This is really close to NYC pizza. Some days it’s spot on, others less so, but always close enough to make me miss NYC.The slices are very large, at least 50% bigger than the usual slice.Staff is hard working and great at their jobs. The restaurant and kitchen look clean, condiments are well maintained.The Berkeley location has lost a lot of its interior space and seating as the space next door has encroached on its footage. The wall has actually been moved inwards by a few feet, making a small space smaller, so expect to take the food to go.I dearly miss their SF location, but will enjoy a great slice here in Berkeley.Wheelchair accessibility: On first floor with no steps that I noticed. Narrow though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: New York Pizza, Cheese Pizza
Nader Awadalla
I love this place. Amazing service and amazing pizza.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chris McLoughlin
As someone who grew up in NY/NJ, this is the BEST pizza that I’ve had in California! Anytime I’m in Berkeley I’ll always grab a plain slice and a piece of Sicilian with pepperoni (hopefully a corner piece!). Now if they would only carry Jamaican Beef patties, it would be a dream come true! A little on the pricey side, but California. ?♂️
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: New York Pizza, Sicilian
squid slice
Delicious NY style pizza .best in Berkeley hands down .they do vegan slices as well . Classic pizza shop
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vegan Slice, New York Pizza, Sicilian, Vegan, Vegan Pizza
Tabitha Sanchez
This is the best pizza in the bay! A must stop if you are in the area. Thin crust, delicious sauce and the perfect bite.
Food: 5
Jonathan Katz
Mid pizza. slice was small for 5 bucks. From NYC so I had some expectations going in but I don't think they were unreasonable. Pizza should have been baked hotter and for less time as the crust was blonde on the bottom and the cheese had released a lot of grease. they used too much sauce, and the crust was weirdly light and not chewy or substantial. This made the slice impossible to pick up, especially when coupled with the excessive sauce. Don't bother.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: New York Pizza
Zephyr Onyx
Grew up in NYC. Arinell Pizza is the best and most authentic NY pizza i have had outside NY. It is even authentic to NYC pizza as it tasted in the 1970s and in that sense even surpasses some current New York pizzerias. The crust, tomato sauce and cheese must all be done right. But most so-called New York style pizzerias outside New York usually get one of them wrong. Arinell is perfect in each category. Like the pizzerias of old in New York it is a delightful little hole in the wall place where you can either sit or stand while you eat your pizza, or take it out.. But it always tastes the best eaten at the pizzeria itself.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: New York Pizza
Jeffrey Rovner
I used to come here weekly but unfortunately service has been off-putting in the past few months.
Food: 5
Service: 1
Jeffrey Matthew Rovner
I used to come here weekly but unfortunately service has been off-putting in the past few months.
Food: 5
Service: 1
Gopala108
Arinell Pizza has excellent NY style vegan pizza by the slice for $3.25 per slice. They use daiya tapioca vegan cheese that is soy free, gluten free, & dairy free. daiya is made from tapioca. The crust here is dialed as it is firm & has just the right amount of sauce. Daiya isn't my favorite vegan cheese yet it is still great especially here as Arinell Pizza does vegan pizza right.
I have been vegan for over 20 years. I was born in NYC while being raised in Long Island & FL. I used to have NY style pizza & since I have eaten it in a long time this is the closest I remember it. It is awesome that Arinell Pizza makes a commendable vegan pizza in the tradition of a NY slice. Besides slices they also have a medium vegan pizza for $19.50 & a large vegan pizza for $26.50.
Next time I want to branch out & explore some of the toppings. Toppings such as black olives, onions, & fresh garlic are .50 cents per topping per slice. Mushrooms & green pepper are .75 cents per topping per slice.
Besides being in Berkeley there are other branches in San Francisco at 509 Valencia & 16th St in the Mission District. I'll be back here for sure!
Very good pizzas and service. The price per slice is very affordable. The lady behind the counter was nice and made our pizzas very quick.
jeremyevents
When I was in high school (Berkeley High) before I became vegan I used to get Arinell's pizza during lunch break. I would order two cheese slices and make a sandwich out of them. Now 35 years later I still frequent Arinell's partly for the sentimental reasons, but I really do like the taste, texture and thinness, and I'm thrilled that they offer vegan slices again.
leahk
They have $5 vegan slices. Thin and droopy but comes out hot and the slices are large and foldable as NY slices should be. The cheese and sauce balance is good to me. I think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would appreciate this droopy pizza. Have I had better? Yes. Would I say yes to a slice of this anyway? For sure.
savinitout14
Pizza was the worst I ever had the crust was rock hard and the pizza was stale and the girl assisting me was rude and extremely unprofessional if you don’t like your job quit. I will not be returning
Martin Seidell
My review of Arinell is old, but the place is still very familiar to me as the best place for a New York style pie in Berkeley!
