Luigi’s Slice

I grew up eating the original Luigis so this is such a delite. I love that its located downtown and you can order person sizes. They have delicious Portuguese sausage. I tried the pesto recently but didn’t care for it too much.

The two times I had previously been to Luigi’s was always after a happy hour or late night at Merc or Badlands… so this was refreshing to come in for lunch at a reasonably normal midday hour. Tuesday even meant $ 2 slices of Cheese or Pepperoni (although the $ 3 any slice is where it’s at, apparently I’m to try the Pesto next time). I got one slice of cheese, one slice of pepperoni, and was good to go. Piping hot, generously ginormous slices and a great deal. I’m always up for a bargain, without food quality suffering. Service was quick, two slices of pizza sure filled me up (nearly OD’ed on that cheese though!), convenient location.

I went here last Friday after having a few drinks with some co-​workers. I ordered the Luigi special and thought that it was pretty good. Threw on some Parmesan cheese and crush red peppers and I was in business. I thought the pizza tasted pretty good. There wasn’t anything that I didn’t like about it. Yummy crust, melted cheese, just the right amount of sauce, and a large serving. I will have to try this place again when I am sober and can fully rate it for its quality. All I know is that it hit the spot for me. Try my method and grab a few drinks before stopping here, I am sure you will enjoy.
Look for my updated review soon.

How can I explain this better than Michelangelo? Yup, Luigi’s Slice does a 5 star job of being a 3 star business. Middling pizza that’ll be mind blowing at 1 am on a Saturday night (Keep in mind your state of judgment at 1 am; that’s how you got that stalker-​ex, remember?). And beer and wine, plus a few tables and a TV.
So far we’re at 2 stars — but wait — Lagunitas IPA, in «real» 16-​oz pint glasses, at $ 2 during HH.
I’m letting that sink in for a few moments.
That’s right, $ 2 pints of the big dog. Dang, wish they did growler refills! So stop in on a Sunday afternoon at 3pm, grab a $ 2 pint and a hot slice. Check out the patio seating out front (offering some of the best people watching anywhere!).
The down & dirty:
Food — 2 – 5 — Depends on your level of sobriety!
Service — 3 — Counter service means you do the heavy lifting.
Value — 4 — It ain’t Pabst in that $ 2 glass!
Setting — 4 — Midtown’s best people-​watching sidewalk.
Date worthy –2 — Uh… you’d make your date wait in line for a slice of pre-​cooked pizza?

I love this place! I’ve been here a couple times with friends just for the Pesto pizza! I suggest you ordering a fresh slice or whole pizza instead of one that’s been sitting there. Nonetheless, the workers were definitely friendly each time I went there! They were very patient with me and a couple friends when we we’re being indecisive! For that I give them props!
The few times I came here I never had to wait that long, which is always a plus! The pizza I ordered was filled with melted cheese and tomatoes. Pure joy. I will definitely be back here some time soon!

This place is awesome! If you’re intoxicated so much that any pizza will taste fantastic and you can stomach the room temp ranch dressing…
They do have beer, though!

ugh… i’m just not impressed. Their pizzas sit out there for hours… they look so dry and unappealing when you order a slice. Then they throw that slice in the oven, and yeah… it looks slightly better, but the damn thing is on fire when you end up getting it… I’m sure they have to get it that hot to kill all the bacteria that have been festering on the slice while it sits at room temperature, but it just means you have to wait longer before enjoying your slice of mediocre pizza.
Would i eat here again: Yeah… but it’s not my first choice in a 4 square block radius… probably not even my second.

I LOVE this place!!!
It is usually always packed full of people, but the staff moves very swiftly. I came here last night and it was unusually dead. I got a chance to talk to the guys who seem to really enjoy working there.
At the end when I received my order, I told the server thank you and told him to have a great night. He looked caught off guard and wished me the same. I’m guessing that with the rush, patrons forget to offer praise.
These guys do a great job, so please remember to say thanks once in a while.
Thomas the really tall one was really great to talk with. Special shout out to him and his tallness…

This place sucks. Super lame, overpriced beer selection (light beers and wheat beers, oh boy). Weird ordering system where you wait in line to order, then wait in another line with all the people ordering aforementioned shitty beers to pay. Then you go sit and wait to get called, whereupon you go push past everyone in the first line to get your slice. They also knowingly overcharged us for the «slice-​of-​the-​day», blaming the computer and saying they were helpless to fix it. And the cashier was a general turd.

