Coalhouse Pizza

Coalhouse PizzaCoalhouse Pizza
Coalhouse PizzaCoalhouse Pizza
Bar, Eatery

85 High Ridge Rd
Stamford, Connecticut, 06905-3800
United States

(203) 977-7700 | map
coalhousepizza.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.43
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
27
pDev:
7.67%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Smithjt3:
Photo of Smithjt3
Rated by Smithjt3 from Connecticut

4.48/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4
The food is always good, but it is the taps offered that make this place amazing.
Jan 06, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of WillieThreebiers
Reviewed by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

3.93/5  rDev -11.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Jazz themed wood-fired oven pizza joint in strip mall with large tap list. I did not realize there was a bar in the back - should have read a few reviews before I went - so sat up front in the dining / pizzeria area. Staff was not very knowledgeable beer-wise. The fusion pizza i ordered - had pistachio nuts on it - and was great.
Aug 25, 2017
Photo of baldy00
Reviewed by baldy00 from Connecticut

4.44/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4.75
My favorite local for craft beer and gastropub. Only nick is occassional misses on service for time to order and delivery of food and beer, but otherwise exceptional.
Jul 30, 2017
 
Rated: 4.54 by LucilleToo from Connecticut

Apr 02, 2016
Photo of Rollzroyce21
Reviewed by Rollzroyce21 from California

4.21/5  rDev -5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5
- Visited on 11-Aug-15 for lunch
- Ordered flight of four beers and the Frieght Train pizza

Nice bar in the back with good amount of seating. Decent offering of beers during my visit. I've been told they get some pretty good brews on tap. Great pizza to pair with (legitimate coal oven!). I am definitely coming back if I'm ever in the area again.
Aug 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3.9 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

Jul 21, 2015
Photo of aepb1
Reviewed by aepb1 from Maine

3.74/5  rDev -15.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5
The new back room is nice but the service leaves a bit to be desired as they're not very knowledgeable about the beer and not all that attentive. I sat for 10 minutes after my food was boxed up (by the great busser) and I was done with my drink before the waiter deigned it necessary to come over and ask if I wanted another or the check.
Jul 19, 2015
Photo of djsantos
Rated by djsantos from Connecticut

4.75/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 5
Awesome pizza with a great beer selection. Definitely worth the trip will be back soon.
Apr 21, 2015
 
Rated: 4.71 by bcmac983 from Indiana

Mar 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4.31 by Mersh from Connecticut

Mar 01, 2015
 
Rated: 5 by BrahptimusPrime from Connecticut

Nov 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by fosters9 from New York

Oct 16, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by MRVermont from New Hampshire

Oct 04, 2014
Photo of candcholt
Reviewed by candcholt from Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
Great beer selection. Lots of variety from different regions and different styles. Flights of 4 beers available.

Happy hour gives you the many of the beers for $5. The only negative is that our server didn't mention the happy hour special, but when we asked about it, he told us they usually have a separate list of $5 beers. Since they didn't have a special list, he said any but the very high octane were available for $5, and that's what he charged us.

My teen got the "best wrap I ever had." I got the pizza with the homemade bacon bourbon marmalade. So darn good.

Love the jazzy collages on the tables.

Didn't try any, but the array of bourbon bottles was spectacular.

Would go back in a heartbeat; too bad I live so far.
Aug 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by mltobin from Connecticut

Aug 03, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Wrigleyf from Georgia

Apr 30, 2014
Photo of GCBrewery
Reviewed by GCBrewery from Connecticut

4.91/5  rDev +10.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4.75
Awesome beer centered restaurant, they even have 'Beer Academy' which I attended last month where they hold a class once a month showcasing lesser known beers to the general public. Got to taste Leipziger Gose, Reissdorf Kolsch, Aecht Shlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen and Eiche on tap accompanied with detailed history of each brewery and style. Then enjoyed a couple other drafts from their 52 craft beer line up. Very devoted to good beer, the team up with my LHBS and host BJCP homebrew contests regularly. Unique pizza menu, most executed very well, and always decent blues on the radio. The beer place in Fairfield County.
Feb 02, 2014
Photo of Billolick
Reviewed by Billolick from New York

4.11/5  rDev -7.2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
52 quality taps, wood fired thin crust pizza, blues/jazz theme and some friendly guys taking my to go pizza order and getting me a Gandhi Bot on draft while I wait. So far I'm having a great time here!

Mid sized room up front and a larger dining room to the left.Clean and well put together, without be stuffy at all. Semi-strange "bar" cuz its basically a large counter facing the pizza ovens. Large screens with the game on present but not over whelming the atmosphere.

Drafts were fresh, pizza (Clam/bacon) was super tasty. Pizza and beer-such a simple and wonderful combination.

I wish this place was closer, cuz they have a real good thing going. Beer guy told me they were about to do a DogFish event and were putting on something like 30 DFH brews on tap. Beer is being respected here.

