Toscani' Deli & Pizzeria

[zcaveman]

There is a sign in the front window of Toscani's in Mulberry that states that they will open on March 31.

They also have a menu posted in the window. Sounds like some good choices.

:BigApplause:

[Schaumburger]

There is a sign in the front window of Toscani's in Mulberry that states that they will open on March 31.

They also have a menu posted in the window. Sounds like some good choices.

:BigApplause:

Z,

Thanks for the heads up about Toscani's opening soon. It will be close to the villa I'm renting in July. I may have to try it out.

[texasfal]

Neighbor works with the brother of the owner. Good news is the recipes are wonderful. Bad news is the rest. can only seat 32 people. Guess I'll be ordering a lot of takeout! Yeah for new resturants in TV>

[zcaveman]

I went to Toscani's Pizzeria and ordered a large pizza. Pizza was good with lot of onions and green peppers. The ordering line was long. It looks like everyone wants to try the new place out.

They have a deli counter and a counter with lots of different salads. They all look good. I will have to try some of them as soon as I figure out the pricing.

I will return.

[dcost]

I’m working at Toscani’s helping my cousins out in my spare time. Once they get through the “soft-opening” stage and Grand-Opening, lookout because they are bringing the family restaurant legacy from NY to TV. Food quality, service and overall value will pleasantly shock you.

[texasfal]

Picked up the menu last night. Talked to one of the family and was happy to hear they will deliver. Not happy to hear they will be closed on Sunday. That'sd my favorite going out to eat night since I work Mon-Fri. Anyway, looking forward to the food, including homemade sausage and mozzarella.

[Sparky-30]

I hear in 3 wks is the grand opening, their menu will be adding more items I was told

[katezbox]

I’m working at Toscani’s helping my cousins out in my spare time. Once they get through the “soft-opening” stage and Grand-Opening, lookout because they are bringing the family restaurant legacy from NY to TV. Food quality, service and overall value will pleasantly shock you.

Good news.... Coming from the NE, I am always happy to visit non-chain restaurants. Looking forward to trying your cousins' place!

k

[MrMark]

Went to Toscani's for the first and last time yesterday.

As a result of my visit I would suggest you Go TO Toscani's if:

1) You want to dine at a place that appears totally disorganized and dysfunctional when you enter the door.

2) You want a place that provides NO table service at their limited number of tables.

3) You want to find a menu by yourself in order to find out what they serve. (Best to have one of you grab a table while the other looks for menus)

4) You want to eat off of Tin Foil Take Out Boxes and use plastic utensils

5) You want a $12 plate of Spaghetti ( Sauce was OK) and a couple of small not very good meatballs

6) You want an $8 plate of Marinated Chicken on a large bed of Baby Spinach that you stop eating as soon as you see a little bug crawling in the middle of it.

7) You want to order a wide variety of items from a menu that does not show prices for all items

8) You really don't know where to find a good Italian Restaurant.

If they make it through the Summer it will be a testimonial to numerous totally undiscriminating patrons. The place sucks and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but a very few people who I really don't like.

[chuckster]

WOW!!!!Why not tell us how you really feel. Glad you won't be back as we love the place and hate listening to "habitual whiners".................chilout

[nitakk]

We were really looking forward to Toscani's opening as we love pizza and live closeby. Pizza was average at best and the pepperoni was scarce. Very disappointing that we still have to go to Belleview to get a really good pizza!

[kerry9]

Not sure what someone means about whinning? Are we not allowed to give our opinion?
The restaurant that was Pauly's at Mulberry Grove is horrible.
My husband ordered a meatball grinder.. it arrived cold and the meat was RAW. We asked for our money back and didn't even get an apology.
I ordered a eggplant parm grinder and I never could find the eggplant.
We will never go back.... but if you enjoy...good for U.

[chuckster]

Of course your opinion is welcome. I referred to habitual whiners at various eateries including toscanis that will never be happy and will not give an establishment a second chance. That's where the previously mentioned 70/20/10 rule applies. 70% are happy and easy to accomodate, 20% are on the "fence", can go either way and 10% are never happy and love to complain for the sake of complaining and in some cases looking for freebies.

