CLT Eats – A Charlotte Restaurant Review

View from the Bar

Well, I’ve covered most of my regular haunts and then some. I have been some new places but now am really beginning to branch out to restaurants that I know little to nothing about. Prior to now it’s been rare for me to not recommend a restaurant but that trend is beginning to shift.

Pizza Peel and Tap Room is a very cool little restaurant that occupies one of the vacated Mellow Mushrooms that left town a year or so ago that was located in the Cotswold area. I absolutely love the interior of this place. The walls on the inside are covered in wood that appears as if it has been reclaimed from an old barn. The effect is very classy and contemporary with the old wood warmth. Really cool. The restaurant is made up of one large room with a bar against the far wall and large open window to the kitchen off to the side.

The server was very friendly and helpful and reasonably efficient. Not exceedingly so but more than adequate. It was later on a Friday night and surprisingly quiet. There were several people huddle around the bar area seeming to enjoy themselves but there were few tables occupied.

There were several interesting if not relatively typical pizza options available on the menu in addition to sandwiches and the like. We had bruschetta as an appetizer. It was pretty decent stuff. Not the best I’ve had but it was good. There was a bowl of the typical tomato mixture and another with cheese. I then ordered the Buffalo Chicken Pizza. It sounded really awesome. When it showed up I have to admit that it looked pretty lame. It was smaller than I expected and just didn’t look to appealing. I was trying to be open-minded but it just wasn’t particularly good. The crust was particularly pathetic and a real let down. It wasn’t a terrible pizza but it just wasn’t worth a repeat visit. My friends felt similarly about their pizzas without any influence on my part. I wanted to like this place and frankly expected it to be stellar based on feedback on Urbanspoon but it was very underwhelming. After an appetizer and pizza I still was a little hungry so I seized the opportunity to audit a dessert. I ordered the cheesecake which when it arrived it was obviously not scratch-made. Again, it was fine but nothing memorable.

It seems that the business plan for this place was to make it look cool, offer alcohol, and throw in pizza since they figured they had to include food in the mix. It seems very much like an after-thought. I’m confused by the overwhelming praise Pizza Peel has received on Urbanspoon. It’s a really cool place if you’re looking to head out for a few drinks but if you want pizza it’d be one of the last places on my list. If I want pizza I’ll head over to Intermezzo, Pie Town, Luisas, or Brixx. Even Pizza Hut is better quite honestly.

Pros

• Really cool interior
• Probably best suited as a bar

Cons

• Not particularly good food
• Almost anywhere else does pizza better

Rating: Not Recommended