Cafe Pizzaiolo, Owners Larry and Christine Ponzi's Pizza, Pasta, and Beer in Shirlington and Fairlington

[u-bet!]

The New York-style with sausage, onion, and green pepper I ordered for delivery a couple of weeks ago arrived late and cold. I understand delivery introduces an additional set of variables, but this was a very disappointing experience, especially given their price point.

[aaronsinger]

Just had lunch there.

Friendly if a bit scattered service (it was after lunch, so that's probably why, but it took a bit of persistence to get the check). Had the NYC style daily pizza, which was pepperoni and onions. Quite tasty, if a bit greasy - I expected that, it's okay, it's what you get off fresh tasting meat and cheese.

Price was quite right, too.

Glad I went, will have to go there more often. Definitely one of the best pizzas I've had in quite a while.

Which location?

I read that the Del Ray one was opening this saturday, november 1.

[SeanMike]

Oh, sorry. Crystal City. Original one as far as I know.

[Josh Radigan]

So, living nearby to The Calvert building I have had the pleasure of frequenting The Del Merei Grille over the years and now something new. First off let me just say that the strip mall section of The Calvert over the years has thankfully gone through some cosmetic changes. secondly the space that this restaurant occupies was somewhat outdated, small, quite dark, and a bar that was often filled with smoke. New owners and new concept. I tried the place and let me just say that I hope they make it. The pizza, The caprese, was excatly what I was looking for in a pizza. Thin crust, slight chew in the center, crisp exterior, just the right amount of what should be on a pizza. Now let just say this also, EVERYONE in the world has their own definition of what a pizza should look and taste like, so go try it for yourself. Some may like, some may not. the space is minimal, wines BTG were good, and the service was there. when I say there, it wasn't in your face, because quite frankly I do not want that, nor were they off in another world. It will take time to grow but again I hope they do well. No smoking allowed in the bar, thank the heavens above on that part. A couple of TV's and drafts on tap (don't ask em what they were because beer is off my diet at this point) Good luck to the staff, you will see me again soon.

[Sthitch]

drafts on tap (don't ask em what they were because beer is off my diet at this point)

According to the menu they have Peroni, Blue Moon, 60 Minute IPA, Dogfish Head, MIller Lite, and Yuengling Lager on tap and others by the bottle. I look forward to trying the second location.

[susanmab]

The New York-style with sausage, onion, and green pepper I ordered for delivery a couple of weeks ago arrived late and cold. I understand delivery introduces an additional set of variables, but this was a very disappointing experience, especially given their price point.

you too?

I think they might be stretching themselves too thin - last few I have ordered have arrived dead cold and not properly cooked to begin with (one was undercooked, the other brned on the bottom beyond an acceptable level.

it's a shame - their pizza was some of my favorite, but I guess it's dine-in only for me now (it's easier to ask for some quality control in person). I live really close (original Crystal City location), so I probably have no excuse for delivery anyway.

[mbalaver]

What is the atmosphere like here? I'm trying to figure out where to go for dinner before seeing a show at Arena's Crystal City digs, and thought of this place. But I'm treating a friend for her birthday, and though we don't need to go somewhere high end I'd rather not pick a place that's fast foody (atmospherically). (Right now the plan is to go to Jaleo.)

[DanielK]

What is the atmosphere like here? I'm trying to figure out where to go for dinner before seeing a show at Arena's Crystal City digs, and thought of this place. But I'm treating a friend for her birthday, and though we don't need to go somewhere high end I'd rather not pick a place that's fast foody (atmospherically). (Right now the plan is to go to Jaleo.)

It's VERY casual, and lots of loud kids. Not really a date-ish kind of place.

[Sthitch]

Even when I have found the pies at Pizzaiolo to be off, I still think they are better than anything else in the Arlington/Alexandria area, and if you asked me what I would change about them, I don't know that I could put my finger on it. Well last night I saw a change, one that I didn't think was needed, but was definitely welcomed. At least with the pie I got from the Mt Vernon Ave location last night it appears that they have started to put raw garlic into the sauce, finally change I can believe in.

[goldenticket]

And another permit application in Alexandria - sounds like good news for the Fairlington area from the folks behind Cafe Pizzaiolo.

SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2009-0013

1623 FERN STREET

RESTAURANT

Consideration of a request to operate a full service restaurant with carry-out and delivery;

zoned CSL/Commercial Service Low.

Applicant: Culinary Concepts Corporation by Lawrence Ponzi

This is the old Ernie's Crab location next to the Smart Car dealership.

[monavano]

Mr. MV picked up 2 small pizzas and a Greek salad from Cafe Pizzaiolo tonight. In house, Tuesdays are 2 for 1 pizza- unfortunatly, that's just dine in. Still, a terrific deal for $30, and the leftover pizza will serve another meal.

I prefer their NY style crust. We got one meatball and one sausage pie. Great ratio of cheese, sauce and toppings. Even the end crust is hard to resist keeping all to myself (the dogs are my crust eaters), Excellent pizza.

The Greek salad was generous and came with a balsamic dressing. My only complaint is that at the height of summer tomato season, for the love of Pete, don't use tasteless store bought 'maters.

[TSchaad]

I drove by the Fern St. location last night on the way to pick up Chinese From Ho's carryout and saw that they were open and serving customers. This particular site is named Pizzaiolo Cafe on Fern according to the website, www.cafepizzaiolo.com. I guess I'll have to find the time to try them out.

TSchaad

[monavano]

I drove by the Fern St. location last night on the way to pick up Chinese From Ho's carryout and saw that they were open and serving customers. This particular site is named Pizzaiolo Cafe on Fern according to the website, www.cafepizzaiolo.com. I guess I'll have to find the time to try them out.

TSchaad

Check out their website for the daily deals. Tuesdays are 2 for 1 pizza-an incredible deal.

[Escoffier]

They're really in close proximity to the Escoffier and Grover domicile (too close, perhaps). Every time we've come by there since they've opened, they've had customers. We were going to walk up on Sunday but a 4 hour brunch put the kibosh on that plan. Perhaps one day this week...

[KMango]

Needing to kill several hours on a recent afternoon, I walked over to Pizzaiolo Cafe on Fern Street. This was my first time dining here, but my second time visiting. I had popped in shortly after they opened to check out the menu and grab a quick espresso. But seeing Illy as the house grounds, I ducked out elsewhere for caffeine.

Which I should have done again on this day.

Around 1:00, I entered the restaurant and noted several tables occupied by families and folks on a quick break from the office. A good crowd, a good sign. Positive omens stopped there. Several dirty two tops and a dirty bar were the only places to sit. Granted, this was the middle of the lunch rush, and table bussing is often first victim of cutting speed corners. So I just took a seat at the bar, anticipating the staff would move to wipe away the cascade of sugar granulates left from the last diners. No such luck, and no such offer.

Perusing the menu, I saw all the usual suspect salads, pizzas, sandwiches, and pastas. Not many interesting pizza toppings or unique sandwich creations. But I had arrived absolutely starving after a long workout on top of a two-mile trek to reach the restaurant. I was cold and hungry and just wanted a quick bite, with Waitress #1 happy to take my order.

A half portion of Greek salad arrived with little fanfare or intrigue. An uninspired assembly adorned the plate of canned pepperoncinis, canned olives, dry and uninteresting feta, basic lettuce (including some cores), catastrophically underripe Roma tomato quarters, but for some reason lacking the red onion slices I saw on other Greek salads coming out of the kitchen. The dressing promised to be balsamic, but a sharp-edged red wine vinegar (and very little else) greeted my palate. Although the dressing appeared to have flecks of spice, they added no discernible flavor. Low quality oil in the vinaigrette left no chance of redemption for this unbag-and-go greenery.

After playing Fork Wars with my salad for several minutes (tine #2 won!), I noticed my Neapolitan pizza had arrived in the kitchen window. I saw no heat lamps, no way to keep it warm. I watched Waitress #2 start to grab a plate and bring the pizza over to me when she suddenly became interested in a conversation about delivery orders, or expanding service to delivery orders, or something else having to do with delivery. I noted the irony of in-person service slipping as a result of that topic. I probably should have spoken up and asked for the pizza, so tag I am it for the blame on that one.

