Archie's Bar & Pizza

If you wanted to, you could go out tonight and get a pizza made with Italian yeast and cheese from Naples. Or you could get a square slice made from dough that was fermented for as long as it would take you to learn at least rudimentary French. And we’re glad that both of those options (in addition to many others) exist in NYC. But sometimes you just want to eat at a spot like Archie’s Bar & Pizza.

Archie’s is a little place in Bushwick where you order at the bar, and it has more in common with Pizza Hut than it does with a place where you might use scissors to cut your pizza, or encounter wine bottles used as rolling pins. The pies here are all pan-style, with toppings that aren’t too complicated - but this is still some of the best pizza in the neighborhood, and the simplicity is part of the appeal.

Pizzas at Archies come in both individual and shareable sizes, and the crust is light, fluffy, and a little bit crispy. You’ll see all the available toppings (everything from broccoli and capers to bacon and ground beef) on a blackboard behind the bar, and a well-accessorized pizza for two costs around $20. There are also a bunch of sandwiches that come on crispy rolls, and they’re nearly as good as any flat, round things you’ll eat here. Get one with sausage or meatballs, add a draft beer, and you’ll have an ideal way to wrap up your night.

The space feels like a cross between a dive bar and a neighborhood pizza parlor, and it tends to stay packed with twentysomethings who enjoy wearing plaid. There are only seven little tables to the side, and they’re usually claimed pretty quickly, but you can always grab a seat at the bar or loiter near some people who look like they’re wrapping up.

Keep this place in mind the next time you need something quick and easy before a night out in Bushwick - or come after work when the prospect of turning on your oven sounds as exhausting as running a 10k. The pies here aren’t upscale or “artisanal,” but they might inspire pleasant memories of a pizza party you had when you were 13 - and in a city where it’s easier to find a pizza made with locally milled flour than it is to locate a mailbox or a hardware store, sometimes that’s all you need.

Food Rundown

Pizza

Archie’s serves pan pizza, with a crust that’s thick, crispy, and airy on the inside. It’s like the ideal version of what you’d get at a movie theater or a baseball game, and we mean that as a compliment. There are a bunch of different topping options like sausage, artichoke, and ricotta - but we tend to keep things simple and just go for garlic and pepperoni.

Grinders

The non-pizza items at Archie’s are easy to ignore - but if you never get a sandwich here, you’re missing out on a key component of what makes this place great. These grinders come stuffed with various types of meat and cheese, and we especially like the sausage and pesto chicken varieties. There’s also a cheeseburger grinder with two little patties, and it’s exactly the kind of thing you want at 2am on a Saturday night (and not a minute earlier).

Pasta

The pasta, on the other hand, you can skip. It’s by no means bad - it’s just not that exciting, and you could almost definitely recreate all of it half-asleep at home. Stick to the pizza and sandwiches here.