Eating Pizza in Las Vegas
I put all my money on red (sauce).
I went to Las Vegas for essentially the first time in my life a few weeks back (though I’ve been through for a few hours/some In-N-Out multiple times prior).
I had a lot of unique and interesting pizza while I was there, and while I wasn’t able to make it to a few of the restaurants I was hoping to get to — primarily Metro Pizza and Pizza Rock — I’ll still maintain that five different pizzerias in roughly 48 hours is a pretty solid clip.
Here’s a rundown of the pizzas I ate and the shops that I visited, along with some additional background on the chefs/owners/operators, and the restaurants themselves.
First stop!
Double Zero Pie & Pub is a wood-fired restaurant serving Neapolitan-style pizzas inspired by the pizza parlors of Tokyo (which has seen a gigantic boom in its pizza scene over the last decade or so).
Double Zero was opened in Vegas’ Chinatown by World Pizza Champion Michael Vakneen in June 2023, and the only way to currently experience the pizza is at the restaurant itself, as they offer no carryout or delivery options (they also highly recommend making a reservation, which I did right here).
The term “double zero” refers to the finely milled 00 (double zero) flour that’s paramount in Neapolitan pizza making. Double zero flour produces a softly textured dough, which is essential to creating the Neapolitan-style pies that emerge bubbling and blistered from Double Zero’s wood-fire oven.
There are a few things that immediately jump out at you about Double Zero’s pizzas, but the most prominent feature is probably the spotting, or “leoparding” in pizza dork terminology, on the crust — where the dark, raised spots indicate a well-developed gluten structure and a dough that’s light, fluffy, and full of air pockets. It’s also a signifier that your pizza has been cooked with incredibly hot, and even, heat.
Double Zero’s leoparding is pretty unique, as most of the Neapolitan pizzas I’ve seen recently (even those in Italy) didn’t have bubbles erupting out of their crust that reached anywhere close to that height.
I ordered a Margherita (sans basil), and it was everything you’d want from a classic Neapolitan; a dough that’s airy and chewy with a slightly crispy shell, and an even balance between the bright freshness of the tomato sauce and the heavy richness of the cheese and oil.
An interesting thing that happened at Double Zero, and I’m not entirely sure if it was intentional, was that there was a significant amount of sea salt adhered to the fresh mozzarella (which made for some incredible bites as the salt cuts right through the fat of the cheese), as if they had salted the chunks of cheese before they baked the pizza. It’s entirely possible the salt just happened to stick to the cheese because of the high moisture content in fresh mozzarella — I haven’t heard of anyone specifically salting it before — but it’s certainly something I’ll try to replicate in the future.
In addition to the accolades heaped on Double Zero’s head pizzaiolo, the restaurant earned some for itself recently as well:
I loved Double Zero and would absolutely go back (short rib alla’arancia next time, for sure). I also spent a few hours wandering around Chinatown after, and I’d highly recommend that as an underrated thing to do while you’re in Vegas as well.
Second stop!
Evel Pie is an Evel Knievel themed pizzeria, bar, and slice shop in the original old downtown area of Las Vegas, located just outside the madness that is Fremont Street. I was on Fremont Street for the zipline, and made my way over to check out Evel Pie around 10 pm or so.
Evel Pie served as an incredible contrast to Double Zero, not only in its pizza style, but also in its overall vibe. Whereas Double Zero was a sparkling clean, open, and laid back restaurant, Evel Pie was dark, loud, crammed full of people, and every available surface was either covered in stickers or horror movie memorabilia.
Even though it was late-ish (though admittedly not for Vegas) on a Thursday night, the line for slices snaked all the way through to the back patio door:
It took about twenty minutes to get up to the slice case, and they had a ton of options available — including one of the better pun pizza names I’ve seen in a while:
I went with a slice of EXTREME PEPPERONI (they don’t print it like that, author’s choice), which boasts three different kinds of pepperoni. I waited a few minutes for them to reheat my slice, then took it outside to the front patio:
Like most EXTREME versions of food, there was probably a bit too much going on to the point where it detracted from the overall enjoyment of eating it, as there were all sorts of pepperonis slipping and sliding off with every bite. It was a solid slice, even though a portion of my brain still reels at spending seven dollars for a solitary piece of pizza.
