Gatto’s Pizza

I love Gattos. I’ve been going there for more years than I care to admit. I love the employees and the owners. They are always great to me and my friends. I’m a fan of the thin crust and the pepperoni. But my favorite pizza is pepperoni, bacon, tomatoes and onions. Ask them to make the bacon crispy. You won’t be disappointed. Take your cash because they don’t take credit cards.

Hailing from New Jersey and specifically growing up buying pizza in the town that boasts the highest percentage of self-​identified Italian-​Americans in the country, I have always been a bit of a pizza snob. I don’t mind a gourmet pizza once in a while, but when you are craving pizza, you just want a classic normal pizza. Since I moved to Columbus, I’ve been pretty unimpressed with most of the joints around here (except Hounddogs, which is pretty good).
I walked past this place yesterday, and the smell wafting out was reminiscent of the Jersey and New York places of my youth. Peeking inside, I could see that this was a serious place – no fancy décor, no plush seats – just a bunch of guys making some damn good pizza. I decided to order one for dinner last night and was not disappointed. It was perfect thin-​crust New York/​Jersey style pizza. The sauce had a great flavor, and the toppings were fresh and tasty. This is definitely my new go-​to spot in CBus for pizza! Thank, guys!
FYI: There is a table or two inside, but it’s nothing fancy. Also, I think they are cash only.

Gatto’s is the bomb. Definitely my favorite pizza place in Clintonville. The sauce is awesome and pizza is top quality. Just wish they took credit card but it’s an old school place through and through

Love you, Gatto’s! One of my favorite Cbus-​style pizza places, though I’m holding out on the last star because of the cash only system. I would definitely eat here more if they accepted credit cards! But anyways, go to order: banana peppers and the thinly sliced sausage (they use sliced instead of crumbled sausage). Top notch! Solid, comforting, and amazingly delicious.

Great thin-​crust non-​greasy pizza! Apples and oranges when comparing to Hounddogs, but a really great alternative nonetheless.

This is probably my favorite midwestern (thin crust/​square cut) pie in town. The dough has a nice almost sourdough-​like taste, and it crisps up perfectly. The sauce isn”t the most flavorful on its own but is complemented perfectly by a salty topping. Also, props to the cooks who tough it out in the summer– it’s ridiculously hot in there. Bring cash or check, but not too much; it’s cheap as hell.

This is the first meal I had when I moved into the neighborhood. About a month after moving in they sent a menu and a coupon. They do deliver but only accept cash and check. There are a few tables and chairs but I don’t think of this as a local eat-​in pizza place. I think most of its business is delivery or carry-​out.
The crust has a nice bite to it and the pizza heats up well the next day. The mushrooms are canned but the sausage seems to be handmade and sliced lengthwise. I stick with the classic pepperoni which is small and curls up nicely.

I have to say there isn’t much NOT to like here. Meatballs, sausage, and dough are all made on site and believe me when I tell you it’s just as good as your grandmas cooking! Having worked in a pizza shop before I can tell you that the Saparito’s tomato sauce and Grande cheese they use are quality ingredients. Subs are great and the old style slate ovens they use gives the pizza a flavor that’s hard to find anywhere. Get the Classic Pepperoni if you want the kind that cup and and are a bit spicy. Beer, soda, and salads, they have just about everything.
Now for the bad, like everyone prior to my review said, they don’t take plastic. If everyone read a review as much as they post on here, they would show up with cash. Free ATM’s two blocks away so it’s not as bad as others make it seem. Ask for a menu when you leave.
Forgot to mention that they will come in early for a order if given proper time, hours before they open. They have done it for me twice. If that isn’t service then I don’t know what is!

The pizza was just pizza, I didn’t think it was anything special and a little expensive. The dinner platters is where its at though. the Ravioli was good and the sauce was great. The only reason I took away a star here was because I had to make a special CASH trip as this place wont take credit cards which is super lame.

Service sucks. Food… eh. Not easy to make fresh pizza taste like frozen pizza. And did I mention the service?

