Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza & Restaurant

This place made great food at a great value. I was a regular and probably had take out once a week. Unfortunately, they closed in May 31 with no notice.

Good food, great ambiance. Came for dinner and sat outside. It’s a cute patio area with lights strung from palm tree to palm tree. One of the more ~classier~ places in ybor. Got a personal 12″ pizza which was good. Nothing spectacular to write home about but it was good. They charge quite a bit for extra toppings though. That’s a bit extreme. Their garlic bread is also good. Not your typical garlic knots that are just drenched in garlic and oil. They are slices of French (?) bread with a garlic spread. We also got gelato that was very tasty. Too tasty. The one thing that was really ridiculous was my friend got a not your fathers root beer and was charged $ 10. You could get a 6 pack of that for less.

A very good pizza/​italian restaurant in Ybor. Almost hidden in a large courtyard on the corner of 17^th and 8^th Ave. Coal fired pizza is thin crisp crust. We tried half 4-​cheese and margharita pepperoni, with side caesar salads. The cheese was not as good as the generous toppings at Anthony’s but the margharia was excellent. At the end, they offered samples of cappuchino and nutella home-​made gelato, persuading us to share a full serving. Very efficient service and parking available at surface city lots.

Best Pizza I have EVER ATE and I eat alot of Pizza to know good from bad… Cristino’s is Best I’ve had Ever…

On the way to the ghost tours, we stopped in last night for pizza. We ordered the pizza, with pepperoni and meatballs, wings, and pasta. All the food was good. Would highly recommend them to all. They serve cold beer and many different favors of gelato also.

Eggplant parm is great here ! Get the entrée it comes with very tasty veggies and pasta. It’s a perfect meal and just enough cheese. There sauce is perfect blend very fresh. I have had there pizza which is good but I prefer there pasta. Friendly people working there.

Enjoyed a very nice dinner on the patio on a recent Thursday evening. Ordered bruschetta to start, a pizza, and topped it off with the cannoli. The pizza was terrific, and we washed it down with several beers from their nice selection of locals. The cannoli was excellent. The patio provided a very casual, relaxing environment and they provided great service. We’ll be back for sure.

Was in Tampa today for Pride and stopped in to get a pizza. They have a great outdoor seating area and outdoor bar. The service was great. The pizza is amazing, cooked Ina coal oven (only took 10 min). We had Quatro Fromaggio and it was really good. Enjoy!

My favorite pizza place in Ybor City! I had dinner here for about 20 people last Thursday night to celebrate with some friends and we couldn’t have been more pleased with our venue selection!
We ate outside and felt like we were in an Italian villa! We ordered Fried Calamari and Eggplant Rollati as appetizers — both of which were delicious. The Arugula and Caesar salads were fantastic and our selection of four different pizzas were outstanding. I could not have been more pleased with the service, atmosphere, and food. This was not my first time dining at Cristino’s and definitely cannot wait to be back!

Tasty. Very nice space. Large patio and effective space heaters when it’s chilly The brick oven pizza was quite good. We also liked the flounder puttanesca dish we had and the roasted veg antipasta. Mangia.

Parked nearby to go to GameTime noticed their cute courtyard and menu, came back around 5pm (Friday) and glad we did!
Sat in the cute and quiet courtyard while the sun set and the temperature was perfect.
Our server, Ladey, was very attentive and told us to sit anywhere we like — only a few other parties present.
We got water quickly and ordered the fried ravioli appetizer… nothing extraordinary, but came quick and we were hungry. Arrived hot and hit the spot.
I asked Ladey for her recommendation out of the manicotti, ravioli, penne vodka and tortellini and she said the latter — tortellini, which is what I got with added grilled chicken. My boyfriend got the manicotti. Both were amazing, but I preferred the tortellini. The vodka sauce is the best I’ve ever had.
Ladey even asked if we wanted some extra garlic bread for our leftover sauce.
All in all, one of the top Italian places in Tampa, maybe second to Gino’s off Armenia.

