The Pizza Joint — Restaurant in El Paso

The Pizza Joint is celebrating 13 years of slangin zah in the UTEP area. I was there when pizza joint opened, and when they celebrated 1 year operating. I loved this place back in college. The pizza joint has always been a trendy little spot to grab a slice and a beer, where you can sit and draw on the chalkboard wall while you wait for them to heat up your order. It’s still a lot like that. It’s definitely inspired by Austin’s Home Slice Pizza, offerings are very similar, pizza by the slice, pizza rolls (the joints), little tiny pizza spliffs(they’re tiny pizza rolls), chicken wings with flavor names inspired by local things, and a good selection of local beers to drink and local art on the walls. Gone are the days of getting waited on by college students with green hair and pierced lips who sit on a milk crate just outside the back door smoking a cigarette. The atmosphere has shifted to more family friendly, the art is gone, but not completely, and the hip pierced lip employees have changed to the reluctant early 20 something employees who speak very quietly and appear to hate that they have to work. The pizza’s still New York style, big and floppy, and slightly burned on the bottom. The pizza joints were a little disappointing, they come in orders of 3, but my order had one thumb sized joint, one pinky sized joint, and one tiny little pinky toe sized joint, all mashed together into a mega-joint that has to be peeled apart to dip into the ranch or red sauce. Lacking consistency is not good for customer experience and not good for food cost control. The wings take forever! Ugh. Don’t order the wings unless you’re not going anywhere for at least 30 minutes. The biggest disappointment for me was the lack of prices on anything. I’m not a cheap person, i understand that good food is not cheap, I just don’t like not knowing how much something is going to cost me in the end. And of course I’m not going to ask, because then they give you that look. The menu used to be a chalkboard too, with daily specials and seasonal pizzas, now it’s a laser jet printed foam core sign that lacks the charm of the original design. And just added, they have this towering fountain drink dispenser that is right in front of the pizza display. I know they’ve been selling cans of coke since 2011, and people have probably been asking for fountain drinks since, but this monstrosity of a drink machine is taking up a quarter of their tiny little dining room. And it blocks the pizza. That’s the center of a New York style pizza place, the premade pizzas in the pizza case. You can look at them, and drool while you wait to order the perfect slice for your level of hunger. Now there’s a line of people trying to get a refill in the way, so no more pizza gawking. But all of this aside, it’s still a local pizza place, I’m just a sucker for nostalgia and remember what pizza joint was like when this was the only location and the owner worked everyday to keep the place open another day. And it’s still waaaaaay better than any of the dozens of chains around the area, so if you’re hungry for pizza in the UTEP area, go here. The pizza’s still good, the joints are still delicious, and the beer’s...

Update: It's been 7 years since we last ate here. We decided to try it again for a week night dinner. BIG MISTAKE! It's really gone downhill. The woman who took my order was rude and completely disinterested. Her answer to every question was " the menu is up there" . It is indeed up there, it's written on a chalkboard above the counter. I get that they want to look like a joint but I couldn't read it clearly so I had to ask. The restroom was dirty and out of soap. I don't think the chipped paint is part of the decor. The pizza was brought to my table by a tiny young girl who was polite and cheerful. Unfortunately, it was not good. The outside of the crust was burned. The rest of the crust was too chewy to enjoy. I wouldn't say it was doughy or raw, just way to chewy. Because they were closed by the time we got home and because we had paid quite a lot for it, we ate it. It became laughable as we struggled to chew it. But we could only get through 1 piece. It was that bad. Honestly, for the same price you can get the same 20" pizza with a stuffed crust at Chuck E Cheese and it tastes better. It might not have the prestige but they have the better pizza. If you want something more prestigious, Ardovinos has delicious pizza. They sell by the pie or by the slice. They have specialties or you can customer order. They have some baked things. That looked like a chocolate muffin. I can not recommend this pizza or this place.

Original: This is a very cute, fun space with indoor and outdoor seating. It attracts a trendy crowd. There is a chalkboard and chalk on one wall and trendy murals on the other. Probably why it has the name joint, it appears to be a hangout for young people.You can eat in or take out. It is very expensive for a pizza place. They have daily specials. They sell by the slice or by the whole pie. they also serve hot wings. The staff is personable and fun and very helpful. You can custom order your own pizza or you can order one of their designer pizzas. They offer a choice of crusts. Unfortunately, our pizza was doughy and undercooked which was disappointing because it looked and smelled delicious. Also very disappointed that it wasn't really edible and cost $26.00. We ate the crust and down about 2 inches. The middle was raw dough. To be fair, they were very busy that night and our pizza was loaded however, we ordered one of their menu pizzas so none of that should have been an issue....

Agree w/ Carlos, the price is "iffy", with some of their choices costing more than Ardvino's. Now, I understand they're a local shop that needs to make ends meet, It would just be nice if my $40 large pizza came with free ranch and maybe a 3 liter drink. I'm just sayin'. With that off my chest, I can say they do use quality ingredients. I think most people love this place because they get great food from faces they recognize working hard in an environment with great scenery. Now myself, I agree that yes it's a cool little neighborhood place, but I'm more of a "take my pizza home" kind of person, so luckily for people like me they also offer delivery. I also met one of the owners back when they first opened it. I can't say I loved our five minute conversation but I didn't let that stop me from coming back, allowing me to truly appreciate The Pizza Joints creativity. In another city a shop like this is the norm, but El Paso was starved, so I'm most def glad they brought it.

Overall, price is up there but with it comes great pizza, and if you're a hipster, dipster, blipster, or whatever, you'll love it because just by walking in the door you've now become 2 metrics cooler. I do wish there were more specials and/ or better prices, but the bottom line is I have yet to taste a better pizza in El Paso. Kudos to them and whoever they get their...