Symposium business card dating anywhere between 2003 and 2009. The restaurant may still use this design but it is not verified.
| Location |
| 1620 E 8th St. in the Davis Manor shopping center |
| Hours |
| Dinner |
| Mon-Thu: 5:00 PM - 9:30 PM |
| Fri-Sat: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM |
| Lunch |
| Mon-Fri: 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM |
| Experimental |
| Sun: 4:30 PM - 8 PM. Pizza & salads only |
| Phone |
| (530) 756-3850 (if they don't pick up, call back in a few minutes) |
| Web site |
| http://symposiumpizza.com |
| (old site was: http://www.symposiumdavis.net/) |
| Menu |
| Here |
Large Pepperoni and Feta Cheese 
Spanakotiro PizzaSymposium Restaurant & Pizza House is a highly rated, reasonably priced Greek restaurant that offers truly excellent pizza and other Mediterranean specialties. When stepping into or ordering from Symposium, the main thing that you need to keep in mind is that they are not an Italian restaurant, so things like pizza and pasta are greek versions rather than their Italian-American cuisine counterparts. For example, if you order sausage on your pizza, you will get kielbasa instead of the more common Italian sausage,
Of restaurants with over 30 reviews, Symposium has the highest rated pizza of any pizza restaurant in the country on The Barstool Sports One Bite Pizza App, with an average score of 9.6/10.
The ambience creates a nice place to have a quiet celebration. It's slightly dark, and has the appeal of being a long-time resident in an out of the way neighborhood. It is a "real" restaurant and not just a pizza joint, which, paired with the darker lighting, makes it a good location for a date. Some items like their flaming cheese are served flambé, soaked with spirits and set aflame at the side of the table. If you walk in, you will be seated for your meal, which includes being waited on. The servers are uniformly polite and competent, you can usually get a seat quickly even on a Friday or Saturday night, and there's usually not a long delay in getting your food. As is typical for sit-down restaurants, gratuity and drinks can add up, but food can always be ordered to go.
It is the favored Greek restaurant by several members of the Sacramento Greek community for authentic Greek food. LokiAbbi noted that she had, "just returned from a trip to Greece and remembering the Taramosalata at Symposium I had to try it IN Greece. To the point, the Symposium version was as authentic and tasty as what I had in Greece".
Symposium is lauded for, and is a good deal for pizza. Items like feta cheese and other toppings not typically found at other pizza joints are available and the crust is unlike you will find anywhere else.
Famous people such as Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, Ronald Reagan, Amy Adams, Arnold Schwarzeneger, John McCain, Adam Saldana, Peter Falk, John Wayne, Lizzy Allen, Hugh Hefner, Ray Rice, Brock Purdy, Jimmy G, Dustin Pedroia, Seth Mcfarlane, Vanessa Hudgens, Avril Lavigne, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Michael J Fox, Steve Young, Joe Montana, Keelan Doss, Demarcus Cousins, Harry Giles, Marvin Bagley, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Bojan Bogdaonvic, Omri Casspi, Frank Mason, Davion Mitchell, Trey Lyles, Alex Len, Pooh Jeter, Quincy Douby, Spencer Hawes, Cuttino Mobley, Matt Cain, Moises Alou, Marquis Grissom, Endy Chavez, Tim Lincecum, Vince Carter, Berner, Albert Pujols, Grant Napier, Gary Carter, Tito Fuentes, Heidi Watney, Nick Watney, Scott Podsednik, Bobby Jenks, Paul Konerko, Jason Tyner, Logan Webb, Raheem Mostert, Cher, Jim Les, Austin Hedges, Greg Vaughn, Mo Vaughn, Hillary Clinton, and Shaq Thompson have all dined at Symposium.
SF Giants ace Logan Webb is a vocal supporter of Symposium and has posted on social media multiple times about how amazing Symposium pizza's are. Logan has noted he orders them extra crispy.
Favorites
include the Niko's Special (pepperoni and feta pizza) and tzatziki, the spaghetti, the moussaka (eggplant, beef, and bechamel sauce, layered like a lasagna, and also available vegetarian). Other side or appetizer items that people like include the lemon-rice soup and their peasant salad.
