Arcaro & Genell Restaurant

We are never going back. Cheese ravioli were undercooked and the plum Marinara Sauce had no taste. Waitress was unfriendly and more concerned with socializing with her friends. She expected us to be psychic and know what the soup of the day was and what the salad dressing options were. she just stared at us with a blank stare and waited for us to ask her questions when we were trying to order. Definitely not worth the prices.

Waitress was concerned about socializing with another guest rather than tending to the rest of her tables. The food used to be good, but has gone downhill considerably. I ordered pasta with their vodka cream sauce and I got Kraft Mac & cheese. Food was very blah. I was warned not to go here anymore but I wanted to see it with my own eyes and haven’t been here awhile. They were right. My warning to all, the food in Old Forge is overrated and I’m not basing my opinion on one dinner.

My friends said that «if you want to know old forge, you need to go to Arcaro». Established since 1962 at the «Pizza capital of the world». I was astonished by the rich history, original building, amazing «white pizza», delicious tripe, homemade pasta, to name a few. I love Italian cuisine and have tasted many around the country — Arcaro has exceed expectation and have kept the tradition of an authentic Italian restaurant true to its origin indeed.

I’m not sure why all of the negative reviews. We had a great time and delicious food here in Old Forge, «the pizza capital of the world».
We made reservations for a party of 14 on a Saturday at 4pm to surprise my father in law for his 60^th. Our waitress immediately asked us what we wanted to drink before my father in law even arrived. She was super sweet and helped us plan his entrance. She set the drinks down with pitchers of ice water with lemon and the bean salad that caught my eye. They bring this to the table with the fresh bread that really did nothing for me but the beans, delicious!!! And different! It’s chickpeas, kidney beans and olives in oil with spices. I wanted the recipe. Yum!
We ordered some apps for the table: portobello stuffed with crab, eggplant parm, garlic cheese bread and calamari. I can’t speak for any of those but I can say all of the kids downed the cheesy bread in two seconds and it smelled delish. My husband said the calamari was «average at best» but enjoyed the mushrooms a lot.
We ordered 4 pies leaving us all with leftover boxes. Pepperoni, double white, double white broccoli (cheese stuffed crust-​I think they’re known for this style) and peasant! I can only speak for the peasant which is a red and just $ 10! It was thin crust and delish! The first slice was crispy and cut into smaller pieces. By slice two it got a little soggy but still very good.
My main meal however were sides. I got the broccoli rabe and the potatoes, each just $ 3. A tad oily for both so if I ever am in this area again I would say lighter oil but let me tell you the broccoli rabe was the best I’ve ever had! Perfect… crisp on the edges, perfectly garlic. Not too much, just right. The potatoes were sliced, fried and seasoned. Also yummy.
We brought our own dessert without an issue and grandpa was surprised. A great night.
Ambiance: white linens, candlelit, R&B bumpin’. I haven’t heard Whitney or Mariah in a long while.
(As we left there was a huge line so make reservations)

My NEPA friends said that it was either go here or go across the street for the best pizza in the country. So I made the trip up to Old Forge and stopped at the first of the two that I saw, Arcaro & Genell, which has apparently been making pizza here for over 50 years.
I opted for the double crust white pizza with broccoli. I learned that they’re not «slices» here, they are «cuts». And you don’t order a «whole pie», you get the «full tray.» Otherwise, you stand out as a tourist. So now you know.
The pizza is fresh baked, so I nibbled on the bread and the bean salad while I waited. Bad move because I was not nearly as hungry as I should have been for this monster. An inch thick and more than a foot square, this is a whole lot of pizza. Lots of garlic, lots of broccoli and a ton of cheese. Very tasty, I was only able to eat two cuts and the rest went with me back to the hotel.
Easy parking unless the place is packed. The pizza was really good but very wet. I think maybe the broccoli hadn’t been fully drained? Anyway, I enjoyed it and can see why it’s so very popular.

We went in tonight at about 6pm and were told by the waitress it would be a 20 minute wait (which seemed reasonable) until we didn’t actually get seated (or acknowledged) until 6:55. We then waited for waters and sodas another 15 minutes and then again another entire hour for our pizza and we only got one, the second one came much later when we had already finished eating even though they were ordered at the same time. Long story short — the food is sub par and the service is atrocious. They have no organizational skills and do not take reservations.

