Pizza Research Institute

Such a wonderful place! Good food, good people, and beer! They let us play an impromptu show… Made a little cash got fed and buzzed! Love you guys! Thank you soooo much! You are greatly appreciated!

I’ve been coming to this restaurant for years in three different locations and have never been disappointed by their artful vegetarian and vegan pizzas. Always delicious and unique, I’m especially partial to the veggie-​laden chef’s choice. They also have an amazing selection of house-​made hot sauces, you definitely want to try the blueberry-​serrano! Great cocktails too. A good place to take guests who are skeptical about vegan/​vegetarian food. Plus they always paint something cool on your take-​out box! :)
I’m super grateful for how accommodating they are to large groups, I brought a group of 15 here for my birthday party and the staff was extremely gracious and hospitable even while we took forever to figure out our bill! Excellent customer service all around.
Ambiance is lovely, the outside seating area is delightful, my large group was seated in a converted train car/​cargo box type structure that they’ve seriously glammed out the inside of, our whole party was very charmed by it.
Nothing but praise for this sweet little veggie pizza place! Only wish they were open a little later. :)

I don’t rate service, ambiance, cleanliness and wait times; they are too variable. I can put up with anything if the food is good. It is all about the food– that’s it. All of my ratings are based on vegan options only.
Notes: This place is fantastic. I rarely eat pizza anymore because very few places know how to top them. Unique combinations. Only complaint is that the pesto/​pear was way too oily. Flavors were delicious though.

One of the best pizza places in Eugene, hands down.

WOW! I was on the road one rainy January night after going to a family funeral in the Portland area — popped in here on the recommendation of my climbing partner — I was hungry and needed to find a place to stay. All the hotels were full for some volleyball tournament — so I figured: food, a beer and a place to search AirBnB were in order.
Service was excellent — I was seated right away near a window, while a gypsy jazz trio played. I ordered the vegan pizza and some beer — and was amazed at how BIG the pizza was. It was delicious — pear and spinach and pretty good crust. The ambiance was convivial — people at the tables on either side of me were chatty and willing to talk about what they had ordered that night (and previously). It was a very nice, relaxing experience!

Every time I’m in Eugene I make sure and eat at the Pizza Research Institute. Their pizza is delicious. I love the innovative salads and awesome cocktails. Excellent service every time. A very cozy environment.

This place is so great! We got the vegan chef’s special and it was loaded with in-​season veggies. The cashew cheese was creamy and smokey without being too overpowering. And yes, those are peaches in my photo. Don’t be afraid — they make for the perfect ending bite. I’m just sad I don’t live closer. Absolutely my favorite pizza place I’ve tried.

Best pizza ever, tasty imaginative sangria and Thai influenced cocktails. Vegan cookie, just ok. Good service, fun place in a neighborhood full of cool and indie kind of stuff to do. Look forward to
going back.
We had the vegan pizzas #1 and 8.

Over Priced, rude owners and gross pizza… The «Vegan» culture is misrepresented and commercialized.
The toppings are very random woth no real correlation or recognizable pizza.

Once again a delicious, warm spinach salad heaping with spinach, tomatoes, and red onion. I ordered a slice of the number one. To my surprise, the slice has been discontinued and replaced with an individual 7″ pizza. The flavors have not changed and are always consistent. You will not be disappointed. Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options. No red meat, pork, or poultry options.

Pretty solid. My friends Jety and Samen kept talking about this place. I’m not vegetarian nor usually excited about peaches or pears on pizza, but this place pulled it off well! Nice vibe too.

I never thought I’d say this, but I had vegan pizza, and I LOVED it!
My friend ordered a vegan pizza to-​go, and I couldn’t get enough of it! It consisted of herbed dough, red sauce, spinach, vegan ricotta, pesto, baked spicy tofu, roasted garlic, and black olives.
It was so flavorful — the slightly sweet and spicy baked tofu with the roasted garlic, pesto, and ricotta went so well together that I was instantly addicted. I had some for a late dinner, and then had some again for breakfast the next day. The crust was nothing extraordinary, but I got lost at the toppings.
Who knew vegan could taste so good?

Great drinks, fantastic pizza. One of my favorite spots in town to enjoy a night out.

Disclaimer: this review is not about the food, because we left before we could even try it. We were traveling and found this place while exploring. We were craving pizza and it seemed perfect. Nice ambience. We walked in and were ignored by several people. Then an older blonde lady asked us if we wanted to be seated indoors or out. We requested outdoors, it was a lovely evening. She went out. We didn’t see her for awhile. She came back in. Ignored us completely, and proceeded to talk down quite rudely to the waitstaff. We felt like idiots standing there and continued to be ignored. We then walked out, and as we walked out and left, that lady yelled (with an attitude), «Sorry, we’re busy!» The restaurant was ¼ full, if that. We did our research. Our findings give it a big, fat F.

