Sho Pizza Bar Long Form Review
My gf and I decided to try out Sho Pizza Bar for lunch. Upon arrival we were told it would be about a 30-45 minute wait even though it didn’t look completely full. Within 10 minutes we received a text that our table was ready. Nice. They also validated parking for a small on site lot.
Once inside we were seated at the lengthy counter which starts with the bar and makes its way down and around the corner of the kitchen. We had front row seats to the pizzaiolos, and the pizza and salad making process. Fun to watch a transparent kitchen work. The ambiance was upscale but not foofy. Well lit, with white counters. Buzzy, but not too loud or overwhelming. A comfortable and fun vibe, matching the kitchen and wait staff who seemed relaxed and having a good time.
A unique addition was on the glass windows behind the kitchen where they had handwritten their sourcing partners and their locations. A cool visual into knowing where the food you’re about to eat came from. I really liked that. The stacked wood at the near ceiling above the kitchen was also a cool visual.
Watching the dough station I could tell they are consistent and meticulous about keeping the pizza size uniform with an emphasized crust. Over and over they worked out bases, crimping the crust and sending it along. The menu included traditional, traditional with a slight twist, and fully untraditional neapolitan pizzas. Being our first visit and aligned with our preferences we didn’t opt for anything too crazy (mexican street corn pizza I’m looking at you). We went with the super margherita (basic marg with buffalo mozz) and the italian sausage.
The other pizzas were tempting (most being the salumi and peach/ricotta/guanciale/arugula) and looked good on neighboring plates but we ordered our two pizzas and a caesar salad, which we heard from a waiter at another restaurant (iggys) was the best he has ever had. My gf also ordered a special cocktail with Tenjaku gin, tomato water, aperol, clarified grapefruit, and basil oil.
The caesar was very good. Not sure I’d rank it as the best I’d ever had because it’s still a caesar salad, but it was a far cry from the worst. The lemon zest and heavy dusting of parm coated the evenly cut romaine bits and brioche croutons that were the right amount of crunchy. It had a perfect amount of dressing and katsuobushi, which I’ve since learned is simmered, smoked, and fermented skipjack tuna. Thinly sliced and taking the part of anchovies, it was an upgrade to the regular caesar ingredient and definitely more unique.
Onto the pies. When the pizzas came we were instructed to cut our own, they supplied the scissors. An immersive touch but also something I could see some guests not wanting to do and receiving the pizza pre-sliced on arrival. I didn’t have too many concerns but our neighbors did almost lose a good portion of their pizza off its tray in trying to get a slice cut at one point.
We dug in and tried the sausage pizza. I had already squeezed the slice of lemon on it and could note the smell of the taleggio cream before my first bite. It was quite tasty. Creamy for sure, with a balance of flavors. I noted the cheese, sausage, lemon and sweet sun dried red peppers all coming through at various points of each bite. The crust was light and fluffy and perhaps a teeny bit doughy. Not enough to where I’d deduct any points for it but could have been improved upon, although only barely. You can tell they make good use of their authentic wood fired oven. The perfect amount of char. My only gripe is I would prefer the crust be less emphasized so that the thickness of the dough is more even between base and crust - a tad more even and it would be perfect in my book.
Next the super margherita. You can judge any neapolitan pizza place by this one type of pizza. And this one passed the test. Traditional ingredients that hit the mark, combining for the epitome of simplicity yet providing the peak of pizza flavor. I would have been fine with more cheese on it but that was my only note. It wasn’t too little in a skimping sense, just who doesn’t love a good serving of cheese on their pizza? The crust on both pizzas were the same, as I mentioned above about the size and consistency of the preparation method, so my feelings on that remained the same.
We opted to skip dessert and made our way out after paying the bill. I will say that considering the amount of food the price felt a little hefty. Odd considering it has a Bib Gourmand Award but alas, we’re not in Italy…We left over the century mark after tip for two pizzas, a single caesar and one cocktail. No doubt the quality of the food was high, but it felt a little steep for the amount of food served. To be fair this is more a reflection of the unideal situation we are in as diners in America right now, and I don’t blame Sho for it. They are doing right by pizza to me. But comparatively last week we got a single pizza at a traditional American style pizza diner (so about equal in amount to the two we had at Sho) with no drink or salad, but we left under thirty bucks. It was not quite Sho level flavors, and yes a different style, but still solid pizza.
Overall I’d fully recommend Sho Pizza Bar, be prepared for finer dining pizza prices when you plan to eat there, but also be ready for really really good neapolitan pizza and overall impactful flavors. The delightful atmosphere of upscale simplicity with immersive eating makes it a great choice for a fancier pizza meal experience.