Puccini’s Smiling Teeth Pizza & Pasta

The North Willow Commons location of Puccini’s Smiling Teeth, an Indy-​based chain of 11 pizza/​pasta joints with all but three in Indiana, is actually the original Puccini’s that started all the way back in 1991. In 2012, Puccini’s took home the «Best in the U.S.» award in the Classic Pizza category at the World Championship of Pizza in Salsomaggiore, Italy. The award-​winning entry was our Campfire pizza, a popular pie made with smoked sausage, sweet onion marmalade, gorgonzola and fresh rosemary. Puccini’s has always, in my opinion, been stronger in the specialty pizza arena than in the fundamentals. As I did when I last visited the chain’s Keystone/​Castleton area location, I ordered a small (8″) pizza with one-​topping (sausage) for $ 6.60 along with a ½ order of garlic bread and my usual unsweetened iced tea. The entire bill ran just over $ 11.
This Puccini’s is in one of those strip centers where I find myself able to linger — it has a Stein Mart, New Age People, a Catholic bookstore/​religious goods store and several other stores that allow me to just sort of enjoy the ambience. While it’s an older strip center, it’s well cared for and fairly easily accessible with spots throughout the large parking lot — you should probably know that in any spot you’ll end up having to cross the parking lot street, though my experience is that drivers in this area tend to be fairly patient. I did notice a couple of the spots had kind of wonky curb cuts, but it’s pretty easy to find a good spot.
Puccini’s has a double doorway and you enter to a small host area. They seemed to be pretty quick and the dining area is right there and easily wheelchair friendly. I instantly enjoyed the interior more than the Keystone/​Castleton location, though the difference really isn’t major. This place just felt more relaxed and comfy.
In fact, I would say just about everything about this place was a notch higher (hence, the 4-​star rather than 3-​star rating). The pizza was better. The service was a little more personable, though I did feel a tad rushed. The attention to refills was solid. It was simply an enjoyable and affordable experience all the way around.
In addition to the usual pizzas, including a nice variety of specialty types, Puccini’s carries appetizers, chicken dinners, pasta, salads, soups, calzones, a kids menu and, yeah, they do offer gluten-​free options for just about their entire menu (and clearly mark those things not available gluten free).
I like it when a pizza is filling without feeling overwhelming. As someone who typically dines alone, I sometimes am hesitant to go for pizza as I usually end up with too much and am not typically a fan of cold pizza. Puccini’s small is easily doable for a single person and it’s a satisfying meal.
The ½ order of garlic bread includes three decent-​sized slices.
When it was established in 1991, Puccini’s was easily one of the city’s pizza highlights. While I’d likely consider it an upper tier pizza, I’m not sure I consider it a destination option. However, there’s no question that when I’m in the area it’s a viable option and I wouldn’t hesitate to stop back.

Just love it any time I’m back in town. Great food, great service, and fabulous people!

I’m very particular about my Italian cuisine and Puccini’s is a favorite! Always fresh, delicious, and they have so many options. The staff is attentive and service is prompt. Plus there’s tons of options and opportunity to have gluten free pizza or pasta.

I’ve heard great things about this place from several people, but it’s definitely doesn’t compare to some of my favorite Italian/​pizza places. I tried the Bar 20 pizza and it was your typical BBQ Chicken pizza. It was tasty and had a decent amount of sauce and toppings. Greek salad was pretty standard. When we arrived the place wasn’t that busy but it did fill up as our dinner went on. Service was okay. Everyone has bad days, but rarely did he check up on us or refill our drinks. Another server did a fantastic job of making sure we were hydrated. We eventually had to ask another server for our bill and a to go box. Since service was a bit slow we decided to order our dessert to go. I ordered the cheesecake. Not terrible, but it had an old plastic taste to it. I ended up barely eating half of it, which is not normal for me when it comes to desserts. On a first impression this place was just okay.

Sorry, if you keep me waiting in line for over ten minutes and don’t even acknowledge my presence, you don’t get my business. Just 2 seconds of a server’s time and we would have stayed.

Ordered a large pepperoni and spinach pizza. It was to die for! My boyfriend and I both inhaled it. We will both return here very soon.

In town for the weekend and really wanted take out. I got the vodka sauce on ziti with chicken. There was absolutely no flavor. It just tasted like burning. I was frustrated at first with the small portion but it didnt matter because i didnt want to eat it. The salad was mostly onions and peppers and the garlic bread was dripping Olive oil. My friend got veggie quatro formage and it had huge chunks of garlic and she couldnt eat it all. They also didnt give us utensiles so we had to get them from the hotel.
However my boyfriend got a pizza and he said it was decent. So i guess they have that going for them.

