Salsiccia, New World BBQ Chicken. All delicious!! We also had a an crab cake appetizer they were offering that night and a few salads--- I have to tell you though that if the service and the food wasn't so amazing I may have been upset that my salads came out after my pizza. As if we didn't have enough food we has Eric's famous desserts- YUM! It was really nice find a place with EXCELLENT service, and food!!

5 Stars: Caioti Pizza Cafe (by cloxxolc)

cloxxolc — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:00:00 GMT

Parking was a little hard. We just parked on the side street, make sure to read the signs. Some places you cannot park after 9pm.

We went on a Friday night and the place was packed. We had to wait about 15 minutes before we could get a table. But the host/cashier was very nice and sat us as soon as he could.

The waiter told us about the specials the chef came up with for that night. Sounded great but we wanted to try the pizza.

AMAZING! We are from New York and the pizza was great. We had one New York Style and one Old World Style.

But we must tell you, the service was outstanding. I read some reviews about it being "not so good" but the wait staff (Tanya, Rocky and the host??) were extremely warm. The chef even came out to make sure everything was ok. Because of this, we will be back at NIGHT......

Here is the kicker, we ended up coming from breakfast on Sunday. It was a total mess. The wait staff was what I had read about before, "not so good." So.... my suggestion: If you are going to go too Caioti, go at night. Look for Tanya, Rocky, Erik the Chef and the cashier (has crazy hair).

3 Stars: Salads? YES, Pizza? NO (by Chase H.)

Chase H. — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:12:00 GMT

This place comes highly recommended, but our experience was split along gender lines. The women loved it, they gushed over the salads! I did taste the spinach salad, and it was delicious! But the pizza was really bland, none of the guys liked it. I suppose if you're into cafe pizza (Puck, CPK) then give it a shot, but if you want traditional pizza, skip this place!

PROS: Tasty Salads, Nice Neighborhood
CONS: Bland Pizza

5 Stars: Best Salads, Best Pizza, Best Garlic Bread Knots (by Ambria M.)

Ambria M. — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:48:00 GMT

I love this place. I don't know how ANYONE could not love it. It's not four star dining, but it's four star food. The garlic knots are unbelievable, the pizza is worthy of devouring in a bite, there is basil and oregano in everything, and the CHOPPED SALAD is unbelievable... The dressing.... TO DIE FOR>... It's a mom and pop place but the food is authentic~!

2 Stars: I just dont get it??????????????????????? (by markalex99)

markalex99 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:00:00 GMT

Went to this restaurant based on all the positive recommendations made on the citysearch site and was very underwhelmed. We went early on a Friday evening and the restaurant wasnt very busy and only one person came in while we were there. Ordered the NY style pizza with italian sausage, tomatoes and olives and it was as bland as can be. Ive had better pizza from pizza hut and without the drive or hard to find parking! Ive had good pizza in NY, Chicago, LA and Italy among other places and I cannot fathom why anybody would recommend this place. I generally believe a good crust makes a great pizza and the toppings are not really that important but this place has neither.
Their claim to fame seems to be "THE SALAD" which induces labor soon after a pregnant woman eats one. As a guy, this is unneccessary and I guess I'll stick with my usual pizza places.
P.S. you can skip the overpriced Gelato store near the restaurant also and get a better desert at Baskins & Robbins!

5 Stars: he invented CA pizza (by famousblueraincoat)

famousblueraincoat — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:00:00 GMT

the guy who owns this place basically invented CA-style pizza, but he doesn't get a lot of credit for it b/c the big man on the spago campus tends to take the credit (reference: your local super market freezer). i like this place b/c the prices are great, it's first come, first serve, free corkage and there's a mix of newfangled modern pies and old fashioned stuff (bone marrow pizza!). i'm not going to say it's the best pizza in town, but it is quite good. can get hot in summertime though. this is the valley!

3 Stars: This is a "test review" (by gt1507a)

gt1507a — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 02:00:00 GMT

This is just a test
This is just a test
This is just a test
This is just a test
This is just a test
This is just a test

5 Stars: AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (by deefras)

deefras — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 02:00:00 GMT

Poor but sweet service. TRULY A M A Z I N G FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! ESPECIALLY THEIR PRESSED CHICKEN!!!

