A Slice of New York — Restaurant in Santa Clara

This is by far the closest thing I've seen to NY Pizza in San Jose so far - and can say it is not bad. The balance between the crust, cheese and sauce is right and it was not over cooked, which is saying something. The people there were really nice and excited to make pizza. There was a lot of customers, so they were busy. They set expectations properly on the time to cook and the place followed all the covid restrictions.

I had two problems which is why I gave them a 3 star rating.

1. Pizza was rather bland. Maybe it was missing that special salt/sweet taste? I mean there really was no complexity in the craft. It just fell flat. (I know I'm being hard here, but this reason alone ranks them at 3 stars)

2. It was overpriced for what it is plus there was an 8% 'temporary surcharge'. Given they are not a sit-down restaurant, I do not understand why they are doing this. Two pies (Cheese and 2 topping) came out to $68!

Will I go again? Maybe. If they drop the 8% surcharge I would try them again, but for now, I'll keep exploring.

---Amendment re; Kirk (Founder's) reply. Kirk. Thank you very much for your reply. With regard to the 'blandness', I believe this is more about my preference for pizza with a little more sweet/salt mixture. I am always seeking that fine mixture between the two, and in the two pie sample I purchased, the flavors just fell flat. There could be many reasons for that, and I will come back to try variations again. Maybe it was just a bad sauce day :-) And yes, the ingredients were very fresh and the pizza cooked very well.

I appreciate the explanation for the surcharge. I've noticed several places that accept contactless payments and do away with the tip. I suggest you work with your acquiring bank and have them fix this. I find it frustrating from a patron perspective that I can't leave a tip. I'm sure the business decision to rename the surcharge as a service fee is a tough one. While I don't like forced gratitude, I understand the need to ensure your team is covered. Either way, having toured the country and most of the world, a cost of $70 for 2 pizzas is a tough one to repeat - even if San Jose is one of the most expensive place in the US. Guess I lived in Manhattan for too long :-)

Regardless, I must try again. Thank you for your lengthy response and wish you and your...

My boyfriend introduced me to this place I otherwise would have never known about. To be honest, New York style/thin crust has never been my favorite, but their pizza is pretty good. I recommend adding toppings when you buy pizza by the slice. If you're not sure if they have what you want, just ask! You don't have to feel limited by the selection of slices they have left up front. Even a plain cheese slice can be dressed up with pepperoni, chicken, bacon, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, whatever you want! 🍕 + 🍗 + 🥓 + 🍄 + 🍅 (Do be aware though, that the chicken pieces appear to be premarinated in buffalo sauce, in case you don't care for that flavor profile).

What pushed this rating to 5 stars for me was not the pizza, but the calzone! If you LOVE cheese, this is for you. 😍🧀 The house calzone is stuffed with a more-than-generous portion of gooey mozarella and soft, creamy ricotta, plus just the right amount of ham. The crust was buttery and soft (much softer than it looks -- a pleasant surprise!) and the marinara sauce on the side allows you to add the perfect amount of sauce to every bite. I'll be coming back for the calzone alone!

They also have a wide selection of sodas (mostly 12oz cans), including a few unusual and unique types like coffee-flavored soda, as well as 2 types of slush. So you definitely have your pick of refreshments. They also have cannoli, tiramisu cups, and cheesecake!

Seating is limited inside (about 6 bar stools, if I remember correctly). There are a few tables outside as well, but this place can get crowded, especially when the bar/music venue next door (JJ's) is busy late at night, so I wouldn't necessarily expect to be able to sit down and lounge around. This is primarily a take-out pizzeria.

Also be aware of the fact that this establishment stays true to its NY roots, insofar as they have no qualms about refusing service to anyone with a bad attitude and don't tolerate shenanigans. This can be evidenced by the "wall of shame" featuring rebuttals to bad reviews and photos of blacklisted patrons. Yes, you're on candid camera! 😄 My only concern about this practice is that it may potentially intimidate or discourage customers from leaving reviews containing constructive criticism, however I hope it instead promotes accountability and transperancy.

TRY THE CALZONE! It's worth...

When ordering pizza we were told it would take at least 90 minutes to get one pizza! When arriving for pick up there were 10-15 people queuing and it took another 25 minutes to finally get a pizza. Staff was rude on the phone and in person. Definitely not worth it. Cannot recommend at all.

Hi Kirk, Thanks for replying to my review. As you did not reply to the email I sent to you right after the incident took place, I really appreciate your answer.

Your business discriminated against my husband, who has a medical condition and that is why we had to leave without a pizza. Two of your employees made fun of and laughed at him after refusing service to him. I call that rude.

Also, he did not want to skip the line. It was not clear whether the people were waiting to order or to pick up their pizza. That is lack of organization. Maybe you should mention somewhere that even though it takes 90 minutes for a pizza to be ready one should still arrive half an hour early to just pay because you do not offer to pay over the phone.

If someone hangs up the phone on me I find this rude. Again, it seems we are applying different social conducts.

As for the timeline, I do not know how you believe to know when Alex arrived and left but from my chat conversation with him I can tell that your numbers are wrong. So who is lying here?

It seems that your business is lacking not only organizational skills, but also social and especially professional skills. You are not even able to deal with criticism. Calling one of your customers a liar and starting an argument about allegedly 9 minutes time difference instead of listening and be thankful for every criticism you get shows poor management. This is elementary business management knowledge.

For your information, we filed a complaint about your civil rights violation with the...