Italian Gator Pizza

It’s hard not to be biased when I am from New York, home to many many pizzerias. My girlfriend brought me here because she wasn’t feeling dominos, papa johns, or hungry howies and wanted some nice home style original pizza.
This is a nice little spot on university ave that stays open a lot longer than many food places.
First bite, I thought it tasted a bit like a New York style pizza but it was very thin. The crust, cheese, sauce, everything was very minimal. The price didnt attract me as it was probably one of the most expensive plain pizza slices I have ever paid for. Good for a quick late night bite and snack, not for someone with a big appetite.

Every time I ate it I was black out drunk and don’t remember doing it. It just showed up on my bank statement. Must be good tho, I kept goin back

My all time favorite food is pizza. I have eaten at just about every major pizza chain there is. I have also eaten at A LOT of the small, family owned, hole in the wall type of pizza places in Florida and outside of Florida. My favorite style of Pizza is NY style crust.
I’ve read some reviews about this establishment on Unilocal,Google and Trip Advisor. Most people who left a review described being out with friends and being intoxicated while eating this pizza, so I assumed that due to them being drunk their opinion of the pizza may not be fair.
This place is literally a hole in the wall. It is across from The Swamp between two other establishments. If it weren’t for the Internet, I may have never heard about this place. It is very easy to miss unless you know exactly where it is. This is not a sit down restaurant or place to have dinner. It is literally the size of a closet with a small window as their only way to serve you. Their intentions are to serve slices to the college students, but you can order any pie you want and pick it up. You can also have it delivered by a non related delivery service, but for a huge fee. This place is right on University Ave, so traffic is INSANE. Although traffic is bad, it was worth the fight to try this pizza. It definitely met my blew expectations out of the water.
I called and ordered their only size, a 20″ pie. I got just cheese to try it out, for $ 17. It was made, baked and ready in 15mins
Let me tell you, this is the BEST PIZZA I have EVER eaten. I do not know how they do it but it is absolutely amazing. If I dare say, perfection.
I will never be satisfied with another pizza from anywhere else.
If you love pizza, you will LOVE this place.

Pleasantly surprised. Nice crispy crust. Smallest restaurant in Gainesville. Not small on taste. I like this place a lot. Good value.

Great carry-​out pizza, thin crust, great sauce. Sometimes out of toppings during college semester breaks… but always tastes special!

Italian Gator Pizza should totally gets 5 stars, but I gave it 4 because I would be a big hypocrite if I gave it 5 stars while shaming you for eating, liking oily, sugar added, white flour, fast food pizza.
So here is the situation; if you are female over the age of 16, or a male over 26 (life is sexist and unfair, get used to it) eating this pizza late at night will soon give you body and self-​esteem issues, and, before you know it, none of your sexy clothes fit, and you hear husband say something like, «DAMN BABY, you make those stretch pants look good!» He thought if he said it that way, he would not have to sleep on the couch.
But you see, the pernicious thing about this little window that serves up slices of fat and calories with very little food value, is it’s perfect location where your booze addled brain shifts into make bad decisions mode — location, location, location — and it seems perfectly rational, drunk at 2am, to buy a slice, and if you manage to get it to your mouth — each slice comes with a sobriety testing paper plate with structural integrity seemingly inversely proportional to your blood alcohol level — those greasy, nasty slices go down your throat like little bites of heaven, making you become so happy and full of love, that you may wonder if you are eating or having sex.
The sex analogy really works here because the slice finishes long before you are ready for it to be over, and the guilt and remorse for what you have just done to yourself is instantaneous. If your regular guy is fresh healthy whole foods, you have have gotten drunk and cheated on your guy again. Luckily — location, location, location — there is a Catholic Church right next door. You run in and begin confessing immediately. «Father forgive me for I have sinned!» You expect absolution, but the priest says, «DAMN BABY, you make those stretch pants look good!» So you run back out of the church holding the crust between your thumb and forefinger like a crucifix, lift it to the sky and scream, «I THOUGHT YOU ONLY HATED AMPUTEES!»
Yes, that was me outside St Augustine Catholic Church July 4^th. I am so embarrassed. Only former ZBT brothers know how I feel.
So, Italian Gator, 4 stars. Don’t go there; don’t eat that. I will see you 2:15am Sunday morning. It’s a date. Don’t complement my stretch pants.

This is the definition of a hole in the wall. Not much to say about this place. Great pizza, great prices, convenient location and opened at convenient times.

The pizza here is really good! Even though it’s a hole in the wall, the pizza is really delicious and it comes out really quick too. It’s perfect for late nights, especially after the bars close. Be warned that late at night there’s a huge line for pizza.
They even have speciality slices during the week. The white pizza is very good!