OH! AND THE BREAD ROLLS, HMMM!!!!!!!!!!

2 Stars: Terrific pizza, not so good service (by fenris2000)

fenris2000 — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 02:00:00 GMT

Went there some time ago. We were promptly seated, however it took them about 15 minutes to take our order. It seemed like there was only one waitress taking care of the customers, while the manager was busy overseeing other stuff. We got our pizzas after another 30 minutes of solid waiting. It may have been busy, but there was no apology for the service. The pizza was terrific (fresh and flavorful), but the service just gave our first time experience a bad connotation. Still not sure if we're going back.

December 2008 Update: We returned for the pizza over the last 2 years, but both pizzas and service have gone downhill. Pizzas have become oily and the pizza area covered by toppings has become smaller and smaller. We just had last week a bad service experience with one of the female waiters and a rather aggressive attitude. This place can't live on its former glory forever...

3 Stars: Charming (by lulu1992)

lulu1992 — Tue, 01 May 2007 02:00:00 GMT

Great neighborhood restaurant. The sun dried tomato pizza is fantastic and the The The Salad will knock your socks off. They do not serve alcohol but bring your own -- there is NO corkage fee!

5 Stars: Above average wait staff & DELICIOUS (by briannacantor)

briannacantor — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 02:00:00 GMT

This is a really great place to eat if you'd like a wonderful pizza and great customer service (which can be sometimes hard to find in L.A.)

highly recommended!!!

5 Stars: Deeelicious! (by kwonton412)

kwonton412 — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 01:00:00 GMT

Growing up in the NY metro area my standards for pizza are quite high. I've found the pizza in this city to be disgusting at best, but thanks to a recommendation from a buddy of mine, this cozy pizza joint has been a weekly indulgence for me. Highly recommend the salads and pizzas without too many crazy toppings. I haven't tried the new york style pizza yet, but am looking forward to it at my next visit.

4 Stars: Very good pizza in a cool little area off Ventura (by djnth)

djnth — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 01:00:00 GMT

Had a great meal there. They have tons of different toppings to choose from. I could tell the normally the crust would be really good, the perfect balance between crispy and chewy, but our pizza was a tad bit overcooked with bits of it burned black. The waitress was very friendly but the service was a bit slow which was ok because the pizza was tasty. After you are done with your food you can walk a few doors down and grab some coffee or gelato at one of the neighboring businesses on this cool little street.

5 Stars: I didn't know there was god pizza in the valley (by sambuttlet)

sambuttlet — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 01:00:00 GMT

I consider Pizza a main staple in my diet. And Thank goodness I have found this place. I moved to the valley not to long ago, and thought i was going to go hungry.
Thanks for not making that happen

5 Stars: Best in the country. (by joenee)

joenee — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 02:00:00 GMT

Undoubtably the best Pizza restaurant in Los Angeles. The best garlic rolls, and if you have the luck to be there when the owner Ed La Dou is there he is one of the most hospitable guys in the food industry. I never found anything wrong with the servers. They have always been as fast as you can expect when the Pizzas are all made to order.

4 Stars: sun dried tomato pizza - GET IT (by samanthab)

samanthab — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 02:00:00 GMT

i've had brunch and dinner here, everything's always good. The place is adorable and on a great little block on Tajunga. Service can be a little slow - but the food's great. I also hear rumors about their magical labor enducing salad dressing. Check it out.

4 Stars: Could have been much more impressed (by piperfoodie)

piperfoodie — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 02:00:00 GMT

Years ago I visited the old Caioti on Laurel and loved it.

My recent visit to the "newer" location left me unimpressed. It was our waitresses' "first night" and she was very friendly, but very green.

The salad we had with Romaine, Bleu Cheese and bacon was OUTSTANDING.

Two pizzas: One described as seafood (but was instead ground seafood sausage) I wouldn't order again. But the traditional with pepperoni was delicious.

No corkage charge was a plus!

5 Stars: Gourmet Pizza Heaven (by asianfoodie)

asianfoodie — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 01:00:00 GMT

A few choices, but all stellar. I personally love the sausage, gorgonzola and pinenut pizza, but the sundried tomato and artichoke heart pizza is equally tasty. Service is mediocre and the place can get noisy when crowded, but the mom and pop feel, cozy space, and excellent pizzas make up for it.

