Cowabunga! Pizza Pies — Attraction in Chicago

I had been wanting to try this place since it opened because I drive by it everyday and I was so excited when I decided that today was the day!

Every slice of pizza I tried was very fresh. That's fantastic.

My favorite slice was the April O'Neil, although it has too much garlic or the garlic should be roasted to calm the flavor down. That doesn't mean I wouldn't order it again,  next time I'd order a whole April O'Neil, light on the garlic, modded with pineapple and bacon while I'm at it.

The Donatello does a good job of showcasing the spinach, which is really surprising because normally I can't really taste it enough to make it one of my choice ingredients. But the problem again, like the April O'Neil, the garlic is very heavy. Matter of preference? I don't know but it wouldn't necessarily stop me from getting it again. Just a slight mod needed for my taste.

The Donatello claims to be a "Sophisticated Slice", which I would disagree. This slice, and the rest for that matter, taste pretty kid safe and not adventurous at all, save the heavy garlic issue.

This was kind of a let down for me because I was really hoping for a high end culinary experience after reading Master Cowabunga Pie's bio on the website.

The Cowabunga Special tastes just like I'd hoped - like bowling alley Deluxe pizza, which in my life has never let me down. I feel like I could eat 100 slices of this one. No complaints.

The Master Splinter pretty much tastes like a light, Smoked Gouda - kind of baconish.

Simple but lovely.

The rest of the slices I tried, Raphael,  Surf Ninja & Leonardo taste pretty much like a variation of the Cowabunga Special, instead with hints of pineapple, ham, sausage or jalapeno.

I'm glad the ham was cubed instead of round sliced so it doesn't overwhelm.

The sausage is what you'd expect. Cumin heavy.

Issues and things:

One of the slices was burned on the bottom. Whatever, dude!

I can't really taste the crust or the sauce in any of the slices, except the April O'Neil or if I'm eating just the crust. The amount of sauce is probably a matter of preference, but I do love the feel of the crust and I like that it's more of a vehicle to get everything that's on it in my mouth. I'm just used to getting more flavor from the crust. Again, probably a matter of preference.

The crust, when eaten by itself is really spectacular. It's perfectly salted and buttered. After trying it I would totally order garlic Parmesan bread sticks and sauce if they sold them...and where's the sauce on the pizza? Maybe I'm just used to sauce slathered, Chicago style Pizza.

Maybe I have to think about it more as if I am tasting the sauce and crust but they're so perfectly balanced with the toppings that it doesn't take away from the rest of the experience because when it comes to flavor, nothing really was missing. My "issue" is based on what I'm used to tasting here in Chicago.

Now that I put it this way I think this pizza has snuck it's way into my heart. Whoa Master Cowabunga Pie, how did you do that?

Genius!

Side note:

My fiancêe loved loved loved all the pizza's except the chicken on the April O'Neil. Her favorite was the Donatello! Lol. She thinks the amount of garlic is perfect. She also mentioned that the last time we had pizza this good was when there was a pizza place called "Pizza Fried Chicken Ice cream" across the street from Cowabunga where the 3LP restaurant is for now.

That's some serious praise because we were bummed when that...

This is the best pizza I’ve eaten in Chicago. We were getting frustrated with the online ordering process. There’s a $30 minimum online and we did not know that. We just wanted a slice or 2 to try because we had heard it was good. We finally placed the order for 6 slices, more than we had planned for to satisfy the minimum. When we got there we told them we had an online order and they told us the pie had just gone in the oven and there was an 8 minute wait. The owner saw us looking very sad and very hungry, so he cut a pizza slice in half for us to share while we waited. We couldn’t stop nodding and audibly enjoying our pizza. We’ve never nodded so much in our lives! We’re gonna have to bill him for our next chiropractic visit. Any way we waited for another 5 minutes and he gave us someone else’s order. We walked across the street and he chased us out realizing as we had left. He came and took the precious pizza from us and we gave it happily. The sample that he had given us was so good that we had given up what we thought was our salvation for someone else to have. We followed him back into his little shop with a smile, starving, but smiling. We waited for another 10 minutes and finally got our pizza to go. We did the same thing at home that we did in the shop. Except this time we were singing praises of this shops geniusness and professed our love for Chicago-style New York-style pizza.

TLDR: this pizza is so good we have hope in...

This spot is an absolute gem. It’s been open for about a month and a half, and it’s already become a regular stop for our lunch walks — and for good reason. Cowabunga! delivers a legit New York–style slice. Crispy yet foldable crust, rich sauce, and just the right amount of cheese — it takes me right back to growing up in NYC, where grabbing a slice from the neighborhood shop was second nature.

The vibe here is just as important as the pizza. Owner Shawn clearly poured heart and nostalgia into this place, and it shows. From the Ninja Turtles theme to the retro arcade-style energy, it’s fun, welcoming, and totally kid-friendly. My daughter loves coming by for a slice — and that says a lot.

Great food, warm service, and a true throwback atmosphere. Cowabunga! isn’t just a pizza shop — it’s an experience. Highly recommend stopping by before this place gets the citywide hype...