DeSalvo's Pizza

Looked up great pizza by Northwestern University, and didn’t want same old Lou’s. This place was great. Amazing garlic knots, and yes get the ranch/marinara combo upgrade, you’ll thank me after. Small pizza 13” is good for one hungry person. Great under carriage and quality ingredients. I’ll definitely come back. A little tough getting parking on the street during busy times, but not too bad.

The crust is amazing! The pizza looks a little plain (I wish it had more greens), but oh my god it is delicious. I added fresh basil to the raccoon pizza and I highly recommend it. The seasonal salad and veggie dish were both incredible. Really happy with my meal here 😚🤌

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to love this place as much as I did, but everything was super fresh and packed with flavor. You can tell they really care about their ingredients. We tried the Green Dreams pizza, the Rabbit (veggie) slice, a Detroit Square, the seasonal salad, the seasonal vegetables, and the garlic knots. The seasonal salad was crisp and refreshing, and the seasonal vegetables were roasted perfectly with this creamy aioli that just brought everything together—such a good combo. The pizzas were absolutely delicious, and my favorite was the Detroit-style pie—crispy edges, cheesy, and just the right amount of sauce. You can really taste the freshness in the dough and toppings. And the garlic knots? Next level—soft, flavorful, and honestly, some of the best I’ve had. Beyond the food, the vibe inside is cozy and bright, making it a great spot for a quick bite or a casual hangout with friends. The staff is super friendly and welcoming, which makes the whole experience even better. Definitely a must-visit if you’re in Evanston—whether you’re grabbing a slice or sitting down for a full meal, you won’t be disappointed!

DeSalvo's uses third-party delivery services instead of hiring their own drivers. Because of this, delivery orders are often quite late, cold, and sometimes, don't arrive at all. If you want to enjoy their Very Good pizza, I recommend dining in or picking up.

We were looking forward to dinner during our visit to Evanston. We called to see if reservations were needed and the response was no “come on it” we paid for parking, ordered our pizza. Prior to paying we were told to wait to see how long it would be. It was an hour and 40 minute wait. They said they were overwhelmed with online orders. They don’t prioritize in person. I just wish they would have told us there was such a long wait when we called. I’m gluten free so I could not have the ready made options. Overall, just disappointed with the wasted time and money.

I ordered a large raccoon pizza and a standard small margherita pizza for delivery. The pizza was absolutely delicious. It had the perfect amount of filling. The pizza dough itself was well made and delicious. I will say, I do think that the margherita pizza needed some more fresh basil. The raccoon was kind of sweet, but the sausage, pepperoni, and goat cheese made it a perfect balance. I'm also a person that enjoys menu items with fun names. So the raccoon caught my attention right away. And since, I ordered delivery I didn't score the atmosphere since I did not visit the restaurant. But the food arrived surprisingly fast. Overall, loved it. And I wish I could do half stars. A solid 4.5/5.

I’m so grateful to have this delicious pizza place in my neighborhood! I live in Lincolnwood and it’s only 10-15mins away! High quality oven pizza and bread!! With even better customer services!the dough/ bread on these pizzas are so good!! Must get their 3 garlic knots! 10/10 please dip it with their homemade ranch!!

Wonderful pizza place with excellent service! My family loves the Detroit-style pizza as well as the NY-style pizza slices. We also love that they have the most delicious dairy-free soft serve! (there is also gluten-free pizza!)

Honestly, I wasn't expecting to love this place as much as I did, but everything was super fresh and packed with flavor. You can tell they really care about their ingredients. We tried the Green Dreams pizza, the Rabbit (veggie) slice, a Detroit Square, the seasonal salad, the seasonal vegetables, and the garlic knots. The seasonal salad was crisp and refreshing, and the seasonal vegetables were roasted perfectly with this creamy aioli that just brought everything together--such a good combo. The pizzas were absolutely delicious, and my favorite was the Detroit-style pie--crispy edges, cheesy, and just the right amount of sauce. You can really taste the freshness in the dough and toppings. And the garlic knots? Next level--soft, flavorful, and honestly, some of the best I've had. Beyond the food, the vibe inside is cozy and bright, making it a great spot for a quick bite or a casual hangout with friends. The staff is super friendly and welcoming, which makes the whole experience even better. Definitely a must-visit if you're in Evanston--whether you're grabbing a slice or sitting down for a full meal, you won't be disappointed!

