Arinell Pizza

One of the best pizza in Berkeley, i make sure i go there at least once a week.

My trips to NYC have forever spoiled me when it comes to pizza. I hardly eat pizza in CA, but this place is legit. The crust is thin and chewy, but sturdy, and the sauce is super fresh and delicious. I almost always get a plain slice — or 2 — for $ 3. Toppings are an add’l 50 or 75 cents each. The slices are huge, and spectacular! These guys do NYC pies justice!

Really great, huge vegan cheese slices for cheap.
So perfect. I was actually super happy to know they had these because I used to enjoy grabbing a slice over (at another shop) on Telegraph like 20 years ago because they’re quick, easy and filling.
These are good. Thanks!

A solid NY style slice with easy walk-​in, walk-​out atmosphere. I ate my pizza while walking on the sidewalk like I used to back in NYC. However, I made a huge mistake by going there at 11:30AM. This place turns into a Chuck E Cheese at lunch time. Kids EVERYWHERE. Loud, obnoxious, pizza-​faced, cracking voiced high school kids. I guess it was lunch time at the local high school? I’m not from the area, so who knows. I was the only person in there over 20, except the guy cooking the pizza. This has nothing to do with the pizza, though, which was solid.

I came here because i saw people all around Berkeley BART with yummy-​looking gooey cheese slices. What I tasted was nothing special. Basic warmed up slices at $ 3 and up. One could easily blow $ 8 – 10 on a couple of slices and a drink, only to walk away filled but unsatisfied.

DIS IS THE SHIT! The pizza is good and the toppings are better! The only way you could not enjoy this is of you’re lactose intolerant ordered extra cheese and burned the top of your mouth… or they so that thing we’re one of the mushrooms is still cold! Yuck! But seriously, that’s only happened to me once and I’ve been there like 20 times

The thin crust pizza is sooooo good. I love it. Some of the guys at the counter are nice and some act like they hate living.

Please, I will never eat there again in this life time period. Guy in the front touches the money then touches his face then grabs my slice to warm. WTF! Refund.

Arinell is right around the corner from my apartment so I go there out of convenience now and then. The service is never good. At best, they are rude but I have always put up with it because they are so conveniently located.
Tonight, they wouldn’t even take my order because they said it would be 8 minutes before anything was ready. I asked if I could put in my order and come back in 10 minutes to pick it up. The guy just stared at me for a minute and asked me to sit down and stop being «weird.».
I said I had never heard of a business refusing to take an order in this situation and turned to walk out. Then both workers started to taunt, E and call me names as I walked away.
Great service guys. NEVER AGAIN!

This is a take away/​to-​go slice or eat your slice & leave kinda place. The prices are good, under $ 5. I don’t remember but I think it is cash only. There is just a couple of chairs & tables, and small shelf on the left side, so you gobble your slice & leave. I love the pizzas here! A friend from the East Coast said the pizza here is good and I have to agree! My friend was estatic to find this place. Pay for the pizza and/​or soda at the register. Slices are heated up before they hand it to you. Grab a seat or stand by the table shelf (I don’t what call that table shelf), then leave. We have been there a few times and will come again. (While going to a pub in the Mission District in San Francisco, I was happy to find another location, near Valencia.)

I bought their pizza out of pity because I wanted to take film portraits of my friend in their bright, neon lighting. When asking what kind of dipping sauces they had, the bro behind the counter condescendingly scoffed «ah ha, um, we /don’t/ have… sauces…»
Aight. Two stars for your interior decorating.

Absolutely horrendous, terrible, atrocious customer service. So bad that we are never going to return here for their business, regardless of how their food tastes. Completely disrespected for no reason by the staff.

The pizza was pretty good. The service was hilariously bad.
The guy at the counter said absolutely ZERO words to me during the entire transaction and his facial expression never changed. At all. After a few moments of awkward silence, I ordered just a regular cheese Neapolitan slice and a small diet coke. He just put his hand out for the cash, and while I’d looked at prices, what if the person hadn’t?! This was my first time eating here! I get that this is a budget, hole-​in-​the-​wall place but really say hello or «$ 4.50», something!
The texture of the crust and sauce and melty cheese all coming together was really comforting and I honestly just wanted to eat more and more. The flavor was nothing to write home about, which is a lot of why I’m only giving it 3 stars. I was expecting the sauce to have a more fresh flavor, and for the cheese to not just kind of meld into it. Maybe I was expecting something that’s not what a NY style slice is about, I don’t know. If I’m craving a slice around Berkeley, I’ll try some other places before coming back here.

