De Fazio's

they’re opening a new spot in a few months so got a chance to be in the garden for its last summer perhaps. large pizza was excellent (under $18) of course. friendly staff. UPDATE JULY 2025: The garden is still there. Pizza still great (new photos added).

The pizza is great as always. I tried the calzone and it's just as good and they actually give you enough sauce for the entire calzone. Desserts are also really good here, especially the hangover cake, definitely on the pricier side for a single slice but taste great.

They have time blocks because they are so busy. They fit us in with very nice and professional service. Pizza was phenomenal, crust was very different flaky, soft and tasty. Would definitely come again

Would give it TEN stars if possible. We make a trip or two a year to Troy from Columbia County just to enjoy what is with out a doubt an OUTSTANDING pizza. Visited the Troy Farmers market on Columbus Day weekend followed by the traditional stop at Defazio's. The crust, sauce, cheese, toppings are all pure perfection. Melt in your mouth delicious. For an additional treat visit Rocco in the attached store for great soups, sauces etc. Well worth the lack of parking ..............RUN don't walk to 4 th Street in Troy for some of the best pizza in Capital District. UPDATE........made a special trip to Troy feeling the need for a Defazio Pizza, August 2025....this place NEVER dissapoints ! Same HIGH quality each and every visit. AWESOME ...worth the drive.

Tried them for the first time tonight. I’m only giving this 4 stars because I’m partial to a crispy and toasted crust all around, while yours is more of a doughy consistency. Great pizza, but not my favorite. Definitely would eat again though.

Sat in the De Fazio garden this afternoon and enjoyed a chicken and herb salad and a cheese pizza. The outdoor space is quaint with an herb garden in the rear. When we walked in, there was a wonderful aroma. I don't know what it was, but it smelled delicious. A young lady greeted us and walked us to the garden area. The service was excellent. This place has been in S. Troy for a long time, and you can tell they have an uncompromising quality. First they brought some garlic bread. My guess is that they use an infused olive oil. The garlic and herb flavor on this bread is delectable. The pizza came out first. What stood out for me are the ingredients. The cheese is high quality, not greasy and flavorful. Their pizza sauce is fresh, mild and delicious. It has a very slight sweetness, with fresh herbs. It is not spicy. Perfect for a bold red wine. The salad is fresh and has roasted red pepper, a medium provolone (a little sharp), cherry tomatoes, leafy greens, black olive and red onions. The chicken was slightly over-cooked, but seasoned nicely. I'd definitely get it again. I decided to get the hangover cake to go. This cake is so good. I think it made its way into my top 5 cakes. You must try it. Overall a great experience.

DeFazio’s Pizza in Troy, New York, is a true gem for pizza lovers. The food is absolutely amazing, deserving of a full five stars. Their wood-fired pizza is perfectly cooked with a crisp yet chewy crust that’s just the right balance. The fresh ingredients really make a difference—you can taste the quality in every bite. The service is also top-notch, earning another five stars. The staff are incredibly welcoming, treating everyone like family and making you feel right at home from the moment you walk in. If you’re in Troy and craving exceptional pizza, DeFazio’s is the place to go!

DeFazio’s has some of the best pizza in New York. The dough is airy and the crust is crispy, and charred perfectly. The sauce is so flavorful, and every pie tastes amazing. As for their dessert, definitely recommend the hangover cake. It’s so moist and melts in your mouth (picture taken after a bite or two😂). Just be prepared—getting a table or placing a takeout order isn’t easy. Make reservations a few days in advance, but it’s totally worth it

I am unfamiliar with the Troy area, however I will travel when I'm told by many what a gem this establishment is. It is family owned and generational. My only mistake in my haste was not calling in or going online to place my order in advance. No matter, as I am happy to wait for delicious wood fire pizza made to order any day of the week. On this visit, I stopped in their local neighborhood just to try a large regular pie as well as a Fra Diavlo pie. Well, needless to say I was loving their cheese pie which was so simplistic yet made with wholesome ingredients and homemade sauce. Their Fra Diavlo had homemade Italian sausage, hot chopped peppers, cheese and sauce and was wow! I look forward to trying their pesto pie and eggplant Florentine pizza on my next drive over. In this instance, I really wish I had a second stomach hmm hmm.... This cozy yet quaint pizzeria has so much to offer. They have pizza and pasta and many other house made items. I can't wait to try more!

