Pleasantly surprised at the quality of pizza! One of the better pizzas in Berkeley. Fast service, hipster staff. Slices are thin NY style however the crust was not foldable. Plenty of pepper, parmesan, and basil to top it off. A little dirty in the table area but what do you expect, its Berkeley. read more

Good place to grab a slice on the cheap and on the run. Not much in the way of seating. So, get your slice and a soda, park your butt on a nearby bench while you wait for your bus (AC 65, 67, Cal). If you get there after school lets out, you'll get to hear what passes for conversation amongst the teen set...probably won't understand it though. I got a plain thin slice. It was alright. I see from other reviews I should try the pepperoni. Kind of close to what I could get on the East Coast. I'll be visiting there again. read more

I went to this place today an expected better. It was tasty but then, it had a greasy salty after taste to it. That and its a by tha slice cheese only topping. Tha toppings u want are extra and are thrown on tha slice separate, cooked a few minutes and when done hardly stay on the pizza lol. Not worth four dollars, at least two dollars yes $1.99. A dollar more an i could have had a large pizza at little Cesar's lol. I Would not recommend this place. ohh no my belly is starting to feel a lillte wierd I wonder why..... read more

This is the best pizza in Berkeley. Authentic NY Style pizza with no gimmicks or unauthentic additions. This is the only pizza I am willing to eat in Berkeley the rest has too much cheese or tastes more like a fruit salad than a pizza. read more

If you're in the mood for tasting a bit of the big apple without having to change time zones, Arinell's is a quick and convenient place to get it. Slices are nice and big and makes it illegal to not perform the customary grab and fold when you're about to take that big bite. The flavor, grease level, texture and crust is decent and hits the spot when you're in the mood for that thin crust. Though not the best thin crust pizza you can get, Arinell's is certainly a place that I would recommend for a quick satisfying bite. read more

The pizza in this place is pretty tasty (if not a little greasy) and it is cheap at $2.75 for a large slice of plain cheese! I wouldn't say that this place is amazing by any means, and it could certainly do with a bit of cleaning up- the tables and benches are grubby, and the kitchen doesn't look spotless. However, though I'm not a big pizza fan, I would return to Arinell because their crusts are great, and they are generous with the toppings! read more

Closest thing your gonna find to NY pizza in the bay....nowhere near as good as real NY pizza, but it does the job. Simple and cheap. The one on 16th and Valencia in SF is just as good too. read more

It's five stars IF you know what you're looking for. This is a real, unpretentious, no BS pizza joint. The slices are just that--tasty, simple, and absolutely delicious. Definitely not somewhere I would get down on one knee and propose to marry my girlfriend though. With such good pizza though, I don't think she would blame you! They make good pizza here and have a laid back chill atmosphere. Their specialty is the thin-crust neopolitan (I get mine with olives sometimes), but straight cheese is delicious and classic. This place has many devotees, and it will stand the test of time because they are *real* and make a simple, tasty, and just hypnotically delicious thin crust pizza. read more

Best pizza I've ever had. Thin crust and not too much cheese. Although the atmosphere of the place is not the nicest, the delicious pizza makes up for that. We come here so much! read more

This place is my favorite pizza place to eat. The cheese does not come of, the dough is delicious. It does not take long to make the pizza.

Classic. Glad there's an old school place in the area to get pizza and soda at a fair price.

A solid NY style slice with easy walk-in, walk-out atmosphere. I ate my pizza while walking on the sidewalk like I used to back in NYC. However, I made a huge mistake by going there at 11:30AM. This place turns into a Chuck E Cheese at lunch time. Kids EVERYWHERE. Loud, obnoxious, pizza-faced, cracking voiced high school kids. I guess it was lunch time at the local high school? I'm not from the area, so who knows. I was the only person in there over 20, except the guy cooking the pizza. This has nothing to do with the pizza, though, which was solid. read more

Love the pizza here and love that it's consistently good thin crust pizza every time we come.

Not bad; certainly the atmosphere is closer to NY/Boston than the others (except maybe Blondie's). The crust is a little too crisp for my taste though; it's almost like a cracker, and if you get two slices the roof of your mouth will be hurting by the end. read more

Greasy, bare bones pizza that tastes good.

