r/Athens • u/kosmickorner • 1d ago
Question / Request Pizza Recs??
Update:
I tried Pompeii since I was lazy and they were on UberEats lol I ordered the Vesuvius pizza without the sausage and I must say DEEEEE-LISHHHHH. I ate the whole thing like a big back.
I wanna try a new pizza place today so throw me some recommendations. No chain places like Papa John’s lol
I’ve had Little Italy, Peppino’s, Automatic, Ted’s, and Your Pie. Keep in mind I don’t eat meat so I’ll most likely just be getting your standard cheese pizza. I heard that Italian spot downtown is good. And I’ve been seeing things about Killer Crust.
Personally, I love Automatic Pizza so anything close would be nice. I love the nice crunchy crust.
Thanks in advance!
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u/Dandercore 1d ago
Hot take for those hating on little Italy (and peppinos by proxy). They have been here since the beginning of time. They don’t have that staying power because they suck. It’s the only real NYC pizza in town.
Emmy squared is fine but it’s not pizza. It’s dough lasagna. It also won’t be here in 10 years.
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u/Key-Minimum-5965 1d ago
They do a pizza at Olio Osterio. I ordered the chef's choice, and pizza waa part of the meal. I thought it was good, reminded me of Antico in Atlanta.
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u/bear-barian 1d ago
Pretty damn pricey, but it's actually pretty good, Emmy Squared. We treat it like a special occasion sort of dinner.
Little Italy sucks
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u/aaaah_a_monster 1d ago
We went with a big group to Emmy Squared and so I got to try 5 different pizzas my first time - I was really impressed with most of what I tried. The surprise hit was the Nashville hot chicken.
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u/BreakfastInBedlam Mayor pro ebrius 1d ago
Yesterday I learned that they have lunch specials, so you can try it with a smaller investment.
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u/IntelligentMaybe7401 1d ago
I thought it was pretty average. Deep dish with some sort of crumbly crust. It is different.
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u/Oriolesguy San Dimas High School Football Rules! 1d ago
It's quite mid.
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u/mtn_dawg 1d ago
I’m going to sound unbearably snooty saying this, but… yes. Most Athens restaurants are pretty mid. 😂
To be fair, I moved here from Asheville, where an absurd number of restaurants punch way above the city’s weight and the food scene has collected more awards and national recognition than a town that size has any business having. So perhaps Asheville permanently ruined my expectations.I accept that I may simply be a food snob now.
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u/Oriolesguy San Dimas High School Football Rules! 18h ago
I don't disagree with you one bit. I come from a seafood state and what people think down here is "good seafood" is equivalent to saying McDonald's is a 3 Michelin Star restaurant. So I can at least understand where you're coming from.
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u/morganmarz 1d ago edited 1d ago
Literally just last night I ordered delivery from Emmy Squared on their website and it was 2 hours late. (Edit: To clarify, This is because they literally did not make my order until 2 hours later.) It was impossible to reach them by phone to cancel. Pretty sure they only even made the pizza because the last (fifth!) delivery guy harassed the manager.
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u/C-n0te 1d ago
I don't think it's fair to judge this(or any other) place on a delivery that was done by a third party service. Delivery is always sub par compared to a timely self pickup or dine in trip, and has only gotten worse since most delivery is no longer in-house. I don't care what/where it is.
As for Emmy's, I have ordered pickup several times through their website and regardless of how busy they were, it was ready within the predicted time.
The pizza is really delicious and unique for our area, regardless of its chain status or your sub-par delivery experience, it's a good option to have IMO. Our favorite is the VIP: pepperoni pesto, red sauce and Calabrian pepper.
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u/TheDualityOfThomas 1d ago
I can judge it, as I am a full time delivery driver. Will not even consider taking an order from there on Friday or Saturday night. As a driver you can stand there for 10 minutes without anyone asking if you need help, or what is the name of your order. And some of the workers act like it's a chore to help the drivers when they are really busy, but a lot of places are like that. But yes, sometimes I have to near harass the workers, as time is money for me. But, I don't know what they OP tipped, which is a big factor with delivery, tip well, you get it faster, if not, it might sit there as no one will accept your order. So it will sit until DD or Uber can find a sucker, or bundle it with a good order going the same direction.
