Riverwest Pizza

Great pizza place on the corner in Riverwest. Service was great and good prices on drinks and the food. Small inside but they have a nice patio that we couldn’t take advantage of tonight due to the weather. Will be back soon this summer.

Tip: if you’re in the service industry Monday is the day to go. You get half off all food and I think drinks as well (may be some exceptions to what drinks?). Also, you do need to prove where you work with a pay stub or online schedule.
That being said, due to my bf’s job we were able to take advantage of that and have a great meal for about $ 30 (including an app, a large pizza and 2 beers each). We started with the fried brussel sprouts which I thought were pretty tasty. They are a little oily and crumble apart but still had a good flavor.
We ordered the Humboldt pizza (caprese). Our only complaint was that it should have more basil and we were expecting full leaves, not little shreds. Didn’t really add a whole lot of flavor to the pie but the pizza is still very delicious. We split the large and had enough for leftovers.
They have a pretty nice selection of tap beers and a full bar. They also run a happy hour which that night was until 7 pm. We arrived around 6:30 and the place filled up shortly after. Get there early if you want to pick your own table.
The ambiance is very chill with local artwork on the walls and a nice color pallet. They did nice job with their renovations.
The bartender and our server were both attentive and helpful. I highly recommend this joint and look forward to my next visit.

Great, cozy little spot. My boyfriend and I have gotten takeout here multiple times. On the one occasion, our pizza wasn’t ready in time and the bartender bought us drinks while we waited, which was great. I love their pizzas, and their asparagus fries are awesome.

Eh ok. I came here with a couple of friends and tried multiple pizzas. Our service started off cordial and remained that way through our stay. Not friendly not mean; just took care of business. I remember the restaurant smelling musty and unappetizing. Anyway, we had a bit of trouble figuring out what to order because the pizzas are very unique. Nonetheless, we tried one more adventurous and unique one and one more standard. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed. It reminded me of frozen pizza. I wanted to try this place for a while, ended up doing so and then wasn’t that impressed.

LOVE THIS PLACE.
It’s small and cute inside, just a few tables up by the bar with a medium sized back dining room as well as a patio.
The pizzas are all named after streets in the neighborhood which is a cute, if maybe a little kitschy, addition to things.
My favorite is the Singer Circle, a white sauce, garlicky, chickeny creation that is perfect if you’re a garlic fiend like me. The joke about mints being available on the menu, but really, you’ll need them! I’ve also sampled 2 or 3 of the other options and everything has always been great.
Go check them out, definitely catering to a different market than Ian’s, and for sure higher quality, but taking the same creative approach to your typical boring toppings.

If I could go with 3.5 stars, I would. I’m absolutely a repeat customer-​location absolutely plays a factor in that. I recently had their sausage sandwich (I recommend getting it with a side of red sauce if you’re a dipper like I am) and it’s my favorite thing I’ve had on the menu. I also enjoy their bruschetta, but it is an example of my bone to pick with RWP– the inconsistencies. It’s mostly always good, but it’s also been a situation where you never know what you’re gonna get. I feel the need to reiterate that it is normally still very yummy. One of the other things that I LOVE about RWP is their fantastic service industry Monday deals! A great addition to the neighborhood.

Was here a few weeks back with a group of friends celebrating a birthday and everything was great! We got there a little late and was able to avoid the crowds, get a big table in the back and enjoy having the place to ourselves for the most part. We started off with some wings, and fried Brussels from the start and ordered 3 huge pizzas. Everything was great and we had excellent service. I like the way they incorporate the east side names and streets and parks into the menu. It is Riverwest after all and good to see them using names for pizza like «Gordon Park in the 80s» and the «Fratney.»
Looking forward to another visit here in the next week or so!

I went to Riverwest Pizza on a whim because it’s two blocks away from my new apartment and I figured it couldn’t hurt to check it out.
It’s really just a tiny would-​be dive bar that they’ve spruced up I guess and filled with tables. The bartenders were playing a personal playlist over the speakers featuring about four different Beyoncè songs which I was NOT MAD about. I liked that very much.
The bartender took care of us and recommended the fried asparagus appetizer which I was not impressed by. The asparagus was limp and the breading fell completely off, and was served with a marinara sauce that was flavorless, so…
The pesto something pizza was okay and the barbecue chicken pizza oddly had little flavor. They also serve garlic sauce pizzas as an option other than traditional red sauce pizzas. We asked for a side of the garlic sauce for dipping, to add SOME FLAVOR, and that made things alright but over all the experience was too underwhelming. I’ll take my business to Transfer Pizzeria on 1^st and Mitchell St.

