Gusto Pizzeria — Restaurant in Oak Ridge

Nine years in the Triads, and today was the very first time I visited Gusto in Oak Ridge. What kind of a rock have I been living under?

Having been blessed/cursed with very discerning taste buds and having had pizza in some of the best restaurants all over Italy north to south, I am very impressed with the pie I had today at Gusto. It is definitely on par with what you can have in better parts of Italy. Finding this joint in the middle of American Southeast is a miracle.

Let's start with the heart of any pizza - the crust. This crust is wonderfully yeasty, perfectly foldable, light and airy, yet chewy, with definite texture that is yet just dense enough to serve as the vehicle for toppings. Perfectly baked, but without that gritty bottom some Napoli style pizzas have (looking at you, Cugino Forno). The flavor of the crust is spot on perfect! Dear owner/s, thank you so much for taking the time to figure how to do this right, your efforts have not gone to waste! We notice!

The sauce. I had given up on finding a decent dollop of sauce within driving distance from G'boro. Most pizzerias get sad gallons of the cheapest sauce they can find - sharp, sour, made from tomato paste, sugar, and broken dreams. By contrast Gusto's sauce is flavorful and in no way overpowering. It offers a barely noticeable layer of flavor between the base and the toppings. Sophisticated yet mellow.

Toppings. Mine were supremely fresh, of excellent quality, at all the right textures, and most importantly in perfect balance with each other. You can't just have a neighbors' kid that works at Domino's figure out such perfect proportions - it takes somebody with an eye and experience to balance toppings so masterfully. The one thing I was unsure of was the basil. It was perfectly fresh, healthy, and flavorful, but it is served wilted from the oven - while dehydrating it concentrates the flavor, I'm on the fence whether I'd rather have them put it on post bake and enjoy it crispy fresh. Next time I'll be sure to ask for my basil to be added to my pie after the bake and compare.

Speed of service - incredible! My pizza was served within 3 minutes of ordering. In and out - 20 minutes tops, including eating time.

Quality of service. Polite, efficient, attentive, if perhaps a smidgen too formal/cold for the setting. I would've preferred a warm, smiley, friendly, soulful, maybe even loud kind of service at a pizza joint. I would've preferred lots of personality, like Italy herself! This is being extremely nit picky and reflecting back on my experiences in Italy growing up.

Atmosphere - to be honest not a whole lot of it. I came in at 3:30 on a Friday and was an only customer during my entire meal. Perhaps had I come in on Saturday night, I would've gotten a different impression. Sitting eating my delicious pizza in solitude I definitely missed the hustle and bustle of a typical pizzeria, chef busy tossing dough and shouting at his help, dishes clanking, people laughing, kids running around. I missed the component of "life" in this place. Having said that, I did appreciate that Gusto plays Italian music from my childhood. When "Felicita" came on, I smiled. It provided a perfect hint of nostalgia for me right there and then.

The summary. Fantastic quality professionally made pizza, the best I've had ANYWHERE in the south, and this is coming from a connoisseur! Served very quickly in clean, pleasant surroundings. Missing a tiny bit of a soul atmosphere wise, and a tiny bit of warmth service wise, but in this day and age aiming for absolute perfection is unrealistic. In most other places if a waiter didn't curse at you and didn't mess up your ticket, that's already a success. Oh, and to be totally honest I would've given an arm and possibly a leg to have proper linen napkins instead of paper ones. Instant elevation of experience! Hey, a girl can dream!

All in all, I am extremely grateful to have a pizzeria of this caliber in our neck for the woods and wish them many, many successful years. Thank you for feeding us the...

We stopped in today to try our first pie. If your expectations are for full table service, this won’t be for you. However, the pizza is very, very good so maybe you should give it a try. Here’s how it works: You order and pay at the counter by the front door. This area can get a little congested because there’s no real waiting area. She nicely told us that the pizza size is 12” only and that most people share a pizza and also get a salad. We didn’t want salad but ordered the mozzarella sticks from the kids menu. We ordered waters and Heineken. We were given a number for our table and she directed us forward to get our plates, napkins, silverware, seasonings and water. To Go boxes are in this same area. You can sit wherever you want. Literally, as soon as we sat down, they brought the pizza and the mozzarella sticks about 5 minutes later. Like other self serve places, if you want more water or if you forget plates like I did, you go get it. If you want another beer, you will have to get back in line to order and pay, which for us, made it not worth the effort. The Americano had me at “hot honey” and it was very good. This is a very foldable, thin crust and the edge of the crust was crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The pepperoni was in large strips and it had a great amount of cheese. We really enjoyed it and ate every bite. The mozzarella sticks were very good, nicely seasoned and the marinara was warm and tasty.

I plan to take my sister in to try some of the white pizzas as those are our favorite.

In my opinion, a one size pizza does not fit all. Hopefully, more sizes will be a available...

We recently had dinner at Gusto Pizzeria and really enjoyed the overall vibe of the place. The atmosphere was cozy and welcoming—stylish without feeling pretentious—and the service was friendly and attentive from start to finish.

I went with the Americana pizza, which had a solid flavor overall. It was definitely on the cheesier side, which may appeal to some more than others. The drizzle of honey on top added an interesting twist—it wasn’t overly sweet or thick, just a unique flavor that I haven’t typically had on pizza. It’s one of those things you might either love or be on the fence about, but I appreciated the creativity.

We also tried the vanilla gelato for dessert, and that was a win—smooth, creamy, and just the right amount of sweetness. A great way to finish the meal.

My wife ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce. The sauce had a nice flavor to it, but the texture of the meat was a bit off. It didn’t seem like it had been cooked down in the sauce; instead, it felt more like pre-cooked meatballs that were broken up and added in at the end. Not the worst, but not as cohesive or tender as we’d hoped.

All in all, it was a good experience. While a couple of the food items didn’t quite hit the mark for us, the great service and warm atmosphere made it a place we’d consider trying again—especially to sample a few other menu items.

Edit: after coming back for a few different dishes, we love the place and...