Get a pizza this.
Even when it’s bad, it’s good. Hot pizza, cold pizza, blackout night in-your-bed pizza. Whether it’s a classic Neapolitan-style Margherita, a traffic cone-sized slice, or some warped creation piled high with everything and the kitchen sink – we don’t discriminate when it comes to pizza. Any way you slice it, here’s 10 of the best pizza parlors in the Houston area! [Featured image: @vinnysasliceisnice]
1. Frank’s Pizza
Open late ’til 3 am on Fridays and Saturdays, Frank’s Pizza at the corner of Market Square District comes through with quality ‘za day and night. Their face-sized slices are peppered with fresh ingredients and scratch-made dough. The choice house specialty is the south-of-the-border Chicken Fiesta pizza with fajita chicken morsels, jalapeños, queso, green peppers, Pesto sauce, mushrooms, and onions.
2. Bollo Woodfired Pizza
Using ingredients such as buffalo mozzarella and OO flour sourced straight out of the Italian homeland, Bollo Woodfired Pizza on West Alabama uses a handmade, Vera Pizza Napoletana Association-approved (AVPN) oven to cook up their delicious Neapolitan pizzas. It’s hard to do wrong with whatever pizza you pick, but editor’s choice include their Bianca de Bollo pizza, as well as the Texas Wagyu Beef pizza made with meat sourced from Simonton, Texas.
3. Star Pizza
The story goes with Star Pizza is that its founder, a Chicago native, was disillusioned with the pizza here in the south. Taking it upon themselves, they started Star Pizza. Here, you’ll find Windy City-style deep dish as well as New York-style and hand-tossed personal pizzas on white and whole wheat crust. In addition to their killer ‘za, Star Pizza serves homemade lasagna, sandwiches, salads, and an Apple Cinnamon Dessert pizza.
4. Gypsy Poet
Gypsy Poet puts the “art” in “artisan pizza”. Helmed by Pizza Queen, Vanessa Fernandez, The Midtown pizza studio on Austin Street creates picturesque 13-inch Neapolitan-style pies. The pepperoni-smothered Pepperoni Madness and Cappellone “Big Hat” with house-made tomato sauce, Flor di latte, mozzarella, Portobello mushroom caps, shallots, and Italian sausages are true works of art.
5. Brother’s Pizzeria
Looking for a taste of the Big Apple? Scoot down to Brother’s Pizzeria, with locations in Cypress, Garden Oaks, and on Highway 6, where the parlor turns out thin-crust pies spanning up to 18 inches. Opt for a monster-sized slice of ‘za, or chow down on one of their decadent sandwiches.
6. Coltivare Pizza & Garden
The rustic Italian bistro in The Heights offers a quaint atmosphere complete with a 3,000-square-foot backyard garden to enjoy their simple, yet sensational, pizza. To compliment your pizza, we suggest ordering off the cocktail menu with one of their Gin and Tonics or Old Fashioneds, the latter made with Sorghum molasses.
7. Vinny’s
Product of Agricole Hospitality, the same group behind Coltivare Pizza & Garden, Vinny’s in East Downtown churns out big fat slices of New York-style pizza. Whole 16-inch pies are also available, with eye-popping options such as their El Primo, made with angus beef, provolone, pepperonata, oregano, chili flakes, and ricotta, as well their Maui Wowie with roasted pineapple, prosciutto, pickled jalapeños, chili flakes, and mozzarella.
8. Piola
The kaleidoscopic restaurant and terrace on Louisiana St. in Midtown is, as its sign states, “famosi per la pizza”. At Piola, the pizzas are brick-oven cooked, the ingredients fresh, and the crusts thin and crispy. What began in Treviso, an Italian city in the Veneto region, Piola has since expanded internationally with outposts in Texas and Florida. Of course, their classic Margherita is a solid go-to, but if you’re feeling venturesome, Piola offers sin tomato sauce options like their Odessa and Copenhagen pizzas using an Alfredo sauce base.
9. Romano’s Pizza
The New York invasion of Houston pizzerias continues with Romano’s in River Oaks Plaza. The old school pizza parlor keeps things relatively simple with cheese, veggie, meatlover, and special options – the latter loaded with the works of pepperoni, Italian sausage, onions, hamburger, black olives, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Chef’s Specials, Sicilian Square deep dish, calzones, and other options are also available here.
10. Cane Rosso
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives-starring Heights pizza parlor and patio, Cane Rosso, combines classically trained Neapolitan-style pizza making with whimsical creativity. The highly-lauded pizzeria uses 00 flour imported from Italy, hand-crushed San Marzano tomato sauce, a wood-fired oven, and fresh-made mozzarella. In addition to your Margheritas and other traditional options, Cane Rosso offers their own creative classics, including their standout Honey Bastard spun with housemade mozzarella, hot soppressata, bacon marmalade, and habanero honey. If the food wasn’t satisfying enough for you, Cane Rosso also has their own non-profit, in which a portion of sales from the restaurant go toward saving, creating a network of foster homes, providing access to housing and medical care, and ultimately finding homes for rescue dogs!
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