2005-07-13 15:34:01 their spaghetti has a sweet cinnamon taste, not my cup of tea —StephanieLiese
2005-07-17 16:03:41 This is a nice place to have a quiet celebration. It's slightly dark, and has the appeal of being a long-time resident in an out of the way neighborhood. —NoelBruening
2005-08-13 11:25:32 I was disappointed with their gyro plate. It's expensive, and not that good. —AlexPomeranz
2005-08-20 14:35:50 Symposium is a good deal in terms of their pizza. You get a lot of food for your money, even though their base prices are a little high. Also the quality of their pizzas are pretty amazing. Their greek food is pretty good, but sometimes quality is uneven. It's best to come in with a big group and order several things, becuase overall things will be excellent—a nice breath of fresh air in Davis' culinary monotony. —JaimeRaba
2005-08-20 18:53:57 I had a large feta cheese and pepperoni pizza which was delicious. The price was in line with other pizza joints and the pizza was pretty big. —PhilipNeustrom
2005-09-19 14:23:50 I didn't realize it was a "real" restaurant (and not just a pizza joint) until we got there, as my wife had only mentioned it as a place to get pizza. We walked in and were seated for our meal, which includes being waited on. The prices were reasonable but the gratuity and drinks added up. Next time I'll order it to go. We did like the pizza. They use kielbasa (Polish sausage) instead of Italian sausage, which was a bit of a surprise but whether that's good or bad depends on your taste. I liked it, my daughter didn't. —JeffreyNonken
2005-10-01 18:38:15 Try the Nikko Special. It's to die for! I haven't eaten in there in a long time...I'm overdue! —BrettCoder
2005-10-02 00:26:41 Do they deliver?!? —ThomasFifield
2006-02-03 15:32:01 I loved the spaghetti. The place is very nice. The servers are uniformly polite and competent, you can usually get a seat quickly even on a Friday or Saturday night, and there's usually not a long delay in getting your food. —GrumpyoldGeek
2006-02-23 18:29:48 We ate there recently and I believe this restaurant has the best pizza in Davis. It is absolutely superb. Authentic food, great service, and cozy atmosphere make this a Davis original. Grade A. —FromBayarea
2006-04-04 13:33:58 i ordered a salad and a spinach and mushroom pizza. both the salad and pizza were way tooo salty. I couldn't even finish a slice. I've never had a salty salad before and I don't think I will be going back. —PattyLouieJunior
2006-04-05 08:49:05 Apparently it is a pretty authentic Greek Restaurant. I have asked several members of the Sacramento Greek community, and this is where they go when they want good greek food. —RogerClark
- quite a shocking comment. Sac must not have very many decent greek places. They need to live in LA (i miss LA greek food)
2006-07-10 02:19:00 After hearing so much about their pizzas, I finally tried it the other day, and I come to the same conclusion as everyone else. Best Davis Pizza Place. I got the Spicy Greek and added Spinach to it. My roomate Cameron who frequents a lot of other places also said this was the best place so far. —AlvinTsao
2006-07-14 12:43:47 love love love the pizza, the crust is kind of like a biscuit. Dont let the ugly shopping center scare you away! —ShaunaMcKellar
2006-09-19 19:43:18 It sounds like I may have to try the pizza, though my gyro sandwich was nothing to write home about. My drink was 90% ice, too. —MichaelMurray
2006-09-26 16:20:42 How many restaurants have made it this long in Davis? Why because of quality. The food at the Symposium is very good reasonably priced and authentic. Having traveled the world,I always look forward to a wonderful meal at the Symposium. —KentSmith
2006-09-28 12:47:40 I've eaten here a few times over the years (since '99). Good food. The last time that I ate here (a few days ago: we came here after we found out that HL Sandwiches was no more), service was poor at first, but they realized it and made up for it. The pizza is very good and reasonably priced. I did, though, have the double lamb souvlaki, and given the price I didn't feel that I got a lot of food. —MisterProfessor
2006-10-18 20:05:18 Ok hears the thing about this place. It has good pizza, probably 2nd best in Davis (behind village bakery), but the rest of the menu is bad for the money. The greek dips are worse than most places and their pita is Safeway quality. I cant believe that a greak place this expensive does not make their own pita, or at least they could buy good pita. —MattHh
