Speedy Romeo

"Speedy Romeo is a steakhouse disguised as a pizza place located in an old auto repair shop. Well, not really - but the steak and the burger are the best things here. If you don’t want red meat, the pizzas are also very solid, and there are plenty of them on the menu. The “Dick Dale” is essentially a grown-up version of a Hawaiian pizza, and the “White Album” is ideal for when you’d like to sub out your standard tomato sauce for bechamel and five different kinds of cheese. Plus, there’s now a second location on the Lower East Side." - bryan kim, hillary reinsberg

"Aside from Nelly and Tennessee Williams, the “Saint Louie” pie at Speedy Romeo is the best St. Louis export we know of. It’s topped with Provel cheese and cut into squares, and—like the four-cheese pie called “The White Album”—it needs to be part of your pickup or delivery order from Speedy’s location in Clinton Hill." - team infatuation

"Speedy Romeo bills itself as a St Louis-style pizza spot, but if you come here expecting a textbook-perfect Midwestern pie, you’ll probably leave a little bit disappointed. The dough, which should be cracker thin, is very doughy, and in most of the pies, the Provel gets buried under a heap of other ingredients. But it’s still a solid spot for a group, and there’s plenty of space to spread out in the back of the large dining room. Don’t bring a St. Louis-style pizza purist, but do bring your kids, and remember a time in the early 2010s, when Speedy Romeo had just opened, and you managed to snag a reservation for you and your Tinder date." - willa moore, bryan kim, tiffany yannetta, neha talreja

"Walk into Speedy Romeo’s Lower East Side location, and you’ll probably think to yourself, “This looks like a bar. Or a pizza place.” Maybe you’re someone who walks around narrating their life, and you literally registered, “Note to self: this restaurant looks like a bar. And many people are eating pizza,” into your brain’s voice recorder system. Then you might wonder if other people also narrate their lives as if they were Morgan Freeman doing the voiceover for a National Geographic documentary. Or maybe you’re just normal and noticed it indirectly. Either way, you’re definitely going register that vibe somehow, because the Lower East Side space does feel like it used to be a dive bar, and like a place to hop on a bar stool and get involved with some pizza. There’s also the fact that the whole back of the menu is dedicated to said pizza. Which is a bit strange, because that’s actually not what you should eat here. While the pizza is perfectly enjoyable, the real highlights of Speedy Romeo are the more “restaurant-y” items: the octopus, the steak, even... the kale salad and the branzino. The same is actually true of Speedy’s original location in Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy, but it feels a bit more natural in that space - an awesome, spacious converted garage on a street corner. It feels like a neighborhood landmark, and it feels like a place to order a steak or a piece of fish. The LES Speedy makes some great food, but to get the best possible experience, you have to be OK with eating it in what’s really a dark little bar. Otherwise, get that internal monologue going again and start telling yourself to head to Brooklyn. Food Rundown Caesar Salad It looks like it snowed cheese on top of this Caesar, and that’s a beautiful thing. This is a pretty intense salad, so if you’re looking for something a bit lighter, try the kale. Grilled Octopus Don’t be afraid to load up on the apps - they’re some of the best things here. The big chunks of octopus with potatoes and a romesco sauce are a foolproof order. The Saint Louie Time to get into the pizzas. This one uses Provel, a stringy cheese that’s popular in St. Louis, plus pepperoni, sausage, and pickled chiles. The crust is thin, and it does start to fall apart as you get into the middle. The White Album One of the underrated things about Speedy Romeo is that you can bring pretty much anyone here and they’ll find something to eat. Got someone who doesn’t eat meat? Doesn’t like tomato sauce? Direct them to the White Album, topped with roast garlic and four kinds of cheese. It’s hard to eat several slices of this, but you can try. Paul’s Boutique (Pastrami) Pizza Speaking of things you will only be able to eat a few bites of, this is a pizza with pastrami on top and an everything bagel crust. Is it delicious? Yes. Is it a fun novelty? Yes. Will it also give you an extra chin? Probably. Kansas City Strip Speedy Romeo knows how to cook a steak. The smaller of the two steak options, this 16 oz. strip comes sliced into big, delicious, crispy-on-the-outside pieces. There’s a salsa verde dipping sauce, but you don’t even really need it. Cheeseburger Guess what? Speedy knows how to make a burger, too. Feel free to cozy up to the bar and order one. Whole Branzino This may not look or feel like a place to order A Nice Piece Of Fish, but you should do so without any reservations. This Nice Piece Of Fish is indeed very nice. Have them filet it for you." - Hillary Reinsberg

"Named after a champion race horse, Speedy Romeo is famous for their wood-fired pizza served out of a charmingly hip and comfortable converted auto body shop decorated with eclectic ephemera including a portrait of its namesake. The St. Louis-inspired pies are perfectly charred and inventive in their flavors, but not too over-the-top. Try the St. Louie and don’t be afraid to order outside of the pizza section, their other dishes are equally well-done and deserve just as much attention." - Makewell