Need Pizza

I hadn’t been to Need Pizza in 6 years and it was just as great as it was back then! We ordered the small Specialty pizza of the day (you cannot modify it) - and it was a fabulous choice. The blend of the toppings and cheese choices worked extremely well together. The pizza are very large! The small seemed more like a large at other places. We also tried their breadstick bites appetizer (I don’t think that’s what it’s called) - it came with a side of their red sauce. They had great flavoring, were soft, and a great way to start the meal. Staff was super friendly and the food came out quickly.

Very cool little local pizza joint. In town for a meeting and the hotel recommended Need. I'm glad they did. Had a bbq chicken pizza, all I can say is delicious. Flavors were awesome and the wait staff was on point.

I did carryout. It does look like a cool atmosphere inside with a nice selection of beer; Staff were really cool. I ordered a small pepperoni pizza which was average to below average and comparable to something you get in a package at a kid birthday party venue or ballpark.

Excellent service by Abbey, excellent food, not too expensive. Wide beer and beverages selection too. Recommended! Also, the garlic cheese bread was unreal, and it's the size of a small pizza, which is honestly not small at all! Also, they have pizza sizes by inches, which makes it so easy to know what you're ordering. Also also, to top it all off, they bring the payment terminal to the table instead of bringing your credit card away from your sight, and I think that's awesome and not nearly as common as it should be. Overall and really really good experience and I'm definitely be coming back.

Met a college friend for dinner there recently. He wanted to eat there for his birthday. Nice place. They served Pepsi products! Had to park few blocks away as they do not offer a parking area. Its located in downtown Cedar rapids. Plenty of street construction STILL going on there. Upon my arrival the place was buzzing with people. Big screen television everywhere. Nice sized bar. They offer a wide variety of beer and related drinks. Their menu is simple: pizza, salad, appetizers, drinks. If you order pizza it's presented to you with a holder to keep it elevated. Thin crust meat lover's pizza is what we ordered. It was delicious. We were able to engage in conversation and able to hear each other without problems from external noise. For a place as popular as this is Im surprised they haven't expanded. They seem content sharing that big building. Space next door just sitting there empty. Price was OK. He had a beer I had a soda. With the food our order came in under $40. Last time I was here was years ago when they first opened. Casual dining. Good comfort food. In my opinion it was OK.

In my books it's a top 3 pizza place for me anywhere in America! The crust is spot on! Thin, crisp and tasty. The sauce is a perfect freshness and natural flavor. I really don't want the to but this pizza is wort twice what they charge.

Probably the best pizza place in Cedar Rapids top notch! The pizza was fresh, flavorful, and a pleasing texture of crispy crust! The staff were so polite & the pizza wasn’t too expensive, a large which is HUGE was $18. And the atmosphere where do I start? They had TVs to see your favorite sport, had beautiful paintings and had an Aquarium! I recommend this place if you are finding good pizzerias in Cedar Rapids

The pizza is delicious don't get me wrong, ....but the service was terrible. Also they definitely price gouge you here. A small 2oz ranch cup was $2, that's insane. They know it's good pizza so they'll charge whatever they want, it's disgusting. It wasn't even that busy but our server hardly acknowledged us, was the reason our pizza was so delayed because she told us she kept ignoring it, so it took a good 30 minutes at least for it to get to our table and when I wondered why it was taking so long to get the check she was talking with people at the bar not actually working to get our bill.

Oh my this place is so good. The pizza is some of the best I've had. So freaking good. Well cooked, perfect crust, the picture speak for themselves. The vibes are so good in the shop, feels like the nice local joint that it is. Servers are nice.

The pizza is amazing best pizza in Cedar Rapids. The restaurant has a cool laid back vibe. They have alot of micro brews and God tasting menu. The service is top notch they all work as a team realy take care of their guest.

Great pizza! 1st time here from Los Angeles and wanted something easy. Ordered a large for us 3 with cheese bread. The pizza is huge and fed all of us with some leftovers. The crust was perfect, not thick but not too thin. Toppings were spread evenly around. It's not drenched in marinara sauce. Hubby, who is a pizza fanatic, loved it. The cheese bread was good. The marinara sauce is very tomatoey (it has that zing). Probably would try the garlic knots next time. Parking is scarce is trying to go on a Friday evening. Good thing we ordered it to go. Overall good pizza and would return!

LOVED IT! Great service and the pizza was sooooo good! I totally recommend it! The food came out fast and it was delicious!

