As someone from New Jersey this is it! It's what I have been craving. The orange hue to the cheese is an indicator they are using the same cheese that the East Coast shops are using. The big slices are nearly unheard of in California, but everywhere on the East Coast. Most places are serving 16-18" pie slices, but they need be up in the 20s for authenticity. The metal dudes behind the counter are also authentic. You see this often in NJ with an old Italian guy looking over them. The hygiene part - you just kind of have to block this out. read more

Arinell's (yes, we old school say it plural) was always my #1 thin pizza in the Bay Area, but that chapter has closed. The pizza is still pretty much the same, give or take a few flavor notes, but ours came out burnt. The new owner's reopening remodel is strange. Where the tables and chairs used to be up front, there is now a big green wall box thing that doesn't seem to make any sense. They put the counter and the kitchen further back to make more space, but it's so narrow. Music in restaurants is totally fine, and Arinell's used to always play punk and hardcore, but they were blasting some kind of music at a very uncomfortable level, which made the whole experience unnerving. It really breaks my heart to say that I don't think I'll be going to Arinell's any longer. read more

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A year later after my last review. Still horrible. How can you ruin pizza so horribly. No farthest away from nyc pizza. If anything l, it's a Neapolitan style pizza using AP instead of 00. Just don't go, 4 other options close by. read more

Arinell Pizza - Cheese pizza and Sicilian with "marinara" - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

We have been coming here for 20 years and all of a sudden the slices got smaller. The music has gotten louder there's ice cream and cookies and all these things that don't matter we just want New York style pizza so maybe the new owners will read this and see that we don't need all that extra stuff keep it traditional read more

A co-worker recommended Arinell Pizza. Raved about it even! So we were really disappointed when we had it. Nothing special-- the crust was really bland. There's so much good pizza out in the east bay. We probably won't order from here again. read more

Best pizza in Berkeley! Owner is so kind and energetic. The pizza is good, the vibes are just as good. Can't wait to come back! read more

Arinell Pizza - Pepperoni slice - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

One of the most classic Berkeley spots, perfectly gives you what you want from the best New York slice joints. Great folks

That's just bad pizza. Remember when indoor malls existed and they all had a pizza place? This Is the same greasy tasteless pizza we had back then. It was definitely nostalgic. But not something that appeals to me any longer. read more

Arinell Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Pizza was kind of dry and bland. Decent service and atmosphere was outdated. I wish there pizza quality could've been better and have more flavor. read more

Terrific place! Thank you, Scott, for the delicious vegan pizza and memorable lunch :-) FOOD: The pizza crust is very good! This NY style pizza is better than several pizzas I've tried in NYC because here they bake it just right. The crust is not burned/charred black, it's thin and crunchy but still foldable. Good balance of cheese and sauce. I got a full vegan pizza and the cheese did not stick to the mouth and overall tasty SERVICE: Maybe the best part. So friendly, welcoming, and accommodating. They greet you like you're a friend visiting after a while. read more

Arinell Pizza - Vegan cheese pizza - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

The pizza is fine (I've had it before) but they can be rude. I went into the restaurant and waited to have my order taken. No one was in line and the person in the back clearly saw me waiting and chose to continue to chop an onion instead of acknowledging me in any way. I waited for a minute or so to see if he would say anything and he did not. So I walked out. The pizza is tasty but not necessarily worth being ignored. read more

Dropped in sort of for nostalgia's sake. Slices needed to be reheated and were average at best. I think it was around $6 for a slice of cheese. There are lots of options for good pizza in Berkeley, I probably won't stop by again in the future. The pizza wasn't horrible, just not good enough to come back for, but give it a try for yourself to see if it is your cup of tea. read more

Used to be my all time favorite pizza place as a former New Yorker. Whatever they did to the new recipe has ruined what was once a spectacular NYC style pizza parlor. Sadly after 25years of repeat returns I'm no longer interested in the pizza there. I wish them the best and will have to find my ny style pizza elsewhere. read more

Tasty. Simple. What you crave. Fold in half and enjoy. I would love to have seating back in this joint! read more

Arinell Pizza - Maestro at work- - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

I was in need of a quick slice on a work break and I had never had Arinell before so decided to give it a whirl. Here you can order by the slice and have them add toppings as you'd like. I went for just a plain pepperoni. It was an okay slice of pizza. For this price point in this day and age I won't complain. I don't see this being a regular spot for me, but I'd stop back in in a pinch. read more

Arinell Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Upon arrival they only had cheese pizza that was sitting there for who knows how long so we ordered a fresh new pepperoni pizza. It took about 20 mins to have made so wasnt too bad of a wait. Pizza was ok. The cheese would fall right off of most of the slices that i grabbed so it was kinda messy. Overall i probably would not come back again. Very mid pizza. read more

Arinell Pizza - Pepperoni pizza - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

lazerette was the sweetest ever! best pizza in berkeley, super savory and yummy. the place also looks super cute!!

