Magic 5 Pie Co.

Opened in December of 2021 by the culinary group behind Norwalk & New Haven restaurants, The Spread & El Segundo, Magic 5 focuses on creating gourmet Neapolitan pizza. While their pies appear to be wood-fired, with that signature charred crust, they actually cook their pizza in a gas-powered oven imported from Italy. Fermented for 48 hours, their dough is handmade & rolled; and despite the looks of it, it’s actually not sourdough. This Margherita pizza is one of several specialty artisan pizzas on the menu. Bigger than personal size, this pie is 14” and easily shareable. Shockingly thin & surprisingly great char for a gas oven pizza, the dough is soft, chewy, flimsy & floppy with a total absence of crisp or crunch. It also has sneaky smokey flavor despite not being wood-fired; but lacking firmness, the texture falls short for me. The moderately melty, tasty & fresh mozzarella somewhat lacks creaminess and is a bit too centric, needing coverage near the crust, despite a decent amount of cheese atop the pie. While I prefer an oozier, gooey consistency & flow, the mozz is delicious nonetheless. Initially bombarded by basil flavor upon first bite, the sauce is actually pleasantly sweet, distinguishing itself away from the areas without basil. Not too much spice or kick, but the sauce has a touch of tang & zest; and kind of tastes like a garden pie with sweet tomatoes & herbs. A little extra virgin olive oil atop the cheese & basil adds an element of class & a smidge of flavor. Unfortunately, the texture of this pie doesn’t quite deliver; with a soggy middle & tough, chewy crust, the fantastic flavors aren’t enough to carry this fairly sexy, but not special pizza into the 7s. A seemingly hip & trendy spot with a cool bar, this makes for decent “date night” pizza but it doesn’t particularly travel well for takeout.