Za

More like a 2.5 to to 2.75 star pizza. It’s fresh tasting but bland as can be. The pizza has no personality and very little flare. The bread sticks were basically just that — bread warmed up w little to no seasons or flavor. This place could be so much more with the location and all!

Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone else: there’s an upstairs. Not as crowded, plenty of seating, windows and you can hear what people are saying. Oh, and it’s open super late… because, hello: they’re in Broad Ripple.
Dig it.

The view is what this place has going for it. Kids are allowed upstairs opposite the bar, and shuffleboard is nice, but they could do more (a kids menu, coloring perhaps?), so the parents might stay a while. Geared toward adults, the small group in the corner when we arrived was at a ridiculous volume.
The pizza is a little on the pricey size for what you get, and lacks the cheese I’d like on a pie. The kids liked the garlic knots, but we had to ask where they were after the pizza came out. The customer service needs some work, I had to remind/​ask for several things — a pen to sign my check? After getting the check I wished I’d gone to Basbeaux.

I have tried this place several times only to have the same problem; service. The upstairs bar staff is more interested in drinking/​socializing with their friends than serving their customers. I keep giving them another chance to only receive the same horrible customer service. The last time I was there my server at least acknowledged her onslaught of mistakes and comped my bill, but adding that experience on to others, I will not return.
The pizza is decent, but overpriced. Half of their on tap beer are typically unavailable. It’s too bad, I met my boyfriend here and we love to return to reminisce, it’s just not worth the headache anymore though.

Overpriced and not good. How this place charges $ 3 a slice blows my mind. My sister-​in-​law came away with food poisoning, which they didn’t charge for, so I guess they’ve got SOME heart…

The upstairs is likely the only bar in Broad Ripple where you can actually have a conversation on a Friday or Saturday night. Staff and owner are very friendly, although you gotta know the bartender’s name to get their attention for a drink. You get a great view of Broadripple from the upstairs so people watching is an added bonus. The people that come here are regulars. And they carry a great selection of local beers.
Didn’t try the pizza, but it looks like a little slice of NYC. Comfort food, not gourmet, but delish. Gooey, cheesy, fold up and a walk down the street easy goodness.
It’s different and a little weird. Which is good.

Some friends and I popped into Za’s for a hot slice and a brief respite from the Tuesday night crowds thronging Broad Ripple. Our party sought comfort and quick food, and we were not disappointed. We sat ourselves in the upstairs dining area, between a young family and a tv. The atmosphere was cozy and relaxed, if a little bland, and well suited to the attitude of our pleasantly informal server. She was the only staff member working the bar and dining area, but had no problem keeping up with all the tables (on a slow night), and occasionally made some innocuous small talk while checking up on our drinks and food. She was attentive and available throughout our meal.
Za’s menu is about as straightforward as a pizzeria gets — pizza, with the standard range of toppings, wings, calzones, and a few salads. Their wings, and one or two of the available toppings were not available this night on account of a delivery snafu, apparently. Of the five house pizza styles, two were available by the slice at the time of our arrival.
The slice was a generous cut, ample sustenance for someone seeking a quick, reasonably priced meal. I found the crust a little light in both texture and seasoning, but it holds its own pretty well against most other local pizzerias. The veggie calzone I ordered, with spinach and mushrooms, didn’t live up to expectations. I like a calzone with thick, chewy dough, stuffed handsomely with ricotta and just clotted with mozzarella and hot as a bastard. Za’s had a light, shell-​like crust with a modest scattering of cheeses and equally scant veggies. For 8.95, this was a little disappointing, though it did come with a good-​sized, if bog standard side salad. The third member of our party ordered a spinach salad, and it was just as it said on the menu.
There is always a need for a decent, homey pizzeria with by-​the-​slice offerings. Za’s meets this need well, though it doesn’t aim for much more than that.

My experience here was so-​so, maybe because I went in with a Bazbeaux style expectation. NY style pizza was delicious but maybe a tad overpriced. Caesar salad was decent. Staff was new but pleasant and eager to please. I did have to leave the restroom to ask for soap, but in the time that we were there, I believe they ran to the grocery store to restock immediately. Would definitely return for a late night slice and beer.

This place was cool AND weird.
I’ve been in a couple times to grab a slice on the way home, and I’ve now been in once to the dining/​bar area upstairs. First off– Upstairs= pretty damn cool. You can see a good little portion of Broadripple Ave. It’s nice on an afternoon after work.
The pizza here is good. It’s not gourmet. It’s not extravagant. It’s big. It’s thin. It’s NY style– good for folding up and walking-​down-​street-​noms for your super busy lifestyle.
The guys downstairs working a bit later at night (the two times I’ve been in) have been nice. The bartender upstairs was a bit awkward. She cut both my boyfriend and I off a few times and seemed just a little dramatic.
But hey! On Wednesday, I remember Za had some good beer prices where most other places had liquor specials. PBR pints for $ 2, and I wish I remember how much Sun King pints were– still cheap.

