Sally's Apizza — Restaurant in Woburn

Edit attended grand opening I hit my initial pre-review speculation on the head. I think they are making a superior product to the original location in New Haven. Simply because the old location doesn’t have the facilities/staff to handle the volume. When I was in college in New Haven the original location had a limited menu. This new location(along with some of the others has a more extended menu) and the food is solid albeit a bit overpriced. The arancini was good(properly cooked risotto, clean cooking oil, well seasoned) and the pesto-ricotta it comes with is quite clever. The ravioli was solid, not mind blowing, but better than what most chain Italian restaurants in the area serve. The best part of the night was having the fortune of getting a seat at the pizza bar/kitchen. I had a chance to speak with the executive chef. I never caught his name formally but I think it was Greg, forgive me if I got that wrong. The guy was super passionate about what he does. I could see it being very easy to phone it in working as a chef in a pizza joint but the guy really cares and that separates a place like Sally’s from the average pizza shop. We spoke for a solid 10 minutes sharing our experiences with New York/New Haven pizza and his background in bbq fine dining. He even shared his personal list of 100 or so pizza places in the ny/ct metro area that he researched in preparation for his new gig with Sally’s and it clearly shows as this new shop is on par if not surpasses the original location. Negatives- Non-pizza prices. Sally’s is nationally and even globally considered a top pizza maker. They can charge whatever they want for that, however I don’t think the food/prices are equitable on a lot of the rest of the menu. The ravioli while good I found the 21.00 price points vs its small portion to not be a great value considering as an entree it doesn’t come with any sort of bread or salad. The same goes for the arancini and bruschetta starters. Very tasty, but priced above its value. If I wanted to spend 130.00+ on an Italian meal I could find somewhere downtown that serves equal quality in bigger portions or higher quality in similar portions. Our bill was 1/2 of a one way ticket to Milan lol. The wine was the most reasonably priced item at 32.00 for a whole bottle of Prosecco, most establishments charge much more for an entire bottle. When you have world famous pizza, it’s a commodity. You set the market price so I hold no qualms there even though I think New Haven pizza inflation outpaces its actual value(no matter how much I love it). It’s the rest of the menu being priced like fine Italian dining that I don’t think adds up. To be clear all of the food was good, but if you remove the pizza from the equation I think you could find better value or higher quality Italian food(or just save the bill and fly to Italy). That’s no fault of anyone in the kitchen, they don’t set the prices. The entire staff from FoH to Kitchen was fantastic, pleasant and crushed it under the high pace of an opening.

As an SCSU alumni(New Haven) I spent many years with the best pizza in the world. Sally’s and Pepe’s original locations have gone down hill because of the giant influx of “pizza tourism” in New Haven. Portnoy has driven a huge population of pizza lovers to New Haven, and rightly so. That being said those original locations weren’t built to handle that volume. Last month I had Pepe’s down in New Haven and was very disappointed. It took 2 hours to get a pie and that was calling ahead. There was no quality control going on with that many pies being made. I got Pepe’s up here in Burlington a week later and it was spot on and delicious. Sally’s will have the same thing happen. Once the initial novelty wears off and the staff have time to make the pie the right way I guarantee they will put out a better pie than the New Haven location because they won’t have the insane lines out the door every night of the week. Pepe’s and Sally’s 10 minutes down the highway from one another. Our own little slice of Wooster street here in the...

Super mixed visit. This was my third time here and the pizza was out of this world amazing. New Haven style apizza is its own thing and my family loves it and has eaten at all of the “Big 3” in New Haven. We make a trip there because the food is worth the 90 minute drive. Those saying it was “burnt” should stick to little ceasars…it would be much more to their liking.

The highlights end there unfortunately.

I tried to make a reservation at 5pm Monday but they said all they would have for my party of 5 was a booth. I asked what time would be better as we had some flexibility with the schedule and would rather not be crammed into a booth. They suggested 7 and so I said 7 would be fine.

We showed up a bit early (6:30) and let them know we were there and there was no rush unless they could seat us. The receptionist said 7 would be best so we walked around the shopping center for 25 minutes and returned at 6:55, checking in for our 7 pm reservation.

The hostess said we were ready and lead us to…a booth. I explained to her that at their own recommendation we had come at the later time so we could be seated at a table large enough for our party and she didn’t t know how to respond. We returned to the hostess station and she checked with another person and returned a few minutes later saying they were clearing a table for us and it would be a few minutes.

