I was craving pizza a few days ago and remembered this spot after searching no for it on Yelp. I used to pick up from here every now and then when I did DoorDash and the cannolis looked good. As busy as they were, I told myself I would go back someday. So here we are about a year and some change later. I came in on Sunday after getting a manicure in Berkeley. It was between this place and Spinning Dough in West Oakland. When I arrived they were close to closing. All that was left was a few slices of pizza so I got the Julian and another slice but I can't remember the name. The Julian has lacinato kale, house made Sicilian sausage, red onion, chili flakes, garlic, mozzarella and pecorino. It was alright. I now know I'm not too big of a fan of kale in pizza. The sausage was actually pretty good but it made the pizza too meaty for me. This is all a review based on personal preference. The cannoli was alright. I haven't had enough cannolis to make an expert foodie judgment, but I have had better. They have a host of pizzas on the menu that were to my liking. Next time maybe I'll just order a whole pie. The Acciughe seems very appetizing and I don't know where else I would be able to find a pie like this. read more

I honestly don't know how this pizza place has stayed open. While the pizza itself can be decent at times, it's wildly inconsistent--sometimes underbaked, other times burnt to a crisp. But what really ruins the experience is the customer service, which is hands down some of the worst I've encountered in the East Bay--and I've been coming here since 2007. The staff always seems to be made up of disinterested high schoolers who clearly don't care about the job. The attitude is consistently rude and snarky, and there are so many arbitrary rules that make ordering more frustrating than it needs to be. When ordering inside, there's often no clear system or communication--you're left standing around wondering if your food is even coming. After years of giving this place chances, I'm officially done. It's just not worth the hassle anymore. read more

My friend is a lifelong (70 years +) Berkeley resident & foodie, and he chooses to come here! I had a funghi (mushroom) slice and a spinach & garlic slice. Took less than two minutes to order & get them heated up. Both were tasty though spinach & garlic is still my favorite! read more

My favorite pizza spot in all of California! I live in LA now, but make sure to drop by here whenever I'm in the Bay. I love love love Gioia! Spinach & Julian are my go-to's but all their slices are AMAZING! read more

Gioia Pizzeria - Julian Pizza & Spinaci Aglio Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

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AMAZING FANTASTIC FLAVORFUL pizza. I'm in NYC which is supposed to be the pizza capital of the USA. NOPE!!! Gioia Pizza is far superior!! I can't find anything that even matches Gioia Pizza let alone surpasses it. read more

All the food is excellent. My favorite is fungi pizza. Slices are excellent but no seating. Whole pies are great to bring home because you glean order par cooked. Meatballs are so good but only sold cold, so good if you're bringing home. The location is fabulous for other food shopping. Leave plenty of time to stand in line if you're stopping by at dinner time. You can order ahead online. read more

Great pizza. Terrible customer service. Asked 2 different women a question and both answered as if I was bothering them; one word rude response. Because of that I definitely won't be back. $36 for 3 slices of pizza and a simple salad. read more

Gioia has gone downhill. This time they only sent us half what we ordered. Our pizza wasn't well made and was cold. We have also had problems with other orders in the past year. The declining or, at best, uneven quality is really not enough to justify the price. read more

Ordered a ~$36 dollar pepperoni pizza that was ultra thin yet very floppy. It honestly looks really good from top down, but when you pick it up it's a little disappointing how non-crispy the bottom of the crust is - not to mention the dough didn't really have any flavor to it either. Topping quality was not bad though. The pizza was 18" but in reality I don't think I'd be happy paying more than $25 for this pizza. Super overpriced for what it is. 6/10, would come again once in a blue moon. read more

I Love their pizzas ! The ingredient they use here is top notch . It's all take out . So don't expect to sit . I love getting my pizza and go . I go there more if it was closer to my home . read more

Um wow what happened. The sausage and kale pizza was the best pizza I've ever had until last week. I went for a slice and it was flavorless, the sausage was huge chunks lacking flavor just nothing like it used to be. WTH happened here. So bummed. read more

I still remember the first piping hot love at first bite of the sausage jalapeño pizza slice I grabbed from the freshly baked pie. Damn it was good! As a sucker for cheese, I was already won over. The melted cheese was absolutely addicting. The wood-fired crispy thin crust, zesty tomato sauce, and creative flavorful toppings were icing on the cake. I've been hearing Gioia come up in several different convos and it was serendipitous when it just happened to be right next to the sushi spot I was dining at for lunch. I got a whole sausage jalapeño pie ($29.50 and 6 a la carte slices at $4.25 each). I had given some slices to family and friends and they all have rave reviews. If you go during the lunch hour, a line is guaranteed but trust me, it's worth the wait! read more