This is really close to NYC pizza. Some days it’s spot on, others less so, but always close enough to make me miss NYC.The slices are very large, at least 50% bigger than the usual slice.Staff is hard working and great at their jobs. The restaurant and kitchen look clean, condiments are well maintained.The Berkeley location has lost a lot of its interior space and seating as the space next door has encroached on its footage. The wall has actually been moved inwards by a few feet, making a small space smaller, so expect to take the food to go.I dearly miss their SF location, but will enjoy a great slice here in Berkeley.Wheelchair accessibility: On first floor with no steps that I noticed. Narrow though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: New York Pizza, Cheese Pizza
I love this place. Amazing service and amazing pizza.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
As someone who grew up in NY/NJ, this is the BEST pizza that I’ve had in California! Anytime I’m in Berkeley I’ll always grab a plain slice and a piece of Sicilian with pepperoni (hopefully a corner piece!). Now if they would only carry Jamaican Beef patties, it would be a dream come true! A little on the pricey side, but California. ?♂️
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: New York Pizza, Sicilian
Delicious NY style pizza .best in Berkeley hands down .they do vegan slices as well . Classic pizza shop
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vegan Slice, New York Pizza, Sicilian, Vegan, Vegan Pizza
This is the best pizza in the bay! A must stop if you are in the area. Thin crust, delicious sauce and the perfect bite.
Food: 5
Mid pizza. slice was small for 5 bucks. From NYC so I had some expectations going in but I don't think they were unreasonable. Pizza should have been baked hotter and for less time as the crust was blonde on the bottom and the cheese had released a lot of grease. they used too much sauce, and the crust was weirdly light and not chewy or substantial. This made the slice impossible to pick up, especially when coupled with the excessive sauce. Don't bother.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: New York Pizza
Grew up in NYC. Arinell Pizza is the best and most authentic NY pizza i have had outside NY. It is even authentic to NYC pizza as it tasted in the 1970s and in that sense even surpasses some current New York pizzerias. The crust, tomato sauce and cheese must all be done right. But most so-called New York style pizzerias outside New York usually get one of them wrong. Arinell is perfect in each category. Like the pizzerias of old in New York it is a delightful little hole in the wall place where you can either sit or stand while you eat your pizza, or take it out.. But it always tastes the best eaten at the pizzeria itself.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: New York Pizza
I used to come here weekly but unfortunately service has been off-putting in the past few months.
Food: 5
Service: 1
I used to come here weekly but unfortunately service has been off-putting in the past few months.
Food: 5
Service: 1
Arinell Pizza has excellent NY style vegan pizza by the slice for $3.25 per slice. They use daiya tapioca vegan cheese that is soy free, gluten free, & dairy free. daiya is made from tapioca. The crust here is dialed as it is firm & has just the right amount of sauce. Daiya isn't my favorite vegan cheese yet it is still great especially here as Arinell Pizza does vegan pizza right. I have been vegan for over 20 years. I was born in NYC while being raised in Long Island & FL. I used to have NY style pizza & since I have eaten it in a long time this is the closest I remember it. It is awesome that Arinell Pizza makes a commendable vegan pizza in the tradition of a NY slice. Besides slices they also have a medium vegan pizza for $19.50 & a large vegan pizza for $26.50. Next time I want to branch out & explore some of the toppings. Toppings such as black olives, onions, & fresh garlic are .50 cents per topping per slice. Mushrooms & green pepper are .75 cents per topping per slice. Besides being in Berkeley there are other branches in San Francisco at 509 Valencia & 16th St in the Mission District. I'll be back here for sure!
Restaurantji Recommends
Very good pizzas and service. The price per slice is very affordable. The lady behind the counter was nice and made our pizzas very quick.
When I was in high school (Berkeley High) before I became vegan I used to get Arinell's pizza during lunch break. I would order two cheese slices and make a sandwich out of them. Now 35 years later I still frequent Arinell's partly for the sentimental reasons, but I really do like the taste, texture and thinness, and I'm thrilled that they offer vegan slices again.
They have $5 vegan slices. Thin and droopy but comes out hot and the slices are large and foldable as NY slices should be. The cheese and sauce balance is good to me. I think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would appreciate this droopy pizza. Have I had better? Yes. Would I say yes to a slice of this anyway? For sure.
Pizza was the worst I ever had the crust was rock hard and the pizza was stale and the girl assisting me was rude and extremely unprofessional if you don’t like your job quit. I will not be returning
My review of Arinell is old, but the place is still very familiar to me as the best place for a New York style pie in Berkeley!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: New York Pizza