I used to visit Arinell's between classes when I was a student at Cal and loved it. Since then I had moved to New York and got a taste of what real New York pizza tastes like. I just had my first post-NYC taste of Arinell's pizza and was disappointed. It isnt' bad, but it isn't New York pizza. read more

i would give this place a zero if I could. The service here sucks; I was greeted with a casual 0"allright, what do you want?" and the guy who was serving looked like he had just rolled off from bed after a two kegger binger where they dont like to shave or look cleanly enough to work in a restaurant. The pizza slice looks like something I could have made at home and the taste wasnt very good either. It was nothing special, and if I go out I want something that I at least know I cant make at home with some effort. The establishment was dirty all throughout too. I feel bad for the owner; he should clean house and put some mature, sober grown ups in charge of his business. read more

Love this place. It's a great NY-style pizza, excellent tomato sauce, lots of grease. I usually go with the plain cheese, no toppings. I always call ahead for a full pizza, so I rarely get an old, dry slice like other reviewers have reported. Besides, who doesn't like the NYC attitude that comes with the service? Contemplated giving this place 5 stars, but it's sometimes a little inconsistent. Besides, I wonder if I love this place so much because all the other pizza options on the West Coast are so painfully horrible in comparison. read more

The quality of the pizza itself is just fine. I was a little disappointed at the limited options of toppings. I saw reviews about this place describing it as a NY style pizzeria, so I envisioned something like the pizzerias I'm used to in NY. That is, they usually have something with round slices of mozzarella, other slices with sun dried tomatoes, basil, some meats, etc...this place only has olives, mushrooms, garlic (which is what I got), anchovies, and about 3 more toppings that I can't remember. So yes, go here for NY style pizza, but expect slim choices for toppings. read more

Hand's down, the best New York style pizza by the slice in the Bay Area. I've had authentic, good New York pizza to attest!

The number one reason why I miss the bay area is a slice of pie from this place. You don't go for the customer service or for frilly decor...you go strictly for the best thin crust pizza ever. Don't forget to sprinkle a bit of garlic and oregano...you will ask for more so be ready with enough cash. I used to take the UCB perimeter to this place every day since it was conveniently located in front of a stop and right by the bart station. Love this place! read more

This is as close as it gets to New York pizza ! Being a former Brooklynite I know what it should taste like. I don't know how or whose pizza the one star rating folks ate! Maybe they came from the Dentist with a mouth full of novocaine! Just watch out for the oil drip as you eat it ! Yum Yum get lots of napkins! read more

Beware Ovens Shut off by 9:30. To these guys it means they are done by 9:30 and you can't get a Pizza after 9 pm really. Disappointing because the pizza is good. Remember that this is the provincial East Bay. read more

The guy with the wild eyes and Fu Manchu beard and moustache and the tall blond guy who looks like he's in death metal band, that's the best pair of cooks you can get at the Berkeley shop. They roll out the dough super thin almost like a cracker yet still al dente, perfectly baked. When they're on it, Arinell is the best thin crust pizza in the Bay Area, IMO. read more

Best pizza in the bay thin or thick slice try both.. goes great with a rootbeer . If your in the Berkeley area definately come in

Really super delicious. Yay for NY pizza in Bezerkeley.

My most favorite New York slice on the west coast! No where else comes close that I've been to. Big slices and fair prices too. I've since moved away from the East Bay but I'll take trips back to Berkeley just to eat here read more

I have had good and bad days at this place because I loved their pizza but it's not worth ruining my appetite? I was there with a few friends this afternoon and I witness the short little skinny guy with the Arinell baseball cap behind the counter yelling at an older lady for no reason. Really? He yelled out to her to come take her pizza off of the counter or he was going to toss it or give it to someone else. She had already paid for it and I saw her putting a $1 in the tip jar. She looks in the bag and in the sweetest voice says to him, I don't want that slice. It's crushed in the bag and it's been sitting on the counter for 5 minutes; 2 other people have already said they don't want it. He told her, well lady, this is the slice we have. She said I don't want it. He took the bag from her, tossed it in the garbage, then opened his register took $3 out and gave it back to her. She left without a word said. My mouth dropped, I have seen bad customer service but his behavior was bordering on elder abuse. This guy was 1/2 her age yelling at an older person like this over one slice of pizza. Really? These guys are definitely not from NYC or they'd know to expect a beat down at the end of their shift. New Yorker's are not this abusive. It's not funny. Who does this for fun? You could see on his face that he was getting off by yelling at her and tossing her slice in the garbage. I'm from the Bronx and trust me this would never happen there. Honestly, I left shaking because I kept thinking if I was a guy I would have stepped up to this abusive fool. Why do Arinell employees act like this? Sadly, these guys are all uneducated so they are angry boys living in a college town filled with highly educated people. They are angry that they have to serve, yes, I say serve us. They should have stayed in school and gotten an education so they could learn how to talk to people. My advice to all future customers is to stay in school and stay out of this hostile, negative place. These guys need a lesson in humility and they need to pray that I don't wake up a man. Enough is enough, never again! read more