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I've always been loyal to gioia but lately quality has really gone downhill. Burnt, soggy pizza, and rude service. Don't turn into some junk restaurant please! read more

Hands down THE best pizza in the Bay Area! Omg you have to go there. It might be a line but it's worth the wait

Gioia Pizzeria is a great, casual place to get some slices. Highly recommend the mushroom pizza! The crust was a perfect mix of crispy and chewy. It's also in a great area with other stores and cafes nearby. read more

The pizza quality has diminished significantly - the toppings are now sparse the amount of crust with nothing on it has grown and the price has soared. The customer service is horrible - kids who can't be bothered. You"ll pay about $12 for 2 slices. Still decent pizza but I visit very rarely now and it used to be a weekly thing. read more

Been here a long time & always so good. Sweet sauce, small business, great location, yum yum yum read more

Gioia Pizzeria - Always so good - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Amazing location and pizza! My number one pizza spot even for whole pies! :) Only thing that's a bit upsetting is that I can tell since my adoptive father has passed that at times I'm treated a bit rudely off first entry but I don't let it get to me personally, I'm here for the food! read more

This place is horrible. Staff is always rude. Not a hello or a thank you. Done with them. Pizza going downhill. read more

This pizza is terrible. The crust is bad, the sauce is sweet and tastes canned, and the topping are just thrown on top. The cheese is melted already, so the toppings sit on top. All in all, bad ingredients, poor craftsmanship, and not cooked right. Bad tasting crust was burnt black. Understanding that good pizza requires effort, time, and care, I can't fault them too much, considering the college demographic. Nonetheless, the pizza is so bad that it wouldn't be good sober, drunk, or hungover. Thus, it serves zero purpose. Sorry to have to write this. read more

Gioia Pizzeria - Bad pizza - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Legit NY style pizza! We got the julian (kale and sausage), funghi and formaggio. There was a good amount of toppings on the thin NY style crust. The julian was the first to go! Obviously, the crowd pleaser! It definitely had a kick to it. The funghi was a very close runner up. I didn't get a chance to try the cheese, but the kids tore it up. I wish I had more room in my belly to sample more, but one HUGE slice filled me up! Next time I'm going to have to cut the slices in half so I can try them all! read more

5* This berkeley gem has been on my yelp bookmarks for a while. Its very hard in my opinion to find a good pizza place that is consistently good and has a good balance of green, protein and flavor and I think Gioia's has all of the above! They have a limited menu and the pizza combinations are delicious, fresh and flavorful. My personal favorites are the Julian ( Sausage and Kale) 10/10 along with the Pepperoni 10/10, Spinach garlic 9/10 and Mushroom 9/10. The crust is thin and perfectly crispy and baked so well. The sausage is so fresh and has a slightly sweeter taste which complements the kale and cheese so well. The mushroom is also so delicious, fresh and flavorful. The pepperoni is so tasty and make me think of New york style pizzas making this a good choice always. These are not greasy so you dont feel heavy after as well ( unless you ate alot :p) The slices are huge so (2) will fill you up which makes it a great option for sharing a whole pie with friends/family. If you go to the location and get a slice they heat it up for you on request and its about $4 each approx. The whole pie ( about 8 slices) is about $30 approx. I will say eating the slice heated up in their enormous oven tastes crispy and amazing so both are great options and totally worth it! Note : Ask for Parmesan and chilli flakes when you pick up your order as they are such good additions to the meal. I usually pre order on the phone and go pick up after ( usually takes around 20 mins for a whole pie) and slices are always available at the counter. Also, when you order a whole pie you can get half of your choice of pizza like pepperoni ,etc and half plain cheese. Only half n half combos are with cheese. The staff is very friendly and since there is no place to sit at all, people usually take it to go or sit/ stand and eat their slices making the area around very lively and active on weekends! Highly recommend this place , must try! read more

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Usually I order slices, but tonight I splurged for an entire pie. Holy isht. Absolutely phenomenal. The Salsiccia is off the charts delicious. There aren't enough superlatives to do Gioia justice. Easily the best NY style pizza in the East Bay. Can't recommend highly enough. I'm in love... read more

Gioia Pizzeria - Best NY style pizza I've had in 51 years. Salsiccia. Holy isht. - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

good pizza although so far each time i've ordered a pie they've overcooked it so some of the crust is black. And one of the worst Caesar Salads ever. Seriously. i'm not sure i should even eat it due to the strong i suppose anchovy flavor. it's disgusting but if i add balsamic it's ok read more

