Joe's Pizza

07/09/09

REVIEW FROM CITYSEARCH's 3BUCKBITES DICTATOR

by KRamos at Citysearch

This unassuming New York-style pizza joint in Santa Monica serves the real stuff - you can tell because the guys behind the counter make you feel like you are in Brooklyn and not right next to the Promenade. Even the guy eating next to me spoke with a Long Island accent. The generous mozzarella slice is unlike anything you have ever eaten in LA before: thin-as-paper ultra-crispy crust, the lightest of fresh tomato sauce, a marbling of heavenly mozzarella, and fresh leafy basil topped just before serving. Fresh pies come out nearly every quarter-hour and are worth the wait.

02/12/09

Amazing pizza,just like i remember it in new york city!

by pizzalaver at Citysearch

If you havent had the great pizza yet, get down to Joe's Pizza in santa monica. I had the best pizza since i was back in new york last month. i have had it delivered to my house a couple of times and my family and i have gone into the shop and ate many times. each time has been a plesurable experrience. wow santa monica finally real great new york pizza!!! thanks Joe!

• Pros: Amazing Pizza.Quick Freindly service. Nice atmosphere

02/02/09

Santa Monica location got off to a rough start, but it is now the best pizza in L.A.

by svtman21 at Citysearch

My love of pizza is RIDICULOUS, I am obsessed with it and demand the best. I've been going to Joe's on Bleecker Street in NYC for almost a decade. I've lived in L.A. the past 11.5 years, so you can imagine how ecstatic I was when Joe's opened up a location here. I had searched in vain for over 10 years for decent pizza in L.A. Finally New York's best pizza was coming to ME! I'll be honest though, I've been going to the Santa Monica location since it opened, and it has taken them a while to equal the legendary Bleecker Street location. For the first 9 months or so the service was very disorganized and the pizza was spotty; sometimes burned on the bottom, and other times too thick. I chalked this up to a green staff of mostly locals, who obviously do not have the pizza savvy of New Yorkers. But, Joe (who lives in L.A. now) was very hands-on all the while, observing and critiquing his new staff, and a lot of times making the pizzas and working the cash register himself. Finally things are in a state where I don't miss the Bleecker Street location anymore. Service is fast and efficient, and the pizza is just right; thin, crispy, with just the right amount of sauce and cheese. I have had pizza all over the world, and have eaten at NYC's top 30 rated pizza places. I also flew to San Francisco in 2007 just to eat one of Tony Gemignani's signature pizzas, which won Italy's world pizza championship in 2007. Joe's beats them all, it is simply the best slice of pizza there is. If you like NY-style pizza, give it a try and you'll agree, nothing else compares.

• Pros: Best pizza in L.A., quick service
• Cons: Small storefront with minimal seating, a tad pricey

11/02/08

Further Proof That Pizza in LA is Below Average

by foodiepdx0423 at Citysearch

After suffering with all the awful pizza in this town (Dagwood's, Abbot's, Wildflour, Bravo...ALL BAD), I head Joe's was coming to Santa Monica. I had high hopes, and wondered if I would FINALLY experience good pizza. Sadly, Joe's proves that there is STILL no good pizza in LA. I ordered a cheese pizza with pepperoni and basil, and the toppings were scant. A few pepperoni slices strewn about, and a couple of torn basil leaves was all I got. For all the money they charge for toppings, this was laughable. It was flavorless and bland, and the sauce had absolutely no zing to it . The crust was rubbery, the cheese was hard, and it was just sort of...blah. The quality was right up there with something you would get at a mall food court. I haven't tried the NY locations but if they're anything like this, then...I just don't get it. My advice - make your own homemade pizza, and skip Joe's.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Bland, flavorless, mall food court pizza; way too expensive for what you get

Spare walls, quick service, and nearly no seating prove that this pizza joint is about one thing only: Pizza.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
With rave reviews and celebrity testimonials about its original Greenwich Village location, this pie shop serves no-nonsense New York pizza in an appropriately stark and functional storefront just off the Third Street Promenade. Throughout the day, the crowd shifts from Santa Monica lunch crowds and tourists to evening revelers looking for a quick bite. It might not look unusual, but the signature thin crust is light and crisp enough to defy gravity, even without that famous New York water. A straightforward array of toppings adorns full pies, and ready-made slices include plain cheese, pepperoni, and a caprese with silver-dollar-sized slices of fresh mozzarella. The garlic knots are chewy lumps covered in garlic chunks big enough to derail a subway car (although the flavor is surprisingly absent). Salads and calzones round out the menu.