The atmosphere is right outta the Bronx or Brooklyn my colleague at UCB from New York tells me.Good reliable slice-with decent Mozzarella Cheese and Marinara sauce-not exactly San Marzano tomatoes but we are in Berkeley not Naples. Maybe you will get lucky and go in when the owner is there-he makes it truly a truly authentic experience-New York pizza with attitude. read more

My fave pizza place in Berkeley. Thin slices, deliciously greasy, and quick service. It's a hole in the wall and the modus operandi reminds me of the Seinfeld Soup Nazi episode, but that's all part of the charm (not that the people are mean, just that there are usually only a couple of selections, no seats, and a counter with some oregano, peppers, and Parmesan cheese). Quick in-and-out makes it good for when you're running late to class. LOVE this place. read more

The Best new york style think crust pizza in the Bay Area. I always just get plain cheese slices. They are amazing. Put a little garlic powder and oregano on it. read more

Nearly awful pizza! Chewy cheese, lame sauce, and rock-hard crust. Oh, and the snobbish hipsters make it even worse. Avoid at all costs!!! read more

USED TO LOVE IT; NOW I WILL NEVER GO BACK BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED 2 DAYS AGO. First of all, I used to love Arinell. I wouldn't say it resembles New York pizza at all, which is something I grew up with, but I did nonetheless like it more than any other pizza place in Berkeley. Two days ago, I went for the first time in probably a year. As I was eating my slice, I saw a guy outside Arinell laying down on the sidewalk. Then, he got up and walked into the place, smelling very badly, as if he hadn't showered in many, many days. I assumed he was homeless and, naturally if you don't have access to a shower, you smell- so I didn't think much of it. To my complete surprise, he went behind the counter and put on an apron... yes, he worked there. That is atrocious. I am not some overly high strung and picky person. However, that was too much. There are standards of health and sanitation every employee in a restaurant has to meet. I will not be going back. read more

Best, most under-rated pizza in the Bay area. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And I know.

It's 5 stars if you go @ 11:00 - 11:15 am when the pizzas are fresh. This is exactly like the pizza that I got back in the early 80s going to Jr. HS from a place called Carolinas on Durant where that little mall. read more

This place is awesome! I used to grab a slice when I worked at Wells Fargo accross the street. I ordered the sicilian if I wanted something more substantial and cheesy. Just remember that their toppings are a little crappy here. i remember ordering the mushroom and I think they put on canned/bottled mushrooms. Go for the cheese or sausage slice. Also, their plain slices are some of the thinnest crust pizza's I've ever had. Just the right amount of cheese and flavor. I know people who will travel far and wide for an extra slice here. read more

I reserve my five star reviews for five star restaurants. Arinell rates four and a half in my book. For those who question the authenticity I question your credentials. I grew up here and have been eating Arinell pizza for over thirty years. It is the most consistently delicious traditional Neopolitan and Sicilian Pizza by the slice this side of the East River. But don't take my word for it, ask my children. I took them to my NYC, my birthplace, for my grandfathers memorial, that's right, I'm a third generation New Yorker, and we had pizza at a good NYC pizza joint around the corner from the Mason's hall. Having spent my summers on the East Coast I can tell you that on a good day you might find a better slice of pizza in NYC, and on the next day it may suck. Arinell is consistent, has been for over thirty years! read more

It's good, but not great. If you've never been to New York, you might think it passable, even awesome, but I think it's safe to say that this slice wouldn't fly in NY. The price is about right ($2.75), but there is not nearly enough cheese to get that stringy effect. The crust and thinness come pretty close to authentic, but every time I've been here the regular slice is a bit charred and too crispy, even crunchy. Sauce is fine. I give them props for effort. We are in the Bay Area affordable pizza wasteland, after all. Do yourself a favor - Yelp a perfect slice next time you're back East. read more

I am from Chicago but prefer Brooklyn thin crust pizza. THis is the best pizza I have ever eaten outside of NYC. Its just amazing.

Arinelle's in Berkeley is filthy and so are the employees. Have you seen them ever wearing "legally" required hair restraints. There are few white Rasta's there and others whose personal hygiene is horrible. I ate there as a high schooler when the original owner and much cleaner employees were working there in the 1980's. Never been back, not the same. read more