My favorite pizza place. As soon as you walk in the door, the roasty tomatoe smell from their sauce hits you. It has a great ambiance, warm and friendly. The staff is always friendly and helpful. They have a great selection of craft beers for those of us beer lovers as well as cocktails. The choices of pizza toppings in amazing and their gluten free crusts are good. Although my gluten free friends tell me you want to request that they be cooked a little longer to crisp them up. I am especially fond of their Caesar salad. It actually has anchovies on it! The only issue is, depending on the time, parking. They're in downtown cedar rapids, so it can be a challenge at times, but it's worth the challenge

The food choices were great. I opted for an appetizer of the bread stick bites which were delicious. The seasoning added to the already delectable dish. My main course was an individual build your own pizza. I opted for pepperoni and mushroom. Thin crust is how they made it and it didn't fail to impress. It was rather tasty and crispy like I would expect thin crust to be. Service was great. My server Kristi, I think I spelled it right, seated me right away and went over how their pizza is build your own and they style which they call NewHaven. Her suggestion of the bread stick bites was spot on. Lastly, the ambience was what i expected from a pizza joint. Rustic yet with a down home neighborhood feel. Great job Need Pizza. Made me feel like i was back East.

Food was good, nothing that felt was outstanding. I ordered salad with chicken, it was very tasty. Ordered breadstick bites for the table and you can't go wrong with warm fresh baked bread. The sauce was underwhelming. Service was great server made wonderful suggestions. Pub style restaurant. Not sure if pub-style eating establishments are the only thing that thrives in Iowa. But all the downtown restaurants seem to fit the same pub-style setting.

Had heard of "Need Pizza" in June when I went down to Iowa City with my friend for her birthday--we had stopped with the party bus and we were on a time limit so didn't have time to order and wait for a pizza :( Fast forward to a few days ago, we had the chance to stop by as we were on our way home from Wisconsin, and we were so excited as we had heard GREAT things. Unfortunately it did not live up to the hype :( The pizza was like something that could be made at home (just not as good) and our cheese sticks were super greasy, I had 1 maybe 2 slices of pizza because I was hungry before my tummy began to hurt. We also waited 10 minutes to get ranch :( I will say, their portions are pretty big and we could've downsized on pizzas. I understand each business chooses how they do their business but for us, paying for each item added up and we paid about $80 for both of us. I encourage you to try and form your own opinions but we will not be back due to a few reasons :)

Food was fantastic, service was excellent! Order a beer ask for advice they will take care of you!

The pizza is amazing and remember to leave room for their skillet cookie! Thanks to Josh for handling our party of 8!

My fiancé and I came in for St Patrick's day and despite it being busy we were very well taken care of by our server Rich! I liked that they had non alcoholic options for drinks and THC drinks. The atmosphere were fun and the pizza has so many options and it was so delicious I basically ate most of it while I was there along with my drinks. Will be coming here again 11/10!

Picked out the best pizza place on Yelp in cedar rapids and gave it a try. Ordered online you know how much I love doing that. I ordered large pizza and a salad. The salad was very good. The dressing was delicious and there are plenty of tomatoes croutons cucumbers carrots. The pizza was okay the crust was what I would consider a New York style crust. Just the right amount of chew and char on the crust. Plenty of cheese. A little light on the sausage. I deducted one star from the rating based on the fact that when we picked up the carryout order they did not give us a salad and I had to send my wife back in to get the salad that we ordered. I should not have to check you when I place a carryout order you should be doing the checking and making sure I have a complete order.

Best pizza in the corridor, hands down. Also great salad options. A big shout out to our waitress, Lexie. Outstanding service, attentive, accommodating and very nice.

Outstanding pizza!! Service was great in serving our big party well! Ambiance was cool pizza parlor vibe. Go-to spot for pizza in that area!

Need pizza has one of the best pies in town! Great service, great food, nice atmosphere.

Anytime we have sports in Cedar Rapids; we always try to stop here! It was my oldest daughter's track meet and then we stopped and had cheese sticks and a half sausage/pepperoni. Delicious. I love the atmosphere of this place and service is always excellent!

Fabulous pizza. Enjoyed the bread bits and side house salad. Excellent service. Fun vibe.

We went here after for a date night before a movie. We really enjoyed that their thing is to create your own pizza ($6 plus $1 for each topping I think). We also did the breadstick bites for an appetizer. They do have 1 speciality pizza each day. That day was a Chicago hot dog. They do have dine in with fun chalkboard walls in some areas and a fish tank. More so we saw a lot of take out. The service was great and very friendly too!

Loved this pizza! Thin crust, great sauce, very fresh. The staff was incredibly friendly. Over the top service. Very casual fun atmosphere. We enjoyed it very much! Word to the wise, a "small" pizza can definitely feed 2 adults!

