It seems irreverent to combine a trip to the Sunglass Hut with pizza at Frank Pepe, but that’s life at this Montgomery Mall outpost of the legendary New Haven, Connecticut original. Entering the mall where Frank Pepe sits across from The Cheesecake Factory, Dishing Pizza had low hopes for this Bethesda pizzeria.
Peeking into the Frank Pepe kitchen, Dishing Pizza expected little more than a few tomato sauce-splattered microwaves and a diminutive pizza oven. Instead, a gargantuan coal-burning oven occupies the entire wall. And this is not just any random pizza oven. This 100,000-pound 14′ by 14′ brick oven1 is an exact replica of Pepe’s circa 1925 original Wooster Street oven. They even reused the mold of the original cast-iron doors for the oven mouth and coal chambers.
Let it be known that while DishingPizza becomes weak-kneed at the sight of such pizza ovens, DishingPizza is not seduced by them. The proof is in the pizza.
One of the distinctive features of coal-fired pizza, and Frank Pepe’s especially, is the char. And DishingPizza is all about the char. A bit of black ash may rub off on one’s fingers, and one might whiff the coal-fired aroma – but a touch of black lung is a fair tradeoff for pizza this great.2 The crust is a winner — chewy, mildly tangy, and ciabatta-like. The high-quality, mild sauce consists of nothing but fresh tomatoes imported from Naples, Italy. The Pepe combination of mozzarella and Sardinian pecorino romano is a winner.
The in-store dining experience is underwhelming. Despite a small black and white wallpapered old-timey Frank Pepe wall, if one didn’t know better, it could be mistaken for a sit-down Sbarro. Clearly, Frank Pepe put its money into its pizza-making operation, not its furniture or furnishings. DishingPizza opted for carryout, which is simple, as the restaurant is just within the mall doors.
To its credit, Frank Pepe remains a family-owned business, not a franchise. Judging by this Bethesda outpost, keeping it in the family enables the Pepes to uphold their high standards in 17 stores spread across seven States. Although DishingPizza prefers single-location restaurants to chains, it’s inconvenient to bop over to New Haven when hit with a Pepe pizza jones. With a location in Alexandria, VA, in addition to Bethesda, Washingtonians are fortunate to have Frank Pepes in their backyards.
1 Westfield Montgomery Mall better pray Frank Pepe makes it for the long haul. Otherwise, they’d be hard-pressed to find a tenant that could use a 100,000-pound coal oven.
2 You’re as likely to get black lung from eating Frank Pepe pizza as you are to get syphilis from a door handle. The syphilis thing’s just a rumor, right?
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
7101 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda, MD 20817
3231 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
Additional locations in Connecticut, Florida, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York
Pizza Quality: 🍕🍕🍕🍕
Overall Experience: ⭐
Pie (18″): $25.25
Pie price per square inch: $0.10