Pizza Jerk

i have to say, after many attempts within a one mile radius of us (Alberta) this is my fav so far. kid friendly seating, like an old pizza hut but portland style. perfect thin, chewy and crunchy crust. i only tried a specialty pie with podnah’s brisket on it so i can’t comment on cheese and pepperoni classics yet. there were several sandwich and noodle options on the board if no one wants pizza and i hope the salads are more than an after thought, but i’ll have to try them next time. great beer selection and rose’s ice cream is directly across the street for after dinner treat if you like. and there is a decent amount of parking!!! i don’t opt for driving because i love but often it is too sloppy or i am coming from across town. but it’s such a bonus that this is maybe .25 miles from our house and totally walkable when we can.
*** wish they had video games but i am sure they take up to much real estate and all the quarters go to the video game repair guy, but still. the pizza we had could have done with out the BBQ sauce. it didn’t need that sweetness, the brisket had such a great smokey flavor and was so tender.

As a NY transplant, I know good pizza. This is one of my favorite new pizza joints in Portland. Sauce is delicious, crust is chewy and crunchy, and staff was gracious. Benissimo

I went here as part of a group outing. They had plenty of room and some good ideas about pizza. This is some of the best thin style crust I have had. Then to top it off the staff was friendly and the service was fairly quick. The only downside I can say is it was a tad loud and and the table we got had a post in the middle sort of separateing pur group.

With each new thin crust/​wood fired pizzeria opening I wonder, «why not deep dish?» There’s a market in Portland waiting to be cornered.
Nevertheless, Pizza Jerk’s unique value proposition is that they offer East Coast style. I tried the «Linda» and it was better than average. However, there are so many pizza offerings around that it’s becoming difficult to distinguish among them.
Prices for slices are fair, but for pies, they seem a little high. Then again, they offer some creative concoctions, so I look forward to trying. They also offer a very spicy noodle dish and fried rice. Uh, okay.
Great location, parking is somewhat easy, and service is friendly.

Not bad but didn’t knock my socks off.
Let’s start with the good. Great ambiance! The décor is awesome and it feels like an old school pizza place; like the ones I went to growing up. Red checkered tablecloths, stained glass lighting, a vintage ice box cooler and a table video game in the small back room. A+ for design!
As for the actual pizza itself, it was good, not great. I came here for the clam pie. There were a decent amount of clams on the pie but huge chunks of bacon were also on it. I’ve never had a clam pie with bacon on it but whatever, I love bacon (just wish the pieces were cut a little smaller than the huge chunks that decorated this pie).
Overall, I would still recommend this place. Give it a try and decide for yourself!

Just left the Pizza Jerk and was really glad I came here for dinner. The Linda pie is really delicious! Veggies and mushroom combo is very complimentary to one another. The broccoli rabbi pizza with fennel sausage was yummy but the peppers were so spicy they almost took over the flavor. We will be back for more!

I really want to like this local joint, I do. But let me tell you why I will probably only do carry out. First, there is clearly not enough seating as this place is always packed. Second, you have to stand in line to order your food; God forbid you want to order another drink– cos you’ll have to stand in said line again. Thirdly & more importantly, the ratio of children running around to adults was probably 13:5; not good odds for a childless couple just out for a couple slices. We will be back in the warmer months to try the seating outside; so we’ll see!
Oh yeah, about the pizza; the dough is yummy & there are good options for veggies. The husband did enjoy the pepperoni.

Amazeballs! Everything Bunk is in a sandwich, it is in a pizza! The pies have the perfect charred crust and a bit of sourdough flavor. The molina pepperoni and fennel sausage I hear curated from the Old Salt across the street are magnifico and plenty.
Its order at the counter with checkered table cloths. Totally family friendly with a kid area. I heard they have cocktails, but I didn’t see them. Their is a traditional help yourself soda fountain, beer and wine.
The slices are huge and yes new haven style. We ordered two for a group of 6, and two slice a piece did us in with each of us taking leftover home.
There are certain food peeps who can do no wrong in this town and Tommy Haebitz is one of them!

The pizza here is so good. The crust has incredible flavor and is a good balance of chewy, soft and crispy. Toppings are great too — we had pepperoni on one and pineapple with pork on the other (the pork is more like pulled pork than Canadian bacon).
Aside from having to line up to order at the counter it feels like an old-​school pizza parlor — red and white décor, tons of families with kids running around — but it would’ve been nice if we could have caught some sports on TV as well! No big loss, though, given the quality of the food. They also have sandwiches and pasta, and they do slices in addition to whole pies, so I’ll definitely be back.

Not impressed. The cheese pie was covered in red sauce & relatively flavorless. We were literally searching for the cheese… Got a side of ranch & it tasted like tartar sauce without the capers & lemon. Would’ve been fantastic on fried fish. Friendly staff & very comfortable environment.

I live a couple of miles from here
and wanted to check it out. This
review is based off a lunch time visit,
and I am totally acknowledging that they’ve
been open only a month or so. In addition,
I am FULLY aware of some of the new
business growing pains and so I gave
Pizza Jerk the benefit of the doubt.
Just 3 City blocks south of NEPO42
is this pizza place with the jerky name,
in a neighborhood with multiple pizza
places that are popping up daily.
May I introduce you to the new kid on
the block… Pizza Jerk.
The good news, the pie is good !
Fresh ingredients, nice sauce and
a thin crust pie that will definitely make
a dent in the Portland pizza market.
My choice was one of the pies that
people have been talking about
the Broccoli Rabe w/​spicy peppers.
I thought the crust was textually
well balanced and the home made
red sauce was garlicky and savory.
The only cons I had were with
the broccoli rabe, I thought it
was a bit on the salty side and with
the salty peppers it was right on the edge
for me. The overall flavor, ingredients
and home made sauces were all strong.
The service is bus your own table
kinda thing (not a fan) but it worked.
The employees seemed nice and
optimistic but at times unfocused,
but I feel in time this will improve.
The interior was 80’s shabby chic
(and I liked that)
I will return and I do believe they
will do GREAT in this up and coming
location.
Ciao

