Mike’s New York Pizzeria

The newly re-​opened New York Pizzeria in Pahoa has great pizza and service. The thin crust and quality of the ingredients brings out amazing favors of tomato, basil, fresh artichoke and garlic.
Do yourself a favor — get here for the best pizza in Puna and the Big Island

We decided on pizza last night and, since the New York Pizzeria is under new ownership, that was our spot. First off, the new owner, Sandra, met us and gave us a tour of the beautifully posted menu on the blackboard. Lucky for us, one of other customers had the antipasto salad on their table and it looked good enough for us to also order. This salad is a wonderful combination of meats, veggies, cheese and is perfectly dressed… not too heavy like other places tend to do. Our pizza was delicious and, after the salad, there was plenty to take home to enjoy for lunch the next day.
Two things to note…
This IS under new ownership and they are great. Sandra told us of some new creative items she is introducing to the menu soon and we will certainly be back to try them. My guess is that she will have a killer spanakopita. She will have a printed ‘take home’ menu soon and we will be putting that into our vacation rental, Kapoho Breeze. I know our guests from around the world will enjoy the food and friendly service as much as we do.
Second, if you want a beer or some wine with you meal, bring it with you. I ran down to Paul’s Service station for some suds to sip along with our pizza.
We will be heading back… soon. Thanks Sandra!

They are Back in Business and we are back in Puna almost 4 years later. Pizza is still great, antipasto salad and homemade Italian dressing still great, wedge salad did not disappoint and the new owner was wonderful. We had an XL pepperoni, mushroom pizza and an XL spinach, garlic, basil pizza. They are busy so show some Puna Patience. #PunaLove
. We will be back once we finish our leftover slices.

The Pizza was way too thin. The thinnest crust Pizza I have ever seen or eaten in my life. Weak on topping as well. But with crust that thin, I guess you don’t need a lot of toppings or a lot of cheese. You’ll have to eat twice as many slices to get the same amount of food as a normal pizza from somewhere else. The pizza here is very thin. And the pricing was expensive for a little hole in the wall. It’s probably the most expensive pizza joint I have ever eaten at. If you are looking for a good deal on pizza, this is not the place. It was also the smallest pizza joint I have ever eaten at or seen in my life. This is from about 3 years ago. Never ate there again.
No air conditioning
No wait help
No parking, just some street parking if you are lucky. But you can probably find something nearby as long as you don’t mind a short walk.

BEST PIZZA ever, I wish I had the recipe… not greasy, thin crust, delicious sauce, never had a bad order from here. Yes, please order ahead, if you don’t want to wait too long and they only open from Tuesday through Saturday from 4 pm to 9 pm, not 4am as it shows on the site here.
My daughters love the pizza from Mike’s and they’re very picky eaters. Also, my husband gets heartburn from red sauce, but not from Mike’s Pizza Sauce, finally he can enjoy pizza! Next time I’ll try the gluten free crust, I’ll let you know how it is. Mangiare bene!

Okay pizza, but not NY level — If you’ve had Lombardi’s you’re going to be sorely disappointed. This is not crisp coal fired pizza, forget big chunks of seared Italian sausage or fresh made whole ricotta cheese. The dough was overly hard and gummy without that crispness on the outside. I had to cut my slices with a sharp knife as it was very hard to tear. The sauce had a bitter overly tart taste. The sausage was very ordinary and the pepperoni was burnt. Why still 3 stars, it’s better than dominos or the hut and not much choice in Hilo.

We were staying in Hawaiian Paradise Park. Called in the order. Took 20 minutes to drive there and the pies were ready. Great flavors — fresh ingredients. Yummy!

Mikes is the most delicious pizza on the Island but I cannot afford it. I am still hungry after I eat it.
Please lower the prices and open up more days of the week. I bet there will be a line out the door.

This is the best pizza I’ve had on Big Island. The service is excellent, the toppings and dough are fresh, and the choices of toppings are practically endless. Yum!

Until Mike and his Mom showed up, pizza on our Island was decidedly lacking, even at the «better’ places like Pesto in Hilo. Order ahead, or wait a loooooonnnnnnng time! Especially weekends. They bake ‘em one at a time. Order as soon as they open because the rush is huge. An unexpected wonder in our little Pahoa town. We order ahead then eat it there, with great salads too.

Been looking forward to their pizza since last Feb., and have to say that it was a real disappointment! It was not as I remembered it… crust was flat and the texture was kind of gritty. Maybe the real pizza chef had the night off? It didn’t look or taste like any of the photos shown on this site.

FYI
This place has been closed for a while now… with a sign in the window… not indicating when it will be open again.

Really good. I was craving some Mainland food and this place hit it. Had bacon ham and pineapple. Was really thin crust just like new York. Really good flavors in the cheese. Its a small place and if u blink u will miss it. One thing… the garlic knots are really good, but you only get 3… and they are dinky and not cheap… but they are good.

The pizza is amazing. I would eat in so that you can get it fresh out of the pizza oven. Thin crust, fresh ingredients and tasty. They know what they’re doing!

My boyfriend and I usually order pizza from Boogie Woogies only because they deliver. Since we haven’t been happy with our last few orders, we decided to check out Mike’s Pizzeria. This place is WAY better by far!!! I would recommend this place to anyone who enjoys a good slice of New York pie!