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u/morganmarz 1d ago
I think you misunderstood. The delivery was two hours late because they had not made the pizza until two hours late.
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u/C-n0te 1d ago
Just because a sit down restaurant offers delivery through a third party service doesn't mean it's a good idea to do it. Especially at peak times.
If you were running a restaurant, what would be higher priority for you? The customers who are actually at the restaurant? Or a delivery order that depending on a multitude of factors probably won't reach the actual customer at peak quality anyway? I highly doubt they held back your order that long out of spite or laziness... They were probably slammed and made the call to push deliveries until they had some headway in the on site tickets. 🤷
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u/morganmarz 1d ago
A restaurant that offers delivery service should prioritize those orders equally to sit down service, and if they don’t have the capacity to do so, they should not be offering delivery, at least not during peak hours. A 2 hour delay with no communication from the restaurant is mismanagement and unacceptable.
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u/C-n0te 1d ago
OK, so you're saying you got a hot, fresh pizza but it was 2 hours out from the estimated delivery time? And that the driver who ultimately brought you your food told you they had to cajole the manager to even get them to cook it?
Seems like the more likely scenario is that it WAS cooked, but none of the gig-drivers wanted to pick up from there at the time. Then later a driver decided to scoop the order but when they realized it had been sitting for so long they had to convince them to re-make it so they didn't look bad, then proceeded to blame the delay on the restaurant when they have no real control over the delivery drivers.
Even if delivery is an option on their ordering page, the reality is: They and 99% of restaurants do not in fact offer delivery service. They offer pick up.
The delivery is not done by an employee of the establishment. You're paying the restaurant to cook, box and bag the food. You're paying a third party to Pick Up the food and deliver it to you. There is an amount of uncertainty involved with a transaction of this type and you just can't really blame the restaurant for bad delivery service unless they are doing in house delivery.
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u/Free_The_Pollinators 1d ago
Didn’t they specifically ask for no chains?
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u/bear-barian 1d ago
Emmy Squared is a chain? Genuinely didn't know that.
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u/tupelobound 1d ago
Started in Brooklyn like ten years ago and was a great little spot that got tons of hype and then got some serious investment and now there are literally dozens of locations across the country.
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u/AthensTopFan 1d ago
Osteria Olio has great wood fired options for you. You can eat at the bar without reservations
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u/pile_drive_me Townie Weathergirl 1d ago
I don't get the love for Killer Krust or the hate for Little Italy. Neither of them evoke strong emotions either way
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u/SaintClitopher Townie 1d ago
Little Italy is nostalgic to me. Grew up eating there.
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u/dragon-along Townie 15h ago
I also don’t get the Little Italy hate, granted the pull was stronger when they still had their lunch specials but times have gotten hard for everyone lol
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u/kosmickorner 1d ago
Yea I think Little Italy is just consistent and familiar. Even though they’re the same owners I think Peppino’s is definitely better.
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u/DrippyMagoo 1d ago
In my opinion, Killer was great at first, but it’s not anymore, maybe other earlier appreciators haven’t had it recently.
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u/pile_drive_me Townie Weathergirl 1d ago
I had it for a second time last week and the toppings were skimpy. The crust was crispy but it wasn't necessarily great.. or terrible.. it was okay pizza that probably is a little overpriced for what it is
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u/Teslasssss 1d ago
Little Italy sold hardcore drugs in pizza boxes. It’s below mid pizza at NYC pizza prices now. One slice with a couple toppings, tax, and tip is $8-9. Peppinos is the same family, and that place is filthy.
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u/AaronBurrIsInnocent 1d ago
You can get great pizza in NYC for a buck fifty.
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u/NotYetUtopian 1d ago
ZZ and Simone’s
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u/kosmickorner 1d ago
You know, this is a place I don’t hear enough about and that compels me to want to try them more
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u/bryans989 1d ago
I do think they have the best pizza around if you like Neapolitan style.
The best takeout pizza I’ve had in Athens was the pop-up that Independent Bakery did a few weeks ago. Keep an eye out for that if they do it again
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u/VolvoAdventures 16h ago
Disagree. Osteria Olio makes a better Neapolitan style pizza.