Decent thin crust pizza. A small is a lot for lunch! Wait staff are helpful and attentive.

Pizza was fire!! Quick service. LARGE portions. Like, the large pizza is a giant anywhere else!

Ordered Caesars ... got a spring mix salad ? Ordered meatballs .. very dense and bland .. dry. Very little cheese .. very little sauce ? Ordered simple pepperoni pizza with extra cheese ... Came out burnt on the edges ... no extra cheese I asked the waitress.. she said that was extra cheese ? So if I ordered a regular pizza there would be no cheese ? The service was good, waitress was polite and attentive Drinks were filled quickly Place was clean and tidy Just disappointed... did not see the four stars ... not even close !

We ate here after a comedy show and really enjoyed the vibe of the place and their food. Hubby was already ready to drive 3 hrs to eat here again .....luckily we are back in the area and gonna hit this up!

Fantastic pizza, great beers on tap and good service! We always enjoy going to NEED! Perfect location if you are in CR to enjoy a concert or show. Look forward to going again soon!

First time my wife and I went. Loved the ambience. Very comfortable and welcoming. My pizza was excellent tasting and the size was huge. My wife however really did not like the Gluten free crust. So go here for non-Gluten filled pizza instead. Five stars for that.

Need Pizza has been on my gotta-try list for YEARS. No, I'm not over exaggerating. Alas, fast forward to one random Wednesday evening (like five years later) I finally... and it didn't disappoint! Open on the daily (for lunch during the week, too) this place definitely is a downtown CR must-have. I'm a breadstick connoisseur ... or snob... depends how you look at it I suppose. If you don't have them in the menu, get outta here. And Need Pizza had breadsticks and garlic bread score. The breadstick bites were bomb. No complaints here! Need Pizza offers a handful of appetizers, a handful of salads (the standards: house, Cesar and Greek-- along with some standouts: bleu nuts and superfood) and of course, ZA. Gluten free and vegan pizza lives here. The menu is pretty straight forward. Choose your size, crust, sauce and then toppings. Boy, do they have toppings! Four tiers of toppings ranging from $1.25 each, to $4.50 each. (Vegan chicken anyone?) There's also a specialty pie offered daily-- be sure to ask your server. Holy drink menu. Need Pizza boasts about 50 different beers on their menu-- including a handful of N/A-- and also has a rotating seasonal cocktail list. The vibe was chill. Our waitresses were bomb. Pricing seemed standard. Street parking is available. Our food came out piping hot and our green pepper and pepperoni pizza delish. The crust isn't too heavy but is substantial. YUM. If you're hankering some pizza and in CR- pop in Need Pizza!

Pepperoni cups! Hot Honey! We were blown away by the food and the drink selection. If you're looking for pizza in Cedar Rapids, this is where you go.

I've been here a few times and I am not impressed. I expected something better with all of the positive things people have said about the pizza. I found it to be pretty mediocre and greasy, though. I like that they have such a wide variety of ways to make a pizza your way, but the final product wasn't as thrilling as I would have hoped. The cheese sticks were really tasty even though they were very greasy... comes with the territory for garlicky-cheesy deliciousness.