I just returned from what is probably my only trip to Za. I’m glad I used a groupon.
The downstairs was dimly lit, old pizza sitting in the window, and no one there to greet us or direct us upstairs. Our waitress never introduced herself, told us her name, or even smiled. She was also slow, and very unorganized. The restaurant wasn’t busy and there’s no excuse for the poor service we received.
The breadsticks had no flavor at all… they were just sticks of bread. The pizza was gross. Again, the crust was bad, not soft, not crispy, not fluffy, not chewy, not buttery… it just can’t be described. We compared it to pizza you can buy at the gas station.
They serve food on paper plates with plastic utensils. For what would have been a $ 25 meal, I expected something better. The waitress also seemed to think that offering us a pitcher of coke meant that she didn’t have to check back for refills at any point.
I will not be back and can’t imagine anyone wanting to eat there more than once.

I like their pizza but their hours ar ridiculously inconsistent (they just seem to close randomly) and the staff is terrible. Last time I went I stood in line for 10 minutes and there was only one person ahead of me and he had a relatively normal order for a family of 4.

Za discontinued their vegan pizza. Boooooo.

All right, it’s that Unilocalin’ time again!
Tonight’s first item: Za. Funny, I’ve always gotten that «faux-​indie chain» vibe from the exterior of the place (think nearby Insomnia Cookies).
WRONG. Entrance brings a sensory wash of Za’s unmistakable independence. It’s bursting from the cobbled décor, the single employee’s obvious lack of script, and especially the interesting unlit by-​the-​slice display, which gives its contents a faint morgue-​like caste.
Charming (seriously)! And the food? Well, I first went with a $ 3.50 pepperoni slice. Removed from glass casket, oven-​heated, given a nice oil/​butter brush + cheese to its crust, and… pretty OK. Rote. A decent slice of thin pizza. Crust was pleasant if a bit soft, cheese/​meat/​sauce clung right to what I imagine would be the midline in a nationwide survey of archetypal pizza flavors, and overall I felt (before considering the sheer calorie count inherent in pizza) that I had made a middling purchase.
Tried again a couple nights later, this time ordering a $ 9.00 calzone. This was made to order and IT had a bit of soul: a hand-​folded slightly toasty (but still somehow a bit oversoft) dough enclosure filled with yummy ricotta cheese and pleasant mozzarella and meatball bits. An oil/​cheese brushing and cup of fine marinara accompanied.
It was quite nice. But it did take a puzzling 20+ minutes to make. But the employee rung me up at $ 5.50 to make up for the wait (I didn’t complain or nothin’)! But in the end I am not overly itching to come back for seconds, either at $ 3.50 or $ 9.00.
But perhaps there is an element I’ve yet to ingest. I also didn’t engage in the Upper Room bar experience (Indiana beer is featured; I see a Flat 12 tap takeover scheduled for July 10!)
Qualifiable for further upgrades?

At first I was worried about how this meal was going to go. The server seemed a bit overwhelmed — maybe she was new. The beer was awesome. They had Flat 12 on tap. Bread sticks were tasty. Salad was not great. Not crispy at all. Pizza was good but we paid for 3 toppings (at $ 3 a topping) and when the pizza came out I swore it was a cheese pizza. So, skimpy on the (rather expensive) toppings but the pizza was tasty. Thank goodness for cheese and beer.

My high school students are learning about irony right now, so let’s use my experience at Za as an example:
I had been to Za last week for a private event and enjoyed the pizza and local beer selection, so I was looking forward to using my Groupon here. I called ahead and the guy on the phone told me that, yes, I had to eat upstairs in the «Upper Room» because they were using the Groupon business to showcase this «wonderful» new space. Well, on this particular night during the last week of the Groupon (which is clearly when everyone redeems them!) the restaurant was understaffed and the harried teenagers running this sinking ship were not handling the pressure well. Way to showcase the room!
My primary complaint is with the amateur service. I was one of the first people in the restaurant for the dinner hour and yet I had to wait 5 – 10 minutes just to be handed a menu. When the waitress did show up, this teeny girl whines about how understaffed the restaurant was and made some comment about how she was going to beat up her boss later. (Girl, I am not your therapist. Save the drama.) When I finally got to order, I found it to be quite a hassle as the waitress asked me about 5 questions at once and seemed to think I could read her mind when she said asked in her stressed out hurry-​up voice, «Which one do you want with that?» (Are you talking about salad? dressing? dipping sauce? toppings? What?!) When I asked clarifying questions she seemed frustrated with ME. I finally got my salad much later, but I was not given utensils and had to wait another 10 minutes for a plastic fork. (P.S. Why plastic forks if this is your showcase sit-​down space, Za?) I’m sure at that point, it was clear that I was not a fan, which might be why the moody teen slammed my check on the table as she reached from the next table over. It’s one thing to be busy, but when you’re sucking at your job, at least do a better job of covering it up.
Oh, and the food? The balsamic dressing was good but the salad was just lettuce and some onion and my veggie calzone was cafeteria quality bland. They ran out of spinach but of course did not figure this out until half the restaurant had already ordered something with spinach. Really the only redeeming quality is that they have lots of local beer on tap.
I hope Za hires some more mature staff with a small bit of professionalism and sense of customer service, but either way, I’ll never dine in there again. See ya at Bazbeaux’s, pizza lovers.