Saturday night, wanted a pizza… didn’t want to leave the house… solution: order from Cristino’s! They never disappoint and even deliver to our area!
Called in our order was was attended to in a friendly and quick manner. Ordered a Margarita with prosciutto, and an order of their wings.
Pizza was delivered promptly, approximately 35 minutes from placing my call. The driver was super friendly and personable. That’s always a plus in my book as I was a delivery driver for PH 25 years ago.
Pizza was delicious, and wings were on point. We like the wings a little crispy, and these were «just right». Next time we’ll ask for extra basil. I love fresh basil on pizza!
All in all a good and solid experience.
Total for wings and pizza was $ 22 and a $ 5 tip!

Cristino’s was my third choice after one was closed by the health department and the other wasn’t open on a Monday night. There were only a couple of other people here on a quiet night.
The pizza was rather boring and a little tasteless. Plenty of sliced tomato but very light on the fresh basil and the $ 2.50 for meatball on top was skimpy. It was just okay.

Cristino’s has Florida locations in Clearwater and Tampa, and I ate at their restaurant in the Ybor City District of Tampa. It featured nice indoor and outdoor dining areas as well as a menu with much more than just coal oven pizza, such as appetizers, salads, pasta, paninis, fish, and gelato. I began my meal with their Mozzarella In Carozza appetizer, which were basically giant fried mozzarella sticks. The breading of the Mozzarella In Carozza is soft and airy, which almost made it taste like elephant ears stuffed with cheese, minus the cinnamon.
Cristino’s offers several different 12 and 16-​inch pizzas, and I ordered their Margherita DeLusso consisting of tomato sauce, homemade mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and oregano. The crust on my Margherita DeLusso was done just as I like it; only very slightly blackened and still soft. The sauce was also excellent, and it paired nicely with the slices of tomato. You could tell the cheese was the good sliced mozzarella as opposed to shredded, and it was very flavorful. Lastly, even the taste of the basil stood out, and it was very noticeably missing on bites without it.
While I was unable to try to pizzeria right next door, Bernini’s, I still highly recommend Cristino’s without being able to compare the two. Ybor City seemed to be a very bar-​heavy area of Tampa, but Cristino’s offers a nice relaxing dining environment while also having a small selection of beer, wine, and cocktails.

I come from a yuge Italian family and grew up with delicious homemade Italian that puts chains like olive garden to shame. With that being said, I think I have respectable standards for Italian and pizza, and Cristino’s blew me away! Not only have I loved every dish I’ve had here, but I brought my big Italian family for a special occasion and they were equally impressed. Their appetizers are on point, their pizzas have that great crispy crust and amazing taste, their main entrees are filling and delicious, and their desserts will make you wish you had skipped the first three courses. I especially recommend their tiramisu, a secret family recipe, from what I hear… Their service is fast, friendly, and attentive, and all of this for very reasonable prices. This is by far my single favorite restaurant in Tampa, and I recommend it to everyone.
They have a lovely patio outside, and they even deliver if you live in the immediate area. I recommend this for families, date nights, groups, everyone, and anyone. Also, because it’s a blocks up on 8^th ave instead of 7^th ave, it’s not mobbed by the rowdy Ybor foot traffic. They even have Wi-​Fi!
I’m trying to think of negatives to be fair, but I honestly have no criticisms. I know I a less stellar review regarding service, but I’ve been here a half dozen times, and always had great service. I miss this place if I go to other Italian restaurants, and I don’t know what I’m going to do if I move away from Tampa.

Food is as good as I remember in it’s original location. It was dead this Sunday afternoon, so our service was excellent– plus $ 2 martinis! You can’t beat that!
Quattro frommagio, wings and portobello salad, ending with gelato– my fav pizza (from this Italian girl)! Go