We were remarking just how many great meals we had in the little town of Pohoa and this was no exception. The pizza was to die for — perfect crust and delicious authentic toppings. Sadly we took ours to go and the lovely home made dressing for our salad spilled in the bag /​it smelled terrific and I’m sure it was very good. The cannoli home made too, their own recipe and very good. Mike and especially his mom very personable and friendly.

I love their Pizza. Fresh, yummy crust and fresh ingredients. Never dissatisfied and the owners are pretty awesome. I was encouraged to try a deep fried Oreo when they were vending at Uncle Roberts, and It was a pleasant experience. My favorite pizza place on the island so far, hands down.
P. S. Hours very, I always call first.

Was beyond thrilled when Mike’s opened as I’ve had repeated issues with Boogie Woogie pizza (which is just a few doors down).
My boyfriend brought home Mike’s once and I don’t recall being overly impressed. However, I’m all about second chances so I called up and placed an order for take out. (To be honest, I called Boogie Woogie first and Boogie Woogie said they had run out of dough and were closing for the night. What kind of pizza place runs out of dough at 7 pm on a Friday night???)
The girl who answered the phone at Mike’s sounded like she was bored out of her mind and could care less about my order. Plus she had the order wrong when she repeated it back to me.
Therefore I didn’t have high hopes when I went to pick up my pizza. They told me it would take 40 minutes and when I showed up exactly 40 minutes later they were just making the pizza. (ugh)
But overall it turned out ok. The pizza really didn’t take that long to cook. The same girl who took my order was friendly at the counter. The guy who was making my pizza even threw some extra cheese on without my asking. And the pizza was decent. Tasted like pizza, not cardboard with sauce. Wasn’t burnt or overcooked. The topping I ordered was plentiful not skimpy.
I really can’t ask for more than that. Especially when there have been some nights where I’ve waited more than 2 hours for a pizza from Boogie Woogie.
Also, it’s nice to see Boogie Woogie step up their game now that they have competition. And Paulo’s, who has always had pizza but never advertised the fact, is now promoting that he also makes pizza. (But really why would folks go to Paulo’s for pizza when his speciality is Italian cooking — his chicken marsala is awesome and unavailable anywhere else in Pahoa.)
Like other reviewers have mentioned, parking is an issue since there are so few parking spaces on the street. Most nights you have to park in Luquins and walk across a gravel parking lot in the dark. However, there is nothing that Mike’s or the other merchants can do because lack of parking is the nature of the beast in Pahoa.
Overall, I’d go back again and will definitely call them first BEFORE I call Boogie Woogie again.

I love this place. Good simple pies. IMO its the combo of the perfect amount of chewiness and textural integrity of the dough. Not too chewy and you wont chip a tooth on it either. And the sauce is good and simple — hints of oregano, basil and garlic can be tasted. Again, not overly spiced or under spiced…
I am a simple pizza person who I get two or three toppings max! Since it is a thin crust, anything more would compromise the integrity of their dough…
But again, a welcome site in small town Pahoa. A definite must try…

A slice of NY right in the middle of a small town on an Island in the Pacific. On this strip of restaurant row (there are like 5 or 6 of them) Mike’s is the new kid on the block. Only open 4 months and while I was there, a few locals were popping their head in to take a look. Apparently the pizza place a few doors down has a lot more history in the area, so it might take a while for people to give Mike’s a try. But they will and they will get a good pie made with love and good quality ingredients.
This is an open fire pizza oven, but Mike isn’t using wood or anything that will char up the pizza. I kind of missed that, but that’s just a personal taste. I’ve read many reviews of famous NY pizza places that complain it has a burnt taste. Mike’s doesn’t have any burnt taste to it, just a nice thin crust that cooks quickly in an open fire oven. The sauce had a good oregano flavor to it and was well covered in Mozzarella. I like that you are given a cup of freshly grated romano cheese to add, and Mike was more than happy to give us a second cup of it.
For toppings we went with pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, and onion. The pepperoni had a nice spice to it and was good quality. The sausage was on the mild side, but still had a nice flavor to it and was small chunks rather than the thin sliced kind you see on some NY pies. The mushrooms and onions were excellent and made me wish I got a few more veggie toppings. They were sliced razor blade thin and thus cooked nicely on the pie. I always feel this is important with thin crust pizza. When you leave the veggies on the chunky side, they have way too much crunch to them. Plus it gets too heavy on the thin crust and your pizza collapses. These were red onions, which can be strong if they don’t cook a bit. They were perfect. Considering the slightly vegetarian looking characters that hang around Pahoa, a good veggie pie will really be good for business.
One last bit of advice — the artsy menu is an assault on your retinas for sure. Just stand a few feet back, stare at the menu, and allow your eyes to lose focus. Do not blink. After about 30 seconds look at the back of your hand, blink 7 times, and you will see a hidden image. The image is different for everybody. If you don’t see it, walk down the street and find someone that can maybe sell you something to help you see it. If after smoking that, and you still don’t see it? Well at least you know where to go to get some good pizza for your munchies.
Mike’s has slices and lunch specials as well as whole pies in 4 different sizes (10″, 14″, 16″, 18″)