It's okay. We tried the rabbit and green goddess today. So soggy from all that oil and pesto?! But easily the best reheated pizza in the neighborhood

I've been enjoying their slices for a couple of years: delightfully crunchy-but-chewy crust and quality toppings. Carnivores, don't miss The Racoon; vegetable lovers, ditto The Rabbit and The Med. An opportunity to try the calzone finally presented itself, and I grabbed it with both hands (literally). My favorite calzones are typically somewhat heftier, but it was perfectly balanced and just as delicious as their pizza. That crust, man--I could eat it plain!

Being an east coast transplant, I found the pizza here to be on par with some of the best places in Boston, Connecticut and New York that I've been to. HIGHLY recommend.

Pizza flavors are delicious! Stopped in for a late lunch on a Friday afternoon to pick up some pizza slices to go. It was pretty empty in the place. When I first walked into the place, the staff welcomed me with great smiles and vibes. The cashier said the sausage pizza is coming up if I want a fresh slice. I ordered 2 cheese and the 1 fresh sausage. Ultra thin crust is not my favorite style of pizza. I will try other items on the menu next time. Parking: street Parking via parking App. Cheers!

Hosted a small private party for my son's bday and everything was great! Very accommodating. We had a bunch of rather rowdy boys and had booked the back room which was perfect. Great food and great service.

We stopped in for dinner before a NU hoops game and really enjoyed our salad and pizzas! We split the mixed green salad and the portion was perfect as a side salad and there's lots of good stuff in there. The Rabbit slices were served warm and crispy -- the Neopolitan style crust was so good. We had to go back and pick up a cheese slice for good measure. Friendly staff and no nonsense ordering and they bring your food out when it's ready. A nice fast casual atmosphere.

Congratulations for ranking on Yelp's Top 100 Pizza Spots in the Midwest, @desalvospizza in Evanston is a Chicagoland hidden gem. You make the most fantastic pizza on the Northshore, and the very best gluten-free pizza around! Great salads, sandwiches, wine and beer. A wonderful space for friends & families to gather.

DeSalvo's is the best pizza on the north shore. NY style slices individually or full pies. Crust is firm and holds but it's also soft and chewy. Proportions of sauce, cheese, crust, and toppings are well balanced so nothing dominates the flavor or texture. They also have Detroit style pizza that looks delicious but I haven't tried it. The sandwiches are really good. The bread is excellent and they use high quality ingredients. The Italian is my favorite sandwich on the north shore. All around great spot.

Delicious gluten free pizza! I don't have a ton else to say, it was just good. Chewy and thin, tasted very very close to regular pizza. I have an allergy and it was a pleasant change from cardboard GF pizza. Also had salad which was light and fresh. Will be back!

I absolutely love this place! Great food and great space for friends & families. Love the rabbit & green dreams pizza. The seasonal vegetables are amazing. Plus they have the best gluten-free pizza & foccacia bread around.

Delish! The pizza dough wasn't too tough or chewy. The Raccoon pizza was amazing! The interior was very clean. The frozen lemonade was great for a hot day! My only gripe is the garlic knots needed some more garlic and butter in my opinion. I will be back for more of their pizza!

I ordered two small pizzas. They both barely had any toppings on them. The crust is good but toppings were scares and the whole pizza was kind of dry, not filled with toppings. Will not go back.

we ordered the bbq pizza to carry out. I cannot imagine that they can feature chicken as one of the ingredients! There were 1, 2, or 3 tiny cubes on each large slice. We ordered it with extra cheese, which it didn't seem to have. I gave the 2 stars for a pretty good salad. Very disappointed, won't return.

Ugh I love a good pizza by the slice place. Pizza and garlic knots were both delicious! Service was quick and everyone working there was so so sweet. I also ordered an Italian sandwich to-go and although that was pretty good, think the pizza was the winner.

The restaurant has a very clean open decor. I ordered pizza to go and although there were a few people eating there it had the look of a carry out ...to be fair there may be another part of the restaurant that I didn't see but the part I saw was clean and open but missing the warmth of an eat in restaurant. That being said I was waited on promptly and ordered 3 slices to go a cheese, cheese and sausage and a veggie version. The pizza reminded of New York style which made it foldable with a soft thin crust but it was not greasy at all and was very tasty. My only concern was the pizza slices sit out and have no idea how long they were out without sitting under a heat lamp so that was a little worrisome. I heated them up when I got home and they tasted fine good sauce and basically very tasty. Next time I will order a whole pizza and I will check out to see if there is an additional seating area ( they do have an outside space so that would be nice in warm weather). Overall I gave 4 stars because it was attentive service, clean and tasty I held back the one star because I think the slices should be under some type of warming lamp or else they would need to be discarded to avoid food poisoning. It is a place that is worth visiting and the pizza is good. I will go back.