I wish I could enjoy the pizza without having to suffocate on Ninkasi’s awful awful smell.

I sent my husband to eat here a few years ago while he was working in Eugene. It became a regular spot for him and a coworker for lunch. We are now on a meatless no diary kind of thing, if you can call it that, and were looking for a dinner spot on our way home from the beach. He suggested here as he remembered they had vegan pizza.
My commitment hasn’t waned since we started our eating plan that nixed meat, dairy and sugar until I realized dairy sure does play a delicious part in pizza. I was not going to pout, I was telling myself, «toughen up buttercup» it will still be good.
They had moved since the last time he went, but just a block up the street. Parking was a little tough as it seems there is a brewery just behind them that was extremely popular. We had to wait until 4 pm for them to open and we headed straight out the back patio. The lady who seated us, who I think is the owner, poured us some water that was full of fruits and mint, very good start.
We started out with salads, I got their fennel salad, with kalamata olives, and oranges, it is a warm salad, which I wasn’t sure about since it was pretty hot outside. However, it was so addicting it didn’t matter. Now, it was pricey at almost $ 9 but I couldn’t finish it, and I was sharing with my husband, who had his own garden salad going. He loved it too. I tried to box it and take it home and got a science lesson in fennel. It does not want to travel home with you at all, I was excited to pop that take out box open when I got home and finish it, only to find a sad sad squishy, shrunk up fennel salad. So, if you order it, commit or make everyone else help you commit.
We got a large pizza half pear and potato and half artichoke and olive. No feta since it was vegan. They let you order either vegan or regular cheese. The vegan comes with a vegan ricotta that was so good I didn’t miss the regular cheese I thought I might pout about.
I liked both halves but I really liked the pear/​potato half. I was glad we came and it proved that I could enjoy pizza outside the box… no pun intended.
If in Eugene and you want a different kind of pizza I would give them a try. It was a Sunday and we were the only ones out on the patio the entire time, but the waiter did keep coming out to check on us. The refills though do cost, and I wasn’t really impressed with that.
I had noticed after our pizza came an older guy come outside and I didn’t pay any attention, as I thought he was lost, because he kept walking around us and «looking» busy at some points although there was nothing for him to be doing out there. This finally kept on long enough, I thought it was strange. We were really into a conversation so I wasn’t saying anything to my husband right then about it. When we left, I asked my husband if he noticed the odd behavior of the older guy and he said, yeah that is one of the owners and it seemed like he was really trying to listen to the conversation, as he was always just one table away, He said he was watching him just kind of push the silverware around on the tables. I had to mention it because I think had I known it wasn’t just a customer, I may have been nice, but would have had to ask what was going on that he was out there like that? It wasn’t to take care of us, since he never said a word to us.
Other than the eccentric behavior we were treated nice and I would go back, some reviews almost scared me off, but the food is really good and worth it.

Got half the 3P (pesto, pear, and potato) pizza and half marinated eggplant, caramelized onions, and chèvre cheese and my taste buds were in heaven. I tried the Granny Smith Apple with walnuts and smoked Gouda too but wasn’t too impressed. The crust was crispy and herby which I really liked and their pizza sauce had a spice to it. Also their house margarita was so delicious!

Went here as a celebratory dinner after finals, and I was very happy with what my friend and I ordered! We started with the Stuffed Mushrooms and the Bread Spirals. Both of which were really great! the stuffed mushroom was delicious! the stuffing was a little strange as far as texture, but the flavor was amazing and the mushroom was cooked to perfection. The bread spirals which are served to you warm, were equally amazing. I probably could have eaten the whole plate of three large rolls myself! We ordered them with the buttermilk poppy seed dressing, which was a great addition to the already delicious rolls. it was light, but flavorful… reminded me of a less rich and more refined ranch dressing.
We also ordered half chèvre, balsamic braised eggplant, caramelized onion pizza and half mushrooms, herbed zucchini and smoked cheddar pizza. Both of them were really great! the tomato sauce of the mushroom one was really yummy – it had a little spice and smoke to it which added a nice depth. Liked how the mushrooms and zucchini were roughly/​rustically cut, allowing you to really taste them with each bite. I liked the eggplant one more though… I would definitely order that one again… and again… and again! It was so yummy! The caramelization of the onions and eggplant were perfect and flavorful – worked very well together.
The service was great and even though I had gone with my friend close to closing time, they were still really nice and accommodating. We didn’t feel rushed (even though we still felt bad… i’m sure they all wanted to go home) and they were friendly the whole time.
I would definitely go again!

