Escape From New York Pizza

The old standby when out drinking. Decent cheese pizza. Pleasant staff.

2 stars from me.
4 stars from son.
My oldest has been touting this place for the past two years, and this location in particular is his favorite. He’s a 20-​something. Maybe that’s why. I’m giving it three stars just because it’s clearly just a difference in taste.
For me, despite how much I love pizza slices, didn’t like ENYP. The pesto potato (his fav) was pretty flavorless and the sauce on hubby’s pepperoni was like tomato paste. The crust was good — crisp, thin.
Sorry Jamo… it’s just ok. :)

Bottom line… food poisoning.
—-
Ever since I moved to the city, 15 years ago, I’ve been a major fan of Escape. I used to stop in for a slice when I was nearby, and more recently, I have ordered a pizza once every month or so. They have been my pizza go-​to for a long time. But Friday, they let me down.
I splurged and ordered a meat combo (usually I go simple with a half pepperoni/​half pesto), and from the first bite, something seemed off. I thought it might be because they used a sausage I wasn’t into, that it was me, not them. After a slice and a half, I picked the sausage pieces off, but admittedly, it still tasted kind of wonky.
3 hours later, food poisoning fun commenced. No need to go into details, it was awful. Period.
I called to tell them, hoping they would register concern and take some steps to see if they could figure out what had caused it and ensure nobody else got sick. Unfortunately, the person who answered was non-​challant, took my number down and claimed the manager would be in the next day to return my call. I never received any follow-​up call.
I probably would be forgiving if they showed concern and made an effort. I considered calling them again to give them another chance, but bottom line, it’s not up to me to chase them.
It’s very sad, I really enjoyed the pizza itself and the energy of the dine-​in space. I found myself defending them to friends who didn’t appreciate the deliciousness and spirit of the Haight they captured. Too bad.

Maybe it’s just me but after drinking, pizza hit the spot!!! Nice small pizza joint just like NY. Didn’t get to try all the style but they all look good!

I tried the plain cheese pizza and the pesto potato. Potato on pizza — quite different. I can see why it is not done more often because honestly, it was kind of weird. The traditional cheese pizza was really, really good.
$ 1.75 for a 12 oz soda with no refills is, in my humble opinion, a little ridiculous, and they put too much ice in it, so it was like 8 oz really.
They have ONE parmesan cheese shaker that they make all the customers share, so we had to keep going to different tables to ask if we could have it. Give me a break. Put out some more cheese shakers.

Kalun L and I get so upset when we find great pizza in a small, unpretentious space. You see, in Washington DC, good pizza DOES NOT EXIST. So, when we travel, we seek out a slice of NY pizza wherever we can. Enter Escape.
Great slices, excellent meat and veggie options. Cheese and sauce is fine, but oh my that crust is crispy and delicious. Huge slices, very reasonable prices. What more could you ask for?
Give this place a shot if you find yourself on Haight. Then get the heck off Haight.

Pretty decent pizza on the Haight. It’s not amazing but they have a variety of different types of pizzas (including cheese, pepperoni, this delicious potato slice, and lots more).
I thought it was a little expensive, starting at around $ 4 dollars for a normal slice, when I was used to getting dollar slices in NYC that were huge and delicious. 2 slices and a small fountain soda came to ~11 dollars.
It’s worth it for grabbing a slide once in awhile or on your way home after the bars, but it wouldn’t be my go to pizza place.

The pizza was great but the wings left much to be desired. They were soggy rather than crispy, the meat was weak rather than strong and the chicken had a strange gamey after taste.
Escape from New York… More like Escape from these wings!

I love New York.
I love pizza.
Unfortunately, that didn’t make my stop here today a slam dunk.
After finishing errands, it was time for something quick to eat on the run. Rather than a cold sandwich from the deli, I was more in the mood for a hot slice of pie.
Enter EFNY Pizza.
I’m pretty sure that the last time I was here, I was about 19.
But being conveniently located between Laurel Heights & home, we thought «why not?»
I have to give props to the staff. We were warmly greeted by the pizza server (different person than the cashier) immediately after walking in.
Even though I was thoroughly enamored by the potato pesto pie (I immediately thought of Za’s in Russian Hill), I went w the buffalo chicken. So did my man.
They were lukewarm. We took them to go & ate them in the car, but we were only parked half a block away.
I like my slice to be piping hot. You feel me?
The crust is thin, but not as thin as I’ve gotten accustomed to over the last couple of years. That’s not a plus or a minus; it’s just an acknowledgement.
There was some kick from the spicy sauce, but overall, it was pretty bland.
From temperature, to bite, to flavor…
mediocre.
3 stars.

