Mineo's Pizza House

I grew up eating Mineos in 90s going to Washington and Mellon School but haven't had it since 2010 until a few days ago. The decor, layout and design are identical to when I went regularly and pizza tasted exactly the same but bit more expensive at 2.25 rather than the 90-1.25 cent slices when I ate it a lot. It's perfectly average greasy pizza that hits the spot any time in a convenient location and seemingly has the exact same staff from 30 years ago putting their passion into it. Reminds me of 2.99 two slices and drink in Times Square New York City.

Came here on a Wednesday night. Nice location on a street with good walkability and local shops. My friend said this was the best pizza in town, and it was pretty good. It was cash only, but we were able to scrape together enough. Trash cans were too full to put my trash in, which seemed odd since there were 3-4 employees milling about watching the Penguins game. To be fair, I'd probably do that instead of emptying the trash too.

I can see why this place is popular. The staff is very friendly, it has a long history and is a Pittsburgh staple, and the pizzas are loaded with cheese -- it is by no means bad. However, I found the pizza to be slightly below average and overpriced in comparison to the going rate for Pittsburgh pizza (2 large one topping pizzas and a sandwich was over $60). The cheese itself tasted a bit bland and didn't have that slightly aged hint found in the best Pittsburgh pizzeria cheese blends. For my taste, the cheese was a bit too abundant, though many folks may prefer this. The toppings were not bad but also nothing special in my opinion -- pepperonis were standard thin and flat circles without much flavor/spices (likely purchased in bulk), not the smaller thicker slices with curled tips that you always hope for on a pizza. This place is definitely worth trying as many may fall in love with the pizza if you don't care much about flavor profiles and just want a thick cheesy pizza. Just make sure to bring cash to pay and to have someone to drive with to pick up the pizza if you do takeout since parking is not good during busy times.