russo's coal-fired italian kitchen & pizza

casual, friendly pizza and pasta chain serving delicious coal fired pizza and other italian specialties.

sight- order at the counter set-up with ample indoor seating split between booths and larger tables for families. large outdoor patio seating makes this agreatlunch spot.

sound- busy...

pretty darn good. i recently took a job in richardson and see russo's every day while trying to find a good lunch place. one day i tried russo's and fell in love. i love ny style anyway, but their flavor is unlike anything i've ever eaten and i was instantly hooked.

unfortunately, after frequenting it the past couple of months, i've noticed a trend that bothers me. they make what appears to be 4 of their enormous pizzas with just cheese and slice them up, top them and reheat them for the daily lunch crowd, which isn't abnormal. and when the slices are gone, lunch slices are done.
however, after a couple of poorly reheated, burnt and overly chewy slices, i saw what the issue was. if they don't sell enough slices from the previous day, they put the rest in a cooler and cook them first before dipping into the freshly made slices. the quality is significantly worse. since their pizza is so good when freshly cooked, trying to eek out a smaller food loss by recycling the previous days slices is noticed very quickly and selling them at full price is insulting.

i'm going to continue going, but unless i can be assured of a fresh slice at lunch, i'm going to order off the regular menu.

the staff isgreatand, aside from the recycled pizza, you won't find better in the dallas area...just be sure it's fresh.

victim to new management. we have enjoyed going to russo's at least once a month since it opened a few years ago. their black truffle sachetti was actually one of my favorite meals at any nearby restaurant. and it has also been appealing because some members of our extended family have gluten issues, so the gluten-free pizza isgreatto have available.

unfortunately the last few times we have gone we have witnessed a sad decline in the quality and flavor of the food. the recipes have clearly changed in favor of lesser quality ingredients. the service is still generally good, but i couldn't even eat my meal the last time we went. we will probably give it one last try before giving up.

so sad - what was a monthly tradition in our house has now fallen victim to new management...

in every city we move to we look for that perfect pizza spot. in dallas we believe it's russo's.greatpizza andgreatsalads.

quality food & service in 1. this rare find has amazing food- i'd put it up against famous lombardi's of nyc- and amazing service. the staff is friendly and personable and make the experience dining her great. awesome lunch deals and the calzone's aregreatto share on a date. definitely a place to check out!

hubby felt right at home. we were on our way to campisi's in richardson, but we had seen russo's a few times while traveling on 75, so we decided to try it out. we are so glad we did!

we arrived about an hour before closing time, and we were greeted warmly. the decor is really warm and reminded us of the upscale pizzerias in new jersey that my husband and i used to enjoy. we sat down and were presented with the regular menu and a heart healthy menu. although we didn't order from the heart healthy menu, we were impressed that they offered it. we noticed a good variety of offerings on the menu, from appetizers to pizzas to pastas.

after ordering, we received the complimentary basket of bread. the bread is deliciously flavored with italian herbs, and the tables all have flavored olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, italian herbs, and parmesan cheese (along with salt and pepper). i could have been happy just eating the bread and dip. we ordered the roasted garlic and mozzarella flatbread appetizer. it was perfectly fired and the roasted garlic was perfectly done.

my husband ordered the manhattan pizza (italian sausage, peppers, onion). he loved it. it was thin and crispy, and when it came to the table, it smelled soooo good. the cheese, sauce and toppings were perfectly distributed, and the coal-firing gave it a nice ny-style taste.

i ordered the chicken penne puttanesca. most restaurants are afraid to make a true puttanesca because of the strength of all of the ingredients, but i was very happy to see that their puttanesca included everything i love about it.

the service was very friendly and attentive without being overdone. the owner was very active in the restaurant making sure that everything was good with all of the guests. he came by near the end of our meal and chatted with us. since we were the last ones there, we enjoyed a nice conversation with him. it was nice to hear his story, and my husband enjoyed talking to someone else from the northeast.

our check was very reasonable with what we had ordered. my dish was barely over $10, and i had enough for dinner and then lunch the next day. we will definitely drive down to richardson for more of thegreatfood and service that we received at russo's.

very good food. calamari salad wasgreatwith the calamari on the side. calzone was very good as well.

great food, the best coffee!. we wound up in front of this restaurant by shear accident because of a wrong turn. since we were in route to another restaurant, we couldn't resist how inviting this place looked. we were not dissapointed. clientele was a mixture of family's, young, hip college students, trendy couples, etc. my husband is a lasagna fanatic and russo's delivered. although we did not order the pizza, it was certainly the most requested entree of the evening.greatfood,greatservice and the best cup of coffee i have ever had - seriously! we enjoyed our evening here and add this to our list of "constants" ,

good pizza. fantastic appetizing bread brought out before the meal; crispy yet chewy w/olive oil and fresh rosemary.
pizzas were very good, crust is same as bread, crispy yet chewy...the perfect meeting of the two.
looking forward to return trip soon.

would recommend it asgreatspot...right around the corner from twisted root burger co at se corner of 75 and campbell...at night look for the flames!

best pizza around.greatplace love the fire pots adds to the patio dinning.

great pizza. while the service needs a little work, the pizza is the best in town and they have agreatpomegranate salad dressing for the house salad!