DELAWARE, Ohio — Recently, DelawareO asked our Facebook fans to tell us about the best pizza places in Delaware County. One frequently mentioned pizza spot was Amato’s Woodfired Pizza.
The restaurant, located at 6 S Sandusky St, is a cornerstone of downtown Delaware. It’s place at the corner of S. Sandusky Street and W. William Street makes it centrally located for downtown foot traffic. Its proximity to Ohio Wesleyan University makes it a favorite spot when parents come to visit.
More: Review: Casual atmosphere, great pizza at Cheshire Market
Amato’s actually takes up what used to be two different storefronts. The original storefront new serves as a carry-out pizza spot. The restaurant’s main dining room is one door down from the original spot.
Atmosphere
At Amato’s, there are tables of varying sizes that can comfortably seat large groups. Upon our visit with a group of three, many of the tables were occupied. However, our server promptly cleared a table that was being used for folding pizza boxes. The restaurant also features a bar located towards the rear, with a large wood-fired pizza oven visible behind it. If you’re seated facing the right direction, you can even watch the pizzas being cooked in the flames of the oven.
The restaurant also has a patio, but that was closed given that it was winter at the time of the visit.
MORE: City Barbeque in Delaware hiring as opening nears
Menu
The menu at Amato’s has a wide variety of pizza, pasta, sandwiches and appetizers. Where pizza is concerned, you can build your own pizza or order a specialty pie.
Amato’s offers a stunning variety of toppings, many you don’t see at very many pizza places. There are also five cheese and three sauce options.
Toppings include:
- Fresh Basil
- Fresh Green Bell Pepper
- Fresh Red Onion
- Fresh White Onion
- Fresh Garlic
- Fresh Zucchini
- Fresh Mushroom Medley
- Fresh Scallions
- Fresh Spinach
- Fresh Tomatoes
- Fresh Yellow Squash
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Caramelized Onions
- Artichoke Hearts
- Marinated Spiced Eggplant
- Kalamata Olives
- California Green Olives
- Pineapple
- Sauerkraut
- Capers
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Banana Peppers
- Fresh Jalapeño Peppers
- Fresh Habanero Peppers
- Pepperoni
- Sausage
- Meatballs
- Bacon
- Ham
- Prosciutto
- Kielbasa
- Anchovies
- Hard Boiled Egg
Pizzas start at $9.99 for an 8-inch, or $11.99 for a 12-inch.
Pizza math: An 8-inch pizza gets you about 50 square inches of pizza. A 12-inch pizza gets you about 113 square inches. That means that by ordering a 12-inch pizza, you get more than double the pizza for only two more dollars. If you’re ordering for a group, two 12-inch pizzas will feed more people than four 8-inch pizzas.
MORE: 8 Delaware Co. businesses opening or expanding in 2023
The Food
We started with an order of pesto bread. That’s essentially a pizza crust covered in pesto sauce and Parmesan cheese. The bread was perfectly crispy with a hint of char on the edges. The pesto gave the bread a good flavor, with the Parmesan giving a nutty, salty note.
I ordered the Berliner specialty pizza. That includes tomato sauce, sauerkraut, kielbasa and fresh mozzarella. The edge of the crust was rendered perfectly crispy, with the toppings and cheese well-browned. This pizza has a perfect texture when fresh, but the moisture from the kraut affected inner portions of the crust on slices picked later. This pizza is best eaten with a knife and fork.
My wife ordered the Bianca, which includes an extra virgin olive oil base, fresh garlic, fresh spinach, fresh tomatoes, Gorgonzola and fresh mozzarella. This pie was again perfectly cooked.
My toddler son got a Pepperoni pizza. He ate all but two slices of an 8-inch pie, and had no complaints.
The crust of all pizzas at Amato’s are very very thin. This allows for the high heat of the wood fired oven to melt the cheese and cook the crust very quickly. This also means that you will likely need to order more pizzas than you think you need, especially for a group.
Conclusion
Amato’s is a great place to go when you want to sit down and have a good meal in downtown Delaware. The pizza is excellent, and the atmosphere is wonderful. It’s not hard to see why Amato’s has become such an important piece of downtown Delaware.