"2006-11-05 13:32:40" Wow, ordered a Large Symposium Special last night...it was amazing. Best pizza I've had in Davis (I haven't been to Village Bakery yet) In fact, I'm going to go eat some right now. —AdamFerguson
2007-05-14 22:13:46 Went to dinner here tonight. Pizza is AWESOME!! Will definitely go back. Next time I will not get ANYTHING else, though. Everything else is overpriced. Ended up paying 40 dollars for a soup, salad (4.50 and teeeeny tiny!), pizza, sprite, and a beer. —AmandaAbughosh
2007-05-18 09:08:20 The spinach pizza kicks ass! —EliseKane
2007-05-30 20:21:00 Their Spanakatrio (Spinach and cheese) is my favorite pizza in Davis. I don't even usually like vegetarian foods (not enough flavor without the meat!), but the cheese is so strong, its delicious! —Catan
2007-06-21 21:58:43 This place was hit or miss for us. Hits: nice atmosphere (the equivalent of "dressy causal, with a mural on the wall), very tasty moussaka (eggplant, beef, and bechamel sauce, layered like a lasagna), pretty good salad (had some iceberg lettuce, but also some greens and other things) with two choices of dressing, feta or vinaigrette (but it was a creamy vinaigrette, if there is such a thing), big warm rolls, reasonable if not amazing service. Misses: spanoko tiropita, which is spinach and feta in a flaky pasty — I usually love this dish, but this was greasy and not very flavorful; dolmas, which are grape leaves stuffed with flavored rice and, in this case, some sort of meat (although I prefer veggie ones — if that was an option, I didn't know about it) — again, just not really to my liking. We'll be back for the moussaka, no doubt, and then try something else... —CovertProfessor
- 2008-07-20 Something else ended up being pizza, and we really do like their pizza quite a bit. It can be on the greasy side, and so feels a bit decadent, but the flavor is really good. We like the spankotiro (sp?) pizza, but maybe what's even better (and a little less greasy) is to get spinach and mushroom. —CovertProfessor
2007-08-13 00:36:22 I guess maybe I'm just not used to real Greek food, if it even is. I got the steak there and omg, the sauce it came in was so sour, I had an acid reflux moment. My friend's pork chop dish was rather dry. Maybe I'll try the pizza next time. —AlXBoi
2007-09-25 19:58:57 Pizza is very good. Tied with Village Bakery (VB being more "american") and Symposium has a cookie-like crust (like Chicago). It just depends what you're in the mood for. Chewy dough or cookie dough. Either way, you won't be sorry. +Cookie-like crust +Good toppings -The strip mall where Symposium is in looks like a dump. —atwong
2007-09-26 11:52:25 I know it looks pretty sketch from the outside, but this is a nice place. Not a lot of people seem to know about it, or maybe they forget it's there, because it's not in the most central part of town so it's never extremely busy. My parents came to visit on graduation weekend and we were served right away. My dad loved the pizza, comparing it to pizza from "back in the day" when artisans actually cared about making food. He complimented the chef on his way out. The salads are amazing. I'm sad that they are not open on Sundays. —CalamityJanie
2007-09-27 00:12:22 Love love love symposium! I've know Contilo ever since I was little and she is the sweetest lady ever. The Niko's special (pepperoni and feta pizza) and tzatziki are to die for! —kell9
2007-12-19 19:55:58 I've always liked their food, especially their pizzas, and their waitresses are pretty hot, at least they were the last time I was there. —thelonepiper555
2008-01-20 18:38:13 Ate at Symposium last night. They were packed! All was delicious (it was a good night). I highly recommend ordering a bowl of their lemon-rice soup and their peasant salad with your meal. —CurlyGirl26
2008-01-21 17:58:56 My favorite- Spankotiropizza with black olives- vegetarian with spinach, feta and 2 other cheeses, plus garlic in the spinach. Delicious. I get it to go when I'm not in the mood for a sit-down meal with people waiting on me. —Joanna
2008-02-07 16:51:42 I was here on Tuesday night. Man, everything was delectable! Everything. The pizza, the dolmas, spinotropika (those spinach pastry things). What's also fun is ordering this cheese-thing. I don't remember the name. They bring it out, toss some bourbon (or some kind of booze) and set it on fire. Good times! And what remains is delicious. —CurlyGirl26
