I'm getting to the point that I'm pretty much treating Yelp like Instagram and rarely take the time to write a review. That said, I really feel the need to praise the pizza at Joe's. A couple years ago, in 2015, my sister, brother-in-law and I visited Dayton for the first time in years. My BIL was born and raised in east Dayton, and we lived in Beavercreek through Jr High and High School before moving away. We all had been craving Dayton-style pizza, so the weekend between Christmas and New Years we drove up from NC for a weekend of sight seeing things like Rikes window displays, Carillon Park, Clifton Mill lights and of course, PIZZA. Our long-time favorite has always been Marions, and we also love Flying Pizza's Sicilian, which yes, isn't "Dayton-Style", but it's the taste of our youth. It's funny, but if you ask anyone from Dayon "Hey, what's the best pizza you've ever tasted in Dayton" and they'll all say "Cassano's". And if you ask "What's the worst pizza you've ever tasted in Dayton?" they'll say "Cassano's". So, due to their inconsistency and due to their move from provolone cheese to Provel (We aren't in St. Louis, Cassano's!) we dropped them from our list.
We were wrapping up enjoying a couple cigars at "The Wharf" when we ran into a local buddy. David thought it was funny that we were craving Dayton-style pizza so badly that we made a pizza pilgrimage, and when we listed off the places we were hitting he said "So of course you are going to Joe's. Right?" Joe's? Never heard of it. It was less than a half hour later that we were sitting at Joe's with our buddy.
And to get to the important part that you came here for, we ordered a large pepperoni and we were BLOWN AWAY! The crust was unbelievably thin, crisp yet chewy. Firm enough to hold the sauce and toppings without problem. We all agreed that they used a little more sauce than we were used to, but it was good and we all liked the moisture and taste acidity that it added. The cheese was just perfect. Not too much, not too little. But the star of the show was the pepperoni itself. As it cooks in their classic stone hearth oven, the pepperoni curls-up and crips-up like Bacon! It was phenomenal!
As we wrapped-up our week we had several other local pizzas, but we all agreed that of all the places we tried, Joe's takes the prize as best pizza in Dayton.
Fast forward to Oct 2023 my sister and I found ourselves back in Dayton for an even at the Shopsmith power tool factory, and just as before we took advantage of the event to relive our pizza pilgrimage of 2015. We had Sicilian at Flying Pizza, we had Marion's, and then we went to Joe's. Once again, they nailed it! And the price was undeceivable reasonable. I know this will sate this review, but we got a large pepperoni pizza and two 20oz pops for $20. Joe, you need to raise your prices by 50 cents and make sure your staff is properly appreciated and that you are profitable.
Speaking of the staff and the restaurant itself; The staff are friendly, clean and tidy and hard-working and the interior of the dining area is a bit old and dated, but it is clean and well kept.
Early in the pandemic my bride and I took a trip to Dayton for a funeral, and we shared a Joe's pepperoni in the car. She wasn't as impressed as we were during either of our dine-in experiences, but I still enjoyed it and was happy that they were doing their best to produce great food. read more