arrived at 5:45pm on a wednesday, no wait.

food is good. we got the three cheese pizza that comes with a white sauce which was delicious. the pork bolognese left something to be desired but there is a nice chew to it that is indicative of quality. there is also a nice wine selection.

service is lackluster. the tables next to us received much better service (from the same server). server never checked in with us ever after placing an order. unequal treatment of guests, i won’t speculate why. as a server myself, i do not have high standards for other servers but it was definitely not service that warranted a tip of 18%

prices are fair for quality of food. except for the $2 charge for 1/2 tbsp of chili oil and $1 for the chili flakes ???

all in all, i will be back for take-out only

Everyone I know loves Cornelly. My friends go all the time. I typically hadn’t, because there are not a ton of vegan options. If you’re not vegan, I’d say this place is five stars. Because I’m looking for vegan options, I bumped it down a little.

They used to have a vegan “fungi” pizza on the menu, that was vegan as is, and my vegan friend who loves mushrooms loved that pizza. My non-vegan friend who likes mushrooms loved it too. However, they recently took it off the menu, and now there is no pizza on the menu that is vegan by default. There’s one with pesto and veggies that you can get vegan without the cheese, but both the friends I just mentioned said it’s not as good as the old mushroom one.

When I went; we had truly the best server - DC. I asked a ton of questions about the menu and he went to the kitchen to get answers for me. He gave me a full report on what could be made vegan form the menu. Here it is —

The starter bread course, without the butter. You could add a side of red sauce (for a charge). One of the salads without cheese. Basically any pizza could have cheese removed. None of the pastas (all pasta has egg in it)

I decided to just get the margherita without cheese, and asked to add spiced pineapple instead, since I saw that elsewhere on the menu. So it ended up being like, red sauce and fresh basil and this spiced pineapple. It was good! The crust is incredible, but like, it was a bit lacking. Especially for the price, and the fact that I was charged additional money for adding the pineapple.

I actually took the leftovers home and tried adding store-bought vegan cheese to the slice I reheated in the air fryer and it was DELICIOUS. It’d be awesome if Cornelly offered a vegan cheese (I’d be willing to pay an upcharge) or just a more fully rounded vegan pizza offering.

The restaurant itself is so hip and nice. Great date spot, great place for groups. Lovely outdoor seating for nice weather. Be prepared to wait! People lineup before opening at 5pm quite often on weekend days.