Arinell’s has been me and my family’s favorite pizza spot since I was a little girl. I refuse to eat any other cheese pizza. The cheese and crust are not too heavy. I could probably eat 3 – 4 slices in one sitting because it is that good. Definitely my go-​to pizza spot.

I used to love you arinells, but I can’t deal with the extra hostile — bordering on mentally unstable — customer service of one particular employee at this location. yep, you know who he is; you’ve got complaints all up and down your page about him. I’ve been a customer for 15+ years but after today’s meltdown, I’m done.

Ingredients they put on their pizza definitely taste fresh, but I’m just not a fan of the crispy crust. Cheese and sauce were decent but nothing to write home about. I have a feeling I might like their Sicilian slices more so will definitely try them again though.
Edit: I do in fact enjoy their Sicilian pizza significantly more. You get a thick layer of cheese on top of nearly an inch of crust that tastes like freshly toasted focaccia bread (though might not actually be), and the sauce really comes through much better.

Make sure you eat the pizza there. It was decent, but got pretty tough by the time you get home.

It’s probably looks like a shady hole-​in-​the-​wall pizza joint. And, well, it is.
It replicated Brooklyn pizzerias perfectly! Hey, I grew up in lil crooklyn and if anyone’s every been there, you know it ain’t the fanciest sh*t ever. But if I do say so myself, Brooklyn makes a one-​of-​a-​kind thin crust rarely anywhere else outside of New York replicates.
But Arinell, you have certainly achieved the perfect slice. At $ 3 a slice, you can go in and out for a quick bite. Plus they have a VEGAN version. Le gasp. Ofcourse I had to go try it. And the they claimed to be «Brooklyn style» ofcourse as a fellow New Yorker I had to try!
Shady interior and crisp cheezy pizza. You guys nailed it.

In search of the pizza I love on the East Coast.
The crust was crispy and the perfect texture and thickness, the cheese to sauce ratio was spot on, but the sauce leaves a lot to be desired. NO FLAVOR.
Decent and convenient to campus and right downtown, but nothing remarkable.

Really super delicious. Yay for NY pizza in Bezerkeley.

The thin crust was pretty good! The deep dish sucked! Ehh would I come back? Maybe if I smoked a few blunts other than that the pizza was a step up from little caesars and the lady in the back was carrying a dog around near the food. I really just wasn’t feeling the vibes in there either I rather take my money up the street to Sliver!

Stopped in a sec and ordered the Sicilian slice. If you don’t know what that is then it’s like a pizza on french bread usually thicker than a normal NY slice. Anyways, I can’t say I was in love with it and nothing was memorable for me. It was quick and easy tho. Get a slice real quick for your pizza fix if you are too snobbish for Domino’s or LC then this is your spot. The NY slice looked pretty decent and I’d probably come back to try it here if I’m in the area and I’ll def update my review at that time but for now it is what it is based on the Sicilian.

I’m from New York and it took me a few years to find a place that comes as close to a fresh crust with just the right ratio of sweet to salty, enough crunch and chewy texture and cheese that isn’t too salty or gummy. Everything is right about the slices here.
and the only place we can get Sicilian pizza. Soo good, feels like being back in NYC and for a lot less money than all the local «gourmet» thin crust pizza which has become popular but not the same as real pizza crust I’m used to.

Any time I see «NY style pizza» in a review, I’m there.
I miss the thin, crispy bottom, greasy, salty, big slice of the time when I used to live in the east coast. In pictures, Arinell Pizza looked just like the cheap slices you get back east.
Too bad for me, Arinell’s was missing a bit in the sauce and saltiness department. I barely tasted any tomato sauce and I felt the pizza was generally lacking in flavor. Also, the bottom wasn’t so crispy. The pizza was pretty floppy.
Their cheese pizza tastes better than if you would put any toppings on it. I would recommend to at least get a slice of plain cheese if you go.
I’d come in a pinch, but not back just to visit this place.

An oldie but goodie. I’ve been stopping here since I was a wee Bear, before Cal Football games, Berkeley Rep nights, on the way to class. I knew my daughter and I would need a quick bite before a Unilocal event so we stopped in for regular slices. Cheap, tasty, New York-​style cheese slices with simple, delicious red sauce. Exactly what I expected and appreciated. Cash only so be prepared. Our cashier was super cheerful so my Unilocal karma was back in action.

