Il Rione is one of the most renowned pizza spots in the Cleveland area, and a recent visit showed me why. 

Located on W. 65th Street in the Gordon Square neighborhood, the restaurant combines a more modern and industrial feel with the vibe of a neighborhood pizzeria. 

The focus is obvious at Il Rione: quality ingredients, careful technique and pizza done at a very high level. Their menu consists of a perfect mix of never-before-seen combinations and classic pies. 

While pizza is the star of the show, Il Rione also offers salads as well as a meat & cheese plate as an appetizer.

I started with the arugula salad, which consists of arugula, romaine lettuce, honey-lemon dressing, fontal, polenta croutons and toasted almonds. The salad was phenomenal, as the dressing elevated it overall. The polenta croutons were very unique and added a savory flavor to the dish. 

The menu offers a wide range of pizza choices, while also having the option to choose your own toppings. I ordered the diavolo, a red sauce pie that comes with mozzarella, chiles, spicy salami and red onions. 

It was a great pie that provided a nice kick to combat the savory salami and onions. I recommend waiting a few minutes before eating this one in order to let it settle, as it comes out piping and will be a little droopy at first. 

I ordered the speck pie as my dinner, which ended up being my favorite pizza of the night. It was a white pie and came with speck (cured ham), ricotta, pistachio and hot honey. The saltiness from the speck contrasted with the ricotta and hot honey perfectly, and the pistachio added to the already great crunch from the crust. 

Finally, we got the sausage pie, also containing onions and roasted peppers. Although it was my least favorite of the 3, it still packed a punch. The only thing I would change about the sausage pie would be to have the sausage slightly more savory, but other than that it was still a great pizza. 

The quality of ingredients is at another level at Il Rione. The tomato sauce is some of the best I’ve ever had, providing a very nice acidic and light flavor. 

The crust wasn’t fully consistent across all three pizzas, some being crunchier than others. The cheese on all the pies was light and added just enough to elevate all the other toppings.

The service was arguably the most well done part of Il Rione. We went on a Tuesday night and arrived around 6:15 p.m. Il Rione does not take reservations, so there was about a 20 minute wait. 

Despite the wait and it being packed in the restaurant, our pizzas came out only about 10-15 minutes after we ordered. I was shocked with the efficiency of it all. 

If you don’t want to wait to sit down, I would highly recommend getting there at around 5:30. It is not a massive space, but they are able to flip tables at a higher rate than most restaurants I’ve seen.

The space itself reflects the standard that Il Rione holds itself to. There is an open view of the kitchen and the woodfire oven, creating an environment that feels both modern and warm. If it’s a weeknight dinner or a Saturday night, the atmosphere is always lively inside, while not feeling too crowded or loud.

Overall, Il Rione stands out not because it is flashy, but because it is consistently great. Il Rione deserves its distinguished reputation, and every Clevelander should eat there at least once.