I came here for a lunch meeting. My client raved to me about the pizza here. Now honestly I hate rave reviews because then I expect something that maybe is just not the same thing someone else would expect. This place is definitely a Dive. It's a little hole in the wall place that appears to be family owned and operated in not a great part of town. The girls at the counter were cute and you can smell the wood fired pizza oven from outside. It's awful inside, unclean and unkept. The one person bathroom (closet conversion) didn't have a working light. You have to use the bathroom and find the soap and wash your hands in the pitch black. The pizza was decent, though it lacked seasoning. I was particularly impressed by the fresh sliced mushrooms. Most pizza places serve you water logged grossness from a can. Honestly guys lets have some respect for yourselves and your customers and renovate. I know a guy

Amazing product, always high quality. Service was fast and friendly. The building and interior design is beautiful! I loved it so much, I booked my rehearsal dinner here. Give it a try! You'll love it.

Authentic Italian you got it! Homemade pastas, traditional parmesan dishes, huge and i do mean huge portions! The salads can be split 3-4 people! The Arugula salad was a mountain on a plate refreshing but not over powered by the lemon dressing. Pizzas are amazing the Vinny personal favorite,-Eggplant parm could feed a small army i kid you not Service very friendly and personable- Taylor, Maggie,Jess- thank you for your personal attention par excellence! Apple cider spritz very "Fally" and not to be missed. The wine portfolio was fabulous and heavily weighted with wonderfully unique Italian varietals- remember peeps Italian wines are meant to be paired with food to compliment both the wine and food - so grab that bottle and let it decant and warm up during salad, soup and appetizers and don't try to drink it before the food comes- I promise you will thank me later! Personal favs- Nobile di Montepulciano (Sangiovese from Tuscany) and the Toscano Rossa (petit verdot/cab blend) for more rich dishes Ambiance was bustling- sat in bar at high top one night, in dining area the next- i like the vibe of the high top better and the energy around the bar. This restaurant is actually 216 4th street and reservations are a must! We dined 2 nites outta 3 while in town for RPI parents weekend! Mangia mangia, salut, and molto bene! (Our only disappointment was missing meeting and chatting up the Sommelier both nights)

This is great pizza. I've had it from the shop in Troy, the pop up in Albany and both places have been great. Many types to choose from and all delicious. Staff is wonderful as well.

An update. I accidentally gave DeFazio's three stars recently when I intended to give them five. I'm afraid it was a glitch and I was unable to make an edit to correct it. My apologies. Let me just say a the pizza and cake were great. Same goes for the service and ambiance.

The pizza, the sauce, the sausage....the hangover cake-omg so Delicious!! Had me googling Italian hangover cake and how to make it. If you're in the area-check them out!

Customer service asked for cash in the market, but apparently the pizza side takes debit cards while I went to get cash. My pizza got cold do yourselves a favor and have one policy good for both places and then educate your clients. pizza with cold crust was burned. Not a great experience. I would go somewhere else.

On my way back from snowboarding I always try to make a pit stop to grab some grub and so I had to pull up to DeFazio's Pizza! Let me tell you.. Their Pizza is so delicious. Seriously.. I'm from NYC and I know good Pizza and I'm telling you this Pizza is off the hook! I ordered the 12" which was perfect for 2 people. Cheese to sauce ratio is perfect. Not too cheesy or too saucy.. The crust is nice with a little crispness.. All together you can't go wrong. The service was great. I mean it's a Pizza shop yall. You just sit down and order. The staff was very nice and accommodating though. As far as ambience, it's a small Pizza shop. Not many patrons other than the staff who works there. No loud music. Just a nice cool spot with some tables to sit and eat at. Yeah.. Sonic you find yourself out in the Troy area and you want some slamming Pizza this is your spot! You can thanks me later. Have a great one yall!