I’ve had a more simple single slices during happy hour, but didn’t start loving Riverwest Pizza until I made a return visit and had the Fratney. It is duck shredded with a light sprinkling of greens and goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic glaze. The goat cheese is mixed with their regular cheese offering, making there be splotches of goat cheese instead of dispersed so it is in each bite. I actually would have preferred less other cheese filler and only the goat cheese.
The fried brussel sprouts appetizer was fantastic! They reminded me of the way kale gets when it is roasted. There are a fair amount of beers on tap, and always a couple of Lakefront beers.

Why can’t I give half stars? 3 feels a bit harsh, but 4 a bit generous. When RWP first opened I was beyond stoked because of the proximity to my house… and, well, because pizza. I’ve been here a decent amount since it’s opened and my experiences have ranged in terms of Unilocal stars. The food has been rather inconsistent, but when it’s good – it’s good! I went once for brunch and I’m quite easy to please, but it the food was pretty bad… I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt as it was still in their beginning weeks… but if there’s one thing I took away from it, it’s to stick to thing that’s in the name of the business. Because, I’ll say it again, I’ve had some really good pizza here. The most consistent thing about this place is the service, which has always been great… and that’s really what has kept me coming back. If you’re in the service industry, check this place out on Mondays because the deals are some of the best. I do think their food has reached a greater level of consistency, but it still hasn’t surpassed some of the other pizza joints in the city for me.

My husband and I came to Riverwest Pizza for the first time, but it won’t be the last. We had amazing wings & pizza we had the first pizza was the Fratney just as it is and it was perfect, then we had to order the Pierce and added artichokes again perfect! We will come again not just for the food, because the service was AMAZING Cara our server was on point with EVERYTHING, even if the food was just OK (but it wasn’t, it was fantastic) we would have given Riverwest Pizza another try because the server and service was above and beyond and Cara was crazy busy! THANKS to Cara and Riverwest Pizza for an outstanding night!!!

Our favorite place to go in our neighborhood. Our favorite pizza is the Gordon court, so good. Service is generally really great. Had a few weird experiences awhile back but nothing since. I think now that they are getting busier, the quality of service and the quality of food has improved. Tried the fried brussel sprouts recently and thought they were great.

It’s great to have this place in the neighborhood — it’s simply good food and good service. They recently updated their menu to add some new fun things. I have tried several of the pizzas; Gordon Court, Singer Circle, and most recently, the 53 212, which is a Thai peanut chicken type deal. All of them have been good. The flavor of the crust isn’t my favorite and the length of «doneness» seems to vary, but their toppings are just so creative and generous.
I also highly recommend the RWP Mule — what they call their «house wine.» Ha! It’s delicious: fireball cinnamon whisky, ginger beer, and lime.

Our group rated this place an A+.
We all had Moscow mules (excellent –coming from someone who was not a fan before tonight).
Inside was well done but a bit stuffy on a warm summer evening so we sat outside and it was perfect. We had three pizzas and a mushroom sandwich described by my friend as «redonk.» The pizzas were light and crispy with fresh ingredients and a lot of flavor. Service was top notch, definitely a highlight which is nice because the service you receive can really set the tone for the night. Our service made for a very fun evening with friends.
Based on ambiance, service, drinks and food, Riverwest Pizza does not disappoint. Will be back!
Oh! If you have a Riverwest address you get 25% off everything from 11 – 6 on Fridays… Helluva deal!

I’m pleased to say that I’ve had back-​to-​back fantastic experiences at Riverwest Pizza. I’m not usually a fan of thin crust pizza, but this place makes me think twice.
Monday nights are Service Industry Nights, but I don’t work in the service industry and didn’t feel like awkwardly lying about it to get a deal. You can, however, get half off cans which makes Hamm’s $ 1.25. Wowieeeee!
I haven’t ordered anything other than pizza here, but I feel comfortable giving 5 stars since it’s a pizza place. First time around, we got the Bremen (kale, mushrooms, tomato, mozz). I was thoroughly impressed. The sauce was fantastic, everything was cooked perfectly. My experience was the same with the Fratney (duck, goat cheese, arugula). This was a little fancier, but still delicious. I am totally into their use of non-​conventional greens, and Riverwest Pizza really set themselves apart with this. I would venture to say these two are the best pizzas I have had in Milwaukee.
Service has been great, regardless of whether or not the place is packed. The décor is not what you would expect of a pizza joint in Riverwest (in other words, it’s kinda fancy). Love everything. Will be back soon.

