Cessie’s Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta

Decent pizza considering the location… not a knock, just an observation… I really do like the Nonna! Overall the service is fair, but when they are busy the staff does seem to be a bit overwhelmed… never a good sign when the staff argues openly. Friendly atmosphere that could use an update perhaps. Why choose the cliché delivery service when you can have some quality pies?!?

I actually had to wait a few weeks to give a review because I really don’t like to give out 1 stars but unfortunately I have to this time. If there was an option for no stars, this experience would qualify. We were getting work done on our car across the street and came over for an appetizer to pass the time. There was a friendly greeter so I told him that we were just there for a drink and a snack while we waited for our car to get done. There is no bar or casual seating area so we were put in a booth.
When we arrived there was only a single man sitting at a table up front and then two booths, one with kids and the other with their moms. Later two men dressed in business attire arrive. The place is huge with three separate rooms, but they seat everyone in one place.
Our waitress was sweet but clueless. Do we want menus? Well yes, of course. Then we order our appetizer (Large order of Mozzarella Garlic Knots which is about $ 7 for 12 knots… good deal). Then she comes back over and asks if we want to order to entrees. We said no we are just going to have apps. Then she takes the menus and I ask for her to leave one in case we want to order something else. This really confused her.
The knots arrive in a tin plate in which they were baked. I have to ask for side plates and silverware. The knots are good. Not great but good. One small plastic container of marinara sauce accompanies them. The sauce is very sweet and definitely not enough for a large order. The nice thing about this restaurant though is that the table is stocked with not only salt and pepper but the red pepper flakes, oregano and Parmesan cheese. It is so nice not to have to ask for those.
Here comes the main disaster. Remember those kids I mentioned? Well for the first 25 minutes this one boy about age 11 was shouting every few seconds with zero supervision from the moms in the next booth. I kept looking over… the businessmen also kept looking over. It was just not an acceptable level of shouting. Finally while he is watching a movie on his IPad and giving scene by scene commentary he shouts «wow now he taking off his robe!». (What kind of movie is this kid watching!) It was truly like an out of body experience but somehow I look over at him and go «Shhhh!». Something had snapped in me. Out of all the noise her child was making, my one shush finally got his mom’s attention. She then looks at me and points her finger at me and says, «I’ll take care of this.» Well finally… yes…why don’t you do that lady? She moves him to the inside of the booth. He continues to make tons of noise and shout and now I have to deal with the moms saying, «How incredibly rude to shush another persons child!» loud enough for me to hear. The businessmen give a nod in thanks to me.
Okay so we are eating away. Remember that lone guy at the table? Well apparently he is the owner. He comes over and asks us how our food was. Good we say. He then picks up our tray with food still in it! I have to say to him, «Can we finish that?» Sighhhh. He then goes over to check on the mom/​kid booths and says hello to them BY NAME. So clearly they are regulars. You mean to tell me that the owner was sitting there the whole time and letting this kid disrupt every other diner in his restaurant? Does he not have a single ounce of common sense or respect for his other patrons? Let’s go back to the fact that as I said before this place is huge. Perhaps sir, you should put your diners with obnoxious children in one room and your couples and business people in another.
We get the call that our car is done. Amen. We have to wait a few minutes for our check. It comes in an Amex credit card holder… a clear indication that you pay at your booth. Well I guess not during lunchtime. We sit there and wait until finally we walk to the front to pay. The rules of logic just do not apply at Cessie’s apparently.
Clueless wait staff, oblivious owner and mediocre food. Just horrific. The only bright spot is the giggles and high fives that I get from all our friends when I tell them how I actually shushed an obnoxious kid. So that is my review of my first and definitely last experience at Cessie’s.

Cessie’s fits the bill for quality, family-​owned and NY authentic pizza in Denver. The mozzarella garlic knots are delicious– I swear that one could easily eat an entire pan by themselves. Resist! The NY deep dish is really great if you’re in the mood to carboload (hello, you are reading a review for an Italian pizzeria). The owner is really great and personable.
As far as pizza goes around here, give Cessie’s some business before any of the chains.

The pizza is ok nothing to brag about and the service sucks had to go to the counter to get my drinks refilled and they looked at me like I had three heads.

Me and the wife love locally family owned businesses. This little Italian joint is a great place if you’re looking for the same. The sauce is just like my grandmothers, first fork load of spaghetti sent my mind racing with nostalgia. Chicken Parm was decent, I was trying to decide between that and the eggplant. Next time I’m definitely going for the eggplant. We normally do take out and portion sizes are perfect. Overall it’s a great place to enjoy a Sunday dinner with familia!

This used to be our favorite place for pizza in the area, but our last few visits have been quite disappointing. On our latest visit the pizza crust was somewhat burnt. Hard to believe when there was at least four people standing around in the kitchen talking. There was also numerous wait staff just standing around. The time before that the pizza was under cooked. I’m assuming the changes of ownership have a lot to do with it.

My wife, and I are originally from NY State, and love finding good quality, affordable Pizza, and Wings that remind us of home. This place is it.
Service was courteous and friendly. The owner is a gregarious old NY Italian guy, and it makes sure everyone who comes has a great experience.