Used to be very good, a go-to in DT Berkeley. Now? Totally mediocre AND way, WAY overpriced. Over $6 for a slice? $40+ for a whole pizza with crust that tastes like cardboard? Never see me there again, sadly. read more

Arinell's on Valencia St (now closed) used to be my favorite NY style pizza and I thought I'd give this location a try. Very disappointing, very average pizza. Way too much bad cheese, not enough tangy sauce. Sad to give this two stars. read more

Tried this place yet again and honestly I felt that this second time around was worse. They already heated up the pepperoni and mushroom slice that I got and it was basically on that cold tasteless crust. The service was not friendly at all even though there was no one around and I felt let down by this place. read more

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It's NY-style pizza. It's good if you're into that. I am and to me they do a great job compared to those I've had while living on the East Coast. Just wish they take orders after 6 PM so we can have pizza for dinner as working people... Also half of the time their POS machine isn't working so you have to pay cash. But welp, it's the best NY-style pizza I can find in this area. read more

Arinell Pizza - two slices of pizza in a box - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

I haven't been here in a while. This was the closest thing you could find to New York Pizza. Last time I was here a large pie cost $26 now it's 36. I get prices of gone up so I wouldn't complain on this. The pizza was amazing. When I first got the pizza, Home open the box and it looks so good filled the whole box so you definitely getting a better value, but they changed the recipe because the sauce the cheese and the dough was not the same. The dough was so much thicker and dry and lots of flour on the bottom. The sauce is not balanced anymore. It's flavorless besides oregano on the cheese doesn't have the same taste. Very sad as this was such a good place. The staff was amazing though. read more

Arinell Pizza - Large cheese pie - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

They keep raising prices for food. Also they haven't changed location yet. Stop in if you're in the area.

I ordered a medium pizza via door dash at 5:30pm and came here around 6:45pm. I came in and no one was at the front. The staff was dancing with music, recording a video, and drinking from a can in the back. Ok...one of them saw me and didn't acknowledge me and continued to just play loud music and dance. After they were done, I told them I was picking up an DoorDash and was just told they never got the order and that there's nothing they could do. They told me It's a computer error. I contacted DoorDash and they cancelled my order and I attempted to order a medium pizza again and I was turned down. It was 7:00pm at this point so I ordered two slices Togo. I felt a vibe that staff just didn't want to be bothered with. The flavor this time was a miss for me, it's not as tomato-y is I like it. I think for how inconvenient it is to drive and park here, i would opt for something else. read more

We went by on a Sunday afternoon at around 5:30 when it indicated the business was open. Unfortunately, we found the place completely closed and with no sign of anyone anywhere or any indication that they had amended their hours. This is the place that my husband and I had our first date at and we were hoping to pop in for a slice as we made our way through Berkeley. We were lucky enough to bump into a very nice young man who lived just a couple doors down and did indicate that it was open for business just a few days earlier so hopefully it's not closed for good and does not suffer the same fate as their San Francisco location. read more

Arinell pizza ,,, we went to buy some big pizza for Super Bowl and it certainly was not the same Pizza from a while back. I know they have a new owner and he said he stick to the same recipe, but he certainly didn't do that on Sunday. there was not enough tomato about this pizza I'm so upset. I hope that the owner would go back to the original recipe from the other from previous owner so love this pizza and I was not happy on Sunday something happened. Maybe they had a different cook that day. read more

pizza made me sick seem too have a lot of hair in dough ! beware this pizza bites back

As someone who grew up in NYC, I can confirm this is real deal NY style pizza. I'm grateful to have something that reminds me of home available in Berkeley. The accoutrements are also very par for the course - parmesan in a glass shaker on a skinny bar table that is solely meant for you to rest your slice on while you shake cheese and red pepper flakes on top of your food. Unfortunately I don't frequent Arinell's very often for 2 reasons: the price and the ambiance. It's quite expensive for a slice - $5 for a plain cheese - but I would rather they raise the price than drop the quality if those are the only options. I'm not expecting a fancy table service experience when I go to a pizzeria, but it is so dark in there after the sun sets that I feel like I'm meeting someone in a claustrophobic alleyway. Maybe that's on purpose to prevent loitering? Whenever I bring friends, we leave ASAP after finishing our food to get somewhere that feels more comfortable. Overall, Arinell's serves true NY style pizza (take it from a born and raised NYer) and I highly recommend coming here if that's what you're looking for. read more