That's my opinion.....:D

[Mikeod]

No matter how much you "rehearse" for a restaurant opening, nothing is like when the doors open to real customers. When my son opens a new location, they always have a night with "friends and family" and invite enough people to stress the staff, both front of the house and the kitchen. Those diners will give feedback that will be used to prepare for the real opening with paying customers. Even then, there will be hiccups. I would never judge a restaurant based on a visit in their first month of opening. I don't think it adequately reflects what you will find later on.

I can understand the feeling that any retail establishment should have things in order when they first open. However, with bills and wages to pay, there is a lot of pressure to open the doors to paying customers as soon as possible. Balancing the need to make a good first impression with the need to pay the rent, etc., is a tightrope act. Let's see what happens down the road. :024:

[bigalibaba]

WOW!!!!Why not tell us how you really feel. Glad you won't be back as we love the place and hate listening to "habitual whiners".................chilout

Whining?? Bugs in the food, plastic utensils and take out boxes to eat from don't sound like whining to me! Sounds more like the place is pretty lousy. Guess I won't be seeing you there.

[hedoman]

In anticipation of our final move to our home as FROGS we live on TOTV to read about your experiences and what's going on. When I read that on 3 separate occasions patrons were served something that did NOT meet their basic expectations I begin to wonder. Saying that they will still have to go somewhere else for a better meal means they have choices. To survive in TV I would think you'd want your establishment to be "the choice" place to go. For Toscanis to survive they should know of their miscues and hopefully correct them. I have read about bad experiences in about every place we've been but we never experienced them (from Red Sauce to Katie Belle's to Glenview). Though by the time we are packed and moved Toscanis may be flurishing but our first visit may now be with "cautious optimism". I respect that folks have documented their dissapointment anywhere in TV but we remain optimistic that, on occasion, these experiences are an anomally not the norm BUT we can always go somewhere else to get pizza, seafood or whatever.

McGraw-Hill marketing study in the 70's (before Internet or electronic media) stated "if a consumer likes something they will tell 3 people, if they don't like something they will tell 11 people" TOTV takes that statistic up a knotch

[Xavier]

We gave Toscani’s a try about two weeks ago and we're going to wait until fall to give them another chance. We live not too far away and would love to have a really good Italian place close by. Unfortunately our first go round wasn't very satisfactory. Our pizza was far less tasty than what we would have gotten as the $5 Hot and Ready special at Lil Caesars. I really do wish them well. I hope they make it. I haven't eaten at Belleview Pizza, but it looks like we'll need to give a try.

Xavier

[rdhdleo]

Well my husband and I have been there several times already. First time yes was disorganized but it was the second day of the "soft" opening. As time goes on I know it will get better. Tried some of the salads they were giving free tastes of and wow they were great! Husband had Meatball sandwich and it was really good. We have had pizza a couple of times now. LOVE the thin crust, sauce on the pizza we had the second time was better than the first time. So close for us and the quality of ingredients was wonderful so fresh! We will keep going back. Given them a few months and I am sure they will be operating more smoothly. Everyone was very friendly and helpful and concerned on how we liked everything.:BigApplause:

[rdhdleo]

We were really looking forward to Toscani's opening as we love pizza and live closeby. Pizza was average at best and the pepperoni was scarce. Very disappointing that we still have to go to Belleview to get a really good pizza!
I guess they are inconsistent till they get it right. I ordered a pepperoni pizza and every inch was covered in pepperoni and that was the second day they were open. The grilled veggie pizza was was loaded with very fresh veggies! I have many friends that love Belleview Pizza while it is ok I wouldn't drive that far for their pizza. Best Pizza I had after moving here was Phils in Belleview was so sad when he closed after many years there :( No place has come close to Phils!

[graciegirl]

Went to Toscani's for the first and last time yesterday.

As a result of my visit I would suggest you Go TO Toscani's if:

1) You want to dine at a place that appears totally disorganized and dysfunctional when you enter the door.

2) You want a place that provides NO table service at their limited number of tables.

