Old World Pizza

Finally have time to go here and now I hear it’s gone?! MADNESS!!!
However, a quick Googling showed me an article from yesterday’s Princeton Packet, which remarked:
«The owners of Hoagie Haven and George’s Roasters and Ribs are baking up a new business idea to form a new eatery at the former Old World Pizza site on Nassau Street.[…]The brick pizza ovens are still in place and the three brothers are working on their pizza recipe. They are keeping the Old World pie, known locally for its fresh mozzarella and being cooked in the high temperature brick oven. They plan to introduce a New York style pizza.»
Looks like it will be back, hopefully in full glory! My stomach awaits the day…

I am a huge fan of Old world pizza but I stopped there yesterday May 5^th Cinqo de Mayo for a slice only to discover the windows covered in white paper and the sign missing? Does anyone know what happened?

The pizza here is acceptable. Credit cards are not, so bring cash if you’re picking up.

I hate giving a 5 star… I’d probably go 4.5 if I could but DAMN, that’s some awesome pizza! Brick oven gives it that extra crunch while still maintaining the chew. Also, I love that their «plain» pie is actually a Margherita, with San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil… I got a large pie, thought I’d share some with friends… ended up eating 6 of the 8 slices myself…
If you like that fairly thin crust, with a fair amount of (unbelievably good) sauce, and just enough fresh mozzarella to hold it all together, this is for sure one of Jersey’s finest!

I wish I could give half stars, because four would be pushing it but I don’t feel right about three. Still, Old World is ultimately unpredictable in terms of quality.
They used to say something about using organic flour, but they don’t anymore. Not sure what that’s about but pizza is pretty natural anyways, so who really cares.
I once ordered pizza to be delivered to me on a bench in Palmer Square. I thought it was pretty cool that they could do that, however, on the bike ride over, the cheese got a little unruly.
Once, most recently, the pizza I got here was pleasant. Good sauce, nice sweet fresh mozzarella cheese, better ratio, thin, crispy crust. So 1 out of three = 2 out of six and something between out of 5, but I’m not a douche bag and my pizza standards are high.

Outstanding. Pizza made the way I like it: thin crust baked to perfection, light, and crispy. Toppings are fresh and portioned to enhance not over power.
Walk if you can, parking is terrible on Nassau Street.

I don’t know who said this was like NY pizza. Uh… no way.
It was bland and tasteless. They use fresh mozzarella slices, which is great if you want gourmet pizza but it doesn’t give you the real cheese to sauce ratio that a great pizza offers.
We ordered a whole large pizza so it was made to order. But sadly, it was very disappointing. Also… they ONLY take cash. What’s the deal, Princeton? Very tiny place with seating for three and a surly manager whose unhappiness comes out in the pizza. I say pass.
I found a better (though seemingly highly unlikely place) a week later called Candela II in a little strip mall behind Quaker Bridge Road. It’s in the same place as the Dunkin Donuts. This was NYC pizza!

Best slice in Princeton. If you like thin-​crust pizza, you’re going to love Old World. The crust is nicely floured and has the perfect balance between glutinous chewiness and that high-​temperature sear. The sauce is understated with a bit of a lingering tang, which is the perfect compliment to their aromatic sausage.
They were just closed a few days to fix their oven. Since they opened back up, I’ve had two of the best slices I’ve ever gotten here.

Scarce toppings, burnt crust, tasteless sauce… what’s the point?
If I want to eat cardboard dipped in tomato sauce, I can do so for far less money.

I always loved this unique, brick-​oven pizza. And it’s good cold. Maybe the Old World style is not for you, but you owe it a try if you were just going to call Papa John again tonight.
Can’t quite get to five stars only because it’s a pricier pizza.

$ 2.10 a slice but amazing pizza the cheese was great. It def has the brick oven pizza feel with the crispy (to perfection) think crust you can eat without it falling apart and high quality ingredients. The people are super nice here too!

I don’t really like pizza, but when I had a slice here it was soooo good. I was shocked what a really good tasting pizza could taste like. At first glance, the pizza looks kind of nasty because the cheese looks weird, but boy was I wrong.
Their tomato sauce has a really nice flavor to it, much better than the standard tomato sauce you’d find in most pizzas.
Their cheese is very interesting. It’s not made by melting sprinkled cheese, but instead melting multiple square pieces of cheese. In the end, it was quite good.
Finally, the dough is amazing. I can’t describe it, but with every bite, you can definitely tell this dough is completely different (in a good way) from what you’re used to. It’s a thin crust. The only complaint I have is that the crust is a little thick and hence hard to finish without some kind of sauce to dip it with.
btw, never order delivery from here. always order take out and eat it right away. This is because their pizza goes from «super delicious» to «sort of okay» EXTREMELY FAST. I ordered delivery and the pizza that came was completely different from what you’d eat right when it’s finished heating.

