The City Oven

This place has been bookmarked for a while, so as I ditched my cleanse/​diet, this was my second binge.
The location is pretty cool and somewhat trendy. Parking can be a bit tricky, but just follow the crowd.
Upon entry, the bartender was quite friendly and knowledgeable about the menu and drinking and dining options. I can definitely appreciate such customer service. BTW: Mondays are buy one meatball and get the other free, and they are quite large (according to pics and the bartender, ChaCho). Meatballs were my intention, but I remember that I bookmarked the place for the pizza, so I stuck to my original intentions. I opted for the «supreme» and took a lot of the toppings off (in my order) as it was cheaper than adding items to any other pizza. The 10″/personal is at least twice the size of something like a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza, which is great! Also, be cautioned that a bit of extra garlic means whole, roasted bulbs of garlic throughout your entire pizza. Such didn’t bother me, but I really don’t mind a garlic smell oozing from my pores throughout my daily routine. Other toppings were great. I also chose the thinner crust pizza that is prepared in the wood burning oven, and such was a solid and great choice. However, if you prefer a thicker crust, that’s also available to, just through a different cooking process.
Although I didn’t indulge in it, the meatball seems to also had the possibility to be a great choice.
The beer was also quite cold and cheap. Although I arrived well after 7, HH was still going on. I think my beer was a little over $ 2, and such is a great price for on-​tap!

I’ve been here 5 times. Two times good, three times bad, I probably won’t be going back.
Food: The food is hit or miss. They really have a consistency issue. Sometimes I like it, sometimes it’s not so good. The good times kept me coming back, but there were too many bad times to continue.
Service: Terrible. On two of my visits I had to get up and go find a server. I’m pretty patient, but it’s frustrating when you see people standing around and no one has taken your drink order. On another trip, the server was very friendly (slow but friendly), but then he messed up the order. The manager came over and seemed awkward when we told him what happened. It was no big deal, we weren’t looking for anything, but the server and manager just seemed awkward after that. They didn’t know how to handle the situation.
Ambiance: It’s alright. Once they had an acoustic duet in there playing cover songs. They were really good and I enjoyed that. Normally, it looks like a chain restaurant that is trying to look unique.
Overall it was good enough for 5 visits, but I’ve retired it from my list of spots.

Fun ambiance, good drinks and great pizzas! I tried the Swedish meatball once, it seemed like it was over seasoned to me.

City oven supreme pizza was really good! I haven’t had any bad service the 3 or 4 times that I’ve been there, the waiters are always very attentive and nice.
Another good dish to try is the Grilled Chicken w/​Avocado. I had my dish with a side of Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Good portion and very decent.

I really wanted to like this place. They have a great location on White Oak with a cute patio out front but im unfortunately everything else fell short.
The «calamari fries» where more like frozen fish sticks, and the gourmet dipping sticks where anything but.
The hubby and I decided to split a pizza, which was about average.
The service is what really convinced us that we will NEVER be coming back. While she was a bit spacey to begin with, at least she checked on us? After she ran our card is when it really got awkward. She asked us not once but twice if we where done filling out the tip portion even though I had the pen in my hand and half a drink.

Inviting ambiance and friendly service. When you first walk in there is a very large bar, which is nice because then you can avoid the always awkward transaction of being forced to sit uncomfortably close to strangers. In addition the restaurant feels very clean so you won’t have any fear of who, or what, touched your food.
Unfortunately during my visit I was unaware that this place is better known for it’s pizza and so I ordered some other random menu items.
Spinach artichoke dip: good not great
Mac and cheese (I am a Mac and cheese connoisseur; self appointed): this is actually penne and cheese. It was somewhat bland and soggy.
Salmon Caesar Blackened: delicious! Flavorful and fresh
Next time I will absolutely HAVE to try the pizza. It smelled and looked tantalizing. Definitely will be back…