3) You want to find a menu by yourself in order to find out what they serve. (Best to have one of you grab a table while the other looks for menus)

4) You want to eat off of Tin Foil Take Out Boxes and use plastic utensils

5) You want a $12 plate of Spaghetti ( Sauce was OK) and a couple of small not very good meatballs

6) You want an $8 plate of Marinated Chicken on a large bed of Baby Spinach that you stop eating as soon as you see a little bug crawling in the middle of it.

7) You want to order a wide variety of items from a menu that does not show prices for all items

8) You really don't know where to find a good Italian Restaurant.

If they make it through the Summer it will be a testimonial to numerous totally undiscriminating patrons. The place sucks and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but a very few people who I really don't like.

A bug...on the spinach???:eek:

I think...that Italian is only good as it is interpreted either from your mom or your home town. OH how I miss Cincinnati pizza in TV...And so you real Italian people can laugh..I had my first spaghetti with a tomato sauce with pork chops (!) and Italian sausage (!) and meat balls. It was yummy . Our neighbor made it for us. I had just had ground beef in it before.

No gloating. I make a mean Sauerbraten!!

[rdhdleo]

[QUOTE=graciegirl;349427]

I think...that Italian is only good as it is interpreted either from your mom or your home town.

How true that is! I lived in Chicago all my life till moving here 8 years ago! Nothing in Florida comes close to the Italian or any ethnic food for that matter that I had back home, very sad. I wait for my visits back home to get Chinese food. The stuff here is garbage. Only good all around Asian food so far is Bamboo Bistro and the place in Colony Country that does tempura.

[2BNTV]

No matter how much you "rehearse" for a restaurant opening, nothing is like when the doors open to real customers. When my son opens a new location, they always have a night with "friends and family" and invite enough people to stress the staff, both front of the house and the kitchen. Those diners will give feedback that will be used to prepare for the real opening with paying customers. Even then, there will be hiccups. I would never judge a restaurant based on a visit in their first month of opening. I don't think it adequately reflects what you will find later on.

I can understand the feeling that any retail establishment should have things in order when they first open. However, with bills and wages to pay, there is a lot of pressure to open the doors to paying customers as soon as possible. Balancing the need to make a good first impression with the need to pay the rent, etc., is a tightrope act. Let's see what happens down the road. :024:

Well my husband and I have been there several times already. First time yes was disorganized but it was the second day of the "soft" opening. As time goes on I know it will get better. Tried some of the salads they were giving free tastes of and wow they were great! Husband had Meatball sandwich and it was really good. We have had pizza a couple of times now. LOVE the thin crust, sauce on the pizza we had the second time was better than the first time. So close for us and the quality of ingredients was wonderful so fresh! We will keep going back. Given them a few months and I am sure they will be operating more smoothly. Everyone was very friendly and helpful and concerned on how we liked everything.:BigApplause:

[QUOTE=graciegirl;349427]

I think...that Italian is only good as it is interpreted either from your mom or your home town.

How true that is! I lived in Chicago all my life till moving here 8 years ago! Nothing in Florida comes close to the Italian or any ethnic food for that matter that I had back home, very sad. I wait for my visits back home to get Chinese food. The stuff here is garbage. Only good all around Asian food so far is Bamboo Bistro and the place in Colony Country that does tempura.

I am so happy to hear the start-up pains are being rectified. I would always give a restaurant a try to see for myself. IMHO -Chicago deep dish pizza is the best.

Being of Italian descent, my experience is that people of Italian descent tend to be more critical of food in a restaurant as they are used to it being excellent at home. Homemade pasta made from stratch is the best.

I love pasta and it would have to be very, very badly made for me not to enjoy it. Looking forward to trying this restaurant when I am in TV.

[rubicon]

Like 2BNTV, I am also of Italian extraction. Both my parents favored us with their specialities so going out to eat Italian is just never going to measure up. I seldom go out to eat and when I do end up ordering something I know they can't ruin steak, etc.

What caught my attention in this thread had been the term "whinner" and 70/20/10 whatever that means. It would seem to me that if a person or corporation opens an eatery then they should be prepared to offer both a good product and good service at a fair price. But most often what people experience is a long wait, so/so food sometimes a good waitress/waiter and far too often a high price compared to your experience. and I haven't even had the opportunity to get a look at their kitchen.

