Last week, Grimaldi's Pizzeria hosted my family and I as representatives Macaroni Kid Flagstaff! The timing worked out so well, that we were able to go out for my birthday, which made it extra fun! I had never been to a Grimaldi's even though I've lived in a few cities that had locations in them, so I was excited to check it out and see if it was going to meet my "family-friendly" criteria.
The Flagstaff Grimaldi's is fairly centrally located in Sawmill Plaza, which is always a fun place to go check out! We went on a Sunday evening, so it wasn't too busy and parking was easily accessible. I took my husband, my in-laws, and my 2 young kids, so we had a variety of ages and tastes to accommodate.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere of the restaurant was relaxed and fun, but that was balanced with slightly fancier decor than some of the other pizza places in town we frequent. There were wine bottle light fixtures hanging from the ceiling and table cloths and cloth napkins. Those things made me a little nervous with my kids because they can be a little crazy and I didn't want them to pull everything off the table with the table cloth! With a 3 and 5 year old, we don't often go out to places they could destroy! There is also a patio and a bar that gave the restaurant a fun vibe as well as a couple of people with their dogs.
Service
Overall, our service was really good. Food came out in a reasonable time. Everything came out in the correct order and our drinks were refilled appropriately. Our waiter was really sweet and attentive and they staff all helped each other out with food running and refilling drinks. It wasn't very busy at the time, so I would be curious to see how it ends up with a big-ish group again when they're busy.
Food
Our food was very good. The portion sizes were generous and I was not expecting our pizza to be as big as it was! We ordered an appatizer, salads, pizza and a calzone. I asked how many people the large pizza served and was told it had 8 pieces, so I ordered it for me and my kids. It was huge and I could have easily ordered the medium for us and had more than enough. My husband didn't ask about his calzone and it was incredibly big! I've never seen a calzone that huge!
(I had to sneak in a bite of tiramisu before taking the picture!)
Family Friendliness
Overall, I'd say the restaurant was fairly family friendly; however, there weren't any other kids there when we were there. They offered my kids a little plate of dough to play with along with a coloring page and crayons. Those types of things make my kids happy and keep them entertained for a while! My kids must check out every public restroom in town, so of course, we visited the one in Grimaldi's too! The one thing I noticed was that they had a decorative sink that was oddly shaped and it was way too big for my kids to stand in front of and have their hands under the water, so I picked them up for that. That's not really that big of a deal, but it did stand out to me while we were there.
Overall, we enjoyed our experience at Grimaldi's and we would definitely go back again!
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