Pepe Joe’s Brick Oven Pizza

Read some of the negative reviews and I am extremely surprised by their experiences.
I used to work in the area from 2006 — 2010 and by far this is one of my top favorite eateries — I have even traveled from another borough after 2010 just to have it! Yes, this is not your ready in a New York minute pizzeria but as they say — good things come to those who wait! My favorite by far are the garlic knots and grilled buffalo chicken wrap. As of the date of this review, there is an «A» letter grade in its window from the Department of Health.
This same place has 4.5 stars on Google.

It would take less time to watch two snails race. The food is okay but god damn they’re slow as hell. It took me two hours to get my food. I called for a delivery but ended up having to walk to the store to get my food which wasn’t even started when I got there.

I Know what good food is but this place is disgusting and very unclean. The guy behind the counter was rude and very obnoxious The owner is more worried about making his disgusting food then worrying about his customers, they made my food twice the wrong way and I has to speak to the manager in my anger I knocked over some garlic and hot pepper shakers at that point the delivery guy grabbed a golf club came at me spit in my face and threatened to hit me over a not cooked Pizza, The owner still did not come out of the back to revolve the situation. I’ve seen roaches and dirt all over the place and I’ve never seen a Mexican be able to make Italian food. I would call Domino’s before I call and get food from this place again and I hate Domino’s

Forget what the tourists think of the NYC style pizza of Grimaldi’s in Brooklyn or the overpriced slices you’ll find around Times Square. This establishment knows how to make a local New Yorker’s New York pizza.
Every outer borough NYC resident knows where their best local food is. For me, pizza doesn’t get any better than this in the South Bronx. Don’t be intimidated by its location directly across the street from the housing projects. If you want to enjoy the food here, you’ll have to venture a little out of your comfort zone. This pizza is easily in the top ten of all NY pizza.
You will always have to wait a few extra minutes because pies are always being made. That speaks to the quality of the food. The owner/​workers can’t keep the pies coming fast enough. The pizza you’ll be given will be literally fresh out the oven.
Prices are an uptick higher than you’d find in the South Bronx but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Adding the ‘cherry on top’, Pepe Joe’s recently wired their small restaurant with Optimum WiFi. Nothing’s better than enjoying your slice while also surfing the web on your smartphone with Optimum’s fast speeds.
Overall, if you live in the Melrose, Morrisania, or Mott Haven area, you’re lucky that this is your default expectation of what pizza tastes like.

With a neon sign reading «OPEN» attracting my early lunch attention, I dodged a few moving cars, like Jim Brown dodged linebackers in the NFL. When I ordered a regular slice, the response came back «Just 5 minutes» as the 1^st pie entered the brick oven.
So, I knew it would be longer and took some time reading the menu board and some comical signage adorning the opposite wall. The location is extremely clean as to the front of the house and the view to the back was obstructed, so I could not get a good idea of its cleanliness level. There was more security cameras and surveillance equipment employed at this pizza parlor than I have ever seen in any store, anywhere I have ever been, just that alone had me sitting with my back to the wall as I ate my slice.
Average sauce, under-​cooked crust and thin topping of cheese, so I buried it in parmigiana and oregano as it lacked flavor. The beef patty was a tricky little guy to consume. As I bit one end the beef byproduct slid to the opposite and, so i went rverse and it saught shelter in the very center of the orange encasement. Third bite was the jailbreak and out both ends it came. Not the most stable beef patty I have encountered.