Charred Pie — Restaurant in Oro Valley

UPDATED 7/23/2025: I have to downgrade CP on its service. Mainly they do not have enough servers, and the servers are running all over the place like ‘chickens with their heads cut off’ … YET … the servers doesn’t actually serve, someone from the kitchen does the serving. So, all the ‘server’ really does is take your order, drop by once to see that you got the food, and, if you can find them, bring you the bill.

The bill: Ignoring the fact we could not get the ‘servers’ attention when we wanted the bill … I was handed a device which offered only “20%, 24% or 26%” tips!!! Wow! I saw “Custom” and tried that. But, it is unclear what to do, and I accidentally gave $0.15, instead of 15%. I only discovered then when I got home, so I went back the next day and handed the server a $10.00 tip.

I like Charred Pie. But, no way that the service there would ever be greater than 20%.

UPDATED 7/12/2025: We had some of the best pepperoni pizza we’ve had in years on this visit to Charred Pie.

Nevertheless, with the drinks being $3.95 each (for Coke Zero), and charging as extra $3.00 for what was NOT ‘extra’ pepperoni, on top of an already $18.00 price for an 8-slice pizza, which was NOT cooked as we asked (‘crispy/well-done’), I have lowered their overall rating to “4”.

It was also annoying that, when we went to pay, the least tip allowed on the payment device was 20%, followed by 24% and then 26%.

I like Charred Pie and am glad it contributes to Oro Valley’s very enjoyable selection of restaurants.

But, I wish the pepperoni pizzas had more pepperoni on them.

See photos. We’ve dined at Charred Pie two, perhaps three times, in the last couple of months. We have found their sandwiches (!!! who knew that a 'pizza parlor' would create such sumptuous fare???) to be outstanding, especially (in my view) the grilled cheese. Wow. Don't be put off by the odd name for it (I have forgotten the exact name, possibly because the name doesn't do it justice). And, my wife just loves the buffalo chicken sandwich. -- Of course, there is far too much bread in both of these sandwiches, but the bread is high quality and tasty. Still, if you are looking to avoid gluten, Charred Pie is probably a place to avoid, as they don't sell much (if anything) that isn't filled with gluten.

In any event, on the gluten-OK days, I highly recommend Charred Pie, with the following provisos:

1.) Until Saturday (when we ate there after seeing the moving "Conclave"), I had just thought that the service was slow. It does take 'a while' to get your food. But, then I realized that this is, likely, intentional on the part of the management. Unlike some places, they don't rush you through to get you out. You can take the time to chat and enjoy your food (which, of course, if you take up their real estate for an 'extra' long time, you should increase your tip ....). So, it is a nice, relaxed delivery speed. If you need it faster, you would do well to tell the server you're in a hurry.

2.) I, very, very much, dislike the 'decor' on the inside. Similar to The Parish (Orange Grove and Oracle, NW corner) the management has fallen in love with black painted walls, black ceiling, and 'light' bulbs which put out almost enough light to see the person sitting across the table from you. I exaggerate -- slightly -- for emphasis. But, it may not have occured to the Management that when there is almost no interior illumination, and you have these big 'picture' windows from which a great bit of light streams in, it makes it very hard, for some of us, anyway, to see because of the glare from the outside -- it's like driving with all the cars on the other side of the road having their "brights" on. Your eyes have adjusted to near total darkness, and then you are blinded by a bright light.

I like Charred Pie. But, I don't...

We arrived a few minutes before 8pm and sat down outside because it was decent weather. The first thing I noticed was that one of the ceiling lights was behind a fan and it was causing the outdoor dining area to have a strobe light effect, making my eyes strain while reading the menu. Our server came out promptly and let us know that last call would be at 8:30, and then asked if we knew what we’d like to order. We said we needed another moment but we’d like to start with the grilled Brie appetizer and some waters. She came back with the waters, and we asked a few questions about pizza recommendations and I added a drink to our order. We received our appetizer from the expo while I watched as my drink sat in the service well for 5 minutes. He asked if we needed anything and I asked him to just let our server know that we decided on the Pineapple Express pizza (because she said it was the most popular) since we wanted to order before last call. He let our server know and she finally came outside, bringing my drink with her. She confirmed our pizza order and went back inside and that was the last interaction we had with her. The appetizer was the highlight of the evening, but the garlic was pretty undercooked for what they were going for. We finished our appetizer as our pizza came out. The expo cleared our plate, and we dug in… the pizza was bland, to say the least. It supposedly came with pancetta, but this tasted and looked very much like Canadian bacon. The sauce and crust were underwhelming and lacked any flavor. The best part about it was the pineapple, because really that was the only flavor standing out from this pizza. We each ate two slices, and while I hoped that our server would return so I could ask for ranch to go with it, she never did. We sat awkwardly staring at the last two slices for the next 10 minutes or so, and finally I asked my fiancé to go up to the bar and ask for our bill and a box. The bartender closed us out, and we packed up the rest of the pizza ourselves, then we left, all the while we watched our server talk with another server at...

My sister was in from out of town, we had just taken in a movie, and we were wanting a small bite to eat before she began her trek home. Charred Pie is located adjacent to the theater, it sounded good, so we thought we would give it a try. Neither one of us had heard of it before. (She being from out of town and I had just moved here from North Carolina.) The menu looked amazing with choices of white or red pizzas, buttered noodles, wings, salads and more! I was looking at the people's food who were seated at the table next to us and wow, it looked so good! My sister and I both ordered the lunch special which was a personal size pizza, pepperoni or margherita, and a salad. (We had eaten popcorn at the theater so our appetites weren't as voracious as they normally would have been!) When we first arrived we were immediately greated, which is a plus in my book. We were also seated in a reasonable amount of time considering the time of day. Our server was very friendly and prompt to meet our needs. Our food order came out in a very reasonable amount of time as well. My sister opted for the pepperoni pizza while I went with the margherita. We were both very pleased with our meals even though we had to ask for to go boxes - the result of too much previously consumed popcorn 🍿!!! I would say check out their menu. They have many interesting choices! And if you are adventurous, I noticed a couple items on the menu that I need to go back to try - wood fired oysters, bloody Mary grilled cheese, fungi pizza, and couch potato pizza!...