|
Nicky D’s Wood-Fired Pizza
2840 De La Vina St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 898-2222
|
 |
 |
Reviews by the General Public
Bob is the best!!!, 3/13/2013
Reviewer: Mike and valarie
from Santa Barbara, CA
Everything was awesome, food experience, atmosphere and employees. Bobbie made the best pizza ever!! Will always go back
|
Good idea, but misses the mark, 11/8/2012
Reviewer: Maureen
from Santa Barbara, CA
Today was my second trip to Nicky D's. The first time I was in a hurry and just picked up a slice of pizza that turned out to be a soggy, and less than satisfying lunch. Today I tried the Capreses Hero which sounded interesting, but missed the mark. The bread was a mushy white roll, it had too much mozzarella, too little basil, ho-hum tomatoes, and the chef completely omitted the olive oil (listed as an ingredient in the menu.) Overall, my experience has been disappointing, and I probably won't be bold enough to try a third meal here.
|
Worst Pizza and Service in SB in 20 years, 9/12/2012
Reviewer: James
from Santa Barbara, CA
Delivery Driver never showed, so we went and picked up. We were excited to try different pizza in SB. Pizza was absolutely awful! Crust on BOTH pizza's was burned and pizza's were soggy. They tasted like burned rubber. We are NY style pizza lovers... this ain't it. Bummer.
|
Horrible Service, 8/24/2012
Reviewer: Samantha
from Santa Barbara, CA
They way over charged us for garlic bread and when we tried to fix the problem they repeatedly hung up on me and they wouldnt answer the phone. I finally had to drive there and demanded that they refund my money and not charge my credit card. The manager was extremely rude and blamed the whole situation on me. im sorry but how is it my fault you hung up on me several times.!!! I wouldnt recommed the place and i never even tried the food.!
|
Hands down, best pizza in Santa Barbara, 7/4/2012
Reviewer: Lauren
from Santa Barbara, CA
The pizza is delicious - perfect thickness (or thinness, I should say) with just the right ratio of crust to sauce to cheese. Its the real deal! The service is also super friendly. I will definitely go back and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys NY pizza.
|
Best pizza in SB, 6/2/2012
Reviewer: A
from Santa Barbara, CA
Best pizza in SB, best slice I've had since I left NYC! Definitely ordering again and again.
|
uuuuhmm...
Reviewer: prue
from Santa Barbara, CA
hi stuart. i actually haven't tried nicky D's yet, but i too am from the east coast. i don't know where you were eating, but the pizza i used to eat was super cheesy. what's this "NY pizza isn't cheesy" nonsense?!! that is maybe "california-i-must-be-thin" mentality, definitely not east coast pizza mentality, lol. Gimme mah cheesy cheesy pizza!!!
|
The real McCoy
Reviewer: Stuart
from Santa Barbara, CA
Finally a pizza place in SB that bakes and serves real NYC style pizza. I grew up in the Bronx when there was a pizza parlor every two blocks. Nicky D's serves the closest I ve come to the real thing. Crust crunchy and fully baked, olive oil and tomato sauce, not overwhelmingly cheesy. In Cali it seems the toppings rule, in NY it's the pizza itself. Try the plain cheese pizza! Good lunch special: two slices, tossed green salad with real parmesan cheese, black olives, pepperiocinis and croutons with mixed greens. I liked it and will return often.
|
You gotta try it
Reviewer: Nancy
from Santa Barbara, CA
FOOD: The pizza here is great--authentic thin crust with super fresh ingredients. I've had the salads here be hit and miss. Even when it's a miss, it's still way better than the salad you'll get from most pizza places. They make their own dressings.
SERVICE: I love that the owner is on site, picks up the phone, and that they make batches of fresh lasagna that my kids love. I've always had good service.
ATMOSPHERE: Don't come here for the ambiance. It's a pizza joint. The interior is clean, simple and small. This is not the Olio Pizzeria or Via Vai--which is where you want to go if you want great pizza, great wine and a lovely dining experience. Their delivery service is excellent. I use it regularly. It's a great place to stop and have pizza by the slice if you are out running errands with the kids. (If you're downtown, I recommend Gino's on West Figueroa.)
|
Not Very Good
Reviewer: Mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
Had the chicken parm sandwich. Took them forever to make it and it was cold when I got it home. But the biggest disappointment was that the ingredients are second rate. Nothing tasted like homemade (canned?). Chicken was like the frozen stuff from Costco. Had high expectations, but was left very disappointed. Not worth spending top $$ on second rate food. Won't ever go back...
|
Just like Silverlake
Reviewer: James
from Santa Barbara, CA
I lived in Silverlake for 8 years and Nicky D's on Rowena Avenue was the best in the area. The only other better pizza was Vito's in West Hollywood and Joe's in Santa Monica (both are thin crust NYC style pizza.) And of course Pizzeria Mozza (Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali's renowned restaurant in Hollywood), which is in a class of its own. The only issues I've ever had at the Nicky D's Silverlake location was the service often being spotty. But the pizza was always done correctly.