Unbelievable pizza! Fresh homemade ingredients, great service! Rocco came out and talked to us about the history of the family and restaurant. Was like we knew him for 30 years...loved the experience!

No pizza by the slice! Food was good, pizza was artisan personal type brick oven. No crunch but the crust was good, toppings were decent overall. Tomatoes on top the arugula prosciutto wasn't my favorite. Service was a little slow and had some problems handling the 4 ppl I was with. Ambiance was weird, not inviting, had a weird smell, and pretty dark. Overall all 6/10.

Ordered DeFazio's for a pick up today. You have to order early, sometimes the day before. So called first thing for a 4pm pick up. The girl takes the order but doesn't ask my name, so I asked if she needed my name for the order and she said "oh yeah." Didn't think much of it at the time. I drive all the way out there to pick up all the food and get told "no we don't have your order." And they just stand there and stare at me like I am in the wrong. No apology, no "give us some time we will get it done for you." NOTHING! They offered no remorse, no "let's make this right." It was the worst customer service I have ever experienced.

Still remains my favorite in the Cap District. We wanted to try the new spot just down the street but it's only open for dinner hours so we were glad the original place still had indoor dining. We ordered sausage for there and lobster ravioli to go, pizza as usual was great and the LR was really good and huge raviolis.

Stopped while at the farmer's market for a slice of breakfast pizza. Loved that they had the option to pay through Paypal, because I forgot my wallet in the car. The slices are big. They have convection ovens to heat up your pie if you want to eat it immediately. I got the spinach and cheese. Didn't realize there was an egg on it (hence the breakfast pizza) so that was a nice surprise. Fresh and tasty!

I'm a Manhattan kid born and raised (E 120th & Paladino Ave & Greenwich Village) so I've eaten thousands of New York slices and believe me I know and love pizza Plus David Portnoy brought me here lol. DeFazio's is absolutely amazing I ordered the 16' sausage pizza and it was an absolute beauty and was pretty big. The sausage was perfect, the sauce was delicious, the crust was good and for $21 I couldn't have had a better lunch. The staff was unexpectedly diverse (Very refreshing to see) and the shop itself had a very old school vibe to it. I'll definitely be visiting again!

Just come... come to this spot and have the cake. Have the cake and a pizza and a cannoli. But do not leave without having the cake. Pizza was phenomenal, cannolis were great.... The cake was god tier.

Hands down the best quality pizza in the Troy area ....The place is located in South Troy in a kind of hidden spot but worth the hunt. The people there are accommodating and nice...Their other menu items are great as well..Highly recommended!

Absolutely delicious pizza! Very small interior but the service was good. This place is always so busy, this is the first time I've gone and it's not insanely busy.

This is everything a pizza should be from sauce, cheese and a surprisingly different non traditional all purpose bread flour crust. DeFazios delivers an "Old World Pizzeria" experience; making their sausage and all pizza ingredients in house. Dave Portnoys 8.2 pizza review and rating is extremely high if you follow Dave's Reviews. His recent review prolly has elevated the pizzeria into a national trajectory which already was in a local ascension in the greater Albeny area. My wife and I were blown away as DeFazios pizza is something you don't want to miss. Make no mistake, you should make a reservation as there is very limited interior dining space. Also, make sure you call or order online to get in the queue as there is always a wait. Enjoy..!!!

DeFazio's is the best spot in town! Nothing else has to be said! I love the food, I'm obsessed with the staff and owners! I'm not surprised at all these amazing reviews, it's worth it and well deserved!

Was told wait would be "one hour" ended up waiting over 2 hours for pizza... was less then 10" in diameter... they need to change their system. Unbelievable.

Food was terrific... large cheese and a white clam ... got the hangover cake also ... bomb ass shit

It had been probably 30 years since I had been to DeFazio's. It was as good as I remember it. And that means it was absolutely fantastic. You will not have better pizza. You can buy dough balls. You can shop in their mini store. But, always, get the pizza. Don't forget about the little garden area out back. My highest recommendation!

