Ask 10 people what restaurant has the best pizza in the East Valley, and you’ll probably get 10 different answers.
Ask that question 20 years ago, though, and there’s a good chance a majority of respondents would have said Nello’s.
That’s not to say Nello’s pizza isn’t as good today as it’s always been. It’s just that over the past 25 years the Valley’s dining landscape has become crowded with quality pizzerias (and, unfortunately, a lot of not-so-quality ones as well).
But back in the mid-1980s - long before Pizzeria Bianco and Classic Italian Pizza and Humble Pie - it was Nello’s that made Valley pizza lovers salivate.
Chicago natives Geno and Brian Mei opened the Nello’s 25 years ago on the southwest corner of McClintock Drive and Southern Avenue in Tempe - it’s since moved to the northeast corner - with just six tables. But the restaurant grew quickly and the Meis’ other brothers, Ray and Danny, were brought in to help run additional locations in Mesa, Ahwatukee and Scottsdale.
Today, you’ll still find Brian Mei (pictured at left) taking orders and clearing tables while overseeing day-to-day operations at the Mesa Nello’s. While the restaurant has been enlarged and freshened up over the years, the Chicago-style pizzas and friendly neighborhood vibe haven’t changed.
It’s still almost impossible to get a seat at the crazy-popular 10-seat bar any evening of the week. Tables and booths, while still busy, are more readily available in the dining room where walls are covered with sports memorabilia and Chicago posters.
Fifteen speciality pizzas offer something for almost everyone. The Numero Uno (with homemade sausage and mushrooms) and the deluxe combo (pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, black olives and mushrooms) are probably the most popular.
For Southwest flavors, try the enchilada (chicken, olives, onions and peppers) or the Santa Fe (chicken, black beans, corn and cilantro). Like a lot of heat? The buffalo wing pizza - a staff concoction that proved so popular during dinner breaks that it’s been added to the menu - provides plenty.
But the best part of Nello’s pizzas is the thick, high-edged crust - regular or wheat - that supports all the fresh toppings. Many times I’ve started a meal with a basket of pizza crusts with a side of sauce ($5) as a preview of what’s to come.
Prices are reasonable, especially considering what the pizza chains charge nowadays. Nello’s individual (seven-inch) pies start at $4.60, and a 1-item large (14-inch) is $13.40. Large specialty pizzas start at $13.35.
The menu (see menu pdf) also offers a dozen hot and cold sandwiches - the must-have is the whopping Italian beef with sweet peppers and chips ($7.50) - and seven huge salads. There’s even a couple basic pasta dishes.
These days, it seems like every week brings another flashy new restaurant vying to be the Next Big Thing among Valley diners. Sometimes, though, it pays off to get reacquainted with a tried and true favorite.
Nello’s
Where: 2950 S. Alma School Road, Mesa (quarter-mile south of Guadalupe Road - map). Additional locations in Tempe, Ahwatukee and Scottsdale.
Open: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Prices: Appetizers $2-$9.25, salads $7.75-$9, sandwiches $7-$8, pizzas $4.60-$22.25, pasta $8.95-$10.25, desserts $4.50-$6.50.
Info: (480) 820-5995 or nellospizza.com.
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Wow, that’s a serious pizza parlor the slices in the last picture show a variety of types that I would suggest highly. From the veggie slice stocked with olives, onions, peppers to the meat-lovers with an abundance of sausage and pepperoni: This is a 1st-rate pizzeria with a staff that lives for this food!
Nellos is the beST of the bEST of the BEST! To not go to Nellos at least once a month is a crime.
“NELLO’S tried and true Valley favorite” – Great story by Jess Harter
Jeff also did a story back in November 13th in the East Valley Tribune – Nello’s Pizzeria: An East Valley standby with locations in Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale and Ahwatukee, Nello’s serves up some of the best Chicago-style pizza west of the Midway. Off-beat choices such as the buffalo chicken pizza and enchilada pizza are well worth a try.
Local pizza connoisseurs will never agree on which pie is the best there at Nello’s in Mesa, so I did a sketch (a rough drawing) on a napkin and with the hand printed words “Best Margaritas In Town.”
It gets a lot of attention, because; Nello’s Pizzeria in Mesa has the best margaritas in town . . . Margarita Pizza that is, which is another one of the restaurant’s pizza specialty.
If deep-dish or thin Chicago-style pizza is what you crave, Nello’s pizzeria is where to go.
Nello’s is truly one of the valley’s great restaurants. I prefer Picazzo’s for sentimental and culinary reasons, but it’s a very close thing. I’d never turn down Nello’s pizza.
We have been fans of Nello’s for 25 years. Our children and grandchildren are also constant patrons of this fabulous restaurant. You are always treated like family and look forward to seeing the staff during each visit. We could sing praises of each and every item on the menu, but we think our grandson, Travis, says it best with his description of the pizza as “Ginormous Good!”
Its time has passed. The more truly Italian restaurants ( Pizzaeria Bianco, Grazie, Humble Pie) offer a much better product in better atmospheres. Nellos is an eat and run place. The others area a happinin place, with great wine and a better total experience.