1. Delicious! Every time we've been here the Pizza is amazing! 2. They only accept cash. read more

Arinell Pizza - delicious pizza, best new york style pizza in the bay area - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Worst customer service. Cook is rude! Sad as we used to come here on a regular basis.

Arrived at 8pm on a Wednesday night with a group of people. We bought the last of the pizza they had (about ten slices). The girl working was very rude, the guy was tolerable. Since we bought the last of their pizza they closed the store. After about ten minutes while we were still eating our food we were informed that "we are closing up." Terrible customer service. They began to play loud metal music to let us know we were not welcome. But here's the kicker... They were only able to close for the night because we bought the rest of the pizza. Terrible example of how to treat paying customers. Extremely disappointed. read more

If you're interested in pizza that tastes like cardboard, this is definitely the place for you! This wonderful establishment is staffed by a wide array of unkempt metalheads who still live in their mom's basement and lack basic people skills. Talk about winning! The crusty, long-haired white man who served me ignored me for about five minutes at the counter, even though I was the only guest in the establishment. In fact, he and his co-worker turned up the death metal music that they were blaring after they saw me looking at them, waiting for some level of acknowledgment. Oh well, I ordered anyway. After I paid him, he tossed my change on the counter in an act of passive-aggressive rage that I usually don't see in a functioning adult. I began to consider that it may be a bad choice to eat here, and boy was I right! The pizza was as hard as a brick and tasted even worse. How is this place still in business? Don't ever patronize this place if you value your health. Oh, and to the owners- this place is filthy! read more

I really don't understand the hype. The pizza can be OK, but the attitude? Really? I ordered two slices to go. When they were ready, I asked the guy to put them in a box. He said they didn't do boxes. I asked him whether I could get a paper plate. He made all kinds of snide remarks and finally gave me some napkins. When I asked for more, he said, "First you want a plate, and now you want more napkins?" Wow, my bad. I guess it's ridiculous to order pizza by the slice for takeout with any sort of container to do the taking out. And I guess it doesn't make any sense to ask for additional napkins when you're carrying greasy pizza back to your office. Here's a tip, Arinell: Start giving people boxes. They don't have to be big; Blondie's and Escape from New York can tell you where to get small ones. Here's another tip, Arinell: Stop treating your customers like trash. Honestly, your pizza's not good enough to deal with this crap. read more

I used to go here several times a week when I was a young lass in my 20s. Back then I'd go jogging during my lunch hour and often stop here for a quick bite. I had a crush on the pizza guys here but never pursued it. As I grew more ancient and continued to work for the City of Berkeley I stopped running during my lunch hour and rarely got pizza from Arinell, even though I liked it a lot. So when I got a slice here the other day I was flooded with happy memories. They now have vegan pizza which I decided to try. The counter guy was sweet and friendly. $3.50 for a slice with one topping of black olives. The pizza was good although the flat crispy cracker-like crust may not appeal to all. The vegan cheese was okay. Mr Rinky had a couple of bites and grunted his approval. Next time I think I will get the cheese. read more

Ya know... It is just a crisp plate of cheese, that is, what they call "pizza" here. Perhaps it's just me, but when I have pizza, I expect to have a great amount of cheese and robust sauce to balance a not so over done crust. A crust that is crisp on the outside, and fluffy in the middle. But this?! It tasted like a stale piece of crap! Came with nasty greasy ass cheese, flavorless sauce, and a crust made of rust grains and frikin sawdust. Listen, if it wasn't apparent to you that what I said didn't turn you away, lemme say it again. THE neopolitan cheese pizza was terrible! I remember coming in excited to try this highly praised NY style pizza, but leaving with a turbulent stomach ache and a full blown desire to throw everything I ate up... And trust me, it did not go well in el baño once I got home... Like a nuclear bomb hit the north end of oakland or something. I just find it hard for others to actually enjoy this shit, I mean, really, Escape from New York really gives this place a run for its money, and it tastes soooo much better than this lame excuse of crap! (And my poop is content after eating there!) So I mean, why bother with this place? Just across the street is sliver ya know? Or even fat slice for gods sake is better! Just steer away from this direction, and don't come back. This place (second to the dominos on university), is the anus of Berkeley pizza. I highly suggest you go elsewhere. read more

