Around the greater Washington area there are many great options to grab a slice of kosher pizza. Despite being limited to certain ingredients, these kosher restaurants rise to the challenge and offer high quality pizza for Jews.
Siena’s Restaurant
Located next to the JDS Upper School and Moti’s Market, Siena’s Restaurant is known for its pizza and Italian fare. The completely vegetarian and kosher restaurant features Italian and Mexican cuisines in a sit-down and upscale atmosphere. Siena’s pizza is served every Friday at JDS’ cafeteria.
The 12-inch cheese pizza cost $15 and came out of the oven very hot, but didn’t look very appetizing at first glance. The pizza is composed of a very soft dough that tastes pleasant. However, the sweet sauce did not have the best flavor and dominated most of the pie’s flavor. The cheese also lacked strong flavor, along with a crunchless crust.
Knowing that kosher pizza is limited to certain ingredients, this pizza was filling and tasted somewhat savory. I would recommend eating here but would suggest the other restaurants more.
Nut House
Nut House Pizza, located in Wheaton shopping center, serves kosher dairy Italian dishes, including its signature pizza. Established in 1983, the vintage restaurant does not pride itself on its ambiance, but focuses on its food quality and takeout orders.
Its menu is mainly composed of various types of pizza, including Hawaiian, Barbeque and Greek-style pizzas, but the menu also offers pastas and salads. The cheese pizza cost $25, but was completely worth it despite the hefty price.
The pizza came out very hot and looked extraordinarily appealing. The dough had a very pleasant crunch from the bottom and a rich sauce that tasted very good for kosher pizza. The cheese was also very pleasant and tasted fresh. With all of these components, the pie tasted very delectable, provoking me to eat two more slices.
As for service, the owner was extraordinarily kind and hospitable, adding to the amazing experience at Nut House. If someone told me that Nut House served unkosher pizza, I would definitely believe them, which leads me to say that its kosher pizza is very impressive.
Ben Yehuda
Within Kemp Mill shopping center and located among other kosher restaurants and stores, including Holy Chow and Shalom’s Kosher, Ben Yehuda Pizza is a popular option among kosher pizza places in the Greater Washington area.
As a caterer to many kosher events in the Greater Washington area, this restaurant features multiple different styles of pizza, including regular cheese, margherita, Greek, Sicilian and more.
With regard to the restaurant’s actual food, the classic cheese pizza ($25.00 for a large) has a sweeter taste, an objectively good cheese-sauce ratio and a crust that puts both Siena’s and Nut-House to shame. Seriously, the crust’s texture rivals that of un-kosher options.
I thought the pizza was great. Yet, Ben Yehuda is infamous for its lack of consistency with the oiliness and overall pizza composition. So, this restaurant earns a satisfactory grade, but one that is conscious of shortcomings in terms of the actual pizza taste.