Still fine.

Shortly after we were led to a standard 4 top with a chair brought to the side…at a table that seemed to be the same size if not smaller than the booth table. It was flanked on one side by two four tops pushed together with 8 settings and a two top. At this point I was slightly annoyed but I could tell by the looks my wife was giving me that she didn’t want me to raise the issue further so I didn’t.

Our server came and introduced himself and informed us that pizza would be at least an hour and probably longer because they just had two large parties leave (both 10+ people) and the kitchen was backed up. Now call me crazy, but serving 2 parties of 30 people combined is still about the same as serving 15 parties of 2 in terms of making pizza, is it not? Regardless we put in our drink order and discussed what we wanted while he was getting the drinks. We placed the order for 3 large pies and 2 table appetizers (our usual order for the 5 of us because what’s better than leftover pizza?) and began just chatting (2 of our 3 are home for the holidays from school in the Midwest) The drinks were extremely slow in being refilled - my soda was empty by the time the apps were brought by a different server and no refill was offered until a flagged our server down to ask for one. Two pizzas arrived after about an hour and we dug in. Again - the food was delicious and hot and perfect. After 20 minutes our server returned and asked how everything was and I replied “delicious but incomplete” and he said “oh good” and walked away, completely oblivious that only 2/3 of our order had arrived. (I should add the two top next to us remained empty the entire time and about 30 minutes after we were seated three people came to sit at the table for 8 next to us and they only ordered drinks. The entire row of 4 two tops in the middle sat unoccupied our entire visit so it was well under full occupancy and our server seemed only responsible for our table and the mostly empty table for 8 next to us. He may have had other tables in another section but I never saw him at any other tables)

Finally he came back 10 minutes later to ask if there was anything we needed, and I simply said the bring the check and a box for the leftovers but to make sure we’re not charged for the third pizza we never received and he looked very confused.

To his credit the check was correct but I received zero apology or explanation.

I left a 10% tip which given the circumstances was generous. I normally do 20% as a minimum and go up from there but this was an exception. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the service to the manager and explained what had happened. She apologized and game...

In a young boy's life, there's a defining moment when he truly steps into manhood--whether it's that first job, that first shave, that first drive, or now, that first slice. This is my rite of passage at Sally's. Ah, Beetz.

While I didn't know Salvatore Consiglio personally, I assume he'd be pleased at the turnout for opening night. Sally's did their best to prepare for pandemonium and save for a couple service snafus and delays (bunch of tables seemed to get comp'd apps for the wait on pizzas), otherwise, they navigated it well, all things considered. No takeout. No reservations. Just legions of One Bite wanna-bes (myself included) wrapped around the block in puffer jackets, waiting to get a whiff of some of the best pizza in America. Oh. And a booty-thumping DJ, evidently (although I suspect this is just opening-weekend fanfare).

The restaurant itself was modern and sprawling, with an open concept, floor-to-ceiling windows, a huge wrap-around bar, and almost enough seating to accommodate the droves of mini-Portnoy's taking selfies with their pies, as if they just announced a Facebook relationship status together. Admittedly, it was humbling to arrive just minutes into their grand opening, watching the pizza bourgeoisie flaunt their golden tickets through the windows to zombie onlookers, shuffling along the red carpet sidewalk like the Walking Dead. And though we had to park in Burlington, the line moved relatively quickly, and soon enough, we entered the pearly gates of St. Sally.

We opted for brussel sprouts as an app, which were overcooked and overly balsamic sweet. That said, the crown jewel of New Haven translates its coal-fired and sauce-forward pie to perfection with the same thin, crispy, chewy char that we've come to salivate over on Wooster Street. So good that no one even cares they're shaped like that concerning birthmark on Grandpa's back.

In the end, as I took my last contemplative bite, I couldn't help but think, "Salvatore, if you're watching from pizza heaven, you've truly left an indelible mark on New England and beyond." Sally's Apizza in Woburn is more than a restaurant; it's a cosmic convergence of crispy crusts and celestial sauce. So, as I exit the pizza paradise, my belly full and my soul seasoned, I raise my slice to the maestro of mozzarella, the sultan of sauce, and the new grand wizard of Woburn--Salvatore Consiglio. May every pizza pilgrimage delightful, and every bite a reminder that in this chaotic universe, there's always room for another slice...