New York style pizza in San Francisco? Why yes, you can get such a thing! For walk-​ins, you can get slices and drinks. Options are available from the pre-​made pizzas on the counter.
We both ordered the pesto potato topping one just to try something unique and different. The slice sizes are pretty hefty and were a good size lunch without being over-​filling.
Would happily return if in the area!

The pizza here has excellent quantity and flavor of cheese and is overall quite good. My one complaint is that the outer crust could be a little less chewy… however, it is both a little chewy and also crisp so I can deal. Very happy this place delivers to my apartment!

I dig this location more than the one on Harrison in SoMa. The slices are far bigger, and their crust is made with more elasticity to hold up to the Brooklyn fold. Their special today was a spicy bbq chicken with ranch. Bomb. I was slightly miffed at first, but it was delicious. Sorry, Brooklyn. I cheated on you with a filthy, filthy mistress, and I kind of liked it. As always, I had their potato pie, and it was as good as ever. Loads of sliced potatoes and huge cloves of garlic adorned the thin crust of Escape’s pizza. What’s there not to love? Each slice will set you back about $ 5, which is okay for such a large slice, but it’s still pricey for a piece of pie. It’s not NY, but it will do just fine.
The place is small, so you probably won’t linger, but knowing the area you’re in and how much is around you, you probably don’t want to linger. Explore.

I am a fan. I was a little offended because I am from New York. But we’re good because the pizza was good enough for me to tolerate the jab at NYC.
Get the potato/​pesto slice and the Gourmet (feta cheese, sundries tomatoes, artichokes, spinach). I’d try the sausage, pepperoni, regular cheese, and the one with balsamic vinegar glaze.
YUM.

Late night savior, one of my favorite 12am spots and they seem to be open past the ‘open hours’ almost 2am and still slanging pizza.
Perfect crust, not too thin and far from thick, huge slices, one is enough. Never really a line since they move folks through so quickly. Always someone heading out and a table or counter space freeing up.
Sincerely dread ever leaving our neighborhood because we wouldn’t have you!

The pizza slices here are decent — they come out fast and provide a good source of junk food for the hungry patron. Prices are $ 4 a slice — not cheap but still okay in my opinion.
San Francisco is not blessed with the amount of pizza take-​out places like NYC, sadly. Escape from New York is a good alternative to your around-​the-​corner-​tacqueria — try it out if you’re in the neighborhood.
Plus point: open late!

When it comes to pizza, the bay area is definitely spoiled, which is why its hard for me to give this place more than 3 stars here on Unilocal.Don’t get me wrong, I like this establishment, it has a great location, friendly staff members, cheap slices, and a great variety. The pizza is very fresh here, and its always cooked nice and crispy without being overdone or burnt, but for me; the flavors weren’t anything to brag about, it still just tasted like any other come and go pizza shop.

They provided fast delivery of a much-​needed pizza to satiate a bunch of drunks… for that, I tip my proverbial hat in gratitude (because I mean, really, look at the size of this noggin… no hat is getting on that) ;)
It was around 10:30, maybe 11:00PM… ten of us were hanging out at a friend’s house. The liquor was flowing freely, the records were spinning, and we had all danced up a storm. Food was desperately needed, as some of us started to feel dizzy or lightheaded after hours of raging.
We tried to decide: do we order ramen or pizza? Why decide? Let’s order both! For our pizza du jour, we called up Escape From New York. We loaded our pizza up with a light sprinkling of vegan cheese, balsamic glaze, olives, potatoes, artichoke hearts, spinach, and garlic.
The secret to a good vegan pizza? Throw on some S+M Vegan cashew cream cheese and you’re in pizza heaven. This is the kind of ‘za Macaulay Culkin would sing about.
They have a pretty tasty crust… crisp (but not burnt), chewy (but not cardboardy), and moist (but not soggy). Could have used a bit more tomato sauce (or maybe a dipping sauce), but other than that, I was a happy camper.
There’s nothing like a few slices of pizza just before midnight to soak up all the boozy goodness floating around in your tummy. Oh, and yesterday was Pi Day (3.14). Guess our pie came in the way of pizza pie.
Pro-​tip: order Chinese takeout as well and throw some chow mein noodles right on top of your pizza. Hangover hack unlocked!

