Pizzeria Fifty Four

Terrible pizza, even worse service! Do not waste your time/​money. I will not be returning to this place ever again!

I will admit, that in the early 2000’s, I was one of the aforementioned drunken college kids, stumbling into this pizza establishment at some stupid hour, looking to scarf down a slice to soak up the alcohol & curb my appetite after dancing the night away with my friends at a local establishment.
Now in my 30’s, a professional in downtown Albany, I think, «well, I ate this as a 20-​something; perhaps it isn’t that bad…» here’s what I found:
The owner has consistently been friendly.
This place is still a cash-​only establishment.
The bald guy that works over by the oven is les miserables.
I decided after a long decade-​plus hiatus from this place I would grab a slice during my lunch hour, as this place is within walking distance from my office. The bald guy took it with his bare hands, and shoved it into the oven (I cringed). I went down & paid my $ 3.00 for a slice of mushroom pizza. I went back & waited. He proceeded to take the slice out, and again, with his bare hands (another cringe), put it on a paper plate & shove it into a brown paper bag. Yup — how about that.
The pizza slices are pretty decent in size; the cheese is gross. The sauce is gross. The mushrooms were okay though.
Not to mention, love songs playing during lunch hour on a weekday? Seems legit.
Bottom line is this: I had a craving; I tried to satisfy it. I failed miserably. I feel like I now have a brick sitting in my stomach from that slice (minus the crust — I tossed that — it was heinous). If you want good pizza, you won’t find it here.
NEVER again.

After a late night out, my friends and I stopped at Pizzeria 54. I was expecting a wide variety of options. But instead there was only one option. CHEESE. I was very disappointed. The sauce also tasted like jarred sauce. I would rather eat dirt than eat this pizza. Puts New York pizza to shame.

This place just made top spot on my ‘worst food ever’ list. It took 4 years to beat the previous winner. Way to go Albany.

I’ve said before that, no matter how horrible it is, I will be able to derive at least some baseline «okay, this is food» level of utility from a slice of pizza after a night of heavy drinking. Then I went to Pizzeria 54. In a city full of mediocre pizza, 54 manages to seem especially awful. I wish Pizzeria Sapienza could stay open later because I’d walk the extra quarter mile or so to avoid this place.

They didn’t even have regular triangle pizza slices… don’t eat here. The pizza sucks and the employees are obnoxious.

I stopped in for a late lunch. The owner was very courteous; politely offered recommendations. Nice place to get a bit of pizza and a beer.

Pizzeria 54 is a fitting name because it seems like most workers there give 54% effort. 54% is still slightly better than half-​assed, so it’s not that bad. Speaking of asses though, Tim the owner acts like a big one quite often. I know the routine well by now. When entering the place, expect one or more of the following to happen:
A. Tim says «can I help you my friend» and starts playing with a bell ringer like a bipolar cat in order to ‘entertain’ the patrons. I don’t understand this tactic.
B. To impress random people, Tim starts using derogatory language and tells people how bad the previous customer is and/​or talks about liquor for no reason.
C. Tim especially kisses up to customers who appear to be yuppies and/​or high-​ranking police-​type people and usually mixes in A and/​or B.
D. if Tim isn’t there or is busy, his also-​bald quiet henchman takes your order instead. You have missed the main pull of the establishment in Tim’s circus-​like antics and got a more normal order of food instead. Lucky you.
Tim is probably an alcoholic, since he seems obsessed with liquor at random times. But that’s a good thing. What I honestly hate the most about this place is that no worker seems to bother washing their hands ever and doesn’t bother using gloves when touching the food they work with. Enter at your own risk because if you order something, and then proceed to pay for it, Tim will not hesitate to handle your money at the cash register, and then proceed in directly handling your food with the same dirty hands which touched the dirty coins and bills people pay him with. Does he avoid washing his hands when he goes to the bathroom too? I’d say that the odds of that happening are much higher than 54%.
Enjoy this cesspool of germs, liquor-​love, Tim’s cantankerousness, and meh-​to-​OK pizza/​gyros/​chicken parm/​etc. …as long as you don’t worry about catching herpes from it.