New concept on a busy street that seems to be gaining a slow but steady following in the neighborhood. The first time I dinned here I came just for the GIANT meatball and I wasn’t disappointed. Tender and tasty was the name of the game.
My boyfriends parents own a pizza place, when they were in town we brought them here. Great food all around once again. The brick oven pizza had perfect, thin crispy crust. I loved the Buffalo Chicken pizza. Once again, glutton that I am, I insisted we get a meatball to share. The Big Swede. I can’t rave about this enough. There was live music that night that was extremely annoying due to the bongo drumming and early 90’s covers.
Great pizza and casual fun atmosphere

We hit up the City Oven on a Sunday during their brunch hours. My wife had a quiche, I had the meatball sub, and my daughter had the small pizza. Everything was great! The meatball sub was just right and the pizza was covered in a delicious garlic and pepperoni mix. Adding to the fun, we sat out on the porch and watched Sports Center. We will be back!
BOTTOM LINE: Great place for some good bar food and drinks.

Happy hour 2 – 9 during the week. I like this place because it is close to my house and everything else great in the Heights.
Their pizza is light and not super filling… that is something I look for in a pizza. I love the thin and crispy crust. If you want a filling pizza that is really dough-​y and cheesy you may not like the pizza here.
They have a full bar (even Dripping Springs) with a good selection of craft beers.
Their wine selection could use some growth.
Though I don’t like sports bars, this one is ok. The seating isn’t set up like you have to look at the television. They have a nice outside seating area and a really cute cubby area with a nice couch and chairs for you to chill before or after your meal.
They have a DJ, live music, and Karaōke on different nights.
Nice addition to The Heights. My husband and I frequent City Oven before heading over to Fitzgerald’s.

If I could, I’d give this joint a 3.5. The atmosphere is nice, the beer selection is pretty good, but the pizza is just above average. We had several people in our party, so we ordered the large buffalo chicken and the sicilian. Our server gave us a heads up to go light on the blue cheese because it can be a little overpowering, so we took his advice and really liked it.
The crust, oh the crust. It is very crackery (best way to describe it) and I was expecting more New York or Neopolitan style. It tastes like a fancier Totino’s frozen party pizza.
That said, we’ll probably end up here again just because it’s convenient.

I really wasn’t impressed with this place. The service was excellent, but the food was just mediocre. I came here on a Friday night before a show at Fitzgerald’s. Parking on White Oak is pretty much street parking, so I didn’t even bother looking for a spot near the place They have a few spots in front that are 1 hour parking, but they were all taken and I was going to be there for longer than an hour.
They have happy hour until 9 so that was good. I believe well drinks are $ 2.50 so that’s reasonable. The set up is nice. It’s not terribly big, but there’s a bar area and a dining area. They had live music was which was cool, but was hard to have a conversation with my friend.
We both ordered pizza. I had the bbq chicken pizza. It’s on extremely thin crust and I just really don’t like thin crust. It was way too crunchy. It was also a little spicy which I wasn’t expecting and I don’t like spicy food (I’m guessing the BBQ sauce was the culprit). My friend said the cheese on her pizza didn’t taste that good. They do have a variety of menu options, so I’m hoping the other items are better than the pizza. But I think a big draw to this place is the pizza, so again, that’s a let down.
The prices are reasonable. Staff is really friendly. I think it would be a good place to come for happy hour, but I would try one of the other restaurants on White Oak if you are really hungry and want something to eat that’s not just mediocre.

Went in to C.O. For a quick meal and was initially impressed by how welcoming the bar staff was. I sat and was immediately asked for drink order.
The beer selection is just good enough to be called broad, that counts for both draft and bottle.
Chicken avocado sandwich was good enough to wolf down in a fit of hunger but it is obvious pizza is the menu item the kitchen is most proud of.
Service was attentive and friendly, perhaps to the point of being over staffed. Music was adequate for solo acoustic song covers but overall the whole place has a relaxed and accepting vibe.