I lived around the corner from this place for a couple years. For being just basic, uninteresting greasy-​bland pizza it’s pretty expensive and takes unreasonably long. Hound Dog’s and Late Night Slice are both a block away, and Mama Mimi’s is across the street, so you can do better in about 5 minutes regardless of what you’re looking for. They’re an established local business but they seem to be running on pure inertia at this point.

This is my go to Clintonville pizza — simple old school thin crust pizza. Deeelish.

It’s great pizza, no doubt. Giant Vulcan ovens and long time veterans of the craft make for a satisfying pie.

The pizza was really good. Thin crust, little rim. Nice and crispy. Plenty of cheese.

I’m very new to the midwest pizza experience. Microscopic, crispy trapezoids adorned with sauce, cheese and toppings are not my quintessential idea of pizza. I miss my big triangles!
When I moved here last year, I tried Gatto’s and couldn’t get beyond those little squares, and never went back. I focused my pizza cravings on places I knew who cut their pizza «normally.» Last week, I was in the market for a thin crust pizza and since Gatto’s is within walking distance and they were recently featured in Columbus Monthly’s «Best Pizza» issue as #8, I decided to give them another chance. I called in my order and asked him to «slice it like a pie.» I seriously LOVED it! Three slices down the hatch! Psychologically, I am used to gnawing on a slab rather than tiny, bite size pieces, and strangely, I believe, that made all the difference. Even the leftovers the next day were fantastic. I tossed them in the oven for a few minutes in a cast iron skillet.
The guys who work there are super-​friendly and I felt really good about supporting a local family-​owned business. Just remember they take cash or check only. Their «pint of salad» reminds me of the antipasto-​style salad my Sicilian grandfather used to make when I was a kid. And if needed you can buy a 6 pack of beer from their refrigerator case.
So, if you also have this weird aversion to the baby squares like me, ask for it to be «sliced like a pie.» It’s really good, thin crust pizza! Check it out!

Gatto’s made the recent Cols Monthly top 25 pizza joint list, so I knew I had to give it a try. Talk about a hole in wall! Yes, this place is all carry out (there are two tiny tables there, if you really want to stay and enjoy the…uh, no, you probably don’t want to stay unless you’re on the road or just really, really hungry and can’t wait).
What I thought was unique about Gatto’s was the sauce. It definitely had a fennel flavor to it, which was quite tasty. The peps were nice and spicy with great flavor. The shrooms were playing hide and seek and didn’t bring much to the party.
If you love pizza, Gatto’s won’t let you down –definitely north of three stars.

I came down here to get a meatball sub for dinner. The store is just as others have described, a couple of tables for those who want to eat in and stacks of boxes for those who’d rather take a pizza home with them. I chose to eat in so it wouldn’t get cold on the drive back. The sub was pretty good. I don’t know how many meatballs were on it but there were plenty and it was served on a hard italian roll. The whole shebang was baked in the oven until it was done. It was a good sandwich, probably not the best I ever had but good.

I think Gattos is one, if not the oldest continuously active business in Clintonville. I’ve been going to this place off and on for decades. Back when I was a kid it was excellent pizza. I was kind of turned off years ago when one warm, summer evening the older (now departed, I think) Mr. Gatto was working on a pizza, and dripped a few drops of sweat into the dough. Fortunately it was not my pizza and besides, persperation probably added to the flavor. Back then it was good pizza. Then they went through a period of about a decade when the pizza was not so good. I think they older Gatto retired and his expertise retired with him. That’s my theory, anyhow.
Now in the last few years the pizza has gotten better. It still is not the greatest pizza in the world, but it’s not the worst either.

Great classic pizza! A must in C-​ville.

How to Gatto’s:
1. Call ahead: 1 meatball sub, 1 pepperoni pizza.
2. Pay in cash at the appointed time.
3. Eat in your living room, sports on television, until immobilized by the itis.
If you don’t love this, you are doing something wrong. Go back to step 1.