Bare Knuckle Pizza

Awesome pizza spot, the Margherita and David Mack were smacked. Gonna be my fave spot when visiting Oakland for sure. The Owner is chill too; cool dude and friendly staff. Keep it up guys, thanks for the awesome food and ambiance

I had seen the lines at Bare Knuckle and, with curiosity piqued, I knew I had to one day give it a try. I went back but was disappointed after walking up to take a look that I didn't see any seats, and it appeared to be solely a take out joint. I don't like taking a pie home as a first impression because I know time in the box with its inevitable steam will alter the crust and the taste. I walked away disappointed.That was a couple years ago, and since I tried just about every other highly rated pizza haunt in the East Bay, I was seriously thinking of returning to Bare Knuckle and braving the take out route. Maybe hurriedly stealing bites from a slice in my car to make my tasting verdict. As I was being pulled to this last resort, I decided to go through Bare Knuckle's yelp pics. It was then I noticed there were tables with smiling diners! All this time there was seating?? Yes, there was! Upstairs in fact. Thank you my fellow yelpers and your sweet camera work!So I headed over. It's still set up like a mid-pandemic to-go spot with it's ordering table across the door. But after asking, they did indeed have an upstairs dining area, and they let me in to head up there. Reaching it, I saw that it was relatively small, but there were open tables and seats, and I gladly took one. The narrow, spiraling-high staircase to floor two totally gave speak-easy vibes. All that was missing was a fake phone booth in front of it.My order, The Roman, came oven hot. At first, the encompassing mesh of parmesan slivers hid the ingredients and put me off because I like to see what's on my pizza. But it turned out to be a masterful culinary stroke, veiling for surprise the beauty of the enticing ingredients underneath. Usually, the protein on the pizza is the star, but not in this case. There was no one star in this cast of sausage, red sauce, onions and mushrooms, but they were all brilliant support players making the pizza as a whole the star. The crust with its pillowing fluffy edges and a middle evincing a strong hearty chew and a hint of seasoning was the perfect stage. I usually take home a slice but couldn't resist enjoying the rest of this tantalizing performance hot until the curtain call.

My favs: TKO pizza with sausage, TNT (sans Thai chiles because I'm a wuss--LOL), David Mack, and fresh peach (seasonal). Since dining in has been closed since pandemic, I order half-baked pies ahead of arrival; my wait is minimal and I finish baking at home. Been a satisfied regular since 2017, when they opened.

While visiting from SoCal we got some pizza delivered from here to our hotel. I really liked that they had so many vegan options. The crusts were all a little too done, but the flavors were spot on. My husband liked the mushroom truffle one. We called to see if the margherita pizza could be just regular cheese for the kids but they must have misunderstood bc it was still the fancy mozzarella so the kids didn't want it :( the vegan margherita pizza was fantastic!

I came back to try the Cherry Pie (also called "a homage to Paulie Gee"). I ordered ahead on the phone and modified it to be vegetarian but not vegan, using plant-based meats and dairy cheeses.I liked it a lot, the sweetness of the cherries goes surprisingly well with the more pungent/stronger cheeses, so kudos to whoever came up with this creative flavor combination. The only thing I wish was changed was that there was even more meat on it, but it was good overall.

First off, they make solid pizzas with a range of toppings/flavors. However, it comes with a caveat:For better or for worse, the pizza isn't greasy and doesn't feel too heavy. But you have to go in knowing this since a lot of us expect a greasy salty indulgence when we try a new pizza place. Small size for the price. Again, still delicious. Street parking only, watch your car closely since it's in downtown Oakland.

This was my first time trying Bare Knuckle Pizza. They are open Thursday to Saturday from 5pm to 9pm, so it's a fairly small window in order to try them out. I was thinking, I wish that was how much I could work secularly with the same pay, I think I'd be a pretty happy person.That being said I ordered three pizzas:Margherita: tomato sauce (from locally grown tomatoes), fresh mozz, parm, extra-virgin olive oil.DAVID MACK: sauce, fresh mozz, pepperoni, prosciutto, parm, and fresh basil.Sweet Revenge: sauce, mozz, pepperoni, chili, and honey.All the pizzas were solid. Pizzas were prepared quickly. Very small for close to $20 per pizza but I guess inflation is to blame. Overall a decent pizza but not my favorite.

Speaking for the vegans. The best vegan you will find in the Bay Area. Also, gluten free option! The quality of each pie is very high and there are so many flavors!!Personally I love the 1. Tuscany2. Margherita3. Peach pie (seasonal)If you like Cheesboard, Sliver or Gioia. This pizza is even tastier!

There are a ton of vegan choices for me. I love the crust. The chew is perfect.Prices have always been fair for what you are getting- Support your Oakland small POC owned businesses.

Had the sausage. Great sauce, perfect amount of cheese, paper thin crust that I swear melts in your mouth. One of the best Neapolitan pizzas around, and there are a lot!