Bird Pizzeria

Review! Charlotte, North Carolina // New-York-style pizzeria // plays hard to get but is so worth the chase

The ELEVATOR PITCH

If you’re anything like me, for the longest time I was just a spectator watching Bird Pizzeria from the sidelines. Cheering for their big spotlight moment in New York Times’ 22 of the Best Pizza Places in the United States and clapping when they were nominated as 2024 Charlotteans of the Year. The other week, I decided it was about time I became a real fan: I needed to try their East-coast-style¹ 16” pies myself and see what the hype was about!

So the journey began. After failing to walk-in (the line was down the street) or reserve a table (booked out for the entire month), I resigned myself to being responsible and planning ahead: we pre-ordered two pies for the following week for takeout.

The day comes, it's rainy. But by some miraculous combination of circumstances, there wasn’t a line and the covered outdoor seating was fairly empty, so we were still able to enjoy the pizzas fresh (they were piping hot, like they had just come out of the oven seconds prior). I enjoyed the ambient lo fi music, the bready soft crust, and the delicious symphony of flavors.

pov: you take a bite of Bird Pizzeria

Bird Pizzeria’s New-York-style pizza isn’t the $1 pizza slice you get on the streets of NYC—she’s high class, dressed to the nines (bedazzled with high quality ingredients that have impeccable freshness and flavor), and can afford a skin care routine worthy of celebrities (the crust is firm yet soft and supple, with a great bounce, and is delightful to eat—versus the contrary: tough and dry and reminiscent of cardboard).

The inspiration for Bird Pizzeria first spawned during co-owners Nkem and Kerrel Thompson’s 3-month excursion to Japan prior to moving to Charlotte. During that trip, the prevalence of mom & pop shops was encouraging to the two newlyweds. In Japan, there were so many single families running street food stalls and various small businesses that created bubbles of community; the impact of these shops was palpable on the city, and it inspired the Thompsons to do the same. In the following years, they moved to Charlotte in 2016 and Kerrel began years of intensive research and development to produce the pizza we currently enjoy today. In DTLRofficial's Interview with the Thompsons, Nkem recounts that her husband Kerrel’s “consistent determination, dedication, and care” can’t be overlooked and is one of key factors leading up to their grand opening in 2021.

Since then, Bird Pizzeria has grown from just a humble walk-up window pizzeria to taking over and renovating the next door tattoo shop for evening dine-in. Even with the buildout, they’ve maintained their values: continuing to be an environment of creativity and an expression of relevance. They’ve maintained the small and intimate team they started with, even though the numerous accolades they’ve received could’ve easily warranted expanding into multiple locations.

Needless to say, Bird Pizzeria isn’t for the spur-of-the-moment occasions where you’d require a take-out pizza for an emergency meal. Forethought, budgeting, and moderation are all required to enjoy Bird Pizzeria well. It’s also worth noting that while our total was on the higher end for pizza, I still recommend paying extra to add toppings because I think that’s where Bird Pizzeria truly shines (but I’m also a gal who likes her toppings 😉). Overall, the pizzas are on the greasy end, but that’s a characteristic of Americana pizza—super indulgent!

At this point, Bird Pizzeria is a restaurant that’ll spur recognition if you talk to pizza lovers locally or nationally. They’ve garnered quite the reputation and are a top-of-the-list recommendation for locals to visiting out-of-towners. You pay for what you get, and the slices at Bird Pizzeria are some of the best in Charlotte!

menu items

honest reviews below 👇

THE RED PIZZA

With the toppings we added, it was reminiscent of my favorite childhood pizza combination: pepperoni and banana peppers. It felt like all of the other pepperoni-banana-pepper pizzas were teenagers and the one from Bird Pizzeria was a mature adult with a fully developed personality: the distinct punchy tang from the banana peppers was effortlessly balanced by the subtly sweet tomato sauce, the pepperoni added the perfect amount of salt and crunch, and the amount of cheese was nothing to complain about. I loved that the crust was soft and enjoyable, instead of plain, dry, and pretzel-like. (rating: 10/10)

THE WHITE PIZZA

Holy mackerel. I didn’t expect this pizza to be so good! The white pizza already comes with garlic, but adding the additional garlic had it tasting like the best garlic bread that ever existed. The dots of sausage were the cherry on top. I have no other comments except that you need to try this! (rating: 11/10)

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the RÉSUMÉ

address // 510 E 15th St, Charlotte, NC 28206

operations // Wednesday - Saturday, 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM; Sunday - Tuesday, CLOSED.

logistics //

• reservations are required for dine-in; since the space is intimate, there are typically no available tables until ~1 month out (definitely plan ahead)

• pre-orders are available if you don’t mind grabbing your pizza to go; the only con is that the menu is different from the dine-in: more trim with only the classic pizza offerings (versus dine-in includes house specialty pizza combos)

• parking is free along the streets nearby

amenities //

• accessible

• indoor dining space available + covered outdoor seating available

vibes // the ambient lo fi beats sedates anxiety when you walk onto the premises; the indoor seating is warm and welcoming but low-lit

menu // vegan options available

• Beverages ($3.50): San Pellegrino, Coke

  ⭐libations ($6.50): salted lager, IPA

• Whole Pies ($20.00+): choose between red, white, and vegan-friendly

  ⭐adding additional toppings is extra

  ⭐hot honey available on the side

• Kale Caesar ($10.00): they’re famous for their kale caesar (because of the pile of parm grated on top) but this is only offered on the dine-in menu!

recs // add garlic to the white pizza (I know it already has garlic), it turns the entire pizza into the best garlic bread ever!!!

site // Bird Pizzeria

1. specifically, their pizza style feels like a combination of New York-style and classic Americana to me, but for a true definition of “East-Coast-style pizza,” refer to this article: East Coast vs. West Coast Pizza