Home Essex County A Look into Popular Montclair Spot, Ah’ Pizz

A Look into Popular Montclair Spot, Ah’ Pizz

by Erica Commisso
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Since 2010, Neapolitan-style pizza chain Ah’ Pizz has called Montclair home. Locals and visitors alike love this spot for its traditional pizza, creative entrees, and welcoming atmosphere. Montclair Girl took a look behind the scenes to see what makes Ah’Pizz such a fan favorite. Read on to learn more about this neighborhood classic.

Neapolitan Style Pizza

Naples-style pizza joints in the United States share a technique with their Italian counterparts, crafting pies with wood-fired ovens heated to 1,000 degrees. This differs from non-Naples style, traditional Italian-American pizzerias, which operate larger gas ovens heated between 500 to 700 degrees to craft pizzas.

“The goal of Ah’ Pizz was to create a pizzeria that serves authentic, Neapolitan pizza and to bring fresh ingredients and the art of pizza-making to downtown Montclair, NJ,” according to the restaurant’s website.

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The Ivy at Chatham

(Photo credit: @ahpizz)

Ah’ Pizz has three locations in New Jersey, with locations in Harrison and Wayne as well as the Montclair location, at 7 North Willow Street. Featuring warm Mediterranean flooring, big arched windows, and exposed brick accents, the pizzeria is a BYOB restaurant serving pizzas built with “dough made only with finely ground Italian wheat flour, natural Neapolitan yeast, sea salt and water,” according to the restaurant’s website.

“The dough must be kneaded and formed by hand and may be no more than 3 mm (1/8 in.) thick. The pizza must be baked for less than 90 seconds in a 485 °C (905 °F) stone oven with an oak-wood fire,” the restaurant explains.

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More specialty ingredients are required to classify a pie as a truly Neopolitan pizza. “Neapolitan pizza includes San Marzano tomatoes grown on the volcanic soil of Mount Visuvio, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh mozzarella Fior di Latte (made from cow’s milk) or mozzarella di bufala (made from the milk of Italian water buffalo),” the website reads, adding a detail that makes the pizza so desirable. “All mozzarella Fior-di-Latte is handmade fresh daily at Ah’ Pizz.”

ah pizz montclair 3

(Photo credit: @ahpizz)

The pizza menu has all of the classics like Marinara and Veggie, and offers a la carte toppings so diners can create their own masterpieces. But don’t let the eye stop at the pizza menu: there are dessert pizzas available as well. Nutella, S’mores, and Guava and Cream Cheese pizzas are sweet takes on this classic dish and a memorable way to end the night.

The Montclair location was established in 2010, and then Ah’ Pizz expanded to Harrison in 2017 and then to Wayne in December 2021. The menu has expanded to more than just pizza, with the help of a 2011 renovation which expanded the facility and included a state-of-the-art kitchen.

More than Pizza

The menu includes appetizers, pasta dishes, pizza, calzoni (including one called the Montclair, covered in hot peppers and the Mezzaluna, which is half pizza and half calzone) salads, and more, all combining traditional Italian dishes and modern Italian-American options. There is truly something for everyone on the menu, and the weekly specials are filled with seasonal, inventive dishes. Gluten-free pasta is available, and there is a kid’s menu for young guests.

See More: Tino’s Artisan Pizza Co. Opening New Location in Upper Montclair

Menu options include carrozza, deep-fried mozzarella-filled battered bread served with marinara, pasta primavera, and the fettuccine Ah’ Pizz, which is made with shrimp in an arrabiata sauce. Many of the sections have Ah’ Pizz specials, including homemade potato chips, that make this pizzeria stand out in the Montclair food scene.

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(Photo credit: @ahpizz)

Kids pizza-making birthday parties are available at the restaurant. Participants get to make their own pizzas and cook it in the big oven while wearing their very own chef hats and apron. Catering and a la carte ordering is available for adults to enjoy while the kids whip up their creations.

The Montclair spot is a BYOB, and it also offers a table delivery service from nearby wine and liquor shops, and catering options are available for both in-restaurant and at-home events. The restaurant is open seven days a week for both lunch and dinner, from 11AM to 10PM Mondays through Thursdays, 11AM to 11PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and 12PM to 9PM on Sundays.

Follow along with the latest from Ah’Pizz on Instagram and Facebook.

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