Counter Culture.

Bryan Street Tavern Makes One Hell of a Pie.

Bryan Street Tavern
4315 Bryan Street
East Dallas

Ambiance: 3 pies out of 4
Service: 3.5 pies out of 4
Food: 3.5 pies out of 4

Everyone's got a pick for the top pizza joint in Dallas — and no one has a problem arguing about why their choice is the best. Scalini's, Campisi's, Dough Pizzeria, Il Cane Rosso, blah, blah, blah. Fact is, it all boils down to what type of pizza you prefer and the ingredients used and method with which the pizza is cooked.

But if you can stomach a crispy, thin-crust pie, know this: Bryan Street Tavern makes some of the best pizza in town on this front.

For starters, the ingredients are all local. The meat comes from Jimmy's Italian Food Store — located just a few blocks away — and features the delicious regular and spicy Italian sausage. The cheese comes from none other than the Mozzarella Company in Deep Ellum — again, less than a mile from Bryan Street.

Second, the pizza itself is stone-fired, always cooked perfectly and crisp. It's not soggy. It's never greasy. And the sauce is very good, complementing the cheese remarkably well.

Plus, y'know, it's a bar, so there's plenty of good beer around to down and make the pizza-eating experience that much better.

A single-topping 12-inch pie will run you $8.95, 19-inch single-topping pie costs $17. The beer selection here isn't all that great — but the bar does serve a limited number of local brews on draft, all at a fairly average cost.

The Caesar salad, too, is solid: Everything is made in-house, and you can tell. The croutons were quality, the dressing was good (especially if you're wanting to avoid sardine breath afterward) and the prices easy to swallow ($5.95 for a small and $7.95 for a large).

The service? Well, it's decent. Keep in mind: You're eating at a bar, not at Pizza Patron. Still, the pizza and other items come out fairly fast.

The biggest problem here is the location and the parking, both of which can be fittingly described as “sneaky.” If you're not looking for it or familiar with the area, you might get turned around a bit when trying to find the place.

But the room itself is set up pretty well, with ample seating that includes tables, booths, high tops, bar seats and even a lounge area. There are some pool tables too, and several dart boards, as well as patio seating in the back and a stage for concerts on the weekends.

Overall, Bryan Street Tavern is a pretty great neighborhood bar. But it's also a gem for people looking for a good thin, crispy pizza pie.