Rustica Brick Oven Cafe

Had a plain pie. Tasted great, crust was good, not too greasy and the staff was nice. Better than Avellinos or Umbertos which are on the same street.

Hit or miss with the food. Sometimes great, sometimes not worth the wait. The service is more often than not sh! ty, sometimes so bad I swear I won’t go back

Rustica is a go-​to local favorite, with great options for take-​out or dining in. I especially love that there’s an option for whole wheat crust, something that is lacking at other restaurants around town. The excellent pizza and efficient service keep me coming back for more.

My family moved to Garden City 4 years ago and Café Rustica has been our go-​to pizza place. Recently, Rustica has gone downhill to such an extent that we decided to find another pizza place. The last 4 times I ordered (we order about twice a month) the pizza arrived either cold, way too late or was underwhelming in quality.
However, last night was the icing on the cake. At about 6PM I placed my usual order, assuming to be able to feed my children before bedtime. At 7PM I called concerned regarding the status of my order. I was told we were ‘first in line and the pizza is out the door’. After not having received my order for another 30 minutes, as well dealing with 2 hungry and screaming children, at 7:30PM I called back telling them I was extremely disappointed (being a loyal customer) and that I no longer wanted the pizza. The friendly lady on the phone connected me with her manager, and this is what she said: «An hour and a half wait? I wait that long for Chinese food (…)», «You live really far away, so it takes a while», «We only have 3 delivery people on the road», (click). She hung up on me. No, «I am so sorry» or «What can I do for you?». The manager simply hung up on me and couldn’t care less about our negative experience. I’m sorry, but an hour and a half wait for a pizza is outrageous and the manager should have recognized and acknowledged this.
I wasn’t looking for anything except an apology. If someone from Rustica management wants to reach out to me, I’m willing to reconsider changing pizza places and updating this review (as long as it isn’t the female manager on duty on 8÷6÷2015). However, treating your customers like this is unacceptable. You reading this review can determine if you would like to give this company your business.

Recently had a very negative experience in customer service. We order from this place a lot, and last night after waiting a total of 1.5 hours for our pie (and calling multiple times to find it where it was), the manager got on the phone and completely disregarded our complaint, saying that we lived far away and that Chinese food takes 1.5 hours to be delivered (1. No it doesn’t 2. How is that relevant?). Then she hung up on my husband.
No apologies, nothing. The girl taking orders on the phone was more professional and courteous than this «manager». So, now we’re on the hunt for a new pizza place. Good job, business geniuses.
*Would also like to mention that the food quality has been suffering lately as well — pizzas arriving cold and the marinara pie we got recently was just AWFUL.

Quaint brink oven pizzeria in a neighborhood with two other well established pizzerias are also located just a short walk away.
Had a slice of buffalo chicken and a grand ma. Both were larger slices than I usually expect and any pizza place and a large iced tea from the Fountain. I was a bit surprised to pay $ 8.50 including the tax as I found it quite cheap (I hate using that word).
The grandma was tasty and the buffalo was hot and spicy — the way it should be.
The also offer gluten free pizza and desserts.
I’ve lived in the area for most my life and this is my first time here. I should not have waited so long to try them out.

I ordered in from here (so I can’t speak about the ambiance of the restaurant). The food was really tasty. My pasta primavera had tons of vegetables and it was easily enough to feed 3 – 4 people. Additionally, the delivery was within the given time period and everything was still hot when it got to my house. Overall, it was a great delivery experience.

From pizza to entrée special, the food is excellent. Cooked to order and portion size. Very flexible to customize… staff is friendly and attentive…

We ordered gluten free pizza and they sent us gluten pizza, we called to get the right pizza sent out and not only did they charge us for both pizzas, but they made a mistake on the toppings the second time.
Most expensive gluten free terrible topping pizza… 2 hours later
Terrible service

My co-​workers and I order from this spot, as they have quick delivery and are on GrubHub. Italian is always good as everyone can find something they like.
I love their salads (odd I know its a pizza place). Their salads are fresh and amazingly delicious! The mango, la mela, spinach salad and insalata alla rustica are my faves (esp the mango!)
My coworkers have ordered the pizzas, calzones, heroes and pasta dishes. They’ve raved about them and think the prices are on point — the dishes are hugeee! Literally you could split an entrée into two or three meals (esp the heroes/​calzones).
Another delish menu item are the homemade zeppoles! They’re better than what you’d find at the carnival (much much much less oily). It tastes like a fluffy, warm sugary donut.