Well worth a visit...especially if you like beer and pizza. Good place to take the kids, go with friends, with the guys to watch the game...for a date? Eh probably not the most romantic spot...
Jan 13, 2014
Photo of Moe69
Reviewed by Moe69 from New York

4.41/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
Good food. Service could be better at times. Food quality is excellent. Beer selection is great. Would give it a 10 overall but the service and the fact that it could be a little too cozy brings down my rating. Definately a place to consider if you're in the area. 8.5 out of 10.
Oct 23, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by DrinkSlurm from New York

Oct 21, 2013
Photo of FrunkInBeer
Reviewed by FrunkInBeer from Connecticut

4.1/5  rDev -7.4%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
I love this place.

The management (Gerard) has a passion for beer and it shows. They now have 51 taps! They rotate beers and go for quality/variety. They offer the Beer Club which is 20 bucks lifetime membership you get a nice mug and every Tuesday you can come in and get a free beer!! They send out emails to club members with the beer list. They have many specials. The food is great. They expanded early this year(?) created a game room. TVs music. They also have 'Beer Academy ' a class every month where they talk about the history of a beer type (like sason) or other angles and provide samples of those featured beers

Cons: It's not cheap, And they don't have a bar - but they have a counter.

This place is a treasure for beer lover's.
Aug 14, 2013
Photo of mttaylor1066
Reviewed by mttaylor1066 from Connecticut

4.33/5  rDev -2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
If you're:

1. In Stamford, CT.
2. Love beer.
3. Love Neapolitan-style pizza...

Go here.

I love it, my friends love it, my wife loves it, my KIDS love it... and I have a hard time selecting which beers I'm going to have. I usually get a sampler (choose any five {?} on tap) because I can't make up my mind.

DVDs of blues artists are usually playing on the screens. Beer bottles line the ceiling and there is a fantastic collection of cigar box guitars tacked to the walls.

To me, that sounds like a damn fine restaurant.

Plus, the owners are good guys. They now have to put over a dozen tables outside on the sidewalk to accommodate the weekend crowds.

Oh, and the pizza is pretty good, too.

There's a reason they need more tables.
Aug 28, 2012
Photo of damndirtyape
Reviewed by damndirtyape from Ohio

4.4/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4
Atmosphere: For a place with such a big beer selection - you walk in and think "where the heck are they hiding everything?". It's a small and cozy place, just right lighting, and bustling. Had to wait a bit for a table for a party of 7, but still, that's a good sign. Lots of people eating and drinking - suggests right away that it's a good place.

Quality: Lots of high quality beers from the US (craft) and around the world. Went with an international crowd from a conference and the Germans and French in the group were surprised by what was on the walls available for partaking. The only reason why I can't give them a 5 on quality was the glasses. While mason jars are cute....they're not appropriate for the wide range of awesome beers this place has. I know they do this to keep costs low, but still, all this good beer and they serve it in mason jars...meh.

Service: As others have hinted, they don't have nearly enough staff for how busy this place is, and yet....it works out well. You don't have to wait too long which gives you enough time to talk and figure out what you want from the huge selection.

Selection: How can you go wrong with 52 taps and 100+ bottles and cans? The only gripe I had is that they provided a tap list menu, but not a bottle list menu. Still, everyone wanted something on tap (myself included) so it all worked out. I have to say the selection was amazing with something for everyone.

Food: The pizzas were all good - not traditional, but that's okay. Everything was quite tasty.

Value: I thought it was very reasonable - everyone had 2 beers and we split 3 large 16" pizzas among 7 people for $155 total. Given the selection and quality of the food, again, very reasonable in my opinion.

Overall - I can see why people rate this place so highly. I will definitely visit again when I come back to Stamford.
May 23, 2012
Photo of Thinman61
Reviewed by Thinman61 from Connecticut

4.63/5  rDev +4.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
This is my favorite place to grab a bite and a pint in Stamford. It's pretty much what's to love in a local restaurant.

The pizza the thin crust variety, made to order (no slices) and is always great. Gerard has a great selection of toppings to choose from including some oddities like kim-chi.

I really want to point out that Gerard makes an extra effort to promote all things beer. He hosts home brewing competitions, has beer dinners, does beer pairings ect. In the summer he closes down the side parking lot and does an outdoor beer garden.

The staff can at times become overwhelmed, so patience is a must.

I can really add much to the previous reviewers except to point out a few recent changes.

- Recently added 36 taps, bringing the total to 52! (should all be online first week of April 2012.
- New menu includes new entrees, paninis, wraps and what not.

If you are in the area give it shot.
Mar 27, 2012
Photo of Zodijackyl
Reviewed by Zodijackyl from Connecticut

4.75/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 5
For a write-up of the beer, go to the last paragraph.

Coalhouse has a great atmosphere - there is a blues theme, with two big screens on the walls often playing blues DVDs, pizzas named after blues songs, tables lacquered above collages of pictures and clippings about blues, with cigar box guitars adorning the walls above it all. Everything about it makes it an enjoyable place, being a family-friendly pizza place (kids can make their own pizzas every Sunday afternoon) while still catering quite well to an adult crowd with quality food and a great beer selection.

The quality of food is exceptional. They use top quality, very fresh ingredients. Owner and manager Gerard Robertson is very attentive to quality, choosing very certain ingredients - organic salmon and whole wheat flour, hormone-free meats, and the best bacon I have ever tasted (cut in-house from whole slabs). The pizza oven is visible from most tables and is a sight to behold, and the kitchen, while only visible on the occasional tour, is kept very organized and clean.

