Rivoli Pizza

Ever since I left NYC for Philly, my friends have had to put up with me pining after New York pizza. When it comes to Rivoli, I may be a little biased. I grew up with this place. This was my first slice of pizza EVER. It remains one of the best. Oh Rivoli Pizza, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Your crust is thin and perfectly crisp yet your fluffy and generous in all the right places. Your marriage of sauce and cheese is a savory salty dream. Guys, this is really good pizza. Grab a couple of slices and a coke and your good to go! Their prices have ticked up slowly over the years, but it’s worth it!
The place is spacious and sunny with many tables and large windows. Each table is equipped with all of the essentials (red pepper flake, oregano, garlic powder, etc). The staff is friendly and will remember your favorite orders.
Bonus: Hit up their Italian ice stand in the Spring & Summer.

we were in NY for the Pride parade. Not the best day to judge a restaurant because they were slammed. The line for the bathroom was huge and every table was taken. But the pizza was pretty good. Not the best I had while I was in NY, but not the worst either. Good for a quick slice.

Not real New York pizza. The dough was greasy, heavy, the crust overly cooked. just not what it should be.

Ah, the taste of pizza, the perfect light lunch. The subtle interplay of tastes and textures combine to make a good slice more than the sum of its parts. All praise, the master pizza maker! May he live long and prosper!
Then there are places like this. The doughy not-​quite-​cooked pizza crust fought with the mostly tasteless tomatoes and cheese, in this contest, the pizza eater will not be the winner. Whatever spices were used tasted tired. My adding hot sauce, thoughtfully provided at the table, along with the hot pepper, salt, and oregano, did nothing except to highlight the slices’ lack of flavor. Maybe they had a bad day, so I will try them again and update this review if it gets better. The place is reasonably clean and strangely popular, considering there are many other places right nearby, some of whom serve actual pizza, in contrast. In a town with a thousand other pizza places consider: life is too short for bad pizza.

On their menu, RIVOLI PIZZA’s address is 176 Seventh Avenue South.
It is located on 7^th Avenue between West 11^th Street and Perry Street (and next to the Village Vanguard jazz joint).
Seems like this place been here forever — although several years ago, they used to get an outdoor café permit and put tables and chairs on the sidewalk in nice weather. I don’t know why they don’t do it anymore because «al fresco» dining is always a treat.
What’s not to like?
They are near Rattlestick Theatre and it’s a laid-​back after-​theatre spot.
The platters are generous, prices are quite reasonable, the place is well-​maintained (though pretty basic).
The rest-​room has a clean floor + plentiful toilet paper.
If you need to see a James Beard Award on the wall, RIVOLI is not for you.
The pizza makers did not train in Naples.
There’s no family crest tracing the proprietor’s pedigree back to Escoffier.
But it is owner-​operated and it shows in the reliability and the freshness and the friendliness of this long-​standing neighborhood eatery.

Hopefully I am reviewing the correct location.
This was the worst slice of pizza I have ever eaten in my entire life. And its hard to f up a pizza that bad. Enough said.

I have never been to the this Rivoli’s location (because I didn’t know it existted), but I can attest that the Rivoli’s on 7^th Ave South between the intersection of Perry St and Waverly Place, and West 11^th Street is one of the best pizza places in the city.
The slices are amazing. They are better when they are reheated in the brick oven. The waitstaff is always overly friendly. The manager is quiet– he stands and stares a lot. The servers mostly speak Spanish, but over the past 3 years that I have been eating here, I’ve noticed that their English is better than ever. I’ve seen one fly in the middle of last summer, because the entrance is open and Rivoli’s can’t help that New York City has trash. I’ve never found anything gross on their food. Their larger plates are good too– the stuffed shells are amazing, and the calzones are pretty good.”