I did a bee line from Piola for my computer to re-check their website and write this review. My guest had a free Margherita pizza coupon at Piola expiring on December 31st, so I checked their website earlier today, December 29th, to see if there was anything else that tickled my fancy. I was struck by the banner ad for their all-you-can-eat Gnocchi Day (the 29th of every month); I read the description about the deal and it sounded like a good compliment to that free Margherita pizza. While on their website, I checked their hours of operation and it indicated that they close at 1 am on Saturdays. My guest and I had never been to Piola before.
We arrived at Piola at 11:15 pm. There were about five other tables full of customers, and we were immediately seated. The server was friendly and told us about their drink specials. We asked the server about how the Gnocchi Day deal works. He advised us that the deal had ended at 10 pm -- I told him that that was unacceptable since there was no mention of a cut-off time in the fine print on the Piola website (re-checked moments ago). We then checked out the menu and they had quite a varied selection of offerings. We decided to get two appetizers and two pizzas, including that free Margherita. When the server returned, we started to order and he told us that the first appetizer we ordered was no longer available as they had discontinued it in anticipation of a new menu coming soon. Then, he remembered that it was past 11 pm and the "kitchen was closed" for appetizers and salads! All they had to offer now was pizza, desserts, and drinks. I told him that this was further unacceptable, that I might Yelp about what was going on there, and then he yelled over to the manager that I might complain online. The manager said nothing. Nevertheless, we ordered just the two pizzas and advised him that "they had better be good." Throughout all this, the server remained fun and apologetic.
When the pizzas arrived, they were big, thin-crust pizzas. The Lisbona was tasty and had lots of nice, fresh arugula on top. The Margherita was a bit tragic in that it was soggy in the middle -- and this is crazy since it's the easiest pizza of all to make and perfect. My guest and I were hungry, so we finished every last crumb of these pizzas.
We decided not to order dessert even though we were still hungry, and get out of there in favour of hitting Massimo's Pizza down the street to fill ourselves up. When the server returned, we gave him our feedback on the pizzas, and he offered us free tiramisu as an olive branch. No thanks. Too little, too late. In my opinion, the manager on duty should have come over and spoken with us, to try to smooth things over with us.
We'll never be returning -- Toronto has so many amazing pizza places and outstanding Italian restaurants that only a fool would end up there again.