Get the Pear/​Potato/​Pesto pizza you wont regret it.

Have tried this place 3 different times hoping desperately that it was just me ordering the «wrong» pizza. Each time I was unimpressed considering how OVERpriced the food is. Pizza is average at best. Cocktail menu is nothing special so be prepared to stick with a micro beer (thank God for Ninkasi bailing this wannabe eclectic restaurant out)
Eat at your own risk but be sure to drop at least $ 50 between 2 people

Delicious and eclectic pizzas! Lots of variant choices.
Quick, attentive service. Our waitress broke her foot the week prior, but was in there hobbling around like a trooper.
The décor (plates, menus, chairs) were kitschy to appropriate for the «institute» thing they’re going for.
Interesting experience and a tasty choice!

Some of the worst restaurant service in recent memory.
1. Ordered a salad and was given the wrong dressing.
2. Ordered an ice tea and didn’t receive a single refill. Had to go to the bar for a refill instead.
3. Ordered a half and half pizza and waitress wrote down the incorrect half of the pizza. Informed her of this after pizza came out – she argued and showed us what she wrote down. We said we would prefer to have the pizza we ordered. She offered just adding some of the toppings on top of the pizza we didn’t order. We said we wanted the pizza we ordered. Pizza brought back to kitchen. 5 minutes later (nearly a quarter of the time it took our pizza to originally get to) pizza comes back and it was blatantly obvious they picked the wrong toppings off and splattered cheese and just recooked the pizza (twice now). Pizza ended up being charred, toppings overcooked, and it was obviously baked twice. We asked waitress about this and it was denied. We didn’t eat the pizza. Waitress came back before we paid and continued to argue with us about the pizza – but did (begrudgingly), comp us the half pizza we didn’t eat.
4. Unbelievable.

I started going here because of my vegan friends and whether you’re vegan or not, the pizzas are delicious. Tonight, we did the pear and potato on one half and the vegan chef special on the other. Both are so yummy, especially the latter which is stacked with so many toppings! The place is a bit expensive. We paid $ 29 for this one, but it’s not your standard chain pie. Service is always a little slow, but not terrible. Street parking only and it’s limited as for any other spot in the Whiteaker. My favorite thing though has nothing to do with the food… I love that they personally decorate each pizza box. Cute!

Vegan pizza is hard to do even in the days of Daiya and Follow Your Heart in the 21^st Century! You think in the year 2014 w/​the end of the Mayan Calendar beyond us that they could do some rocking vegan cheese, but we are getting there. I mean Steve Jobs left us w/​Siri and iphones, so that is as good as it gets or bad as it gets. I mean in the year 2014 it could be Jetsons w/​flying prius and talking robot maids.
That leaves us to vegan pizza. I feel PRI does the best in town and some of the best I have ever had. Nearby Sizzle does a better crust w/​the fake meat seitan toppings and cool pizza names and if you like Black Sabbath you will be near wild heaven like R.E.M. there.
I must say though what PRI lacks in it’s crust it makes up for in fresh and wholesome veggies (lots of veggies) and great vegan cheese. Sit outside if it is sunny and get your veggies on. Bring a friend or date as pizzas are big!
On a recent visit here took the server’s suggestion of
half
1. PEAR, VEGAN PESTO, ROASTED RED POTATOES
and
half
6. BAKED SPICY TOFU, ROASTED GARLIC & BLACK OLIVES
It rocked and is easily one of the best vegan pizzas on the planet.
Can easily split a medium w/​two people w/​leftovers, so bring your pyrex!

The customer is always wrong, apparently.
The drinks and salad were great. The pizza was okay, bit it wasn’t what we ordered. When we informed the waiter that the pizza he brought us wasn’t the pizza we’d ordered, he said, «Well…will you eat it?» To which I replied, «we CAN eat it, but it’s not what we ordered and we really wanted the #3.»
His response was «okay great.» The only offer he made was to bring us A SLICE with the toppings we wanted that we could split three ways.
When we got the bill, we were charged full price.
I’ve had some pretty terrible service in Eugene, but so long as there’s an attempt to correct the mistake, I walk away a happy customer.
Last night we were not happy customers. We won’t be back.

After a night of drinking and getting really hungry, pizza always sounds good! Got a large pear, vegan pesto, and roasted red potatoes and cheese! I can’t have a pizza without cheese and although there are options for vegans, we opt for the cheese option. Split between 3 people we were stuffed, so wrapped the rest to go! It was interesting with the pear it added a bit sweetness, the pesto had a nutty flavor but other pesto that I have, and the cheese is cheese. Overall, it was good to fill our tummy with.