Visiting Dave Portnoy’s Highest-Rated Pizza Spots In St. Pete
Just a few weeks ago Barstool Sports owner and founder Dave Portnoy brought his One Bite Pizza reviews to Tampa Bay. Many know the rules, the pizza is judged based on “one bite”. If you aren’t familiar with his reviews, they have become a viral phenomenon, and not just online. I wanted to see what the hype was about so I visited one of Dave Portnoy’s highest-rated pizza in St. Pete.
I wanted to try The Violet Stone, which is one of Dave Portnoy’s highest-rated pizza spots in St. Pete. They had a score of 7.9 for their pizza and an unbelievable 9.3 on their Philly cheesesteak. I arrived only to find a line of people out the door and over an hour wait. I am pretty sure this pizza place never saw so much traffic as it is in a very remote part of town in St Pete and the sign outside the restaurant was limiting people to (2) pizzas and (2) sandwiches per order. Also, their phone wasn’t working so I couldn’t call in my order. I hope the place settles down in a few weeks but happy for their newfound success.
There was another spot I haven’t tried which was also reviewed which was Toby’s Little Italy in St Pete. The good news, their phone wasn’t disconnected! I placed my order and picked it up. Toby’s was slammed. I’m not sure if they always were that busy but I found it a bit odd for 8 pm on a Tuesday. I got home and put two slices on my plate and started going to work.
Very good pizza that I haven’t tried in St Pete before. Now I must say, all of Portnoy’s reviews are for a cheese-only NY-style pizza, so if that’s not your thing, be aware. As much as I love a plain cheese pizza, I topped mine with pepperoni, peppers, mushrooms, and onions. I found Dave’s rating (7.7 which is a good number) was spot on. Crispy, thin crust, not greasy, and easy to fold. Overall a very good place for pizza in St. Pete.
I used to think that there wasn’t any good pizza in Florida for the most part, but it looks like I was wrong. Toby’s Little Italy in St Pete is a great option.
Barstool President Dave Portnoy Pizza Tour Around Tampa Bay Official Rankings
Those who are passionate about their pizza know about Barstool’s Dave Portnoy. He’s the founder of Bartstool Sports and is known for his controversial pizza ratings from across the country on “One Bite Pizza“. Most know the rules, Dave judges pizza based on one bite. Well, he was in Florida this week and stopped in Sarasota and Tampa Bay. Keep scrolling to find out which pizza places Dave Portnoy visited in Tampa Bay. All of the ratings aren’t out yet, so we’ll update this post as soon as they drop.
The Barstool legend started his pizza tour in Sarasota at IL Panificio Pizzeria. After someone hyped up the mom-and-pop shop with mixed reviews, he decided to check it out himself. He ordered 1 large cheese pizza and after “one bite” he declared “Not bad at all”, but wished it was a little crispier. He gave the pizza a 7.4 rating, which is pretty good for Dave’s standards. This is a higher rating than Tampa staple Eddie & Sam’s. Dave gave them a 7.1 rating 5 years ago.
The highest ranked spot on Dave’s list with a score of a perfect 10 is Monte’s Restaurant in Lynn, MA. So far his highest ranked pizza spot in Florida is Mister O1- South Beach in Miami with a ranking of 8.1. But let’s see how those rankings change after he posts his Tampa reviews.
Once the word was out that Barstool’s Dave Portnoy was looking for pizza in the Tampa Bay area, local pizza places hopped on social media to drive Dave to their spot. Here are the places he checked out during his pizza tour in Tampa. Dave had to split his pizza tour into 2 days, one day for St. Pete/Pinellas, and 1 day for the Tampa area. Dave posted these spots on his social media and has been slowly releasing the individual reviews. We’ve updated this list to reflect his official ratings and ranked them from best to worst.
Jen was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area. She’s been with Beasley Media Group since 2022. In her spare time, you can find her at Tampa Bay Lightning games, Tampa Bay breweries, or the beach. Catch up on Jen’s content about the highest-rated restaurants/bars in Tampa, things-to-do around the area, and upcoming concerts.