Red Brick Pizza


For several months I’ve been noticing the Red Brick Pizza on Camelback, but, with just a glimpse inside, I’ve had the impression it’s really too trendy to be a place to take the family, so I’ve avoided hauling the Glover clan in for a review.

Tonight, Irene and the kids were out and I decided this was the time to try them. How bad could a guy look eating a pizza alone on a Friday night?

My previous impressions were mostly dispelled when I walked in, it’s more of a fast-food place and there’s certainly no reason to believe it might not be “kid friendly”.

Red Brick Pizza has about 7 locations in the Phoenix area. I remember reading about them in the past because of “technological innovations” in pizza preparation technology.

Their menu proclaims that their 1000º pizza oven produces “…a perfect thin, crisp crust center with a golden brown crust.” It also claims it will be “…fresh, fabulous in just 3 minutes” with the disclaimer that 3 minutes is the “approximate bake time.”

When it comes to pizza, I’m not a fan of “fast”, but at the same time, I do not discount that technology might be developed that could compensate for good old fashioned preparation.

For starters, the 3 minutes claim was bunk. When I came in, there were 2 guys sitting at a table without pizza. I ordered my pizza, got my drink, sat down and waited 6-10 minutes reading the menu. That’s when I discovered the 3 minute claim. By this point it was far past 3 minutes and when a pizza came out and was brought out, I thought, “10 minutes isn’t that bad.” That’s when I discovered it was for the guys who’d been waiting. My pizza came another 6 minutes later. Total time, estimated, somewhere between 12 and 16 minutes.

I had a plain crust, although several “gourmet” crusts are also available. If the plain crust isn’t good to begin with, tarting it up with parmesan, sun-dried tomato basil, chipotle or roasted red peppers isn’t going to help. The picture accompanying this review is a bit deceptive. The pizza is not as thick as it appears here and can truly be considered a thin crust pizza. The maximum crust width was about 0.25″ at the outer edge.

While it was browned all across the bottom, it certainly was not “crisp” and flopped unless folded. It was so thin that it really didn’t have any noticeable flavor until I reached the outer edge, which was dry and flavorless, luckily there wasn’t much of it. I found myself eating the outer crust first so that I would have crustless pizza for my last bites.

They also make a big deal about their “healthier” toppings, including leaner meats and cholesterol free olive oil.

I quite liked the sauce, but it was very reminiscent of some other pizza sauce I’ve had. It took me an hour or so to remember where I’d tasted it before: Village Inn Pizza, which pretty much closed down 25-30 years ago in Arizona. My memory might not be perfect on that recollection. (Although I did stumble across a Village Inn Pizza a few years ago and the flavor was exactly as I remembered it.)

The cheese was fine, although if I had to guess, I’d say it was part-skim instead of whole milk mozzarella.

I was on the last piece before I realized I hadn’t even noticed the pepperoni. Not only did it have no discernible flavor, it was so soft that it had no textural difference from the sauce and cheese.

Apart from the outer crust, this wasn’t an offensive pizza and if they could really cook and serve it in 3 minutes, it would be a great lunchtime burger alternative.

I had the 9″ pizza, which cost $6.25 without beverage (although the printed menu and the board menu differ in 3 places). The #2 combo which includes a drink at $6.50 is a better deal.

Using the $6.25 cost, the pizza is about $0.10 per square inch.

Neutral rating

Red Brick Pizza
1650 E Camelback Rd, Suite 180
Phoenix, AZ
602.212.1400

Update 01/08/2006, read my follow-up review here


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11 thoughts on “Red Brick Pizza”

  1. if you read the menu it says that the bake time is approxiamtly 3 minutes not the server time which you claim. once the pizza goes into the oven it take 3 minutes to cook.

  2. if you read the menu it says that the bake time is approxiamtly 3 minutes not the server time which you claim. once the pizza goes into the oven it take 3 minutes to cook.

  3. Not only did I read that on the menu, I quoted it in the review.

    Also, if you read the linked follow-up review, I timed my second pizza from oven entry to table, which was 6 minutes – and there was no significant delay from the time they took it out of the pizza. It was cut promptly and served straight away.

    However, if you’re going to take 16 minutes to prepare and bake a pizza, don’t you think it’s a little ill-advised to brag up the actual bake time? Who cares what the bake time is if that’s only a small portion of the serve time? The meaningful statistic is serve time.

    The three-minute cook time is more germane to the claims of the technology concerning their ovens, which they state as producing “…a perfect thin, crisp crust center with a golden brown crust.”

    I’m far more interested in the quality of the crust than the time to bake it. A pizza should take as long to bake as it should take, no more, no less. The three-minute claim is really about the technology used to produce this “perfect” crust.

    But it wasn’t perfectly cooked. Allowing for different people to have a different subjective interpretations of what is or isn’t “perfectly” cooked, this pizza didn’t meet the objective claim of it being “crisp.”

  4. Not only did I read that on the menu, I quoted it in the review.

    Also, if you read the linked follow-up review, I timed my second pizza from oven entry to table, which was 6 minutes – and there was no significant delay from the time they took it out of the pizza. It was cut promptly and served straight away.

    However, if you’re going to take 16 minutes to prepare and bake a pizza, don’t you think it’s a little ill-advised to brag up the actual bake time? Who cares what the bake time is if that’s only a small portion of the serve time? The meaningful statistic is serve time.

    The three-minute cook time is more germane to the claims of the technology concerning their ovens, which they state as producing “…a perfect thin, crisp crust center with a golden brown crust.”

    I’m far more interested in the quality of the crust than the time to bake it. A pizza should take as long to bake as it should take, no more, no less. The three-minute claim is really about the technology used to produce this “perfect” crust.

    But it wasn’t perfectly cooked. Allowing for different people to have a different subjective interpretations of what is or isn’t “perfectly” cooked, this pizza didn’t meet the objective claim of it being “crisp.”

  5. I visited my first Red Brick the other day, a newly opened store close to where I live (walking distance).

    The pizza wasn’t objectionable, but it wasn’t great either. The crust was just bland — it tastes a lot like Dominos pizza to me.

  6. I visited my first Red Brick the other day, a newly opened store close to where I live (walking distance).

    The pizza wasn’t objectionable, but it wasn’t great either. The crust was just bland — it tastes a lot like Dominos pizza to me.

  7. we eat at red brick in milwaukie oregon and it is the best pizza i have ever had.
    the kids that work there are so friendly and fast. I would tell anyone who wants great pizza and a friendly atmospher to go there!!!!!!!!!!! yum yum

  8. we eat at red brick in milwaukie oregon and it is the best pizza i have ever had.
    the kids that work there are so friendly and fast. I would tell anyone who wants great pizza and a friendly atmospher to go there!!!!!!!!!!! yum yum

  9. I eat at the Red Brick pizza in Milwaukie Oregon about 3 times a week .
    the food is amazing and the staff is outstanding! they really work hard to get your return business. I always look forward to seeing Wendy and the girls that work there. they are so friendly. I think it is important to give good customer service. we don’t see that very offend any more. if you want great pizza and a great experience go visit this Red Brick in Milwaukie Oregon.

  10. I eat at the Red Brick pizza in Milwaukie Oregon about 3 times a week .
    the food is amazing and the staff is outstanding! they really work hard to get your return business. I always look forward to seeing Wendy and the girls that work there. they are so friendly. I think it is important to give good customer service. we don’t see that very offend any more. if you want great pizza and a great experience go visit this Red Brick in Milwaukie Oregon.

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