We were in the area due to my husbands job. Looked up reviews on Unilocal and they seemed destined. They sat us in a booth and took forever to get menus. It was even longer for them to take our drink orders. I got an unsweetened ice tea and needed sugar. They forgot to bring me sugar on my first and once again on my second one. I had to ask twice for the sugar. Once our meal was taken it was 1 hour until our food came out. My husband wanted to walk out a couple of times. When the food came out (I ordered eggplant parmigiana) the eggplant was so fried I couldn’t even put my fork in it or cut it. It really upset me since it took so long to finally get it. The waitress offered to get me another one but we did not have time to wait for another one. She did take it off the bill but it was very upsetting since I was so hungry. If you are not in a rush and like extra crispy food, then by all means try. I know one place I will not be going back to.

Never again will I branch out from our usual NEPA pizza favorites!!! We decided to try Arcaro’s after seeing all the hype and telling ourselves that it must be delicious if they’ve been in business for so many years. We called in our order — 1 tray of «red» (that’s just cheese) and 1 tray of pepperoni. It’s $ 15 a tray. We also ordered a caesar salad, which was large enough to share. The dressing was also so creamy and delicious. When we arrived, we parked outside and watched as a stream of people left with takeout pizza boxes. It was Friday night– the Friday after Thanksgiving, and they were packed! We ordered 20 minutes before we left, and it took us 15 minutes to get there, and the food still wasn’t ready. So be prepared to order before you get too hungry.
The pizza itself was a huge disappointment… The good parts: Really thick, really fluffy, crunchy crust, a lot of pizza for your money. The bad parts: The sauce was really mediocre and reminded me of tomato sauce out of a can. There really was no personality and my boyfriend insisted that he got a slice that tasted like onions! Not good! Onions have no place on any pizza!!! The cheese was also really gooey and at first I thought the pizza was undercooked because the cheese tasted like uncooked pizza dough.
Overall, we’ll probably never be back. Clearly some people love this place, but we just weren’t impressed…

I love this place!
The food is very good and the pizza (red pizza and white pizza double crust) is AMAZING!
The service is perfect. I really recommend this place to spend some time with family and friends and to enjoy a nice time, eating good food!

It was a very busy Saturday night. the wait was long but the food was worth it. The linguini and clam sauce is the best in town! I’ve tried it at many other restaurants and the sauce is always tasteless and watered down. Here the sauce is flavorful and loaded with clams. It’s almost as good as my sisters!! The bartender up front needs help, she’s always swamped and can’t keep up. Our waitress was very good! Love coming here.

Pizza is excellent, I suggest you skip the appetizers though, worst clams oreganato I’ve ever had. Didn’t have pasta but I’ll try it next time. Decent prices. Dined with my wife and 2 boys, ages 3 and 8, they also loved it.

Pretty Disappointing. All I’ve heard about since I started traveling to Scranton was about this legendary «Pizza Capital of the World» in Old Forge.
I came here with a friend after searching online for a location with the best reviews. This one looked Ok, and seemed to have a fairly good number of positive reviews.
We walked into the building apparently in through the wrong entrance, so we walked around and found the front where we were asked if we would like a booth or a table. Sat down, and the waitress walked over to us — asking if we wanted something to drink. We asked what they had (since there is neither a standard drink offering on the menu nor is there an adult beverage menu anywhere to be found.) Our waitress tells us that they offer RC products. (Really?) So we asked what that entailed, since I (and the rest of the United States) has no idea what drinks are in the RC repertoire. She rattled off the drinks they offer — and then as I was thinking out loud that I would get a beer, before I could ask what they offer she walked away. Didn’t say that she’d be back, didn’t offer to tell me what sorts of beers they had to offer, didn’t offer to bring a drink menu, just walked away. I thought it to be quite rude — but whatever.
After dropping off some bean & olive mixture with a few pieces of pretzel stick and cold bread she came back and said «let’s try this again» and asked what drinks we’d like. My friend ordered a Ginger Ale, and I a Yuengling.
We ordered the pizza — and when it came out it was a lot of pizza that looked good. But unfortunately it did not taste that way. The sauce tasted like ketchup and the bread was dry and tasted like crackers.
The waitress came by asking if my friend would like a refill on her Ginger Ale, and she said yes. When the bill came she was charged for 2 of them. I don’t know if this is standard operating procedures for places in Old Forge, but I don’t think I’ve been anywhere where you’re charged for a refill without being told or it written (on a menu) somewhere that refills aren’t free.
anyways, we payed the bill and left severely underwhelmed and disappointed at our experience. I wont be trying this place again. Poor Service Poor Pizza.

