San Diego’s Best Pizza: The Friendly Review
It is pretty much a fact that San Diego has the best scene in the United States. A strong newcomer is The Friendly. In our quest for the best pizza in San Diego, here is The Friendly Review.
UPDATE 2022: The Friendly has opened a location in North Park that specializes in hamburgers and a location in Pacific Beach that has hamburgers and pizza.
Of course, most readers will take exception to the idea that San Diego has the best pizza in the U.S. But at several restaurants in the city, you will see articles that refer to a Trip Advisor study in 2013 that listed San Diego as the number one pizza city. This may seem ridiculous but actually indicates San Diego’s diversity.
The thing about San Diego is it attracts people from all over. This includes not only those moving from major U.S. cities but also many foreigners, including Italian immigrants. These people bring their home recipes, resulting in a diverse food scene.
San Diego is also known as a more casual city. It has never been about a major foodie scene. Simple fare like pizza, burgers and Mexican food do very well in San Diego. Thus, San Diego is perfect for a place like The Friendly.
The Friendly opened in early 2018 on the border of North Park and Normal Heights. It is a no frills place with counter seating and a handful of tables. The menu is pretty much limited to pizza, a burger and whatever special of the day they feel like cooking up.
In a short period of time, The Friendly has gotten quite a reputation. This San Diego CityBeat article claims The Friendly has become a go-to eat place for many of the city’s leading chefs.
The Friendly is basic. There are about 10 different pies available by the slice. Two slices and a drink are $8. The only drinks available are bottled Coke and flavored water. They also serve beer by the can (including Hamm’s which I hadn’t seen in years).
A whole red pie is $18, with a white pizza available for $19. Toppings are $1.50. Specialty pies range from $21 to $26. There is also a cheese bread available for $12.
The pizza at The Friendly is top notch. However, so far, we have only had it by the slice. Before we pronounce this as one of the top pizza places we will need to visit multiple times to make sure the consistency is there (our very top places we have visited over 10 times each).
If you follow The Friendly on Instagram, you can see their daily specials. These seem to be pretty diverse, things like meatloaf with foie gras, cookies with foie gras, a Rochester, NY-style Garbage Plate etc.
The only other regular item on the menu is the $5 Dirty Flat Top Cheese Burger. This burger has received plenty of acclaim, but also some criticism. The complaints mainly come from the fact that the burger comes with lots of mayo. The Friendly refuses to serve the burger without mayo.
I am allergic to eggs and hate mayo. Thus, I will probably not be trying the Dirty Flat Top anytime soon. However, many people are raving about this burger.
Fun Diego Family’s quest for the best pizza in San Diego. In only a year on the scene, The Friendly has soared near the top of San Diego’s NY-style pizza scene. We look to visit more and try some of their whole pies.
For an overview of the top pizza places in San Diego go here.
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2019
The Friendly made our San Diego’s Best NY-Style Pizza list (aka thin crust)
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