The service is good, though it can get quite busy at times and quite a few people fit into a relatively small area. Busy times can get quite busy, though they are quick to add additional seating outdoors if the weather is nice. All of the staff are very friendly and helpful, though at busy times it can be a bit hectic, they handle it well. They find a good balance of having enough waitstaff in tight space, though the place might be packed at odd times like 3pm on a Tuesday or 9pm on a Monday. Food is prepared promptly, and your pizza can be made and cooked in the coal oven in a few minutes. More notes about service with the beer notes below!

The selection is great, I'll start with the pizzas. You have a full selection of fresh, high-quality pizza toppings. There are around two dozen combinations suggested on the menu, but you are free to order any combination you would like, and they can get even the most unusual combinations balanced right in amounts/flavors. Their standard dough has the finest texture of any pizza you will ever have, close to the texture of a pastry with the flavor of pizza. The organic whole-wheat dough is also great, with a slightly heavier texture and a ton of flavor in itself. Standard pizzas are very thin, though you can ask for the pizza to be a bit thicker, cooked on the "cool" side of the oven (only 400 degrees).
Other than pizza, they offer great salads, burgers, ribs, fish, traditional Italian fare, and more than you could expect at the same high quality. The wings are amazing - they come marinated in beer (usually Sam Adams seasonal), perfectly cooked, with a variety of sauces. You really can't go wrong with anything, though it takes a few visits to get the full idea of what they can do.

The food goes beyond a strong all-around selection on the regular menu, with occasional specials (killer nachos when they have them) and beer dinners of 5-6 courses made specifically for the night and paired with (often made with) the beers of the featured brewery. The food is so good that even without regard to pairing, any beer/food combination works out well.

The pricing is quite fair - you pay a bit more than a regular pizza place for great quality ingredients that go into great food, and many of the higher-end craft beers can be priced pretty low for a pitcher. Certainly better priced than any other restaurants in the area.

Finally, the BEER. They currently have 16 taps dedicated to the best, with 2-3 offering standard options (Blue Moon, PBR, Stella). You can except offerings from Dogfish Head, Rogue, Magic Hat, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Southern Tier, Stone, plus Oskar Blues when CT distributors can get it. The remaining taps are filled with whatever is fresh and available, from Ithaca's Flower Power to German and Belgian beers, the selection rotates to bring the freshest beers possible. Gerard maintains the beer setup like a champion, cleaning the lines regularly (and occasionally flushing a line to switch kegs when he can't wait to show off another keg he has on deck - shhh!). There are also a ton of bottles on the menu, covering an impressive range of every style. You can get pretty much anything you want that is available in the state, and the bottles cover many of the imports that can't be had in kegs (Trappist beers, etc).

Coalhouse quickly became my favorite place to eat and drink shortly after it opened, and the ever expanding menu and beer selection makes it even better each time you go there. Best beer spot in the area and the pizza is better than other nearby notable pizza cities.
Jul 23, 2011
Photo of sandman3479
Reviewed by sandman3479 from Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev -9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Went to this place for the first time 2 days ago and was pleasantly surprised.

A: Mid sized somewhat open room. Had 2 HD TV's on diffrent sides of the restaurant showing Blue's DVD's. Also had numerous murals of blues legends on the walls. Music was a comfortable level where you could talk/eat, but still hear it. Normally lit, as it is primarily a restaurant. Had a small, 8-10 person bar area as well.

Q: The quality of the food and beer was great. Clean restaurant and clean tap lines.

S: The service was decent for the most part, as our food and beer arrived in an apporiate time. My only gripe is we seemed to have 2 waitresses instead of 1, and 1 of them kinda trailed off as I was trying to place a beer order.

S: This is where this place shines. I was shocked by the tap and bottle menu, in a GOOD way. About 10 beers on tap (all craft), cover quite a few diffrent styles. Some of the beers on draft: DFH Namaste, Stone Ruination, OB Ten Fidy, Allagash White, Ithaca FLower Power, and a few others. The bottle list was quite extensive as well (40+), including bombers and 750's. There were a few semi-rare gems on there too.

F: I only had the crustini, but it was pretty solid. The pizza looked very good, and the wings looked great.

V: Everything seemed to be priced fairly.

Special note: I thought it was cool that they are running specials on some drafts and "big" bottles this week, in celebration of American Craft Beer Week.
May 18, 2011
Photo of tmfct
Reviewed by tmfct from Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4
Coalhouse is a decent pizza place in Stamford, serving thin crust pizza, including a large selection of unique and gourmet pies.

The beer selection is top notch. About 8 taps, and all good beers. The bottle selection is wide and deep. The beer menu is organized by style, and will not disappoint. They have a beer club that gets you a mug to take home, and your first beer is free every Tuesday. After discovering the place about 2 months ago, my wife and I have been back several times. Well worth the trip.
Apr 16, 2011
Coalhouse Pizza in Stamford, CT
Place rating: 4.43 out of 5 with 27 ratings