I’d heard that Old World Pizza offered old-​school vegan pies (i.e., cheeseless) with vegan toppings, so I gave them a try. Unfortunately, no one who worked there seemed to understand the term vegan, but they did let me read the ingredients of their veg sausage and pepperoni to check and yes, they were vegan.
I went with a personal, cheeseless pie with vegan pepperoni & hot peppers. The price was astronomical for what I got. It’s bad enough that there is no discount for ordering a cheeseless pie, but the amount of bland sauce could not have been any stingier and the toppings numbered 8 total: literally four slices each of pepperoni and pepper across the whole, burnt crusted pie.
I will not return to a place that thinks vegans have no taste buds.

Madddonneeee, Minchia!
This pizza is outta control. The crust was Dalmatian, the sauce was fresh, and the mozzarella was a cloud. It blended together to form a really dope slice. It cannot be 5 stars, because only one pizzeria gets 5 stars in my book (Sally’s Apiizza), but it was damn good.
To my surprise, there was an Asian owner. No offense is meant to my Asian brethren, but I am usually skeptical of pizza not made by Italians. However, this place helps my buddy’s theory that any nationality can make good pizza.
I liked the fact you can eat at a small bar and people watch out the window. The only drawback of this place was the high influx of nerds coming in from Princeton. The last thing I wanna hear while eating a slice is the 147^th number in the Fibonacci sequence

First of all, I just want to say this is my first Unilocal review ever! So I have pretty strong feelings about this place.
I LOVE the pizza here. I grew up in Princeton and every time I go back I can’t leave until I’ve had a slice. The sauce is deliciously spiced. The crust is slightly crispy on outside, but still a little doughy on the inside. I love the fresh mozzarella cheese. That being said, I have to drop a star for the service. The service can be down right rude.
Then there’s the time I found a thumbtack in the pizza… Not only did I find a thumb tack in the pizza the douche asian guy who works there denied it!!! (Don’t be offended by my pointing out his race, I just want you to be able to identify him when you go and tell him he’s a jerk. Also, I am asian.) Here’s the story:
Years ago, when I was in high school I picked up a medium pie for me and my brother. I took it home. Just as my brother was about to eat the last slice I noticed a thumbtack sticking out from under the cheese! Luckily, I stopped him from eating it. At this point, I called them back to inform them of the danger they put my brother in. The guy straight up denied it! He said it was impossible that there was a thumbtack in the pizza, the guy making it would have cut himself, and that they don’t have thumbtacks in their restaurant anyway (straight up lie!). To make a long story short, I was so furious I promised to never eat there again. Alas, it couldn’t have been a month before I was back…
One thing I would also like to take a note of is the fact that this pizza tastes significantly worse if it’s been sitting. It gets especially soggy if you don’t eat it while it’s still hot. I would recommend putting it back in the oven for a bit if it has been sitting for some time.

I had two tasty slices of plain cheese pizza at Old World. Strangely, they misunderstood my order — «Margherita» — so I did not get any basil, but that oversight didn’t factor into my review. The pizza featured flavorful tomato sauce, thin slices of mozzarella, and crispy and chewy crust. The crust was was slightly misshapen (intentionally, I imagine) and had the right amount of charring, adding a smoky touch. Though I don’t like too much cheese on pizza, Old World’s could use a little more cheese. While not the best pizza I’ve had (the reheated slices were not hot enough, among other things), Old World’s pizza is commendable.

