Pie Tap is bringing its gourmet pizza to River Oaks this summer. Known for its signature Italian dough-making process, the company specializes in creating pizzas without additives or commercial yeast that are easier to digest, according to its website.

Respecting the craft

Italian Chef Giovanni Mauro will helm the first Houston-area location of Pie Tap. Mauro has curated the restaurant's menu, which features signature pizzas such as:
  • Prosciutto: Medjool dates, pistachio, arugula, house ricotta and balsamic
  • Salami: Calabrese salami, house fennel sausage, biellese pepperoni, bacon and chili oil
  • Rotisserie Chicken Half Bird: Rotisserie chicken, bourbon bbq, bacon, farm egg and caramelized onion
A veggie pizza and gluten-friendly crust option is also available on the menu.
The pizza dough at Pie Tap is made to be easier to digest through a fermentation process. (Courtesy Pie Tap)
What's special about it?

According to a May 14 news release, the dough at Pie Tap is made using an authentic sourdough “madre” starter, and a 96-hour natural fermentation process which naturally leavens the dough, softening gluten strands which creates a pizza pie that is full of flavor.

“To achieve its unique flavor profile for the dough, we developed a strain starter with apricots from a local farm and added a 'madre' starter from the Island of Ischia which is more than 300 years old,” Mauro said in the release. "The pizza, made with only flour, water, salt and extra virgin olive oil with no added sugar, is baked to perfection in twin, Morello Forni rotary ovens, imported directly from Italy, which ensure an evenly crisp yet light finish."
More details


Besides pizza, other menu options include handcrafted chicken meatballs, calamari, garlic rosemary bread puffs, salads and pastas, including spicy rigatoni vodka, pappardelle and bolognese.

In addition to the food offerings, Pie Tap will serve handcrafted cocktails, a curated wines-by-the-glass list and more than 30 beers on tap.

The restaurant will also include a "workshop" where guests can watch and experience the pizza-making process front and center, per the release.

“Our talented and dedicated team has been anxiously awaiting this exciting entrance to the Houston market as it is the epitome of all things interesting in food and culture, and one of the friendliest and most diverse cities in the U.S.," said Rich Hicks, founder of Reach Hospitality. "When it comes to our brand, if it is not exceptional, it is unacceptable."