It's well known that Santa Barbara isn't the best place for dining and is sorely in need of some top restaurants. But things are slowly changing and having Nicky D's here in SB is certainly welcomed. I think that SB residents have become complacent and their standards aren't as high as in bigger urban areas like LA and San Francisco. That could be why there are some of these negative reviews. When you get accustomed to bad food (and this is not a good pizza town), it's hard to distinguish good from bad. But Nicky's is more on the good side of what's available in this town in respect to pizza. I think it absolutely beats places like Rusty's which is no better than the Shakey's, Godfather's, Papa John's, or Domino's chain store pizza. All they do is pile up toppings. Pizza is about the dough, the sauce, the cheese, and how it's cooked. It's not about heavy toppings that slide of the slice.
|
Fresh Ingredients
Reviewer: Dianne
from Santa Barbara, CA
Had the Deluxe last night and it was excellant. I'm going to give their pasta a try sometime soon. Very well made and cooked pizza. I think the bad reviews are fake from the competition. You know who you are and I have not had one of your pizza recently because the ingredients were quite stale. Rusty's employees don't really care so they are out too.
|
Finally Good Pizza in SB
Reviewer: Kelly
from Santa Barbara, CA
Tried Nicky D's for the first time about about a month ago and loved it. I now go there about once a week and have always had very good pizza and even better service. I think it's great that the owner is making the food and greeting you when you come in. The crust is thin and flavorful and really makes the pizza. We usually call in our order, a large pizza with roasted garlic, and it is ready in about 20 minutes. Over the years I have tried all of the other pizza places in SB and this is my favorite. Give it a try!
|
COLD DELIVERY
Reviewer: Kae
from Santa Barbara
The pizza we ordered took over an hour to be delivered and was cold. We were told that a driver went home unexpectedly. Should that be a reason to deliver cold food? Of pizzas from this place: I've had 2 great pizzas, one bad pizza with a soggy crust, and another bad one that was COLD (not warm) on delivery. They need some consistency if they're going to make it in Santa Barbara. Also, better customer service could go a long way toward keeping customers. Probably not me, but others.
|
Former New Yorker ordering BBQ Chicken Pizza?
Reviewer: Michael Stanton
from Santa Barbara, CA
Sorry, I don't buy it. Nicky D owned a successful pizza joint in New York for years and brought something good to the west coast. It's one of the few good pie joints in town that can also be compared to NY style pizza and I doubt someone from NY would order BBQ chicken pizza (a west coast - CPK invention) to compare to NY style pizza. I don't believe Karen either. I've been to Nicky D's dozens of times and have never seen anything burnt, and to compare the crust to crackers is laughable at best, same goes for the sauce. If it was burnt they wouldn't serve it to you anyway because of their obvious pride in good food and service which they tend to make very apparent the moment you step in the door. Another two reviewers who probably work at or own a pizza place or are trolling fake restaurant reviews. They don't do day old pizza either. They make a large when they open and heat slices from that in the oven and make fresh ones as needed just like EVERY good slice joint does. Cheese is always going to be greasy sometimes so do what some people with half a brain that don't like grease do and dab your pizza off with a few napkins, duh.
|
Love.
Reviewer: Nick
from Santa Barbara, CA
Hands down. Best pizza in Santa Barbara. Try something simple, the crust won't disappoint. Don't walk out without eating at least one cannoli.
|
Most disappointing pizza I ever had
Reviewer: Mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
I was born and raised in New York city and I don't get the comparison reviews. This was the worst pizza I ever had. I ordered the BBQ chicken and all the ingredients seemed to be smeared onto the dough. The dominant flavor was salty and the crust was tasteless and nearly burnt. The half star is on the optimism that they were just having a very off night.
|
Not good at all
Reviewer: karen
from Santa Barbara, CA
Tasted like tomato soup with burnt crackers
|
Excellent Pizza
Reviewer: Jonathan
from Santa Barbara, CA
I happened upon this place today. The pizza was excellent. I had a slice of the day's special which was interesting and very tasty. The owner was very friendly. I look forward to going back there soon.
