Owner Clark Hale and pizzaiolo Justin Clarke opened Pizzeria Otto in northeast Portland's Roseway neighborhood in 2014, serving Neapolitan pizza within the 36-seat restaurant. In addition to pizza, the menu includes Caesar, mixed, and spinach salads.[1][2] In 2015, Jamie Hale of The Oregonian wrote, "The place was bustling on a Monday evening, but the typical 20-somethings you'd expect to find were replaced with neighborhood families, filling the tiny pizzeria to capacity."[3]
In 2016, the restaurant's team went to Naples for research.[4] Sam J. Reed began managing the pizza oven in 2016.[5]
In 2019, Hale confirmed plans to open a second, larger location in southeast Portland's Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood, near Foster-Powell.[6][7] Sometimes referred to as Pizzeria Otto FoPo,[8] the approximately 2,300 square-foot new space seats 80 people.[9][10]
Reception
In 2021, Portland Monthly's Benjamin Tepler said Pizzeria Otto offered the "best and only" Neapolitan pizza in the Foster-Powell neighborhood.[11]Brooke Jackson-Glidden included Pizzeria Otto in Eater Portland's 2021 list, "15 Date-Worthy Restaurants in Portland Actually Open on Mondays".[8] She also included the pizzeria in a 2022 overview of "Where to Find Exceptional Pizzas in Portland", writing, "The Neapolitan-style pizzas at Pizzeria Otto are outstanding, cooked in a rustic wood-fired oven in high heat, but the toppings are decidedly Pacific Northwestern."[12]