There would me more stars, but I’ve got to say, DO NOT ORDER THE BREADSTICKS. Talk about plain and dry. Absolutely no flavor. Pizza was great though.

Delicious fresh excellent prices –very simple informal layout In the restaurant but great for a relaxed bite

The Pizza and Garlic Bread is Amazing and they have a decent Lasagna, but what totally blows me away is their Ranch Dressing. Yes, I said Ranch Dressing. We order it in a Tub and dip everything in it. I would eat it by the bowl and eat it with a spoon. What is even better than all of that is their service. Many servers at other restaurants would act crazy when our family asked for a tub of ranch but they don’t care. I swear I see them eating Garlic Bread with that ranch during their breaks. Anyway, its a great place to eat with family and friends.

I’m torn between 3 and 4 stars, but I’m giving it 4 based on service. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that I didn’t care for my pizza (humble pie) but c’mon! Bagged salad? That’s ridiculous. It was basically cheap iceberg lettuce with some cheese, black olives, onions and green peppers. Meh. I chose the veg lunch option, humble pie, and just didn’t care for it. But, I didn’t want to order a calzone because I had more errands to run and it was too warm to have leftovers safely in the car.
Service was friendly and efficient. We were even offered to-​go cups of pop. I just ordered the wrong thing.

Gluten-​free and Italian? I hoped one day to go to a place that doesn’t have 1 or 2 choices and not feel out of place. Puccini’s made that happen.
They have gluten free pizza and pasta — which means you have about 20 choices you can make. I got the clam sauce pasta and the taste didn’t miss a beat from regular pasta — in fact it may have been better. Even the server thought some of the gluten-​free pastas were better than the regular ones. Plus he actually knew the menu!
I got to taste their campfire pizza as well — excellent. Also their garlic bread was good (although not gluten-​free.)
I cannot stress how nice it was to go to a Italian restaurant and not have to feel weird about asking what is gluten-​free. So Puccini’s, you’re good. Keep that smile up. You know what you’re doing.

Puccini’s makes me smile… get it!!!
I’m a big fan of their ‘za — my new love is the Ultimate Warrior. Fluffy crust, sausage, pepperoni, peppers, olives… mmmm!
Can’t speak for the in-​house dining experience but I happily enjoy the delicious pizza pie at home :)

By far the best pizza in Indianapolis. You will never be disappointed with any pizza selection you make here. I am a pizza enthusiast having grown up making home made pizza from scratch with my family and perfected the dough by age 10. It’s one dinner everyone can be involved in the design and everyone will enjoy the fruits of their labor. No matter your design requirements for that perfect pizza, Puccini’s will satisfy your demands.
The homemade pizza sauce is one I only wish I could recreate and have come close but nothing is better than the way they craft their pizza. Any salad or appetizer you order is always given to you with the freshest of ingredients and the best combination of dressings, seasonings, or dipping sauces.
My boyfriend and I frequent often at this store, even though Greeks is closer, because no matter how close to closing time the same quality of food comes out of their kitchen ready for you to pick up. We have dined numerous times as well and no matter how busy they are we are met with smiles and quick service. I think the wait staff used to be ninjas in the past because they are stealth drink-​refillers!

Puccini’s is a great local chain that features some really amazing combinations of toppings on their pizzas. We ordered a King of Hearts and a Margherita pizza for carry out last week. The Margherita was tasty as always, but I was so glad we decided to try something new with the King of Hearts pizza — artichokes, mushrooms and bacon! Oh wow, this was delicious, crispy and plentiful bacon! Puccini’s does not skimp on toppings.
We ordered some salads as well, and I need to remember next time that each person probably doesn’t need a whole carry out salad since they are huge! We had four of those big takeout styrofoam clamshells filled with salad greens, carrots, peppers, cheese and olives. The dressings are great! The Italian is my favorite; it is a nice classic olive oil, vinegar and herb blend.
I’ve been here for lunch many times too! The lunch slice, salad and soda combo is great!
We did have one slightly humorous moment; as we were walking out with our pizzas we thought we smelled fresh baked chocolate brownies. We thought maybe the nearby pancake house was baking something, but the aroma was definitely coming from our pizzas! I have no idea why the combination of those two pizzas smelled like brownies, but we all had a good laugh over that as we enjoyed our most definitely not brownie pizzas!

My favorite pizza! Get the Campfire pizza and a BBQ chicken salad, mmm. Their herb ranch is also amazing

Great weekday lunch deal. $ 7 for a slice of pizza, small salad, and drink.