Passed by this place loads of times. Finally decided to try it out, the place itself is quaint and small but the people there were really nice. Ordered the calamari entrée it came with a side of pasta. Food was pretty dam good but the portion of the calamari was not so big. That being said will definitely go back to try something else.

Had take out twice. Excellent food. Fresh and Italian authentic. Pizza also good. Everything from the Potato and Egg hero to the stuffed artichoke was excellent.

Tried this place for the first time even though I live right down the block. Ordered the personel regular pie it was pretty good and fairly priced. Next time I will try one of the speciality pies. Will be back again.

LOVE IT!!!
This place is so great, it has become a favorite of mine. The staff is so friendly, and the food is wonderful. My favorite part is that they are so willing to make my special off the menu orders, and it always comes out great!

Ordered from here for the first time. Had the linguine al pesto, my bf had a plain pizza & we got some zeppoles on the side (2 for $ 1, what a steal!). Everything was reasonably priced & delicious! So happy to find a good Italian place around here!

I stopped here for an early-​ish lunch a few days ago after quite some time (my last review was in January 2012). I usually like to try different dishes, but my mother and I enjoyed the white pizza so much last time that we had to try it again. We also split another one of our favorites: the polenta appetizer.
While the food was good (much better than average Italian food in the area, I stand by my earlier comments in this regard), it was not quite as good as I’ve had at Rustica in the past. The white pizza seemed completely different. Not only did it arrive a little too well done (the cheese and crust were very brown — just passable), the consistency was dryer and oilier, more like I’d expect from any other pizzeria. Last time I was amazed by how fresh and light the mozzarella and ricotta were. This time it did not stand out. ²⁄₅
The polenta appetizer comes with four fried polenta balls over a bed of sausage and mushrooms. The polenta itself was very nice, perfectly cooked, light and fluffy. I still recommend this dish. But I did notice that compared with earlier occasions, the sausage slices were a bit tough/​chewy and the sauce on the plate was thicker. Previously, it has almost a broth-​like consistency which made it lighter and the mushrooms and sausage tender and juicy. This time it had a thicker consistency like it reduced for too long. That said, the flavor was still there. ⁴⁄₅
Service was fine. The food came out in good time and the waitress did a great job. They also offer an Adelphi discount for patrons from the nearby university.

Love this place. We order at least once a week from Rustica and every time its great.
Great menu, great service and very friendly owners! Thank You Maria!

I am giving one star because zero is not an option…
It took over an hour for delivery. After one hour I asked to cancel the order and they refused. It took one and a half hours to get to me. When it arrived it was cold and hard like cardboard.
Since I wanted to support a local store I tried to contact the manager and let her know my experience. They refused to transfer me nor would they give me her name or take a message.
I understand that things happen. Maybe they were having a bad night or short staffed. However, to refuse to rectify the situation (and by rectify I mean a simple apology) shows VERY poor management.
Needless to say, I will no longer be ordering from Rustica!

Tried this last minute after seeing it on Restaurant Hunter last year. Excellent vegetable pizza and salad with grilled shrimp and avocados. Server and owner made us feel very welcome.

One of the best pizza places in the area. I tried the margarita 8 inch with half chicken cutlet. It was great: fresh ingredients, made to order, and delicious. My boyfriend is a fan of the BLT pie.
Mozzarella sticks ($ 6.50 for 6) were very large, fresh and definitely home-​made. One of the best I’ve ever had.. . Seriously …
(They also have a pan fried fresh mozzarella but I haven’t tried it.)
I’ve been back several times since my first visit and the food seems to be consistently delicious.