Downstaters, you are not going to like this pie, upstaters, deprived of growing up with good pie will probably love it, especially considering the lack of local competition. The crust is not thin, it's kinda in-between not crispy at all, kind of a mid-dish-crust if you will. On our last visit, the (meh) sauce was all on one side. The reviews of this place seem a little pumped-up imo, I don't know how anyone who really grew up with good pie could recommend this, it sure aint no south-shore pie.

We hiked to the east and stopped to get some half-baked pizzas for home. Delicious as always. When you get home, shove some pies in the oven, throw the dirty trail gear in the wash, sit down fresh & clean in your cozy jammies with a DeFazio slice ... you're living your very best life, let me tell you. Cheesy, moist, flavorful sauce, toothsome bread crust. Crisp on the bottom, but easy to fold. Just how I like it. Now to plan my next excuse to get a pie!

Delicious food and pasta. Hangover cake is amazing recommend getting a slice every time

EXCELLENT & EXCEPTIONAL Saw a "One Bite" review of DaFazio's Pizza on YouTube a couple of months ago in which Dave Portnoy raved about their pie, and made a note to try on my next annual trip to Troy. Since the Sunday night before my stay-over included a dinner, I promised my wife I would bring home a couple of pies. So, I called the order in and asked for light cooking to finish In the oven later after my 2-1/2 hour drive. The woman I spoke with was so nice and accommodating, saying that "half baked" was a fairly popular request. Got the two pies listed as their best sellers (a large plain cheese and a large Fra Diavolo). My wife's not into spicy, so we made the plain for dinner that Monday night... EXCELLENT! The recommendation to finish it in the oven at 425 with a pizza stone for about 8 minutes was spot-on. The bread dough recipe they use for their wood fired pizza is substantially hearty, yet light and crunchy/crispy. The spicy Fra Diavolo with sausage was carefully wrapped inside its box and enjoyed two weeks later (solo, last night)... EXCEPTIONAL!!! How good was it REALLY??? -- I ate the whole pie!!! The sauce was PERFECT -- Spicy enough to announce its seriousness at the outset, and (after the adjustment of the pallet) it was more and more delicious with each and every bite. The ground sausage on it married oh-so-well with sauce. OH YEAH BABY!!! This is now a staple to EVERY visit TO and (any time going anywhere near) THROUGH Troy!!! How lucky is this area to have such a timeless gem in its midst?!?!?! Judging by the steady stream of Monday lunchtime traffic going through while there -- THEY KNOW!!! (Rightfully SO!)

Fantastic wood fired pizza, the only way it should be made! Haven't experienced their new restaurant but soon I hope!

Awesome hidden gem in Troy. The staff was extremely friendly and the pizza came out piping hot. We ordered a large cheese with their speciality garlic and herb dough. The flavor in the pizza was awesome (and I like how they sprinkle herbs over it once it comes out of the oven), but not sure the specialty dough was worth the extra up-charge. I like my pizzas a little crisper - this pizza had a little flop to it, but I would definitely come back to try another one of their specialty pies. Worth the hype and detour when you're upstate.

If you ever get the chance do yourself a favor and get a pizza the most delicious pizza you'll ever have I can't say enough about how delicious there pizza is.DeFazio's 264&266 4th st troy

Dave Portnoy made me do it. Defazio's 100% lives up to the hype! Ordered online the morning of at 10am and it was ready for pickup at 6:30pm - make sure to order in advance! They really do sell out. Ordered the following: Large cheese pizza with meatballs & sausage - red sauce and meatballs tasted so fresh and had great flavor. Meatballs are cut thin and sausage crumbled - so good! Small spinach and mushrooms - this pizza ended up being my favorite! The seasonings they used to sauté the mushrooms and spinach were garlicky and delicious and they give you a great amount of the veggies Small white clam pizza - was super intrigued and had to try! If you're a big seafood fan you have to order. Packs a lot of flavor. Mini cannolis - fill them for you right then and there! Authentic and fresh! The pizza bread dough was light and airy and cooked to perfection. Can't wait to try more items on their menu! 10/10 would recommend DeFazio's.

