Theo's created a stir when they opened a few years ago on Magazine Street, making pizzas in a stone oven and creating some offbeat combinations with entertaining names. It's a measure of how far the standards for pizza in New Orleans have come (we are not historically a great pizza town) that Theo's seems merely above average. Ten years ago we would have called it brilliant.
Greg Dietz opened the original Theo's on Magazine Street in 2004. It came back quickly after the hurricane, and that boosted the restaurant's popularity quickly. The second location in Mid-City opened in 2009, with a third in the Elmwood area in 2012.
The original location feels good: a dining room with interesting modern design in an old storefront. Tables are in two small rooms; the front one has windows opening onto the sidewalk, where more than a few people may be waiting on a very busy night. You order at the counter and they bring the pies out to you. The new location is a bit more spacious, brighter, and more squeaky-clean. The staff is something less than rigidly attentive.
The four-cheese pizza is exceptionally good, and does so by repressing the urge to load the thing down with too much cheese.
| Attitude | 1 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 0 |
| Hipness | 1 |
| Local Color | 1 |
| Service | 0 |
| Value | 1 |
| Wine | 0 |
