I love Zaffiro's...it has a great "dive" atmosphere that captures the nostalgia of old-school pizza joints. They make the thinnest crust pizza in... More >

I love Zaffiro's...it has a great "dive" atmosphere that captures the nostalgia of old-school pizza joints. They make the thinnest crust pizza in town and it is perfectly spiced--I like a simple pizza like cheese & onion which is perfection at Zaffiro's. Their pasta is also good and comes in portions that are worth about three meals. Their red sauce is extremely thick and a little on the sweet side--I love it. Of all the Italian restaurants where I have tried lasagna, theirs is the best--heavy on the beef and sauce and light on the ricotta. It is true, many of the servers look like they will be profiled on Dog the Bounty Hunter, wear filthy aprons, openly sit down and smoke cigarettes during the service, but for me, they just kind of add to the charm of the place. Pros: Consistent, great food, huge portions, cheap Cons: not enough servers during busy hours, sodas not chilled
by mke reviewer at Citysearch Less

Based on the reviews here, I couldn't wait to get to this place. I was in Milwaukee for a week, and wanted to see the city's best. This can't be... More >

Based on the reviews here, I couldn't wait to get to this place. I was in Milwaukee for a week, and wanted to see the city's best. This can't be it. The pizza everyone raves about is some of the worst I've ever had. The crust tasted like a stale cracker. Absolutely a let down considering the accolades it's getting. I've had better pizza from the freezer case of a supermarket. What really ticked me off was that we were charged for soda refills. The glasses are small to begin with, and cost $1.60 apiece. Our waitress brought us refills (when she finally found the time to wait on us), not letting us know that refills aren't free, as is common in many places. When I got the bill, I was charged $9.60 for soda! I hate paying ten dollars for sodas for three people.The place is tiny, and loud. The rest of the food was average--nothing will dazzle you. Like the pizza, the food is standard overcooked Italian-American. There is some atmosphere, if you like the sparse "decor" of 1950's Italian immigrant house-turned restaurant theme. It's almost a dive bar with a room on the side where they serve food. The place has not improved since then, and neither has the pizza, I imagine. The waitresses haunt the place like jaded ghosts; totally uninterested, jaded, wishing they were somewhere else, secretly wondering what everyone sees in their fabled pizza. The place is loud, but if you could get there on a slow night, the experience would at least be that much better. The overcooked spaghetti had a very sweet red sauce that I thought was good, but since the pizza was inedible, I had to eat something. The lasagna was decent. I think that overall, the place is highly overrated, and frankly, a bit expensive for what you get. I was told later by a local that there's better pizza in town. Good luck! Cons: bad pizza, soda refills not free, jades service
by headcase at Citysearch Less