Republic Pi

Southhill’s Republic Pi tosses boldly-flavored wood-fired pizza (no wonder, it’s a sister restaurant to Flying Goat). Roosevelt swirl fries are hearty and delicious. Sip draft beers, watch sports on 4 large tv screens. Service is fast and friendly. 3-season outdoor seating. This place has bragging rights - the food is damn good.

I would give negative stars if I could. After the treatment I received this evening from a staff member named Nate (allegedly a manager), I am never returning here again, and unless you enjoy burnt food served to you with disdain and arrogance, I do not recommend giving any money to this restaurant. I used to order pizza here regularly, 3-4 times per month. During the last year the pizzas have been increasingly burnt on the bottom, 1/3 to 1/2 charred pitch black, bitter to the palate and inedible, far beyond an inappropriate amount of the "wood fire char" that is their brand identity. A few of the staff members are extremely helpful when this happens, they apologize with sincerity, concur that it was burnt and inedible, and they politely offer to remake the order, on two occasions I was even given nominal gift cards due to the inconvenience of needing to wait for the order to be remade. For whatever reason Nate takes it personally when I bring to his attention that the pizza is burnt and somehow from his perspective their mistake becomes my fault. Tonight, he was not only rude but extremely aggressive, he came to the other side of the counter into my personal space, towering over me and waving his arms in the air while screaming about how according to him I complain every time when in reality I have been served by him only two times (actually the last time I was there about two weeks ago when he wasn't working my pizzas were properly made and not burnt, I made no complaints, and I was relieved not to have to request and to wait for yet another order refire). Also, as other reviewers have noted, there are other staff members that are extremely condescending and rude. It's truly a shame, the toppings are exceptional, and this place has the potential to be the best pizza restaurant in Spokane, however the execution is abysmal and most of all the "customer service" is outright unacceptable. I worked in restaurants for 20 years, I spent 7 years as a front of the house manager, and I would never allow a customer or more importantly a co-worker to be treated in the threatening way Nate behaved; he should not be working with the public, and he would benefit from attending an anger management class. Thanks to Nate, I am done playing burnt pizza roulette with this place. I have never taken the time to write a negative review for any business, but I feel a duty to warn others in an attempt to spare them the disappointment of getting burnt food and the discomfort of navigating Nate's wrath.

Stopped here for a spontaneous lunch and I’m so glad we did. We shared the Cobb salad and Wilson pizza. The salad was packed full of fresh ingredients and the house made Gorgonzola dressing was soo good! The pizza had smoked chicken, thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes, green onions, and roasted garlic. I love Republic’s garlic cream sauce base. Also enjoyed was a flight of local beers. Service was fast and friendly!

We stopped here for lunch over the weekend and were very impressed with the excellent food and outstanding service! We were in a bit of a time crunch and were not sure if we’d be able to sit down and get our food within a 45 minute frame (though it appeared to be not very busy). Our server Jacqueline, who greeted us promptly at the door, was friendly and assured us this would be no problem as we brought it to her attention. She put in our orders and got our food and bill out to us quickly without making us feel rushed. Needless to say we will definitely be back again—when we have some more time to soak up the warm, pub atmosphere.