Maggio’s Fresh and Fabulous Wood Fired Pizza

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Earlier this year, Maggio’s, a new pizza place with an indoor wood-fired pizza oven, opened up on the busy “restaurant row” along North Avenue in East Tosa. Maggio’s is owned and operated by two friends; Jeremy Maggio, who spent years honing his pizzas, and Andy Fries, who spent years managing and working in restaurants. On any given day you will see these guys hard at work, alongside their crew. They genuinely seem happy to be there, and their positive attitude is rather inspiring. 

Maggio’s has a bright, airy interior with big windows, which provides a comfortable European cafe feel. There is a charming children’s play area in one corner of the space that has several toy wooden pizzas for the kiddos to practice becoming the next generation of pizza chefs. 

Maggio's friendly staff will put you at ease and make you feel welcome as you peruse the menu. Orders are placed at the counter, and on a recent visit, the food was delivered to our table after a surprisingly short wait. While there were plenty of customers dining in, there appeared to be a very brisk carryout business too. 

Begin your meal with an order of the Meatballs ($9). The four flavorful meatballs are topped with the incredibly good house-made tomato sauce, fresh pecorino romano cheese and parsley. Or try the freshly baked Garlic Knots ($8) which are properly garlicky, buttery, and served with more of that wonderful tomato sauce. A fun and unexpected item on the starters list is the Orange ($1). It’s just an orange, but sure enough, there is a big bowl of oranges right up by the order counter. 

Ohhh, The Pizza

All of the pizzas at Maggio’s are 10-inches. They are made in the Neapolitan style, with that particularly wonderful soft, almost pillowy, texture to the house-made crust. Traditionally topped pizzas like the Margherita ($12), Pepperoni ($13) or The Good Land ($14)—with sausage, mushroom and onion—are made with the freshest ingredients and are picture perfect. If you like to branch out a bit, try the sweet and spicy Jerk Chicken pizza ($15). It’s made with a tasty ranch dressing base and topped with zippy jerk chicken, pineapple, jalapenos, green peppers, onion, mozzarella, and fresh cilantro.

If you like a more of a sweet and salty flavor profile, try the Fig and Prosciutto pizza ($14), which is tomato sauce based, topped with a sweet fig spread, prosciutto, mozzarella, and arugula. Another notable standout among the pizza offerings is the Raclette ($15). This incredible pizza is based with a flavorful house-made roasted garlic cream sauce and simply topped with locally made raclette cheese, thinly sliced, raw purple potato, and green onions. Rest assured, the time in the pizza oven cooks the potato perfectly. The resulting pie is heavenly.

Dairy free options and an excellent cauliflower and cheese Gluten-free crust are also available for a small upcharge. 

Fabulously fresh, high-quality wood-fired pizzas are the star of the show, of course, but there are a few sandwiches ($8-$9) and salads ($8-$10) available to round out the menu. The Caesar Salad ($8) is quite good and pairs nicely with a pizza. The Meatball Sandwich ($9) is a lot like the starter from above, but is served in a soft, freshly baked bread.

There are several red and white wines available by the glass ($7-$12) or bottle ($28-$60), bottled beers ($5-$7) and soft drinks to enjoy with your meal. Gelato ($4) and Affogato ($5) are available for dessert. 

Other restaurants have come and gone in this space over the years, but hopefully Maggio’s Wood-Fired Pizza is here for the long haul. 

Maggio’s Wood Fired Pizza