First off, this seasonal salad was delicious. But $17 for a salad that tiny and calling it an entree salad? When I went back in becuase they didn't include my anchovie add-on, I actually asked to confirm that this was in fact the entree size. And this pic was taken before I took a single bite. Wish I'd added something for scale to show just how small the salad container was. If you are familiar with Potbelly salads, I'd say this container was maybe 1/3 smaller than those. And hardly full. So I ended up treating this as an appetizer and getting my entree at Pinto.

I ate here when they first open and knew there was somthing different about their pizza. I was right recently I had eaten in there and watch them make the pizza thru there open kitchen and everything and I mean everything was fresh! From the freshly grated cheese to the homemade sausage I watched the owner taking from the pan! Only negative was now they spoiled my taste buds so much that I can only eat pizza from there!! And there closed on Sundays so that was hard !! So I just had to remember to get extra on Saturday ..

I came here with my fiance for a quick bite and it filled us up very well. We loved how big the store is and the space we had to find a seat. The Cookie is really good, along with their pizza's. The service was good and we left satisfied.

Great place ! The ingredients are fresh and staff is very friendly. Pizza lover and this place didn't disappoint.

Delicious pizza and salads. Highly recommend. We had a slice of cheese, a slice of the rabbit (veggie), and an arugula salad. Yum!

100% will order again. Worth the chaotic parking to pick up. All tasty, but would surpringly rank my food as follows: 1) Seasonal salad 2) Chocolate chip cookie 3) Garlic knots 4) Build-your-own pizza with pineapple and Italian sausage The pizza sauce is ever so slightly spicy, so I may try an alternate sauce next time. After moving back to Evanston after a few years in the city, I was sad to see that Symphony's didn't survive. (I'll miss their pumpkin pasta!) But I'm happy to report that DeSalvo's is an absolutely worthy replacement.

Delicious pizza and sandwiches and nice atmosphere to fine in. Bread was amazingly fresh!

I absolutely love this place! Great food and great space for couples or families. Love the raccoon pizza and focaccia sandwich.

Their seasonal vegetables and pizzas . The garlic knots and BBQ chicken pizza rounded it out. A must visit for any drive through Evanston.

Love DeSalvo's! They're an excellent addition to Central St especially with the lack of pizza options around. Whether you crave a slice, a sandwich or calzone, I'm sure you'll find something to satisfy your hunger. Everyday seems to bring new options pizza-wise. The display has an array of different slices to choose from so each visit with yield a new experience. And they carry a small but great selection of beer and non alcoholic options from local breweries. They got a great lemonade Overall, pizza is great and the service is on-point.

Fantastic and delicious is the best way to sum up Desalvo's. Really friendly service, fresh ingredients and a great spot for family and friends. The pizzas and sandwiches are so tasty! Will definitely be back for more soon!

I didn't actually dine here but my kid and a bunch of middle school friends did and they had a blast. It sounds like it's a popular spot for local school-goers. Pepperoni pizza and root beer float get 2 thumbs up from my kiddo!

DeSalvo's is SUCH a welcome addition to this stretch of Central Street! Their pizza is outstanding... crispy and chewy crust, high quality and fresh toppings, interesting flavor combinations. They get food out quickly when you dine in and their take out is reliable and travels well. We love the Raccoon pizza, the arugula salad, their pepperoni (little cups! Delish!), and their pesto pizza. I can get my four-year-old to do anything by bribing him with their brownie. I've only had their Detroit style pizza once but it was incredible. Oh! And their Italian sandwich! It's so good. My husband is obsessed with it. Everyone who works there is super lovely and kind. Always a great experience there. If you haven't been, go! You'll love it.

This is the only place I've found in the northern suburbs that actually resembles NYC pizza. Delicious and the service is great. There were 30 kids in there for a birthday party and the staff still got my pickup order out on time, hot and fresh.

Walking into the recently opened DeSalvo's pizza I viewed the delicious pizzas available by the slice. The pizza is also available fresh to order and they have a weekly pizza that does not disappoint. The salads were a delightful surprise as the radish complimented the house made ranch with spring mix. I personally finished a my meal with a Sketchbook IPA which made this whole experience wonderful. This place is a great compliment to Central Street and I can't wait to come back and enjoy the rest of the menu.