Take out orders only since it's SIP I didn't know what to get so opted for the Sicilian style pizza w sausage. It was about a 25 min drive home, and since we like our pizza bubbling hot- I stick this monstrous thing in a 400° oven to warm up. 10 mins. OK alarm went off and were ready!! The sausage is baked under the cheese and they were pretty generous with this. The bottom crust is thick yet crispy, the sauce was very flavorful, and the edges and corner crust is perfectly crunchy. If you like crusts, I hope you get lucky and score the corner piece. We called to place the order and it was ready in about 25 minutes. Really Friendly service. Thank you for staying open during this time. read more

Arinell Pizza - Sicilian sausage - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

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It's NYC-style pizza alright, emphasis on *style*. To get to full-on NYC pizza, I think their slices need a little more grease, more tomato sauce, and for about $1 cheaper. Not bad though, Arinell's! Z. and I did a pizza tour of Downtown Berkeley and liked Arinell's the best. I got a slice with garlic for $4.50, so prices are on the steeper side. Pizza came piping hot and pretty stiff, not floppy. The crispy crunch of the crust was 80% there, and the slice stayed crispy for the majority of the time. This is a no-nonsense, get-in-get-out joint. Also helps that they were playing some screamo in there ( on a Saturday at 1 pm). Z. and I were the only ones hanging out there for the 10-15 min or so it took us to order, wait, and finish eating. Good to know that ingredients use no MSG and no sugar. Just adding a little more tomato sauce would do the trick for me. We'll be back! read more

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My favorite spot, always Fresh pizza. I tried the Sicilian deep dish slice, very good but my favorite is the Neapolitan slice. Always good service, go there and support, best thin slice pizza! read more

Arinell Pizza - Sicilian left (very good)and Neapolitan right which is my favorite slice! . - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great quality. First time trying Arinell. "18 pizza pepperoni and 16" medium mushroom. I am impressed. No one complained. Thin pizza. I will buy again. read more

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The pizza is as close to a perfect New York slice as you will get in the Bay Area. Perfect crisp, not too charred, big, thin, melted cheese. Chefs kiss. The service is good and employees are quick. Has a very nice vibe too. read more

I love Arinell's pizza. If you like thin crust Nay style pizza gives this place a try. I think Arinells is one of the best NY slices in the Bay Area. read more

Arinell Pizza - Cheese so good!! - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Arinell pizza is a Berkeley staple. Whenever I'm in Berkeley, I make time for pizza. I've been coming to Arinells since I was a kid and now I enjoy it with my daughters. Quality is the same every time, delicious! Customer service is great, I always feel welcomed. The pizza is thin and you can order it extra crispy. Simplicity at its finest! Be patient with parking. There's a parking garage about 1 block away. Otherwise street parking. Keep up the great work Arinells, thank you for the great memories! read more

Arinell Pizza - Large half cheese/pepperoni - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

This is not a New York style pizza! I don't even want to call it a pizza. Don't fall for any YouTube advertising like "Best pizzas in Berkeley" and listing them like you need to try them. The only pizza flavors are coming out is oven heated pepperoni. Their Cheese layer is literally Gulag portions ( imaginary). Tomato sauce is sodium concentrate with tomato flavors. They don't even have paper plates. They give you baking wax paper. Skip it read more

Nice NY style pizza - it tastes like what I think of when I think of pizza. Thin crust, red sauce, cheese. Nothing fancy. At $3.50 for a slice, I probably won't come back, but I understand the appeal of a normal slice of pizza, I guess. Tip: Barbarian is nearby and also has thin crust pizza. And more interesting toppings! read more

Arinell Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Some of the best pizza in Berkeley if you like NY style thin crust. They have a thick crust too but I find the thin much better.

I have no idea what NY Pizza tastes like. However, as a pizza it was great. I got a slice of cheese pizza for $5. I have reduced the rating to 4 stars because the only thing I do know about real NY pizza by slice is that you should be getting it for $1 per slice; at least that's how much a slice of pizza costs in NYC. read more

More like what didn't go well! This pizza joint, in the New York City tradition, is arguably the best slice this side of the Tri-State Area. Period. read more