I lived in Indy a long time ago (7 years ago) and upon coming back into town on travel I was delighted this restaurant was still open and thriving. Before, as with my experience last night, I was thrilled with the service, the food, and the atmosphere.
I ordered a calzone, as did my husband. My son is 10 months and we got him a small cheese/​cracker plate. For $ 20, I was very satisfied and happy to get my fix.

Place is great everytime. I got the shrimp pizza and it is to die for. The service is great Prices good. Top pizza place.

Fantastic lunch experience. Our server was quick and efficient, but never made us feel rushed. For about $ 7 you can get a slice (meat or veggie of the day), a side salad, and a drink. When I read side salad, I think lettuce, likely iceberg, and maybe a dash of cheese or carrot. This was a side salad on steroids. Mixed greens were topped with black olives, green peppers, tomatoes, cheese, and onions. All dressings are homemade. I loved the Caesar (and for a small upcharge, you can add anchovies, woo!). My mother had the Italian dressing and said it was also yummy. She is a devoted patron of one Italian restaurant in town, but she kept saying, «We will have to come back. I need to get your dad and come back!»
The pizza was pretty perfect as well. Despite having pepperoni and sausage, it was minimally greasy. The meats were good, the cheese was good quality, and I loved the sauce. I thought the pizza was a bit undersalted, but Mom swears it was fine, my palate was just off from the Caesar dressing and crap ton of anchovies I had downed in Round 1.
Go here, get pizza, be happy!

Freaking love this place. Surprisingly, I don’t typically love pizza, but the Campfire speacialty pizza has converted me.
Every ingredient just sings. The smoked sausage goes together soooo deliciously well with the onion marmalade!
While I was sitting there trying to practice portion control, I decided to take a break from stuffing my face. I was thinking the only thing I dont get about this place is the name. Puccini is obviously an Italian name. Okay, that makes sense. But Smiling Teeth? I looked over at the wall and saw posters/​art of faces with big smiles and big teeth. Then it clicked. Okay, this is so freaking good, if my teeth could smile they most certainly would with each bite. So, on that note I picked up another piece and started stuffing my face again:)
Can’t get enough!

Really good pizza. That is the most important thing to know, right? Ok, here is some more info… Tons of topping choices, well topped and baked, crust is actually tasty and I don’t mind eating it plain. [You know what I am talking about, when the crust just isn’t worth those extra calories when it is just gross, won’t have that problem here]. They have other stuff on the menu like pasta, salads, calzones, etc.
I have been to Puccini’s in many locations once in a while for a lot of my life but it had been quite some time since I had last been to one. We decided this was a good place to take my mom on mother’s day that we didn’t expect to be an hour wait [we got there early enough for no wait, yay!]
One of the reasons my family loves this place? Pesto sauce and quality Italian sausage, it is just one of the best combinations ever. At my last visit, we also got a Hawaiian and it was excellent too!
Inside is pretty boring and standard older pizza place feel, but who cares. Service was attentive and friendly. I am just sad we are already out of leftovers, I had forgotten how much I liked their pizza and will need to make more of an effort to eat here.

Oh Puccinis… how I have missed thee…
Puccinis is one of those placs that was at the top of my list of «places I couldnt wait to go to after moving back to Indy!» This place does it all right!
The wifey and I went here on a late Friday night about an hour before closing. They were very accomadating and attentive… service 5 stars.
We fell right back into our comfy Puccinis groove and ordered our favs.
Wifeys=The fettucini with vodka sauce. This comes with their house salad and garlic bread. You might be asking «why are you talking about salad and garlic bread. who cares?» well I CARE. Their house salad is goo but is shortly turned from good to great with the addition of their house made buttermilk salad dressing. This is one of those items you will find yourself putting on and dipping everything in sight in… its awesome. And their garlic bread is from another world. If your entrée does not come with the garlic bread, order it.
Their vodka sauce isthe best vodka sauce I have ever had. I cannot say anymore.
For me I went straight to my ususal. Their «Twiced Baked» pizza. Puccinis is the first place I ever saw do this style of pizza and I crave this regularly! It is their dough, topped with the aforementioned buttermilk dressing (in lieu of a tradtional red sauce) then gouda cheese, potatos (yes potatos) and bacon and green onions. basically a twiced baked potato on a pizza. those with fear of carbs beware but it is worth it. And make sure to order a size larger thatn you plan on eating… this pizza is amazing as left overs.
They also have a killer beer and wine selection.

This is a favorite pizza spot for my daughter and I. I always get the Campfire — yummy! I also brought a pan of lasagna to a pitch-​in that received rave reviews!