After eating here many many times this place has dropped significantly in quality. Sometimes the pizzas are undercooked. Sometimes the beer is completely dry because allegedly the lines are frozen or the staff from the night before «drank all the beer». Sometimes everything just goes completely off the rails.
Today was the killer though. I ordered a medium pepperoni pizza at 6, come to get it at 6:40 and its in TWO BOXES. What kind of medium pizza comes in two boxes? I highly suspect they gave me the slices sitting in the counter, not what I ordered– because either they messed up, forgot, or whatever.
Bottom line: Im tired of dealing with people who just don’t care about what they are serving. It’s sad because this has traditionally been some of the best pizza in Sacramento.

Went here because of the location. After riding bikes around midtown my boyfriend and I thought we’d try it out. The man at the register was less than friendly when my bf asked if he orders through him. Kind of just nodded his head and said «down there» Then he got the pizza, the guy brining the pizza over kinda slid/​tossed the pizza on the counter and instead of addressing my bf (who was standing right there) asked the guy at the register «this guy pay for this yet?» Kind of rude if you ask me.
Onto the pizza: we got the pesto. I couldn’t taste much pesto flavor at all. There was a lot of seasoning on top, some kind of Italian seasoning, that is what you mostly tasted. The crust is good, nice and crunchy. Unimpressed overall. There’s much better pizza in the midtown/​downtown area.

I went to Luigi’s for Monday night trivia after seeing that there were happy hour specials all night. $ 2 slices of pepperoni or cheese? $ 2 beer? fabulous prizes? all good things.
We got there around the sign up time 7:30 and asked about the specials. They said they dont do it until trivia starts at 8pm. Whatever. we’ll wait it out
8:00 rolls around and we ask about the slices for happy hour.
«Nope, we don’t do that», they said. «But we have beer for $ 3.65»
«Shouldn’t you take down that sign then?» we ask.
«Probably. we can do that right now»
«…ok» (they haven’t taken down the sign yet btw)
Anyways, we order some food and beer and notice that pricing is inconsistent.
The price of a slice + beer doesn’t add up to the listed prices or what they told us and the price of a slice of pepperoni alone was also more than what’s listed on the wall. Something’s off here…
The pizza itself was hot, delicious, and greasy. It sits out on trays and they reheat it, but it still tastes pretty good. (good balance of dough, sauce, spices, and toppings).
Pros:
Pretty good pizza, big slices
Trivia night was fun. it’s definitely a plus to have good food (not just beer) during these events. The hostesses had energetic personalities for it
Cons:
What’s up with the misleading pricing?
The staff isn’t entirely helpful

Inexpensive Pizza Slice For Late Night Munchies, But Quality Is Poor
A TALE OF TWO PIZZAS
Located in Midtown Sacramento, Luigi’s for me comes on my radar ONLY for late night munchies. Better quality and better cost pizza /​salad combo options exist during the day at places like Giovanni’s, Uncle Vitos, Round Table, Rico’s etcs. So I’d never go to Luigi’s during the day by choice (and by day, I honestly mean «before 9pm»).
But at night, Luigi’s is for the desperate: it has competition for my buck from PIECES PIZZA whom I see as it’s main competitor. So depending on what «my needs /​factors» are at a given moment, I could go to Luigi’s or I could go to Pieces. But more on that later, first the metrics:
MY PIZZA METRICS FOR RATING
It gets 2 stars from me because:
(1) It’s hella close to me (3 blocks from my door), and when you’re walking, proximity plays a role in where I go and how I will rationalize that with many other different factors (such as the following two points:)
(2) It’s open hella late (1am on a Saturday when we were in need of pizza-​sustenance); and,
(3) It’s the least expensive pizza slice I’ve had — all slices we got were under $ 4. On our latest foray, Pandora got the Hawaiin and I got the Pepperoni. Both were tasty:
PIZZA FOR THE DESPERATE
* Putting things in perspective, the pizza at PIECES @ 21^st & N Sts, is a much better, larger, cheesier great quality slice. But at almost $ 2 MORE per slice, it’s an obvious example of you get what you pay for.
* And again, if I’m really lazy AND I have to walk, I’d rather trudge 3 blocks for a less expensive piece of pizza (or two), than the 9 blocks to pay more for the more expensive slice at PIECES.
* HOWEVER, if I’m already out AND clubbing with friends at Midtown Barfly or The Press Club, I’d rather hit PIECES instead since I’m already in orbit. And to be blunt, if I’m with people, I’d rather treat them to a better quality slice at Pieces. Luigi’s is better for when I’m flying solo and I’m looking more for something cheap to fill the hole in my stomach.
So it all depends what the circumstances are at any given moment that triggers a pizza trip to Luigi’s (or not).
THE LOWDOWN
Poor quality, bad service at a cheap price. You make the call.
[Survey question asks, «Caters»? God I hope not. I’d drive to Costco first.]

