It’s somewhere past midnight…
You’re scrambling the bustling sidewalks of downtown in search of one of one life’s greatest treasures; the late night slice.
Fortunately for you, and shamefully for me, I am well seasoned in St. Petersburg’s nightlife. And yes, almost every good night ends with a slice of pizza past midnight.
First Things First
When it comes to late night pizza, the “best” slice in town has more than likely locked their doors and turned off the ovens in hopes of avoiding us pepperoni-craving night owls. Now, if this wasn’t the case, this would be a very short article directing you towards a humble little pie parlor in the Old Northeast Neighborhood; Old Northeast Pizza. But, too bad. When you have the best slice in town, you get to go home whenever you want.
Another necessary piece of information before we kick things off: there are no brick oven options open at this hour in downtown. So, say hello to stone oven pizza, and let’s set our standards there. Capeesh?
The Hunt Begins
The clock nears 2 a.m. on a Friday night and the search begins. If you’re out downtown, odds are this quest gains momentum around Central Avenue and Second Street North, right smack in the middle of St. Petersburg’s booming bar scene. The hunt begins.
1. Joey Brooklyn’s
Best slice at this hour? Easy, Joey Brooklyn’s on First Avenue North. This fast paced slice shop is the closest downtown St. Petersburg has to a New York slice, and it’s close in walking distance. Sound a little too good to be true? That’s because it is. At this hour, this slice comes at a price.
Unless you are willing to wait in a line for upwards of 25 minutes, accompanied by a herd of bar crawlers with downtown’s highest blood alcohol concentration, then you just might not be worthy enough for the number one late night slice in downtown St. Pete.
2. Tony’s
Time for a walk four blocks up Central Avenue to downtown’s second best late night pizza parlor — Tony’s Pizza. Quick, clean, ample seating, and good customer service. No catch here, just a good old fashioned number two slice that’s worth the walk. Not to mention you get to leave most of the bar crowd behind a few blocks back.
3. Angelo’s
Located on First Avenue North on the opposite side of the block from Tony’s, Angelo’s is a full-menu Italian style restaurant that’s open until 3:30 in the morning. That being said, this is more of a call ahead and order a whole pie type of place.
This Italian haunt boasts a decent pizza, but it’s the convenience and cleanliness of Tony’s that landed this pizzeria in third place.
4. Top Slice Pizzeria
Oddly enough, this last place pizzeria has received more of my business than the others. It’s convenient location on Third Street North lands this pizza place right between a strip of bars that are slightly less rowdy than those neighboring Joey Brooklyn’s. Due to Top Slice’s location, there is always a line, but this one tends to move at a respectable pace.
With toppings like chicken, bacon and ranch, or buffalo chicken pizza, it’s quite obvious the target audience for this pizzeria is the late night bar crowd. If pizza with sandwich style toppings is your thing, then go right ahead. For those who crave the classics, you know where to go.