Below average food. I could not believe it when the owner sat down at our table of five and ranted openly and very negatively about people of other races and religions and even gender. I asked him if he was joking because he so freely shared his opinions and without hesitation he unapologetically reiterated his views again. I again asked if he was joking and he said it was how he feels. I won’t be back, I thought it was some kind of joke because I have never experienced anything like it. This guy is not aware it is America in 2014. Apparently if you do not meet up to this guys idea of race or religion he would rather not have your business as he stated as much several times. Take a stand and pass this place by.

I am someone who avoids wheat products these days. So if I am at a pizza shop, it’s likely for a salad. The problem with this place is lack of consistency. One time for $ 5 I got a great chef salad. As I write this, I am disappointed. No cheese, less meat than last time. Asked for two containers of bleu cheese dressing. One was a quarter full.
If you want pizza, for Greek style it’s not bad. But steer clear of the salads…

It’s late. You’re hungry. You want something cheap and greasy. Here it is! It’s cheap and filling, and just what you want after a hard night of drinking. The staff is solid, friendly, and apparently fluent in drunkenese.
Also, make sure you have cash left over, as they do not take plastic.

Even when you’re black out wasted, you can tell this is the most overpriced garbage you could put in your body. Unfortunately if you’re having a late night out on Pearl, there isn’t much else. It is in these situations, I go home hungry and make drunk ramen noodles instead. It’s just that bad.

We stopped at Pizza 54 on a Monday night before attending a concert at the Times Union Center. After stopping by ALL the sit down places on Pearl Street and being told, rather rudely by all of them, «no room», we ended up here.
My husband and I both got the gyro which was pretty tasty. The pizzas looked ok with a good variety of toppings. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their food but then again after being turned away from everywhere else, maybe they were just happy to have something to eat.
I understand there were alot more people in the neighborhood than usual but you’d think the restaurants would gear up for the crowd and be ready to turn their tables quickly. Pizzeria 54 seems to be the only place that «got it» and was ready to feed the hungry Springsteen crowd.

I will admit, I was one of the «drunk idiots» who ate here once a few months ago after a local auto race and bar visit.
Anyway the Pizza is basically 1 step up from ellio’s frozen pizza. It is quite flavorless and is only edible with toppings and extra sauce and cheese. The price of slices if absurd almost 3 bucks a slice after tax! The employees takes absolutely no precautions regarding food safety and store cleanliness. The counter had sauce on it and the tips of my pizza slices were touching the counter. In addition, I was there for over an hour and the pizzas on display had not been switched out even once! Now, I’ve worked at quite a few restaurants and I know for a FACT that if you have ANY food on display, whether it be just for display or for buffet — it must be switched out with fresh food ever 30 minutes. Employees appear to never wear gloves and will literally serve the slices on your plate with their bare hands. Also it is of my opinion that the dough is undercooked meanwhile the toppings and cheese are overcooked.
The only good thing about this place is the hours. If you are drunk, have at it! But don’t be totally shocked if you suffer food poisoning. Also my diabetic friend asked for diet soda and was given regular soda on two occasions — neither of which I was present for. The manager claimed the employee responsible was fired… we come to find out the one responsible was the owner and can’t be fired.
To top it all off, there were very young teenagers right outside drinking and they were there before we arrived and after we left!

This is by far the worst pizza I have ever ate. I wish I could give it no stars. I do not understand how this place is still in business by offering such an inferior product. Frozen pizza tastes better than this. For starters before I even placed my order I took a glance at all the pies on display and they looked horrible. However I still gave it a chance because after all the taste is all that matters. I proceeded to order my regular cheese slice. After my first bite I immediately knew this pizza was disgusting. The ratio of cheese to sauce to crust was bad. The crust was so big and doughy. The sauce was bad and so was the mozzarella. I definitely will not be coming here again and urge others to stay away, save their money, and their stomachs.

The family that runs this place is pretty cool. It’s certainly not the greatest pizza ever (nor is is the best in the area), but I enjoy it and there’s the added bonus that Tim, the owner, is fun to talk with.
The menu consists of your typical pizzeria stuff: pizza (obviously), subs, calzones, etc. When I’m downtown and looking for a relatively quick lunch, this is one of my picks.