When I lived down the street, Luigi’s used to be my go to spot to fill up on some post drinking carbs. Then I started venturing over when my mind was a little less hazy and discovered that maybe the pizza wasn’t all my drunken taste buds made it out to be.
While it is a great place to grab a pitcher and/​or quiet your drunken cravings, the pizza is decent at best.
My favorite thing about Luigi’s is probably the location. Situated not far from many popular drinking holes in town, it’s easy to wander over after you’ve had a few too many to drink for a quick and cheap bite. The restaurant itself is small but if you’re lucky enough to grab a spot out front, it makes for great people watching. It’s also a prime spot during warm summer nights!

Today I went in, and the customer service was faaaaabulous. I always thought it was just me that made the people behind the counter awkward but nope, guess it’s them!
The INSANELY competent and effortlessly friendly woman told me, yahhh, people on Unilocal have mentioned our customer service so I try to counter balance it. She also gives her coworkers shit for being grumps. haha~
What can I say? I love their pizza. And good beer on tap. And happy hour specials.

I can see this being a great place for the bar crowds but I have tastebuds and damnit they weren’t very satisfied. Upon entering you belly up to the counter and place your order, thinking you’re going to pay right there where you ordered they ask you to step over to another bank of registers to actually be rung up.
I grabbed a veggie slice of pizza (olive, mushroom and bell pepper) while my friend went for the all meat (he’s a rockstar when it comes to not getting fat from that s**t). They heat up the slice for you but I think that’s what made it all bad for me because it turned the crust into a cracker and that is wrong on so many levels! I really think I was eating cheese, olives, mushrooms and bell peppers on cardboard. Sad.
The place wasn’t all that clean either so the whole time I was thinking I better not touch something then force this cardboard pizza down my piehole with tainted hands.
Can’t come back, sorry.

The only cool thing is that it stays open late for us drunks in lavender heights! I came late and some employee opened the front door, said «were closed» and slammed the door in our face…
Okay, sir, you’re pizza is far too bad to be refusing customers… Don’t worry I’ll survive…

3.5 stars
I love Luigi’s for lunch! It’s as large a slice as a NY-​style pizza, but a bit thicker– one slice and a drink will fill you up. There’s a lunch special every day, $ 2 Tuesdays and $ 3 Wednesdays. Small but good selection of beers. And spicy lovers rejoice, they have bottles of sriracha sauce alongside parmesan and red pepper shakers.
Really liked the BLT pizza they offered for Baconfest. Please offer it again next year… and don’t be shy with the bacon, that’s why I showed up! :D

There is perhaps no more satiating way to refuel while on a drunken bender that at Luigi’s. This was exactly the state I was in when I first stumbled in here, so I forewarn you that I have yet to return to Luigi’s in the sober light of day.
At the time it was just what I needed. A generously cut slice of tomato basil. I took the advice of my friend Chris to always opt for a slice from the freshest pie out of the oven. These were wise words. Being a Saturday night, it seems like they over-​baked in order to meet demand and the pizzas cooked earlier had an unappetizing rubbery look to them. Stick to the freshest stuff and you should be okay. Of course, if you’re completely drunk when you order that may not matter.

2^nd Saturday, heavy crowds
Where to go for a quick bite?
When I first started going out to these art walks there was no one. I mean, sure there were small groups here and there (mostly locals), but no one prepared me for the massive crowds out tonight. SacPD had several streets cordoned to alleviate the traffic but I found it interesting that the majority of the people out were not from the area. When the hell did cruising come back to Midtown?
On such a busy evening the joint was packed. Talk about standing room only, but then again, it reminded me of all the neat NY pizza joints. Sigh.
The process is simple. Walk to the counter, place your order (Meat Lover’s and plain cheese), the boys behind the counter warm up the slices in the oven, and then you head to the drinks/​beer counter to pay. Prices are a bit more and go up per topping ($ 3.95 for one topping slice +). My Meat Lover’s was just that, despite my slice being a little jaded since it was half the size of another slice, topped with lots of Italian sausage, salami, and pepperoni, with a thin crust. The cheese was nice and stringy but a bit bland. The crust was pretty good, albeit a bit on the crunchy side.
Despite the atmosphere being hectic and the dining room too loud (we were yelling across the table) I would not mind dropping by on a less packed day.