Red Sauce Pizza

I really, really wanted to like this place… especially since the NY-​owned PizzaJerk had the nerve to move in literally right across the street. Literally… the Jerks over there serve Pizza and Ice Cream.
And they bought out an old n’hood stalwart… McGoos…and as I said, opened up across the street from 2 locally owned establishements: Red Sauce Pizza… and Rose’s Ice Cream.
No joke.
So, anyways, as I said, I really, really wanted to ike Red Sauce.
But it’s just… OK. Pluses: ingredients are fresh, the staff is very nice.
Minuses:
1) the titular red sauce is completely unremarkable, basically just tastes like a good-​grade Italian canned crushed tomato sauce. No zing, no va-​voom.
2) the crust is, well… flaccid. The sorta limp where you lift the slice and the toppings go sliding off the front.
Both of these things can be corrected, but in the several months it has been opened, neither has changed at all.
So…you get a nice, wet, floppy pizza with fresh ingredients which slide around on the crust.
Thus you earn 2 stars.

Okay, so now I have TWO new favorite pizza spots to hit up in Portland. Conveniently, Red Sauce is located in NE and my other fave, Scottie’s Pizza Parlor, is located in SE. For info on Scotties, please see my other review. Anyhow, in the words of a famous rapper, «Back to the lecture at hand»: Red Sauce Pizza.
Just like Scottie’s, Red Sauce has hit the note on making a crust with the just the right «bite» without losing a nice flexibility in the crust or charring it too much. The tomato sauce has just the right acidity with a lil’ bit of panache. Their signature pizza is the «It’s Me, Nummy!» (Pep, jalapeño and pineapple). Normally, I attest pineapple on a pizza, but, damn, the nummy is BOMB! Maybe, it’s the extra kick of the jalapeños that got me to like it? Either way, get this pie! Lastly, YOU MUST order a Caesar salad to complement the pizza. It’s probably one of (if not) the best Caesar salads I’ve ever had and totally worthy of every bite! Portland’s pizza scene is burgeoning right now, and Red Sauce is surely one not it miss!

My favorite pizza place in the neighborhood! I am so lucky I literally live a block away! The calzones are unbelievably delicious and the staff is amazing!

I like to try new pizza places a lot. Red Sauce ranks highly on my favorites. I judge a Pizzeria on their pepperoni and Red Sauce has very tasty pepperoni. Their pepperoni are the type that curl up when baked and they have the appropriate amount of spice. I’ve heard great things about their white pies too. I’m looking forward to my next visit.

I landed at PDX, my boyfriend picked me up, and we went straight to Red Sauce Pizza. We shared a small Caesar salad (plenty for two for an appetizer) and a large special pizza. The special was a cheese pizza with ricotta and spicy honey. The food was marvellous. Great service as well. No better way to come home.

We were so stoked on this place! The service was very attentive and the food was great. The house salad was fresh and pretty big for a «small». We had the special Which was the Nancy and cheese sticks. It was all great and very good prices! Check it out if you’re in the area. It’s definitely one of the best pizza places I’ve had in awhile

2 days later and I am still thinking fondly of the caesar salad I ate here. It was possibly the best caesar of my life, and I am a lover of the caesar and have eaten many. I didn’t think kale would work on a caesar salad, but the chef at Red Sauce proved me wrong. It was a perfect salad and an exceptionally generous portion. I split a large with a friend and we were both quite satisfied. Plenty of bang for the buck and only $ 8.
But of course, the main point is the pizza, and this pizza is exceptional. Perfect crust that was just thin enough and nice and crispy. It held up nice even after a night in the fridge. This pizza is just as good the next morning as it was fresh from the oven. The toppings are generous and fresh and just delicious. It was such a wonderful meal that I felt grateful to the staff for making it for me. It was a culinary work of art.
The service here is excellent. I had given up on expecting good service in Portland’s casual dining establishments but Red Sauce’s staff has renewed my hope that courtesy is possible in this town. Waitstaff was very attentive without being overbearing and just made the whole dining experience so enjoyable. I will definitely be back here. It’s a schlep from my place in SE Portland, but Red Sauce is definitely worth the trip!

Just OK for me. We ordered take out about a month ago and while the pizzas were tasty, by the time we got them home they were cold and we only live a 10 minute drive away. The grease from the pepperoni had sort of seeped in to the thin crust so the pizza wasn’t the easiest to eat. Maybe it’s better to grab a bite in the restaurant? It was pretty expensive for 2 large pizzas, so for the price and overall product, I’m not sure I’d give it a shot again for takeout.

Got this delivered last weekend and was pleasantly surprised. I regret not getting the popular caesar salad, but the two pizzas we got both disappeared in one night. No left overs. Our choices were simple, always a cheese, and one with pepperoni and olive. Not greasy, not too light on cheese, crust was thin and crispy. We all loved it. Having two teenagers in the house means that the left overs that you had hoped to enjoy for breakfast (hey, I’m not ashamed) are going to disappear before Cinderella loses her shoe. Damn kids. Its all become clear to me now, why my 6^th grade friend’s Mom would padlock her fridge.
Great pizza! This review was approved by me and my scrawny locusts.

