Artichoke Basille's Pizza — Restaurant in New Brunswick

As there's quite a following for Artichoke Basille's, and they haven't quite made their official debut, i wanted to try it before the college kiddies get back and the line trails out the store and you have to wait 2 hours for a taste. This is a review in their soft opening time. There were only 2 guys working the oven / counter, but they were still steady. Get there while you can !

It goes up against an entire street / town of pizza on Easton Ave and they stand out based upon the quality of the pizza.

This is a small location that has been rehabbed and gutted to reflect the Artichoke Basille Pizza brand / style. Is there tons of seating? No, this is New Brunswick, standing counter space (with perhaps a couple stools if u'r lucky enough to get'em). Make note of the classic leg lamp, or you might "...poke your eye out...", if you're not careful with their L A R G E R slices. With the place being so tiny, I wonder where they keep their extra dough, cuz as we all know; the older the dough (longer the ferment) the better the pizza, makes me worry if they could possibly sell out if they've not prepped / stored.

They offer full sized pies at an 18" or 16" size. My opinion, go big or don't go at all, get a pie, and get it fresh, it'll be worth the price for the quality. Their single slices are a bit larger than the 18" and they tout that as a selling point for them. The single slices (fits on 2 plates) are reheated, not bad, but for the full experience get a full pie made fresh and eat it crisp and hot. They also have a 2 slice with beverage deal that's their supersized slices if u can't get a couple folks together to manage the pie.

Cheese slice: A goto slice for a classic! it's light, crisp, and has a great feel and crunch. Their dough formulation is airy and while you might not get a hard char, i'm sure it could be asked for. the sauce is tasty goodness, bright fresh and pairs well on the cheese which doesn't leave you dripping with grease on their slices.

Artichoke slice: If you could make spinach and artichoke dip on a pizza this would be it. It's their signature slice and it's phenomenal. If you like creamy goodness for a white pie this is gonna be a solid goto. The perimeter crust on this slice is like a bread stick which when eaten alone, you can taste a slight fermentation in their dough (a good thing as an ideal would be a 72 hr ferment)

Grandma slice: this pizza had your touch of basil, a fresh bright sauce and a typical grandma yum that you'd look for in a slice of grandma, slightly better than your typical.

Will I swear off the other pizzerias in the area? hhmm depends on how my pockets feeling at the time. However for a quality slice where i don't have to travel to Coniglio's in Morristown, Delorenzo's in Robbinsville, Prima in Somerville, or DeLucia's in Raritan, this will be a new local collegiate goto setting the...

First time trying this pizza in town today. Glad to find out there is another decent pizza place in town. Usually, I go to Daniel’s down the street. I’d give this place a 7/10 for food taste. I got the artichoke pie. It did taste pretty good but, by god was it loaded with butter and dairy. The cream sauce seems fresh as does the spinach. The artichokes are frozen and they don’t even put much on. I was expecting that though. Certainly a little disappointing considering the pie was $30, however. I definitely do not understand one thing; when I tell you they load the sauce on, they seriously do. It’s almost like they took an entire pot of sauce and dumped it on the pizza. The sauce even ran off the pie and into my box a solid amount. While I can always appreciate extra sauce, they’re definitely going overboard. I am curious to try the other pies for a more healthy option which I will definitely do. The crust is pretty mediocre, especially for a chain that comes out of New York. It was not very crispy and also too thick. Overall, it seems pretty good and certainly is better than 90% of other pizza places in town. The unfortunate truth is; New Brunswick is known for trashy and nasty pizza and I have tried almost all of the spots here. Go try knights express pizza or some of those other places near the campus and you’ll know what I mean. In terms of good pizza in town, I recommend this place but I would highly recommend daniels. IMO, daniels is one of the better pizza spots in NJ as a whole. Their crust and sauce is also fantastic. Artichokes: 7/10, daniels 9/10

EDIT: 09/02/24; Response to owner: I’m 30 years old but I’ll definitely take you up on that...

I have been a fan of Artichoke Pizza, but I had a very concerning experience during my recent take out from New Brunswick store. While eating a slice, I found a small black stone in the pizza inside my mouth—which was not only shocking but also dangerous. I’ve attached a photo for reference. This kind of quality control issue is unacceptable, especially when it poses a risk to someone’s teeth or health. I hope the management takes this seriously and investigates how something like this ended up in the food.

I really enjoyed the flavor, but after this experience, I’m hesitant to return unless I see better attention to cleanliness and food safety.

Also always it's been difficult to find parking...