If you live in Connecticut, you have probably heard of the Max Restaurant groups. The list goes on: Max a Mia, Max Tavern, Max Burger, Max’s Oyster Bar, Max Downtown. However, in 2016, what I believe to be the best Max Restaurant opened five minutes from my house. A small, rural, family-owned business that makes you feel right at home from the moment you walk in the door. The place is filled with the smell of hot pizza wafting through the air as servers stride around delivering tasty meals. This magical place is known as Savoy Pizzeria and where I think you can get some of the best pizza in West Hartford, let alone Connecticut.
Named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, Italy herself, this upbeat pizza joint has been a huge hit since it opened six years ago. Savoy’s motto is to create all their pizzas with the highest quality ingredients and a bit of patience. Their dough is made from specially-milled high-quality flour along with some other secret ingredients. The cheese is a special curd found in Northern climates that can easily stand up to the 900° wood fire oven. “Centuries of tradition…perfected at Savoy,” is what Rich Rosenthal, CEO and founding member of the award-winning restaurant and catering business, likes to say.
On Dec. 1, 2022, I decided to fully review Savoy Pizza along with my sister and dad. Unaware of the Holiday Stroll taking place in West Hartford center that evening, the three of us showed up around 6:30 p.m. to a bustling scene. Every store window was filled with seasonal decor, the sidewalks lined with hot cocoa stands, and kids running around with festive pajamas on.
Walking into Savoy and seeing the tables packed and a long line at the hostess desk, I could already tell that this place was pretty popular. With its old-school modern vibe, the exposed brick, wood beams, and tiles made me feel somewhat at home. The music in the background is what I would call “2010 Hits.” There were two huge original wood fire ovens sitting in the back of the restaurant, and for this time of year, the holiday decor was festive. Tinsel, snowflakes, and fairy lights lined the walls; even the bathroom stalls were wrapped like presents.
Our party only waited 30 minutes before being seated, which for a night like that, I would say is impressive. My only caveat with my experience would have been that our table was a bit small and could barely fit all of our dishes. Technically the table was built for two so it was unfortunately not ample enough for three guests. After being seated, I was introduced to Aiden, the man who had the honor of serving as my waiter for the evening. He came to our table swiftly and asked for our drink order; I got my usual, a Shirley Temple, while my sister and dad stuck to water.
Although I don’t usually order an appetizer when I eat out, the cheesy garlic bread caught my eye that evening. Once we had ordered our appetizer, I began surveilling the menu. I was quite impressed with their wide selection of options. The menu consisted of appetizers, salads, entrees, pizzas, both red and white, specials, desserts, drafts, bottles, wines, and cocktails. I also discovered that Savoy caters to gluten, egg, dairy-free, and vegan dietary restrictions, among others.
The cheesy bread came out after only seven minutes of waiting and looked nothing like what I had imagined. The actual bread was made out of perfectly cooked pizza dough, and it was topped with mozzarella, parmesan, garlic, small pieces of basil, and a marinara dipping sauce. I could already tell without even taking a bite that this was going to have a perfect cheese-to-dough ratio for my liking. It was hot, doughy, and cheesy and after only one bite, I knew that this would from now on be a must-have when dining at Savoy.
The next decision to make was the main course. I was definitely leaning towards the Franklin Avenue Freeze-Out pizza which is just a red pie with mozzarella and pepperoni — simple but classic. My sister and dad, on the other hand, were having a harder time choosing. My dad couldn’t decide between a pizza or the chicken parm, and after consulting with Aiden, he ended up choosing the Dapper Apple, one of the specials of the week. The Dapper Apple was a white pie with chicken, apple sausage, apple butter, broccoli, caramelized onions, bacon asiago, and blue cheese crumbles. Although that might sound like an extraordinarily strange combination of toppings, it was one of the head chef’s favorite creations and my dad was ready to take a leap of faith. My sister ended up picking the Jersey Shore pizza, a red pie with meatballs, fontina, cherry peppers, and parmesan. With our orders in, the only thing to do was wait.
It took a total of 21 minutes and 34 seconds for all three pies to come out. As I stated earlier, our table was a bit small, so our food was forced to share tight quarters. All three pizzas came out hot and appetizing, and I was absolutely starving at this point. One of my favorite things about Savoy is the pizza sizes. All the pies are “personal,” meaning that they are just enough for a full meal. First up was the Dapper Apple; according to my dad, it was cooked to his liking and was incredibly flavorful. He said it was very unique but a surprisingly good combination of toppings. Up next was my sister’s pizza, the Jersey Shore; also hot and cooked well, she said it was crunchy, cheesy, and although a bit bland per her liking, overall pretty good.
My pizza, the Franklin Freeze-Out, came out last. Because I had ordered this pie before, I knew what to expect. Similar to the cheesy bread, my pizza came out hot, doughy, and cheesy. It was cooked perfectly to my liking and was unexpectedly flavorful because of the spicy pepperoni.
After devouring our pizzas, we decided that we had to order a dessert. Although there weren’t many dessert options on the menu, all of them looked appetizing. We settled on the S’mores Brownie which was one of the specials for the week. It consisted of a warm brownie topped with vanilla gelato, graham cracker crumble, caramel drizzle, and toasted marshmallows. We only waited about six minutes before the brownie was at our table. The brownie was warm and chewy whereas the ice cream was refreshing and cool which created a lovely balance of flavors. The presentation was really cool and all the elements fit very nicely together.
Our entire experience cost us $86.43 and one hour and 45 minutes. I really liked the simple yet well-made dinner options, the personal-sized pizzas, and the location of the restaurant. Being directly in the middle of West Hartford Center is not only easily accessible for someone like me who lives in West Hartford but also must generate lots of publicity and business. Overall, it is a bit pricey, but for good reason; the food is excellent quality and tastes amazing, there are a ton of options on the menu food-wise as well as diet-wise, the service and ambiance are lovely and I would definitely dine here again.
