This pizza restaurant was voted Fort Worth’s favorite in our 2022 Readers’ Choice vote
Growing up on the East Coast, Charlie Green wanted to bring an exceptional pizza product from New York City to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. After sampling dozens of pizzas, he met Sal Vatore Olivella, a fifth-generation pizza maker from one of the oldest families in Naples, Italy.
“The family was among a handful of people that practically invented pizza as we know it today,” Green said.
Named after Olivella himself, they opened a restaurant near Southern Methodist University.
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Fifteen years later, and now with three locations in the metroplex and a fourth under construction, Olivella’s Pizza & Wine came out on top in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Readers’ Choice contest for best pizza. Nearly 29,000 votes were cast by Star-Telegram readers this month on our ballot of 15 restaurants, all of which were the top nominated pizza places around Fort Worth.
In the final round, Olivella’s — known for its Neapolitan classic round pizza and Roman style thin crust — garnered 47% of total votes, followed by Pizza Buzz, Mama’s Pizza, i Fratelli Pizza Fort Worth and Buffalo Bros.
Olivella’s operates a small, mostly carry-out restaurant on Camp Bowie Boulevard, along with the restaurant in University Park near SMU and a third in Northeast Dallas. The fourth site under construction is in the Dallas Deep Ellum entertainment district.
Olivella’s, which employs about 50 people, offers a menu with an extensive selection of hard-to-find wine brands, salads and pasta dishes in addition to pizza.
“An important distinction between what we do and what other very nice pizza makers do is that for this part of the country, we may be the only real authentic Neapolitan pizza, the way they’ve been doing it for 100 years,” Green said.
Success in the Fort Worth market didn’t happen overnight. The first Fort Worth location, opened in 2016 in the Village at Camp Bowie, closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sales plummeted and the Fort Worth restaurant had to look for a smaller space, Green said. Olivella’s moved to a new location at 4910 Camp Bowie Blvd. that seats 12 to 15 people and mainly focuses on carry-out and delivery orders.
“One of the great things about what we do is that our food travels very well to-go,” said Mike Lestingi, Olivella’s vice president. “During the pandemic, when every restaurant had to learn to-go, we already had that down. We just did 100% of that to-go business during the pandemic.”
Two years after the worst of the COVID-19 shutdowns, Olivella’s is knocking down the wall next door and expanding to include a new dining area that will seat about 60 guests. The renovated space is expected to open in September and will be about 2,500 to 3,000 square feet, Green said.
“The challenge was how to capitalize on getting the dining room back together and still keeping that to-go business that you’ve developed,” Green said. “We’ve been luckier than some. We haven’t faced some of the staffing challenges that a lot of concepts have. We have very dedicated employees and a great culture.”
Though Olivella’s earned Readers’ Choice, it clearly isn’t the only pizza restaurant that Fort Worth residents love. Pizza Buzz, an independent, family-run restaurant north of Watauga on Basswood Boulevard, received more than 6,500 votes in the final round.
Former postal worker Jay Hansji bought Pizza Buzz in 2014 after being laid off from his job. He had no experience in the business. With the help of his wife and two children, Hansji began to experiment making his own dough and turning traditional Indian dishes into pizzas.
Hansji’s pitch for the operation was to introduce something to the community that no one had done before, he said. Pizza Buzz guests can enjoy Hansji’s award-winning tandoori chicken pizza and the popular dill pickle pizza on freshly made dough fermented for 72 hours.
“My heart is in that recipe,” Hansji said.
Pizza Buzz is mainly a takeout restaurant with limited seating, but Hansji hopes to one day expand, open more than one location and hire outside employees. For now, the restaurant is solely a family-operated “labor of love.”
Readers who nominated Pizza Buzz mentioned the friendliness of Hansji and his family. “I don’t think I’ve ever been there that Jay and his wife weren’t the ones greeting me when I walk in,” said one. “Their tandoori chicken pizza is such a unique item, and it is absolutely amazing!”
Another reader raved about the dough that rises for three days — “and the toppings are FRESH. You can taste the love the owner puts into every pizza.”
Coming in third place, Mama’s Pizza has been in Fort Worth for more than 50 years and is known for its thick rolled-over crusts made daily. There are nine locations in Fort Worth, Arlington, Burleson, Granbury, Mansfield, North Richland Hills and Hudson Oaks.
The location on Berry Street near TCU was under renovation from mid-May to July and just reopened for guests to enjoy an extensive menu of specialty crusts, salads, subs and wings. Mama’s will open its 10th location in Dallas at the beginning of August.
“Mama’s has been around for so long, it’s a household name throughout North Texas,” said the business president, Jordan Scott.
Many readers agree.
“Mama’s Pizza has been a staple in my family throughout my life,” wrote one person who nominated the restaurant. “Eating their iconic pizza takes me back to my childhood. Love it!”
Said another: “Mama’s Pizza uses REAL cheese and outstanding tomato sauce. The crust is delicious, too, and you can get it with garlic butter. We’ve enjoyed their pizza since we moved to Texas in 1984.”
I Fratelli Pizza’s has three restaurants in Fort Worth— in Fairmount, off Southwest Loop 820 and on Western Center Blvd. It also has restaurants in Grapevine, Keller and Southlake.
Readers who nominated i Fratelli Pizza complimented its crust, including a gluten-free crust “that tastes the same as the regular crust.” Another wrote: “Thin crust, hand-formed and baked to a chewy crunch. Topping options are plentiful and always fresh. Mostly square-ish shape, so the cross-cut slices are manageable.”
Buffalo Bros has two restaurants — one on South University Drive near TCU, and the other in Sundance Square along Throckmorton Street. Wrote one fan: “TCU & Sundance locations offer authentic Western NY pizza. Some of the best in Texas.”
Here are the other 10 restaurants that received the most nominations for Readers’ Choice.
Bek’s Nizza Pizza, 965 W. Lamar Blvd., Arlington
Cane Rosso, 815 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth; 200 N. East St., Arlington
Coal Vines, 1251 E. Southlake Blvd., Southlake
Fort Brewery, 2737 Tillar St., Fort Worth
Hysen’s Nizza Pizza, 401 University Drive, Fort Worth
Parton’s Pizza, 2813 Cherry Lane, Fort Worth
Perrotti’s Pizza, 3021 Greene Ave. and 5228 Sycamore School Road, Fort Worth
Picchi Pacchi Pizzeria, 411 W. 7th St., Fort Worth
Pizza Snob, 3051 S. University Drive, Fort Worth
Zoli’s, 3501 Hulen St., Fort Worth
MORE: Check out these 2022 winners of Readers’ Choice.