|
Real Good Pizza
Reviewer: Ryan
from Santa Barbara, CA
Haha rude owner my hiney there pizza is the BEST. Nicky D is so nice I work in that plaza and eat there pizza all the time he is like a instant friend the moment you walk in! Ranch cost money for him why is it free for you LMAO?! Why did you put ranch on your pizza? I'm original from New York where there a million pizza places and nobody does that don't do that. Yuk!!!
|
amazing pizza...rude owner
Reviewer: sam jones
from Santa Barbara, CA
i have been to this place many times and i love the way NIcky's makes pizza BUT last time i dined in, i had to beg the owner for napkins AND pay extra for a side of ranch! i understand he just moved here, but if he wants to stay in this business, he gotta play nice!
|
The best I'v had in california !
Reviewer: andrew
from Santa Barbara, CA
I'm from Brooklyn New York and let me tell you I felt like I was home again...this places pizza is the best I'v had in california and compares to the best I'v had in New York! The place is small but the service is good and the pizza is simple great!
|
Meh, not that good
Reviewer: Marcia
from Santa Barbara, CA
I'm no pizza connoiseur, I will admit that. But this pizza was soggy, limp, and greasy. I have a few favorite pizza places depending on my mood. This place isn't going to make the list.
The greek salad was decent though and the service was good. They just need to fix the soggy crust.
|
Delicious
Reviewer: Robert Klein
from Santa Barbara, CA
Absolutely recommend this place highly. Quick and efficient delivery service and pizza to die for. Rock on! Only reason 4 star service was because they were busy and seemed overwhelmed.
|
Mall Pizza at Gourmet Prices
Reviewer: Jeff
from Santa Barbara, CA
For the money it's simply not worth it. I ordered a single slice of pepperoni and a soft drink which totaled over $8. The pizza is fire oven, yes, but it is NOT fresh. They do it the same way the mall does: They keep a day-old plain cheese pizza up front, throw on your toppings and re-heat it. Maybe if they made the entire slice fresh I could justify the price. Even then the pizza crust was paper-thin, soggy and the whole thing dripping grease (like nasty, ringing out a wet towel grease) $5 meatball foot-long at Subway would have been more satisfying...and I could have gotten way more toppings. Save your money. The search for good Santa Barbara pizza continues....
|
White Clam Pizza!
Reviewer: Emily
from Santa Barbara, CA
Try it. Enough said.
|
Pizza wars continue
Reviewer: Adam
from Santa Barbara, CA
I finally cheated on Paesano's and went to Nicky D's. For comparison purposes, I want to compare it to both Paesano's and Gino's, since they are two of the most respectable pizza establishments in town. Anyone who's been to these 3 places will notice a big difference in the crust. Nicky D's, despite the nice oven, doesn't make a crust that's crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside like Paesano's or Gino's. Even though the pizza comes up short on that front, they make a nice pie, but not good enough to win me away from Paesano's, and if there was no Paesano's, it wouldn't win me away from Gino's.
Service was good, price high (~$16 for plain large pie).
|
Simply not worth the price
Reviewer: Spencer
from Santa Barbara, CA
I can't review Nicky D's pizza, but I can say that for the quality and size of the calzone, it's simply not worth the price. $10 gets you calzone with no toppings, just cheese and sauce (as if anyone would actually order that...). One meat and one veggie gets you $16 after tax. Which would be great if it was huge, like most calzones in town (Giovanni's, Gino's) but it's really just not big at all, and just not that great. Hopefully their pizza is better but not sure if i'll be back.
I also hate that I don't have a better reason, but the reason for the 3-star service review is that the guy was just annoying. Loud and trying to make funny jokes but just came off really irritating. Probably just his personality (so no offense) but still worth mentioning.
|
Fabulous pizza, BUT
Reviewer: charlotte klein
from Goleta
The pizza was fabulous! BUT the one thing that was off was the soggy, almost wet crust! Oh what a shame! They have this fabulous wood burning oven, why not fire the pizza directly on the stone? When you get a pan involved with a thin crust w/ lots of toppings on it, well it causes a lot of steam, hence, soggy crust! Ditch the pan man! and the pizza hands down would have been a 5! The Greek salad was perfect (except the absence of cucumbers) nice Romaine (properly cut and spun) lots of Feta and Kalamata olives, ripe tomatoes and one of the best darn Italian dressings I've ever had! The guys behind the counter were very nice and actually seemed to care about our first time experience there. Be warned that the atmosphere is lacking. If the place got a makeover and draft beer (on tap) a few nice wines to choose from,some tables out side.......goldmine!
|
Best Pizza in Town - Check!