2008-02-09 20:52:41 The Greek classics are amazing. I feel guilty when I order pizza, because I know how good the rest of the menu is! —WilliamBeamish
2008-02-19 22:11:00 We've been to Symposium a couple of times with a large group (~25 people), and they've done a wonderful job hosting us. They are very flexible, the pizza was hot out of the oven, and they were able to accommodate a variety of special dietary needs. The pizza is great with loads of toppings and very filling, and the peasant salad is good too. The inside is quaint and so much better than the strip mall outside. Overall a great place to go with 2 or 25 people! —mj
2008-03-05 14:39:47 Our experience: 45 minute wait to be seated. 30 minute wait to get drink orders. A server in another section took our order because we weren't being served. Food different and edible but not fantastic. Prices too high for the quality of food. Extremely long wait for check. We think the fact that we had our toddler with us influenced how we were treated even though she was very well behaved. —dettman
2008-04-14 22:57:31 Tonight we ate at Symposium. Everything was delicious. My dinner buddy had the spaghetti and a small pepperoni pizza. I ordered a large Peasant Salad (basically a Greek salad with the usual ingredients) and the gyro plate. I enjoyed every bite and walked out stuffed. I highly recommend ordering the Peasant salad with your meal. —CurlyGirl26
2008-04-19 01:16:10 Okay, twice in one week! I'm becoming a regular here. I ordered the same thing as I did on Monday night and it was just as fabulous tonight. My buddy and I were starving after playing some tennis and this food hit the spot. Even better was that I bumped into several friends here. I LOVE Davis! —CurlyGirl26
2008-07-05 19:04:06 I've been to nearly every Pizza joint in Davis. This is the best. Their pizza has excellent cheese, tomato sauce, and crust. 3 slices and I'm stuffed. In Davis you have three legitimate options for pizza. Symposium (for deep dish style), Village Bakery (for NY style), and Papa Murphy's if you're broke. Don't bother going anywhere else. —JimBob
2008-07-07 17:00:22 Their web site appears to have been replaced with a generic yahoo ads page placeholder. Does anyone have a link or a scan of the menu? —EricWecker
2008-08-12 00:00:23 I miss their webpage too, so I scanned in a menu :) —WilliamBeamish
2008-10-15 11:06:48 Probably the best restaurant in Davis...everything I've tried on this menu is amazing... especialy LOVE their pizzas, but if you're not a fan of feta, i'd steer clear. Dolmas, Tzatziki, the eggplant dip... all amazing!
However, I've been on a Friday night and they ran out of cups so we had to wait for their dishes to be clean before we got our glass of water.... a bit odd.. but their food is so amazing that's not enough of a reason to visit this place. —StephZhu
- Yea this place gets packed on Friday and Saturday nights. I'm in here quite a lot and that has never happened to me yet. So I think it is probably a fluke. I'm glad you had a great experience! —CurlyGirl26
2008-10-24 09:35:59 I just returned from a trip to Greece and remembering the Taramosalata at Symposium I had to try it IN Greece. To the point, the Symposium version was as authentic and tasty as what I had in Greece. Love the food here. —LokiAbbi
2008-12-13 23:00:57 First time commenter, third-year lurker. I've relied on wiki feedback a lot during my time in Davis — sometimes it's led me to scary, scary places, but it's served me well for the most part. I usually use it to scope out new restaurants, which segues nicely into the main point of this comment.
Cut to Saturday night, and the significant other and I are getting hungry. The wiki claims Symposium has good pizza. Bakery is closed. :( I order a large spanakoitiro (per wiki rec), half-cheese pizza. We arrive, and the price is two dollars higher than I was quoted over the phone — $20 and change for a half-and-half, yikes! It says $18.95 on the scanned menu for a large; no discount for a half-cheese. It's already made, though and we're still hungry. We get home and dig in. But why is the cheese coming off in a separate, solid layer? Why is the crust spongy and dripping with oil... rivulets of oil? The cardboard grease-absorbing thing at the bottom was soaked, in some parts even to the back side.
We were both very disappointed, to say the least, and will not return. We're also not quite sure what to do with the rest of the pizza.
