Published by Angie. Last Updated on July 29, 2024.
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Alberta’s Pizzeria is a wood-fired pizza shop offering small plates, salads, oysters, pizzas, and more on a stretch of Western Ave. in the North Side that has seen a flurry of new business development in recent months. After operating a successful food truck for several years, Alberta’s brings their experience and delicious pies to their first brick and mortar location with a lovely traditional Italian pizza shop feel.
We have been dedicated followers of Alberta’s food truck for years, sometimes planning our days around which breweries they were parking in front of. The dough of their thin-crust pies has great flavor complexity and beautiful leopard spotting, and their toppings are flavorful but simple, as all good wood-fired pies should be. It always impressed us that they could execute such deliciousness with a mobile setup, too.
One of Alberta’s frequent brewery stops was Four Points, located on Western Ave., which just so happens to be right next door to Alberta’s new brick and mortar spot. It’s a match made in heaven!
Alberta’s Hits All The Right Notes for Pizza and More
We visited Alberta’s on opening day and sat at the stunning bar that runs the length of the restaurant. The space has a traditional Italian pizza shop vibe, with the massive wood-fired oven watching over the restaurant from the back of the dining space.
It will likely take us many visits to work through the menu here, as it’s more than just pies: tostones, zucchini frites, and salads are just some of the small plate offerings, with oysters, schnitzel, and peri peri prawns rounding out the non-pizza portion of the menu.
We started with the charred broccolini which had toasted panko and lemon that gave a nice crunch and brightness to the smoky veggies. The fritto misto was another great choice with light and crispy fried calamari and artichokes, plus we added on a marinara sauce for dipping.
There is a full bar menu that includes two special collab beers, one an Italian Pilsner brewed with neighbors Four Points, and a bottled farmhouse ale brewed with Dancing Gnome. We tried the Four Points collab and it was the perfect light, refreshing pizza partner.
We also dabbled in the cocktail menu with the Primo Spritz (Stellare Primo aperitvo, soda water, and prosecco) and the delightfully tart and fruity South Bronx (basically a gin martini with passionfruit). Wine lovers will also find plenty to choose from with a selection of wines by the glass and bottle (mostly Italian, naturally).
The pizza menu has classics and favorites from their food truck days like a margherita, the White Boy (a white pie with house made mozzarella, pecorino, garlic, oregano, and rosemary), and the Jabroni (tomato sauce, mozz, pepperoni, and chili). Although we probably could have shared one pizza given the starters that we tried, we couldn’t resist ordering two pies- we opted for the Cry Baby and the Donnie Bresaol.
The Cry Baby is a spicy take on the White Boy with the addition of jalapenos and red onions. We loved the pungent onions and the spicy kick to counter the creaminess and richness of the cheeses.
But the Donnie Bresaol is one of our favorite pizzas that we’ve had in the city in recent memory. This one was a red sauce pie with mozzarella, bresaola, pecorino, parm, and an aged balsamic drizzle. It was an absolute perfect balance of flavors with the savory bresaola, funky pecorino, and tangy-sweet balsamic. When the pizzas came out we told ourselves we would take half of the slices home, but after one bit of the Donnie Bresaol it was clear that wasn’t happening!
We are over-the-moon esctatic that Alberta’s has found a permanent home from which to sling their amazing pies, and even happier that it’s in an up and coming section of Western Ave. right next to one of our favorite breweries. It makes an easy one-two punch for an excellent night out!
Alberta’s Pizzeria is located at 917 Western Avenue in the North Side.