Reviewer: Becky
from Santa Barbara, CA
The pizza was sooo delicious it nearly brought tears to my eyes! The Pesto Bravo - delicate crust, just the right amount of pesto, goat cheese, sausage, and yummy chunks of roasted garlic - bravo! My husband devoured his Eggplant Parmigiana sandwich - I snuck a bite - OMG! Nick and crew (family?) were great hosts. Very affordable, clean joint ... We can't wait to share Nicky D's with all of our friends. The only problem, I can decide what to order next time!
|
Best pizza in town
Reviewer: Dan
from Santa Barbara, CA
I've made an extensive survey, and this is the best pizza in town. Never mind that this is one of the worst pizza towns I've ever encountered--there are a few decent enough places and lots of travesties--Nicky D's could stand up against NY-style pizza from almost anywhere.
|
Best cheese pizza on the West Coast
Reviewer: William
from Santa Barbara, CA
I grew up in Northern New Jersey, moved West 9 years ago. I've been to Nicky D's in Santa Barbara five or six times now, and this is easily my favorite cheese pizza anywhere on the West coast. (I assume their toppings and other menu items are just as good, but I love cheese pizza and that's all I've had there).
I wish I were a better reviewer, all I can say is that it reminds me of the best pizza I had growing up in the NYC area, might even be better since one tends to idealize old memories of favorite places. NYC actually has some terrible pizza places catering to tourists, along with many excellent neighborhood ones. Two of my favorites of the well-known ones were John's (several locations in Manhattan) and Grimaldi's under the Brooklyn Bridge (on the Brooklyn side of course). I think I like Nicky D's even better than those.
The owner is an enjoyable character; I always "eat in" (like my pizza straight out of the wood-fired oven), and the times the owner has been there, I noticed him greeting regular customers from the neighborhood like old friends, which was nice, especially considering he hasn't been open long.
The location is certainly unassuming, with just a few tables (it might be tough to squeeze the whole softball team in there but you could probably do it). It has a nice clean single bathroom.
I think this place is a great addition to Santa Barbara.
|
Great Pizza
Reviewer: Sharon
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food was great. Best pizza I have ever had in SB.
|
This place is great, ignore the bad reviews
Reviewer: Mary
from Santa Barbara, CA
I don't understand the bad reviews either--the pizza is delicious, their cannolis, according to my husband, are the best he's ever tasted, and the service there has been really attentive and friendly every time we've gone. The emphasis with which the bad reviews are written also sounds fishy to me. Try it out for yourself!
|
I'm 'horrified' your husband is a chef
Reviewer: Landis
from Santa Barbara, CA
Your bogus "review" is so over the top, an obvious competitor’s hatchet job! You FAIL Rule # 1! You could MOVE to "NYC", and you still wouldn’t know squat about pizza, let alone authentic pizza, which Nicky D's certainly is.
I lived pizza in the NYC metro area and ate I Nicky's pizza nearly 40 years ago (D.B.A. Eva's) located next to the Metropol Club in Times Square. I also wrote a 24,006 word study on the history, migration, techniques and reviews on scores of present day pizza joints, including an in-depth on De Fara's Domenico DeMarco in Brooklyn.
Nicky D's is not only of the highest quality, but his ‘Pizza Napoletana Margherita’ would be the ONLY pizza in Santa Barbara that could qualify for the coveted Italian “Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana” (AVPN) or “Pizza Napoletana STG” (European Union) in co-operation with the Italian Napoli standards. As of 2007 only 21 American pizza joints qualified and only two are in NYC.
So please don't pass your con-job for a "review", EVERYTHING I have ordered from Nicky D's was on par with excellence and it will be the only pizza in Santa Barbara I will be ordering from now on!
But do feel free to enjoy your ketchup on matzo cracker crust ‘pizza's’ or go have yourself a State Street wannabe NY slice and pay $6.00 bucks plus for the privilege!
|
real good pizza
Reviewer: mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
I've eaten the pizza here 3 times now and truly believe it's one of, if not THE best pizza in Santa Barbara. The crust and the sauce are good and fresh, but the quality of the cheese is what puts these pies over the top. Not convinced? Try a slice. Also, I found the staff friendly and genuine.
|
Have you eaten here? Write a review of this location!
Terms of Service
|
