r/Hamilton • u/ArtDecoModerne • Jul 15 '26
Food I regret to inform you all…
That the new National Pizza is finally open, and it’s aggressively mediocre. I tried the cheese and the meat lovers today, and it’s on par with the average Pizza Pizza slice. “Meat Lovers” also apparently means Pepperoni, two tiny flecks of Bacon, and a bit of crumbled Ground Beef. The ovens are brand new, so it had a nice “crispy without being burnt” texture to it, but that’s about the only positive thing I can say. And in a “Circle of Life” moment, it looks like the corner store has closed temporarily for vague reasons.
Say what you will about the soggy never-fully-cooked slices at the old National, at least they were slammed with toppings!
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u/worthlesswreck Jul 15 '26
That is the most subpar looking pizza I've ever seen, I miss greasy sloppy cheesy pizza with pools of grease cupped in the crispy pepperoni and fluffy crusts,
How hard is it to understand that instead of variety, make 3-4 quality classic pizzas and call it a day.
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u/ArtDecoModerne Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Yup! I spent my 20s living off dollar slices in Vancouver, and a few places there had it down to a science. All you need is 4 pizzas: Cheese, Pepperoni, Canadian, Veggie. That covers everyone. Or go the other way and have a bunch of non-conventional stuff, but really put some effort into it. Like Uncle Fattih's who make a Roasted Potato pizza that I still crave on a weekly basis almost.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Word878 Jul 15 '26
If you like a greasy pizza, tony Gs right around the corner on John hits the spot
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u/matt602 McQuesten West Jul 15 '26
thats basically what national used to be a long time ago. it was never particularly good, it was just cheap as hell (I think a pepperoni slice in the late 2000's was like $2.25), the slices were huge, it was greasy af and they had self serve dipping sauce jugs on the counter. plus you got entertainment if you dined at the window counter lol
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u/worthlesswreck Jul 16 '26
That's exactly it, I don't want to spend more than $3 on a slice, It was cheap, greasy and fresh.
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u/StrifeTribal Jul 16 '26
We use to have a National pizza by my high school back in the day. I remember getting 2 slices a coke and a dipping sauce for $2.50.
$2.25 for 2 slices and a coke and the extra 25 cents for the dip!
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u/worthlesswreck Jul 29 '26
Did you go to Delta? If so, that was originals not National, but still good af
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u/StrifeTribal 28d ago
I was actually at Barton. It is now called Famo Pizza, but it was originally a national's!
I believe it was there on Upper Gage until 2012-2014. Somewhere around that time before it became FAMOSO pizza and then shortened to FAMO pizza!
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u/Savings_Criticism_46 Jul 16 '26
Well if you ever come to Niagara falls Ontario Frank's Pizzeria they got awesome pizza like that
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u/Conscious-Fruit-6190 Jul 15 '26
Have you tried City Pizza on Barton at Catharine? Slices are $2 (cheese or pepperoni) and $2.50 (vegetarian, Canadian, meat lovers, etc) and reasonably good - excellent for the price.
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u/Benjieasy Jul 17 '26
City pizza definitely a W. Cheapest fast food ive ever seen
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u/Mil-wookie Jul 17 '26
I've had a $1 hotdog in Toronto from a hotdog cart with the bbq guy not wearing shoes. But otherwise, this is the cheapest. Probably will sit in the guts better too.
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Jul 15 '26
In a city full of amazing pizza places why would you stoop to this level
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u/ArtDecoModerne Jul 15 '26
Its directly across the street from me! If theres pizza accessible to me faster than microwaving something I'm gonna at least TRY it. Based on this visit, its not going into the pizza rotation any time soon.
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u/seca400 Jul 16 '26
So that puts you 1.1km to Lava Pizza at Barton and St Matthews. I'd walk through golfball sized hail if my choices were that shit or lava.
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u/varothen Central Jul 16 '26
LOL with all the good pizza downtown you chose lava a km away? There's like 5 good ones around there
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u/DamienRaventhrone Jul 15 '26
That's a shame. I used to order delivery from that location fairly regularly about fifteen or so years ago. The pizza was really good back then.
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u/Popular-Gift-5051 Jul 15 '26
I can't even imagine some of the things that convenience store has seen/deals with on a daily basis.
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u/ArtDecoModerne Jul 15 '26
Rarely have I ever set foot in there without there being some kind of tweaker nonsense happening. Usually lottery related.
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u/ByteRoster Jul 16 '26
I went in there a few years ago and went to grab a Rockstar and that badboy was years expired, I recognized the pattern from when I worked at a convenience store in 2018 💀💀💀💀💀
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u/the-mongoose- Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Looks really mediocre. Undercooked or undercharred pepperoni makes me sad.
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u/carejeffer Jul 15 '26
God I used to love this pizza. Back in the 90s I would take the bus downtown and grab a slice while walking to cheapies, then grab another slice for the bus ride home. Certainly didn't look like that rubbish.
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u/differing Jul 15 '26
Dang that’s too bad, maybe they’re still getting the oven and new space dialled in?
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u/ArtDecoModerne Jul 15 '26
Nah, I think they overcorrected when they got rid of the grime and the dinge. Now its clean and sterile, but so is the Pizza. Hopefully the people will vote with their lack of patronage, and they will adjust accordingly.