These wonderful ladies offered me a free re-​do pie and it was deeelicious. I would say it’s the best pepperoni and jalapeño pizza I’ve had since moving to Oregon many many moons ago. The most important part of my experience is the outstanding customer service they provided. I can’t wait to go back and try another topping combination!

Went here with a group of 8 friends, and was thoroughly impressed. The pizzas were great (very similar to Apizza scholls).
The dough has a very simple old fashioned taste that just wants to jump in your mouth after every bite. I think I ate like 6 slices. the truffle one is my favorite. Everything was fresh and the service was great. I will be back to this place. It’s nothing fancy, but you can taste the hard work that has gone into making those pies.

Pizza was stellar, but service was very much lacking.
We ordered a large pizza and a salad. Pie came pretty quickly as there were only two other tables besides us. We soon realized we had no utensils or napkins and the waiter was nowhere to be seen after a couple minutes of waiting so we grabbed another table’s set up.
Our salad was also nowhere to be seen and we had to ask twice for it (had almost finished our pie the second time). They still had not started it, so we just canceled the order. Meanwhile a table that arrived well after us received theirs.
Will definitely be ordering pizza here again, but most likely to go. Taste might count for a lot, but service is everything.

I keep an excel spreadsheet rating my favorite pizza joints. Every place gets 5 stars but this is the only place in town I’ve bothered to write a Unilocal review of.

Ridiculously good. Super friendly, nice craft beers and house smoked yuminess!
Pizza seemed kinda like classic New York but gourmet.

They were a 4.5 but there playlist made them a solid 5!
Amazing service, delicious pizza and calzone. Salad was good, ranch dressing was better.
Crust on calzone had a delicious flavor and was the perfect consistency; not hard and not too gooey.
Will definitely be coming back!

We love Red Sauce! First impressions are critical in the restaurant industry. First impressions are critical in any industry. Enough of the Business 101 class.
We love Red Sauce! Our first experience to this cute neighborhood pizzeria was outstanding. We had the awesome Caesar Salad that everyone raved about. We RAVE as well. Best Caesar in the city! We also had the Jack Dekovich… pizza but added Mama Lil’s Peppers. TDF!!!
We love Shardell, her crew and her PIZZA!
Awesome Sauce! Red Sauce that is!

Just alright. Was expecting huge things based on the other reviews, but that didn’t happen.
Staff were all super friendly and awesome, but the pizza is what matters. «Average» is the best description I can come up with. Nothing about it spoke to me, and I like my pizza to talk.
Ingredients were tasty, but the overall package was lacking something. Also of note is ¼ of our pie had a badly burnt edge that meant we couldn’t eat that crust. In addition to liking my pizza to talk, I like to nom its edges.
We’ll give it another shot, but expectations are tempered. Again, the staff was awesome so I really hope we had an experience that isn’t the norm and our next visit matches the other reviews — I want these clearly passionate folks to succeed.
We ordered takeout, but they have a neat little dining room to accommodate you. We’ll likely go for the eat-​in experience next time in case that’s the missing element.

My hubby and I wanted to love this place so much. We were die hard fans of Bob’s Rocket Pizza.
To start off positive, we LOVED the caesar salad, best we’ve ever, had!
The pizza was just not good.
We ordered the pepperoni, jalapeño & pineapple.
Dough and sauce were just ok and the toppings didn’t do much. The whole thing was just lacking flavor.
The service was great. Staff super friendly.
We’re probably going to give it another try.

Wow! Double wow! Just picked up my first Red Sauce pizza and we were not disappointed. We got the ‘It’s Me, Nummy’ pizza (jalapeños, pineapple & pepperoni) and the large ceased salad and it was fantastic! The food here is the real deal folks and I am so glad they picked Cully as their location. I know this pizza will become a neighborhood staple. Welcome to the Cullyhood, Red Sauce!!!

I was treated to dinner for my birthday and suggested we go here because I’d heard it was good. Well, I was so happy with my dinner!
For starters we each got a salad. I opted for the small Caesar and my friend got the house salad. We agreed our salads were quite good, and filling. My Caesar was made just perfectly: whole leaves of fresh, crisp romaine, a tangy dressing with amazing flavor, and the BEST croutons.
For our pizza we shared a 13″ Hernandes: mozzarella, goat cheese, red onion, Mama Lil’s red peppers, red onion, and fresh spinach. The toppings were well proportioned, and fresh, and the crust and sauce were like magically good paired with the toppings.
The staff people were all friendly too, and seemed to be attending to all the diners and take out orders well on a rainy Friday night. Definitely the best pizza I’ve had in a while, and the best for sure in PDX.
Kudos Red Sauce!!!
I will be coming back! I can walk over and can’t wait to share this awesome spot with more friends.