Review long overdue!…read more It's easily become one of my favorite places. Everyone is always so welcoming, and the pizza has been consistently 10/10 I'm pretty particular about where I eat, and once I find a place I genuinely enjoy, I'm a customer for life. This is definitely one of those places.

Great spot for delicious pizza. I called in for a pizza and it was hot and ready in about 15 min…read more There's plenty of parking and also street parking. I walked in and was greeted right away. The restaurant was clean and smelled of freshly baked pizzas. They serve much more than just pizzas. Also be sure to check out the different styles of crusts. Just check out the menu.

Finally! A solid pizza spot in El Cerrito! NY style pizza done as pies or slices. I've had both…read more I've also mostly had just cheese as that's the best way to judge. Excellent. Jeff uses great ingredients, including three types of flour and his own grated mozzarella. I like the basil touch on the cheese pie and ricotta dollops on the pepperoni. Crust good, sauce good, and cooked will to create a nice undercarriage. Jeff is working his butt off and remains a friendly guy while doing it. Let's keep this local place going! My only recommendation would be some Yankees and Knicks on the wall and Public Enemy pumping through the speakers.

Was excited to try this new neighborhood pizza spot. The service was very friendly, and I really…read moreenjoyed the crust because it had a great texture and flavor. Unfortunately, the pizza itself just wasn't quite my style. The marinara was pretty tangy, whereas I prefer a slightly sweeter sauce, more like the one at Tony Gemignani's spots. The cheese blend was okay, but overall, the flavors didn't quite come together for me. I wasn't a fan of the arugula.....may be spinach would've been better. It seemed like the pizza was inspired by Gioia, which I really enjoy, but unfortunately it just missed the mark this time. That said, the friendly service and great crust definitely have me willing to give it another try.

Bring back the Pomodoro pie! That's so perfect in the summer! E anyone loves it and I keep hearing…read morefolks asking for it.

This is the real deal. I love pizza and if it wasn't for pizza and burritos, I might be in trouble…read more Maybe a little pasta too. A small space with a little pick up window and several individual slices to choose from in a lovely neighborhood, which has a handful of groovy, little eating spots, etc. This pizza is the way it should be, thin crust, well prepared, interesting toppings, and freaking delicious!!! The kind of place that could be on just about any corner in any city worldwide! Tonight I had a slice of spinach with garlic and chili oil with some terrific tomato sauce, which made my taste buds explode with "joy-uh"....... (Gioia is most commonly pronounced as "JOY-uh") In Italian, gioia primarily means joy or delight. This is as good as if not better than any pizza tossed within 500 miles! There is another location on Hayes Street in San Francisco. The only area that needs some improvement is in the staffing and service. I've been going there for years and it is reminiscent of a DMV facility. "Now serving G 30 at Window #8." *********************************** Have a slice, take a whole pie home!

Benchmark continues to be one of my favorite spots when a serious pizza craving hits. Last night, I…read morestopped in specifically hoping to try the eggplant pizza, but unfortunately they were sold out. Since the only other pie I'd previously had there was the brown butter sage -- delicious, though I've learned lemon on pizza simply isn't my thing -- I decided to go with their classic Benchmark margherita instead. It absolutely delivered. This is Neo-Neapolitan pizza done right: bright, fresh tomato sauce, creamy mozzarella, torn basil, and a beautifully balanced crust with a perfectly thin base, nicely charred underside, and those airy, leopard-spotted edges that make wood-fired pizza so satisfying. Simple, restrained, and incredibly well executed. It was an unusually warm evening, so I opted to sit outside. My only real complaint is that the tables closest to the street sit noticeably on a slant, making it a bit of a challenge to keep plates and glasses from slowly sliding downhill throughout the meal. A small detail, but worth noting. That said, the staff were genuinely lovely and welcoming, and the overall experience was exactly what I was hoping for. One final recommendation: do yourself a favor and ask for a side of olive oil for dipping the crusts. It's the perfect finishing touch. I'll absolutely be back the next time the craving strikes.

I came here for dinner on a Weds night. For two people, we ordered a pizza, some drinks and a…read moreseasonal lemon pasta. The crust on the pizza was a little thick but had a good chew. There was too much sauce on the pizza, which made the pizza very wet in the center and difficult to pick up. The flavor on the pizza was good but felt like it wasn't baked well. We also ordered the lemon pasta, which I do not recommend. There was crisped up breadcrumbs in the dish, that was meant to add crunch to the dish, but the texture ended up resembling crushed eggshells when chewed in the mouth, and it lacked lots of flavor. I would definitely not order their food to go, as I don't think it would travel well. I don't think I would return to benchmark if I had a pizza craving.

