Pi Pizzeria

We laughed, we drank, we cried, oh and we also ate a little pizza too. Pi Pizzeria is one of those places that I’ve always passed by in Penn Quarter where I thought to myself «hey! Pizza & Beer, I like both those things!» and then preceded to keep on walking by it. Why was I so blind, dumb, and naïve to the fact that pure pizza bliss awaited for me behind these doors all this time?
Pi Pizzeria takes pride in making signature cornmeal deep dish and thin crust Za’s in a sustainable environment all for a very reasonable price, oh not to mention an extensive beer and cocktail list. Ok so pizza: check, prices: check, beer: check, I think we have all the bases covered, let’s dive in.
So there we were, five of us walking around penn quarter after doing our best «be a DC tourist» impressions for the afternoon, discussing possible food options going forward. As fate would have it, we just so happened to walk by here and maybe it was our eyes, maybe our stomachs, or maybe just the stars aligned, but next thing I knew we were cozily seated inside pursuing the menu for deep dish madness.
So what’d we get? Here’s the breakdown:
*Deep dish*
South Side Classico: Came loaded with berkshire sausage, mushroom, green pepper, onion, mozzarella all topped with fresh whole tomatoes. This, was, in my humble opinion, the best in terms or flavor, really can’t go wrong here with this one.
Kirkwood: mozzarella, meatball, red pepper, basil. I really enjoyed this pizza too, although not as complex as the other Pi we ordered, the meatballs were on point and provided for a tender bite as the fresh basil pulled it all together.
*Thin crust*
Central West End: Thin crust done right! I’m talking mozzarella, prosciutto, goat cheese, tomato, red onion, and arugula, what a combination. My taste buds were dancing as I engulfed this in seconds, and I’m not even a thin crust fan.
Maplewood: Mozzarella, spicy sausage, cherry pepper, fontina, and basil. Tastes just as good as it sounds. We’ll leave it at that.
I LOVED IT, don’t believe me? Just hear what my friends had to say when I asked them how they were enjoying thier food!
«Amazeballs» –Greg
«This place just got a pizza my heart!» — Brie
«6÷5 stars!» –Sam
«What? What did you say? I can’t hear you, I’m too busy inside of cheese heaven.» –Chris
I rarely have deep dish pizza, but if I were to have it again, this place is number one in line, same goes for the thin crust, it made me rethink my thoughts about how I tucked it away in pizza palate mind. In end, it was a pleasant afternoon, good pizza, good drinks, and good company, which is all I ever wanted. Give them a try!

Great place to hang out in Penn Quarter and/​or watch a game. They have great vegetarian options and gluten free crust for those with dietary restrictions. We are cider lovers, and we love coming here because there is always at least one interesting cider on tap. (Also a plus, the bartenders here are very friendly and knowledgeable) Only one request: wish they would bring back the gringo pizza (vegetarian taco pizza with avocado)!!

The pizza we got had old soggy mushrooms & we felt quite sick couple hours later through to the next day.

Fantastic deep dish (and thin crust!) pizza option in the heart of downtown DC.
We ventured here (seven co-​workers) for a weekday lunch and were quickly seated. Our server was wonderful – very cheerful and attentive… and the food came quickly. We had a thin crust and deep dish – and two pizzas were more than enough for seven of us.
Great experience – fun atmosphere, definitely recommend.

My mom and I decided to stop in for her birthday dinner and we were pleasantly surprised! The hostesses and our server Johnny were excellent! The food was awesome (wings, Ceasar salad, and a deep dish pizza) and we will definitely return

Get the maplewood made into a deep dish pizza. It’s the closest you can get to real Chicago pizza (the original Uno and Due, Gino’s East, Lou Malnotti’s, Giordano’s)

The only thing better than the delicious pizza and beer was the amazing server i had. She was very knowledgeable, super kind and my glass was never dry, best experience in a long time!

Nice ambience. It exceeded my expectations. Not because it was excellent (it was definitely good) but because this place has so few reviews. Definitely worth a try! The staff was friendly, the drinks were excellent.

Great tasting and original pizza in a very cool place. The staff is friendly and attentive. I would definitely go again, but would stick just to the pizza; I thought it was a little expensive.

This is the best pizza in DC bar none. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. You to have try the cornmeal deep dish– it’s Chicago style– but has a crunch– it isn’t soggy. It’s great.

Las pizzas son bastante abundantes, pero mucha masa y poco cantidad. Regular para mi gusto. No creo que repetiría

Came here to grab a late lunch with some friends and ordered a large Berkley (deep dish) and a large Lincoln Park (thin crust). Both took about 20 minutes before we devoured it. The Berkley was chock full of tomatoes and had a good layer of sausage to add that savory fix. Both pizzas were good, but nothing special or memorable. If you’re super hungry and looking for something to fill your tummy, it’s not a bad place to go. Just not sure I would go out of my way to come back.

I have been to the St. Louis locations and this location seems better. Had the Central West End without the prosciutto and it was great, the crust was excellent and fresh and the sauce was good. The simple salad was ok. The atmosphere was great and the service was very good.