5 Stars: service from Stepford... (by poptarts)

poptarts — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 02:00:00 GMT

The NY style pizza, salads and weekend BRUNCH here are very, very good and I like the homey neighborhood restaurant feel. The servers are something out of Stepford, but I believe the place is know for that. If you have a sense of humor you will get a bang out of it--it's like being waited on by Ursula from Mad About You, EVERYTIME. No liquor license or Diet Coke (Coke Lite), so BYO. They don't take reservations either, but I've never had a problem getting a table, though it is always busy. Also, they need to figure out their dessert situation--sometimes they have it sometimes they don't.

5 Stars: solid (by hoteljess)

hoteljess — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 01:00:00 GMT

caioti is great. everything about caioti is great, except for the service. its like dealing with six year olds everytime. But i deal. :) cause the food is soo good. i recommend any of the salads, the salmon the chicken dishes.... mmmm its all good - and the breakfast is superb. its just the service... man...

4 Stars: Watching Paint Dry (by charleymartin)

charleymartin — Fri, 06 Feb 2004 01:00:00 GMT

The food is as good as advertised, but the service is clearly marred by an attempt by the ownership to save money. I live right across the street and have yet to darken the door of Caioti Pizza in six months due to the slow service. This is saying something considering how good the food can be. I once asked the single, slow moving waiter if someone had failed to show up for work...the answer was no, he was the only one working the whole place. Seems strange for a weekend night.
Once again, the pizza's are all good, and I love the spinach salad. The rolls are good, but yo are never given seconds. Come for the great pizza, salad and single serving of rolls...stay because you have no choice!

3 Stars: poor service (by doriob)

doriob — Tue, 30 Sep 2003 02:00:00 GMT

My wife and I have been there a few times but stopped going because the service was terrible; the staff acted as if they'd been sentenced there to community service and the food (which, I admit, was pretty good) took FOREVER. I recommend it only if you don't mind sullen, inattentive or confused service and have a lot of time on your hands.

5 Stars: CAIOTI? Love it! (by richkirk)

richkirk — Wed, 09 Jul 2003 02:00:00 GMT

Great California Pizza, Wonderful Salads - I prefer the Chopped Salad but The THE SALAD, and the Spinach Salad are terrific. The entreés are excellent. Last week, one special was Pork Tenderlion in a Merlot Sauce - YUM! BYOB of wine since they don't serve alcohol. This is my neighborhood eatery. And stay away from the outdoor tables, one of those is MINE!

4 Stars: jennifer (by jendine)

jendine — Tue, 03 Jun 2003 02:00:00 GMT

I do like the food here. It's good if you like gourmet pizza. I must warn you that the crust can sometimes be on the soggy side but it does not bother me. You also will not have a big selection on toppings. My grandmother will not eat here because she thinks it's too expensive for what you get. She also does not like the sour faced servers. My friends and family in that area prefer Joe peeps pizza.

5 Stars: Great Food (by lee10000)

lee10000 — Tue, 24 Dec 2002 01:00:00 GMT

This is a really special place. The food is great and the setting cute. It's not intimate for dining, but it certainly speaks to a California Tradition. Worth the ride.

5 Stars: Another thousand Mile Journey! (by salmonhead57)

salmonhead57 — Fri, 06 Dec 2002 01:00:00 GMT

You may have read my previous review. I traveled out to Los Angeles in October for a weekend of Woody Herman concerts and celebrations and had the opportunity to dine at both Bice Mercato and Vert at the Hollywood-Highland center, as well as a few catered events. Vert has its charms (and good food as well) but the most memorable dinner of the weekend was at Caioti. Our guests were typically jaded Los Angelenos, and here we were having a tough time deciding what to have. Every choice more than satisfied. As always, the food great and service impeccable. A MUST VISIT if you visit Los Angeles.

3 Stars: Good Pizza (by timjf825)

timjf825 — Mon, 09 Sep 2002 02:00:00 GMT

Very good pizza. The crust makes it. Incredibly good. Service incredibly long and slow. Still would recommend though.