Crust Issues Pizza — Restaurant in Norwalk

Just came back from an A+ dining experience and I don't even know where to begin. We were a party of 9, so we ordered a bunch of different dishes to try. Afterwards, we compared notes and everyone's favorite was different! Some highlights:

The garlic knots will CHANGE you. You'll view the world differently after experiencing them. They are crispy on the outside and almost light and airy. They reminded us of our grandmother's fried dough in terms of texture. Ordinary garlic knots won't do it after today.

It wasn't on the menu, but we asked for and received a sandwich that is on their IG account. The ingredients of an italian sub are chopped up and two thin slices of pizza are the "bread" of the sandwich. Perfection!

Two of mother's homemade specialties are Stromboli and penne ala vodka. We could not admit in front of her that the versions here surpassed hers, but if you're reading this, you know.

My nieces went crazy for the spaghetti, but since they didn't share, I'll have to take their words for it. Everything else was equally great, but I'm running out of words. We ordered too much food, and have a burning desire to go back and try the items we missed.

Somehow the service was equally amazing. The owner(?)/head chef(?) greeted us as we walked in and gave us A+ service from beginning to end. He brought out a couple of dishes that he insisted we try, and they were spot on. You can tell that he takes pride in his work, both in terms of the creation of dishes and making sure his guests leave happy. He's someone you want to root for and succeed. This place is a labor of love.

The ambiance is no frills, in all the right ways. If you're put off by paper plates and simple wooden tables, you're missing the point. Every ounce of energy and resources are going into the ingredients and food. That's what's important. This was a graduation party with 3 very different generations of family with different tastes and expectations. We all left beyond happy.

Parking is not the greatest. There are not many spots and many are assigned to the specific businesses in the little strip. But, there's a big parking lot down the street.

We live far away, so we won't be back immediately. But we WILL be back. And we'll come hungry.

Note: check their IG page for what seems to be a really great deal during the week that has multiple dishes and drinks all for...

advise that I can only review on what I experienced, wasn’t able to try the food*

For weeks, I was bombarded with sponsored ads from this place, so naturally, my curiosity grew.. After a long shift at work, I decided to treat myself and my family to dinner with a takeout order from there, even driving out of my way to make it happen(30 minutes). I couldn’t check their website (because they didn’t have one) or look up any details about the restaurant, opting instead for a visit.

I arrived and parked my car at exactly 9:00 PM. The doors were open, and there were probably signs indicating that they were open(was too excited to check). As I walked in, I noticed a couple who had already been served and were waiting for their food, (meaning pizzas were still cooking in the kitchen).

Feeling hopeful, for my first experience I approached the register. The person behind the counter waited quite a moment (didn’t greet us, but I’m not a strictler about that I’m usually more focused on the food being good), he then told us they were closed. I was quite confused because when I searched the hours on Apple Maps it stated 9:30pm. Especially since the posted hours stated they closed at 9:30 PM. On its Apple Maps interface. It wasn’t until I visited the instagram profile where I saw it stated 9:00pm. & trust me, I respect business hours completely & if I missed the window of time then I missed the window of time. if it had been 5 or even 10 minutes past its hours, I would have completely understood. But to see me park before nine & walk in around 9:01 is something else! What I can say (from personal experience) is there’s something called judgement: if I were working at a restaurant after a long shift flipping pizzas & saw two gentlemen covered in paint marks from the clothes to the skin on their arms. I would override the business hours & serve them something to eat because I know they probably deserve it. But we are all different & I can only respect the decision of the employee. However, with the doors open and people still being served, I was taken aback with disappointment! Especially After months of being targeted with their ads, this was my first experience with the restaurant, and it was far from what I expected. This isn’t a rant on how service sucks or how the food is bad, this is just a recap of my personal experience with this restaurant; Thank you🙏...

My wife and I finally made it to Crust Issues for dinner, and it absolutely lived up to the hype. We’d been wanting to try it after seeing so many tempting posts and reviews on Instagram—and it was our first time dining there.

Right from the start, the staff was super friendly and welcoming. We ordered a few things that had caught our eye: the mozzarella stick pizza, the chorizo and buffalo pizza (originally meant to be with chorizo, but they kindly subbed in Italian sausage since chorizo wasn’t available), the chicken cutlet scarp with mashed potatoes, and zeppoles for dessert.

Both pizzas looked just as incredible as they did online—and tasted even better. The Italian sausage was a perfect substitute and packed great flavor. The mozzarella stick pizza was nostalgic in the best way—like the cheesy breadsticks from Pizza Hut in the ‘90s, but taken to the next level.

The chicken cutlet scarp was a standout. The spicy, flavorful scarp sauce paired perfectly with the crispy chicken and creamy mashed potatoes. And those zeppoles? Little pillows of fresh, warm dough, served with a rich chocolate dipping sauce that made for the perfect sweet finish.

We also saw other diners enjoying their house-made spaghetti O’s with pesto and vodka sauce, as well as some delicious-looking sandwiches. Safe to say—we’re already planning a return trip to try more of the menu.

10 out of 10—highly recommend! Crust Issues is definitely...