Arinell, man... Arinell. I eat here almost every day. Slices brought to you by the pizza gods of Valhalla on wings of black metal. If you don't like this pizza, you're not a bad person. I mean, not necessarily. I won't call that a causal relationship, but empirical evidence suggests a pretty strong correlation. No, you're not bad. You're just an amateur. You want a box to take your slice out? Wax paper isn't good enough for you? Amateur. You want to talk on your cell phone while you order a slice? Stop ruining Modernity's potential, amateur. You don't like the pro-Berkeley Marines sticker in the store? Great, guess who doesn't care? Arinell. Amateur. You want service with a smile? Go find a Coldstone Creamery, amateur. You blot up grease with a paper napkin? Stop wasting napkins, amateur. I bet you carry an umbrella in the rain, too. read more

What can I say about this place other than to recount my experience this past saturday? Upon entering the place, which I have been to before, I notice for the millionth time that it is a total sh*thole. Hey, not a problem, though. When I walked in, the cashier was laying face down on the floor, facing away from the counter. So I said "hey bro..." no answer. I repeat it. The dude stands up and says "what the f*ck do you want?" I respond, "yo let me get some of that sicilian and throw some pepperonis on it." So the guy complies (didn't wash his hands, didn't put on any gloves, though). I don't care though, the pizza is great. He throws the stuff in the oven and goes to take a piss, at which point I notice that his shirt says "MOCK THE CROSS" on it. Cool, I think, a death metal shirt. When he returned, on the front was a picture of a demon puking on Jesus Christ (pictured here: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3281/2926881967_18d07283f6_o.jpg) Then I got my pizza, it was DELICIOUS. I was sitting at a table, and I grabbed the chili flakes off the table next to me without asking and the woman sitting there looked at me like "HOW RUDE?!?!" To which I responded "Do you see what kind of place this is?" and continued to eat my pizza. Airnell is a great place to go if you want some attitude, and some great pizza. So in conclusion, let me ask you to consider one question before you go to Airnell pizza: Do you know what kind of place it is? read more

I usually love this place, mostly because it reminds me of New York: slightly squalid decor, with thin-crust, relatively unadorned pizza. I discovered today, on my lunch break from my 1st Aid training, that it is at its best BEFORE noon; don't know why. There is was, in its almost crispy light glory, with that ideal marriage of cheese and sweet/tangy tomato sauce, and then...wait, a minute, what's that I'm tasting??? Dishwashing detergent? Can that be? Yeah, maybe hiring slacker boys means that their dishwashing, or at least rinsing skills leave a bit to be desired. Still pretty good, though... read more

So Berkeley's got "pizza" that I really like: Blondie's, FAT SLICE, Cheese Board... and there's Zachary's too if you're in the mood for a bread bowl filled with pizza toppings. Heck, even West Coast Pizza's cheesy sticks are pretty darn good even when it's NOT 2am AND you're completely sober. That said, none of these places serve a real SLICE. There's a few things that go into a legit slice: (1) First off, the pizza's got to be NY style; almost cracker thin all around with a crust that's thin and crispy, but chewy and airy (but never doughy) all at the same time. The sauce should strike a balance between sweet and tangy, and there has to be juuuust enough on the pizza to merge with the cheese and turn into an insanely hot, bubbly orangey-red layer of deliciousness that'll scald your mouth if you dive in too fast. Each slice should roughly be the size of your face or bigger so that the crust and upper half can be comfortably folded in half into a "U" without splitting down the middle, and the lower half to third should be slightly droopy towards the pointy end; (2) Second, no toppings needed. If a joint is doing their pie right, you won't want anything else than really good sauce and really good cheese on your pizza. The only "toppings" you should ever need are Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper, oregano, and garlic salt; (3) Third, and maybe this is just me, but a great slice tastes just as good (if not better) if it's precooked and reheated for me when I order it. If for some reason I must have a topping on a slice, I fully expect to see it tossed on top of a plain cheese slice before it's warmed up in the oven; (4) Fourth, there are no frills involved when getting a slice. You get your slice on a piece of paper (or a paper plate), and you sit or stand where there's room. Grabbing a slice is not a fine dining affair. You're in, then you're out. No muss, no fuss. No utensils needed, because... why aren't you folding and eating your slice with your hands (see #1 above)?? Basically, if you're looking for something other than pizza, soda, or napkins, look elsewhere! Arinell's simply put, serves a real SLICE, and they do it better than anyone in the Bay. I didn't realize until graduating from Cal and moving away that Arinell's slice really is one of the best, if not THE best place to get a slice in CA. The place is a hole, and the pizza's simple, but like they say, it's simple food that's hard to make right, and Arinell's definitely does it right. TL;DR - Arinell's has real, legit NY style pizza and (almost) nothing else. And it is awesome. read more

