Urban Fire

Finally, a pizza place with a still casual but more refined menu. Love the porchetta (imagine, cracklings in my sandwich!) The pizza is thin crust (but not too thin) — and like their dough /​crust. Very very well made, with care. Definitely highly recommended !

Maybe I should have had the pizza b/​c the arugula salad with red peppers, mozz, and parm was pretty awful. Loaded with dressing, soggy, and wilted arugula.

Great place in town for neopolitan style pizza. It’s like the chipotle of pizza (there’s actually a chipotle around the corner). Pizza is really good and we always get the mushroom one. Great for kids/​babies too!

Fresh ingredient, lovely interiors, friendly service!
Love the pizzas here. I have tried a different version every time and have loved them all. The owner is very friendly, he is a pleasure to talk to.

I love Urban Fire! I get the margherita pizza and always try to save half of it for later (because it’s pretty big) but that never happens, haha. It’s just too good to stop eating! It’s always clean and they have indoor & outdoor seating, which is great when we walk down there from work. The staff is super friendly and helpful, especially when trying to decide on toppings because there are A LOT of options. This place is definitely of my favorite spots in Madison!

I got the Bianco pizza with peppers, spinach, and chicken. It was not particularly special. The crust was very thin on the bottom which left it particularly difficult eat. Perhaps the spinach made it soggy. I wouldn’t come out of my for this place.
Pesto pizza, particularly the gardena pizza was pretty good if u like pesto.

Service is great! Staff are super friendly! Lovely pizza spot where they custom tailor the pizzas for you!

I stumbled on this gem when I was running errands in the area, had just checked Unilocal for restaurant suggestions and realized I was already in an adjoining parking lot. I am glad I got here just before noon as the place filled up with the lunch crowd. I am picky about pizza and decided to give the DOP a try given the great reviews here. They did not disappoint. It he crust is light and flavorful with that brick oven taste. The ingredients were fresh. This place is not an easy trek from home but I would definitely make my way back here… with a bottle of wine as it is the usual NJ BYOB situation

Great/​quick authentic italian spot! This gem is right down the road from my school so I find myself just automatically pulling into the parking lot in-​between classes!
Ive now tried the panzella salad, the rocket pizza, arancini and pallini! All super fresh and delicious!
panzella: could definitely be shared amongst many as an appetizer
rocker pizza: love, love, love the lemon juice on top
arancini/​pallini: takes me back to Italy while studying abroad!
Why not a 5 star review? The employee behind the register acted as if she couldn’t be bothered with me, and when I questioned her opinion on the salads her response was followed with «I doesn’t seem like you’re ready to order» huh I already placed part of my order, was just asking your opinion?
But, Ill be back, high quality and taste!

This place is great for us as we always want two different types of pizza! The pizzas are large enough to share, or small enough to eat by yourself if you have a large appetite. The toppings are both typical and unique. It is not often I see rock shrimp as an available app.
There are also other choices, such as salads if you are not feeling pizza. (Not sure who actually is ever «not in the mood for pizza,» but I am sure there is someone out there!)
I second Unilocaler Chris L.‘s remark about the owner being concerned. I really appreciate the owner/​manager asking how the meal went when eating out. It is a very simple act, but is much appreciated when asked.
The staff is always very courteous and the place is clean.

Great food and ambience. Owners are very personal and all the food is prepared fresh. The owner is truly passionate about his food and you can see it in his cooking.
I recommend the riceballs. There are different kinds and you should try all of them. Pizzas are good too, dough is delicious and you get to try so many different varieties.
They also have a fountain machine and you can it really try 100 different kinds of fountain sodas and drinks.
Don’t delay. Go in today !

Earns ~3 stars right now because I have had better — just OK. They use good ingredients and use a wood-​burning oven. Great start! Problem is the execution — been here twice with weeks in between and both times the pizza has had a lot of water and becomes soggy within 1 – 2 minutes. It’s not enough for me to say not to give it a try but they MUST figure out how to make a solid bottom crust without ruining the toppings. Note that I have never seen burned toppings or anything. You get one knowledgeable person in there for a few hours to show them how to get the bottom crust cooked to the center and stay that way and I bet it becomes the best pizza in the area.
Don’t forget it’s a BYOB! If you bring a nice wine, bring your own glasses, FYI. I usually enjoy a reasonable bottle and embrace the plastic cups.
EDIT: I will certainly be back, Anthony! Thank you for the response and dedication. I prefer a solid, firmer bottom crust but I know that’s not what Neapolitan is supposed to be.

