Pavarotti’s Pizza & Rest Two

I have had two great visits to Pavarotti’s and have to say for Pizza they do it old school. The crust is thin and crunchy, not too much either. Great sauce, For all the bitching about the service??? Can’t say but the line out the door indicates you be patient… worth the wait.

Great food. Not worth the terrible service inside. Just left after waiting an hour for a takeout. At little joeys now, we’ll see if it’s any better but at least if they give it to us it will already be superior.

Pavarotti’s has good food but consistently poor service & very slow in getting food out. We had lunch there today & waited over 30 minutes to get hot sandwiches. When I asked our server what the hold up was she actually told me that they received a take out order for 20 sandwiches @ the same time she placed our order. So rather than processing our 2 sandwich eat-​in order the kitchen decided we could wait. The industry standard for lunch time is 12 to 15 minutes. It will be awhile before we go back

Walked in and looked around at wait staff. Thought! Hmmm they are all dressed in hoodies and other unprofessional attire! I Should have followed my instinct and walked out! There were three pans of cooked garlic knots/​rolls sitting on the front counter, uncovered. No atmosphere and the music playing was horrific. Ordered a slice of pizza. This is the worst pizza I ever had! Tasted like two day old pizza heated up in microwave. Place needs to be cleaned. Nasty and I would never go back!

Lunch on Friday with friends. Came here to try the Stromboli. Went away happy and satisfied. Two of us had the Stromboli and one had a sausage sub. All were quite good. The stomboli”s were the best we’ve had in Ocala. Four meats, lots of cheese, nice crust and a good sauce for dipping.
Service was pleasant, but a little slow for a lunch. I think it was because the stromboli’s take more time. It seemed similar at other restaurants, also, so not a big complaint.
Overall, we will return. As I’m writing this, I am eating the other half of my Stromboli for Sat. lunch. Still very Good. Recommended!

I’ve been to this Restaurant about 5 times over the Years, never impressed with the Food but this Year they outdid the self. The Food was fair at best, My dish was COLD, I had this Server once before and she was just as rude. She picks one Person out of the Group and totally ignores everyone else even if it’s just one other Person there. She should consider who is leaving the Tip. Even when you call in a Order the Man answering the Phone is always nasty. I will not go there anymore

I have been going to both Pavarotti’s locations for years and I have to say I am VERY disappointed! I called to place an order for pick up today and it was answered with a very angry-​sounding man barking «YES?» then «HELLO?» when I hesitated. My phone then dropped the call so I called back and the same voice at least answered «Pavarotti’s» but he didn’t sound happy. And this is not the first time I have gotten that answer when calling. If I answered my phone like that at work, I’d be fired. Not very hospitable and welcoming at all.
I got my food home and the sauce on the baked ziti seems sweeter than before and to be honest the pizza was… generic. The pizza used to be outstanding, my absolute favorite and I am über picky, but the past couple times it has been just meh.
I drive 40 minutes across town, but today may have been my last trip. What’s going on Pavarotti’s?

Well I expected, what with such a namesake, that we’d be greeted with some awesome Italian opera tunes playing overhead. Not even Dean Martin… Just the top 40s from the mid 60s.
We popped in just before noon. The décor is tired and needs updating, but the service was really good and the food was solid and well prepared. The lasagna was great; salads & soup were a-​ok. Their coffee was good to the last drop, and I liked that they have Pellegrino mineral water.
Reasonable prices. Definitely will go back and suggest, if you’re waffling, that you give it a try.

Authentic NYC pizza. They even bring in the water from New York so the crust comes out right. One of the better New York pizzas I’ve ever had outside of NYC.

Coming from the NYC metro area I’ve gotta admit that I’m very spoiled by great Italian food so when it was recommended to eat here I was cautious. Boy was I worried over nothing. The food was fantastic. We timed it just right and got the second to last table in the place before a long line formed to wait. Looks can be deceiving as it appears to be a standard pizzeria. We started with an order of fried calamari (which was nicely done and not too greasy). Our group then ordered a few various pasta dishes and the soup that came with it was very well done, as were the garlic knots. I had the Seafood Fra Diavolo which was a massive size portion with a lot of seafood in it and at a good price. I’d highly recommend it. All of the plates we got were large portions and tasty down to the last bite. You’d definitely feel like you’re eating back up in the Northeast with the quality of food. The drinks are all fairly priced too. It’s not a restaurant that is fine dining (as it has a more basic décor), but it’s one that’s got great food. Highly recommended for the area.