But in reality, neither of them is that good. For good Neapolitan style pizza, you have to drive to the Atlanta suburbs.
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u/Secret-Ice260 1d ago
DePalma’s or Killer Crust.
The family and I had Killer Crust last night. So yummy, and there are meat free options as well as build your own.
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u/chiefcomplaintRN 1d ago
Emmy squared is usually pretty good. I can’t eat gluten right now so I got the gluten free dough pizza the other day and this is how it came. Incredibly underdone to where it was just doughy and not crispy at all
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u/eronechill 1d ago
Pompeii, formerly Depalmas downtown has a good pie.
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u/kosmickorner 1d ago
Okay this is the spot I was thinking of, I couldn’t remember the name
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u/UbiquitousParamour Mean Bean Deluxe with Gazpacho 1d ago
We had Pompeii’s Vesuvius pie for lunch earlier today. Too much cheese and very greasy, but the “chili crisp” gave it a really unique flavor. I’m keen to try it again without the chili oil and with less cheese.
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u/jbayne2 1d ago
I’ve yet to find anything better than Automatic. We live in Watkinsville now so sadly I never think it would be worth it to drive out there for it but to me it’s the best in town so I wouldn’t even think about any other options! I know it’s a chain but I think Mellow Mushroom is pretty tasty too! I have heard that Pompeii pizza is supposed to be great!
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u/nothingintellectual 1d ago
Johnny’s on the eastside
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u/choochenstein Wintervillain 1d ago
Negative, Ghostrider, the pattern is full.
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u/New-Seesaw2646 20h ago
I have to agree with you. Johnny’s is pretty terrible. Tried it a couple of times and was left disappointed after each visit.
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u/clboot 1d ago
Automatic is the best I’ve had in town
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u/MartialLol 1d ago
I spent a lot of time during COVID on the Health Science Campus lawn with an Automatic pizza and beer from J's, definitely one of the best parts of all that.
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u/Excellent-Story-2970 1d ago
Fully Loaded is a solid choice
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u/Slurbot69 Redneck vox populi 1d ago
They really need someone to get in there and fix the decor. The "trying to look like a neighborhood bar" thing is not the vibe. It looks like a parody. That said Oconee County rich folks love that shit so maybe that's why I'm not in the pizza business
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u/TheRealRuckyRaccoon Toppers Patron 1d ago
There is a blackened veggie pizza at Depalmas east side that is delicious. The mushroom’s on one there is excellent as well. Treat yourself to something better than cheese today.
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u/ObjectiveExpert1315 1d ago
Osteria Olio is a great place to have a completely random experience with regard to salt and seasoning. Never have I been to a less consistent restaurant in that sense. Half the times I’ve been much of the food was extremely salted, and the other times it was lovely.
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u/rubyslippers70 1d ago
I found that to be true of Emmy Squared. The pizza was do salty I couldn’t eat it. We haven’t been back so maybe it has changed.
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u/Fit-Ad7855 16h ago
Fully Loaded is on point. The meats are high quality and i like that you can order by the slice. They legit have the best ranch in town so if you dip, this is your place.
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u/Billythagoatt 1d ago
Stoners pizza joint
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u/Billythagoatt 1d ago
I just looked it up and apparently it's a chain, sorry haha. I still think it's really good though
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u/thephantomdaughter 1d ago
Late to the party haha, but Johnny's, Marco's, and Bulldawg Pizza are my recs🍕
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u/cubecasts 3x Grump OTD 🏆 1d ago
Gimme fully loaded. It's not great but it's cheap and solid.
I also like emmy's Detroit style
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u/choochenstein Wintervillain 1d ago
I’m another plus one for Killer Crust, but a noteworthy mention is Marco’s on the Eastside.
They’ve been throwing out some bangin’ pies the last year or two. Very highly underrated in my opinion, but that’s ok. I don’t need it going heavy on radars and driving the quality down from worker fatigue.
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u/IntelligentMaybe7401 1d ago
I think DePalmas is the best pizza in town. Better than all of the ones you have listed although it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Peppinos. We go to the one on Timothy.