Critic's Review
I've been on a diet since August and while I've had a few slices I haven't had a Sunday pizza in a very long time. I struggled to decide where to order from. Munchies doesn't even seem like a serious restaurant. Times Square is too inconsistent and I think the old guy who runs the place is losing it. I decided on an authentic Grandma's pie; from the original copycat restaurant in LBTS.
No place exemplifies the disaster of online ordering more than this place. If you try to order "Pickup" on Door Dash, it asks you for an address. You can't order pickup on Door Dash. Plus the price is higher than the menu. I called the restaurant on the phone, Old School. "Give us 30 minutes", she said. It would take me 25 minutes to get there.
I went inside 28 minutes after ordering and it wasn't ready yet. I had to wait about 10 minutes. The place was fairly busy with the kind of people who eat dinner at 5:30 on Sunday.
I took a peek in the car before heading home.
What a beautiful looking pie. THIS is a real grandma's pie; not like that garbage I got at Anthony's Pronto a few months back.
I got home on about 20 minutes and the pizza was still hot. I was intending to eat this later, but I wanted to try it hot out of the box. Man was this good. Grandma's pizza has a thin, chewy crust, but the star of the show is the fresh tomato sauce that's dripping with olive oil and garlic. Long Island style. I could taste the oil in the sauce.
I had 2 slices while it was hot and I was going to reheat it much later; like at 11pm.
2 Hours later I wanted to try a "cold" slice; like how you might get the pizza if you ordered it delivered and it took a while. It was pretty bad. The crust didn't hold up well; it was so nice and chewy when it was hot, but seemed almost stale a couple of hours later.
When I was ready to eat the rest, I set the oven to 250 degrees and I heated 2 slices at a time. For the first 2, I put one on aluminum foil (this would keep the crust from crisping) and another on my pizza stone. I set the timer for 15 minutes, which was enough time to rejuvenate the crust and to just start to melt the cheese. This produced very good pizza; I'd say 80% as good as it was right out of the box. The slice on the stone was better; a bit of crisp on the crust but not too much.
The reason it wasn't perfect? The fresh sauce wasn't quite as good; it lost that fresh, garlicky olive oil taste, which is what makes a grandma's pizza so unique. I suppose I could have drizzled a bit of EVOO on them, but I didn't.
Conclusion
Hot out of the box, Umbertos' Grandma's pizza is one of the best pizzas you can get in this town. But it doesn't hold up particularly well, so you may want to avoid it if you're having something delivered. Get off your butt and pick it up hot out of the oven; the difference is totally worth it.
Review 3/13/20
I hadn't been to Umberto's since 2011; a few weeks ago I tried the new copy cat restaurant next door, Anthony's Clam House, which was opened by a former manager of Umberto's. It was time to refresh my memory.
The restaurant is 4 distinct rooms; a dining room that isn't open at lunch, a pizzeria style counter, a bar and an atrium dining room.
The bar is dark and outdated; it reminded me of restaurant bars they used to have when I was a kid. A couple of booths, but not my style.
There's a sign "Wait to be Seated", but there's no hostess. After awhile someone noticed me milling about; not sure if I should just sit down, and told me to sit where ever I wanted.
The atrium dining room is sort of Piazza lite; with much lower budget old world decor.
Iced tea with extra lemon comes with 1 extra wedge; a decent size glass so refills aren't an issue. There are no straws at Umberto's, ever.
Garlic rolls are included with lunch' pretty good rolls but I prefer garlic infused oil rather than a spoonful of raw garlic.
They've added veal parmesan to the lunch menu, just $10. The entree came out in 12 minutes.
Not a monster portion; I got twice this amount in 2011 for $11.95. Notice the signature spoonful of sauce on the pasta; a better sauce than next door.
I was afraid the veal would be dried out; I'm not a fan of the charred mozzarella; but it was very good. Even the spaghetti was edible.
The veal had a very tight breading; it's not clear if it was house made or bought that way, but the veal had a nice taste. Veal can be tough but this was a good cutlet.
Music here is so low it can hardly be recognized, which can be a good thing.
$15.50 and out the door. A decent lunch at a fair price.
Conclusion
Umberto's is a pizzeria restaurant that is unrelated to the legendary restaurant in New Hyde Park on Long Island. They've been here a long time as the decor indicates; it's a place where you can get pretty good italian food at a fair price. Two things that usually aren't found together in Fort Lauderdale.
Review 11/2/11
19 Month's later, I see no reason to re-write what I originally wrote about the place. The outside has been given a makeover, but the inside is still old and a bit clunky. Prices are up about $1. They have lunch specials every day for $5.99, but I wanted the veal parmesan, which was $11.95 on the menu.
It's too bad I didn't take a picture of the eggplant parm; this wasn't nearly as good. Not as much sauce, not as much cheese. The veal was browned, maybe a bit too well done, but just pretty good. The sauce is good, but not enough cheese to make me really happy. I'd have to say that I was disappointed. I'd hoped for something better than this.
Review 1/3/2010
As a Long Island guy myself, I can attest that the original Umberto's in New Hyde Park is one of the great Italian restaurants in the country. Of course the standards in NY are a bit higher, mainly because of all of the Italian people, and also the high taxes and rents that cause a restaurant to quickly go out of business if it isn't packed on a regular basis.
This Umberto's, apparently run by a relative, itsn't nearly as good, but its pretty good. The decor is a bit dated; the bar area is very 1980s and they have a bunch of tube TVs that just make you think that they need to get with the program. The dining room is "old-world" also, which isn't such a bad thing for an Italian restaurant. The hanging plants, violin music and trestle ceiling thats sort of an atrium is pretty nice.
The menu is also pretty nice. The sauce here is excellent, which makes for a wide range of choices in a Red Italian restaurant. They have all of the expected dishes; veal, chicken, pastas, eggplant, sausage and an extensive pizza menu. The caesar salad is enough for 2, and its very good. Lasagna is a 4" square but uninspiring, instead ask for eggplant parmesan with spaghetti (its not on the menu but they'll make it for you). Its massive, dripping with mozzarella, and only $10.95. Oh, and its very good too.
Unfortunately, the pizza is disappointing. Its very south florida; it is a thin crust, but its a bit chewy and the edges are unedible. The sauce is very good, but there isn't enough cheese. Its a lot like Times Square pizza; not terrible but no-where near the gold standard. Its certainly not worth going out of your way for this pizza.