blackthorn pub and pizza

worth the wait!. amazing deep dish pizza! do not be pushed away by thewaittime... trust me, it is worth the wait! you run the chance of having to stand for a while before you can get a seat, but as long as you are watching for anyone else leaving their table, you have a chance of being able to sit down by the time your food comes. this is a great gem that not many people know about, i believe you only know about it if you've heard about it from someone else. word of mouth and a great reputation is what keeps this place so wonderful.

horrible service. we make it over to blackthorn from time to time, but this last time was the worstwaitand service ever! the place was packed, but that's no excuse for the restaurant being understaffed and the little staff that was working being rude. this place apparently gets a lot of business, especially on the weekends, so you'd think they'd hire some decent staff and buy another pizza oven and sound system with that money... apparently not. we ordered our pizza and were told there'd be an hour wait, so we bought a round of drinks and waited patiently, having to stand because there was no seating. eventually a spot opened at the bar, so we sat there for the next 45 minutes, waiting for our name to be called. one of the cooks was calling the names on the orders, and we could barely understand him (given his mumbly voice and their pathetic sound system). so we sat patiently, ordered another couple drinks from the pulseless bartender, listened for our name to be called... but still our name wasn't called for our pizza at an hour 15 minutes. so we approached the cook who had been calling out the orders, and come to find out, our name had been called 15 minutes prior and our pizza was sitting and getting cold. the cook even claimed one of the workers walked around the place calling our name, but we knew this was a lie. we were sitting right at the bar, close to the speakers, and we even saw that worker walk by a few times... not once did he say our name or announce that our pizza was ready. when we told the cook this, he didn't care, and he just proceeded with having the bartender collect our tab. talk about horrible service. stay clear!!!

call ahead to lowerwaittime. fantastic deep dish pizza -- this has become a must visit for me when i'm in st. louis. a small tip for those who complain about long serve times: call in your order ahead of time. we have done this thanks to a local friend's recommendation to lower ourwaittime and have been very pleased with the service and pizza.

first this is a serve yourself kinda place with the emphasis on bar style. so i have no complaints about the service. time youwaitfor food is a little ridiculous we waited 1 hour and 11 mins for two pizzas. thier red sauce was good nice sweet flavor but way too much of it on the pizza. way past a classic pizza margarite. crust dough was good, but too thick. that explains why one of our pizzas was clearly burnt. toppings were a nice quality. the cheese was definitely not a whole milk mozella, dry and kinda tasteless is how i would describe it.
overall a bad experience and i will not return or recommend this place. try antinino's or dewys first.

i love blackthorn! it may take a while to get your pizza, but thewaitis worth it! tons of cheese, peppery sauce, and great toppings make this one of my st. louis pizza favs. i've been going here for years, and love it every time!

pizza is tops. bartenders and doorman are complete imbeciles. don't play music they don't like or they get rid of it. been here lots of times and first time to happen. dooshbags.


-----15 jan, 2012-----

best pie in stl. hands down the best pie in the loo. chicago style is all i ever get. i've eaten pies in chitown and this one is just as good. you have towaita long time and the place is small, but it is well worth it. my two young daughters love the place. darts, shuffleboard, jukebox, pacman, air hockey and pinball make thewaiteasy. good beers on tap. no frills, order and pick up at the bar. don't go if you can't handle not being waited on hand a foot. leaves more seating for me! no smoking allowed.

first visit. on the recomendation of an old friend i finally tried this dive (with affection). lets clear up a few things. theres no smoking. yes you can breath and enjoy the aroma of a truly enjoyable deep dish feast. kids, though welcome, should be watced closely lest they run into an unexpecting server carry a hot pie. our feast came with everything but ye ol sink. awsome sauce on this signature dish. just enough bite to push the red pepper flakes to the end of the table. i found the staff friendly and not without a sense of humor. if you know what you want on your pie call ahead and savewaittime. if you have a special topping that the thorn dosn't carry..bring it and they will be happy to add it to your pie. i'll be back!!!

that was good pizza!. have to say i wasn't overly fond of the decor (guess i'm not a "neighborhood dive" kinda person, having outgrown that about 30 years ago) but the pizza was awesome! i called in and ordered it then went to pick it up. was a bit surprised by the hourwaittime, but since i wasn't in a huge hurry i just sat at the bar and had a mixed drink while i waited. the crust, spicy sauce and all that cheese, along with the still slightly crispy veggies really hit the spot! if you want good pizza this is a great place to get it. if you aren't into the bar scene like me, order it for takeout. either way, you won't be disappointed in the pizza.

chicago pizza. had to see what all the fuss was about. good chicago style pizza. not the best in town like everyone had been saying but well worth thewaitand money. the staff was a bit slow, but it was not busy for a saturday night. may return to eat there again but there is a better option closer to home that delivers.

worth the wait. we couldn't not try a place that seems so proud of a longwaittime. when does that happen? but the deep dish at black thorn is definitely worth the wait. call ahead, then show up ten minutes early to get a drink at the bar and check out the delicious dive-bar decor.
best part: the pizza
worst part: the wait, so plan ahead

gamer. i like going to black thorn pub to hang out & eat great pizza! i go there with my boyfriend & we order a couple beers and play games while wewaitfor our pizza. we play air hockey & shuffle board while we wait...it makes for a great evening.

amazing pizza- just get it to-go!. my favorite pizza ever! the sauce is so spicy and different. there's a looongwaitfor to go orders, but it's worth every minute... just don't look around too much when going inside to pick it up!

over-rated, but different, should try it once. the thick crust pizza was a refreshing change from the usual, but not awesome like the reviews would suggest. thewaitfor the pizza was forever, but since we were in a group and were there more for comraderie than the food, it was ok. it's certainly not a clean place (one patron vomited all the way down the stairs) and the bartender upstairs stated that he really didn't know how to make any drinks other than draft beer, it is one of those places you're glad you experienced once, but probably won't go back. i left smelling like an ashtray, but it was an experience.

you willwaitbut it will be worth it. not the place for family dining. it is a bar that happens to serve really amazing hand-made pizza. keep that in mind if you decide to go. no one under 21 allowed and there is nowaitstaff. you need to go to the bar to get whatever you want yourself. the beer selection, while small, goes beyond the big brands and has a good variety. while we waited for an hour and 20 minutes to our pizza (we went with chicago style) it was worth thewaitand we had a blast hanging out and talking over several pints. we will go back to try some of their other styles of pizza.

dive bar. if you like clean, sit down, waitress come take your order places do not come here. but, if your into bar sports like shuffle board, bubble hockey and places that only serve beer, liquor and pizza you've come to the right place. you willwait45 minutes or longer to get your pizza, but thewaitis worth it if your a deep dish/crush fan. with over a pound of cheese and plenty of things for the add bar sports fan to do come to the balckthorn. just don't expect to get waited on hand and foot.