My first trip to Urban Fire was for a Unilocal event, and I knew it wouldn’t be my last. When the fabulous day of my return visit arrived, I was happy to find the food, service and setting as wonderful as I’d remembered.
Fired pizza is fabulous and customized toppings make it even better, but the porchetta panino called to me. Savory pork and fresh arugula atop a panino roll with a good chew without being «chewy». Pay the extra $ 1 for provolone and definitely ask for the salsa verde, and you’ll be in sandwich heaven. Hearty and filling. Not a belly buster challenging the heaviest eaters, but will fill you up and leave some with leftovers.
I love the selection of «middles» and how reasonably they’re priced. Next time I’ll try a meal of arancini ~$ 1.50 each and a panzanella salad $ 5.99.
There are some tables for 2, some for 4, a large table for groups or communal dining, and a few other large tables toward the back. A parking lot shared with few other businesses outside the shop makes it convenient in a sometimes traffic riddled town.
Service is prompt and friendly. Recommendations are made, food is presented quickly — even when pizzas are being constructed and fired to order. I love the Wall of Fam with family pictures connecting patrons to the owner’s roots, and the train station board with local area names as well as Italian stops.
Yum.

I’m happy to report a relaxing dinner is totally possible on a quiet night at Urban Fire. We returned at the repeated urging of Anthony the owner to make up for a lackluster visit over the summer, and I’m sure glad we did. I wish more owners were this concerned about their customers!
We started with a round of arancini, arrived at our table steaming hot in a mild tomato sauce, so yummy, so dangerously filling. Ditto for pallini, slightly smaller but equally steaming golden fried balls of ricotta in tomato sauce. Hey I could stop there and call it a meal.
I hasten to point out that the panzanella salad is not quite as described, we expected peasant food of chopped stale bread moistened with tomatoes, instead got a big bowl of arugula, cherry tomato and sliced onions with a few crisp croutons on top. A great start, the menu doesn’t do it justice.
I’m also happy to report that this evening the porchetta sandwich was perfect, lots of flavor and just a hint of cracklings, no more threats to the old molars lol. Pizza was excellent — I like mine well-​done and they were happy to char the crust on my Diavola spicy pie with sopressata, peppers; they even threw in the spicy sweet honey, thanks! She who must be obeyed played it safe with a Margherita, it was also cooked to a proper char.
As if we hadn’t ordered enough, Anthony brought us zeppole and (gilding the lilly!) a bowl of nutella. Smokin-​hot zeppole dredged in nutella is awesome, only thing missing was an espresso.
Hmm, pizza for breakfast? Yes. I think so.

I remember when I came here for an Elite event earlier this year. Ever since, I couldn’t wait to get back here. The food was excellent before, and it’s still excellent now.
This time I wanted to introduce my friends to the joint. I made sure to grab a 6-​pack to bring as this place is BYOB. The three of us all ordered our pizzas (of course we had completely different toppings because we living the pizza life) and grabbed a seat at the booth.
Out of the build your own pizza toppings places I’ve been to, this place has the best quality and variety of toppings by far. Atypical toppings like rock shrimp, roman bacon and hot honey highlight what’s possible here. You do pay for the quality though. Each topping is $ 1 – 2 extra. My pizza ended up being $ 13 when all was said and done. That was holding back on toppings too! I wouldn’t be able to eat here on a daily basis.
The pizza crust has the slightly bit of crispiness, but is very pliable — much like naan. My pizza ended up being pretty sloppy because of the moisture and weight of my toppings. If you pick the wrong toppings, your pizza will turn out to be a complete mess.
I don’t know if it was the laid back atmosphere or the good food, but we all opted to split one more pizza and chit chat a little longer.
I recommend this place all the time. Great service. Great food. Great vibe.

First off BYOB!!!
When I walked in I felt like I was at home, Anthony the owner was the nicest host you could have. Him and his family were all working that day and greeted u with a smile and love. I knew it was a family run business.
As for the food. Excellent!!!
Arugula salad was dressed to perfection
Rice balls=AMAZING!!! I could have ate them all night
Porchetta sandwich = a crunchy pig skin and pork sandwich that was addicting
The pizza was also good as well we got the verde and sausage Heavy on the pesto but still delicious as well as the margarita with shrimp and guanchale that was my favorite.
All in all my experience here was a wonderful dining experience. And when u have all three components to a great restaurant (food, service, and comfort) u have yourself a wonderful place to dine. Keep up the good work Anthony and family. I will be coming back for more.

