Let me first start off by saying that the photo I’ve supplied doesn’t do this pie justice. I took a photo of the fresh, hot pizza after I was served a slice, but for some reason my G1’s camera froze up and the photo I took was never saved to memory. So to suffice, I’ve included a photo of a slice I took home.

Pavarotti’s is a little family owned place located in Dunnellon, FL and is situated in a plaza next to a Sweet Bay supermarket. It’s probably one of about 3 pizza places in town and is the best bet out of all of them, hands down. They actually recently opened up a second location in Ocala but I’ve yet to eat there. I hear business is doing great for the new location though. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and the service is excellent. All of the staff there are very personable and genuinely friendly. Seating arrangements are comfortable and you’re almost always seated immediately (you seat yourself wherever you please). The general appearance is clean and organized. Nothing too fancy but it gets the job done. The music is a nice selection as well. When we were there we heard Bobby Darin, Bobby Vinton and some Opera. That’s not even close to my era (I was born in ‘81) but for a pizza joint, it’s a nice mix. I brought my mom along since she loves this place as well, so the music was right up her alley.

Today we had a server (Pretty sure his name was George) that I’d never had before and I would say that this was my best experience at Pavarotti’s to date. I’ve eaten there approximately 5 or 6 times, maybe more. It’s only about 8 minutes from my house. Service here is always quick and each server is attentive to your needs, which is the way it should be. Our pizza was out in about 10-15 minutes. They normally have about 2 to 3 cooks in the kitchen and all of their pies are cooked in a stone deck oven.

We ordered an 18” hand-tossed pie with half white (easy on the regatta) and the other half (mine) was pepperoni. I like to keep it simple. The crust on their hand-tossed pizza is some of the best I’ve had in this area. In fact I’d say it’s my favorite pizza crust. It’s perfectly cooked and has a nice consistency. Not too doughy but not overcooked and too crispy. The pizza stays together in your hand perfectly. It gets along well with all of the other elements of the pie. I hate crust that has dark burnt areas spread out along the bottom of the pie. Trust me, I’ve found this to be a common occurrence at a few pizza places in Florida.

The sauce and cheese are excellent as well. The sauce is spread evenly and and you’ll never have any sort of slipping and sliding when you pick up the slice. It’s sweet and tasty. You’ll always be able to taste each individual part in its own glory as you masticate (not THAT, dirty mind). The cheese has a nice taste and doesn’t resemble any sort of processed crap you might get at some other place. It’s guaranteed to compliment your toppings well and hold them in place while doing so. These guys know what they’re doing and would never risk putting some second hand cheese on their pies.

All in all there is honestly nothing I can say that got me down about this place, or ever has. The service is excellent, the pizza is excellent, the restaurant is excellent. Heck, even their soft drinks are awesome. Their Sprite is unbelievable. Some places do a crap job at mixing the syrup in the machine but this was some sort of heavenly Sprite. I think the only thing I could say about their pizza is that it can sometimes be greasy. It depends on your toppings. I got pepperoni so that’s expected.

If you’re not big into pizza, don’t fret. They also have a large dinner menu that includes baked ziti, spaghetti, lasagna, hot and cold subs, etc. Their pasta and calzones are delicious. If you dig Sicilian pizza, try their Sicilian with sliced meatballs and pepperoni. Also, if you’re big into garlic knots, this is the only place I’ve been to around here that serves them and they’re awesome.

Pavarotti’s in Dunnellon, Florida is an impressive little pizza place with a nice menu and I hope my review will get them some more business. They deserve it! I’m gonna have to give them 7 out of 8 slices on this one. I always have a pleasant experience and I love their pizza.

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