[alicehelen]

Why is it so hard to find decent pizza -& even harder to get DELIVERY???? I lived in Chicago my whole life - I am a retired Italian Chef - what is the problem here?

[alicehelen]

Well, some people will eat anything if it is CHEAP!!

[alicehelen]

By the way - I understand people are retired & watching their money - so do not be so LAZY - & cook at home since the restaurant food around here is not too hot!!

[bluedog103]

We were really looking forward to Toscani's opening as we love pizza and live closeby. Pizza was average at best and the pepperoni was scarce. Very disappointing that we still have to go to Belleview to get a really good pizza!

There you go. We all have our likes and dislikes. To my wife and me, Bellview Pizza is ok, nothing more. If I were hungry and up in Bellview I might stop in but definitely wouldn't travel for their food.
Many people rave about Chicago style. For us, that's too much bread. We prefer NY style thin crust.
Some people like Sinatra, others the Stones. That doesn't make either good or bad, just different.
We like Lil Joey's pizza and look forward to trying Toscani's.

[alicehelen]

I do not understand about the Chicago pizza - I am from there - there IS deep Dish - but that is not what our favorite or most people who live there like. That is some TV invention - they only go to the deep dish places. We always ate thin crust - Naples style! Not like that bad Original( which by the way, I have been to supposedly several of the real ORIGANAL Ray's from New York).

[alicehelen]

I agree - nothing like Chicago pizza (THIN OR THICK) or GREAT Italian & Steak!

[K9-Lovers]

If you like Bellview Pizza, then try Mallory Hill Country Club. Their pizza is just as good, or better, in our opinion.

[skyguy79]

There you go. We all have our likes and dislikes. To my wife and me, Bellview Pizza is ok, nothing more. If I were hungry and up in Bellview I might stop in but definitely wouldn't travel for their food.
Many people rave about Chicago style. For us, that's too much bread. We prefer NY style thin crust.
Some people like Sinatra, others the Stones. That doesn't make either good or bad, just different.
We like Lil Joey's pizza and look forward to trying Toscani's.I perfer thicker crust, but as you've alluded to, delicious is in the taste buds of the consumer much like "beauty is in the eye of the beholder!"
http://th852.photobucket.com/albums/ab83/Tiger_885/th_smiley_emoticons_pizza.gif (http://media.photobucket.com/image/pizza%20smiley/Tiger_885/smiley_emoticons_pizza.gif?o=5)

[hedoman]

Anybody been back to see if Toscanis has improved?

[hedoman]

bump

[graciegirl]

I don't LOVE any Pizza I have found in TV.:doh:

Only Salybow and Boomer will understand because they too are from Cincinnati.

There is NO pizza like your hometown Pizza.

[2BNTV]

I lived in the midwest, (no town purposely mentioned - not Cinncinati), for a year and I ordered a pizza. When I bit into the first slice, I had to double check whether I had bitten into the pizza or the cardboard box it came in. :yuck:

I don't have descriminating taste buds but I sure hope somewhere in TV, there is a place that makes an acceptable pizza.

Some people prefer thin over thick crusts and vica versa. Well done is a must for some people. Some people swear by brick oven cooked pizza.

IMHO - Pizza taste is subjective. To each his own.

Gotta go, this is making me hungry. :icon_hungry:

[carole131]

WOW!!!!Why not tell us how you really feel. Glad you won't be back as we love the place and hate listening to "habitual whiners".................chilout

Evidently they still haven't gotten it together. My husband went in to buy some sausage & the same chaos & confusion that we've heard about prevailed. Ordering pasta by the amount (1/2 lb., 1 lb.?). There doesn't seem to be any order behind the counter. People are still leaving without placing an order. We'd love to see this place succeed. Won't somebody help them out?

[Brewster]

I gave them a try recently for lunch, sorry to say, I will not be going back. Food was not good and price was a bit high for a sandwich. Maybe if I see more positive reviews I will give them another chance.

