Grimaldi's pizza - no bueno

I went to lunch, reluctantly, at Grimaldi's Pizzeria today.  My first visit about eight years ago was "no bueno", so I never went back. But I keep hearing from a lot of people that they love Grimaldi's, so I decided to give it a second chance.  I shouldn't have.  My feelings are still the same..."no bueno!"

The menu only consists of thin crust pizza that you create, salads, and desserts.  Sure, it's fun to create your own pizza, but the prices are ridiculous. When you are all said and done adding your toppings, you could end up with a 12 inch pizza for $30. That's just ridiculous, especially when they are not that great in flavor.  I ordered the 12 inch pesto pizza ($12) and added grilled chicken (an additional $4). The pizza lacked flavor. I think if the pesto had more garlic flavor, as it should, or if the chicken had some flavor and had chunks larger than a dime, then maybe. Either way, completely unimpressed. I also ordered a small Mediterranean salad ($7). That was just okay, nothing special about it, but it definitely had more flavor than the pizza. I actually tried to dip my pizza in the vinaigrette dressing to add some flavor.

I went there with two friends, one who ordered just a large salad and added a couple ingredients, the other ordered just a 12 inch pizza with pepperoni. I had water, and they each had ice tea. Our bill came to a total of $58.45, not including tip. That is ridiculous for a mid-week lunch that consisted of pizza and salad. They didn't even offer any lunch specials. No wonder the place was practically empty.

I will always remember that first impressions do count when it comes to food. Everyone has their favorite pizza place, and mine is NOT Grimaldi's. If you want to try an amazing thin crust pizza, try Spinato's Pizzeria and order the Mamma Spinato's "Signature" Fresh Spinach pizza. It is to die for! And their prices are MUCH more reasonable.