I broke my own self imposed rule about downgrading by 2 Unilocal stars anything that is near the UC campus by going here. Students will rate anything cheap and filling as 5 stars. The pizza is ok. It astounds me that I could pick up an entire slice of thin pizza with mushrooms and olives on it and it stuck straight out. It did not flop at all. It is super crunchy rigid crust. It is thin, but not a cracker crust. The flavor wasn’t anything special to write home about– the sauce, the cheese, the toppings all melded into one flavor note. Boring.
And yeah, the help has anger management issues. The one pizza chef came through and was livid that someone had put a paper soda cup with a plastic lid into the compost bin. Yeah, that irritates me too, but he was cursing and flinging that lid into the recycle bin like someone had fracked inside the pizza place. Plz, calm. Life too short.

I would say it’s ok.
Ordered two cheese and a pepperoni.
The slices didn’t resemble they were from a circular pie but rather something they rolled out into the shape of a large pie and cut pieces from it. So, rather than a traditional wedge shape it was an oddly wedge shape.
Three for $ 9 add .50 for a box (to go).

Best fucking thin-​crusted cheese pizza EVER. Been going here for decades and it is still amazing.
The service could be friendlier but who cares when the pizza is this delish???

Love this place! Been coming here for over a decade. Still the same. Great NY style pizza. Just what it should be. Pepperoni by the slice is perfect.

As A native East Coast Girl, I have been craving NYC pizza, I finally found Arinell’s!!! This is the ONLY pizza her in the East Bay that actually tastes like it came from NYC. I would give them five stars however there are two things kinda off for me, one is they don’t have the best topping choice, I’d like to see hamburger, and fried eggplant. The other reason they didn’t get the fifth slice is I hate the fact they cut the pizza up weirdly what happened to 4 nice and even cuts (that way they fold evenly)?
Even so it’s the only place I eat Pizza, I wish I had more choices suggestions…

I used to go here several times a week when I was a young lass in my 20s. Back then I’d go jogging during my lunch hour and often stop here for a quick bite.
I had a crush on the pizza guys here but never pursued it.
As I grew more ancient and continued to work for the City of Berkeley I stopped running
during my lunch hour and rarely got pizza from Arinell, even though I liked it a lot.
So when I got a slice here the other day I was flooded with happy memories.
They now have vegan pizza which I decided to try. The counter guy was sweet and friendly.
$ 3.50 for a slice with one topping of black olives.
The pizza was good although the flat crispy cracker-​like crust may not appeal to all.
The vegan cheese was okay. Mr Rinky had a couple of bites and grunted his approval.
Next time I think I will get the cheese.

Wanted a mid-​afternoon snack, and this place did the job! The thin-​crusted pizza tasted pretty good, nice and crispy, but kinda lukewarm. (I feel like they just reheat the pizza whenever someone orders so it’s not that fresh)
I liked how they had a vegan option, so my friend was able to eat there. I also like how environmentally sustainable the place appears to be, since they compost their trash.
The pizza was a pretty good deal because the slice was bigger than my hand and was 3 $ (so sad because they apparently raised their prices according to past Unilocal reviews)…
What bothered me was that I had to eat the pizza off a wax paper, which is kinda gross, especially when you put it on the table. The grease was just getting everywhere…

First & last time I will ever come to this place.
My friend who lives in the area took us to this pizza spot for a quick bite. We wanted to order 2 slices of pizza each (there were 3 of us= 6 slices total). The rude tall guy/​cashier/​pizza maker told us we would have to wait and order a whole pizza … ??? There were 2 HUGE pizzas behind him for people who came in and wanted a slice. I asked if we could pay separately so we could quickly get our slices rather than waiting 15 minutes for a whole pie. he said no. P. S. the customers behind us got 2 slices of pizza and he did not deny them.
Ok, so we paid for the pizza and ignored the sass since we were starving. I sprinkled Parmesan cheese and oregano on my pizza … when I noticed there was a bug, the size of the oregano, moving around and about the oregano bottle. Gross. I took it to the sassy pants, letting him know there was a bug inside and he responded with a «thanks.»
Overall the pizza was good. The crust was extremely hard so I had to throw it away. I love a simple, thin crust, cheese pizza. I would have given two stars if it wasn’t for the bug.
If you don’t mind the rude customer service, check the place out. Beware and double check the cheese, oregano, and pepper bottles for critters.

I love Arinell Pizza, and I’ve been regularly eating their slices for more than 20 years. Arinell’s NY style cheese slices are even better than the slices that you can get in New York! The crust is thin and crisp, and the cheese melts perfectly into the sauce. You can get a slice and a soda for $ 4.25, way cheaper than flying out to NYC.
Quick, fast, cheap, and delicious. What’s not to like?