Otto Pizza

Often, we find some of our favorite restaurants just by accident. Otto Pizza in Portland Maine was one of these times.  This is possible the greatest food discovery we have ever made. This pizza is currently our number one pie, EVER and we eat a lot of pizza.

We were staying across the street from the flagship Otto Pizza, and we were impressed by the sign. Sounds silly, but it captured our attention! There were always people either on the patio, lined up, or grabbing a slice to go. On a very hot evening we just couldn’t imagine walking far for diner, so we decided it couldn’t possibly be THAT bad.

Like a lot of places in Portland, the building is old and has a great deal of charm. Otto is very rustic inside and feels like an old-time pizza joint with wooden tables and a bar with antique trim and mirrors. Also, there is some outdoor seating, it was way too hot and humid for that.

The Pizzas

Otto is known for some very interesting topping combinations. They do not allow half and half pizza combinations, instead they recommend two of the 12” pizzas, and they allow you to build your own.

That evening, the pizza special was peach, arugula and blue cheese. They have a main-stay on the menu with roasted cauliflower, and are apparently well known for the mashed potato, bacon and scallions pizza. Being more traditional pizza lovers, we elected to build our own 16” pie with pepperoni, mushroom and onion.

When this pie came out we were embarrassed by how much pizza was presented in front of us. It looked more like 20” and didn’t even fit on the platter it was served on. Somehow, this beast was still crispy from crust to center. In fact, this crust was a perfect combination of crispy and chewy, something we had not thought possible until we had Otto Pizza. Their sauce is a very simple tomato sauce, with light cheese and a savory seasoning blend over top of everything.

Wary Traveler Tip:

The 16” can feed 4 normal adults. If you are less than that get a 12”. If you’re hungry or want to try multiple, get two. The 16” is an absolute beast.

Not to leave any detail out, Otto Pizza has even collaborated to create a special Ale to pair with their pizza. It comes in at a light 4.3% alcohol and does pair with their pizza as well as chocolate and peanut butter.

Otto Pizza has multiple locations in Maine and Massachusetts. We can only image they are all as good as the flagship location.