05/13/08

Terrible customer service

by kpetro1 at Citysearch

My roommate and I were very excited to try Joe's, so we called around 6:30PM to order a pizza and she was told that it would be delivered in 20 minutes, so we were concerned 40 min later. She called to inquire and was rudely told, "We're busy, he'll be there soon." About 20 min later, they called and said that the delivery guy was outside, he wasn't and somehow they can confused 15th St. with STANFORD St.

A few minutes later, they called back to tell us that we are outside the delivery zone b/c we don't live in Santa Monica and they couldn't find us on the map. Stanford and Broadway IS IN SANTA MONICA. They then said they couldn't deliver b/c we are out of the delivery zone-info that would have been more useful an hour ago when we placed the order. Everyone was rude and they didn't offer to deliver even though it was their fault, but we were welcome to pick up the 1.5 hour old pizza. We called Papa Johns instead.

• Pros: Given that they never showed up, can't comment on the food, experience was all negative
• Cons: Awful customer service, idiocy, inability to find streets on a map

03/15/08

I guess I got lucky. Great service and a fresh slice of cheese right out of the oven.

by ravendreamer at Citysearch

I ordered a slice of cheese and garlic knots. The staff was super sweet. They welcomed me, shook my hand, and was ultra attentive. They were not offended when I explained I didn't understand spanish and laughed. While my garlic knots were heating up they put a slice of cheese in a box to go for me. During that time, another cheese pizza came out and the server/cook switched out my slice for a fresh one automatically! Very impressive! They all said good bye in unison and told me to enjoy. The cheese was perfectly melted, perfect amount of sauce that tasted fresh and the crust was crispy but not burnt which is ultra rare. Delicious! Wasn't crazy about the garlic knots as they were hard to chew. Will definitely come back to the warm welcome and the great pizza! :-)

• Pros: Delicious, fresh, NYC pizza and friendly service.
• Cons: Didn't like the garlic knots.

03/06/08

Worst customer service I have ever experienced

by shahooty at Citysearch

First time I ordered from there, the food never shows up. We try calling back we finally get past the busy signal and talk to a real person (rude), and then the person puts us on hold for a few seconds, then they hung up. Ok, they're new, working the kinks out, maybe they were just really busy.

The second time we order, they bring us the wrong order and overcharge us. And the Pizza was not so good on top of that. They say it's NY pizza, which is laughable. So after getting the wrong order we call them back and someone there named Matt tells us he's a manager and that the next time we order we'll get a free pizza. Ok, pizza's not great, service is bad, but they're trying to make amends, and maybe the Pizza will get better. They are still new after all.

Third time we call, once again they hang up on us twice, finally we get through and they tell us Matt didn't have the authority to give us a free pie. So we're done with Joes. My suggestion, call Abbot Pizza or Dagwoods instead.

Average pizza

Awful cutomer service.

• Pros: I didn't die when I ate their food
• Cons: The worst customer service you will ever experience. They are outright jerks.

02/25/08

The truth about Joe's

by eddiewouldgo at Citysearch

I've been to this place since it opened - anticipating the closest thing to a NY slice than actually going to NY. I just returned from my fourth visit and I'm still left unsatisfied ("That's what she said" - Michael Scott). All slices lack sauce - and the cheese is really hard - maybe because they never heat up your slice in the oven before giving it to you. I understand that the original location in NY is very busy, so once the pizza is out, they just hand out slices. But the Santa Monica location is slow and there are pizzas sitting there for a while before they get replaced. I thought the problem only happened when ordering by the slice, but I ordered a whole pizza, took it back to work (a block away) and it had the same consistency - hard, cold cheese with very little sauce.

If you want to compare a better NY slice, check out Mulberry's in Beverly Hills, Lamonica's in Westwood, or just up the street in Santa Monica there is Bravo's.

• Pros: If you're nearby and want a slice, it's worth trying.
• Cons: Pizza is hard, cold, and lacks sauce

02/04/08

A great Pizza addition to SM, lack's sauce

by mv310 at Citysearch

Yes! NY pizza has arrived! Wait, is this it???

Sicilian - great! Perfect crunch/soft crust. Cheese is fresh and sauce is good (needs more though.)

Slices - cheese is great, but every slice I've had hasn't had enough sauce. I get it, the pizza is supposed to be thrown together as if it wasn't calculated, so I'm not guaranteed a bite of sauce, cheese, and toppings with every chomp. The lack of sauce is very evident throughout though. Even the second time I ordered a large pie, I requested extra sauce (as a topping) and was only marginally happier. I will return, but I hope that this is only part of their "opening jitters."

The store is cool, and the guys are pretty cool. Except for the phone/delivery guy who says "Joe's Pizza as heard of on XM Radio." He repeated that twice on the phone, then once at the door when I leaned away from him to grab my wallet. After I came back to the door, I asked what he was saying and he told me not to worry about it . Weird...

• Pros: Qaulity slices
• Cons: Lacks sauce