This spring we dedicated our gluttonous efforts toward identifying the best sit-down pizza restaurant. Philadelphia is stocked full of these establishments which made selection a tad challenging. Our selections were based on media hype and taken from a variety of neighborhoods. We based our ratings on 6 criteria: drinks (quality and selection), service, atmosphere, dessert (gelato when applicable). Of course, we had a selection process for our pizza. Every experiment requires a control group which happened to be margherita. We also selected the “most unique” pizza from the menu as our second. From there we simply picked our favorites based on sauce, crust, preparation and overall taste. Our scores were 1-5 (1- terrible, 5- outstanding). Enjoy.
Pizzeria Stella
Service- 5
Drinks- 4
Margherita- 3
Specialty pizza- 4.5
Atmosphere- 3
Dessert- 5
Total: 4/5
Outstanding service, very knowledgeable and full of great suggestions. Their gelato, made fresh daily, includes chocolate hazelnut and olive oil, which may be one of the best desserts in the city. The margherita pizza had a tasty natural sauce but unfortunately the sauce overtook the sturdiness of the crust making it very soft. With the inclusion of a great wine and cocktail menu Pizzeria Stella is a strong start to our competition.
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| Margherita at Pizzeria Stella |
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| Sopresatta at Pizzeria Stella |
In Riva
Service- 4.5
Drinks- 4.5
Margherita- 5
Specialty (Sopresatta)- 4.5
Atmosphere- 5
Dessert- 2
Total: 4.25/5
In Riva lies on the Schuylkill River Trail in East Falls. It has an outside patio that almost doubles the size of the restaurant during the warm weather months. It is biker an runner friendly lending it a relaxed, ‘stop-along-the-trail’ atmosphere. The service is usually informative and knowledgeable. The margherita is outstanding. The sauce is sweet and the partially-charred crust is doughy but strong enough to hold the gravy. You experience a great balance of sweet and salty with the sopresatta accompanied with onion jelly. The only disappointment came at the end with dessert. The gelato is from Capogiro and lacked the creaminess and intense flavor of the best gelato one can easily purchase.
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| Margherita at In Riva |
Osteria
Service- 4
Drinks- 4.5
Margherita- 3
Specialty (Lambarda)- 4.5
Atmosphere- 2.5
Dessert- 5
Total- 3.91
Marc Vetri’s offspring on North Broad is the most “up-scale” place on tour. The place is above all an Italian restaurant with pizza occupying a small section of the menu. However, its reputation of some of the best pizza in the city influenced us to place it on the list. The drink menu has a vast selection wines and a solid cocktail list. The Lambarda was well-balanced with flavors (sweet sauce with mozzarella and another cheese made of mainly cow’s milk and a slight amount of goat’s milk that gives it a nice sharpness). The egg added some depth to the slice as well. The Lambarda and margherita both had a great crispy thin crust. The margherita’s sauce was delicious and sweet. However, it was a bit dry and had a small amount of basil. The house-made gelato of choice was pistachio. Super creamy and flavorful, it embraced the nutty aspect of pistachios rather than adding an excessive amount of sugar to make a sweet dessert.
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| Margherita at Osteria |
Nomad Pizza
Service- 3
Drinks- 4
Margherita- 4
Specialty (Spicy Sausage)- 4.5
Atmosphere- 4.5
Dessert- no dessert menu
Total- 4
Nomad is the polar opposite of Osteria. There is no pretentiousness here. It’s a straight-up pizza place with a well-rounded drink/beer and food menu. A wood-fire oven is utilized to make their pizza which leaves a delicious bubbly char on the crust. Speaking of which, the crust is thicker, soft and chewy but in the best possible way. The cheese, sausage and other main ingredients are locally sourced and everything is organic.
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| Spicy Sausage at Nomad |
Pizzeria Vetri
Service- 4
Drinks- 4.5
Margherita- 2.5
Specialty (Renato)- 3.5
Atmosphere- 3
Dessert- 2
Total- 3.25
GQ Magazine declared Pizzeria Vetri one of the top 25 new restaurants in America in 2014. Clearly they don't each much pizza. This was our second attempt at PV and the walk out the door was to much disappointment. Great service and a nice beverage list aside, the tomato sauce of the margherita was bland and the Renato was like eating elegant cheesy bread sticks. The crust was the best part of the pizza by far. Light and crispy, it held up to the sauces and is the best crust of our pizza tour. Affogato is a dessert in which gelato meets espresso, a wonderful combination. They got the espresso right but rather than gelato, vanilla soft serve was in the cup. WTF.
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| Renato at Vetri |
Dock Street
Service- 4.5
Drinks- 5
Margherita- 5
Specialty (Fig jam)- 5
Atmosphere-4
Dessert- no gelato
Total- 4.7
We ended our pizza challenge early because of Dock Street. It was that good. Packed on a Saturday night, we sat at the bar comfortably. The restaurant is also a brewery and makes a great selection of beers that pair well with pizza. The bar tender gave us a great recommendation for a specialty pizza, the Fig Jam. A white pizza with the perfect combo of sweet from the fig jam and salty from the gorgonzola cheese, it also had thick pieces of bacon on it that made you wonder if you were having breakfast or dinner. The margherita pizza showed off the crust nicely with flavorful tomatoes, just the right amount of mozzarella cheese, and slightly sweet basil. With crusts that are doughy yet can handle the toppings, this pizza and this place end our challenge by winning it. With all that said, it must also be mentioned that Dock Street also had the most unique and innovative pizzas. So not only did it make the best traditional pizzas, but it also gets the credit for thinking outside the box the most.
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| Fig Jam at Dock Street |
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| Margherita at Dock Street |
Our Final ranking:
1. Dock Street
2. In Riva
3. Nomad
4. Pizzeria Stella
5. Osteria
6. Pizzeria Vetri