Absolutely delicious pepperoni pizza slice. It took a lot of self control to not walk right back and buy a second slice. A no nonsense, fast, tangy, chewy, salty, oily slice of heaven. Good people watching spot as well. If you find that kind of thing interesting. read more

Really good pizza and a variety of choices. You can purchase by the slice or you can get a whole pie. This is as close to New York pizza as we get. Vegetarian, cheese only, anchovy, pepperoni, mushroom, and sausage and kale choices. Currently, they have spinach and squash options. There may be a line but the pizza makers are fast and efficient in the tiny space on Hopkins Street. They offer salads and cannoli for dessert. The cherry limeade is a hit. In the summer, they have lemonade. The friendly staff makes picking up a pleasure. read more

Worst slice of margarita I've ever had. It was $5 and very small firstly. Imagine if I got 2 slices for 10$ which I almost did. But more than that there were chunky globs of marinara with an overpowering flavor of garlic and it tasted old. It was just baaad. But it didn't taste like pizza let alone margarita pizza. It tasted like dry bread with bad sauce. It was seriously bad. I used to love this place. I don't like wasting money but I felt cheated. What happened to your pizza? Usually you feel so happy to eat pizza. I left feeling gross and like I wasted calories trying to eat whatever it was and wanted my money back. Robbed. read more

Had a slice of the acciughe with anchovies, and the Julien. The acciughe was falling apart the crust was so thin so had to eat it with a fork. Trouble with this is they just put the anchovies on top after you order it so they aren't really cooked with the pizza. The Julien was a little better but the sausage was a little funky. We have enjoyed their pizza in the past but don't know if I'll go back again. read more

Today, sadly, the service and the pizza were truly disappointing. I'm really hoping it was just an off day. When my pizza came out, one of the two slices I ordered was badly burned. The crust was black. Not simply blistered with little flecks of burn, it was all black. And it was not appetizing. Whether that happened when the pizza originally cooked or when the slice was warmed for too long, I'm not sure. When I pointed it out, the young server/cashier replied: "Too late, I already rang it up. I can't do anything about it." (apparently, this is what passes for customer service in 2026) I asked for another slice to replace the burned one and he actually started to ring up a charge for a third slice. WTF? I explained that customers shouldn't have to pay for burned slices and it should be replaced. In fact, the same thing had happened there once before, and in that case, the burned slice was replaced at no extra charge--without my having to ask. But this guy's attitude was that I ordered it, paid for it, and there was no room for complaint--maybe he had a slice-of-pizza sales quota to meet, who knows--and he said the burned food was not his fault and not his problem. This was followed by more nonsense. "Um, really, that's just the way we make it...blistered. If you'd told me before it went in the oven, but you didn't..." and then to top it off, "anyway, you already touched it, so I can't resell it now." What? I should have specified in advance that I didn't want a burned piece of pizza? Do customers really have to say that, like it's an option? Or is charcoal crust the latest trend? I've been eating pizza from Gioia in Berkeley for about 20 years--probably since before the kid working the front counter was born, and never have I had such a stressful experience getting something edible, if not delicious, to eat there. Finally one of the more mature workers onsite stepped in and replaced the slice at no extra charge (thank you!). I really used to look forward to going there, but maybe it's just too much these days to expect that they might have standards, as in selling warmed but unburned slices, or treating customers fairly without first having to be schooled--by the customer. Gioia has been a real neighborhood gem for several decades and it's a shame that things have changed. Suggest you ask yourself first if you're just in the mood for pizza (because there are other good options in town) or burned pizza, with a side of gaslighting. If it's the latter, Gioia's your place! read more

This place used to be wonderful with upbeat, kind, knowledgeable staff and inspired, vibrant choices. no more. pizza reflects this, in taste and visually. Everything looks tired, burned, unappealing. And the counter person seemed totally uninterested. If the pizza was outstanding, I could manage the outrageously high price - Almost $50 for a whole pizza. But it was mediocre. Never going back! Be forewarned. read more

I'm Gioia long time fan. I've noticed that their pizza slice got smaller and the toppings barely on it. Please bring back my old Gioia! read more

Gioia Pizzeria - Tiny Pepperoni Pizza - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Whoa! What's up with the glowing reviews? Had the sausage pizza - it's meh but the chopped Gioia salad was downright terrible! 2/3 cabbage -seriously! What a rip-off. If you need a "slice" and you're in the neighborhood maybebut anything else -forgetaboutit! read more