Hit or miss lately. I had a party catered from here. Chicken & vodka sauce were great. Meatballs were awful. Nice owners though. Would probably try from again.

We came to dinner on a Saturday night and expected it to be busy and we would have to wait a bit. We were told thirty minutes and waited over an hour.
We sat at the bar and were ignored by the bartender and then WAY over charged for our drinks. My aunt asked for wine with a side of ice and the bartender filled her wine glass with ice, then wine, then topped it off with more ice. I’m sorry, but that is not what she ordered. $ 14 for a draft beer and a «glass» of wine… Nuts.
A party of 12 came in after us and we’re sat before us. When we asked the hostess when we will be seated, she said «Oh we are clearing your table.» Well we waited another twenty minutes. The hostess and manager couldn’t have been less friendly if they tried.
I ordered an eggplant parm sub which came out before our pizza (I was done with my dinner by the time the pizza came). The eggplant was so over cooked I couldn’t rip it and all I could taste was breading.
The only good part about the evening was our server was pleasant and the pizza was great.

The restaurant is real Classic Italian; it was super busy when we arrived. Because we waited for so long to get a table, they gave us a appetizer «on the house.» Two pieces of bread with a bunch of beans slopped on them… no thank you.
The shrimp and clams on the half shell were tasty and fresh. Although, the presentation was god awful (throw some ice in a bowl then throw the seafood in the bowl. um…oh well I ate it always).
Homemade raviolis and meatballs with the house sauce. The dish was pretty solid; the meatballs were fabulous! My boyfriend got the manicotti with sausage and man, homemade sausage can’t be beat. Needless to say, I almost had to be rolled out of the restaurant.
We will be back here.

Just got takeout and got ripped off. We got a tiny portion of lasagna for $ 15.00, the take out area is filthy, dirty floors and broken ceiling panels. We won’t be back.

Don’t Plan On Going To This Restaurant If Your Not An Old White Italian…
Went there and got looked by everybody there in the restaurant. It was like I was an «Outsider». It’s like they have never seen a black person before. Also terrible service from the waitress as well. She was giving me a hard time while I was ordering my food. She had asked if I wanted water, and not a regular drink. She also asked me to repeat several times like she couldnt understand me, which was bullshit cause my date is white and she could understand me perfectly. Overall a very awkward experience to be in. F**k this restaurant.

Dined here with a large group and the staff were accommodating even though they were very busy (even on a wednesday). Old forge pizza is not my favorite (not a fan of American cheese on my slices) but the three bean salad with olives was really delicious and the manicotti was pretty good. I enjoyed the meatballs the most. They were definitely homemade. The house sauce was a bit on the sweet side, but I’d go back to try some of their white pizza. The waitress said the cheese was a blend — definitely some mozz in it based on the way the cheese stringed when a slice was pulled from the pie. I think I’d dig it if it wasn’t pure American cheese like some other whites in Old Forge… and It looked amazing.

Had a bite of this «pizza» years ago just for kicks.
What’s their secret? People don’t care what they are eating! They will eat it and say its good because that’s what everyone else is doing.
–Wonder Bread
–Ketchup
–American Cheese

Legendary pizzeria in Old Forge. Visiting the SO’s parents in Scranton, it was made very clear that this was the place to take an out-​of-​towner like me. The no-​reservations policy was not as annoying as the host telling us that we would be seated in 15 minutes (we waited for over an hour). I mean, I understand you have to wait on Saturday night with a large group, but then don’t feed us BS to start (we’re not that hungry). They really should have offered us comp drinks while we waited, but apparently the place is too popular for its britches.
Back to the food – it is actually a really nice experience once you are sat. There are several varieties of hearty, country-​style pizza (ah, the evolution of the pie around our great nation!). The square slices are thick (though not Chicago-​deep), doughy, and filling. There are a number of toppings. I had a clam pie, which was not the popular choice at our table.
TIP: The «small» antipasti plate is super-​sized. You will NOT finish it, so no need ordering a larger one.