The Star Pizza in Portland

Deep dish pizza recently arrived in the Pearl District via The Star Pizza in Portland, an offshoot of the San Francisco darling Little Star and second location The Star on Grand (a mainstay of the Eater’s Essential Pizzas of the East Bay list and ranked #1 for deep dish pizza in the Bay Area on one list). The Star Pizza Portland’s specialty is Chicago style deep dish and thin crust pizzas with signature cornmeal crust.

As a Chicago transplant, I do think The Star’s deep dish pizza stands up to the buttery tasting cornmeal dough, though not quite as buttery and cheesey as the Chicago originals – but the plus is they use more cornmeal so you could even say this is a “healthy” pizza. Yeah I’m going with that? It is still Chicago deep dish inspired enough to be hella tasty and satisfying, so overall the Star Pizza in Portland is worth a visit. Here’s a deeper look from my 3 visits so far.

When you first enter The Star Pizza in Portland, you can’t help but notice the dramatic Bar with its mural and inviting cushy bar seats with a supportive back.

Starters while you wait for the pizza that you should consider are of course, creating a meal of the classic salad and pizza duo by ordering one of their shareably sized salads. The Star Pizza Portland’s salad offerings include an Arugula and Fennel salad with baby arugula, shaved fennel, red onion, goat cheese, orange vinaigrette that will offer some acidity. Another option is the Goddess Salad with baby gems, chives, toasted almonds & house creamy pesto dressing.

Or go for something a little richer, like the Buratta Caprese with blistered grape tomatoes, burrata mozzarella, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, toast, or the Wedge Salad with baby iceberg, bacon, green onion & house blue cheese dressing. Definitely order something to hold you over – a deep dish pizza may take 30 minutes to bake.

The star of The Star Pizza of course are the deep dish and thin crust cornmeal dough pizzas. The signature pizza you will often see people ordering is the Meatball deep dish with meatballs, ricotta, onions, fresh mozzarella – though if you want those huge dollops of ricotta you can also add them to any pizza you want as a topping. Buried underneath that layer of red sauce you’ll find the bundles of meat treasures scattered at least 1-2 per slice.

I also love how tomato-ey the sauce is on top. A couple slices is definitely a meal – don’t let the circumference of the pie fool you, this pizza is thick.

Other popular topping combinations include the All-Star (that offers bacon, meatballs, sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella), Little Star (mushrooms, onions, spinach blended with ricotta & feta and roasted garlic upon request) and more. If you can’t decide between toppings – The Star does half and half pizzas! During lunchtime only, personal size pizzas are available. Gluten-free and vegan pizzas are available at The Star in Portland as well.

Also no worries – the thin-crust is good too, though IMHO not as good. Here I think it’s most about the pizza topping combinations – like the California thin crust pizza with pesto, arugula, red onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and balsamic reduction.

The interior of The Star Pizza in Portland is classic with its wood and red colors, with cushy booths perfect for sharing a couple pizzas in your group. The roll up garage windows provide in good weather a hint of al fresco dining that keeps you in the shade while enjoying the breeze, and fun people watching.

The Star Pizza in Portland also does takeout (including selling half-baked pies), and supports delivery via Caviar. I like dining in to eat it piping hot and fresh from the oven… and also later reheated from my leftovers box. I like to over-order intentionally to guarantee leftovers. I think any deep dish pizza from The Star is a good deep dish pizza, and can testify that I have taken leftovers every time I’ve visited and that crust is even better warmed up the next day!