Giovanni's Brings N.Y. Style Pizza to Parsippany

You might not notice if you’re racing down Route 46 East on the way to or from work or shopping, but we found our way there twice recently in our quest to find Parsippany’s best pizza.

The deceptively large restaurant is in a strip mall on New Road. It has a cheerful sign done in the colors of the Italian flag and previously was known by another name before it changed hands about a year ago.

Dominick David named his pizzeria and restaurant after his father-in-law, although the only family he has working with him today are his children, ages 17, 20 and 22.

David, 48, began his education as a pizza man after coming to the United States from Basilicata, or basil in English, a region that is near Bari and above Calabria.

David started working in Brooklyn restaurants where he first washed dishes and then worked his way up to making sauce and dough. In fact, the pleasantly crispy thin crust that he specializes in is a remnant of what he learned from other pizza guys in New York. He’s owned pizzerias in Bergen County and Brooklyn, but moved west to Parsippany when he learned a pizza business was up for sale.

Back to Giovanni’s. The interior dining room is dark and tucked away in the back of the restaurant. Still, the walls look as though they’ve been treated to a fresh coat of paint quite recently, which gives the space a warm, southern Italian ambience. The front area is where the kitchen is and there are two simple tables available for a quick slice or for sitting while waiting for a takeout order to be prepared.

On one daytime visit, we were joined by a few co-workers sharing lunch and one gentleman dining alone with his laptop computer. Another afternoon, a grandfather and grandson came in and were looking to share a few plain slices.

While there were a few choices among the prepared pizza slices, there wasn’t a lot of variety. On two occasions, we wanted to try the Margherita pie but there was none made.

The man who took our order did make sure to point out a fresh slice of vegetable pie, which was comprised of peppers and onions, that he thought we should try. A plain cheese slice had just come out of the oven and was quite tasty. The Sicilian pie is a good choice for a hearty eater as it’s a generous slab of soft, thick pizza bread atop a crisp crust.

As with so many Italian restaurants/pizzerias, the menu here is quite large, offering antipasti, subs, calzones, appetizers and complete dinners. Typical baked dishes include cheese ravioli, eggplant Parmesan and shrimp scampi.

But if you ask David what his customers ask for most often, it might be the special slices with chicken, roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella or the buffalo chicken pie. And of course, on the weekends, there’s plenty of Margherita pie.

Prices start at $1.95 for a plain slice; a Margherita costs $2.80.

Giovanni’s Original Pizzeria & Family Restaurant
61 New Road
Phone: 973-882-9200
Fax: 973-808-8995
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday noon to 9 p.m.