ORSI'S ITALIAN BAKERY & PIZZERIA
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Downtown Omaha
Thick-Crust Pizza
Perfect For: Baked Goods; Takeout
Standout Dishes: Combo Pizza; Cannolis
When I’m reviewing a restaurant, the most important factor is the taste and quality of the food. Factors such atmosphere, price, and service play a part, but I try to focus mostly what’s being served. Ultimately, we visit restaurants to eat, and if the food is great, I’m willing to forgive some missteps in other areas.
But service is simply impossible to ignore upon a visit to Orsi’s Italian Bakery & Pizzeria. This place has, simply put, some of the best customer service I’ve ever experienced.
Tucked away off of 7th and Pacific near downtown Omaha, Orsi’s has been serving Italian classics since 1919. The takeout pizza joint that also sells a number of cheeses, deli meats, pasta noodles, sauces, and freshly-baked breads.
The counter is manned by Jim Hall, an employee since 1967 and the owner since 2010, and he makes the visit a true treat for anyone who walks in the door. Though Orsi’s is strictly a to-go restaurant, he’s been known to pull out card tables for patrons expecting a dine-in experience. If he learns someone is visiting for the first time, Hall offers an order of the restaurant’s famous cheesy garlic bread on the house. And when he overheard my wife and I discussing how delicious the Italian twist bread looked on one visit, he threw in a loaf with our order free of charge.
Needless to say, the friendliness of the employees makes Orsi’s an enjoyable experience, even though you’re typically only in the restaurant for an order of minutes. But as I stated earlier, a great dining experience is defined by the food, not how kind the workers are.
Luckily, Ori’s absolutely excels in that category, too.
Thin-crust, wood-fired pizzas have become the rage, and they’re my favorite. But Orsi’s offers a blast from the past with a hearty Sicilian crust. The dough lacks that brilliant char that a wood-fired cooking process provides, but it manages to remain light and airy. The outer edges of these rectangle-shaped pies are crisp and provide a nice crunch.
The toppings are fairly traditional; no pork belly, potatoes, or white sauce here. Pizzas can be ordered in mini (circular, personal pizzas), quarter-sheet (six slices), half-sheet (12 slices) or whole-sheet (24 slices) varieties. The slices are massive, and just a few are enough to conquer a normal appetite.
The Combo Pizza marries together everything that’s great about Orsi’s. The dough, made each morning, is fresh and light, yet holds up to the mound of toppings laid upon it. A slightly sweet sauce is paired with black olives, hamburger, pepperoni, onions and green peppers to create a perfect combo pizza. The proteins provide the dominant flavor and bring just the right amount of salt while the veggies serve as wingmen to add freshness.
One problem with being a takeout-only spot is the quality of the pizza can greatly change from the time it’s picked up to when the diner arrives home and actually eats the pizza, but that’s not a problem with Orsi’s. Our pizza survived a 20-minute drive and was still warm and delicious.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the Garlic Bread. The flavor remains intact, as the freshness of the bread really stands out. The garlic is present but not overbearing, and the butter and cheese bring a rich, fatty flavor that pulls everything together. However, the bread does become a bit soggy with time.
Orsi’s offers Cannolis with the traditional vanilla filling, chocolate or a combination of both. The fried pastry dough is perfectly crisp, and the powdered sugar brings a nice sweetness. But the hero is the creamy ricotta filling. The chocolate is excellent, but the classic vanilla is even better.
It’s not hard to see why Orsi’s has become an Omaha institution. The pizza is flavorful, fresh, and filling. The cannoli is a top-line dessert, and the garlic bread, even when not at its peak freshness, is still a solid side dish.
And the friendly nature of the staff is the bow that ties the room together. Orsi’s is a classic take on pizza, and while the modern style is great, it never hurts to return to Omaha’s roots.