The Independent Pizzeria

Their farmers pizza is the BEST EGG pizza in town. Paws down. But get there early, esp on weekends. The place is tiny and gets busy very fast.

This used to be the best place in Seattle, first come first serve now they take reservations and it’s impossible to get a table. They never have enough pizzas or veggie pepperoni.

Very good wood oven pizza. The salad we shared was an excellent idea from our server, as they make everything fresh and there were a lot of pizza ahead of ours. We watched as pie after pie hit the the party of 8 nearby. Everyone seemed very happy and they did not last long. Two pizzas were plenty for 2 of us and the large salad we shared. We had a couple slices left over actually. Top notch ingredients and flavors. Prepare to wait as the place is small, but the quality and location are superb.

Just incredible. All the ingredients are top notch! Everything is made to order super fresh. The Queen Pizza and Roman Pizza are SO delicious. Highly recommend, you won’t be disappointed ever!

there is a reason this pizza spot is called ‘the independent.’ it’s only open 4 hours a night, 4 days a week with zero concept of customer service and ok pizza. after we sat down and ordered, we waited nearly an hour and a half for a single pizza on a non busy night, the waitress offered no apology nor any nominal discount for the significant wait. however, she did return quickly with the bill and said, ‘no rush.’
when we inquired with her about this issue, she directed us to the owner who gave us a bs excuse about how it was challenging running a small business and that they operate on small margins.
we wish the independent lots of luck with this ingenious business model… serve mediocre pizza, provide horrendous customer service along with ridiculous wait times and top it off with excuses!
they did get one thing right… their margins will indeed get smaller since we are never returning.

This place was really intimate and quiet, but that doesn’t always prove to provide the best service. We had only one server in the restaurant with all of the tables full. We were sat at the same picnic table as another couple who had been their previously. Felt a bit awkward because they were fully engaged in their meal and didn’t seem too appreciative of our presence (although we don’t bite!).
The food itself was decent. The Caesar salad is something I would skip out on because they skip out on the dressing. The pizza is that, pizza. It was good crust and fresh toppings.
All in all, we have tried to go here for years (awkward hours for the location) and I wouldn’t say I was «wow’d» by it.

Hands down the best pizza in Seattle!
The service is excellent and the food is always on point. The house salad is a great starter with fresh ingredients and an awesome dressing. All the pizzas are amazing so you can’t go wrong!

Family in town and we visited the Madison Park area, surprised to find a decent pizza place at family member’s recommendation.
The pizza here are about $ 13 – 15 for a personal size, and thin crest is the way I like them.
I rarely eat pizza outside of New Haven area these days, and this place is definitely a decent match. I particularly enjoyed the (forgot name but similar to Martguerita pizza) pizza the most. While the Stevenson (?) is not spicy as described, and the Syracuse is actually slightly spicier and tastier.
Next time I will try their white clam pizza as well to see how it fares against the traditional New Haven pizzas. =)

Second best pizza in Seattle. We enjoyed the wine, the service, the space and the pizza very much. Yet, it still doesn’t hold up to Cornuto. You come sooooooooo close. If only your dough could hold a little more weight… It would be perfect. My mother was a pizza cook for 29 years… It’s all about the bubbles and the bottom. Yall got the bubbles, work on the bottom.

Loved the crispy/​chewy crust. If your idea of good pizza is an inch of crust and an inch of toppings, you won’t like this.
The wait staff was incredibly helpful with our pizza and beverage selections. We were three people with three different pizzas (and a shared large salad) so we’ll have to come back to try the rest.