Instead, after it’s five-minute wait on the counter, Waitress #2 delivered the entrée barely at room temperature, edging into cold. I saw pale tomato slices, flat discs of cheese, sad little ribbons of harshly chopped basil, and pools of olive oil. I did not see any blistering or golden brown hue anywhere on the crust. One bite and I knew I was finished. Barely risen dough evoking a chalky cardboard, no discernible seasoning in the sauce, and mass-produced cheese that squeaked in all the wrong ways. The low temperature surely exacerbated the lower quality ingredients. And again, my bad for not speaking up about the service failure as it was happening.

I immediately paid the tab, then took off elsewhere for lunch. To her credit, Waitress #1 appeared alarmed and confused when she saw me leaving so quickly with nearly all of my food behind. She asked how everything was, and I mentioned it “was not for me”. She mentioned this to Waitress #2 who just shrugged in response.

As I left the restaurant, I noted a large SYSCO truck parked in a nearby alley. Granted, it could have been making deliveries to an adjacent business. But I could not help but think this truck-to-table dining experience came courtesy of Systems and Services Company.

Was this a bad day or is this a bad rendition of the Crystal City classic? I've never been to the 23rd street locale and cannot compare. I welcome thoughts on others experiences at the Cafe on Fern, and have my fingers crossed that snow deliveries or other circumstances are to blame here.

[Dave Pressley]

Was this a bad day or is this a bad rendition of the Crystal City classic? I've never been to the 23rd street locale and cannot compare. I welcome thoughts on others experiences at the Cafe on Fern, and have my fingers crossed that snow deliveries or other circumstances are to blame here.

I've not yet been to the Fern Street location, even though it's very close to my house, simply because we've had a lot of fantastic food & service experiences in Crystal City. (I've never been a big fan of their salads either, but the pizzas, sandwiches and pastas have been consistently good in my experiences.)

[Escoffier]

The Cafe On Fern Street (aka Cafe Pizzaolo) is close enough that we can walk there and have a couple of times. We've found the pizza to be inconsistent and seemingly dependent on who happens to be in the kitchen at the time. The first pizza we had there had a nice amount of puffy, gently charred goodness and a fair amount of ingredients (pepperoni and mushrooms...we're creatures of habit, it's what we always order). The second pizza was okay, the crust tended more towards the crackly side rather than the nicely chewy side but there was a dearth of toppings. Now taking into consideration that the first time we went was late afternoon, we were one of two couples in the place and it wasn't 6 feet deep in snow, that might explain the difference. The second time we had to walk, there was a ton of snow and one server. I actually prefer Fairlington Pizza which is just around the corner for pizza. (and yep, the Sysco truck has been parked there a couple of times when we drove past. Of course, it could also be visiting Ramparts which is across the street as well).

[Dave Pressley]

Inspired by KMango's post today, I went to Pizzaiolo (Crystal City) again tonight. The pizzas (one plain New York and one with proscuitto, parmesan and arugula) were totally on point. Nicely charred thin crust, not too much of either sauce or cheese, good salt. Service was a bit off as they seemed to be understaffed, but was still friendly, apologetic and as efficient as they could possibly be.

ETA: We normally go on Tuesday nights because A) I take Tuesday nights off from work and crave some family time with my girls and B ) 2 for 1 pizzas on Tuesdays. Our normal order is a beer, an iced tea, an app and two pizzas for the three of us--the check is usually around $30.

[monavano]

Inspired by KMango's post today, I went to Pizzaiolo (Crystal City) again tonight. The pizzas (one plain New York and one with proscuitto, parmesan and arugula) were totally on point. Nicely charred thin crust, not too much of either sauce or cheese, good salt. Service was a bit off as they seemed to be understaffed, but was still friendly, apologetic and as efficient as they could possibly be.

ETA: We normally go on Tuesday nights because A) I take Tuesday nights off from work and crave some family time with my girls and B ) 2 for 1 pizzas on Tuesdays. Our normal order is a beer, an iced tea, an app and two pizzas for the three of us--the check is usually around $30.

I'm glad to hear this. I was hoping that CP was not stretching too thin with 3 locations. We go to the Del Ray locale, where their NY-style has been a real favorite. The new location is a tad closer (depending on Duke St. traffic). Either way, I'm in need of the meatball pizza.