Evel Pie also does whole pies to order, they have a good amount of indoor (and outdoor) seating, and offer a full bar as well. If you’re looking for some interesting topping combinations, or some late night pizza after finishing your shenanigans on Fremont Street, it’s certainly worth a shot.
Third stop!
Manizza’s Pizza is a casual, family-friendly pizzeria in the Spring Valley area of Vegas, located about 15 minutes southwest of the strip. Manizza’s cranks out fantastic thin crust, New York inspired pizza, which they currently offer for dine-in, carryout, and delivery.
Manizza’s was the last restaurant added to my list, and just a few days before I left to boot, thanks in part to a strong recommendation from my buddies Dan at Casazza House, and Mike at Mr. B’s. Part of the reason Manizza’s was on their radar is because of a rather interesting situation that owner Christina Martin is currently in the midst of dealing with:
I reached out to Christina about interviewing her, and not only did she immediately say yes, but she also gave me her cell number and started recommending other pizzerias for me to hit up while I was in Vegas (which serves to perfectly illustrate just how much of a warm and welcoming presence she is).
I’ll have a huge interview with Christina all about her background, Manizza’s, and what it’s like to go after Uber Eats, coming up. If you’d like to know more about her pizza in the meantime, I don’t know that I could say it any better than she already did on Manizza’s website:
“We can all agree that the crust will make or break your pizza. My pizza dough cold bulk ferments for 68+ hours before being hand tossed and placed in our 575 degree stone deck oven. The industry standard is frozen dough balls made in a mystery factory somewhere else, thawed and served up without and love. Call me crazy, but I legit have Frank Sinatra serenade my dough on the Alexa while it does it’s thing in the mixing bowl. My deliberately longer process allows the crust to hold all of your favorite toppings while baking to a golden-brown perfection. Quit eating trash pizza and come enjoy the fruits of my dorky dough obsession. Do it for science.”
Fourth stop!
Yukon Pizza is an entirely different kind of wood-fired restaurant. Located in the Huntridge neighborhood just outside downtown Vegas, Yukon puts out both Neapolitan and New York-style pies (some of which are also available as slices), but with a secret weapon: a 125-year-old sourdough starter that’s been passed down through generations of owner Alex White’s family after initially originating in the (drumroll please) Yukon territory of Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Alex first gained interest in baking with the starter after his father gifted him some:
“When I left for college, my dad handed me my own mason jar of the family sourdough and told me to take good care of it. As I baked with it more and shared the breads, pancakes, and pizzas I made from it, I came to ultimately enjoy what the sourdough did - bringing people together to share good food and good memories. The sourdough is my heirloom and a connection to my family and our past. I am excited and happy to share with you our sourdough pizza, and a slice of my family's history! “
Yukon started out as a backyard pop-up during the pandemic, then spent a few years incubating as part of the Vegas Test Kitchen, before finally finding their current space in Huntridge, which opened in December 2022.
The restaurant itself is relatively small, with seating for maybe 10–12 customers inside, and a few two-person tables out front. Yukon also utilizes two separate ovens, a Bakers Pride deck oven for their New York, and a Fiero Forni wood fired oven for their Neapolitan:
I was in Vegas with some friends, and Yukon was the only pizza restaurant we all went to together. We got there on Friday night right around six, and after waiting a bit to snag some seats, we got a few different Neapolitans to try:
You can immediately notice the variations in the crust between Yukon and Double Zero, and the overall flavor was quite different as well, even though both restaurants bake the same style. If you’ve never had sourdough pizza before, it’s not all that different from sourdough bread in that the flavor of the dough ends up finishing with that same distinct sort of slightly sour tang. I love sourdough pizza, and the sharp notes in the dough can do some interesting things when paired with whatever your favorite traditional (or non-traditional) pizza toppings are.
