Walking into the establishment you are greeted with the pleasant aroma of Italian seasoning of the food being prepared in the kitchen. There is hustle and bustle in the partially packed house, which I thought was surprising for a Wednesday night. I invited my dad, step-mom, and step-sister to join me for dinner and share in the hopefully delicious meal. My family arrived before me and had already gotten seated before I had arrived, when I walked in the hostess greeted me with a friendly smile and upbeat attitude, I thought to myself, she seems happy to be at work which told me it was going to be a good dining experience. I let her know that I had a reservation she escorted me to the table with my family. Dinner with my family after a long day of classes was a nice way to end a long day, it was very delightful to see and spend time with them because I don’t get to see them as much now that I am in college and living on my own. It’s harder to make time when I’m constantly studying so dinner was just what I needed to clear my head from school even if just for a little while.
Inside of the restaurant was beautifully decorated, it had an authentic rustic Italian vibe, almost as if the walls could tell you every good memory previous customers had enjoyed while dining here. The sound of the Italian-themed music was very calming and relaxing, it was just the right volume level that you could still enjoy dinner conversations. The wait staff was also very friendly and I felt like you were at home with the atmosphere.
The Start of the Night
We got our night started off by ordering drinks. My stepmom ordered a glass of red wine my dad, my step-sister and I ordered soft drinks. As the waiter left to get all drinks, we decided to get an appetizer to begin with because everyone was already hungry as soon as we got there and we were all anxious to try the food. We started with the bruschetta which, is diced tomatoes with other seasonings on garlic bread lightly toasted with just a splash of olive oil to finish it off. Everyone really enjoyed the appetizer because they were gone in the blink of an eye. The inside of the restaurant was beautiful and it had an authentic rustic Italian vibe, it was as if the walls could tell you every good memory made here from the calming music to the friendly wait staff you really feel like you are at home here
Delicious Food
While waiting for our food we enjoyed the art and other decorations on the wall, they had a stunning mural on the wall to the left of us. It was a mural of an old Italian building with a brick-like arch that was the entrance of the building and written at the top of the arch was “Scordato Pizzeria”. I thought that was a great way to incorporate the restaurant into the art. Finally, after a little waiting not too long, our food was ready and served to us. My dad ordered a sausage and onion pizza with a strong aroma of onion, my sister got the classic chicken alfredo which she enjoyed and my stepmom got a chicken Caesar salad which had the perfect amount of dressing.
I got one of their most recently added specialty dinners called pork stress which, it had some cheese and a slice of thin meat wrapped inside a pork loin on top of crushed garlic potatoes all covered with this dark gravy sauce. The dish was incredibly cheesy as soon as you cut into the pork the cheese would just ooze out and steam rushing out like it just took a deep breath in cold air. The potatoes on the bottom added a very nice crunch to the dish really helped bring the flavors to life but the part that really pulled the dish together was the dark gravy sauce it made the dish hardy and filling and really made you want to just finish the entire dish. I had to bring some home and enjoy the meal again later!
We all indulged in our delicious meals and we all described the dinner as more than satisfying. As we continued with the evening the owner came up to us ask us how we are enjoying our food he was a nice tall man with dark hair. He came and visited with us for a brief minute to see how our food was and spoke with me in particular because they had re-done my meal item on the menu after 45 years, it was one of the original dishes from when the restaurant was first established
A Great Time
All in all, Scordato’s pizzeria was a great experience and had the nicest, kindest and happy staff. They are open from 11 am – 8 pm on weekdays and 11 am-9 pm on weekends if you are looking for a place to take your family out for a delicious dinner that isn’t too expensive then you should try out Scordato’s. It’s the place to go from their brick-oven pizza’s that you can build your own liking to the classic chicken alfredo that you can never go wrong with if you are a picky eater like my sister. They even have some healthier choices like chicken caesar salad which comes as a side dish or have it as your main meal. Next time you’re on the hunt for a delicious meal head on over and try it out!
Gena Rocha is a freshman at the University of Arizona and is studying psychology.