Vlad V.
Yelp
Intro: I'm going to start things off by firing some shots. I've always said that Houston doesn't have a great pizza scene. That doesn't mean that there aren't solid spots in town, just not at the level I would expect from one of the largest cities in the US. Despite my sentiments, I love pizza and am always on the lookout for an A+ spot. I had heard good things about The Gypsy Poet so I stopped by on a Friday evening for dinner at 8:00 p.m. I found street parking on a side street close by.
Service (2/5): Things didn't get off to a good start. You order at the counter and there was a line outside of the door that took roughly 30 minutes to get through. I hate waiting in line. Why are the prospects there for a long line at The Gypsy Poet? The fact that it's a popular pizza joint and that it was a Friday were certainly factors. However, there are some logistical issues too. They don't have menus for you to look at until you're at the counter. As a result, unless people in line look up the menu online before they get to the cashier, they're going to spend a couple of minutes perusing the menu when it's their turn to order. That slows things down substantially. Instead of relying on people to be proactive, if I were The Gypsy Poet, I'd hand out menus to people waiting in line, and then voila, the "traffic jam" lessens. I know having a line outside of your restaurant adds hype, but I hate artificial hype. The staff I interacted with while I was there was pleasant so the service delivers in this area.
Ambiance (3.5/5): After you place your order, the experience progressively gets better and better. You select your own seat and they will bring your food to you. There's a variety of seating available including tables, couches, bar stools, and some seating on the patio. It's not a large restaurant so we ended up sitting at the one open table we could find inside. Outside of the seating arrangement, I did notice their playlist. They were playing a lot of EDM as background noise and I dug it.
Food (5/5): Gypsy Poet is arguably the best pizza in Houston that I've experienced. Right up there with Luna Pizzeria. We ordered both the Margherita pizza and the Pepperoni Madness pizza. The Margherita is your classic traditional pizza with San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and basil. The Pepperoni Madness has both pepperoni and hot honey. Both of the pizzas were perfection. Everything: the crust, the cheese, the sauce, and the toppings worked in perfect harmony with each other. Out of the two, I would say I liked the Pepperoni Madness the best. It's one of their top sellers so go for it! We also had some tiramisu for dessert (my favorite dessert). A+ for the dessert as well.
Drinks (4.5/5): A nice wine list. You can pick a bottle out while you're waiting in line which is exactly what I did. I went with a Pinot Noir, one of my favorite types of wine. They don't give you wine glasses, you're given regular glasses but it's all good. They also have a good beer selection and soft drinks if you're not feeling wine.
Overall: The food is five stars hands down. With some logistical tweaks to ameliorate the dining experience, they would easily be a five-star restaurant in my book. They also have another location in The Heights. If you're looking for elite pizza in Houston, The Gypsy Poet has to be at the top of your list.