We met in DC to take our extended family sightseeing and decided after reading positive reviews to grab a lite lunch at Pi Pizzeria. They were able to seat our party of 10 within five minutes (no reservation) and started taking drink orders soon after we were given menus. We ordered the hummus and four pizzas: Lincoln Park, Maplewood, Central West End and Delmar.
In keeping with the name, several dozen digits of Pi were emblazoned atop the bar. The restaurant was clean enough and had a rustic feel with reclaimed materials being used to decorate and furnish the space. Although our seating consisted of former church pews the food was anything but a religious experience.
It took almost 20 minutes for the hummus to arrive and it could only be described as ‘aspiring to be mediocre.’ An otherwise bland purée with a harsh acidic finish; no citrus or bright notes. Clearly the lemon juice used was old and/​or had been improperly stored. Paired with the (canned) artichoke hearts still dripping in vinegar ones taste buds experienced an ever plummeting pH scale.
The Lincoln Park, the only pizza I sampled, was a disappointment. The crust was overcooked to the point of being brittle, the vegetables were saturated with fat from the cheeses and even with fresh basil the entire pie was a greasy bland mess. Limiting myself to two small slices I still walked away with a heavy pit in my stomach from the low-​grade dairy.
Several members of the wait staff were seen milling aimlessly about the main floor despite water glasses being empty and at least half a dozen accidents (shattered glasses, dropped silverware, spilt beverages, etc) occurred in the short time we were there.
My advice is to dine elsewhere to sate your aPItite.

Perfect pizza and beer selection. You can choose from thin to deep dish. If you can not choose one flavor of pizza you can get half n half!

Unfortunately, all crusts here (thick, thin, and gluten free) are made with soy product. Given my allergy, this meant I tried a couple pickles, shared a Pelligrino with my man, and we bounced. I find the amount of irrelevant soy used in restaurant dining in the area troubling, but because I have little other information to add, keeping my star rating to «average» is best for now.
Pi, do let us know if you launch a soy-​free crust and we’ll come back!

My boyfriend and I went to the Caps v. St. Louis Blues hockey game today. He’s a big Blues fan, so organized a Blues fans get together at Pi Pizza, a St. Louis establishment with a couple of locations in DC. This was my first time there, but I loved it. The pizza was reeeeally good, especially the sauce. They have gluten free crust available and Daiya cheese for the vegan crowd. I did not try either of those, but was happy to see that those options were there. They have a good variety of beers including some from St. Louis and local DC and MD brews, including a rotating local DC tap. The service was friendly and good, and the atmosphere was comfortable and nice. I wish I’d taken some pictures of some of the décor, like the very cool chandelier and the bar with a bunch of Pi printed on it. I will definitely be going back.

My main reason for giving this place a three instead of four stars is not because of the food, but because of the ambiance and the service. I have come here a couple of times, and each time, I am less than impressed with the wait staff. The most recent time we had a waitress who was not very attentive. Also, this place is loud, and the seating feels squeezed together, and the chairs are so cheap and light that when I put my purse on them it toppled over.
But let’s get to the food. The pizzas are quite yummy. They do this really deep dish style that has, like, an inch of tomato-​heavy sauce on top, which I find quite interesting and yummy. If you aren’t a big fan of tomatoes though, go for the thin crust.
They also have a decent craft beer list, and what goes better with pizza than some beer?

This place comes from St Louis where it was already a deep dish fav. This DC location was allegedly the first the opened after the original. Awesome sauce (literally) with killer corn bread crust. They also bring along all of the Schlafly brews from St L as well. Not the best brewery in the world but very good and solid not to mention a nice break over DC standards. Berkeley is a go to fav of mine but explore the menu and have fun. Not cheap but worth the cash.

Excellent and fast flatbread pizza for lunch off their «Express» menu, with very good service and loud but unassuming casual atmosphere. The crusts were very good, and the toppings very decent. Prices were quite reasonable considering the quality. An absolutely delicious walnut-​topped salad off the standard menu was a very welcome surprise.
Because it is loud it’s not the best place for an intimate meal but for a friendly lunch, well-​recommended. Convenient to the National Portrait Gallery and the International Spy Museum, and certainly a cut above the Shake Shack.

Stopped here on a sunny Saturday because it smelled so good I couldn’t just walk by. The inside is MASSIVE– you wouldn’t expect that from the exterior — and surprisingly swanky for a pizza joint. Large chandeliers hang from the ceiling and rustic tables with checkered cloth napkins give it a higher-​than-​normal class factor.
My waiter came promptly too — although the place was pretty empty when I arrived. I ordered a diet pepsi at first, and then later on a beer… took a little longer on the beer than I liked… but he explained when he brought it that they were changing the keg out. I wish he’d have mentioned that earlier and I would have chosen another beer.
Finally, the pizza: Average at best. I ordered a thin crust «make your own» with pepperoni, salami, and red onions. What I didn’t realize until later is that I should have gotten one of the pre-​made ones and asked them to hold the stuff I did not want — it would have been cheaper. The pie came out pretty quickly, but I just wasn’t impressed with the texture or taste. Don’t get me wrong — the thin crust was delightfully crispy and light, the sauce was rich and flavorful, and I enjoyed the crisp, over-​fired taste of the salami too. I think it was really the cheese and pepperoni that ruined it for me… the cheese wasn’t particularly hot and melty… it kind of just sat together in clumps in my mouth, and the pepperoni was below average. To top it off, my total bill was a little pricey for a 12′ pizza and a beer… somewhere around $ 30.
My advice would be to skip it. I probably won’t be back unless I’m desperate (or only want a beer) — and I don’t see that happening with all the options in this area (particularly as I’m even intrigued by the panini place next door to Pi…).