I’ve been here twice now. The first time, I felt the food was fine and as we were the only diners, service was fast and friendly. The second visit was a different story, it was a Monday evening and they were busy. We went to order slices and they were out of pepperoni so the only options were old cheese or a veggie with kalamata olives. So we got a couple of both, as we’d been told it would be 20 minutes for another meat pizza to come out. If you’re going to offer slices, then OFFER SLICES. I would have been happy to order a whole pie had that been my only option. Not 2 minutes after we sat down did we see them bring out a pepperoni pizza. The servers seemed overwhelmed and frankly, a bit out of their element.
I want to point out that one of the pizzas here comes with SHREDDED pork.
This place needs help. We will check back in a year to see if things have improved.

Went there to see if the review I had seen in Portland monthly was deserved… Conclusion. Absolutely. Truly fantastic pizza that uses meat from our favorite place Old Salt Marketplace across the street. The warm smell of deep rich garlic, good microbrews and a pizza that I can’t find one fault with. I would say it’s the best pie I have ever had. Highly recommend this place if you like good folding pie. No deep dish or wood smoked pizza here. Just memorable pizza. Recommend the Haole or just pep!

Was expecting hipster overload & instead got new favorite neighborhood restaurant. Pizza, pasta, salad are all top notch, and the vibe is just right. Families & first dates & scruffy dudes who just got out of band practice eating side by side, and it doesn’t feel forced. Food’s great, drinks are diverse & clearly/​sanely priced, and the staff is friendly as hell. Bonus points for little kids area that’s tucked well out of the way & actually looks like a place kids would want to play. Only been twice but really impressed so far.

Great addition to the hood! The broccoli Pizza was perfect and my sons spaghetti meatballs was surprisingly great. We will be back again and again and again.

Ordered a white pizza with their fennel sausage. It was beautiful! The crust was very thin, not burned, and still slightly flexible when I folded it to eat. This pizza was very much like those on the East Coast, and I loved it!
The place is plain, kinda dark at night, but honestly I don’t feel like it needed to be fancy. Just a straightforward pizza joint with a simple (awesome) menu.

My family and I had and enjoyable time at the Pizza Jerk last night.
Ambiance was modest and nice, needs a tv or 2 and maybe a few arcade games to make it feel like a real pizza joint, other than that it’s warm and relaxing.
Drinks: not a great beer selection maybe 10 different bottles of beer and a very limited bar.
Food: Caesar salad– very good, had a bit of an anchovy flavor, we liked it
Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread– my daughter ordered this and we all thought it was very good.
Pizza– we ordered the fennel sausage and pepperoni pizza and really liked it. I don’t think the crust is on par with Apizza Scholls but hey who is? If the crust was better it would have been a solid 5 stars. It’s your typical fold and cram style pizza, sauce has a bit of a tang and was quite good. Fennel sausage was A-​ok!
Overall: We will definitely be back, it’s a bit of a drive but not the madness of Scholls… Get more beer, maybe a porter or stout.

Slightly understaffed when we went Saturday night, or it could be they were slightly overwhelmed. Which was unfortunate considering the exposure they got on the news last week. But the staff was friendly, the pizzas were great and a couple kindly let us share their table since all seats were packed! We also did the same after they left with another couple with their child sharing the next table over. Truly a community dining experience.
We got the brocoli rabe & fennel sausage pizza which had a nice bite to it and great flavor. We would’ve added pepper flakes if we could’ve found any not being horded by other tables, but still it was pretty good. Also the white clam and bacon pizza which was also good, a nice salty bite and just the right amount of grease from the white sauce, cheese and bacon! It did seem a touch lite on the clam flavor in my opinion, but since all the clam pies around town keep dissappearing I’m glad it’s there! The crust was crisp and chewy but could use more flavor to make it standout. Still I would rate pizza jerk as one of my top 3 in Portland. (And no I’m not impressed with Kens or Apizza).
Other than getting more flavor to the crust so it’s not just a delivery system, adding more shakers of pepper flakes and parmesan and what ever would certainly help. Also possibly adding staff too if business continues the way it was when we were there.

Delicious thin crust pizza and plenty to share or have for left overs. Pizza size is super large. One pizza will feed 4 adults for sure. Each slice is bigger than a fork. You can make your own or choose one their specials. They have anchovies!!! Delicious, salty, tender anchovies.
Order at the counter and grab a seat. Be prepared to eat.

It was just as rockin’ as expected! I preface this by saying we are HUGE Bunk/​Tommy Habetz fans, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t give it an open assessment. It was the real deal!
The menu is obviously a little odd (as they wanted it to be!), and we didn’t try some of the odder options like the fried rice or the noodles, but the pizza we tried was very unique, in an awesome way, so it gets points for that!
We tried the bolognese pizza and the Caesar salad. The bolognese tasted JUST like lasagna (sounds weird, but don’t knock it!), and the crust was what I consider a perfectly bubbly, chewy, thin consistency. The Caesar was just the right amount of garlicky goodness, and the croutons were fantastic.
Good assortment of drinks, both beer and fountain sodas, along with some more random (but interesting) options. Daily specials on the chalkboard looked interesting. Atmosphere was casual pizzeria/​red checkered tablecloth Italian– totally welcoming to our 5-​year-​old. We will be back for more of this odd pizza experiment! :-)