The Pizzeria Menu Red Flag Most People Mistake For A Perk

Even bad pizza can still be good, but nobody wants to spend money at a subpar pizzeria when so many places do it right. That's why it really helps to know the 13 pizzeria red flags that could indicate more than a bad slide — especially ones that you can spot before you even take a seat at a table. When The Takeout spoke to the 2023 Pizza Maker of the Year and owner of Napoli on the Road, Michele Pascarella, about pizza shop red flags, she said a big one is a long menu.

Having a lot of choices may sound like a good thing, but Pascarella said, "If you see a long list of pizzas, it may suggest a lack of focus or attention to quality." She went on to explain that, "A limited, curated selection typically indicates more research and care put into each pizza, which often reflects a higher standard of craftsmanship." Having far too many specialty pizzas on the menu is a sign that the restaurant is probably just throwing them at the wall to see what sticks. 

You want any food menu — including one at a pizzeria — to have some intentionality behind it. When you see a unique combo of toppings, you want to know the owner or chef really thought about it and worked hard to develop it. But when you see 40 different options rattled off, it can be a sign that none of them are really that special.

Concern over long menus extends to options outside the pizza as well. Of course, any pizzeria will have some apps and maybe a few sandwiches, but once you start seeing diner-length menus, you should raise your eyebrows. It's not just because you want the focus to be on the pizza — long menus mean a long list of ingredients, and that's a big expense. When menu options are more limited, you can have more faith that the business was able to spend on higher-quality ingredients. But when you have six different sections of the menu that all need different inputs, corners are bound to be cut.

The worst offender for long pizza menus, however, is gimmicky pizzas. Taking chances on unique pizza toppings is great. But when you start seeing names like "monster of meat" with seven different toppings, or every other option is slathered in hot honey, it's a good bet the pizzeria is chasing hype and novelty instead of flavor. There is a reason you mostly see pretzel-crust pizzas at places like Little Caesar's — if the menu is trying to draw your eye away from the basics and towards a pizza topped with ranch and fried chicken, you should probably read the subtext in what they're telling you.

Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table and The Takeout.