We have to agree with the one-star reviews here. The fact that Arinell's listing has 4 out of 5 stars is beginning to make me question the credibility of this site. THIS IS NOT NY PIZZA, PERIOD. Not in style, flavor, or texture. We recently returned from a trip to NYC, and had John's Pizzeria pizza. Arinell's comes about as close to New York pizza as the Warriors come to winning the NBA championship...and our pizza came out of the oven fresh! Everything folks have said about the workers is spot-on. They pulled the 5 pizza limit crap on us as well. Don't waste your time or money. Trying to find authentic NY-style pizza here is like trying to find Sasquatch in the forest...impossible! We've conceded and decided to stick to reliable favorites like Cheeseboard, Arizmendi, Extreme, & Round Table. read more

The exterior signs and colors give this establishment the look of one of those late-night joints whose pizza is only good for drunk food, such as Blondie's on Telegraph. But I know better. The Neopolita slice is the quintessential NY pizza with gooey warm cheese and a thin, but supple crust. They give you a generous, floppy slice on wax paper and there is not too much oil leakage. In fact, it is a whole lot less oily than Cheeseboard. This is a no-frills place about making simple ingredients speak for themselves. The crust has no MSG, no sugar. I usually am wary of thin crusts because I don't like crusts too crispy or charred, but this crust was more substantial/thicker and had an amazing chewy texture that definitely beats out all of the East Bay thin crusts that I've had. read more

It's the worst pizza slice I ever had! Plus the place is so dirty. Flies everywhere. Tables dirty and most of all, their pizza seems cold that's why they put in oven to make hot after we ordered. It's so tasteless. I feel like I paid $3 for a slice of bread not pizza!!! Never coming here again!! read more

This is it. The best NY pizza in the bay area that I've found. I've been tempted to hop on BART just to get a slice here. Flat, crispy crust, flavorful cheese, just the right saltiness. It's got it all, meaning that it's got almost nothing but guys wearing greasy aprons, hand tossing the crust, and serving up soda in cardboard cups with the pizza to cash-only paying customers. That's all they do, and they get it just right. Don't ever change. read more

Giving this place 3 stars absolutely breaks my heart -- perhaps in my less discerning days as a Cal undergrad, I would've been more than willing to give it 6 stars. I love the thin crust, love the cheese, love how I still have to dab oil off the top. However, the price is a bit steep for what you get. I remember this place used to be the relief from joints like Fat Slice and Blondies on southside, but I actually needed two slices to feel even slightly full. I remember that this used to be a tiny sliver of a hole in the wall way back in the day, and now it's all industrious-looking and actually has seating inside. Is that enough to justify a price hike? Definitely. Is the attitude enough to justify itself? Noooope. There are places where the holier-than-though adds to the ambience, and then there are places where there are just plain old a-holes behind the counter. I completely forgot what the Sicilian pizza even was and just casually asked about it as I ordered my two slices. The pizza czar serving me gave me a ripe little explanation that could have sent Mother Teresa out to lobby for looser gun control rights. I miss ya, Arinell, but you could loosen up just a little bit more. And by 'loosen up,' I of course mean 'stand to be less of dicks now and again.' read more