[aln]

We had a pizza deliverd to our poker group.
1st they said 15 minutes for deliver at the time of my call. I was at Chula Vista Rec center. WTH . . The DRIVE alone would be 15 min . . let alone cooking time
2nd . . I ordered PEPPERONI . . they put on RED PEPPERS
3rd - - a little dry . . . hardly any tomato sauce.

Other than that it was delivered in about 45 minutes (reasonable) and it was tasty aside the red peppers

[ElizabethWillis]

The pizza was GREAT!!! This is real NY pizza and real Italian sauce. The gourmet salads are even better (the rigatoni with putanesca sauce is my favorite). Who cares if pizza is served on paper plates... the prices are fair and the quality of the food is excellent... the homemade sausage is just the BEST! We took some home and grilled it and there was nothing left over. Thanks for bringing great Italian food to The Villages!!!

[gjbl8114]

While the comment above is a bit harsh, there is some truth to it. My husband and I ate at Toscani's on Saturday. The Pizza was delicious and my sausage roll was wonderful. We didn't like eating off of paper plates, nor using plastic forks. There is limited seating and there seems to be an overall shortage of staff. Having said all of this, I must say that we will go back again but we'll take our own tableware!!!! The prices seem a bit high for what I consider to be a little hole in the wall, short of a dive. I think this restaurant will likely withstand the summer months if they wise up and clean up their act. It seems to lack professional restaurant management - but then again, it's not a restaurant is it? It's simply a Pizzeria that serves good quality food on plastic tableware.:

[Aloha]

I agree with the high prices. There are better choices available with better value, in my opinion.

[BBQMan]

The pizza was GREAT!!! This is real NY pizza and real Italian sauce. The gourmet salads are even better (the rigatoni with putanesca sauce is my favorite). Who cares if pizza is served on paper plates... the prices are fair and the quality of the food is excellent... the homemade sausage is just the BEST! We took some home and grilled it and there was nothing left over. Thanks for bringing great Italian food to The Villages!!!

I agree. Toscani's is the only pizzeria, that I know of in this area, that makes its own dough, sauce, sausage and mozzarella. Freshly prepared makes an incredible difference. Give the place a try and you will not regret it.

[Xavier]

I agree. Toscani's is the only pizzeria, that I know of in this area, that makes its own dough, sauce, sausage and mozzarella. Freshly prepared makes an incredible difference. Give the place a try and you will not regret it.

Make their own mozzarella!!! Now that I'd like to watch. Where do they do that?

Xavier

[gatherer47]

went there tonight for first time-sat there for about five minutes when guy at register said you had to come up to him and place order-later I saw a small sign on opposite wall that explained the ordering policy-couldn't there be a small note on each table stating this?-food was served on plastic plates with plastic silverware-you also get your own beverages-food was ok,nothing special,prices a tad high but not too bad-can't say anything really bad about the place but nothing special enough to bring me back

[skyguy79]

went there tonight for first time-sat there for about five minutes when guy at register said you had to come up to him and place order-later I saw a small sign on opposite wall that explained the ordering policy-couldn't there be a small note on each table stating this?-food was served on plastic plates with plastic silverware-you also get your own beverages-food was ok,nothing special,prices a tad high but not too bad-can't say anything really bad about the place but nothing special enough to bring me backA lot depends on one's taste and what exactly you order. The first time we had their gluten free pizza and didn't like it, but the second time we had their regular pizza and loved it! We've yet to try the several other thing they have like whole wheat pizza, chicken eggplant or veal parmigiana, calzones or strombolis, but look forward to trying them eventually!
http://smilys.net/essende_smilies/smiley1739.gif

[Aloha]

went there tonight for first time-sat there for about five minutes when guy at register said you had to come up to him and place order-later I saw a small sign on opposite wall that explained the ordering policy-couldn't there be a small note on each table stating this?-food was served on plastic plates with plastic silverware-you also get your own beverages-food was ok,nothing special,prices a tad high but not too bad-can't say anything really bad about the place but nothing special enough to bring me back

I agree. The prices seem too high for what you get, especially with the plastic plates and forks. There are much better places with better value available. The taste to the food I had was just average to maybe below average. However, some people enjoy this style, so I understand the varying opinions.

[senior citizen]

...

[senior citizen]

...

