3.4/5
Over the weekend my family went out for my mothers birthday to Sally pizza on 23rd and Spruce in Center City, Philadelphia. Sally pizza is new to the city as it has replaced one of my family’s old favorites Mama Pama’s. After the pandemic, Mama Pama has unfortunately closed down and been replaced with this place. Not only this, but on the walk over it turns out that Sally pizza is owned by some family friends.
However this will not play a factor in my review as I was honestly… disappointed with what they had to offer. Unfortunately I was not able to go inside due to the pandemic but the seating outside was nice. They had created a wooden seating area that was quaint and cozy. However the music playing was terrible as it did not fit the vibe of the restaurant nor really relate to anything present in the situation. This rubbed me the wrong way considerably as I was already hungry or as some of you might know it as “hangry”.
For the appetizers, their options were interesting. You would see the usual appetizers, calamari, salad, etc. But it seems they were trying to be overly creative and some of their combinations were good but not great. I most specifically remember the ricotta cheese appetizer. This is one of my family’s particular favorites as it’s usually served with honey or another sweet topping but at Sally pizza they added tapenade which was a bit too overwhelming and took away from the main point of the dish was the creamy ricotta cheese.
Moving on to the entrees which primarily consisted of different pizzas, my family ordered the Mushroom and Egg, Sopresatta, and Stracciatella. The Stracciatella is your usual cheese pizza but unfortunately when it was served there was a cup of oil on top which made the pizza fairly unappetizing.
While we are on the point of pizzas I’ll be quick to mention that they specialize in sourdough pizza. This pizza is thin and has good flavor throughout the crust but it is nothing special compared to rivaling pizza restaurants like nomad and vetri which I have written a review on in the past.
The mushroom and egg was probably the favorite of the bunch for that was the only one that was finished. It was a white pie, which means there was no red sauce, with “locally cultivated mushrooms, roasted garlic crême fraiche, pickled mustard seeds, mozzarella, and pastured egg.” The pizza was a light yet creamy consistency that had a very umami taste to it. It wasn’t sweet nor spicy but had good overall earthy flavor. Last was the soppressata, soppressata is a spicy pepperoni but to combat the heat they added a honey drizzle on top that worked well in contrasting the flavor. However, I did feel at some points that I got too much honey and was eating a sweet pizza which for me personally I do not like.
Overall, the food was ok. At the price point there are far better options in the Center City area that make delicious pizza that you will not regret. I think that this place was trying to be a little too creative and their ideology was a little all over the place in terms of what cuisine they wanted to serve. In addition I should note that their menu varies with the season so maybe I will come back and see what else they have to offer. I would honestly not recommend this place because for what you are paying you could go someplace else and be far happier with what they provide.
It is a shame to hear that a restaurant that you liked got taken away by the pandemic. It sadly happened too often. Good to hear that you were honest with this review despite knowing the owner. It sounds like a fine restaurant but no place to rush to get to.