As an original east coaster, pizza in california was traumatizing for the first several years I was here. Then I found Arinell's. I'm not willing to go so far as to say that it is exactly like NY pizza, but it is BY FAR the best in bay area. The crust is thin, the mozzarella is the right thickness, but the sauce, oh man the sauce is perfect. California pizza consistently makes sauce that is too sweet. Pizza should have a slightly tangy taste from the sauce and arinell's is the ONLY place that I have found that makes good sauce. And as for the limited toppings, pizza should be awesome on it's own and arinell's cheese slices are as close to perfect as I've had out here, their pizza doesn't need to be disguised with a load of crap on top. As for the whiny people who have complained about service, get over yourselves. It's a pizza joint, if you want to be waited on hand and foot go to a full service restaurant. Plus, a little surly behavior is good for the atmosphere. Though, I've been more than a dozen times and have always had great service. read more

No. Just no. Anybody who claims the food here is edible needs a serious pizza wake-up call. True, I don't like thin crust pizza, but that isn't why I give them one star. I ordered a couple slices of pepperoni for take-out, so they put some pepperoni on a cheese pizza that had been fermenting in the open air for Lord knows how long, then ran it through the oven again. And this was all as I was watching and waiting. Needless to say, the pizza was lackluster. Who gives a fuck if the crust is thin and "authentic" if the ingredients suck and the pizza is stale and re-heated? Oh, and the people who work here are douchebags who listen to metal and loiter in my apartment lobby next door in an attempt to look cool and/or badass. Their service sucks, and they also fail as human beings. I take that back. Arinell in general = FAIL. I could have had better pizza at Domino's. read more

Sometimes, you just have to stop for a minute and enjoy one of the simple pleasures in life. So Saturday rolls around, and while I really wanted to spend 6 hours working in the garage, I figured that I'd get the hell out of Dodge for awhile because, what the hell, the mess in the garage is always going to be there. So, I ginned up an excuse to go to the cleaners to drop some of the Hawaiians (shirts that is, 50+ and still growing), and loaded up my peeps Trixie Belle (all together now: The sweetest dog in the world) and my wing man Hurricane Hank in the trusty FEH and headed to Berkeley. Once I dropped the clothes, I wanted to make sure that I got right back home. Only my peeps really wanted so pizza, so we were in luck. The greatest NY-style pizza joint on the West Coast is right here on Shattuck. Arinell is a little hole in the wall with a few tables, and a standing counter. Pizza by the slice like god had intended it to be eaten. Whenever I visit my cousin Blossom in Brooklyn, I spend all my free time visiting various pizza joints around town. Arinell is just like that. Pizza by the slice. Yum. I got the pizza, the peeps get the crust. Everybody wins. This place really is....the best Jerry, the best! pizza on the West Coast. And the garage waits for another week-end. BTW, Nicole C, don't ever come back to Arinell. We don't want your kind in here. When you buy pizza by the slice, they don't make up a whole new pizza for you. Every pizza joint on the face of the earth makes up pies and then heats the slice when you buy it. Dumbass. You are too stupid to eat pizza here. Go away and go order a frozen dough pie at some loser chain restaurant PS: Have a nice day. read more

20 years in New Brunswick. 4 Years in New York City. 9 years in Jersey City. Been to DiFara, Joe's, John's, Sally's in New Haven, Pepe's in New Haven, Sciortino's in Perth Amboy, Grimaldi in Brooklyn, Spumoni Garden in Brooklyn, Conte's in Princeton, Star Tavern in Montclair, Delorenzo's in Trenton, Pete and Elda's at the Shore, even Antico in Atlanta, as well as every other NYC place you can think of. Not to mention all the absurd Jersey slices. I've traveled for the best pizza. This is the best and truest East Coast SLICE I've had west of the Rockies. I don't care that it's re-heated. That's what pizza places do. When I want a slice. Just a straight up SLICE, this is the place. (BTW, this is based on SLICES...Emilia's is my favorite Pie overall). Also of note, someone mentioned a "redhead ponytailed asshole" in a previous poist, I can attest. That's one MAJOR problem with this place, ESPECIALLY in San Francisco. The people who work there aren't just quirky, etc. They're just straight up pieces of trash. Not all of them, but enough of them. read more