Wow there are not words. It would be preposterous to say anything inflammatory about RWP. Not only is the bar fully stocked but the bartender Abby is verbose in drink knowledge. Not to mention that she is an absolute treasure. Truly a disney princess walking amongst mere mortal. Always in a great mood truly the absolutely kindest person I’ve ever been honored to be in the presence of. She loves working here and you can truly tell. (she loves a good pun!)
Now for the food. The pizza here is to die for. Absolutely delicious other apps on the menu all have witty names and Abby can give you suggestions to truly ensure you get what you’re looking for!
This is truly the treasure trove of river west. A clean trendy environment there’s a back patio and chairs out front to sit at. Be sure to stop by.

My girlfriend and I had just finished making some delicious Kung pow chicken at home, when the handle fell of the pan during transport and landed upside down on our floor.
We scraped our dinner in to the trash and decided we would order a pizza from Riverwest Pizza, since it’s only a block away. The pizza was delicious, but very expensive. Also, we couldn’t find their menu online, which just seems like a poor business decision.
I really want them to be successful because they are so close. Hopefully they work out all the kinks.

Betty White talked about her dusty muffin on SNL. This pizza place served us one and called it the Old Standard. Menu sounds interesting and creative, but execution was easy-​bake level. Great décor but service and ticket times need significant improvement if they want to depend on anyone other than over smoked hipsters to wait over 30 min for salads and 45 for a crisp and dusty breakfast pie. portobello appetizer was comped before it was served for an explined poor supplier. Pizzas were unevenly baked/​made; salads from a bag and dressings underseasoned.
Service and food quality don’t deserve cloth napkins.

I really want you to succeed, because I like you, RP. But your pizza making needs to improve – a lot – before that can happen.
The good things about your pizza: You load on the toppings, so I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth. The toppings are fresh and tasty.
The bad things: Very undercooked. There was no color on the bottom of the crust. And with so many toppings, it was soggy and gross, especially in the middle. There’s also little flavor to the crust. You need to add salt. You also cook the pizzas on screens, by the looks of the pattern on the crust (I also have screens and cook some pizzas on them since I don’t have a commercial pizza oven). If you have a pizza oven, you really need to learn how to use a peel and bake directly on the bottom of the oven. That’s what they’re designed for. It will help cook the dough all the way through and give color on the bottom. I can also tell the dough had a dried out skin on it while it was rising, which leads to little bits of hard, crackly looking dough on the bottom. Cover your dough to keep it moist.
Also, the standard red sauce is incredibly sweet. It reminds me of frozen pizza. Consider using less sugar/​honey/​whatever.
We also ordered wings, the «hella hot» ones, and they had zero flavor, let alone spice. In fact they barely seemed like they had any kind of sauce at all. They seemed to be grilled or baked, so they weren’t crispy. No thanks.
Sorry guys, you’re a cool place, and cool people, and I really want you to succeed. But your pizza is really just not up to par, at all. Other people are having the same complaints on here, so unfortunately it wasn’t just an off night. Please examine your pizza making process and see where you can improve. Try reading the forums at
; those people know their shit, and many of the contributers own restaurants as well. Maybe you can get some new ideas.

For their third night open, we were impressed to see a wait. Granted, that also means the kitchen hasn’t quite caught their groove so food took a bit long, but I’ll give them a pass this time.
The menu has great options, one that makes a decision hard in the very best way. Their asparagus fries look amazing (known by creepin on other tables) so we will be back for those.
Fun fact: there are nutritional yeast shakers on the table, for vegans and their yeast-​lovin friends.
Happy hour specials are good: a few beers available for $ 2.50, rail cocktails for $ 3.
The art and vibe is good; lovin the found objects art and the repurposed tables. There are a lot of tables, but it doesn’t feel packed in.
Draft and bottle list has something for everyone; average beer is $ 4 – 6.
So the pizza! Thin crust, tasty red sauce, and gluten free options for your sensitive friends. We had balsamic glazed duck pizza and another with chicken; creative and well done.
Great work, RWP! Live long and prosper.