Pizzeria La Gitana - Olympia

"If you’re reading my review, you’re probably asking yourself why I gave this place three stars, when I gave all the individual categories four or more stars. There is a reason, and if you are interested, then please read on… First of all, I want to start out by saying all the good things about this place because there are many. The atmosphere is wonderful and cozy without sacrificing classy. The light accents are excellent. The music is calm and enjoyable. They have a spectacular stone hearth centerstage in the open kitchen. Great wine list. The food ingredients must be locally sourced and are fresh; very high-quality and tasty. The appetizer I had, which was a cheese selection, was perfectly done with just the right amount of the savory sides. And my waitress Sarah was excellent. She timed everything perfectly, and was very nice and approachable. Would love to have her again. So why the three-start overall review? In two words: the pizza sauce. If this restaurant had been advertised as just an Italian restaurant that happened to serve some pizzas, I would’ve given this place four if not five stars. But because they advertise it as a pizzeria, front and center, I cannot forgive what they have done, or more accurately not done, to their pizza sauce. To the point, their pizza sauce is nothing more than a plain unseasoned tomato purée. That is it. No salt, no seasoning of any kind. Just plain tomatoes, puréed in a blender to a sauce like consistency. I don’t know about you, but I look for more in my pizza sauce than that. Maybe I am ignorant, and authentic Italians like to put plain flavorless tomato purée on their pizzas for their red sauce, maybe they don’t. I am inclined to think they don’t do that, because Italians love their salt and their flavor. But in any case, that is what this place has done. I’m going to ask my Italian friend what’s up with their pizzas in Italy. The first few bites were a confusing mix of enjoyment and disappointment. I was tasting the sausage, and the mushrooms and the pepperoni. Everything was great. But what was happening, there was no robust flavor. What was it missing? And then dawned on me…Where was the red sauce? The place uses a thin crust, so it is important to go light on the sauce so that you don’t reduce the crust to a mush. This, therefore, is all the more of an important reason to season your sauce. If there isn’t much of it, you need to make it represent for what little bit is there. But La Gitana did not do this. I was eating pizza, essentially without the flavor of sauce. I don’t understand why any place that calls itself a pizzeria would shoot themselves in the foot by doing this to their pizzas. Why? How much money and time could it possibly take to infuse some flavor via some salt and other seasonings to a sauce? I mean they spent a lot of money and time on everything else, but the sauce? Hello guys… Do you think when you’re putting food together, you could have someone, I don’t know, wander by the sauce pot and put some salt or something in it? Since this otherwise wonderful place has chosen to underserve their pizzas in such a basic way, I cannot give them any more than three stars. I simply can’t do it. It pains me, because I really wanted to give them five stars. But this is just culinary lunacy. If they weren’t so good otherwise, I wouldn’t have even bothered. Like imagine you’re a parent and you’re watching your kids’ Little League local football game, and for whatever reason not much has been put into the team over the years, and they suck, and everyone knows they suck, so you’re there and cheer your kid because you’re a good parent, but that’s where it ends. Not much is going to go into the peptalk. But now imagine you have a super spectacular known statewide Little League team, and they have everything going for them to be nationally known, but they lose games because someone forgot to field the quarterback. Can you imagine the amount of peptalk that would go in to that team and at that coach to get it where it needs to be? Yup. Same here. Same type of rant."

"The food here is great, and they prioritize working with local organic sources and supporting dietary restrictions. The food has all been amazing, and the service was good as well. It is a bit more expensive but definitely worth it. If you are going for dinner, I recommend a reservation as it has really filled up both times we have been here."

"Fantastic! This is the best restaurant experience I’ve had since moving to Washington State earlier this fall. Justin, our server, was extremely polite, professional, and prompt with service. The pizza was delicious and they accommodated my unorthodox requests for multiple toppings on one side without charging extra. The chocolate cake is homemade and delicious."

"I was taking a stroll downtown last night and was drawn in to La Gitana by the cozy atmosphere. The service was really great and the food tasted excellent. I had the chicken pesto fettuccine with a salad. The flavor was just right as far as being not overly spiced. The portion of the food was not put out to impress by size (which can be a sign of bad food) but the exact quantity that will fill you up. I thought the prices on the menu were very decent. I will come back. Thank you for my dinner and my experience!"

"I’ll start off with the positives. The service was good, and the restaurant itself is cute inside. Don’t let the ambiance fool you into thinking the food will be good though. We were sorely disappointed. We had the tomato & basil pizza, and the bolognese pasta. Both were downright awful. I have had MANY bolognese pastas and I can easily say this is the worst I’ve ever had. It was so bland with hardly any meat and big chunks of tomato. I would honestly compare it to a frozen tv dinner. The pizza was also terrible. Who puts cold chopped tomatoes on a hot pizza? So odd and just not good. I would give the food 0 stars if I could."