Not bad, not amazing for a quick service pizza. Can get expensive if you're very hungry. Here's a tip... try nearby Jupiter's pizza for a lot cheaper and better, may have to wait 10 mins more though read more

Nice pizza. **************** NY style.. I love it.. allot of toping. Nice.... read more

I grew up in Oakland and Arinell was my favorite pizza in the world when I was a kid. I used to think about how I wanted to work there when I grew up so I could get all the free Arinell pizza I could eat. I used to envy the guys that worked there. I don't envy them any longer but I definitely appreciate the great pizza they make. The Neopolitan cheese slices are the best thing to start with but the thick Sicilian slices are very good too. If you ever have a friend from NYC that complains about the pizza here, tell them to STFU and go to Arinell. Pro tip: when you're going to a concert at the Greek Theatre pick up a couple pies from Arinell. Sell slices inside to pay for your ticket. read more

I was craving pizza bad and decided to take a chance here today. I walked in and the only customers was a group of unwashed teenage punks seemingly appreciating the grating music playing throughout the place. This group of boys would have made my little teenage heart a pitter-patter. But now I've moved on to grown men who appreciate hygiene. Just as I have outgrown dirty boys trying to make a statement, I have also outgrown dirty pizza places trying to do the same. I decided to try a slice of the thick crust Sicilian and a slice of the thin crust Neapolitan. The pizzas that the slices came from seem to have been sitting out for a long time before they were reheated when I ordered them. The Neapolitan crust was quite reminiscent of cardboard. The Sicilian crust was OK, but definitely not delicious enough to warrant the extra calories or the extra price. Both the slices had extremely bland sauce and rubbery cheese. If you're going to be a random hole-in-the-wall restaurant you better be delicious. Cause then you're the coolest find around. If you are not, good luck. Arinell's is not of the former category. read more

Arinell is right around the corner from my apartment so I go there out of convenience now and then. The service is never good. At best, they are rude but I have always put up with it because they are so conveniently located. Tonight, they wouldn't even take my order because they said it would be 8 minutes before anything was ready. I asked if I could put in my order and come back in 10 minutes to pick it up. The guy just stared at me for a minute and asked me to sit down and stop being "weird.". I said I had never heard of a business refusing to take an order in this situation and turned to walk out. Then both workers started to taunt,E and call me names as I walked away. Great service guys. NEVER AGAIN! read more

I have a feeling that Arinell succeeds in its chosen mission, I just have to admit that I am no expert in the mission parameters. NY style pizza is not my forte, but I do appreciate it for its utility. Unlike my favorite deep dish, NY pizza can serve as a walk around food, or even a snack. I dare you to eat Chicago style on the move, or make a snack out of it! Fans of grease, this is your mecca. Foes of grease, however, beware. I recommend blotting some off with napkins before diving in. The pizza itself - the crust is very thin and mostly "soft" but crispy in places. It has a good flavor. The sauce has a good flavor, but I'm pretty sure that the aforementioned grease is part of the reason. The sauce to cheese ratio seems about right for pizza of this sort. The cheese itself - well, it's fine. I'll leave it at that. read more

If you prefer the doughy, thick crusts at Fat Slice or Blondie's, then skip this place. But if you love classic Neapolitan-style thin crust pizza, Arinell's is your place. Their crust is perfectly thin and blistered, and barely supports the molten layer of cheese (you'll need 2 hands free per slice) on top. The sauce is tangy and amazingly delicious. A cheese slice from Arinell's is perfect culinary simplicity. Make sure you eat it straight out of the oven for the full experience. Arinell's is esentially a walk-up counter, and their "dining room" seats approximately 8-10 people, so plan on standing up to eat your slice. Seriously some of the best pizza I've had. EVER. Pros: Bloody awesome pizza. read more

