Thread: New Haven CT Pizza

I've heard of these places for years and decided to take the Murcie on a little winter cruise to see what all the hype was about Pepe's and Sally's Apizza in New Haven's little Italy.

Well who would have thought .....I was blown away (mostly by Sally's) probably the best pizza I have ever eaten and let me tell you I have had my share of pizza over the past 40 years. The only problem I had is that I didn't know that you have to wait outside of Sally's since the place is so small and it was 19 degrees and windy out. In the end it was worth the drive and the cold.

Anyone with a similar experience?

Welcome. Great post, Chuck and I just did a New Haven pizza adventure not too long ago. Did you try Modern too? Modern is consistently very good pizza from my experience. Sally's and Pepe's can be entirely hit or miss. When they are on, they are great. On an off day, any local pizza joint could be better.

Chuck and I lucked out - Modern delivered per usual and the Pepe's pie we had was fantastic. We didn't get to Sally's only because it opens later in the afternoon and time didn't permit. Sally's and Pepe's are known for the char on their crusts, but sometimes there is just too much.

GranCruba, if you liked Pepe's they recently opened a new location in Westchester. I have to pass right by it on my way home and its always packed.

Its a good size so you shouldn't have to spend TOO much time in the cold! lol

Agree with all of the above. I use to work in Fairfield and we would take lunch trips out to New Haven and hit up those places...some of the best pizza I've ever had. Just thinking about it makes me want to take a drive..

Originally Posted by D2FORGED

GranCruba, if you liked Pepe's they recently opened a new location in Westchester. I have to pass right by it on my way home and its always packed.

Its a good size so you shouldn't have to spend TOO much time in the cold! lol

where's this Westchester location...that would be right near me

Originally Posted by D2FORGED

GranCruba, if you liked Pepe's they recently opened a new location in Westchester. I have to pass right by it on my way home and its always packed.

Its a good size so you shouldn't have to spend TOO much time in the cold! lol

the non new haven pepes i've had sucked (manchester and mohegan sun) doesn't compare with NH, can't comment on westchester.

Modern is my favorite (meatball usually) just hate that they are not open mondays so if i want a pizza on a monday it's pepe's chicken

Originally Posted by nyspeedfreak

Agree with all of the above. I use to work in Fairfield and we would take lunch trips out to New Haven and hit up those places...some of the best pizza I've ever had. Just thinking about it makes me want to take a drive..

I live in Fairfield and there is now a Pepe's here too, however it's definitely not as good as the original New Haven location. Here say or not, I'm convinced it's the "seasoning" of the oven. But, like a lot of other things, they've built a highly marketable brand.


Did you ever have Nauti Dolphin from the train station North Bound side?

Great responses by all and 2 votes for Modern. I will be heading up to NH again in a few weeks this time for a stop at Modern. Anyone up for a ride/meet???

here's my write-up & pics from my visit w/ turbology last year (copied from a different forum, thus the references to "he"):
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the original plan was to try Amodern Pizza, which he (turbology) said was the most consistent. serendipitously, on the plane ride to NYC, the latest issue of Art of Eating (cult foodie mag) had a review of Sally's (one of the New Haven triumverate.) and, then, catching up on some blog entries before the plane touched down, i read a review of Pepe's.

i was pumped - let's try them all!

First up was Pizza Amodern - we ordered a medium margherita. The pizza was larger than I expected (note: if you plan to tackle all three, order small.) Immediately, I noticed how the crust was not just charred, but nearly burned. It has some nice blistering for its thinness but it was definitely on the crispy side. It tasted very good - the mozzarella was quite tangy and really pepped up the taste. The crust itself has no real discernable flavor. The texture of the crust by itself wasn't my preference but there was no denying this was the best NYC style pizza I had tasted, largely thanks to the tangy cheese, and the "comfortable" textural interplay between the cheese and crust when chewing.










We then drove across town to Sally's and Pepe's, a few blocks apart. When we drove past Sally's, it was closed (only open for dinner.) I was somewhat saddened but I was already somewhat full from the first pizza; in retrospect, this was a blessing in disguise.

So we hit Pepe's - I've heard lines are quite long but we walked in around 12:30pm without issue. We ordered another medium margherita, for comparison's sake. My friend told me Pepe's can be the best or worst, depending on the day, wildly inconsistent. When the pizza arrived, the crust had a wider range of done-ness - some parts less cooked than Amodern and some obviously more charred. On my first bite, I knew this was an "on" day - the mozz had the same wonderful tanginess of Amodern but the crust was full of flavor, analogous to Flour + Water (for the San Francisco'ers.) It had a great yeastiness that was a real pleasure to crunch on. It was so crispy that not even all of that grease could make it soggy over the course of lunch; not my preference, but this was quite good.














A fun little diversion from the typical NYC trip - a quick hour ride north. The style of pizza is not to my preference, preferring Keste (NYC) more (their style is a little more considered and artisinal IMO) but the Pepe's would make it into my Top 5 Pizza list. I was insanely full, the train ride home was painful, and I did not eat again for the rest of the day; but a fun survey of Americana.

- chuck

Ahhh the memories. Have you gotten any pics at Keste? That was the best pizza and calzone I've had to date.