Two stars for uninspired mediocrity. I’ve had the pizza here on multiple occasions for lunch with co-​workers, but it’s never been my pick. I haven’t experienced anything here that is particularly good, nor particularly horrible. They have big floppy, sloppy slices of thin pizza with a variety of toppings. Nothing exceptional in terms of flavor. Service is generally fast and friendly, and the place is packed every time I come.
If you’re looking for lunch, I’d recommend walking a few blocks down Pearl Street to Sapienza’s for a far superior slice. If you’re dining after hours; well, then Pizzeria 54 is your only option for pizza nearby. Hopefully you’re drunk and just looking for some calories to shove down your gullet.

BLECH x 100. Was here last night. Saw a show at the Palace Theatre and hadn’t eaten since lunch. As mentioned in the other reviews, it’s sorta the only game in town after about 7pm. They must make a killing on all the drunks from nearby bars and clubs.
I was already skeptical after walking in directly behind a girl whose dress was so short her butt was literally hanging out, and it only got worse from there.
Grimy interior, strange that they have those metal police barriers inside as well. I thought regular cheese slices were the safest route, so I ordered two to go and paid ($ 2.25 a slice). This is where it really goes downhill.
The man opens the oven, takes out my 2 attached slices and proceeds to separate them using his hands. This I was willing to overlook. However, then he takes each slice, plops them each on a paper plate and stacks them directly on top of one another. At this point, he sets them on the counter to turn and get a brown paper bag.
The end/​tip of the slice on the bottom was too long, so it is now folded UNDER the paper plate, and resting on the none-​too-​clean counter! At this point I begin to ask the guy if he has a pizza box he could put them in instead. He says no. I look to my left and there is a tower of pre-​assembled pizza boxes approximately the height of the Washington Monument. I say, «What about those?». At this point he’s shoving the doubled-​up, cheese hanging off the plate, MESS into the brown paper bag. He responds: «Those are for whole pies.» At this point he reaches out one hand with the pizza and proceeds to LICK CHEESE AND SAUCE off of his other hand! I realize that the floppy, hanging off end piece of the bottom slice must have … slopped across his hand. Yuck yuck yuck.
I say, «uhh, that pizza just touched your hand», and he says «fine, I’ll get you new slices.» He puts them in, and then proceeds to prepare two paper plates and ANOTHER brown bag. I ask him if he’s seriously going to try and attempt the same thing, and as he’s nodding, I tell him I just want my money back.
End of story. Moral: DON’T GO HERE.

Went for lunch with a group of co-​workers because I didn’t want to be the dissenter. I know this place must make 97% of it’s revenue off drunk kids late at night as it’s kinda the only show in town and has great location for the morons pouring out of the bars.
Pizza– 2.5 Stars
It wasn’t as bad as the last time I had it, that’s the best I can say. Because we came in with a big group the dude made us two fresh half pepperoni and cheese pies to split. They were pretty inconsistent in terms of crust and cheese. Thinner pizza, which I like, but not enough overall flavor and not consistent.
Atmosphere– 1 Star
Really loud music (Sat Radio «Love» Station too… just odd/​hilarious) during lunch.
Grimy in the way that only a complete renovation can fix, not really unclean that I could see, just beat up inside.
Service– 3 Stars
Counter service was fine, dude was nice enough to our huge group.

Every popular bar district in every city I’ve ever visited has a pizza shop like this one. The kind of place where the pizza tastes great after 1am, but God help you if you try to force down a slice during the daylight hours.
As a white pizza-​only kind of guy (tomato allergy), I was happy to find a tomato-​free slice the first time I popped in during the early afternoon. It tasted lousy, but I was starving and thus willing to look past that. Later in the day I stuck my head in a few times and noticed only tomato-​based pies with very similar toppings. At one time they probably had about 10 different choices — all red sauce based. Kudos for going a little beyond just cheese and pepperoni, but just ilke you offer meatless slices for the vegetarians, throw a bone to us poor tomato-​less outcasts.