I've been going to Arinell since 1979. Can that be 30 years? Wow. This is as close to classic New York street pizza as you can get in the Bay Area. The whole vibe, from the minimalist, uncomfortable seating to the ambivalent counter guys (they're much more into their head banger music than they are to you), to the "turn your cell phone off" sign on the counter, all scream NY attitude. I once called for a medium take-out pie, only to be told "we don't have any mediums left -- only larges." To which I answered, "Then take some dough off a large and make me a medium." His response: "The owner won't let us do that -- we only have a certain amount we can make every day." Crazy. But the pizza. Oh, the pizza. The most authentic fold-over cheese slice you can get in the Bay Area, piping, burn-the-roof-of-your-mouth hot slices. Try and get a slice straight out of the oven (as opposed to reheated) if you can to experience all the thin crust goodness. There are better California style pizza in the Bay Area, but this is the best New York slice you'll find. They don't do delivery and they don't take credit cards. read more

Arinell Pizza in Berkeley, What a horrible collapse from the fantastic experience it once was. I really enjoy this pizza. That said, EVERY Pizza is different, and I now see, that there is no one BEST, as it depends on my mood, and YES, Arinell has often been on my radar, as well as Gioa in Berkeley, Summer Kitchen, and at times Bobby G's, and then, there is always Toto's in the Peninsula and Tony's in the City and Walnut Creek...YES, I know and LOVE my pizzas.......ok Golden Boy in the city and one place at the bottom of Taravel too. I digress...I used to remember when Arinell was FUN to go to. Quick slices, a special taste....somewhat friendly service to fun friendly service and then what happened. It all collapsed in a huge sense. And after so many decades, I first noticed a new aged cooks and cashiers....just different. Disengaged I suggest. Lets say a bad attitude, but I am not there to make friends, but still...friendly service is always good. Then, the Snowflake issue.....YES, a pizza was being cut, it was a RECTANGLE....a Weird Rectangle and I was getting this very long Skinny slice, hard to hold in the car, it had no base to it to fold over. I asked the cashier if they had any of the more traditional round pizzas. And his reply was so odd...perhaps he was just on drugs....."No man...every pizza is different, each one has a different shape, just like a snowflake.....this is what we have" WOW, ok Mr snowflake, perhaps, it is just you Snowflake mentality...but ok, I buy the pizza slices.... Then we have, shortly thereafter, MR. Plague....yes, a server, who clearly has a bad cold, and coughing and hacking over and over, deep coughs, the coughs of death. What do I say, I want to be polite, I also do NOT want a slice that has been coughed over with his latest Plague...so, I tell him I want a Sicilian slice, the CORNER piece furthest away from where he could cough, and the Sicilian's were NOT in that coughing sphere he was hacking over, but that was just bad, gross...but, COME ON Arinelle. I had several good experiences including a great one Friday, August2, the guys were cool so after my swimming workout on Friday, August 9, well, I decided to repeat and again, get 3 slices, and then, I changed my mind as I came up to the counter and asked if they were still making Whole PIES!! This is where the Meltdown happens. The cooks says yes and asks me what size....and I tell him medium but from past experience , thousands of slices and maybe 50 pies over the decades, I learned from the cooks, the THINNER slices in the individual slices were different from the whole pies, but the whole pie could be rolled out thinner....so, I always requested such MELTDOWN I asked the cook for a whole pie but rolled out thinner. Cook exclaims he CANNOT DO IT....wow...I think, I have had so many don't that way, and hey, this is NOT rocket science, just roll it out thinner... I ask 2 more times and perhaps in the Millennial way, he does not like being challenged....and says NO...and then explains....that he has NO MORE medium doughs....WOW again..ok..so, Arinell they makes it dummy proof for their cooks and has pre-proofed dough balls for medium and large. He explains it is the BOX and there is no box that can take the pizza rolled out thinner...and again using a medium and putting it in a large box will not work as he is OUT of Medium sized dough balls. Now, however, he gets argumenta and hostile to me. He says, he can figure out how to do it, and really can, but h e is just really really TIRED of me telling him what to do. And how to do things. He proclaims he is a great pizza maker and makes the BEST pizza but NOT to tell him how to do it....WOW, I just tell him I want the thinner crust that comes the individual slices....no big deal!!! I suggest WHY Not just take the Large Dough ball, remove some of the dough, I will PAY for it all, and make it thinner with less dough and to add toppings. He exclaims that is somewhat like what he was thinking of and as he turned, he come out with a repeated discussion of how he is fed up with me telling h im what to do, and how to make a pizza, and repeats this over and over....again OWNER makes more money I bet when toppings are sold, but now, I am just fed up with his attitude, I look him square in the face and tell him, "Just 86 the entire order. Cancel it " His reply is so fantastic, I really hope the owner reads this....this cook..tells me Great, I don't want to make you a pizza anyway, and I would prefer not to server you, then, the cashier goes off on a small rant about how he is tired too of me and my attitude. These guys have no ambition and just a horrible sense of self entitlement and work ethic to believing they are their own boss, when instead they are just cooks and servers at a little pizza place. read more

