I have been aware of Captain Tony’s Pizza & Pasta since I moved to the Heights 16 years ago, and I’m frankly irritated I haven’t tried it until now. We have a dearth of decent pizza places. Yes, we have Vero and Pizza Bogo, but there aren’t a lot of decent delivery spots. I usually drive to Lyndhurst to get a pizza from Jet’s. It’s not life-changing pizza, but it definitely hits the spot and is better than, say, Domino’s or Pizza Hut.
I was stuck at home on an all-day Zoom call for 3 days, so was unable to go to the grocery store. When I have these classes I usually order something through DoorDash and make the order large enough to eat over several days. My go-to is usually Chinese, but I was in the mood for pizza and checked to see what my choices were in my area. Captain Tony’s is located on Shaker Square (the southeast corner), so it is close enough to pop in and pick up an order if I wasn’t stuck at home. When I saw some of their unique offerings I decided to give it a try. It is apparently a small chain based out of Rochester, NY that started expanding in 1985, but it is the only location in Ohio. There is even one in London and Dubai, but, again, it is still a very small chain with only a couple of locations. Can it even be considered a chain if it’s the only location in Ohio?
The first pizza that caught my eye was the seafood pizza. It features a white garlic sauce that is topped with crabmeat, mozzarella, Romano, and cheddar cheese. I have to say I am so hooked I’ve ordered it several times now. It just hits the spot and the white garlic sauce is delicious paired with the crabmeat and cheeses. It also reheats really well in the air fryer.
My go to at any pizza place is a supreme, and the Captain’s Classic fits the bill perfectly. It is topped with pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, green peppers, onion, and cheese. If a pizza place does a supreme well, I know that their pizzas are good. They are generous with the toppings, and I was impressed to see that the mushroom were actual fresh mushrooms.
The Honey Mustard Chicken pizza also caught my eye because I love honey mustard, but I wasn’t as impressed with that one compared to the other two pizzas. It just tasted a little lackluster. Maybe I was expecting more honey mustard, but it was just ok.
Since I’m on my meatball sub quest I had to order the meatball sub. Huge fail. Not only were the meatballs tiny, but they were overwhelmed by the bread and didn’t have enough sauce or cheese. In fact, their buns are kind of lackluster but are used for their gourmet garlic bread (essentially garlic bread with cheese and a fresh tomato slice and a small container of marinara to dip it in) and regular garlic bread. Snore. It’s a huge pass for me. I also suspect the meatballs were of the frozen variety because they were pretty tasteless. Huge pass.
I found out about the garlic bread when I ordered the lasagna. The lasagna was delicious, and the serving size was great (especially for the price). I enjoyed it over two days. I will definitely be ordering it again when I’m in the mood for lasagna. I don’t make it myself because lasagna is one of my biggest trigger foods that I can’t stop eating. Smaller portions mean I don’t eat the entire pan.
I don’t know if I will order through DoorDash though when I can just pop over to Shaker Square and run in to pick up my order. It may be years late, but it is definitely going on my regular rotation now. Captain Tony’s is open seven days a week, Monday thru Thursday from 11 AM-9 PM, Friday from 11 AM-10 PM, Saturday from 12 noon-10 PM and Sundays from 12 noon-8 PM.
Contact info:
Captain Tony’s Pizza & Pasta
13208 Shaker Square
Cleveland, OH 44120
(216) 561-8669
