Pizza is an essential part of every college student’s diet, so it’s only natural that a college town like Amherst is full of shops that will deliver pies to your doorstep at all hours of the day and night. I developed a short list of my favorite pizza locales pretty early on in my college career, and rarely venture beyond those few. However, as a senior trying to relish my final months in Amherst, I made it my mission to find the best slice of cheese pizza in Amherst. The best way to do this? A pizza crawl!
My friends and I chose the top-rated Amherst pizza shops on Google as our stops for the crawl. We agreed that we would only try slices of cheese pizza, since many of the shops in town offer a wide variety of outrageous pizza creations. And finally, we created a detailed system which gave pizzas a grade from 1-5 in various categories, with 5 being the absolute best tasting pizza on the planet and 1 being something like what I imagine cardboard would taste like (very official, I know).
So, without further ado, here is how the best places in town stacked up:
1.Primo Too—255 Triangle StreetCost Per Slice: $2.13I was skeptical of this place from the very beginning, but with 4.4 out of 5 stars on Google I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, my suspicions were correct. The floppy, reheated slice of cheese we got from Primo Too was pretty disappointing. There was very little sauce and cheese on the pizza. It wasn’t very flavorful. Overall rating was a 1.7.
2. Antonio’s–31 North Pleasant StreetCost Per Slice: $2.63I am just as surprised as the next guy that Antonio’s is so high up on this ranking, but hear me out. Antonio’s is great for variety, but their cheese is not the best in the world. Especially when it’s not fresh. That being said, it scored pretty high overall. The crust was thinner than most of the other crusts we tried, but it was crispy, dense, doughy and flavorful. The pizza had very little sauce and it wasn’t very flavorful, but the cheese made up for what the sauce lacked in flavor (the most important part, right?). Overall rating was a 3.9.
3. Amherst House of Pizza–17 Montague RoadCost Per Slice: $2.25Just the name alone suggests that AHOP is a staple in this town. Everything about this pizza shop was classic, in a good way. The cheese pizza offered the perfect balance of doughy, think crust, sweet flavorful sauce and a lot of cheese. It wasn’t too greasy, and it didn’t taste like it had been reheated. Overall rating was a 4.0.
4. Athena’s – 65 University DriveCost Per Slice: $1.80 (Cheapest in town! But they only serve pizza by the slice during the week.)If you’re ever craving greasy, Greek-style pizza, Athena’s is your spot. Never in my 4 years here, have I ever given this unassuming spot a second look, and I’m sorry that it took me so long to do so. We got a fresh cheese pizza out of the oven and it was amazing. The crust was thick and crispy and the layer of cheese on top was burnt slightly which made it crunchy and just the best ever. Definitely check this place out. Overall rating was a 4.5.
5. Bruno’s – 363 Main StreetCost Per Slice: N/A Finally, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, I present to you the best slice of cheese pizza in Amherst. Bruno’s pizza was loaded up with flavorful, hot tomato sauce and tons of cheese. It was all around the perfect slice, receiving an overall rating of 4.8.