The pizza is the star at Little Star Pizza! Located on a busy stretch of Solano Avenue on the lower…read moreportion near the San Pablo Avenue intersection on Albany, California, Little Star Pizza is just one of many locations of this burgeoning franchise from owner Brian Sadigursky, who began his mini-pizza making empire of his signature cornmeal crust deep dish pizzas in a small location along Divisadero Street in San Francisco's Nopa neighborhood. That location has since closed down, but two locations remain, this one in Albany and another along Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission District. The team also owns three The Star pizza restaurants with locations in Oakland, Alameda, and Portland, Oregon. With all these locations to keep track of what makes people keep coming back for all these wide varieties of pizza pies? It's the dough of course, but it is not just any dough, it is their beautifully crusty cornmeal dough that is cooked to perfection for their Chicago-style deep dish pizza that is what makes Little Star and all of their subsidiaries so worthwhile. I had originally been to this location when they were located literally right next door in a smaller location on the corner. Now, in a much larger location, with floor to ceiling windows that let in natural light on two sides, and their own communal parking lot, where there is a door for direct takeout orders, Little Star Pizza is thriving here in Albany. What brought me and a dining mate back for a first time visit to this newer location was the affordable lunchtime deal that they serve seemingly seven days a week. From open until 3 p.m. diners can order a Personal Signature Pizza either Deep Dish or Thin Crust for only 11 dollars. You can also build your own personal pizza for 9 dollars which is an affordable option. My fellow dining mate and I knew we wanted to select from their Seasonal Specials or their Signature Pies. I decided to order their Personal size All-Star Signature Pie, which was topped with bacon, meatballs, sausage, pepperoni, provolone cheese and served on their signature cornmeal crust, then filled with mozzarella cheese and house-made tomato sauce & finished with parmesan & oregano. My dining mate was intrigued by their Specials menu, and their Personal size Sweet Heat, which was topped with spicy sausage, caramelized red onions, cherry peppers, hot honey and served on their signature cornmeal crust, then filled with mozzarella cheese and house-made tomato sauce & finished with parmesan & oregano. Since both pizzas were so affordable at 11 dollars each, we decided to splurge and order two dessert drinks as I ordered their Golden Gate Orange Soda Float and my dining mate ordered their Dad's Root Beer Soda Float. The wait for our personal size pizzas would be a lengthy one, at least twenty minutes, which for about a nine inch pizza pie, is still a considerable amount of time. But once you do get the pizzas you order, I can report it is well worth the wait, as the pizza has that extra special graininess to it that makes it extra special good. Combined with the fresh tomatoes and an abundance of mozzarella cheese, you cannot go wrong with any type of pizza you order. I liked my All-Star pizza pie with its abundance of meat toppings and I tried my dining mates Sweet Heat pizza pie and it came as delivered as it has a combination of sweetness meets spiciness. Luckily our wait wasn't too long, as we had our ice cream and soda floats to keep us satiated while we waited for our pizzas to be handcrafted. Our total bill was $42.08, which was with tax but before gratuity, which in all reality was very reasonable considering we ordered two rather large personal deep dish pizzas, and our floats were a mere fraction less in terms of pricing. Since they have a Happy Hour on weeknights from 3-5:30 p.m. with reasonably priced cocktails, one-topping pizzas and other menu items at affordable pricing, you better believe it will not be another decade that passes by before I make another appearance. Here's to the continued success of Little Star Pizza, may more locations be in the future, and may their current locations continue to thrive thanks to their delectable Signature Deep Dish pizzas!

I went there yesterday for dinner. Never been. 1) Decor is…read moremodern and stylish. Restaurant is clean. 2) Location is good, in Albany, you could easier find street parking 3) Ordered a thin pesto chicken and a Detroi style California pizza, and a wedge salad. 4) Food arrived pretty quick 5) waitress, employees are very nice there. 6) Has outdoor seating, but kind of cold yesterday, so I did not sit outside. 7) Pizza taste so good. Almost as good as pizza in Rome, Italy. 8) Price is very reasonable. I want to go back again and eat there. Highly recommended.

This is one of the best pies I have had in the Bay Area. I dare say it unseats my current east bay…read morefav, June's. There are no tables nearby, but I highly recommend eating this pizza as close to your pick up time as possible (which for me meant downing a couple slices in the car). There is diminishing returns as the pizza cools off but it is so so delicious when it is piping hot. The crust is thin and airy, the sauce is very flavorful and the cheese is delicious. The ordering system is definitely quirky, but not bad once it's done. the pick up system is fast and frictionless. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other pies as I went for a simple pepperoni on my first go but there are many toppings options available.

Pizza Perfection. The first bite brought me back to my childhood experience of pizza....the smell,…read morethe flavor, the texture....growing up in Queens, NY, this experience was available all day, any day. So, I agree, the ordering experience was a bit much, but I planned ahead and followed all the rules and was pleasantly rewarded. I would be happy to go through this process again anytime. One thing I did not appreciate was the $5+ tip, that was automatically added to my bill at checkout, ON TOP of my $37.44 sausage pizza. In my opinion, this automatic entitlement to a tip is wrong. So I deleted it on principle.

This new pizza place replaces rotten city pizza in Emeryville. It sits in the industrial area of…read moreEmeryville. There is no parking lot, but street parking is always available nearby. If you park on Hollis, be careful they patrol it frequently for parking tickets. But if you park on any side street, it's free for all parking. The pizza is here are hot and ready and available by the slice. The pricing is approximately the same as rotten city pizza was previously. Period. The staff here is friendly and helpful. The interior of the place is small and it's really not intended to be an eat in tight place. There's a little courtyard on the side. I recommend eating in the courtyard if you want to eat there.

Second timer here... I ordered a small chicken enchilada pizza, hot wings and lemon pepper wings…read more The wings were a little big for my liking bc my preference is the smaller wings. Don't get me wrong, the flavor was def there! I also ordered the chicken enchilada pizza.. OH EM GEE! One of the best pizza's I've had in a long time. On my previous post, I stated that the slices were too thin but that actually worked with the chicken enchilada pizza. Owners are always nice and accommodating. Great addition to the Emeryville community!

Wow, the hype is real. This pizza is ridiculous. A friend of mine IG'd a couple of their pies and…read moreI immediately knew. You can see it before you taste it. Look at the pics. Pecorino bro. My only regret is getting a single pie. Definitely a new habit for this pizza-head. Time for a nap.

I saw Goldpie on KQED's Instagram. They called it the East Bay's most exciting new pizza pop-up so…read moreI had to check it out. The folks who work there are awesome. It's in front 7 Stars cannabis dispensary, and the vibe is so chill. There are outside tables to eat your pizza, and they are fast, even though each one is made from scratch. If you're in Richmond, definitely check it out. June 2026, update: The owner said on Instagram that there's a vegan pie coming next month!!