Enjoyed the visit we had here a few weeks ago. Based on some of the reviews they seem to be hit and miss for some, but I think it is a vast improvement on the D’Amicos that was here previously. I don’t dislike Italian food but I did strongly dislike the service, so City Oven is a complete about face on that front. We parked ourselves at the bar for the evening and had great (but unobtrusive) service. I gather some of the servers in the main dining area can be over-​eager, but I hardly find that a fault.
All three of us enjoyed the pizzas we ordered. I find it interesting that some find significant fault with these; we enjoyed them, and the personal size are just enough to keep you from feeling completely full. That is perfect when the evening also involves copious sampling from the beer taps; it’s all about balance. And they have a much larger pizza size if you are truly famished. Now, agreed, these pizzas aren’t Dolce Vita or even Crisp, but then that’s not the market they are aiming for.
Beer tap selection is decent but not massive; they aren’t trying to be Little Woodrow’s down the street. They do have a full bar for when you want to switch it out.
There is a variety of indoor and outdoor seating; high-​tops, regular tables, lounge-​style. Sports on TV but without being on a deafening volume (that’s what Christian’s next door is for).
Think of this as an above average hotel bar — a little something for everyone, not aiming too high or too low, and very welcoming.

I stopped in for lunch and immediately found a spot in their parking lot which is a huge plus. The place is pretty hip on the inside, and some of the walls are decorated with posters done by Carlos Hernandez. If you are not sure who that is, he is the guy who did the St. Arnold’s Santo label. It did not look like they had any of his original pieces, but some of his prints.
We sat in a booth and were greeted by our friendly waitress. I was not drinking alcohol with lunch that day, (yes, it happens) but it did look like they had a lot of drink specials. Upon looking over the menu I was intrigued by the giant meatballs. I decided to order the Chipotle Texas Meatball with Smashed potatoes.
My meatball came out in a cast iron skillet. It sat atop of some chopped up potatoes that had melted cheddar cheese on them. The whole thing was covered in what looked and tasted like barbecue sauce. The meatball itself was really sweet. It was almost overpoweringly sweet. There was also some cheese stuffed inside it. Both the meatball cheese and the potato cheese were pretty flavorless. It was a super interesting concept; it just did not do it for me. It was just all too sweet and lacked any depth of flavor.

I really wanted to love this place. The inside is super cool, the staff is friendly, and the menu shows promise. All it needs is better food.

I hate to say it, but this is probably the worst pizza I’ve had in Houston. My hubby & I ordered a pizza margherita and it came out doused with a white cheese blend that tasted like a cheap queso. The toppings consisted of watery tomatoes and a couple sun-​dried tomatoes. I didn’t see any basil as advertised. The crust was cracker-​like and salty (I personally like thin-​crust pizza but this was different).
Our friends ordered some type of sausage pizza that had an even worse Velveeta-​like cheese sauce.
The beer list was good and the patio atmosphere was okay.

Fell into this place during the initial hunt for a place to watch football and have a Sunday Funday. Christians Tailgate was busy and all the open spots were being claimed by people waiting on other people… checked out another bar next to City Oven that was closed to. Did the obligatory Unilocal spot check and saw some low rated reviews. But, it smelled great and we were all done with trying to find a place.
Sunday was all day happy hour! We were going to need it the way the Texans had been playing that day. We had the Buffalo Wing with Sweet Chili, Bruschetta to start. Both pretty good. Had a very fresh smell and taste to it. The Bruschetta especially had a nice taste with the tomato and vinegar. The Meat Pie was awesome. It had this mix of ricotta, asiago, and mozzarella (or at least that is how it tasted). The sausage, pepperoni and other meats a good taste to it so I dunno what a couple of the other reviews were talking about? Maybe they listened? Oval size is slightly larger than the regular 10 inch or maybe it just appears that way. Still could have been bigger. Service was generally great! Never without a drink and had prompt service.
Had a huge slice of chocolate cake between three of us. It was a great end to a meal.
Love the set up inside. Lots of TV’s inside all over and one in the back patio for viewing pleasure. There is a cool looking red chair that is really comfortable. I would image it is good for groups and medium size parties or viewing parties. They do play the audio from the games so which I really appreciate.