I’ve been to Cristino’s maybe 4 – 5 times and I’m always left underwhelmed; however, I’ve never tried the pizza (they don’t sell by the slice). But I’ve had the meatball sub and a couple pasta dishes. They’ve all been just average. My biggest gripe is the service. There always seem to be some kind of glitch when it comes to my order. The staff is always welcoming and friendly but once they gave my order to someone else and they had to remake it, waste of another 15 minutes. Last time I went, I was in a bit of a rush and the lady taking my order said my meatball sandwich would take 5 – 6 minutes. Wrong! How about 25 minutes? 25 minutes… to make a meatball sandwich! And they weren’t even busy. I really don’t understand that. Again, like other experiences I’ve had lately at other restaurants, no apologies or explanation, especially after saying it would take only 5 – 6 minutes.
I just don’t see myself going back when there are other options in Ybor. I’ve given them plenty of opportunities. On the bright side, the restaurant and outdoor patio is very attractive. They did a nice job renovating the space. And they make decent gelato; not the best around but good enough if you want some in Ybor.

Ugh… I went in with such high hopes since I love the Cristino’s in Clearwater, and I left SO disappointed.
The restaurant is nice — has a great outdoor patio, and plenty of tables indoors. One family had spread out over the entire front half of the dining room, so we maneuvered to the quiet back half of the room. Our server was nice and friendly, and our order was placed in no time.
Pizza came out quickly, and that’s where the good times ended. I almost couldn’t believe how bad it was. It tasted like freezer, or refrigerator, and we even asked the nearby manager if they freeze their dough. He said ‘no, it’s made fresh every day’ so it must have been the sauce.
Plus — the pizza wasn’t cooked correctly — I would have a warm bite, and then my next bite would be into cold sauce. Bizarre! I actually didn’t finish one of my pieces, which is unheard of for me. So sad because there is so much potential, but all in all, it was just a fail.

Pretty solid pizza, friendly yet sometimes inattentive staff and fashionably quaint décor.
There are different types of pizza in the world, and I tend to fancy the NY sort. My second favorite is the fire/​coal oven sort, and that’s what they serve up here at Cristino’s.
Once you make it past the smelly garbage cans leaking dumpster juice into the alley, you’re immediately welcomed by a large patio area with a bar and plenty of outside seating. I imagine that during any other time of the year, it looks great out there. However, it’s fall and the patio was littered with leaves from the looming oak trees. I saw a few employees doing a whole lotta nothing, and I think they should have been sweeping.
Inside, La Chica and I walked past the hostess, who appeared to be taking an order over the phone. She looked like she wanted to help, but couldn’t, so we went straight for the bar. We were greeted by a kid who said, «If you’re ordering drinks, I’ll have to get you a real bartender. I’m just making a drink for the owner.» During my visit here, I saw and made eye contact with the owner 4 or 5 times. Not once did he acknowledge me, ask how I was doing or inquire about my perception of the staff or service. Just a side note.
While waiting for a «real» bartender, it was hard not to notice the pizza cook standing by the ovens eating. It was just gelato, but I don’t think employees should be eating in the area where pizzas are slapped out, topped and baked. Go grab a seat dude!
A «real» bartender came over, greeted us, took our food and drink orders. The kid was friendly and very sociable. Problem is, once he dropped off our food, he disappeared. My drink sat empty, and was never refilled, despite two separate employees stopping by the bar area to make drinks for other tables.
As for the food, we ordered a 12″ pizza margherita with sausage. The pizza came quick. Those coal ovens must burn at 600 degrees or something like that because the pie seriously came out in 6 – 7 minutes. It was hot, fresh and delicious. There’s nothing like coal oven pizza crust. My only suggestion would be just a tad bit more cheese. I realize that with a margherita, the pizza doesn’t get complete cheese coverage, but I found the cheese serving on mine to be sparse at best.
Would I go back? Probably not. The pizza around the corner at Bellini is cooked in a similar over, and the service is a bit more attentive. Plus, the manager there almost always talks to the guests.

In my humble opinión. the 12 Inch pizza pie I shared with the wife beats Grimaldi’s.
This place took me back to Mary’s pizzeria on 2^nd ave in East Harlem.
This has To be the best pie I’ve eaten South of East Harlem.
The thickness, the sauce, the mozzarella all blended perfectly into this wonderful pie.
Let me not forgot our waitress. She was great.
Highly recommend the pizza pie.
PS not greasy like most places.