Attempt #11 - Leonardo's Pizza

The Venue

2228 16th Avenue Southwest 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404

(319) 364-5537 

Very few restaurants have been around in the Cedar Rapids, IA area longer than Leonardo’s Pizza.  For over 50 years, this place has been feeding people at all hours of the day.  On Monday nights, the deal is a large 2 topping 16” pizza and a pitcher of pop for $13.  Sadly, none of their specialty pizzas fit under this category.

A view of the inside of Leonardo's. Notice all of the awesome leather!!

The most unique thing about this place is the atmosphere.  It seems to be a cross between a 1930’s mobster club with its large red leather cushion booths. Even the walls are lined with black cushiony leather.  Some say it resembles that of a strip club with its brass poles which hold up little windows which serve to separate the booths and tables.  If you haven’t been to this restaurant, I would highly suggest to make the trip, for the unique atmosphere alone..plus their food is pretty good.  I recall that their waffle fries were outstanding!

 

16" Large Chicken Fajita.

The Pizza

Chicago Style:  No

Crust Thickness:  Average

Our group consisted of 7 participants; so we ordered two large 16” pizzas, and one 13”.  Each extra large specialty pizza cost around $19 apiece, with the medium coming in at around $14.  The menu listed about 8 specialty pizzas to choose from.  From this selection we choose the following: 

16" Large Ruben.

1.      Combo - Sausage, Mushrooms, Pepperoni, Green Pepper & Onion.

2.      Ruben – Sauerkraut, three cheeses, and beef served with Thousand Island salad dressing (on the side).  This was the most flavorful of the bunch.

3.      Chicken Fajita –Fajita-style Chicken, sauteéd Green Peppers & Onions w/three cheeses.

A bonus is that they were more than willing to split ½ and ½ on the pizza’s giving us a variety; however, due to the number of participants, we decided to keep each pie to a single flavor.  My favorite was the Ruben…five of us preferred this pizza when compared to the other two.  The remaining two pizzas each received one vote. 

The Verdict

13" Medium Combo Pizza.

The pizza was cut into traditional slices with evenly distributed, toppings.  There may have been an excess of cheese, which made the pizza a bit greasy.  In some cases the crust was a little soggy.  The flavor from the Ruben was outstanding…the best Sauerkraut pizza I’ve encountered to date.   The Combo was what you would expect…a meaty pizza that could use a bit more flavor or spice.  The Chicken Fajita was good; but not memorable though.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best.

Here's a closeup of the Combo!

Overall = 6.71
Cheese = 6.14
Toppings = 7.28
Sauce = 6.14
Crust = 4.42

Here's a closeup of the Chicken Fajita!