Piola - Houston

Piola is the new pizza kid on the block.  Located in Midtown, it is a modern, bright, vibrant Italian pizza spot with Brazilian flare.  Piola means "Meeting Place" in an ancient Italian dialect.  While Piola was born in Treviso, Italy, the restaurant chain is now franchised world wide.  The Italian Founder married a Brazilian woman.  After moving to Brazil and opening a Piola there, the Brazilian influences also followed.  This translates into a pizza parlour with a wide selection of Caipirihnas.

They also serve wine and beer (but don't look for Lone Star or Shiner Bock here).  The influence of the eatery is very European meets South American.  Piola is not your standard American Pizza Parlour.  But, to me, that is a good thing.  I appreciated the funky hipness that you won't find at Fuzzy's or Candelari's.  The service was excellent.  Everyone was extremely nice, and my server was very knowledgeable and friendly.

I ordered the Diavola (Peperoni) Pizza.  The lunch version is $9.50, the regular version is $10.95.  My lunch pizza came with a side salad.  The salad was fine.  Fresh and cold, but nothing crazy-unusual good.

The pizza was not bad, but a little disappointing.  Although the crust was thin and cooked in a brick oven (usually recipes for a fantabulous pizza pie),  this one fell short.  The amount of cheese was extraordinary, leaving the thin crust limp and soggy.  The crust around the edge was crispy, chewy, and delightful.  But, the cheese completely overpowered the pizza.  And, it was super greasy (maybe due to the cheese - crust ratio being so disproportionate). 

The owners are working hard to make their pizza eatery a success.  And for that, and the excellent service, I hope they succeed.  But, I don't think their fortune will be on the pizza alone.  If you are in the Midtown area, stopping in Piola may be worth it.   But, I don't feel the pizza merited a drive in from other areas of Houston.

Piola
3201 Louisiana at Elgin
Houston, Texas 77006
www.piola.it