My cousin invited me as his plus one to an Elite Unilocal Event to try this place out. I almost didn’t go, I was too tired from work, but I am sooo glad I pushed myself to go!!!
I’ll start from the beginning. We started out with an arugula salad. I HATE arugula, it’s not for my taste buds. Whatever dressing was on the arugula made it so easy to eat the whole thing. The shaved parmesean cheese was a perfect addition, so fresh!
Next– the rice balls! Most amazing rice balls I ever had. Even the marinara was delicious.
After– porchetta and lampredotto. SO DAMN DELICIOUS!!! The meats were moist, and tender. Exceptionally seasoned!
Thankfully we were the last group to order pizza. We made our own. A Margherita pizza and Verde pizza. The Verde pizza was with sausage and roasted red peppers. Verde is a pesto sauce instead of marinara sauce. I love pesto. However, it’s a little much for a pizza, kind of overbearing, but definitely worth trying. Maybe if they used less pesto and more cheese it’ll work out better. The Margherita pizza we put shrimp and guanciale (roman bacon) on it. Have you ever had guanciale? I havent. I can tell you it’s AMAZING. This is Neopaltian pizza, not traditional pizza, so you have to be open to the style if you’re only interested in traditional pizza.
To top it off– a zeppoli. I love me some zeppoli’s. There’s were good. Could have been cooked just a teeny more to make it less doughy.
All in all the experience was great and I am definitely going back for some rice balls and a porchetta sandwich in the near future.
Oh. and it’s BYOB :-)

So let’s just be clear… This place is dynamite from service to quality of ingredients!
Can’t hurt that they originally hail from the BK, and my hometown of Bayridge– but I’m totally not biased, I promise!
The owners: Rose and Anthony are so gracious,
Welcoming and strive to make everyone’s experience top notch and they deliver !
This place is BYOB, score! Grab a bottle or two of wine and then make your way over for some serious eats. The roast beef sandwich is seriously the most scrumptious thing I have ever eaten! The gravy they give you to dip it in, oh my lord it’s sinful and totally ruined my diet! But was well worth it.
I have the personal margarita pie with caramelized onions, truffle cream and prosciutto. They were very generous with the prosciutto, it was perfectly cooked and everything was so well seasoned.
The sauce was delicious and the crust was soft but still crunchy!
Price wise, they are very affordable especially considering the quality of the products.
Can you please open another location in Hoboken? Thank that would be great :)
Definitely a must go!!!

Came here last night for my 1^st Unilocal Elite event. It was a lot of fun! I was able to sample different items from the menu
The rice balls were great– warm and hearty
We tried the porchetta and lampredotto panino sandwiches. I especially liked the porchetta
We tried the molta carne and tartufo specially pizza which were great as well
End it all with a hot delicious zeppoli!
Got to meet the owner Anthony, his wife and father and they were all lovely and friendly!
Would def come back!

I heard about this place from Unilocal power couple, Bianca J. and Francis C. It’s a bit hidden, but the best marker is the Chipotle sign at the corner of its plaza. There’s ample parking so no need to stress about that. The place has an open concept and a warm industrial feel.
Their menu’s straightforward and quite exciting, especially with 4 sauce options and over 30 toppings choices. I had the Puttanesca specialty pie with a fried egg on top. They cut the pizza in front of me so that I could witness the glory of the runny yolk. The combination of tomatoes, anchovies, olives, capers, onions, and chili oil with the egg hit the spot. I reluctantly shared a Polpetti (a tasty meatball) with my hubby. I could have had a whole bowl of these. I also had Pallini (a fried ricotta cheeseball) which was sinfully good and an Arancini (a yummy little rice ball) — of course, because hey, I’m Asian.
For drinks, you can totally BYOB which we did. Rum pairs well with several options from their freestyle Coke machine. Working some into my vanilla Barq’s root beer definitely had me smiling. Even though I was super full, who could say no to fresh, hot zeppoles? We were given the options of powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar topping and this time, we chose the latter which kind of reminded me of a churro but way better. This place is one to stalk.