Great place to get NYC style thin crust pizza, not a lot of options in the East Bay. Asparagus slice was good, and tasted really fresh. Kale slice was bleh, didn't taste fresh. My gripe with this place-- they cook way too many pizzas ahead of time and just leave them in the case, so you're playing roulette on whether you get a fresh slice or not. I find this really annoying because I managed a NYC style pizza place at one point in my life, there needs to be more communication between the bakers and the staff up front. At any given time there's one fresh pie of each type, and about 1.5 old pies sitting out, but they won't serve you a fresh slice until they've gone through the old once. As you can see in my photo, the slice on the right looks noticeably fresher, and it tasted way better than the one on the left. (*Crust) This place needs to stop being cheap and remove the older slices from the case when fresh ones come out, or they need to stop baking so many unless their case is empty. I'm changing my review to 3.5/5 cause it's been this way for years, and there's room for them to improve. Nobody likes a stale slice of pizza. read more

Gioia Pizzeria - Kale/Sausage (Left) & Asparagus (Right) - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

I have been coming here for 8years, my biggest order was during Covid of $400 to stock up and freeze my favorite pizza and to support however now I think it's under a new manager name Angel that is the name I was given when I call them after I had a business meeting and opted to order four pies which when I sent to get the order I received several pies with heavy burnt parts to the point of not being edible now we were able to eat the areas that were not black burnt so I called the shop and spoke to an Angel, I did not request a refund I wanted to let them know what I received, he wanted a picture and Angel said that the owners were using a higher setting on the oven and he couldn't do anything about it and requested I email him the picture, I have received no response. This was a company meeting not a good representation of what I usually received. read more

Gioia Pizzeria - Not a great representation at my company's meeting, all four pies were like this or worst, check your pies before paying - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Pizza looks great, but I have to say, it's rather dry and flavorless. I never (ever leave my crust) but I just couldn't get this down. It tastes... like nothing, and requires sips of water to go down. I'm sorry, but we have been to nearly all of the incredible pizza places in Oakland and Berkeley dishing up insanely good pizzas. Gioia is often regarded in that same camp, but no way for us. The Pizziaolo at Gioia needs to taste their own pizza - it's understated and the crust is way too dry. read more

Just like Sf. Piping hot, thin crunchy crust, and great toppings! Love it's close by. read more

Gioia Pizzeria - Julian - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I have to space out my pizza reviews otherwise I'd expose my daily diet! Gioia Pizza in North Berkeley is a no frills spot with 10/10 NY style slices. Really flavorful and decently priced at about $4.25. Plenty of different slices that that are ready to go with a quick warm up in the oven. Service is on point and friendly. It hits the spot for that lunch time pizza craving. I went with my usual classic pepperoni and gave the salsiccia a shot, which ended up being my favorite! The blend of sausage, fennel, and jalapeño pair well together. A little tingle on the spice meter but nothing serious. Both slices had a nice crisp to the dough and tasted fresh! PS to my fellow yelpers, keep sending over your favorite pizza spots ;) read more

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My friend SWORE this was the best pizza all around. I didn't believe him. He said the Funghi Pizza pizza was to die for. Yeah, right. Okay, so I'm at my chiropractor's and realize this pizza place is less than 10 minutes away. So. I order the funghi pizza online thru "slice". You can order it for as soon as possible or pick your on time. I chose my time and headed over there after my chiropractor appointment. There's clear signage. Prepaid go to the window, need to pay, enter through the door. You can actually pick up slices to go. I went to the window. The aroma that was coming out of the business was AMAZING. The masked employee greeted me promptly, grabbed my pizza and I was headed back to the freeway. I thought about sneaking a slice to eat while driving but the thought of hot cheese landing in my lap was a major turn off. The pizza was good at room temp. It was amazing when we popped it into the oven to warm everything up. The crust. The toppings. Wow. It was worth coming off low carb for this! read more

Gioia Pizzeria - Fungi - Pizza Near Me - Berkeley, California

Got takeout here last time. It's pretty good but I will say it feels somewhat costco adjacent. Got the Salsicca and the Avocado salad which both hit the spot and did what it needed but otherwise were just fine. read more

I was so excited to be back in Berkeley so I could have more Gioia pizza, which makes this even more disappointing. I ordered a whole pizza to share with my hosts. Brought it home and it was extremely undercooked and strangely very salty. Completely inedible. We were all left hungry and I was left both hungry and embarrassed. Given the quality control issues, I guess I'm going to be going to either Rose's or Zachary's going forward. read more