I do agree that the Greek salad needs a bit of oomph with fresh ingredients and a distinct dressing. I would put it on par with Vocelli's.

[susanmab]

2 for 1 pizzas on Tuesdays.

It is very *very* good that I didn't know about this when I lived in that neighborhood. My waistband gets a little snug just thinking about it.

I'm glad to hear they haven't gone totally to pot!

[monavano]

It is very *very* good that I didn't know about this when I lived in that neighborhood. My waistband gets a little snug just thinking about it.

I'm glad to hear they haven't gone totally to pot!

Their week night specials are real deals. I particularly think that the Tues. deal makes is possible for families to dine out. I know I loved going out for pizza as a kid (Paesano's, long defunct).

[Sthitch]

I have found that the pizzas at the Fern location have been more inconsistent than the other two locations, but still beat anything else around (Fairlington Pizza??? has it changed in the last few years? My last unfortunate experience there found it to be not so good - I am being generous). After spending 90 minutes just getting out of the city, I was in no mood to cook so we ordered pizza, the large NY with sausage and pepperoni delivered from the Fern St location was as good as any I have gotten at the other two locations.

[goldenticket]

The owner himself told me that they were opening a carryout in the old Eight Hands Round/Artfully Chocolate space. If you peep in the window you can see the start of pizza equipment. (yes.I'm that nosy ) I;m sure there will be hoops from the city to jump through since it was not previously a food place. It is difficult to say if it will even be allowed. I hope it works. Their pizza is really good and owner is a Del Ray resident and a good,energetic guy.

Alexandria Planning Commission has the following on the docket for their Nov. 6 meeting:

SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2008-0067

116 EAST DELRAY AVE

PIECE OUT

This is the address for the space that formerly housed Artfully Chocolate. How cool - a slice followed by frozen custard, all within steps of each other

Hopefully all will go well with the City and we won't have to wait TOO long for this new addition to the Del Ray lineup.

So....after a 2-year delay, it looks like this is back on again, perhaps in a slightly modified form. There is an ABC permit announcement in the window with Larry Ponzi's name and "Market to Market" listed on it. I hear tales of a deli/carryout with beer and wine. Sounds good to me! Build out still has to happen, so it might be some months before this spot opens.

Also sounds like the Calvert location may be moving to a nearby spot in the not-too-distant future - depending on leases and such, sometime in the first half of 2011. The pizza at the Calvert location is damn good - hard to choose between the NY and the Neopolitan styles. It's a regular Thursday night stop for 1/2 price wine night. We recently had an equally good carryout pie from the Fern Street location.

[goodeats]

Expanding to Shirlington, per ARLnow.com. Shirlington seems to be the hip place to be now!

[lperry]

They must be going in where the failed sandwich shop was.

[KMango]

Expanding to Shirlington, per ARLnow.com. Shirlington seems to be the hip place to be now!

Last week, we checked out the Cafe Pizzaiolo that is now resident in Cameron Station, in the previous location of Food Matters.

Their website lists a Shirlington, coming soon, location as well.

[Escoffier]

Tonight we were ready to order from the Crystal City location and discovered from the website that that shop is under new management and will be called Hearthstone Pizza Bistro. I called and was told that they're rebranding but keeping the same menu and recipes. Anyone hear anything about this? Our pizza was good, but I couldn't help being hypercritical just because I knew that management had changed. I kept asking my husband and daughter, "What do you think? How does it taste?" I hope this cafe stays true to its beginnings. It took sooo long to get a decent go-to place in the neighborhood.

I haven't noticed a name change at the Fern Street location but I'll check again today. We live a couple of blocks away from this location and manage to get there now and then,

[DonRocks]

I haven't noticed a name change at the Fern Street location but I'll check again today. We live a couple of blocks away from this location and manage to get there now and then,

Tonight we were ready to order from the Crystal City location and discovered from the website that that shop is under new management and will be called Hearthstone Pizzza Bistro. I called and was told that they're rebranding but keeping the same menu and recipes. Anyone hear anything about this? Our pizza was good, but I couldn't help being hypercritical just because I knew that management had changed. I kept asking my husband and daughter, "What do you think? How does it taste?" I hope this cafe stays true to its beginnings. It took sooo long to get a decent go-to place in the neighborhood.