Sweet Neptune! Where has this pizza been my whole life?! Awesome pizza in a really good atmosphere. Service is friendly and quick, and the food beyond good. The dough here is perfect, a good amount of chewy and crispy. It's thin crust without being soggy, and there's a generous amount of crust for those who enjoy crust. True gem of a locally owned and operated place.

We walked in and were warmly greeted by the staff at the counter. We met the owner, Alex, and he and his staff made great suggestions. The food came out quickly and everything was delicious to say the least! Their Green Dream pizza was the best and the arugula salad perfectly complimented it.

Just had the best 5$ slice of pizza I can remember having in years! One thing about the best food establishments - you can taste the love in their creations. Each pie here looked like it was loved as much as someone's baby. In fact, choosing just one slice felt like a 'Sophie's Choice' situation. And unlike a lot of pizza places offering pre-made slices to go - I didn't see a single pie in their slice window that looked like a poorly treated red-headed step child. Even the pre-made sandwiches had that 'cousin Oliver' feel (the new cute kid added to a sitcom after the previous youngest cute kid hits puberty). The garlic knots looked tastier than a young Leo DiCaprio being added to the last season of Growing Pains. I'd write more but I'm already putting my coat on to go back for slice #2. Tell Mr. Drummond what I'm talking about because I'm coming for his adorable red-headed step son Sam this time.

So overrated! The pizza is a step above Dominos. The ingredients are low quality and the staff is a little rude. Panino's blows this place away and they have at least won national and international awards for their pizza. The only good thing about DeSalvos is their convenient location on Central street. It's the usual Central Street no tastebud crowd that is ranking this place well.

Great pizza, friendly staff, roomy and nice setting. I just moved to Evanston and tried this place for the first time. I will come back.

Stopped in after the OSU v. Northwestern game, it was just as delicious as the first time I went in. It was a no brainer to go in once my friends and I passed it. There was a line out the door and they got through everyone within 5-10 min. It was amazing. I knew I had to share this place with my friends. They both loved it. I got two slices of Raccoon pizza, which paired very well with their Lemonade. My mouth was watering the entire way to my seat. Absolutely delicious, they put hot honey on their pizzas and it just takes everything to another level. I will definitely be coming back again! The atmosphere was just as opens, friendly, relaxing!

Great place to pick up a slice or two. Really like the raccoon pizza. Tastes great and the crust is perfect.

Excellent pizza, had a half and half, so both of us were happy. Hoping par-baked will soon be available. Nice looking overall, and especially the back section for private parties.

The food at DeSalvo's is delicious, which is why I booked a private event there almost two month ahead of the date. They "misplaced" my reservation, however, and double booked the room. They refused to honor my reservation, even though I booked first. It was very disappointing customer service, and we will not be back. There are so many great family owned spots in Evanston - they need to step it up to match the service at these other restaurants.

The food is so good! Amazing decor and fast service! I would pay millions for a price of their pizza!

Good pizza. It's not quite New Haven and not quite New York style but it is tasty. It's lite. It has quality ingredients and it has a great sauce. I would order again if I could get an extra cheese option on their online ordering system.

The pizza is extremely good. the crust is not to hard or soft just perfect and the right amount of sauce and cheese are out on. The pizza flavors are very good. I recommend the raccoon.

By far the best gluten free pizza I've ever had! So good I still dream about it FYI they do get busy so plan ahead

Delicious! Only issue is that we ordered garlic but were given red sauce. They were bustling and busy so we decided not to ask for a different pizza. Friendly servers and fast service. 9/10 -- we would likely come again if we lived in the area. Enjoy!

BEST seasonal vegetable dish, wonderful thin pizza by the slice with unusual toppings, salads are great, staff is very friendly, clean bright room. Gluten free option available. Delicious beer. It has become one of our favorite places to eat.

Best pizza on the North Shore, hands down. Great little place to sit down for a quick lunch

Amazing amazing pizza! Reminds me of my grandma's home made pizza! Very tasty food! Raccoon pizza is my recommendation. Garlic knots is a must try! Friendly customer service!

This is the best pizza shop in the area. I believe the basic cheese slice is how you should judge any pizza place, and DeSalvos stands up to that test. The ratio between cheese and sauce is perfect, the sauce is nice and sweet, but the star is their crust with a fantastic crunch even though it's so thin. All of that being said, the "raccoon" slice is by far the best pizza you can get in the area.