This is the best pizza & pasta dishes at the lake by far. This place is the real deal starting with the New York atmosphere & making you feel at home from the start. Great food at at very modest price. You will have food left over to take home. The Meatballs & sauces are delicious & all the breads /​desserts are made daily right there. Italian food at its Finest…

The pizza is sooooo good! Also, salad with chicken that was cooked and breaded perfectly. I went with balsamic dressing which I wish was bottled to take home. Will be back!

This is amazing pizza. The dough is perfect and even though I am not vegetarian, I love the flavor of their veggie pizza. Also love the fact that you can buy it by the slice.

Food is pretty good. Staff is sweet. Pizza is inconsistent but staff is lovely. The dinners are usually very good. Pizza could improve some.

What happened to this place? It used to be amazing pizza and great chocolate cake. I went in every week while I was building my house down the road. The last two times I was there with my family it took 20 minutes for the Caesar salad to come out with the now dinky and flat pizza following less than a minute behind it. There was nobody in there, so what gives? The chocolate cake in the display case does not resemble the mushy pile of goo that was brought to the table, which for $ 5.95 is a joke. Clearly this place has gone through some kind of change in management or ownership in the past year and it’s NOT GOOD. In addition to all of this, the waitstaff is always unfriendly despite the fact I always tip them 20% to snear at me and act put out when I request silverware. Add the fact that they have no idea what a dimmer switch is (the lights are so bright you feel like you are at WALMART instead of an Italian restaurant) and you’ve got mediocre to lousy food in a bad atmosphere with bad service. That’s quite a combination! May as well go to Giovanni’s down the road, better pizza and they actually have a very nice lady working there that brings my dog treats in the parking lot!

Third times a charm, right? Nope. It’s not.
The first time I went I ordered the Chicken francaise. Did I get chicken francaise? No. Did they say it was? Yes. I honestly can’t figure this one out. I grew up eating francaise and I have NO clue what that was. I was even with my Italian uncle, but that didn’t stop them from saying it was.
Last time I went my meals were very, very average. Their spaghetti sauce is very watery and bland. Not like the delicious Italian spices that I grew up with. I thought the meat was very dry and a little tough too.
That being said, the owner is an incredibly kind and generous man. Every time we’ve been there, he came out to check on our meal and just ask my family how we’ve been doing. We definitely appreciate that level of service. He even brought out a nice Italian dessert for free for my younger nieces. He’s really great and understand customer service.

Ever since the change of hands, Cessie’s has let us down. Orders have been wrong 4 out of 5 times. The pizza is also extremely disappointing… barely any sauce, and even when we asked specifically for extra, it appeared to be thrown on haphazardly as an afterthought in giant blobs on the already cooked pizza. Don’t think we will be giving Cessie’s any more chances.

My family visited Cessie’s on our way back from a soccer tournament and had a great meal. We started with some garlic knots and they were outstanding — very garlicky and buttery. The kids shared a pizza, and my husband and I tried a slice to see how it was and it was just how we like it! The crust had a great crispness on the outside and was perfectly chewy on the inside; the sauce was good, and the toppings were generous. I had a garden salad and the ingredients were very fresh and consisted of what I consider «real» lettuce, not iceberg. My husband and I shared the penne a la vodka and the vodka sauce was simply one of the best we’ve tasted. We will definitely go back again the next time we are in the Denver area.

We ate there last night. I had a salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Husband had the stuffed crust pizza which was to die for. The garlic knots are amazing. The Italian wedding soup was very hearty. The service was fast and efficient. We will definitely be back.

I have continued to order pizza from cessie’s because they are still the best pizza around. However, their quality is not always consistent.
My friends and I ordered Cessie’s delivery last night upon the recommendation of one of my neighbors. We got the meat lovers pizza and a white pizza — both were excellent! The hand tossed crust was delicious and there were lots of toppings on both pizzas. Delicious! I will definitely be ordering from Cessie’s again!

This place used to be good when the former owners had it. I’ve been there three times giving them the benefit of the doubt. Each time I have been truly disappointed. On my first visit there after the new owners purchased it I said to them I hope you did not change anything. He said we made it better, change the sauce change the cheese and took the bacon grease out of the dough.
They shouldn’t have changed anything because the sauce is tasteless, the crust is nothing like it used to be, and the cheese is a molten pile of grease because they are using an inferior cheese. My son got the manicotti which didn’t even seem cooked. The center was barely warm and the cheese was watery and had no texture or shape.
Now being in to the area I was very excited to find my vacation home with a wonderful pizza shop so close by. That only lasted a few months because now that it sold it is absolutely awful and I would not recommend anyone going to this place. It is sad that when you buy a business that is successful that you go and make radical changes without first evaluating your clientele.
One more shot… Tried a cheesesteak but got a bun with lettuce! Took almost 30 minutes to get food… I WAS THE ONLY ONE IN THE RESTAURANT. Waitress was pleasant but that’s about it. WHERE THE BEEF??? See picture above! I’m done here.

My family and I love this place, which was formerly Brooklyn Brothers. With the change in name and management, things have only gotten better. My favorite is the Eggplant Parmesan. Be sure to ask for Nona’s sauce, which is chunky and sweet. The pizza is also great and they now deliver, which is nice for evenings in.

Ok, here’s my update.
Went by for a large cheese and Calzone. I will not be going back again.
Pizza: Sauce was very watery; the amount of cheese they put on their pies is disgusting. The center of the pizza was simply inedible.
Calzone: Nothing new to report. Not worth getting again.
All in all, I will not be back for pizza. It’s just not NY style and not for me.