Fricano’s Pizza Tavern

Pretty damned good pizza.
I grew up on thin crust pizza. Because it’s so hard to find good thin crust pizzas, I make my own every Thursday. Whenever we make it back to our home state and town, we have at least one while we are there. I still buy my mozzarella cheese from Wisconsin and my pizza sauce from Chicago. So I know thin crust pizza.
And this place has great thin crust pizza. I will definitely come back the next time we are in the area.
We had a pepperoni pizza, a pepperon, Italian sausage and mushroom pizza, and an everything pizza with anchovies. They were all great — my favorite was the everything. The flavor was just fantastic. I’m going to make my own next Thursday and use the same toppings — cheese, pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, green pepper AND anchovies. Yes anchovies. The flavors balance out to wow!
The six ounce glasses you get with your beer, the décor, the pizzas all remind me of the great pizza places I’ve eaten at since I was a little kid many years ago

Our first date, 57 years ago, was at Fricanos. It hasn’t changed in all that time. 57 years ago they had another location in Grand Haven for the younger set that didn’t serve alcohol. Don’t how long that lasted. It would be a big disappointment if it did change for all its loyal fans.

Did not enjoy our experience. They only offer one size and five topping choices. Pizza was greasy and we did not enjoy the flavor at all – including the strange aftertaste. For some reason other people rave about it, but I would recommend saving your money and buying a cheap frozen pizza instead. At least Meijer will take your credit card.

Why are you never open? We love your pizza but the past two times we’ve driven out here from Detroit you were closed even though your hours said that you were open. Ugh, can’t do it again.
— Signed some super bummed pizza lovers.

This place was great. One item on the menu, only a handful of toppings to pick from, but what they do they do it well. The pizza is thin crust, which I love, and the sauce is super tasty. Love the sense of history you get from eating there, like you’re at grandma and grandpa’s basement bar or something.

This is THE BEST PIZZA you will ever have! That’s it! Nothing more to say! The Best! OK, they want more. It’s in an old house, and everything about it is Old School, and that’s what I love it. It is also on the Pizza Hall of Fame!

Best pizza joint in town! Wish they had more toppings though… they only have sausage, green peppers, pepperoni, mushroom, and anchovy.

Definitely stop in if you find yourself anywhere near the Grand Haven area. Great pizza.

Granted, there’s a few things they could do better, but they religiously cling to the ideal that they won’t ever change a thing in this place. My folks took us kids to this place in the early 1970’s and when I go back it’s like stepping into my own little time warp as everything is exactly the same, so for that reason I like it.
Why they don’t cook the pizza on the oven floor is a head scratcher, as well as using canned mushrooms. In this day and age of artisanal foods, you’d think they’d step they’re game up a little, but again, things don’t change here.
You can read all the other reviews, there’s no sense stating that there’s only one size, cash only, no other foods etc. It is what it is and they rely heavily on the nostalgia factor.
I personally like the pizza very much. And here’s a great way to make it better, I take a home a sausage pizza, put it in the fridge, then the next day heat up leftovers on a pizza tray with holes in it so the bottom gets more crispy, it’s awesome!

Fricanos is the first place I go to eat when I’m back home visiting GH. My favorite pizza.

I know it’s a favorite around Grand Haven but I found the pizza to be so thin & not crispy enough that it became kind of flimsy/​limp and it had too much oregano seasoning for me. If you dislike this kind of pizza then I’d suggest somewhere else like Peppinos or Mr. Scrib’s. Otherwise, enjoy!

If you want thin crust pizza, this is the place– but be aware, that is all they serve. Thin crust pizza with your choice of five toppings. That’s it. No appetizers.

Good pizza! Really thin and crispy crust. We did take out. If you are feeding teens, then it is one pizza per kid. While I thought it was a little pricey, I thought the pizza was very tasty!

Pizza is often not cooked to my liking, but it is quite delicious anyways. Definitely better than most other places around this area, and my family from different states always meets up here to get pizza and catch up!