Yukon’s You Had Me At Garlic pie (which is topped with mozzarella, garlic oil, sliced garlic, confit garlic, garlic ranch, Parmesan, and garlic chili crisp) was probably the biggest hit with our group, but all of our pizzas were wonderful. I was also told specifically not to sleep on Yukon’s smash burger, but I was so ridiculously full that it will have to wait until next time.
Yukon opens at 11:30 am, and is open every day, so it would also be a great early stop to grab some lunch. Be prepared to wait a little bit for your pizza (and maybe to find a seat) as I certainly got the impression they’re serving a steady stream of customers all throughout the day.
Final stop!
Good Pie is a self professed Brooklyn-style restaurant (with a slice window) that serves New York, Detroit, and Grandma-style (sheet pan) pizzas, and is located in the heart of Vegas’ Arts District.
Good Pie opened on National Pizza Day (Feb. 09) in 2018, and was founded by pizzaiolo Vincent Rotolo — who not only grew up in Greenwich Village, but also lived above one of my all-time favorites, John’s of Bleecker, where he got his first official pizza job at the ripe old age of 12. Vincent has spent more than 25 years in hospitality, and after relocating from Brooklyn to Las Vegas, he helped run Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria, and in 2016 he was hired to create the dough recipe (that’s still used to this day) at Evel Pie.
Vincent’s mission was always simply just to “make good pie”, and out of that basic principle the inspiration for his own pizzeria was eventually born.
Good Pie is a clean and classic space, filled with comfy booths, bright, white brick walls, and a long, dark, wooden bar that stretches the entire length of the dining room:
I came in in the middle of the afternoon (I walked over after spending a few hours nearby at the Punk Rock Museum, which rules), grabbed an open chair at the bar, and ordered a few slices:
I really wanted to try their Detroit (a style which I hadn’t had in Vegas at all yet), but they only sell that in whole pies. I spotted the cupped pepperoni on both the Brooklyn and Grandma slices on my way in, so obviously that was calling to me.
Since I didn’t grow up in a city with slice shops, they’ve never really been my preference. The crust is typically too hard/brittle after the reheat, and even though some of my all-time favorite pizzerias are in New York, I can typically taste a discernible difference between their fresh, whole pies and their slices. I also know quite a few people who grew up on slice shops, and they’re predisposed to feel the opposite (which I think is a small part of the reason why a lot of New Yorkers have a hard time adjusting to Chicago pizza, or pizza from anywhere else for that matter).
All that being said, there’s no denying that Good Pie puts out really strong pizza. Next time I would just order a whole Detroit for myself though because purists be damned, a good Buffalo chicken pizza on Detroit-style dough is a magical thing.
Vegas’ Arts District is packed full of breweries, coffee shops, tattoo parlors, and all kinds of really cool vintage stores, so Good Pie would be a great stop in the midst of all that if you feel like walking around and exploring somewhere besides the strip.
Las Vegas’ pizza scene is as unique as all the different types of characters who inhabit it, and I appreciate that just like the city itself, it seems as if there’s something there for everyone.
Weird rabbit hole time, while I was googling to see if a picture of a ‘pizza roulette wheel’ existed so I could steal it for this post, I happened upon this article (Evil? Awesome? Both at the same time?), which describes a game of pizza roulette offered up as a promotion from the New Zealand pizza chain Hell Pizza.
Which reminded me of one of my all-time favorite pizza promotions, once again done by Hell Pizza, the was released all the way back in the halcyon days of non-monetized YouTube:
No newsletter next week because of Thanksgiving, then I’ll be back with the full interview with Christina Martin from Manizza’s Pizza.
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you’re all able to eat some great food and spend a lot of time with people you care about.