Let me end by saying that I'm not the pickiest eater I know. I am a member of the "clean plate club," and I could not finish this. —davisfoodisusuallyfine
2008-12-13 23:07:21 Hmm. I didn't mean to sound so snarky, but I'm still sad about the pizza. —davisfoodisusuallyfine
2008-12-14 00:32:54 You don't take Symposium pizza home. The crust is a thick dough, and doesn't hold up. You eat it there at the restaurant, and when you do that it is the best pizza in Davis. Always has been, probably always will be. —DonShor
- Thick dough pizzas usually don't hold up for delivery and they are utterly inedible the next day. They are quite good when fresh, however. It might be a good idea to mention that in the main entry. —jw
2008-12-14 12:27:02 Symposium pizza is amazing. —IDoNotExist
2008-12-14 19:55:57 Went there a few nights ago with some friends. Service was prompt. The lighting could use some work as it was very dim/dark, or maybe that's how it is past 9pm. Anyways, the food was pretty good. Ordered the Niko pizza and some noodle dish with big meatballs (forget the name). Definitely a bit pricey. Portions were reasonable. Got free dinner roll refills! I would consider coming back again. —BenLee
2009-03-18 15:08:09 this is a cute place(inside) the outside could use a lot of work though. the food was okay. i had the dolmas, which were extremely sour and the pizza which i found to be too soggy. the feta salad was good though as well as the service. i probably won't be back —skinnyfatgirl
2009-03-18 16:36:33 Outstanding pizza, mediocre service. Maybe it was because we were clearly college students only ordering pizza and pita. —jsogul
2009-05-06 22:09:46 A friend's professor had recommended Symposium for good Greek food, so we decided to go try it out tonight. Upon entering, the whole restaurant had a couple-y feel, as if I should've come here with my boyfriend instead of a friend. Nonetheless, the place's atmosphere was quiet-casual, good for quiet conversation. The man who seated us was polite and prompt, but we didn't feel rushed at all to just choose something to order. We ended up sharing a French onion soup, grilled twin lamb w/ salad, and a #10 Symposium pizza (small). The appetizer bread was a little dry, but my friend liked it. Salad with fetta cheese was DELICIOUS, as was the French onion soup. The layer of cheese/ soaked bread at the surface of the soup gave it a chewy and flavorful texture. Our pizza and lamb came shortly after, and we each had a slice of perfectly thin, crunchy, yet chewy-crusted pizza before we had to call it quits (I guess we're small eaters). Ended up splitting the pizza and the whole lamb dish to take home. Overall, I think Symposium is a little overpriced for students, but correctly priced for the food and atmosphere that it offers. The two entrees and soup rang up to $38 including tax - not bad when split between two people. I've yet to try the lamb meal because I'm still stuffed, but I'm excited for my next two meals already! —EvaL
2009-06-07 11:19:04 Symposium is amazing!! The food here is authentic Greek-Turkish and taste great! —aaron.smith
2009-06-21 00:59:54 Never had the pizza here, but I've had a couple of other dishes that were quite good. I would also highly recommend their feta dressing for salads. mmm. —Babhari
2009-06-26 22:48:31 OKAY folks, I really wanted to like this place, trust me, I did.. I heard that they made awesome pizza, so naturally, we wanted to try it. Unfortunately, the service and staff were terrible. First, as we entered the restaurant, the front man at the window said someone would be with us in "just a second." We then patiently waited at the bench. The hostess then appeared about 3 minutes later and skipped us, TWICE. In fact, she did not even acknowledge our presence. I don't want to throw the race card, but was it because we were the only Asian customers in the place? Trying to be understanding, I accepted that maybe the two elderly couples that had just walked in AFTER us needed to be seated first. (The hostess also looked stressed. Her bra strap was hanging down the side of her arm the whole time we were there) We were then finally seated, and a waitress was frantically running around serving the entire restaurant. I get it, it's crowded.. But, please hire more than one waitress to run the joint! (She kept saying that she was new, for the love of god, you never say that, it's not an excuse!) The horror then began. We ordered calamari and asked for marinara sauce. The waitress came by twice to tell us that the sauce was coming, but unfortunately, it never made it to our table. We were so hungry after the 30 minute wait, that we completely monstered our appetizer sans the damn sauce. Our pizza than came after another 40 minutes. I thought our table was bad, but about three other tables were waiting to be asked if they wanted to start off with water! Okay, cue the drumroll... when our pizza finally arrived, we dug into the ooey gooey cheesy masterpiece, BUT it had a HUGE, LONG, CURLY piece of black hair in it! I then had to wait another 5 minutes to flag down the waitress. In fact, another couple across from us had to flag her down for us. At this point, we had it. We weren't upset, we were just friggin disappointed. We asked the waitress to return the pizza to the kitchen and just hand us the bill for the appetizer. Of course, we had to wait another 10 minutes for our check. She apologized about 5 times, but couldn't cleverly come up with a solution to the problem. No hard feelings, we ended up tipping the gal $5.00 for a $7.00 dish.. just cause we felt so bad. The verdict: We will NEVER come back here ever again. Period. —deathstare