I honestly don't know where to begin. First off, we're from Los Angeles and took a red-eye flight to fly into Newark. The first thing we wanted to do was drive 2.5 hours to get to DeFazio's! Yes, we came on behalf of Dave Portnoy's recommendation. And it did not disappoint! This really was one of my most memorable restaurant experiences. - Pizza was INCREDIBLE - Hangover Cake was out of the world!! So moist perfectly throughout the entire thing. - We were eating outside and came Rocco popping out to ask how it was. We were the only ones so we got to talk to him for a while and it was such a nice conversation. So funny and cool. He was even so nice to invite us in and give us a tour of the store and recommended the Italian Hangover. - Even got to meet Rocco's son and he was chill as well. Overall, yes. Just go here and experience how great it is. I can't get over it. It's now a must-go place for us every time we're in the east coast now. Grazie, Rocco and DeFazio's team!!!! You've made my trip that much better

We stopped by on a Friday around 3 to order pizzas and we were told the next available pizza would be around 7/8 pm! Our schedule was not that flexible so we ended up leaving. While in the car, we saw that there was an option to order ahead for pick up so we scheduled a pickup for Saturday around noon. I was very excited to see that there were vegan pizza options since I am lactose intolerant. I ordered the Vegan Margarite Pizza which has Vegan Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Fresh Basil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Homemade Vegan Parm Cheese and OMG it was the best vegan pizza I've ever had. I was nervous that I accidentally ate a pizza with real cheese since it was so good. The crust was cooked perfectly and the sauce was delicious. Wish I lived closer so I could try other vegan pies! My bf ordered a cheese pizza and the Italian hangover cake (thanks for the recommendation Portnoy) and absolutely loved it! Next time I'm visiting RPI, I'll have to visit again

What a wonderful place. We stopped here for a late lunch after touring RPI. My wife is gluten and dairy free so when I saw they had a pizza for her we had to go! We sat in the back patio - with plenty of shade and a garden all around us - tomatoes, basil, grapes and more. Very simple but just right. And the pizza, damn! Best gf/df pizza my wife has had in a long time. My son and I split a meat lover's which was awesome. You know a good pizza place when they have meatballs and not ground beef as a topping! And the people were great too! Very friendly.

Saw Dave Portnoy's glowing review last year online not knowing the location. While visiting family in the area his review popped up again on my IG feed and only then did I realize DeFazio's was less than 20 minutes away in Troy. The pizza was delicious but it was the Italian Hangover cake I had my stomach set on and to say it didn't disappoint is an understatement. It was absurdly delicious and surprisingly complex in flavor. I got a second slice for my family and they all agreed. Absolutely stop by if you're in the area.

This place is legit. Awesome place. Great salads and all kinds of pizza. ( plus Italian hangover cake is amazing)

Delish pizza. We knew the food would be legit when we saw the staff making fresh pasta as soon as we walk in. We had a flight to catch at Albany airport, and had to take our fresh, out-the-oven pizza to go, which we promptly enjoyed back at the gate once we were through security. The sauce, in my opinion was the star of the show. We unexpectedly finished the whole pie before getting on our flight.

Read the pizza reviews of the local Albany-Schenectady-Troy lot...then read the reviews from the NJ-Long Island-Connecticut folks. Who would you trust? Exactly...this is 6.5/10 pizza where I grew up. I'm being kind...doughy crusts and flop from the slice maybe ok in the "Good for Albany" world...but south of Westchester......I don't need to answer that. The red saucy Eyetalian pasta dishes are solid (classic Jersey worthy stuff)....not over the top memorable but I'm not driving 30 miles to Troy NY to visit this place...I'll save the gas for New Haven CT.

Great pizza. Great service. Small seating area. Looking forward to when they open the patio.

Wow I'm not sure what happened to this place. They used to be the best in the area. I wouldn't even put them in the top 20 now. Their service is terrible with rude people in the front who act like it's a bother to even acknowledge you when you walk in. We placed our order at 2PM for an 8PM pickup and still wasn't ready. The pizza wasn't fully cooked and its not even worth calling or trying to get our money back. We'll just go elsewhere. Sucks because we really used to like it. Oh well.

