Papa John’s has been busy lately with a bunch of new offerings, including the Triple Bacon, Shaq-a-Roni, and Epic Stuffed Crust pizzas, all of which earned generally positive reviews from my esteemed colleagues of culinary critique. Now comes the NY Style Pizza, which launched nationwide on December 27 and will be available through March 13, 2022.
I’m sure this will shock you to your core, but no, Papa John’s did not successfully replicate true New York-style pizza. Yes, these are foldable and (somewhat) oversized as Papa John’s advertises, and I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt that it is also hand-stretched as the website claims, even though I was not there to witness that. But if you tried serving this at a pizzeria in New York City, then a brouhaha, fracas and/or kerfuffle would probably ensue. Perhaps even all three.
Usually, my main qualification to do a review on this site is simply that I have a functioning mouth, but in this case, I do bring some pizza credentials. I grew up in New York (actually New Jersey, but we decided long ago as a state that it’s better to just say New York), so I’ve had my share of authentic New York pizza. And now, as a resident of Texas, I’m used to be being both disappointed and amused when I try New York pizza around here. Truthfully, some local joints come reasonably close, and maybe even closer than I give them credit, but I do deduct authenticity points when someone says, “Here’s y’alls pizza.”
With that said, this isn’t bad — it is still pizza after all — and it’s a bit better than I thought it would be, especially considering it’s made using the standard Papa John’s crust, sauce, and cheese. To me, the two things that define New York pizza are the crust being both chewy and crispy with a few of those big air bubbles and the cheese having some stretch and snap along with an unhealthy amount of grease/oil.
Papa John’s fared well on the first requirement, and I think they probably did as well as they could using their regular crust, which I’ve always found to be a little too thick and chewy. This pizza fixed both of those issues, and it comes close to the overall thinness of New York pizza. The outer crust doesn’t quite hit the mark as far as the right balance of crisp and chewy, but it did contain a few modest-size air bubbles and faintly reminded me of New York crust.
The shortcoming here is the standard Papa John’s cheese, which has very little of the stretchiness, snap, or general oiliness you might get with a New York pizza. The toppings (I went with pepperoni) were plentiful, so bonus points for that, and even though the slices were a little smaller than most New York pizza I’ve had, they did fold quite well.
I didn’t expect to get anything close to real New York-style pizza when I ordered this — and I didn’t — but if you temper your expectations based on what a big chain can deliver using its standard ingredients, and you don’t have many other options in your area, then this is a serviceable pie.
Purchased Price: $13 with one topping
Size: Extra-large (16”)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Detailed nutritional information not available on the Papa John’s website, but it does say each cheese slice has 310 calories.
An employee told me it’s the exact same as their Shaq-a-roni pizza, just stretched thinner. A bit disappointing but like you say, it is pizza so not totally beyond redemption.
i can tell just by looking at it,its just like trying to eat a philly cheesesteak from a place outside of philadelphia,disapointing
papa johns should of just ignored the politics and kept to making quality pizza,i feel like they tried to hard by making a black person their spokesmodel because of the racism crap
This comment is terrible and racist
“Papa” John did that to himself by opening his stupid racist mouth in the first place.
The point deduction line was brilliant sir.
Shouldn’t call NY Style. All they did is cut the pizza to make larger pieces. Nothing like NY pizza.
I tried one of these the other week. It’s not bad, but it seems almost literally the same as their Shaq-a-roni but without the extra cheese and extra pepperoni. The crust edge isn’t as thick as their normal XL pizza so I wonder if these are just their regular large dough stretched to fit the XL sized crisper. Definitely isn’t the game changer that Pizza Hut’s Big New Yorker was.
Sorry! They missed it!! I am a Jersey girl born and raised right across the Hudson to Manhatten. And this NY style pizza from Papa Johns DID NOT COME EVEN CLOSE!! TO LOOKING OR TASTING LIKE A NEW YORK STYLE PIZZA. I WOULDN’T EVEN GIVE IT 1 STAR..
I don’t know what part of New York they’re talking about! This was so far from New York Pizza that I couldn’t hardly eat it! I’m from Manhattan and lived over a pizza shop.. The sausages was little pieces and tasted like pure oregano. . Too much dough! Too thick! What the heck? Glad I paid only 13$.
I was so disappointed,, as my 1 topping I asked for extra cheese, which thank goodness because it would have been all crust. it was not evident that they put extra cheese when I opened the box and showed the worker and asked her if there was extra cheese on it, she looked over at the receipt and said yes this has extra cheese, you sure couldn’t tell by looking at the pizza. Then there was the lack of sauce it was like eating cardboard foldable cardboard.. Never again
I was so disappointed,, as my 1 topping I asked for extra cheese, which thank goodness because it would have been all crust. it was not evident that they put extra cheese when I opened the box and showed the worker and asked her if there was extra cheese on it, she looked over at the receipt and said yes this has extra cheese, you sure couldn’t tell by looking at the pizza. Then there was the lack of sauce it was like eating cardboard foldable cardboard.. Never again nothing like New York style pizza they should stick to what they do best pepperoncini’s.
reminds me of that chicago pizza place openef up here in the 80’s, that definitely was the worst pizza ( all tomato sauce, no cheese ).
on your mcd sriracha chicken mac sauce. sounds great. but can save money if ya just get the cheaper big mac and add your own big rooster sauce at home! lol
unless Papa John’s is getting their water from New York City’s famous water system, they will NEVER match the original taste of a NY slice.