Tommy’s Pizza (Upper Arlington)
1350 W. Lane AvenueFriday night is pizza night. It doesn’t matter where I am or if I’m with my family or not. It’s pizza night. That’s just the way it is.
I’ve had a lot of really good pizza lately so the bar seems to be getting pretty high. I typically look at Google reviews and pictures when I’m on the road looking for a pizza place and that seems to work out pretty well for me.
I was in Columbus for work a couple of weeks ago. The co-worker I was with had friends in Columbus so her plan was to go to dinner with them. My plan was to grab a six pack from a nearby gas station and order a pizza.
I had seen reviews for Tommy’s Pizza and the place looked good. There is a location on Ohio State’s campus that I was trying to order from but they close at 3 PM? The online ordering didn’t work and no one answered the phone.
Luckily there is another location not too far away.
I picked the Upper Arlington location of Tommy’s Pizza. This restaurant is on West Lane Avenue near North Star Road just to the west of THE Ohio State University. The restaurant is a standalone building near the intersection. I actually passed it at first because there is a Speedway on the other side of the intersection and I needed gas. When I got out of my car to get gas, I could smell the delicious pizza making a half a block away. The building has kind of old school pizza joint look to it with a green awning above the door with the name “Tommy’s” written in white cursive lettering.
I knew they were busy when I tried to put an order in online. At first it told me they weren’t accepting online orders then it said the next online order would be available in 10 minutes…so I waited. When I put that order in, the initial response was that it would be 20-25 minutes. A few seconds later, I got a text saying it would be closer to 90 minutes. I had nothing else to do that night and I didn’t have hungry kids breathing down my neck so the wait wasn’t really an issue.
I put in an order for a large pepperoni and sausage pizza. The cost was a little over $22 before tip. I paid when I ordered so when I got to the restaurant, I just had to grab my pizza and go.
The restaurant is now just a carry-out place but they used to have seating inside. The order counter is right as you walk in the door and there are 2 liters of Pepsi stacked up in the available space around the counter. The dining room is right past the order counter but there are signs blocking it off now and many of the tables are being used as storage for unfolded pizza boxes.
I was only about 15 minutes from my hotel so I did the impossible and waited until I got back to my room to dig in.
The pizza looked amazing when I opened the box. The crispy thin crust pizza is cut into squares and cooked to a delicious deep brown color. The pepperoni and sausage were piled on so you got a mouthful in each bite.
I know I’ve said this a lot recently, but this pizza was pretty damn great. It’s pizza the way I like pizza. The thin crust has a crunch to it. There’s a thick, sweet sauce on top. The meats are all cooked so they have little crispy bits around the edges. Maybe it’s a psychological effect but I really do think pizza tastes better when it’s cut in to small squares.
I ate about 3/4 of this pizza then actually brought the rest home after our job on Saturday. I wasn’t hungry when I got up Saturday morning and I didn’t want to throw the rest of this out. It was soooo good. That would have been a crime.
Tommy’s Pizza has been around in Columbus and the OSU area since the 1950’s. It’s not hard to see why. They call this “Columbus style” which is defined by the thin crust, toppings all the way to the edge, and cut in to squares. To me, it’s Chicago Tavern Pizza…but whatever. It’s good pizza.
College town pizza is always held to a higher standard and this is the ultimate college town pizza joint. I loved this pizza. My mouth is watering just looking at the pictures of this pizza. It would definitely be our go-to place if we lived in Columbus
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