On December 26th we had the worst service we've ever received in our lives. Our server, Katey, spent the ENTIRE night berating us, belittling us, & harassing us from the moment we sat down, & we were utterly appalled. When we first sat down we asked her if she had a certain beer still on tap. Instead of a simple yes or no, she rudely replied: "If it's not on the beer menu, we don't have it." The service only got worse from there. We had ordered the Breadstick Bites, which we know by name since we've ordered it repeatedly every time we visit. Everyone at the table heard us order the correct appetizer. When the appetizer came out, we got 2 orders of cheese bread. When we indicated to the staff that this was not what we had ordered, the kitchen staff indicated that she'd let our server know. Katey came by & was immediately defensive, retorting that she always confirms what is ordered & clearly it was OUR fault for not hearing her confirm that we wanted cheese bread. Instead of apologizing & putting in a correct order for Breadstick Bites, we were appalled when Katey said "Then what do you want me to do with these, have them boxed up for you to take home or what?" implying that it was our fault the order was incorrect & that we'd be paying for the incorrect order. There was no apology for getting the order wrong or any indication that they'd get the correct order for breadstick bites to the kitchen. Katey repeated multiple times that she always verifies the order, so this was clearly our fault and not hers. She absolutely would not drop it & continued to berate us. In preparation for the pizza coming out, Katey provided plates & silverware, but shorted us one plate. When the pizza was brought out we asked Katey for an additional plate, to which her response was: "Well I brought you plenty of plates already." Then she told us "I don't understand where the other plate went." After finally getting another plate, we realized we needed more silverware since she didn't bring enough, only for her again to tell us that she already brought us plenty. We said no, we still need some forks, & her response was to rudely say "I just brought you a plate. What would you like me to do?" We were absolutely SHOCKED at her behavior, and it left us utterly speechless. I have never been met with such open hostility and condescension from a server, & it continued from the moment we sat down until we left. At one point the server came to the table & asked if we wanted another beer, & when my husband replied that no he didn't, her response was "I was asking your wife, not you." It only got worse from there, with her making snide comments throughout the night such as "Well you don't have to worry about apologizing, because the other table has apologized for you." More than a couple times Katey loudly said "It's the holiday season, you think people could be nice" without us understanding what prompted it. No matter what was going on in her personal life over the holidays, this was no reason for taking it out on my family. Her behavior was absolutely inexcusable, & we have never been treated so horribly before. It was clear that this server was taking her personal issues out on us. She proceeded to loudly demean us to all of her other tables & would not stop. Katey utterly embarrassed us. The food was good, but definitely not worth the abhorrent service & constant harassment, humiliation, & berating by this awful server. Neither the server nor the acting night manager apologized for the mistakes or the harassment we received. When we tried explaining the disgusting behavior by her server, after a very short minute of us trying to explain what happened, the manager's response was to tell us that Katey was one of their best servers so clearly it wasn't Katey's fault. When we tried reiterating all of the snide comments we received, the acting manager's response was to tell us "Well I don't know what you want me to do, and I don't have time to waste by standing here talking to you." It was at this point that Katey came up to the manager & asked her to comp the meal and that she would pay for it (the charge was never reversed). Absolutely disgusting that this "acting manager" would support this server's actions and not atone for any of the horrible behavior we received. It's obvious that Need Pizza doesn't care one bit about customer service. We will never come back here & will never again recommend them to the hundreds of business associates either local or from out of town. The food here is nowhere near worth the awful harassment, belittling, & berating we received that the establishment clearly stands behind, according to the acting manager that night. I am shocked that the owners of Need Pizza employ such rude & condescending people. We were absolutely humiliated at Need Pizza, & there was NO reason for it. Never once did anyone apologize to us. The behavior of the server & the acting manager was utterly inexcusable.

Tonight I ordered a to-go medium pepperoni pizza with half artichoke hearts & half banana peppers. When we got it home and opened the box, we were shocked at the pitiful amount of toppings. I have never seen a pizza with such sparse toppings in all my life. There were 18 small pepperoni slices for 12 slices of pieces. Thats only 1.5 pieces of pepperoni per slice and you had to look closely to see the barely-visible peppers and artichokes. It was more like a cheese pizza with a sprinkle of toppings. Super disappointing!

I Need Pizza, again and again. We tried it for the first time tonight. Half spinach, goat cheese, and tomato... half pepperoni and fresh mozzarella. Yummy!!! Will return. Staff was laid back but keeps on top of things and very friendly.

I walked through the door and mentally shrugged. It's a really unpretentious place; I figured I was in for some conventional pizza. Hopefully it'd be good. Whoa, did I underestimate this place! I'm not from here, but if I was I'd eat here all the time. It's a slightly new style for me (more than thin crust but less than traditional) but among the best I've ever had. They really, really get it right. It's not an accident, either. The owner (presumably) was going from table to table talking to the customers. We talked about each ingredient - how and why he chose it, how it was prepared. The care and effort they put into the pizza is off the charts. There's a near flawless balance in the quality and quantity of the ingredients. Just go; recommended without reservation.

Hands down the best pizza in the area! I've been several times now and enjoy their creative menu and toppings. While the toppings are delicious the crust is even better. The New Haven style pizza has everything you want in a crust (think of Goldilocks, not to thick or thin, but just right). It's has a nice crunch and even holds up well to reheating if for some reason you don't finish the whole pizza. In addition to the pizza the beer and cider selection is constantly evolving and has a majority of the local options on tap. Even the taps are cool using old fridges and making them into kegerators! The vibe is low key and could easily bring your family or large group of friends to celebrate. Or the booths offer a bit more privacy if you use stop in for a quieter evening. Absolutely worth the drive to check out and you may even want to take an extra home for the next day :)

Great pizza and atmosphere! We had a big group of 12 and our server handled it well. The meatballs were really good. Highly recommend!

Omg it was soooo good!!! It's a small menu with basically just pizza but that's all you need! The garlic cheese bread (a little surprised that it wasn't bready...more like a really thin pizza) was amazingly garlicky and cheesy! My husband and I both got different individual pizzas and both absolutely loved ours! If we lived closer we would come here all the time! It was definitely our best meal in our 6 state road trip thus far!