Great pizza. A hole in the wall but worth the chance. Best pizza I have had in a long time. Excellent sauce on a thin crispy crust. Highly recommend.

SO GOOD AND GREAT DEALS! If you plan going here during the weekend club rush plan to wait and search for parking. Only walk up window but service is prompt and friendly. Pizza is premade but heated to order. Crust has a great crisp and large portions. I recommend trying the garlic rolls as well.

Good quick slices
wanna grab a quick slice on any night when you are on the university ave by the univ then this is the place to go
There is leonardo’s by the slice but it is a bit expensive and at the same time too formal and closes early

This is the best pizza in Gainesville, especially late at night when you won’t remember it. The prices are great and the service is quick and easy, do yourself a favor and stop in for a slice. you won’t regret it.

BEST LATE NIGHT PIZZA! If you are starving at night and want the best pizza ever you come here. Cheese is perfection! Thin slices and so large. You will love it. I am obsessed

After 8 years in Gainesville my boyfriend finally dragged me here. And yes, it’s yummy. Is greasy, and chela, and comes on a paper plate. And you will sit and eat your pizza next to a homeless man on a nearby bench. Or maybe next to a drunk college student crying because the pizza is so delicious. And trust me, for a moment you will laugh. And then you will realize you could cry too.
For a walk up window this pizza is perfect. Cheese, sauce, thin crust, toppings if you need them. But trust me when I say they’re not necessary. Just much and be happy.

After landing in Gainesville, it was pretty late @ night and my friend & I decided we were going to get something quick. Thanks to all the Unilocal reviews, we landed on this gem.
I must vouch that this is one of THE best pizza spots ever and the students around the vicinity of UF are SO lucky to have this little place! It’s literally a hole in the wall and within this booth, you can order your pizza.
I love that the crust is crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside, YET, the right amount of thin-​ness! How the heck do they do that?!
Whatever was in that pizza, it was awesome. I’d definitely be going back on my next trip.

Wow! NYC pizza in Gainesville? I didn’t believe it either! I was recently in NYC, so the pizza there was fresh in my memory. This place didn’t disappoint. The crust was thin and chewy, yet crispy. 2 big slices of cheese and a drink will set you back $ 6. Not bad at all.

I would venture to say that Italian Gator (or as I call it «Pizza by the Slice») is the best pizza in Gainesville. Sorry Satchels fans, deal with it.
This is as close as you can get to NY pizza. Thin crust, big slice, easily foldable. I have to admit that around 50% of the time I’ve had pizza here I haven’t remembered it due to the proximity to the midtown bars and the late night hours. The other 50% of times it has been fantastic.
They cook a ton of pizzas throughout the day and warm the slices in their oven per order. You can also order whole pizzas, though they’re much pricier than the chains. That’s to be expected though, considering the larger size and quality. They also have a large choice of toppings to choose from and great combo deals with drinks.
For lunch they have a few tables set up outside, but this is pizza to go. Have a few drinks, grab a few slices, and enjoy.

I love these guys.
It’s literally a hole in the wall place but the service is always friendly and quick and the pizza is sooo good. People always forget how good this place is because most of their clients are drunk — the bittersweet fate of being a midtown food place that’s open late.
Avoid on game days during football season because they raise the prices and after 12 am because everyone at midtown is literally the scum of the earth between 12 am and 3 am. Like, if you interact with their 2:45 am customers, you will have an existential crisis. And lose your faith in humanity. And wonder how exactly UF selects its students. Seriously.
Tuesday afternoons they have meatball subs! Which are better and cheaper than the meatball subs at Larry’s

Great NY Style Pizza in a great location near campus served through a little window of pizza heaven! This is a perfect on the go meal for students!
The crust is thin and crispy just the way I like it! I love how they have Oregano on the side for you to top the pizza as well as Parmesan and red pepper flakes.
Prices are reasonable too! Under $ 7 gets you two slices of pepperoni and a drink! They don’t have sweet tea, which is a bummer! You gotta have sweet tea being in the South! Oh well!

I return to Gainesville several times a year (usually for a sporting event of some kind), and every time I’m back, I feel transported back to the days of my late teens/​early 20’s.
Well, I am back in Gainesville for the weekend to watch my gators kick butt in baseball regionals, and I decided to visit one of my favorite old spots– Italian gator pizza.
Now circa ²⁰⁰⁰⁄₂₀₀₁ this was one of my drunk go-​to spots. It’s basically a pizza stand that serves slices to college students (usually drunk ones coming out of the bars peppering the block). Now that I am in my 30’s and on the wagon, I popped out at about 7:15 and stone sober. Despite the decade that has passed and my more coherent state of mind, this was still the great pizza I remember. Is it the best in the world? No, but it is noticeably above average and it is a trip down memory lane for me with every bite.