As others have already mentioned, coming to Escape From New York really is reminiscent of going to pizza places in college. Granted, the idea of grabbing a NY-​style slice (or pie) from a to-​go eatery like this isn’t unique to EFNY, especially since nearly every neighborhood in SF can offer something similar. However, it doesn’t get more college-​esque than the Haight (it’s akin to Telegraph in Berkeley).
At any given time, there’s usually about a half dozen types available by the slice (pepperoni, veggie combo, Hawaiian, pesto, etc.), but the menu of whole pies online is much more extensive (both traditional and not). Fortunately, the one I wanted to try most was also one of the varieties available by the slice — the YOU SAY POTATO, which has Roasted Red Potatoes, Roasted Garlic, and Pesto.
While I liked the overall combination of ingredients, as well as the pesto sauce, I couldn’t get past the potatoes. I’m generally a fan of them on pizza, but the skins on these tasted exceptionally «earthy». So much so that I couldn’t taste much from the roasted garlic. I will say that the crust was pretty good though. In true NY fashion, it was thin and crispy, yet it still had a nice chew to it.
Overall, THREE AND A HALF STARS rounded down. EFNY may remind me of my college days, but I certainly don’t remember paying these types of prices ($ 4.95 a slice). It’s nice that they keep such late hours though, especially with so many bars nearby (The Alembic is a few doors down). Still, even though the pizza isn’t bad, and even if they’re the best spot for late night eats in the Haight, there are better pizza places out there.

The pizza here is good, ‘tho for the area and the economy, the prices are a bit high for a slice.
I’m accustomed to finding cheap $ 0.99 slices at pizzaras from LA to NY, so when visiting the Haight in SF where there’s panhandlers galore, and it’s in the less ritzy area, I’d have thought the prices would be similar or more reasonably under $ 3 at most.
The slice was good, thin crusted, and large, ‘tho was a bit toasted at the bottom (not quite burned but getting close to where you can taste the crispness more so than the flavor of the bread).
I think I paid about $ 4.50 for my slice, which a friend also did, and we sort of thought that for the price of 2 – 3 slices, you can get a whole larger pie of similar quality at many other places, ‘tho maybe you just want a slice and not a whole pie, so that’s not really a complaint more than a comment.
The whole pies are baked then left out to select from, then re-​heated, as most «by the slice» places do it.
The area of The Haight is very sketchy at night, but not super dangerous (at least from dusk ’til 10pm when I was there). Lots of hipster hippie types, young homeless or panhandlers (‘tho some do sport cell phones and have enough cash to smoke up in public).
Parking is easy to a degree, ‘tho be careful of both where you park and what you leave in open view in your car, as the area is kinda sketchy as mentioned.

If you have a hankering for a thin-​crust pizza at midnight, Escape from New York is your answer. They offer satisfying pizza by the slice, ranging from $ 3 – 4.75 per slice.
The slices are huge, cheesy, and very oily. The only thing I don’t like is how their pizzas are sitting around under heat lamps and then popped into the oven for a few minutes being served (re-​baking dries out the already-​dry crust).
Located on Haight St, Escape from NY certainly draws in different and interesting crowds, which vary greatly throughout the day. Service isn’t rude, but not the friendliest either. If I’m ever in the area and want a quick bite, Escape from NY is a reliable option.

I could write a love song, but I still feel like that wouldn’t be enough to express my unbridled adoration for this place. Its face. Its grace. I could eat lace.
OK, let’s leave the song-​writing to professionals.
So… this is the place you go for a quick slice (mushroooooms mmm). This is also the place you go to order a pizza to take home with you. Or to eat straight away on Haight.
And did you know you can order online as well?
IT. IS. DELICIOUS! (The pizza, not the online-​ordering process, which lacks a salt if you ask me…)