PIZZA REVIEW: Sofia Pizza Shoppe

My search for the best pizza in New York continues….

It’s amazing how many neighborhoods there are in New York. And they all have at least one neighborhood pizzeria that locals might call the best in the city.

Sofia Pizza Shoppe in Sutton Place has tried to break out of that mold a little bit. But mostly because it is so far east, I can’t imagine it will ever really compete with the major pizza destinations in the city. But they have certainly tried.

A few years ago they got some press due to their $38 pizza. While the cold-fermented puffy pie sounded tasty. I wasn’t going to spend that much on a pizza.

Fortunately, they had some more modestly priced options when I arrived on a quiet weekday afternoon.

I thought the Grandma slice looked promising, especially since they had a whole pie on display. So either it just came out of the oven or nobody ever orders this.

It was hot so my guess was it was fresh. But it did have a few issues.

While the first bite was hearty and I eventually got to some crispy edges, the middle was a bit soggy and overly chewy. It was rescued by the excellent homemade tomato sauce which had sweet chunks of tomatoes  and married with the basil and cheese well.

I decided I needed to come back to get a fair opinion and this time order the standard.

When I returned, they were even less busy and the pies looked a little less appealing. I wavered between the Margherita and the classic New York cheese. It was a plain cheese kind of day.

It was pretty decent despite the tired look. The cheese was nice and blobby rather than sporadic and greasy. I think there is a good chance they used fresh mozzarella here. And the crust was fantastic. Crisp throughout with a subtle char. I wasn’t as crazy about the tomato sauce here – it was a bit sticky and overly acidic.

Both slices had some good things about them. I imagine some days are better than others. And that’s why the neighborhood pizza shop will always be the best because if you go there often enough, you’ll get some mighty tasty pizza.

Is Sofia Pizza Shoppe the best pizza in NY? They get a 7out of 10 and would probably rate much higher if I lived close by. They’re a solid NYC slice, but probably not worth traveling for.