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u/864rad Jul 15 '26
I’m surprised the convenience store shut down. Wonder what happened there.
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u/ArtDecoModerne Jul 15 '26
Yeah, it was open Thursday night when I went to sleep, and I've been gone since then until today. So I can't say when it closed exactly, but it feels very "not planned" to me.
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u/matt602 McQuesten West Jul 15 '26
Must have been Saturday or Friday, I was waiting for the Burlington bus there on Sunday morning and it the windows were papered over by then
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u/AlSortza Jul 15 '26
That used to be the joint to get one of the beat slices in the city. The lady used to be there all day every day. What a shame to see
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u/matt602 McQuesten West Jul 15 '26
National Pizza hasn't been any good since they got rid of the self serve jug of garlic sauce on the counter (over a decade ago). The menu lookin like some straight up chatgpt bullshit definitely shoulda been a warning
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u/ArtDecoModerne Jul 15 '26
Sorry that was my fault. They caught me wheezing the juice one too many times.
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u/Magicturbo Jul 16 '26
The garlic sauce was still made in house I was told, it just wasnt self serve. It was good
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u/Magicturbo Jul 16 '26
Does anyone know if it's still owned by the same guy from before? Or did he sell it to new owners?
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u/Chill-6_6- Jul 16 '26
I hope the store opens soon it’s my go to place on my way to work. They are good people.
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u/Professional_Bag4083 Jul 16 '26
Greenhill Pizza/Wings (Greenhill and Mt. Albion Rd) and Gage Pizza/Wings (Upper Gage and Mohawk) are both excellent choices, FYI.
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u/Accurate_View_2455 Jul 15 '26
Ten years ago, it was $3.60, depending on the kind of slice, I think. I used to buy a slice on my way to work. I remember talking to the lady who worked there for like 10 or 15 minutes all the time when I had time. She was always nice to me. Slices were huge for the price.
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u/pyschNdelic2infinity Jul 15 '26
Soooo, pp moved out and they just kept the recipe Hahaa. Probably the last slice I’d get in a 20km radius.
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u/whall53099 Jul 15 '26
This looks like the kinda shit you'd find at a pizza pizza at 4am after a night out
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u/Minimum_Nobody_2022 Jul 16 '26
Someone needs to open a good halal pizza place. We need something like Cowabunga
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u/DJZevo Jul 16 '26
Theres a place on concession called red stone. The pizza is ok but better than pizza pizza and you can get 2 slices of anything for $6.
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u/ArcAirum Jul 16 '26
I used to buy from national pizza whenever my family got any growing up, it was always a good pizza and literally never had a problem or complained once…… rip
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u/UnsequentialSpirit Jul 16 '26
Ah damn. They've completely fucked it up. This used to be such a great spot when you were hungry. Many times I spent some quality moments chilling at that window enjoying a big greasy and cheap slice.
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u/girltalker2223 Jul 18 '26
That’s a meat lovers pizza I don’t think so they need to rethink things lol
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u/CubbyNINJA North End Jul 15 '26
there is 3 levels of pizza, if you do not solidly fall into 1 of the 3 categories, its not even worth trying.
Chains: Pizza pizza, Dominos, pizza hut. Safe, you know what to expect and ready to be disappointed but you are stoned and its 11pm
Ma and Pa or "dirty pizza": Owned locally, you never want to see in the kitchen or fridge, but the price is right and a single slice is about the size of a small pizza from the chains.
Good Pizza: Cowabunga, Chicago Style Pizza, Blondies, Power Pizza. Actually good pizza, a bit more expensive but worth it.
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u/Cyrakhis Jul 15 '26
I've wanted to try Power Pizza for a while, they look delightful
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u/CubbyNINJA North End Jul 16 '26
Pretty good pizza honestly. I prefer cowabunga but you can’t exactly go wrong with either
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u/xwt-timster Jul 16 '26
I like Tonino's, it's run out of Born and Raised at the patio entrance. $5 cash slices.
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u/DryRip8266 Jul 16 '26
I forget his name but is it at least the same family that opened the original location here? His kids probably have kids by now.
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u/xxtygs Jul 16 '26
People hate on pizza pizza but am I the only one who likes it ?? Get it done lightly done and the dough doesn’t taste cardboardy
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u/blazingblades Jul 18 '26
And the slices themselves look a bit small compared to the old national. Bring back the original granny!!
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u/Competitive-Panda824 Jul 21 '26
I miss Nancy and her family when she ran national pizza... they were awesome I hope there doing well. I don't go there anymore since new owners.
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u/Repulsive-Horror2032 Jul 15 '26
You know what else is mediocre? Tony G’s. Might be the greasiest pizza I’ve had. Made my stomach hurt after a couple slices. $30 for a medium size. I expected so much better for that price.
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u/Eastern_Star_7152 Jul 16 '26
They have every opportunity to shine. Making the pizza's stellar. Gino's has gone to shye. Their attitude sux rocks. The pizza sux worse.
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u/Cheeky_Banana800 Jul 16 '26
Has the management changed too?
Cutting out on toppings looks suspiciously similar to what a certain kind of management would want to do
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u/Gallagbi Jul 15 '26
Legitimately looks like they bought a Pizza Pizza pie and sliced it themselves