Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on July 19, 2021.
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V3 Pizza used to have two locations in Pittsburgh- one downtown and one in Lawrenceville. We visited the downtown location for this review (which has since closed); however, the Lawrenceville location is still open. The review below has remained unchanged from our visit to the now-closed downtown spot.
When we are exploring downtown Pittsburgh, we often find ourselves lamenting the fact that there are not very many affordable, local restaurants.
But moments after walking in for a pizza at V3 (as guests of the restaurant), we knew we found one. The reason? All pizzas are under $10 (as of 2018)!
Affordable Pizzas in Pittsburgh
V3 Pizza is a fast-casual pizza joint that makes their pies in a build-your-own style like Chipotle or Subway. You can either defer to chef created items (like we did) or opt to build-your-own where every topping is included at one flat price.
Yes, you read that right- this pizza shop in Pittsburgh includes all toppings for one flat rate with the only exception being gluten free crust which is just a bit extra.
For those who opt for the build-your-own style, your choices are near endless as V3 Pizza offers three crust styles, roughly 10 sauces, seven cheeses, about 20 toppings (including meat and vegetables- most all locally sourced), and even 15 extra finishes like oils and salts.
Regardless of your choices, it is impossible to eat your way through all the options here and that is exactly what we love about it. You go in, come up with a unique creation, and are out the door with enough food for two meals for under $10- a win in our minds!
So, how does it taste?
During our visit we decided to opt for the chef created menu items the Sunny Side Sausage and a secret menu item we were tipped off about called the Hot Hawaiian.
The Sunny Side Sausage is loaded up with Italian sausage, spinach, egg, and a red pepper oil drizzle and had a modest spice flavor from the sausage but not overpowering due to an abundance of spinach and egg.
The Hot Hawaiian is an off-menu item that is quite popular with the chefs right now and includes mango habanero sauce, ham, jalapeno, bacon, pineapple, and is finished with Himalayan sea salt and packed a fair bit of punch in terms of heat that is balanced with a sweet chili sauce base!
Not everyone is aware of the name as of now, so we recommend taking the ingredients list for this one with you and ordering it as a build-your-own to make sure you get it right- it was a really great combo that we hope makes the menu one day soon.
One thing that is worth pointing out is that V3 Pizza is flat bread style, so the crust is not what you'd expect from a typical pizza. While there is a bit of a crunch, the texture is just a bit different than you'd expect from a thin crust from, say, a wood fired pizza joint.
For some this may make a pizza, but for others this is a non-issue- we're simply including the caveat for those out there who are crust aficionados. You know who you are.
Overall, V3 Pizza offers some fairly solid flatbread creations in downtown Pittsburgh with large portions and cheap prices. As far as dining is concerned, those are two things we always can use more of. When it is in pizza form, even better.
V3 Pizza is located at 4500 Butler Street in Lawrenceville. We visited the former downtown location for this review and were guests of V3 Pizza. As always, all opinions are our own.
For more Pittsburgh pizza shops, check out Driftwood Oven, Fiori's, or Beto's.
