Grimaldi’s Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria Review

When you think of fine dining, you typically don’t think of pizza. But we recently discovered a new favorite restaurant that you can think of as being the steakhouse of pizza restaurants.

We’d passed the Grimaldi’s Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria by our house before but never stopped in, because typically when we order pizza, it’s because we’re feeling lazy & don’t want to cook, let alone go pick something up. But when we received an invitation to come check out the place, we figured it’d be a great way to spend a Saturday night.

As soon as we got there, I could tell this place was no ordinary pizza place. It wasn’t full of the plastic booths & fake tile floors typical of a pizza place- instead, the inside resembled more of a regular sit down restaurant than a pizza place with individual tables, cloth napkins & tablecloths and even chandeliers made of wine bottles! In the back, you could actually see the chefs making the pizzas- everything from tossing the dough, to adding toppings, to putting it into the coal brick ovens that make them who they are.

When we were seated, the waitress gave Shane a ball of pizza dough to play with, which he thought was way more fun than the typical coloring page & crayons! He played with it so much he dried it out- and they brought him another one!

Before I even ordered my pizza, I knew I’d love it because Grimaldi’s allows you to personalize your pizza. You can choose your kind of sauce {I went for pesto, Justin went for regular red sauce}, even for two parts of the same pizza. You can also choose from 20 toppings, and even I found something, despite being a very picky eater. I loved that we could just order one pizza but have each of our sides be so different, since Justin is a much more adventurous eater than I am. We ended up splitting our pizza three ways- pesto for me, chicken with tomatoes & onions for Justin, and plain cheese for Shane.

We ended up ordering a large pizza and while we waited for it, we enjoyed some yummy bread &a Caesar salad. We shared a large salad, but could have easily split a small & still been satisfied. The salad was one of the best Caesar salads I’ve had at a restaurant & the chicken we added was THE best salad chicken I’ve ever had! {If you eat chicken Caesar salad a lot, you know what I’m talking about when I say the chicken can make or break it.}

When our pizza arrived, it was huge! It smelled so good & had black stuff all over the crust & bottom from the coal brick oven. At first I thought that was weird, but as soon as I took a bite I realized how amazing it was! The blackened areas were definitely my favorite part.

What’s so special about a coal brick oven? It’s one of those thing that you absolutely have to taste to understand, but think of it as making a steak on the grill vs. making it on a pan on the stove. Sure, it’ll taste good either way- but that smoky charcoal flavor just makes it.

After our pizza, we opted for some desserts. Grimaldi’s changes out what cheesecakes they offer seasonally, so what is available at your restaurant may vary but we tried the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake &Oreo Cheesecake, and got a canoli for Shane. We all sampled each one & I could have just eaten all three of the desserts right there. If I had to pick a favorite, it’d be the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake- normally cheesecake is too rich for me after a few bites but I happily finished this one off completely.

Grimaldi’s is a great restaurant for anyone- picky eaters who want the upscale dining experience but want food they love, families with kids looking to enjoy a nice night out, or even couples on a first date. There’s something for everyone- but as a warning, you’ll totally get hooked. We’ve been back three times since our first visit!

What do you like to put on your pizza?

Note: Our meal was paid for in exchange for this review. All experiences are authentic & all opinions are my own.