If it was not for Arinell Pizza I am pretty sure that my father would have left Berkeley and headed back to New York, but with the little safety blanket that was a large slice of darn good greasy new york pizza my dad stuck around long enough to hook up with my little blond goyish mom, and wala, Morty's your uncle, they made me. 4 stars for giving me my life. I would have given 5 stars if I was a little better looking and richer. read more

Lol terrible customer service. Went in to asks for two slices of pepperoni and when the guy who grabbed my pizzas grabbed two slices of cheese I politely said "oh I asked for cheese" not knowing that they put their toppings on after because that was my first time there and the guy responds with a huge attitude saying that he's putting them on after. Get your guys' shit together read more

Arinell pizza is very good. I saw lots of people raving about how it's the best NY style slice in the bay area, and I think it's close. The pizza tastes "natural", ie. they don't use a lot of salt or sugar. Personally, I say the crust needed some more flavor, but that's really a mild complaint for a very tasty pie. My #1 NY slices are Village Pizzeria on Van Ness, followed closely by Pizza My Heart (Emeryville). Arinell is third. read more

Hands down my favorite thin crust pizza. Crispy, perfectly flavorful, good size, great tomato sauce. All around amazing. It's an old time food monument of Berkeley and I hope it's here forever! read more

Every time I've walked into this place it's a disaster. It typically looks like there was an explosion that splattered Parmesan, pizza crumbs, and congealing grease all over the place, so that every table and seat and most of the stand-up counter space is covered in debris. Service is gruff with only a modicum of communication. I swear on one occasion the guy behind the counter just grunted at me. I'm told the thin-crust pizza here is an excellent example of NY style pizza. If that's the case, it may not be entirely my thing, but that's okay. What matters is that I've found Arinell's slices to be consistently bland. Sure, they've usually got the texture nailed (perfect amount of stiffness, not soggy, etc...) but who cares when the pizza itself is about as flavorful as cardboard? Adding insult to injury, Arinell's so called "Sicilian" is a complete affront to the beautiful region and gastronomic traditions from which it takes its name. It is basically a small, square-shaped piece of pizza on thicker crust, reminiscent of the greasy, bland wedges served up on "pizza Friday" in the cafeteria back in elementary school. Now, I sure wasn't expecting some rich, flavorful sfinciuni or anything, but I don't understand how Arinell saw this as even remotely good enough to inflict onto the public. So, I've tried several times to locate the appeal of Arinell and each time I walked out underwhelmed. The pizza at Pie in the Sky, down the street and around the corner on Center, is infinitely more flavorful. Even better is the Cheese Board, located approx. half a mile north up Shattuck. The ingredients may not be trad. NY style, but the flavors are much more interesting, and to me that is what really counts here. read more