2009-08-10 20:13:16 Has anyone had the deep dish crust?? Is it similar at all to Zelda's or Zachary's?? —sm0729
2009-08-15 22:02:02 The Symposium restaurant is probably without a doubt one of the best restaurants in Davis. I don't even know where to begin, but I'll start with their pizzas. In all of the 28 years I lived in Davis, their pizzas were/are the best hands down. You really can't get any better than this. They probably still do not have delivery though, but it's worth it to go pick up the best pizza in town. Their lamb kabobs also come to mind. Simply outstanding. Great atmosphere. Be prepared for a crowded dining experience! You will see why. The food and service is outstanding. —Darren22
2009-08-18 13:47:31 I ate here last week with a friend and if you order the salad, please be careful. We found a fly in ours and asked the waitress to replace it with soup. The manager did not even discount our dinner or notify the staff. Otherwise the place is nice and the food's decent. —k2011
2009-09-07 23:44:51 the pizza is decent to good, everything else appallingly bad. —JustinMehlhaff
2009-11-11 11:10:59 The Little Niko's pizza is the best in town. Get it to go. The service is kinda slow. —GJC02
2010-01-21 20:26:28 Best pizza in Davis, one of the few truly unique places to eat in this town, and one of the hands down best pizza places I've ever tried. —rfrazier
2010-01-30 18:46:39 I do love this restaurant although I wouldn't sing praises for it's pizza. It's decent for a deep dish, but its their other, authentically Greek dishes that keep me coming back. I recommend the moussaka, both the with meat and vegetarian style. Yum! As for their service, I've never encountered any prejudice towards myself or my friends for being college students. Also, I applaud the cozy, warm ambiance of the restaurant itself. Definitely would make for a great date spot. —epi
2010-03-07 18:24:15 I'm sad they're not open on Sundays. That's one of the main days of the week where my family seems to decide: "hey, let's get pizza!", and Symposium is always our 1st choice. :( —BillKendrick
2010-03-25 16:40:40 When I think of a greek pizza joint, I don't think of Symposium. I think of something like "House of Pizza" with that said this is a pretty good place to eat. I have enjoyed everything that I have ever ordered especialy the French Onion Soup. I like the pizza alot but it is not what I expect from a greek pizza joint. I think that the menu is over priced for most of the Items and that they seem to be trying to be both a Pizza Joint and a Sit Down Restaurant. The only flaw is that while trying to be both they seem to fall just short of greatness on both ends. I realy wish that Symposium would become two seperate restaurants. —JoeRandom
2010-06-13 15:42:24 Was here the other night with some friends (not going to name names but they may or may not, in fact, exist). In any case, everything was superb, as usual. We came in near closing and the food was spectacular, but the service is really what makes it. So attentive and wonderful —everyone from the host—to the waitstaff—to the kitchen crew. And what's even better, was that they held the place open for us. We didn't get out of there until after 11pm.
Do yourself a favor and get to Symposium. It's one of Davis' hidden treasures. —CurlyGirl26
2010-08-03 03:40:55 I love their Dolma's and their Pizza's, so delicious! Just as good as my other favorite Davis pizza place, Village Bakery :) —Saher
2011-05-08 08:36:09 I recently had the pleasure of taking my significant other to Symposium. Although the building and location are quite unassuming, the service was genuinely sincere. I expected not many people to be in the restaurant because the Whole Earth Festival was in full-swing but much to my surprise, the place was almost packed at a decently early hour. This isn't a problem, though, because the large spaces can accommodate many. The food was delicious, the service was fantastic, and best of all, the price was NOT outrageous. Overall, my experience was a 9/10 and I would definitely go back for seconds. —ZElliott
2011-05-08 14:31:14 OOOOOPAAAAAAA!
best appetizer ever
also peasant salad and pizza very good —StevenDaubert
2011-06-02 09:11:34 I love their pizza (best crust ever!), but I do have a complaint about their service. When I called to order the olive, green peppers, and mushroom medium pizza I asked if I could substitute green peppers for spinach. They said it would be a $2 to $3 charge. I told them I would call them back after I spoke with my husband. So, we decided that was fine and my husband called them back to place the order. When we picked the pizza up, they had charged us $5 EXTRA JUST TO SUB PEPPERS FOR SPINACH. Wow. I paid for it, not really thinking about it until after the fact. Then I felt cheated. All I ask is for consistency- please don't tell me one thing, and do another.
