New Haven Pizza Review

Recently, during a Model UN trip to New Haven, Connecticut, Joshua Kim ‘27, Liam Higgins ‘27, and I embarked on a journey to complete the so-called “Holy Trinity” of New Haven pizza. Composed of Modern Apizza, Sally’s Apizza, and Frank Pepe’s, these three pizza spots represent the pinnacle of New Haven pizza, which is often regarded as the pizza capital of the world. These restaurants, popularized by Barstool Sports owner and president Dave Portnoy’s “One Bite Challenge,” received mass attention for their incredibly tasty pizza and their high ratings from Portnoy. 

Our trio decided that we had to discover which pizza deserved the crown. On our first day in New Haven, we set out to taste at least one of the three. Faced with freezing winds and an overcast sky, we knew our journey would be long but rewarding. We were not disappointed. Our first destination, Modern Apizza, was rated a very solid 8.8 out of 10 by Portnoy, indicating that we were in for a treat. We decided to order a medium half-cheese, half-pepperoni pizza, which arrived very quickly and was piping hot. We enjoyed it in the parking lot outside, where cold winds and imminent snowfall made it even better. Joshua Kim ‘27, remarked, “This is quite possibly the best pizza I’ve ever had. 9.4 everyday.” I would agree. The quality of the cheese and dough, combined with a perfect crust, obliged me to give it a 9.5. Liam Higgins ‘27 said, “I don’t know what Portnoy could’ve been thinking. This is at least a 9.3.” Our consensus was that Modern Apizza merited a 9.4 out of 10, most likely influenced by the fact that it was piping hot on a freezing day.

The next day, we did not consume a member of the holy trinity; however, we did stop for a late night snack at Brickoven Pizza, which had huge portions for a relatively cheap price. Brickoven, despite not being a member of the holy trinity, did merit a very solid rating of 8.3, as our slices had the appropriate amount of cheese. However, Brickoven was quite lacking when it came to having quality crust and dough.

During our final day in New Haven, all we could think about was completing the trinity. We knew we would have the chance to eat the legendary Sally’s Apizza at lunch, but we were unsure of when we would be able to eat at Frank Pepe’s. When lunch rolled around, Sally’s did not disappoint. Our delivery driver braved the cold and the wind to bring us this pizza, so we knew we had to do it justice. With an extremely good taste that originated from its absolutely delicious cheese and crust, we had a good pie on our hands. However, Sally’s did not quite live up to our expectations, possibly because we did not consume it immediately after it was made. Josh commented, “I’m really just not sure if this is better than Modern. It’s good, but is it great? I’ll go with an 8.7.” I agreed. Eating pizza that’s been sitting around for 15 minutes just isn’t the same as eating pizza that’s fresh out of the oven. Liam added, “It must have been a different era of New Haven pizza when Portnoy rated this... 8.6. A solid pizza, but just not quite up there under these circumstances.”

Our final challenge came in the last hours of the day: Frank Pepe’s. We walked about 20 minutes to get there, weathering cold weather and dark streets. When we arrived, we were promptly seated by a very nice waitress. Liam Higgins and I decided to split a medium cheese pizza, while Josh Kim opted for two personal pies, one being Frank Pepe’s signature tomato pie and the other being a plain flatbread. Keeping in mind that Portnoy had rated this a solid 8.5, we did not go in with any high expectations. Our initial thoughts of the cheese pizza were that it was… solid. It truly was merely a solid pizza that was above average in some categories and just average in others. Being a Neapolitan pizza, meaning that it was flash baked for about 90 seconds, it lacked the crust of the others. In addition to this, the pizza sat particularly heavy in the stomach, leading to our group being unable to finish it. The cheese was okay at best and was the deciding factor in us unanimously giving it an 8.3, which is probably higher than it deserved. Josh concluded, “I’m really not sure this was worth the 20 minute walk. I’d much rather just go back to Modern and house a full pie by myself.” 

All in all, our pick for the best member of the New Haven Holy Trinity is Modern Apizza. Amazing service, taste, and location were the deciding factors for this decision, and I would highly recommend anyone interested in food in general to give it a shot. That being said, I will not be eating pizza for a month or two.