Department of FoodieDepartment of Foodie
Brick-oven pies (no slices) with crisp thin crusts are the signature of this circa-1929 pizzeria.
What to order: The John’s Original Pizza · Garlic Bread · The Fifty (specialty pie)From Google Maps reviews.
We stopped in with a party of 10. We were greeted outside in line and were told we would be taken care of in 10-15 mins and we were. A pleasant surprise considering the line down the sidewalk. Pizza was great, service was great. Would recommend. My personal favorite was the piccante. Will be back on my next NYC trip. Bonus for any fans of Friends…the apartment building from the show is just 3 blocks away. Cool neighborhood to walk around.
Not sure what Portnoy tasted during his review but the pizza is not very good. I'm from Chicago but in recent years I've started liking NY style a little better than Chicago. Order a pepperoni pizza and the "fifty" pizza, fried zucchini, mozzarella sticks and garlic bread. Everything was good except the pizza. Seems they use can tomato sauce but I'm not sure. There's tomato chunks and not much flavor in the sauce. It was very greasy! The crust was good but we didn't enjoy it at all.
Really good garlic bread, some of the best! The cheese sticks are ok, average but the dip is delicious and the pizza is sol good. I think my favourite in new york. Their reputation is well deserved.
From the Feb 25, 2026 health inspection. Lower-priority items are listed after the serious ones.
Food was left exposed to possible contamination during storage, prep, or serving.
Evidence of mice was found on site.
Shelves, ledges, or equipment exteriors aren't clean or easy to clean.
Gaps, cracks, or clutter make it easy for pests to get in and nest.