The Gypsy Poet, Houston TX

We had high expectations upon ordering the Margherita pizza, prominently located at the top of the menu. We added italian sausage and attempted to add black olives. This was our first surprise - a restaurant featuring an italian dish does not offer one of the most italian toppings. They do not offer olives of any kind. I don't think I've ever been to a pizza joint where I had to bring my own olives, but with this place I'm going to have to do it for a return visit.

The crust was damn good, probably the closest thing to a perfect pizza crust that I've had in Houston.

The sausage was spread around as crumbles. That's common among lower quality pizza places. For artisanal pizza, the chefs seem to lean more toward slices, as you would see with pepperoni. But this is Houston where Franks and Star Pizza are what locals expect, so I can live with that.

The most unexpected realization was that the basil (standard for a margherita) was not served ON the pizza. The pizza was delivered to the table with a few stems and leaves of basil OFF the pizza - a little sprig in the corner of the box. The parmesan cheese was served that way too - some cold shavings in the corner of the box. The customer has to pluck the basil and disperse these 2 standard ingredients themselves. Is this like the build-a-bear thing that kids do at parties? Who does this? I have never encountered this anywhere and I do not understand why. Less work for the business, sure, but what makes this desirable for the customer? Maybe it's part of the pretentious hipster vibe.

I'd love to go back (and probably will to focus on the sauce), but if I could just get some friggin olives and not have pretend like a partial build your own pizza is a desirable adult novelty I would definitely be back. I'm sure this comes across as a negative review, but I can reassure Houstonians that this pizza is MUCH better than the very overrated Star Pizza.

Side note: parking sucks. Diners can only hope their car does not get broken into during their meal. We were able to park on the street nearby, but were right next to a parking spot that had remnants of broken auto glass from a seemingly recent break in. Now that this business is well established, I hope the owners have plans to upgrade the location so customers can focus on their pizza instead of the possibility of a car break-in.

This is probably the best pizza I’ve had in the Houston area… Tomato sauce is very important to me when I’m trying out a pizza, so happy to report that the tomato sauce is very flavorful (with a little bit of sweetness), and the fresh cheeses are delicious as well! I really enjoyed the dreamcatcher pizza which had truffle oil, goat cheese, mozzarella and arugula (truffle oil + goat cheese is a really good combination!). The standard margarita pizza was also very good, with tasty fresh mozzarella. I think the only minor negative was that a few parts of the crust were burnt which those parts a bit more dry and tough, but this didn’t really detract from the pizza that much as a whole!

They have live music most nights in their Heights location, which really just makes the experience even better, 9.5/10 would recommend and will be back!

My favorite Houston pizza spotThe pizza is made fresh and is extremely flavorful. Great place to hang out and eat the best pizza in town. If you haven’t been, you have to go!

They take a little while to get the food, it's worth the wait. The atmosphere is so good when there is music.

Gypsy Poet is a must try pizza joint. Good seating, friendly staff and even better pizza. We have always tried their Margarita pizza but I think we like their “troublemaker” pizza better. Highly recommend

I love the service, the guy who brought our order to the table is the best and the food is simply great. I recommend it 100%, especially on Wednesdays with the group.

Got the fancy backpacker, troublemaker, and the hat. They were all really good. The texture and flavor were top notch.

The pizza is good, but not my favorite in Houston…but the I love the choices of wine and it comes with a bar glass! Definitely the 1920’s movies make very unique.

It was nice they played some classic 90s music and even had a live band setting up. They had games you could play at your table. My only problem with the establishment was they served me wine in a liquor glass and didn't have wine glasses.

Excellent place to share with family or friends with a very warm atmosphere. Combination of very exquisite flavors in all its proposals.

Currently my favorite pizza in the city. All pizzas made with high quality ingredients I can tell. Really a fan of the atmosphere. Be ready for a small wait during peak hours.

My go-to pizza spot to take friends! Would recommend the atmosphere and food for sure.they often have bands playing so look out for that to enjoy!

Very inviting staff! Pizzas are different than what you might be use to but they are so good!

This is a fancier pizza joint with plenty of unique toppings. I loved that and the wood-fired taste. The pizzas are smaller sized so you could eat several slices before it really starts to feel filling. This is the type of place that asks for a tip at the counter which always feels awkward before you even get your food. That being said the service is really nice. The space has a few different seating options and feels very comfortable.

We've come to this place as frequently as we can. Great live music on Wednesdays, the pizzas are some of the best I've had in Houston!