Cartecay River Pizza Company — Restaurant in Georgia

We were struggling to find a restaurant open at 8:45pm on our way to where we were staying about 40 minutes away. We saw the open sign for cartecay river pizza company and stopped in. It was about 850 and they were closing at nine. We started to turn around and the owner asked us if we wanted him to make us a pizza and were we dining in or take out? We told him we didn't want to inconvenience him since it was so late and he insisted so we elected takeout.

We were so glad he did because it simply was the best pizza we have ever had even having to drive smelling it in the car to our cabin.

The brick oven makes a perfect pizza but we have had many brick oven Pizza's - this was different. It had that rich flavor a good pizza has however it was not greasy like so many of them are. I would imagine that they get top quality local mozzarella or sources it from somewhere because the cheese was incredible and the ingredients that topped it with were fresh fresh fresh. We continued to talk about it after coming back home to Florida. I would not hesitate to recommend this family run pizza restaurant and in fact would encourage anyone who is within driving range to try it. We are hoping to return in the spring and if we do this will definitely be a stop.

As an aside, To give you an idea of the owner of this restaurant and how much he cares, I dropped my wallet in the parking lot when we left. About 45 minutes later as we were enjoying our pizza in the cabin I got a call from the owner that he had found it and wanted to make sure we got it back. He arranged for us to meet him at the pizza place early in the day before they opened and when we got day delayed due to GPS not knowing the mountains, he left it at a trusted location and made sure we had picked it up. These are the small locally run businesses that everybody should be supporting.

Thanks again Mr. Postel. We will definitely be seeing you the next time we come through.

Ps. Ask Mr Postel about his family. You will be impressed and entertained

Bruce Carol and Amanda...

We did a Google search for some pizza and this place come up. We were hesitant at first because of the river rafting rental signs. The reviews told us to look past it and try it. We were greeted by a hostess that handed us a menu. Our eyes went to the River Rat pizza. Great name for the theme in the establishment. It has bacon, tomatoes, garlic, and basil, This pie was heated to perfection in a wood stove oven. Patience is a virtue. Especially for fresh ingredients and a hand-tossed pie. The outer crust has that crunchiness you expect and dark spots from the oven. The bottom of the slice has some corn meal to keep it from getting burnt and from my experience of eating makes for a better slice. The dough inside was soft, a good compliment to the sweet marinara sauce. The tomatoes are sweet and cut medium, which paired well with the basil, garlic, and bacon. Aldo asked us how we liked the pie. In talking to him we find out he is the new owner and has been opened a week. He has a lot of plans to expand the restaurant. The oven can only bake two pies but more when the expansion is completed. The menu has also been improved with fresher ingredients. If you were disappointed with the previous owner please give Aldo and his menu a try. I think...

We stopped in after trying to go to Elijay Brick Oven. After being told it was an hour wait we scrambled and called Cartecay. We woman that answered the phone assured me there was no wait and that our party of 6 would be seen immediately.

After arriving, we placed our order and sat down. Then another group of 4 came in, then a group of 6. The woman working behind the counter was the ONLY employee, and she didn't even bat an eye at the sudden influx of customers. She was polite to everyone, efficient with balancing making the pies and greeting the new customers, and kept the food coming out faster than I'd expect a fully staffed kitchen to.

The pizza was absolutely phenomenal, the best that I've had in Georgia, but sincerely even that is greatly overshadowed by the employee. She was a well oiled machine and impressed me and everyone I was with more than I can explain. Amazing experience, and a seriously amazing...