I've been eating Arinell pizza since they opened in the late 70's, and not much has changed, which is good, because I've travelled and lived all over, including the East Coast, and I haven't found anything yet that beats their Neapolitan slice. It's crisp, folds easy, not too much cheese or sauce, and tastes as good at any temperature. Lots of places in New York don't come close, mostly because if they're any good they don't sell slices anymore. I was recently at Frank Pepe in Connecticut--supposedly one of the top ten best pizzerias in the country, and my first thought was, "reminds me of Arinell." No difference in quality or price, except the Arinell slice is bigger, and the servers aren't listening to death metal behind the counter at Don Pepe's. It's an SFBA institution, and the way you can tell that Berkeley is finally and totally over is if these guys have to close down or move to another neighborhood. read more

I'm a fan. As a native NYC guy, I'm always looking for something that resembles a slice from NYC. And while for some reason Arinell cuts the slice weird - as far as crust texture, sauce and cheese greasiness - this may be the best bet in Berkeley. And to be clear - my criteria is not to find the best pizza in the bay. I just wanted to find something that measures up to a normal, unremarkable NYC slice - which I just happen to think is the best. The place itself feels like a dive, not the cleanest, or the brightest. But the pizza is just a good "slice". If you want farm fresh, non-gmo yadda yadda - this place is probably not it. But if you want a slice on the run, this is the spot. read more

THIS IS THE BEST PIZZA IN LIFE. Or at least the bay, in my opinion. I have been coming here for about 10 years and it has been consistently delicious every time, the entire time. I've been to the SF locations, also great. But I think this one is the best, may be a nostalgia thing. IDK. Bottom line: get some cash, and get some pizza. It's worth it if you like thin crust (don't forget the cash) read more

Definitely my favorite pre-BART guilty pleasure. I love love love thin crust pizza, which, between Fat Slice, Blondie's, Zachary's, etc., is surprisingly difficult to find. I really like the tomato sauce/cheese/crust ratio they have. Maybe this is only strange to me, but when I ordered a pepperoni slice, they basically just grabbed a slice of cheese, threw on a few pieces of pepperoni, and stuck it in the oven to heat it up. I don't know how that affects the taste (vs. pepperoni pizza where the pepperoni was baked when the pizza was baked), but it sort of makes me disinclined to order anything but plain cheese in the future. The employees are a little gruff and there are only three tables in the entire establishment, which often leads to communal eating...but, eh, whatever -- it's just a $3 slice of pizza. read more

I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again. I'm from New York. I grew up on pizza from that pizza place at the opening of Saturday Night Fever. Seriously. That place still has a picture of a very young John Travolta hanging up in it. I guess they don't realize that that movie was thirty years ago. I digress... I love New York pizza. I don't eat Chicago pizza and after moving to San Francisco, I thought I'd never be able to indulge in the slice here and there, until I found Arinell's. Pretty damn good and very close to a good New York pizza. The only difference I can think of is the cheese isn't as salty as the pizza in NY. That's a plus. They don't deliver which sucks when we are in the middle of Halo and are hungry. I will say that I've never been in this one, just the one in the Mission, buy my boyfriend says this one is cleaner. The pizza does taste exactly the same, whether it is from the Mission location or the Berkeley location. Oh, and if you are doing a drive by pizza pick up, you really have to be fast because parking sucks over here. I cut out one star because it is a little more expensive than pizza in NY. Oh, and I like my pizza plain: just sauce, cheese, dough and grease. Why do Californians like a salad on their pizza? read more

The pizza was pretty good. The service was hilariously bad. The guy at the counter said absolutely ZERO words to me during the entire transaction and his facial expression never changed. At all. After a few moments of awkward silence, I ordered just a regular cheese Neapolitan slice and a small diet coke. He just put his hand out for the cash, and while I'd looked at prices, what if the person hadn't?! This was my first time eating here! I get that this is a budget, hole-in-the-wall place but really say hello or "$4.50", something! The texture of the crust and sauce and melty cheese all coming together was really comforting and I honestly just wanted to eat more and more. The flavor was nothing to write home about, which is a lot of why I'm only giving it 3 stars. I was expecting the sauce to have a more fresh flavor, and for the cheese to not just kind of meld into it. Maybe I was expecting something that's not what a NY style slice is about, I don't know. If I'm craving a slice around Berkeley, I'll try some other places before coming back here. read more