Pizza is my favorite food so I’ve eaten A LOT of it in my lifetime, and I consider myself to be quite the pizza efficienado. :-) Fricano’s pizza is my favorite of any I’ve had, ANYWHERE in the world (including my own homemade pizza, which happens to be the favorite of my husband and 7 grandkids).
I’ve eaten at the original Fricano’s in Grand Haven SEVERAL times over the years, starting when I was a child (I’m 50 yrs old now). Imagine my delight when the one in Muskegon opened up! Though the atmosphere at each location differs greatly, there is no distinguishable difference in the taste or quality of the pizza between the two stores.
The Grand Haven Fricano’s is in an old, converted, two-​story house. Back in the day, particularly during the summer months, it was not unusual when, 9 times out of 10, folks would be lined up out both the front and back doors. Until recent years, there wasn’t even a/​c but people didn’t care because the pizza is THAT GOOD.
The Muskegon store is in an old, renovated piano factory on Muskegon Lake, near Hartshorn Marina. If you are lucky enough to get a table near the large picture windows, the views of the lake can be spectacular, especially in the summer when you can watch the boats serenely gliding by or anchored in the harbor. Even if you aren’t a pizza fan (Heaven forbid!), it’s worth a visit just to see what they’ve done to the insides of the building and/​or to admire the scenery on the lake.
Now, more about the pizza itself. I’ve heard it said that people either love Fricano’s pizza or they hate it. Thank goodness, I don’t personally know anyone who doesn’t like it; however, given it’s uniqueness, I can sort of understand why there might be those (misguided) folks who don’t care for it.
The only food Fricano’s sells (other than small bags of salty snacks… chips and the like) is pizza. They offer only one size (14″), only one type of crust (extremely thin), and only 5 different toppings (pepperoni, Italian sausage, canned mushrooms, green pepper and, surprisingly, anchovies). Also, because of their proprietary cheese blend, the pizzas tend to be rather greasy (nothing a napkin or two can’t fix).
Usually, when my family and friends go, most everyone orders their own pie; except, perhaps, the small children, as some of the adults will (rather reluctantly) share a slice or two from theirs. It’s one of the few pizzas I’ve had that tastes ALMOST as good reheated as it does when it’s fresh out of the oven (I’m extremely lucky, in that my husband doesn’t like leftover pizza so I get his).
They also have a fairly extensive bar with well drinks, mixed/​blended drinks, wine, beer, coffee and, of course, soda (pop). At the Muskegon location, there is even an ice cream shop on the lower level of the building — A great place for a nummy dessert, on the SLIGHT chance that you have room left in your tummy after dinner.

The best pizza in the country! Really unique thin crust that you can’t get anywhere else.

I love thin crust pizza but the toppings on the pizza were only fresh out of a can. The grease was real. If you prefer fresh toppings and a flavorful crust, save your money.

I grew up eating here and I like how little it has changed.
Still local, still a wait, still cash only, still simple, still amazing.
Don’t like it? Go to a crappy chain restaurant:)

First things first. They ONLY serve pizza. They ONLY accept cash and check.
The pizza is only served one style. Super thin. And there are only a few toppings; pepperoni, sausage, green pepper, mushrooms, anchovys. The pizza is good, but I like a little more variety. Salad? Garlic bread?
This would be a 4 star review, but I sat and watched a girl who worked there. She sat down to eat then got up and handled the pizza, cutting them. Then she sat down and ate more and got up to cut more pizza. All without washing her hands. Now, I am no food safety expert, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t cool. At least in my book, it’s not!

After reading various reviews of pizza places in and around Grand Haven, we decided to give this place a shot, and it was well worth it.
I cannot say this was the BEST pizza we’ve ever eaten, but it was very, very good indeed. Thin crust, but NOT saltine cracker crunchy like many thin crust pizzas are. They DO only have five toppings, and DO only make one size (12″) but they are all good. A tad greasy? Yup. But «old fashioned» pizza is SUPPOSED to be a tad greasy. Low brow? Yup again. But that sort of defines my expectations of a classic «pizza joint.»
Our bartender/​waiter, Mike, was welcoming and a delightful young man, and while the cabernet we ordered looked to come out of a 5 gallon jug, it wasn’t bad. Certainly as good as a typical chianti one might find at a pizza place.
All in all, a great little hole-​in-​the-​wall pizza place. I would DEFINITELY return. Cash only, but they DO have an ATM on-​site.