Columbus, OH

How can it be that two of the five best pizza places in Central Ohio sit right next to one another? Oh so lucky I guess . . .

Now, pizza is a very personal thing. These are simply my favorites.

My favorite chain is Pizzaria Uno, for the yummiest of crusts it’s hard to beat this Chicago style eatery. They are good and they are everywhere; I don’t have much more to say about that.

But as for local joints, the two I love are right next to each other on Main St. in Bexley. First, Bexley Pizza Plus is known for it’s combination of wonderful sauce and great toppings on homestyle crust. This is stick to your ribs pizza, a taste explosion served up by some of Bexley’s sweetest people. For pizza, it’s a little pricey, but worth it. FYI–it’s a Pepsi joint.

Just two doors to the west, you’ll find Rubino’s. If you are a fan of thin crust Pizza this is where you want to bring your hunger. The perfect thin and crispy crust is complemented by great sauce and your favorite toppings. Here they have sit down service, the booths are showing some wear and the atmosphere is a little 1980s, but the pizza is great and the prices are wallet friendly. FYI–it’s a Coca-Cola place.

For the best taco pizza you’ve ever had, head just a little northeast of Columbus to Johnstown where they have Johnnie’s Villa Pizza. Everything else here is good pizza, but the taco pizza is divine. With fresh fresh (did I say fresh?) ingredients and plenty of taco sauce and sour cream sent along with you, this is the place my family goes for that special treat. Johnnie’s Villa Pizza is take out only and has prices on par with most other places.

Finally, consider the humble pepperoni–the staple of pizza lovers everywhere and the pizza upon which pizza joints are judged. My favorite pepperoni pizza comes from Park Pizza, a little place in Newark, about 40 minutes east of Columbus. Park Pizza is a small family place and like Rubino’s, is easy on the wallet. For a place on an end street that looks like it barely escaped the 70s with no delivery and limited hours, Park Pizza does a great business. It has three old booths you can eat at if you like, but most people take their pizza and go. The pizza here comes in generic cardboard boxes with no particular indication that what is inside will have you addicted as soon as you take your first bite. It’s not one thing, but the combination of crisp crust, excellent sauce and plentiful pepperoni that keeps families ordering from Park Pizza generation after generation.

Rubinos Pizza
2643 E Main St
Columbus, OH 43209
(614) 235-0712

Bexley Pizza Plus
2651 E Main St
Columbus, OH 43209
(614) 237-3305

Johnnies Villa Pizza
105 W Coshocton St
Johnstown, OH 43031
(740) 967-2988

Park Pizza
354 Union St
Newark, OH 43055
(740) 344-5005

Columbus, Ohio, OH, Central Ohio, pizza