spak brothers

the pizza from this place was terrible. the dough was still raw on the top and had somewhat combined with the sauce and cheese to make a gelatinous slime. i walked in and ordered, waited while they cooked my order, and got the pizza straight out of the oven, so it hadn't sat around. i can ordinarily eat pizza regardless of the quality - hey, it's pizza - but this was inedible and i actually thought it might make me sick if i continued to eat it.

this place is the bomb dot com. great food and nice people. only good vegan pizza i've ever had.

all-natural and all good.. as pittsburghers become more aware of what they eat and more concerned about the quality of ingredients, spak brothers is at the forefront when it comes to offering all-natural food at low prices. appearance wise, it's all pittsburgh, a no frills, counter-only shop with a mural on it's outside wall that honors both the artistically conscious penn avenue and the blue-collar, sports fanaticism of the burgh. the menu doesn't deviate from the usual pizza, wings and hoagies fare, except that they're made with better stuff than your usual neighborhood pizza shop. made with unbleached, unbromated flour, the pies also feature red sauce that's free of high fructose corn syrup, additives and preservatives. they offer a ton of options for vegans and vegetarians, including veggie meat, seitan and vegan buffalo sauce.
i got a large pizza with veggie pepperoni, onions and mushrooms. as a thin-crust lover, i appreciated the lack of crust, and the onions were surprisingly firm and fresh. the pepperoni didn't make much of an impact (in terms of taste, it was passable at best), but it also didn't take away from my enjoyment. i love the seitan "wings" (they're more like chunks), and got two orders in mild buffalo and honey mustard. the sauce was thin, but very flavorful - the honey mustard was sweet with a spicy kick and the buffalo was everything one could hope for. the wings themselves had a chewy inside and crispy outside, but the real stand-out was the ranch dressing provided. obviously homemade, it had a thick, stick-to-anything consistency and a nice garlic taste. i didn't order it, but i'm really glad they gave it to me anyway! i hope that this little shop stays true to its mission of offering high-quality food to the city's pizza lovers for many, many years to come.

really good pizza. love the art work on the wall and the mural on the outside wall? some of the menu is on a chalkboard too. have heard rave reviews about spak and tried the pizza. the cheese was perfectly cooked with a crispy and chewy crust.

was told the sauce is homemade and all natural.
staff was very nice.

surprised to see homemade pierogies on the menu.

terrible service. i've heard all kinds of great things about spak brothers. they don't deliver (normally), but i figured i'd put in an order, walk a little, and try their pizza. so i put in a simple order (small pizza, two toppings), they told me to arrive in 20 minutes, and it all seemed set.

however, instead of a pizza waiting for me when i arrived (at the time indicated), i got to wait. but, whatever, i thought. what's a few minutes? so, i paid. and i waited.

and waited.
and waited.

20 minutes later, no kidding, they finally bring out my "pizza." the entire thing is blackened. seriously. burnt to a crisp. they offered to make me a new pizza(!!) promising to do it "super quick." listen, if you guys could make a pizza super quick, you should've been able to fulfill the original order.

their only excuse was that it was "friday," so stuff was busy. yeah, like i never order pizza on fridays. i've had pizzas -delivered- to me on fridays in less time. give me a break.

so i asked for my money back. and walked home. the whole incident wasted nearly 50 minutes of my time.

i wish i could tell you something about their pizza. i can't. however, i can promise you that the employees are incompetent, and that the service is terrible. avoid at all costs, unless you love having your time wasted.

spak brothers is a great little pizza and subs spot. i usually end up getting their pittsburgh cheesesteak, but the pizza is good there too. lots of options for everyone to choose from as well.

best italian hoagie and seiten in pittsburgh. good people, good food. support these guys over any of the chains. they actually care about what they're doing. not just trying to make a buck.

probably my favorite wings in the city of pittsburgh! great pittsburgh steak sandwich as well and the pizza is always on point! staff is always hustling out food, but they take the time to say hello. also you can pick up some great local artwork , or play some pinball while you wait around! definitely recommend this classic pittsburgh pizzeria!

always great pizza. awesome service. the pizza guys are hot too! perfect. very good salads that use quality ingredients unlike most pizza shops. not your typical iceberg half soggy salad.

my go-to don't want to cook tonight place. love everything salads, wings, pizza, & sandwiches! friendly employees. they just need to increase help on weekend/ busy nights. waiting a long time on hold to place an order, and even longer in line to pick up food. sometimes it's too much of a hassle and easier to cook myself! step it up spak brothers you have something great & are losing customers!

maybe the best sandwich of my life.. unfortunately i live in charleston, west by god virginia, which is, by and large, a culinary hellhole. i was in pittsburgh for a class recently and a local friend suggested spak brothers.

holy fatman, batman. the seitan pittsburgh cheesesteak may be the best sandwich of my life. the seitan barbecue wings were so good i shojld have purchased two orders. spak brothers really gets that just because you don't want to eat a burnt up corpse doesn't mean you subsist on kale and flax.

a tasty, solid, reasonably-priced pizza. i've started to go to spak brothers in garfield as tuesday is pizza night and my daughter does a martial arts class a few doors down. i've had a slice from them before and it was pretty solid and pretty cheap, so i bought one of their pies. good value - 11.00 for an 18" - fresh dough, good quality cheese and a tasty sauce (i hate the sweet sauces - this had a nice bite. if you buy 3 toppings, you will get a 4th free too. i liked it, it was similar to a nj style - relatively thin crust with a good chew. very good italian sausage too. i also bought a 6" italian hoagie too - meats from parma sausage made the difference and the bread had a good crust/chew. they have vegetarian/vegan options, but since i am neither - i could care less, but it's good to know. penn avenue is being torn up at this time and the place has weathered the storm of restricted traffic by placing spak bros. detour signs around garfield, which is clever, and i hope they can garner further success once the work is done at the end of the year.

i almost forgot - the leftover pizza is still tasty the next day too.


-----19 jun, 2013-----

a good slice in a tough neighborhood. good crust/chew and good cheese. a nice find. only $2 for a slice.

i spend most of my time in the south hills and east end, therefore i need a reliable pizzeria in both areas. fiori's has the south covered, and now spaks bros has me looking no further in the east. both the pizza and hoagie were great! the crust and sauce stood out on the pizza and the hoagie had a healthy amount of meat. everything seemed fresh and the prices are very reasonable, which makes it even better imo. a 14" pepperoni pizza and a 12" hoagie for under $20! they are also vegan friendly if that's your thing ..

we had 2 small pizzas, one with the vegan cheese. both were great. would go back.

i was so excited when i found out about spak brothers! since becoming a vegan a year and a half ago all of the pizza i've had was made at home! i ordered a large "pepperoni" and olive pizza with daiya mozzarella. so good, even my non vegan friend loved it. the seitan wings were awesome and the vegan buffalo sauce was delicious as was the vegan ranch. i also ordered a philly "steak" and cheeze. made with seitan and daiya cheddar topped with vegan mayo i was so excited, haha! i've been craving it all since i left. need to head back down to the burgh asap!