Definitely will be in our circulation when in the area! The pizza was delicious, the sauce though! Do try the meat balls. This family run establishment is a gem in a the rough. Charming garden eating at the back of the restaurant. I would recommend future renovations to convert the storage room to a bathroom. Overall, the experience was great. Start parking is limited. Staff were friendly and service was prompt. Wish they had the hangover cake. Will have to try next time.

Great pizza. Fra Divaolo is our absolute favorite from here. You can dine in during the summer but seats are limited otherwise this is a strictly takeout only pizza restaurant. I think what makes them truly exceptional is sauce and crust flavor.

The pizza was well worth the trip and so was the hangover cake. The waiter was a family member and gave us a full history as well as a warm welcome. Glad we were able to add this to the list of pizzerias visited - it's fun, interesting and delicious in no particular order. Highly recommend.

We had this for takeout. What to get: a standard cheese is great. However, there's sausage and pepperoni was out of this world. Pesto chicken is also good - a bit on the dry side. And definitely don't miss out on their house salad

this was undoubtedly the worst pizza i have ever eaten!!!! the plain extra cheese was besides there being very little sauce had actually very little mozzarella!! the other pizza half mushroom and either spinach or broccoli had no flavor at all thecspinach was as if they just steamed it andvdumpedvit on top, the other half ofca specialty pizza had artichokes that wete rancid!!! sour tasting as well as other ingredients no darn flavor at all!!! i have lived in nyc for 50 + years life long nyc guy and i would never recommend this ever to anyone i meet!! let alonec2 pies cam rmto over 50+ dollars!!! absolutely horrible to make this and imitate nyc pizza!!! s. mancin. smancin1609@gmail.com look forward to your response

Awesome pizza. Dough was perfect. Service was quick. Hangover cake was also very good. Probably the best pizza around Albany . I would give it 5 starts but felt there could have been more sauce on the pizza

No soap in the bathroom, which means the employees don't properly wash their hands. Gross. I informed them at the counter, they ignored me and went back to standing there waiting for the next customer. Fortunately I had purell so I could clean my hands, but I was there for another 20 minutes eating (I had already taken a bite of my food before using the bathroom, otherwise I would have walked out without eating) and no employee went to the bathroom to refill the soap dispenser. Gross.

Absolutely wonderful experience both times we have been here. Just went for a birthday dinner and it was great. Ordered a pizza and a chicken parmigiana dinner. Not sure what was better, both excellent. Best pizza I have had in the capital district. Service and entire restaurant staff were so nice and pleasant to deal with. Not snooty and ego driven like a couple of the high end Italian places in Saratoga. They played Taylor Swift and not some depressing old Frank Sinatra songs. Expectations were high and met, can't wait to go back!

I came here with a group of friends recently after having made reservations. We wandered into the back where a not-so-friendly female employee told us that we had to "check in" in the store at front. No problem there, so off one guy went while we gathered up chairs to put around the table. A waitress came back and cleaned the table and soon we were ordering. However, our first pizza didn't arrive until 50 minutes (yes, I timed it) after we ordered it. There were less than a half-dozen others in the back the entire time, so we had no idea what the hold-up was. The waitress never offered an explanation, but finally I saw the first not-so-friendly female employee and asked her if she knew anything about our pizzas. Her response: "I am not working right now... you will need to check with someone else" and she disappeared back inside the store. Check we did, and we found out that the dough had been made wrong (no sugar?) and had to be redone. While annoying, had someone told us this (instead of letting us wait 50+ minutes) I suppose we could have adjusted our plans. Instead, we finally received our first pizza and were told the second would be out right away. It wasn't... at least another 10-15 minutes. Their pizza is the best in the area, and it was just as good that day. But service was horrible. Leaving your customers alone for 50 minutes waiting for what should be quick-cooking pizza is lousy, but having the staff either lie and say it will be right out or tell us they are "not working right now" and cannot help us is unacceptable.