The pizza was seriously just okay. Definitely not worth the wait. Also, it was so loud in the restaurant that it was uncomfortable. Another couple left saying it was just too loud for them, and I wish we had followed their lead.
We waited for a table. We were not offered a chance to order drinks. We were not offered water. We were seated after maybe 20 minutes, and it still took a while to get water.
We ordered. The waitress stood across the table from me, and couldn’t hear me when I practically shouted a question at her. She made me repeat more loudly, rather than just walking over to my side of the table.
We ordered 4 pizzas. They brought one we hadn’t ordered. We insisted we hadn’t ordered it, then just said «whatever» to them. They left it. They charged us for all 5 pizzas.
Let me repeat that. They charged us for the pizza that we didn’t order.
Wine glasses emptied early (the oven really does cook like 1 pizza at a time, and takes forever), but refills were never offered.
I won’t be back.

The topping selections are amazing and the dough is crispy & chewy. A definite must try is the spicy Stevedore if you like some heat on your pizza.

We walked in the first time but we were told that their pizza were sold out. So we went back the next time again, we ordered the Norwalk and the Stevedore pizzas! And we love it! The place is right next to the beach park, so we often go after an afternoon walk in Sunday during summer time :)

My post is two stars based purely on the service… because we never actually got our food.
I sat waiting in line behind three people at the register for several minutes, only wanting a pizza to go. The only time anybody acknowledged us was to tell us to get out of the way as the waitress walked by three times. The first two people finally walked out tired of waiting. The third guy finally asked how long it would take to get seated…45 minutes. The chef finally asked if he could help me and I said I was hoping to get a pizza to take. He said it was looking like an hour (he said it nicely). I replied that I didn’t really have an hour to hang out, but thank you. The guy who had been standing around sorting tickets finally acknowledged me by say «ok, then bye».
It was just a completely rude experience. The place is only big enough to seat 10 people. There is no reason you can’t serve 10 people and still be friendly toward new customers checking the place out. I eat pizza 3 times a week, but I’ll be sticking with Pagliacci’s.
You only get a 2^nd star bc it actually looked like a cute place with good food.

We live in Madison Park and have been eyeing this place for a while. The restaurant has a nice feel, but it’s quite small. We had to sit on a side couch until a table opened up (cute, but not an ideal eating environment). We got the Roman and Norwalk pizzas, as well as a caesar salad. Everything was quite tasty! I can’t say it was the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s solid, and a way better deal for gourmet pizza than Pagliacci. I especially enjoyed the pile of arugula on top of the Norwalk — a nice flavorful touch.
On a side note, this pizza doesn’t keep very well, so don’t plan on having amazing leftovers. I attribute this to the fresh ingredients (the arugula and spinach wilted). I’m not positive, but I think I saw one of the chefs go pick something outside and use it on a pizza… now that’s fresh.

I’ve been there before a long time ago. and i remember it as being fantastic.
we went on a friday night right after work. we got both salads and the mushroom and other veggie pizza.
they use square for their credit card payment processing and i’m not sure i like the implementation of it. not sure if their specific implementation was their design or not.
the small intimate setting is definitely foodie fantasy come true.

I don’t come here as often as I’d like, because the end of Madison is a bit out of the way, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is one fantastic pizza place! Great location near the lake, delicious pizza.
There’s a trend in pizza places, at least in Seattle, to serve official Neapolitan style pizza, and jack up the prices to match the fancy certification label from Italy. Don’t get me wrong, I love many of these places, but the last time I was at Independent, I noticed a sign explaining their philosophy and reasons for not joining getting the certification, and I realized that I was paying about ²⁄₃ of the cost of some other places — $ 4 draft beer and $ 10 cheese pizza, and it easily matched or beat those places with the certification.
One note of caution. Even of Independent isn’t busy, you may end up waiting awhile, because it’s clear that the locals have discovered this gem, and your pizza may be behind a long line of takeout pizzas, as happened to me recently. Don’t fret, enjoy a couple of $ 4 drafts, wine, or soda. It will be worth the wait!

The neighbourhood is quiet and charming.
The joint is rustic and relaxed
Dough is perfect, toppings fresh and delish.
all in the best pie i’ve tried, and add to that a 10 – 12 dollar per pie fare = best all around pizza joint in Seattle.
Awesome.

