Fat Tony’s Pizza
4973 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117
(858) 268-7700
www.fattonyspizzasd.com
Fat Tony’s Pizza is located next to Ba Ren. I’ve passed by it many times and it always looks really busy. I’ve heard good things about it and have been wanting to check it out.
I recently purchased a groupon certificate for the place, giving me a chance to finally try it. Because we had such a large group of people, we decided to get carry out.
The restaurant was really busy when I called. And they told me that the pizzas would take about 45 minutes. I was surprised by how long the wait was. When we arrived to pick up the pizza, it still wasn’t ready and we had to wait quite a bit longer.
We ordered two 18 inch pizzas. One with mushrooms and meatballs. The other was one of their specialty pies: a white pie. Since Fat Tony’s is supposed to specialize in NY style pizzas, that is the style we ordered.
The mushroom and meatballs had a good amount of toppings and sauce. The crust was thin and crispy. But it was too crispy. There was no real chew, instead, it was almost like a cracker. Everyone eating it was crunching their way through the pizza.
No one was a fan of the white pizza. It was almost completely filled of ricotta. I usually like white pies and I like some ricotta cheese, but this was way too much.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed. I do have to warn you though, I’m a bit of a NY pizza snob. I grew up on NY pizza and spent a summer in NY not too long ago, where I ate at almost every little pizza shop in NYC that I spotted. So my standards for NY style pizza are pretty high.
I like the name! Sounds like a character from Scarface or the Soprano’s.
This post reminded me that I need to go to Ba Ren again!!!
I thought of Soprano’s too! It’s been a while since I’ve been to Ba Ren. When the weather gets cold again, I need to go back too.
Hi Kirbie! Bummer your pizzas were that good. I haven’t been to Fat Tony’s in a while but the last time it was pretty good, at least to San Diego standards. I still haven’t found a good NY pizza here, ever since Frankie’s was sold (and now closed). It’s never packed when I’ve driven or stopped by, with the exception of NFL game days. So I’m wondering if they were busy due to the Groupon like Faye said.
I’m wondering if the pizzas weren’t so great because they were so busy. They did say they are always this busy on Saturdays, and that it wasn’t something unusual. Oh well. I like Bronx, though there is some inconsistency, sometimes the dough gets soggy. Also the bronx dough doesn’t last very well if you get the pizza to go.
Hi Kirbie
FYI – the website link doesn’t work to the restaurants you are reviewing. It happened w/ the Mignon Pho link as well.
When i click on it, it says ‘Not Found’
Thanks for letting me know. I’ll fix that.
Did this place get busy b/c of Groupon? I think I passed by this place on the way to Ba Ren a few times too.
I like a crispy thin crust! How was it TOO thin? Was it soggy in the middle? The mushrooms and meatball combo sounds awesome – nice pick of toppings 🙂
The ricotta one looks pretty sad. I’ve have ricotta and spinach in the past (from Regents I think) and I also found that to be a bit boring.
Was the place ok priced in general (w/o Groupon i mean)?
Nice post!
I thought the crust was too thin because it didn’t taste like dough and wasn’t at all chewy. It was only crispy, like eating a cracker. Yeah, the ricotta one was pretty boring.
I thought the prices were a bit high, it ended up being about $35 for the two pies. I think this place is generally pretty busy. I got the groupon a while ago, so I don’t think it was the groupon effect.