[villavillager]

I have been to Toscani's four times. Two were for a slice of pizza. It tasted fine, no complaints. The second two times were a take out order for their Monday through Wednesday special of a large cheese pizza for $9.00. The first pizza I picked up they conveniently charged me the full price and only gave me "the special discount" when I asked the price of the pizza. The second time I picked up the same pizza I was charged the correct price(making sure to ask for the special specifically when ordered). However, I gave the cashier $20.81 for a $9.81 bill. I received a $10.00 bill in return when I should have received $11.00.

I am not cheap but I do expect correct change. AND I expect the register to be rung up at the time of sale, which it was not.

I don't care how wonderful the food is, if you cannot hire people who cannot remember the daily specials when they are plastered all over the place or give correct change then you do not deserve to be in business. Front of the house is just as important as the back.

Frankly, from my interaction with the staff both times, I do not believe they were mistakes. That is why I am so upset. I've been around the food business too long not to know the tricks.

I will not eat at or recommend this place to anyone.

[Shirleevee]

Make their own mozzarella!!! Now that I'd like to watch. Where do they do that?

Xavier

We love their sausage......as for the mozzarella, check out YOU TUBE. Our son makes it all the time and it really is easy. As for pizza, been making my own, no one here knows how to make a r4eal Margherita Pizza..........

[senior citizen]

...

[gongoozler]

I agree. Toscani's is the only pizzeria, that I know of in this area, that makes its own dough, sauce, sausage and mozzarella. Freshly prepared makes an incredible difference. Give the place a try and you will not regret it.

I did and I regret it . . . never again!

[jose2]

We have eaten quite a few times there, love the liguini and clams, meat lasagna, the price is right, food great, and remember they also deliver!! the staff is very good. cannot say enough good things about it.:spoken:

[Golfer in Sanibel]

This is an interesting thread. What a divergence of opinions. Could it be this restaurant's service and quality varies by this much or is this a reflection of different expectations of the diners?:shrug:

[njbchbum]

This is an interesting thread. What a divergence of opinions. Could it be this restaurant's service and quality varies by this much or is this a reflection of different expectations of the diners?:shrug:

i believe it is the latter - based on the diversity of diners - with a bit of the restaurant's service issues at any given time mixed in.

since pauley's in spanish springs closed, we frequented toscani's every friday during this past lenten period - closest location for a thin crust pizza - that wasn't as thin as we liked - but we wern't in jersey, after all! ;) it had to be a good pizza to us - or we would not have traveled from the historic side to dine there!

at times we were the only patrons and service was super; at other times we could just about get to the counter to order and had to take our pizza home because there was no table available! the construction and taste of the pizza was always consistent and was pleasing to our palates..can't speak to other dishes because we're italian and don't eat italian out!

[skyguy79]

we frequented toscani's every friday during this past lenten period - closest location for a thin crust pizza - that wasn't as thin as we liked - but we wern't in jersey, after all! ;) it had to be a good pizza to us - or we would not have traveled from the historic side to dine there!We've had Toscani's deliver to us a number of times now and we're all the way down in Hadley. We've had their thin and also had single slices of the Sicilian pizza, and they were huge. A single piece was like a small whole pizza.

The other day we ordered take out (no delivery except through Settles in Style) from Mom & Dads on 441 south of 466. Although the name doesn't reflect it, they are an Italian Restaurant and their food is the closest we've found around here to my Italian mothers homemade cooking. We ordered a pizza and I'd have to say that it was about as think a pizza as we've ever had and the thinnest since we moved to TV. Have you tried their pizza yet? Thin pizza's not my favorite, but I enjoyed it anyway. If you do decide on trying it, I hope you will like it!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/MOM-DADS-ITALIAN-RESTAURANT/316589511349#!/pages/MOM-DADS-ITALIAN-RESTAURANT/316589511349?sk=info

[njbchbum]

skyguy - i know the place but we have not been there...with your recommendation i will move it to the top of the list for next season! thanx for the tip.

really looking forward to next season! expecting frost tonite! :yuck: bought flowers for the garden yesterday and had to bring them into the house tonite! thank goodness they were hanging planters! the dining room smells fragrant!!!