Charming little spot with a quality product. The pizzas are thin while not being too crispy and the cheese and toppings come in unique combinations that taste just as good as they sound for the most part. For a small independent restaurant in Madison Park, the prices are entirely too reasonable. Given their location and atmosphere, I could see the pizzas being a couple bucks more across the board without me batting an eye (that’s not a suggestion from me, just an observation).
I would feel comfortable coming for a casual after work drink, a friendly meeting, a romantic outing or even takeout (the one that usually happens). It’s a quaint neighborhood spot with charm to spare. If you enjoy a lighter pizza variety and the option to enjoy some wine in the open air near the water, you’ll probably have a fantastic evening. I wish the hours were a bit more robust and sometimes I wish my pizza would be a bit heavier on the toppings, but there is a lot to love overall about this place

Being the
(and 8 234 830 other food subscriptions and newsletters) junkie that I am, I saw they named this place in their list of «Top 10 PIzza’s in the U.S.» Now, that’s a bold statement. The first thing I did after seeing that was bookmark it to try asap. Actually, I did that second. I drooled first.
Came here last night with a friend. We didn’t wait longer than 15 minutes to be seated. Ordered the Caesar salad to start which was so, so good. The lettuce was crispy and fresh and had just the right amount of herb vinaigrette dressing which lightly coated each and every piece and sprinkled with parmesan that was so fresh and delicious. This salad had the perfect amount of crunch I had three full helpings and friend had 2. I ate the rest. I could eat this salad every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of it.
Each order comes with x (enough) slices of pizza to have leftovers. I purposely ate a small lunch and worked out extra hard at cross fit to make room for as much of this as I wanted. We ordered the Syracuse with anchovies and the Beta. We couldn’t decide which was our favorite. After having each pizza alternatively, I finally decided I loved the Syracuse because it had bold, salty flavors. It wasn’t like, «ew there’s so much SALT on this» more of it had a salty quality which made it delicious. The capers, olives, garlic complimented each other so well I may have experienced the first legitimate flimax (food climax) I’ve had in a long time. Friend liked the beta better.
The Beta had more simpler flavors but the swiss chard, provolone, and garlic balanced each other fantastically well and provided a depth of flavor you don’t get anywhere else. The swiss chard had a nice texture. It wasn’t mushy, watery, or flaccid. With a few dashes of chili sprinkles, and I couldn’t stop eating.
I took 3 slices home (wasting pizza is a sin).
We skipped on the dessert because neither of us had room left in any stomach compartment. If I had room, I’d probably have ordered both desserts (don’t judge, I do this all the time. seriously).
This place only has 4 tables and a few seats at the bar. If you come at a peak, mass hunger time you may be waiting a while. You can order a drink and wait, or they will call you when the next table is available. I adore the feel of this place. The space is It’s cute, quaint, romantic, and smells so freaking good. I wish they made pizza scented candles. When you walk in you’re immediately greeted with the smell pizza so divine it’s unforgettable. The longer I waited for a table the more excited I got. Let me tell you, it was well worth the wait.
I really enjoy the plethora of toppings they have to offer. Everything from arugula (rocket) to basil. They have you covered. The dough is unforgettably no thicker than your laptop screen and the sauce is herbalicious and flavorful without being overbearing. I almost didn’t want to write about this gem in case there’s a crowd overload next time and I don’t get a seat. It’s ok. If that ever happens, I’d take it to go =)
When I opened my fridge this morning, the smell wafted out and into my nose which reminded me I needed to return asap. Best pizza in Seattle you ask? That depends. It’s a relative question. I haven’t been blown away by any pizza thus far (including Serious Pie and Via Trib) so yes, I’d have to agree with Epiciurious and say it IS the best pizza in Seattle.
4.5 Stars because service was a little spotty.
Everything about this place is perfect (except they need to relocate into my building)!