Sal's Pizzeria
"Sal’s has been a Court Street fixture for long enough to be considered a relic. This was actually the first place I ever ate in Brooklyn right before I moved to the neighborhood. It’s small inside and kind of dusty looking – like a classic pizzeria should be... their regular pies are quite decent. They also sell gelato and ices for a couple bucks from outside the storefront. In the summertime these are always a real treat," writes Eating Brooklyn.
But Lost City says, "Their regular pie is OK, but nothing to scream about... The counter's right at the front door, making it difficult to line up. There's no easy-to-see menu listing prices. Tables crowd out most of the walking space. There are display cases full of rice balls, stromboli, buffalo wings and anything else you could think of. They make heroes, pasta dishes, salads, soups, etc." Chowhound Thissteaks4you adds, "Sal's can be tasty, but, the pizza's just too greasy. The cheese slides right off the slice in a yellow liquidy mess." What's your take on this place?
Reviews (19)
mevans74 wrote a review on September 28, 2009 12:03 PM
Sal's is OK. They do in a pinch, but any place that uses those canned, rubbery mushrooms is just not going to be able to compete with pizza joints that use fresh ingredients.
Stick to Lucali.
tybur6 wrote a review on September 28, 2009 12:03 PM
Their slices aren't good... and they are expensive. I want to say $3. I don't remember exactly, but I remember reacting poorly to the price tag.
CG_ups wrote a review on September 28, 2009 12:08 PM
suprisingly few pizza by the slice joints. lucali is awesome except that you can only buy the pie, not by the slice. layla jones is up court a bit and is love-it-or-hate-it. i like francesco's on henry better for pizza by the slice. layla jones is the square pie and not as cheesy as sal's pizza. sal has a lot of places to sit though, which is convenient and good pepperoni knots / garlic knots.
Biff Champion wrote a review on September 28, 2009 12:11 PM
CG_ups, I found the House of Pizza and Calzone on Union (thanks again for the directions) had delicious pies. Can you get a pie to go at Lucali? I've been meaning to try it for a long time but heard it gets very busy.
CG_ups wrote a review on September 28, 2009 12:18 PM
halloo biff. lucali does pies to go (carryout only) but i have to strongly recommend against it. the pies have to be inhaled within 5 minutes, otherwise they get really soggy and gross. that said, there's no shame in sitting on the bench outside and scarfing it out of the box (more people do it than one would think). haha.
Biff Champion wrote a review on September 28, 2009 12:22 PM
Thanks CG_ups. I have a feeling I would be returning home with half a pie based on all the good things I've heard about it. Inhaling is a good word to describe what I do with tasty pizza! Darn, it's Yom Kippur and I'm starving. I need to avoid this thread.
CarrollGardened wrote a review on September 28, 2009 12:33 PM
I've learned that the trick at Sal's is to order their brick oven pizza. It takes awhile and it's not cheap, but it's great. I'm not fan of their regular pizza.
fsrg wrote a review on September 28, 2009 12:33 PM
At one time (about 20 years ago) - this was one of the best slices around....alas that day has long past.
duckumu wrote a review on September 28, 2009 12:39 PM
can't comment on the pizza -- only the gelato -- which is terrible. has a "fake" flavoring taste to it and unfortunate texture. you are better off just crossing over to smith and getting gelato at nutbox which serves ciao bella.
buttermilk channel wrote a review on September 28, 2009 1:46 PM
Agreed that they had a better slice twenty years ago, when it was a simple pizza joint, and John made the pizzas. Adding the gelato cart and restaurant next door as side businesses probably takes too much of their attention. They still make a good meatball hero.
dirty_hipster wrote a review on September 28, 2009 2:33 PM
Motorino please!
Brenda from Flatbush wrote a review on September 28, 2009 2:39 PM
I didn't like their gelato, either. Up til then I had never actually had bad gelato. Agreed that NutBox's Ciao Bello is great, but so is everything else in Nut Box; their nuts are very fresh (most nuts in those dusty little cello packs in the supermarket are close to rancid).
tanner wrote a review on September 28, 2009 2:46 PM
Even just 5+ years ago the slices were pretty darn good--tender, thin, crispy. But man, it sure went downhill. It seemed like it happened around the time that flour prices shot through the roof a handful of years ago... I always wondered if they changed the flour they were using or something. All I know is that I used to go there a lot, and then I gave it a good five or six more times after it seemed to take a dive, and it never seemed to come back. Now they just make a really average, mediocre slice. Sad, really...
presidentst wrote a review on September 28, 2009 3:36 PM
I couldn't agree more. Pies are too greesy.
lifer wrote a review on September 28, 2009 7:25 PM
You shoulda had em in the 70's when Sal was making the pizza!, in the 70's it was only 50 cents, they had pinball and everything. We still went across to court pastry for ices, d'oh!
Carol Gardens wrote a review on September 29, 2009 9:30 AM
The one really good item here is the square piece with fresh basil that they have at the front counter. I agree about the prices. They raised them a while back with all kinds of explanations about the cost of flour and fuel etc. They remain too high. House of Pizza and Calzone is a better deal and a nicer atmosphere. Although this is one of the only places open pretty late on Court, so I end up there anyway!
very bored at work wrote a review on September 29, 2009 12:02 PM
In short, Sal's sucks.
The slices and pies are mediocre at best and awful lots of the time. The ices are commercial and not fit for adult comsumption. Try Court Pastry or Monteleone's for real ices. On top of it all, their attitude leaves a great deal to be desired. The "No Grated Cheese for Slices" kind of sums it up (that's after you've forked over $3 bucks for a slice?). I live around the corner and NEVER order from them. House of Pizza and Calzone is great for Calzone and better for pizza than Sals.
They own the building and the one next door so they don't need to charge the outrageous prices they do.
adamsa wrote a review on September 29, 2009 3:09 PM
They own the building? Then why's the owner always out front complaining about rent prices? Must be an act. I happily strolled into this place when I first moved to the neighborhood over a year ago and thought I'd grab a slice to go. I thought, ah, the joys of living in an old italian neighborhood.. This is going to be awesome. Then I saw the tally at the register. WTF. I see that the rest of the city is catching up because of inflation or what have you but Sal's was ahead of the curve. Even the old school locals don't have much fondness for Sal's. I feel bad but if your food isn't good and your prices are high.. Then you're digging your own grave. That was the last slice I had there.
I hope they clean up their act. The neighborhood *needs* a good go-to pizza place.
I do like the restaurant next door. The pasta is actually pretty tasty. Its not cheap but we're not talking about them right now :)
brookjoo wrote a review on October 7, 2009 9:50 PM
Overpriced pizza that is meh at best and a soggy mess of grease and cheese at worst. They used to do super-thin-crust personal pizzas that were actually pretty tasty, but stopped doing them. Given the fact that the place next door is usually empty, I get the feeling that you're floating the operating costs of running it (Mamma Maria's, or whatever it's called) by eating at Sal's, hence the prices.
I prefer Caruson's on smith and bergen or what used to be Mola pizza on Court in between 1st and 2nd (maybe called international pizza, or something like that). Vinnie's is fine, but I think their sandwiches are better than their pizza
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