We have always had decent service and pizza is fantastic!!! My wife likes the fettuccine Alfredo

Update to this place: Wife wanted a calzone so we give this place 1 more chance. Even worse than the last review as we waited at our table for over an hour and never got out our food. This was on a Thursday. Mgt has serious issues. Our server had tables stretched across three storefronts so she spent most of her time running everywhere, accomplishing nothing. The woman in charge came by us a dozen times looking at our table but offered nothing in a way to help or even ask how things were. They had two large empty tables yet made folks wait 20 minutes before seating them elsewhere. These tables were NOT reserved, just not filled. Besides making good food, a restaurant survives by providing excellent service which means flipping tables every 30 – 45 minutes.
We went to the counter to pay for some garlic knots we actually got 20 minutes after arriving and the kid at the counter heard us say we were leaving because we never got our food and he said just go on, no need to pay with a look that told us he’s heard this complaint a lot before. As I said in my previous review, Little Joey’s is a little further south on the left by Big Lots and Sammy’s is a little north in Jasmine Square — better service, better experience

It’s a busy place. The pizza is very good. Ordered for takeout. Had to wait a little while inside for pizza pickup, but it was delicious. Convenient to Top of the World community.

we were not impressed at all 2 stars… generous

I was in Ocala teaching a 3 day seminar. This restaurant was recommended by students in my class. Based on the Unilocal reviews I almost didn’t come; I am so glad I went on the recommendation of actual humans rather than reviews of disgruntled patrons. I was greeted and seated quickly upon arrival (approximately 6:30 pm on a Monday night). I was seated in the bar area, and Chris, the bartender quickly took my order. He made suggestions based on my taste preferences. I selected the eggplant rigatoni, but asked them to leave out the ham. The dish came with a salad and an order of garlic knots. These two items are what prevented a 5 star rating. I would have preferred kalamati olives on my salad to the canned black olives, and I would have preferred real butter to the butter substitute that was poured over my garlic knots. Other than that, the meal was superb. The eggplant was sliced thinly and lightly battered with the perfect amount of ricotta cheese and spices. The side of ziti was cooked al dente and the marinara was excellent. I’ll definitely revisit Pavarotti’s the next time I return to Ocala!

Worst service ever!!! Friday night called ahead for a six pm reservation and at 6:20 nobody has taken our order. I watched the hostess wipe the table with a dirty rag. Tossing food onto the floor. Never ever again!!!

Good food, good prices. Sandwiches are a great deal and are very filling, great hidden place.

Everything about this place is just about perfect.
I’ve found once you leave NY/​NJ, Boston, Philly or Chicago it’s sometimes hard to find authentic Italian food. Whether it’s pizza, or pasta, seafood or meat, espresso or dessert; it just seems that most restaurants cannot get the collective menu right. It’s basically «mangiare da cani!» Meaning, there’s one recipe or item that was handed down and the rest of the food is just, eh.
Pavarottis does a great job with everything. I’m not known for giving out too many Five Stars; but the pasta, the sausages, meatballs, scampi, the marinara, down to their to the cannoli, it’s all great. (see photos)
This NY/​NJ Italian family from Toms River and Flushing knows how to do it. If you have an opportunity, try to sit near the pizza ovens. It’s a treat listening to them speak Italian. I’m sure there’s something on their menu that they do not excel at, but I haven’t found it.
And, the prices? «Maron!» Entrees are very reasonable in the $ 10 to $ 13 range for most items. Their 18″ pizza will make you mouth water, and is an incredible value at $ 12.00. But please, try their cannoli. It’s outstanding. I’ve been told their secret is adding a little espresso to the mascarpone cheese filling. Nice!
Enjoy!

My mom is Italian. My grandma is Italian. My sister is Italian. They are all awesome cooks so if I take them to an Italian restaurant it had better be passable.
Heck, there is not much in this area to begin with but I was craving some Italian eats and mom mentioned this place close to the assisted living home my 94 year old grandma is at.
Nice joint with very personable service. Our waiter Chris was very attentive and patient with us.
Fried Calamari — delish! Not too greasy and very fresh tasting.
Penne Ala Vodka — solid!
Garlic Knots — just right!
Chicken Marsala — really good!
Clams Oreganata — breaded just right with extra chunks of clams!
Mussels Marinara — loaded with large mussels, plenty of pasta, and a tasty sauce! Grandma polished off the whole plate and I did not even get a mussel to taste!
The verdict? This place is a hidden gem in a part of Florida not known for anything great as far as Italian goes. Mostly fast food and chains in the Ocala area so this will definitely be a new go-​to spot for next time when visiting Grandma. Very reasonable prices too with large portions. Hey, I live in NYC so this was cheap to me.
Also, some others around us were getting pizzas and they looked damn good! Maybe next time.

Update:
Went to Pavarottis for a third time. Got the ziti with «homemade» meatballs. I dont recommend this particular dish. WAY too much sauce, and the «homemade» meatballs were so dense and garlicky. They were like two rocks.
Skip this entrée.
Also, our waiter never came by to «see how our food was.» Maybe he already knew!