For a big, well-​made, and filling slice at lunch that isn’t ridiculously expensive, Za is the place. Love it!

The Hubs and I stopped in to ‘Za a couple nights ago after we’d been to a show. It’s was a little later than I normally like to have dinner (post 9 pm) and I was hungry and cranky.
We parked illegally, walked in and were told there was a dining room upstairs. There is, we went up to have a seat, it was LOUD. The friendly (and not too shabby looking) waiter came over for our orders (I ordered a slice of cheese pizza, hubs ordered a slice of BBQ chicken and a slice of pepperoni).
The pizza is NY-​styleISH. Meaning… it’s big (each slice is worth two of other brands) and it’s thin. It’s pretty tasty, but not like NY for real. Would I have it again? I’m not sure. A lot of people really like it, but I’m a Jersey girl. I know good pizza!
So, it’s was decent, but it won’t be on my «OMG, I have to get back there!» list.

When Austin Taylor, pop culture/​word aficionado, was asked about the origins of the term ‘Za, he said: «That was Jon Akerman’s and Jon’s alone slang for the pie (Mr. Taylor is referring to usage in 2000, when he first met Jon. First known usage by Jon is circa ’98). Never heard it out of anyone else’s mouth. I’ve referenced the pie as such many a time and people look at me like I’m nuts.»
And, now, we have this business. I don’t expect any residuals, at all. The benefits on knoshing on ‘za is alone all I need — especially New York-​style by-​the-​slice ‘za! That’s how I roll. That’s the only true way to roll with ‘za if you ask me. I feel like ordering a whole pizza is a crazy skewed perversion of the good. The slice should be large enough to fold and hold in one hand because that other hand is occupied with suds. Eating it on the street, with the paper plate in the back pocket if asked to move away.
A little doughy… a wee bit too greasy… yet it’s so much the better option than what we’re given ’round here. The service was really attentive and just plain nice.
Note: If you order a 14″ and not the bigger pies… it’s not going to be the same at all (basically they don’t flatten it out as much so you get even more dough).
There’s just enough seating in here for the winter nights… open late on the weekends, too. Parking’s a pain & you’ll be circling your wagon all night if you don’t prepare.

So far I’m really liking this BR slice and pie joint… I’ll admit, the first time I tried ‘Za, I was drunk. But the gin didn’t stop me from recognizing a fine slice of pizza! It was tasty and not a bit oily like by-​the-​slice offerings often are.
A couple of weeks later I ordered out the margherita, which was studded with wheels of tomato and topped with a very tasty fontanna cheese. The owner – who is a spitting image of a young Willem Dafoe – gave me some coupons that time so I ordered a couple of specialty pies for a little get-​together last night. The «Nick the Greek» got rave reviews. I’ve never had pepperoncini on pizza, but it was a nice compliment to the saltiness of the feta and olives. The four-​cheese pizza, which includes Gouda (!), was also good, but the Greek was really the standout.
If you enjoy a thin pie, which I often do, this is a great option. They use interesting cheeses and quality toppings, and they don’t overwhelm you with cheese or sauce. ‘Za does not purvey the standard type pizza you’ll find in Broad Ripple and I think that’s a good thing.
To add to its charm, Willem Dafoe and the other servers at ‘Za are really nice and the place is smartly decorated. The only thing that might prevent me from patronizing this joint more often is that it’s a tad expensive for pizza. But I guess you do get what you pay for!

Picked up a pizza on Wednesday night from this newer late night dining option in Broadripple. I must say that I was quite pleased. While I’ve been a long-​time fan of Some Guys, I’m going to have to add this to the rotation, especially for late night slice cravings.
I believe the pizza I ordered was called «The Godfather» or something along that line. This specialty pizza had almost all of my favorite toppings — sausage (which was probably the best sausage I’ve had on a pizza in Indy), basil, green pepper, etc., etc., etc. No lack of toppings was found on this pizza. The sauce is quite enjoyable — very obvious without being overpowering. The crust was possibly my favorite part — light, hand-​tossed style crust, similar to a NY style without being as «rustic» as most coal fired crusts.
As far as the space itself, it’s a very good use of the corner, and stacks up to the designers previous endeavors (I believe it’s the same team that designed 45 Degrees on Mass Ave).
I’m sure people will take issue with the slice prices (I think they are $ 4.00 per), but when you have limited competition and it’s your only option, it’s hard to rationalize the complaints.
All-​in-​all, a welcome addition to the Broadripple dining scene. Whether it’s a pizza at normal dinner hours or for the later hour munchies, this should be a place to consider to meet your gourmet pizza needs.