Peninsula Pizza Guide: Independent Pies for Takeout and Sit-Down

Plan your pizza night around Tuesday through Saturday if you want options — a striking number of Newport News’ best pizzerias take Monday off entirely, and a few close Sundays too. Once you know that, the rest of the peninsula’s pizza scene sorts itself into a few clear categories: places built for a sit-down evening, places that keep the kitchen open late, neighborhood counters that have been doing the same thing for years, and the fast, cheap stuff for a weeknight when cooking isn’t happening.

Sit-Down, Worth the Reservation

Cork and Crust is the one to book ahead for — a 4.7 rating from 166 reviews puts it near the top of the list, and it runs a tighter, more deliberate schedule than most: Tuesday through Thursday evenings only, 4 to 9:30, stretching to 10 on Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday. Treat it like a dinner reservation, not a drop-in.

Azzurri Italian Restaurant is the family-run option if your table wants to argue about crust styles — it does both thin and thick crust alongside a full Italian menu, open seven days a week except Sunday, with a 4.6 rating across nearly 800 reviews.

Late Kitchens and Bar Pies

If dinner plans start after 9, Brickhouse Tavern is the reliable fallback — crispy New York-style pies alongside subs, burgers and wings, with the kitchen running until midnight most nights and 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s inexpensive and casual, more sports-bar than date night.

Mellow Mushroom Newport News on Jefferson Avenue is the craft-beer pick, with stone-baked pies and calzones in an art-covered dining room, open until 11 on weekends. And Gus’s New York Pizza & Bar is worth knowing about specifically because it’s the rare shop open all seven days, including Sunday until 9 — useful when everything else on this list has locked up.

Neighborhood Counters That Have Earned Their Regulars

The Original Pizza Sam has a 4.7 rating from 560 reviews and inexpensive pricing, which is a hard combination to find — Monday hours run shorter (11 to 7) and it’s closed Sunday, so a weekday lunch run is the move.

Dino’s Pizza Shop is the no-frills, long-running spot with a 4.7 rating from 838 reviews, serving pies, subs and pasta in a plain room with tables. It’s closed Sunday and Monday, open 11:30 to 8 the rest of the week — a shop that clearly isn’t chasing volume, just consistency.

Anna’s Pizza opens earlier than almost anywhere else on this list, at 9 a.m., which makes it the option if pizza-for-lunch is somehow the plan. Closed Mondays, otherwise open daily until 9, with a 4.4 rating over more than a thousand reviews.

Fast and Cheap

When the goal is just getting fed, $5 Pizza is the standout — inexpensive, a 4.6 rating from 573 reviews, and open all seven days from 11 to 9 with no exceptions. That kind of consistency at that price point is unusual.

Vinnys Pizza and Pasta has an actual drive-thru, which matters more than it sounds like it should on a weeknight with kids already in the car — closed Sunday, otherwise open from 10 a.m.

Donatos Pizza is the chain option worth remembering for how far its hours stretch: open every day, until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, when a lot of the independents have already shut their kitchens.

The Takeout-Only Short List

If you’re just picking up and not sitting down, Joseph’s Pizzeria is delivery-focused with a near-perfect 4.9 rating, though it’s closed Sundays. Little Vinny’s To-Go does exactly what its name says, open daily except Sunday from 10 a.m.

None of these need a special occasion. The trick on the peninsula isn’t finding good pizza — it’s remembering which night your first choice is actually open.

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From Newport News This Week.