On a separate occasion, I ordered a medium pizza that was half veggie, half sausage. When I got home it was half veggie, 1/4 sausage and 1/4 pepperoni. Don't know what happened there, but not a huge deal. I will still buy their pizzas, since they are delicious and I like supporting local businesses. But I will be more careful from now on. —Kristina86
2011-06-17 13:37:42 Best pizza in town IMHO. Girlfriend prefers Village, but they're almost incomparable styles. Village is like a gourmet Roundtable and Symposium is like a gourmet Pizzahut. It's kind of a pain to go out to that ugly shopping center, but it's worth it. Usually get 1/2 Symposium Special and 1/2 Spicy Greek. Reasonably priced for how much food you get as this is a thick, heavily topped pizza. —MikeyCrews
2011-06-20 19:22:43 Their beef sweetbreads are to DIE FOR!!!!!! YOU MUST TRY THEIR BEEF SWEETBREADS! I will make my way back from the bay to Davis just to have this dish! MUST HAVE! :) Symposium is one of my favorite restaurants in Davis, not due to any other factor other than their food! The property owner of that plaza really need to re-evaluate their choice of paint colors for the buildings though.. —AnniieRose
2011-10-06 22:47:42 Their Spicy Greek pizza is amazing. It's the perfect spice level. Their Vegetarian Special pizza is also good, but nothing special about it. The waitress also gave very helpful recommendations when my friends and I were choosing our appetizer. I will definitely be back...I still dream of that Spicy Greek. *drools* —TheShah
2012-03-28 18:33:46 they have the most awesome pizza!! i wish they made a pizza/breadsticks out of just their crust. their crust is to die for! —SaThai
2012-04-05 19:34:19 I just had lunch here recently and it was awesome! I had not been there in a while. I can't believe I have missed so many incredible meals! Please don't deprive yourself a moment longer! —Sherri
2012-07-09 14:31:12 Now with outdoor patio seating! —AJThompson
2013-02-19 22:00:35 We went there tonight to celebrate two birthdays in a party of six. All of us mentioned that it had been a while since we had visited Symposium, and wondered why that was. Well, I had my answer by the end of the meal.
It was pretty quiet inside, and we were seated immediately. That's where my compliments about the service end. Our server acted like we were wasting his valuable time when we were deciding what to order. He didn't bring out water until after we had ordered our food. Every time he brought out dishes for the table, he was one short. We were around the corner from the front counter, so my wife and I took turns getting up to find him and ask for various things that were missing from our table.
We ordered two different pizzas (spanakatrio and vegetarian), and they were both good. We also had the peasant salad, with punishingly salty kalamata olives.
We were obviously there celebrating (two people with birthday hats and presents all over the table). My wife got up (again) and asked the server if they did anything for birthdays. He said he could "stick a candle in a piece of cheesecake or baklava" in a tone of voice suggesting that this was an act of heroism we clearly didn't deserve. My wife opted for the cheesecake, and (as promised) it came out with a candle on top, much to my 5-year-old son's delight.
I was much less delighted to see the $6.95 charge on the bill. Setting aside the fact that the cheesecake was terrible, my experience at other restaurants has been that a good server recognizes there's a birthday, brings out a little dessert with a candle without having to be asked, everyone sings, everybody's happy, there's not a charge on the bill because they chalk it up to goodwill, we tip the server a little extra for being thoughtful and providing great service, and remember that goodwill when we decide where we want to eat out the next time. Well, it works in the opposite direction, too. —RobWestergaard
2013-06-09 12:01:10 I've eaten at Symposium 3 or 4 times and most recently attended a party where they catered food for about 30 people. Everything I've had has been carefully prepared with good quality ingredients. I have had attentive and timely service. In a city where many if not most restaurants are overpriced, overrated, miserly with portions and extras, and offer indifferent patron service, Symposium has for me provided solid value and a pleasant experience. I have no connection with this restaurant. I don't live in Davis, so when I do go it's a conscious decision to make the trip there vs somewhere closer. —grzyb
2013-09-20 23:21:08 Always love the food. Always hate the service. —NickKory
2014-11-10 16:29:22 Sometimes the trade-off for some real old-growth-Davis quality like Symposium has is that the service is not that great. If service were more important than good food, we'd all go to crApplebee's. I guess it depends on what you're after. —YesItsMe
Comments:
You must be logged in to comment on this page. Please log in.