From the looks of Hearthstone's Facebook page, and also Cafe Pizzaiolo's website, it's only the Crystal City location that's rebranding.

If anyone could do some recon about the various other locations, I'd appreciate knowing what's going on.

[CrescentFresh]

I realize this doesn't help anyone who went to Cafe Pizzaiolo over the last two to two-and-a-half years, but....

It's funny to look back at that original post I made on CP over five years ago. Sometime after the expansion to all the other locations was going on, the Crystal City original fell off the cliff. We ate at CP pretty regularly. We dined in. We had delivery. We would call ahead and order paninis for pickup that we could eat for lunch in the car on a drive. We'd show up and have a beer or glass of wine while ordering something to carry home. I can't recall exactly when it happened but CP pretty much slid into uselessness.

Service in the shop became nonchalant or absent. The food quality became inconsistent--in flavor (the same thing could taste wildly different from one day to the next) and in the cooking (one day your pizza was cooked through, the next it was raw and doughy in the middle). Delivery was horrible. A joke really. They would forget an entire item, or leave off a topping, or put on the wrong topping. Every time. Not kidding. We were on their "make up list" that they posted by the phone to track delivery errors all the time. They were good about comping us for the errors and sounded sincerely apologetic. But it never changed. And you get tired of reporting problems that never get corrected. Finally we just had enough and never went back and never ordered again.

I should note that for many, CP was probably still fine. Particularly for familes with young kids. It was a great place to go out to eat for them. But for me the place just fell apart and I really have no idea why. You used to be able to see owner Larry or his wife in the shop all the time. But after the expansion it was less and less until finally almost never. When they were hands on, the place was the best around (see post #1). I've never eaten at any of the other CP locations so I have no idea what they're like.

About six months ago I moved out of Crystal City. I don't know if I'll ever have the opportunity to go to the new Hearthstone place that replaces Pizzaiolo. If they can find a way to correct the massive flaws that developed at CP they should do fine.

[goodeats]

From the looks of Hearthstone's Facebook page, and also Cafe Pizzaiolo's website, it's only the Crystal City location that's rebranding.

If anyone could do some recon about the various other locations, I'd appreciate knowing what's going on.

The recon, by happenstance, since we were in Cameron Station for their Halloween festivities by invitation, is the following. I wasn't aware that they had three, four counting Crystal City location. The owner(s) wanted to focus/develop on the Shirlington, Cameron Station and the third location, so they sold the Crystal City location. It's a completely separate one. I think it's more to have a better flow of cash, selling it?

The Cameron Station locale was hopping Saturday around 8pm. I sure miss Food Matters and Chef Tom, though. Not to say that Cafe Pizzaiolo wasn't bad but the target market and cooking style is different.

I will say that the kid spaghetti didn't come with enough sauce but it did come with a generous sized meatball. The beer list isn't bad. I do love the fact they serve Dolci Gelato here (didn't see it at their CC location). Service was attentive, but they did put something on our check that wasn't ordered (they also happily took it off without probs). One large is good for two with a few slices to spare. I can't say I'm a fan of their crust, having been spoiled by Pupatella/Orso/Neopolitan style. This is better than Lost Dog but probably slightly worse than Del Merei or even Fire Works, scale wise to me. Will be willing to go back; the atmosphere and service was nice.

Check for my portion + beer + kid spaghetti + gelato was about $25-28 which is a bit more than I spend usually with little man, though, so I would order more carefully next time.

[Escoffier]

Fern Street hasn't changed hands. Nothing changed there.

[hoosiereph]

Closure of the Crystal City location made Cafe Pizzaiolo rather inaccessible to my usual routine. Happened to be at the Shirlington Library this week & in need of takeout, and the nearby CP caught my attention. Very satisfied with my old favorite, the Diavala. This is still a fine pie with a great combination of flavors, and it reheats nicely on the stovetop, too.

[DonRocks]

The Cameron Station locale was hopping Saturday around 8pm. I sure miss Food Matters and Chef Tom, though. Not to say that Cafe Pizzaiolo wasn't bad but the target market and cooking style is different.

Well, that didn't last very long. I'm not sure when the Cameron Station Cafe Pizzaiolo closed, but it did.

