Pearl Street Pizzeria & Pub — Restaurant in Indianapolis

What the food offers doesn’t make up for what the atmosphere lacks. We chose Pearl Street Pizza as it was regarded as one of the best pizza places in Indianapolis. As we were looking through reviews online, we were prompted to make reservations. I decided to call the restaurant to see if reservations were required and whether or not it was an appropriate place for a family. The person who answered said no reservations were required and that it was a family environment. Thrilled, we headed that way.

When we walked in, it was clear that it was a bar that also happens to serve food. It was noisy, no host, seat yourself, a thousand tvs screaming at you.

Taken aback, but remembering the rave reviews, we decided to try anyway. We sat as far from the bar as possible, but there was no escaping the noise. Wall-mounted speakers fill the entire space, and not just with games, but mostly ads. The ad screaming about fentanyl addiction was an especially nice touch.

And, look, when I say screaming, I mean it was unreasonably loud. Our three year old covered her ears and our six year old laid across two chairs to hide from the constant and overwhelming stimulation. I asked our waitress if it would be possible to turn the volume down, even just so we weren’t yelling at each other. She said she didn’t know and nothing ever came of that.

As far as the food, it’s pretty good, but there is no way it’s the best pizza in Indianapolis. And to the reviewer who said the pizza was so good they figured out how to get some home with them to Georgia, there’s no way this is the best pizza in Georgia either.

I’ve thought a lot about why this place has such rave reviews, and I’ve come to this conclusion:

If you knew nothing about this place, walked in to have a few beers and watch a game and then you ordered a pizza, you’d be floored. It’s not bar pizza. It’s legitimately good pizza. However, for anyone to consider this to be the best pizza in Indianapolis, you’d have had to not have any expectations going in, and possibly, a few beers.

My takeaway is that this is not a family-friendly restaurant. We went at 3 pm and it was way too loud. I’m fine with our kids being around responsible drinkers, but that wasn’t even the problem here. It was an uninviting, over-stimulating environment. I would also say this is not an appropriate place for a date or a professional meeting.

This place is great for drinks with friends, watching games, and...

I honestly don’t understand how this place has a 4.5-star rating. The pizza was incredibly underwhelming—definitely not the “fire” experience some reviews suggest. It’s overpriced for the quality, and the service left much to be desired.

We ordered a sausage and pepperoni calzone, and it was disappointing. The dough was under-cooked, making it doughy and unpleasant to eat. After just a few bites, we had to stop—it was that bad. We also tried the 8" deep dish pepperoni and cheese pizza. Unfortunately, it was loaded with an excessive amount of cheese that wasn’t even fully melted. The texture was off, and the whole thing just felt heavy and sloppy.

I opted to try the gluten-free cauliflower crust pizza, hoping for a better experience, but again, I was let down. The cheese wasn’t fully melted, and the crust was burnt on the bottom—clearly not checked before being served.

The restaurant itself needs serious attention. It wasn’t busy when we visited, so there’s really no excuse for how dirty it was. The floors and tables were sticky, and it looked like no one had cleaned in a while. Staff seemed more focused on their phones than on the guests, and it showed in the lack of attentiveness.

As for the bathrooms—absolutely disgusting. They looked like they hadn’t been properly cleaned or maintained in ages. Honestly, I’ve seen cleaner restrooms at truck stops. They need to be gutted and redone entirely.

Save yourself the trip and try somewhere else. If you want to taste real pizza, head to St. Louis. Even a basic chain like Pizza Hut would’ve been a better choice...

We, my wife and I, were in town for a concert as well as a trip to the zoo. After the latter, we decided to go out for a bite . After some time trying to figure out where to go, we settled in for pizza. This place came highly rated and let me tell you it is well deserved.

The place is your typical pub setting. Dark wood bar and furniture. Multiple televisions playing various sports. The normal. What sets it apart for us was the food.

We order their 1/2lb chicken wings with a dry rub for a starter. They came piping hot and full of flavor! Good sized and cooked right we had zero complaints. Very good

For our pizza, we decided to try something new, going with the 12" pear and gorgonzola cheese. It was awesome. I mean, awesome. Perfect crust. Perfect topping ratio. Amazing pizza.

The only issue I had was the last few slices of my pizza fell from my table. It was a complete accident as the serving try was just a little unstable. That said, the waitress and bartender both came to our table and offered up an eight inch pizza to replace the few slices. We declined, and they still gave us a discount. That right there shows they care and take good care of their customers. I can not express how nice this was.

Would recommend and will come back if ever in Indy again.

Tip your staff here....