I have had the good fortune to experience Need Pizza for the first time about a year ago. Through COVIDS ups and downs we have returned to this weekly (me sometimes twice!) Downtown Restaurant. I suggest calling ahead and being patient with the staff. They are doing the best they can with training new employees and... There is a good reason why they are busy: Their pizza is fantastic. However, the Blue Nut Salad is the most amazing salad I have had in a very long time. I would be amiss to say I've eaten two of them in one week if three consumed wasn't the hard core truth. Tip: We order to eat at home a lot, and sometimes they don't have a delivery driver. Call and check as the times will vary on when you can pick up. They are good at keeping customer profiles and will start to notice those that notice them! Leave tips!! We are all in this together.

Stayed by the Convention Center downtown. Contest between all-you-can-eat sushi and pizza. Pizza won. Need has yummy stuff. I can't do dairy nor wheat. They had options for both issues. Vegan cheese and gluten-free crust. Cheese melted and crust wasn't burnt cracker. Nice. Excellent service. Nice place. Cozy but not coffin uncomfortable. You should definitely sample their wares (No, Khajit doesn't work here, but also recommends the food).

Pretty good pizza. No complaints tasted good. Feel very comfortable and the staff was very kind. Ordered the pizza as I was leaving a baseball game and took less than 20 minutes. Would recommend since this is one of the only pizza joints around this area.

I was blown away by the absolute yumminess of the pizza. I am in town on business and happened to be walking by the storefront. The smell was what drew me in, but I did not want to eat in. Ordered online via website, super easy and was walking up to the pick up window when I received the text the my pizza was ready. In regards to the pizza itself: thin crust which I prefer, flavorful sauce, cheese was on point. It was a little greasy, not gonna lie, but overall great taste. 8" pizza is perfect size for one dining alone. Definite must try for anyone on the fence. I will definitely be ordering pizza again when I return to town.

Lexi will give you incredible service! No rush to order, drinks kept full, and a killer attitude. Can not recommend anything more than being served by her.

Had a side salad with ranch dressing and a small pizza with bacon and mushrooms. The pizza was very good! The toppings were flavorful and the crust was super crispy. Took the other half to go for my flight later. Super nice ladies at the door and serving. Will be back!

Amazing place. Plenty of pizza! We got two large pies and split between 6 of us and there was maybe a quarter of a pie left over to take home. So many great beer selections. Very cool place. You may need to get there early on weekends or make a reservation because they get busy especially when events are going on nearby. They have baby booster seats and other kid seats if needed. Seems like a lot of families come here to eat.

Really good pizza for Iowa is how I'll describe it, Folks. Seventeen dollars for a huge pizza that feeds 3-4 easily. Thin crust, little bit of flop to it but not too much flop. Probably 55 pizza on the 20-80 scale. Ranch dressing is overpriced. Really really solid spot.

Table of 4 with a server named Josh. Josh took our order and only brought two refills in a span of almost 2 hours. Our bill was approximately $42-$44. We split it evenly and tipped $15 in cash. We had an issue with the card reader. So we motioned our server Josh over. He realized it said $22 meaning a $1 digital tip. He said sarcastically "a $1 tip?" "Oh thank you very much" with an attitude and total disregard for almost a 50% cash tip. He still complained to our faces and was petty. If he wants a livable wage he can work somewhere else smh.

This is owned by a friend of my wife. Great pizza of that style, real ingredients shine here. Good service, but they were packed! Fun atmosphere and the kiddos enjoyed drawing on the chalk boards in the back of the booth. Highly recommended.

This place has the best pizza I have ever had since moving to Iowa 12 years ago, staff is nice and very knowledgeable about their menu, being downtown parking can be a pain but the food and kind service it 100% worth it

We spent the night in Cedar Rapids on vacation. This place was really tasty, had great service, and was a nice clean place.

Took a group of us here for good pizza and a awesome atmosphere. We got to the restaurant and were told that there was a 20 to 30 minute wait no big deal to us at all. An hour and a half later after us asking multiple times if we could have our table we finally got sat down. Then we sat for over 20 minutes before a server even came over to help us. I am the one who pushed for all of us to get together to go here because the people that were in our group over half of them had never been here and now they will never go back which is very unfortunate because this is one of my favorite restaurants. The gentleman at the bar that was bartending was awesome and whoever made our pizzas and everything else we ordered did an amazing job.

Consistently great pizza, phenomenal beer selections and staff that is both helpful and friendly. Our go to place for pizza in Cedar Rapids.