Cash only.
6 short stools at a low counter for seating.
Large pie $ 14.85 = 8 slices. 1 topping = $ 2.70. It sounds expensive because it is. If you limit yourself to a health portion of 2 slices the pie can serve 4. There is 0 ambiance and the pies aren’t very large so my best guess is that the price is due to the location and… the taste.
Yep the pizza is good. The crust is thinner than your typical NJ pizza joint so it has a good crunch on the outside, but it’s the slightest bit doughy so it isn’t cracker thing/​ultra crispy. The sauce has a great flavor as does the cheese which is spread in a thin layer so you don’t drown in it. Fresh basil tops it off. Their pepperoni was great, slice thinnish and applied generously.
Overall very good pizza. Is it worth the price? I’m not sure. Even after tasting it I’m on the fence. If you are in the area craving pizza, it is certainly worth a stop. At $ 2.10/slice (no toppings) you’re better off going for a small pie.
ProTip — to reheat:
1. put pizza stone in oven.
2. turn over to 475
3. allow oven to preheat.
4. insert pizza onto hot pizza stone
5. cook to desired temperature
6. enjoy.

REALLY GOOD PIZZA!
It’s comparable to Grimaldi’s and Joe’s in Manhattan.
I only ordered a plain slice of cheese pizza.
Only caveat — Cash Only.

first, CASH ONLY! The Unilocal info is a bit outdated…
I don’t know why it took me so long to finally try their pizza, but it’s amazing. Fresh San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzerella, and a perfectly thin and crisp but chewy crust (they also sell the dough for $ 3.75/lb, which I’ll get once we get a replacement tile for our oven). The crust with sauce made from Jersey Fresh tomatoes would be divine, so I can’t wait. Maybe I can even try to make it on the grill. So many possibilities now that I know I can get some great dough.
I’ve heard that the slices are so-​so, but I really don’t mind calling, being told it will be ready in 15 minutes, and walking straight out the door to pick it up. It is so good.
According to their flyer, they DO deliver, but that’s really not an issue for us.
$ 22 including tax for a large pepperoni and garlic pizza ($ 18 for pepperoni only), from which the 2 of us devoured all but 2 slices, which then made for an incredible lunch the next day. I can’t believe that I’m actually starting to like pepperoni, but from my recent foray into such great pizzas with REAL pepperoni, I may be a convert.
This might be a better crust than Sotto’s, which says a lot.
Update 8÷4÷09
After months of incredible pizza, tonight I was disappointed. The crust was thicker in parts and doughy at the edge, the sauce wasn’t crushed tomatoes but purée, and it was really salty. Maybe the mozzerella was different? My mouth still hurts.
Since I have a healthy basil plant growing, as well as great tomato sauce and fresh mozzerella, I’ll pick up a pound of dough and make it myself next time.
Why a 4 and not lower? We’ve had at least 8 great pizzas in a row and tonight’s was the only doozie. Delivery is prompt (we ordered at 9:15, it arrived at 9:40). I would, however, warn against the antipasto; it was simply bad.
Hours: Monday-​Saturday 11 – 10; Sunday 4 – 9:30
UPDATE 10÷13÷09: I downgraded them to a 2 and it’s doubtful I’ll order another pizza from them.
This pizza was just as bad as last time, only now there’s even less basil. WTF? Really? This place went from having a perfectly crisp and chewy crust with tasty sauce and generous amounts of basil to a doughy, tasteless mush that even our pizza stone and generous dousings of spices couldn’t save. And each slice of pepperoni had a ¼−½″ pool of grease.
If Pizza Star were Pepsi, Old World has decided to create New Coke.

If you’ve read some of my reviews on Princeton, you know that I rag on Princeton’s dining scene all the time. But, I’ve thought about it, and I’ve reconsidered. We have some of the best hole in the wall joints where amazing quality food can be had for only a few washingtons. I think it’s more accurate to say that the *restaurant* scene is overpriced and needs a severe makeover, but I wouldn’t change Old World for anything. True, there’s nowhere to sit except a tiny counter that won’t fit your pie. True, the prices are fairly high considering it’s only pizza… but here lies some of the most authentic thin-​crust pizza made with high-​quality ingredients you’ll find anywhere.
The crust is such an important component to the pizza. Many people like their pizza crusts different ways, but I love mine thin and slightly chewy. All of the ingredients, from the slices of mozzerella to the mushrooms, sausage, spinach — you name it – are top-​notch. I particularly like how they use small slices of sausage and pepperoni that you KNOW isn’t store-​bought DiGiorno’s from Aisle 11.
If you’re not alone, I highly recommend getting pie to share (for smaller appetites, the small size is perfect). It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s worth getting it fresh and hot out of the oven. If you can, avoid delivery. I don’t know if the delivery boy is slow or if their pizza is especially susceptible to in-​box steaming, but unfortunately by the time it arrives, the pizza loses a lot of its magic when it’s not piping hot.