I guess D’Amico’s did not want to deal with the lively bar crowd on White Oak. They closed up shop, and pretty much immediately this place was in the works. Brought to you by the guys of Local Pour and the Sherlock Pub chain. I can’t stand Sherlock’s, but love Local Pour. So here it goes…
Brand spanking new on the inside. An L shaped wood bar up front and to the right. Tables scattered about the open room, and the large patio is still intact facing Christian’s. Flat screens along the far wall, and a few around the bar area. Relaxing vibe. I think the art work/​design is a bit cheesy. Though I find Carlos Hernandez posters a bit cheesy… not that that is necessarily a bad thing. Just my taste.
Service tries to be very personable. Sometimes bars/​restaurant service walk that fine line between to attentive. I always hate saying that, cause there is nothing wrong with the bartender service. They just would not let me take a drink without asking if everything is alright. In the grand scheme of things, that is not a big deal however.
About 15 taps, and plenty of other liquor as well. A few Texas breweries though some macros as well. You can choose between a 16oz and 22oz pour. A bit more extensive selection of beer in bottles. Some Texas whiskeys as well. All things to all people on the booze front.
So far a solid 3 stars. The food is what I did not particularly enjoy. A fairly large menu of apps, sandwiches, salads, even stuffed meatballs. Then the pizza, a 10″ or 14″ flat bread. Lots of options there. I went with the Sicilian. Thin crust with pepperoni, Italian Sausage, olives, and mushrooms. Along with their «signature» cheese blend. Sausage had no kick to it, mushrooms tasted like they were canned. The cheese blend was not good. It reminded me of cheese wiz. Fake and processed. I don’t mind a soggy crust, a la Pinks when all the toppings are so fresh a tasty. Though here it just reminds you that overall, this seems like a pretty cheaply made pie.
I don’t mean to harp on the new guys, but I left disappointed. For pizza in the Heights, CRISP and Pinks is the way to go. CRISP is a much better beer bar as well.

Went to watch the first Texan Game of the Season. PERFECT place many TV and you can chose a bar seat, table seat or even sit on the couch and watch the game form multiple TV’s. Great alternative to other places in the heights for game watching. Décor was nice understated and felt a bit like being at someone’s home. Kinda like Brick Oven Tavern but not as contemporary.
Waitstaff was nice friendly and local. Adds to the charm of the Heights.
Menu looked good. I don’t like to eat huge size meals at night so I split the meatball appetizer. Plenty of food for two. Sauce was fresh tasting and not overly spiced. Meatball was huge, with tons of cheese cooked inside. Good selections of beers and liquor. Did not look at the wine menu as I personally drink wine at the establishments known for their wine selections. But, I came here to watch a game and have a bit of food. It fit the bill!
I will come back again to try other items here and send a follow up review.

Overpriced pizza that was uninspired. I tried the «supreme» that was average at best. The toppings seemed generic & the portion was middling for the price. For $ 20 the pizza should be more than a flatbread sized offering. This is Houston, people.
The ambience was also a bit too sterile & dark. The TVs were blaring.
The service was cheerful & helpful but I don’t think I will be going back.

First first review!
This place opened yesterday so I don’t want to hate on it too too hard. I definitely like the concept (and love that there is a place serving food in the Heights til 2 other than Spanish Flower) but they definitely have some work to do.
Just about every person hired was working last night at 11pm (we only stumbled upon the place leaving Fitzgeralds) and needless to say there is such thing as too much attention. No fewer than 10 of the staff came by our table to ask how we were doing. I get it, you are trying to get training in, but you are kind of bugging me.
We went for the artichoke dip (which was pretty delicious actually), the Thai pizza (interesting, but kinda weird) and the Swedish Meatball (highly DON’T recommend — my boyfriend and I were both very confused by the description and were anticipating meatball and penne with marinara NOT gravy).
These guys have a lot of potential though and I think they will continue to improve.