[ohstate]

We tried to go in late December but it was closed at that point.  We favor the Fern Street location, although the Shirlington location has more space and a full bar if you don't want beer/wine.

[goodeats]

I was very sad to discover that the Shirlington location served cardboard cheese pizza now. Maybe it was because it was delivery, but I was rather disappointed with their cheese pizza ordered two weeks ago...lacked flavor, pizza very flat, cheese had no flavor, crust was hard, and even the boys (playdate) didn't really want seconds....

[DonRocks]

I was very sad to discover that the Shirlington location served cardboard cheese pizza now. Maybe it was because it was delivery, but I was rather disappointed with their cheese pizza ordered two weeks ago...lacked flavor, pizza very flat, cheese had no flavor, crust was hard, and even the boys (playdate) didn't really want seconds....

I went to Pizzaiolo Cafe on Fern in Fairlington for the first time Wednesday evening, having absolutely no idea what to expect. I have fond memories of when Cafe Pizzaiolo first opened on 23rd Street in Crystal City - it was really good pizza, both the Neapolitan and the New York Crusts.

Let me start by saying something positive: This is a nice little bar to have good beer (they have six taps of fairly serious beers) and watch sports on either of their two flat-screen TVs. I started my meal with a pint of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale, flanked by The Lonely Divorcée on my right (who was somewhat show-offy to the server, and loudly wished me "Bon Appetit!"), and The Yeungling Demander on my left (who complained that his Peroni wasn't "amber" like Yeungling), and I overheard my friendly bartender (everybody is really laid back and friendly here) mention that Wednesday night is 2-for-1 pizza night. Two-for-one pizzas! I immediately knew what I was having for lunch the next day.

Since things were half-price, I went ahead and got two large pizzas: one to eat in, and the second to go, and figuring that I'd try to be as helpful as possible to our readers, decided to get one Neapolitan crust, and one New York crust to compare. I also figured that the Neapolitan crust would be better then-and-there, so I got that one to eat in, and the New York crust to go.

For my eat-in, Neapolitan pizza, I got a large Caprese ($16.99, but $8.50 at half-price) with fresh mozzarella, chopped roma tomatoes, garlic, sea salt, olive oil, and fresh basil (sounds like a no-brainer, right?), and as soon as it arrived, I knew it was a disaster. To start with, I have never seen more chopped tomatoes or more garlic on any pizza in my life - it looked like someone had shot both of these from a fire extinguisher, and the "Roma tomatoes" tasted old and of industrial quality, with a taste that was nearly metallic. No other topping mattered because there was such an enormous quantity of these other two, that the pizza could have come with hot fudge on it, and I wouldn't have noticed. It was disgusting, it was the worst pizza I've had in memory, and I'm ashamed of myself for eating half of it, but I had just come from the gym and I was *starving*. If it's any salvation of my credibility, I told my bartender to just give the second half to the kitchen staff (I was originally going to box it and take it home, but there was no way I was ever going to even look at this thing again). One other thing I should mention is that the crust was in no way Neapolitan, and was oversalted to a San Andreas fault.

Stuck with a second pizza, I left it out overnight, and took a peak at it the next morning. This one was the New York crust, a large La Famiglia ($17.99, $9.00 at half-price) with mozzarella, potato, bacon, roasted garlic, sliced tomato, and grana parmesan. Considering how low my expectations had fallen, I was pleasantly surprised ... no, make that darned near amazed at this pizza, which was not only edible, but very close to being pleasant. First of all, absolutely get the New York crust - even after sitting out overnight, it was worlds better. The "potato" topping was thick (and I mean 1/2-inch thick) slices of fingerling potatoes which, when eaten with the grana parmesan, were darned good by themselves, especially considering they had been flavored with the bacon topping (not just bacon grease, but bacon). Would I come back here for this? No, but I have to say that I came pretty close to enjoying it, and nibbled on it throughout the day, heating it in my oven on two separate occasions. Needless to say, when faced with these two choices, go with the second one; run like the devil from the first.

And remember the bar, the pleasant staff, the flat-screen TVs, and the six worthwhile draft beers at the ready.

[dcs]

Cafe Pizzaiolo in Shirlington Auctioning Off Furnishings, Equipment, on ARLnow.com, May 21, 2020.