Tortugas Pizza: A Slice of Chicago in Birmingham

Wow! Great pizza!! I dont think I’ve ever had Chicago style aside from UNO’s, so when I saw this I knew I had to try it. My family wanted to go somewhere else for dinner so I Door-Dashed it as my appetizer. Needless to say, I wasn’t hungry for my actual dinner. I planned to eat only one slice and save the rest for later, but that did not happen. I loved it so much I ate most of it. Completely ruined my dinner plans with the family but it was totally worth it haha! I highly recommend it.

Tortuga’s is an absolute phenomenal classic Chicago style pizza joint. In all honesty, I was not sure what Chicago style looked like before entering this establishment, however this is not a pizza I will soon forget. Driving through Birmingham this was a highly rated pizza option as the synopsis was to stop and reset after a hectic Thanksgiving interstate drive. This was during the epic Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee game as depicted below. We called about 40 minutes ahead and waited 5 once we arrived basically ensuring this was as fresh and made to order as possible. Ordered a meatzza Chicago style and vegan style thin crust to cover our bases along with bacon garlic bread which was just absurd and mulched soon after the photo below was taken. We ordered to go, then decided to eat in. The manager brought out everything we needed which was awesome and we sat and watched the game while eating to our heart’s content. The picture’s below depict a memorable time. We were full, but not stuffed. Would recommend anytime as the service and pizza is one of a kind. Thank you Tortuga’s team!

I visited today for lunch, specifically for the Chicago style pizza pie. I had the Carne special. It was fresh out of the oven,was so delish! The restaurant is a sports pizzeria atmosphere with televisions and sports memorabilia on the walls. The service was excellent and I very much enjoyed it.

Had to try this place after seeing it had been voted best pizza in Alabama by Food Network. We had a small stuffed pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and garlic. If you are ordering the stuffed pizza, it takes an hour to cook so keep that in mind. Food Network got it right. This was a delicious deep dish pizza. The small is about 3 pieces per person but they are large thick pieces and very filling. We could only eat two pieces each and had to save the other two. I ordered to go but went inside to pick up. It was a small but quaint venue with Chicago style decor. The staff was attentive and friendly. The price of the pizza is definitely on the higher side at $37.51 for the small. This will definitely be a return place for me when I’m the area and in the mood for some great deep dish.

Holy Canoli, it's my new favorite Its Italian, its Chicago, its Alabama! Anyway it's fantastic. We actually ordered a 10" and it was HEAVY and my 6'4" husband could barely finish 3 pieces so thats saying something. I finished 1 amazing slice and was stuffed! Definitely lives up the hype. Oh and as you see in the video... it's a bit hot! Use a fork probably :)

Tortugas has always been great, but under the new owners it is absolutely fantastic. The manzella pizza is my favorite, but everything on the menu is great. The staff is very friendly and attentive as well which makes Tortugas a great place to dine-in or carry out for pizza.

I am from Chicago and was excited to try the pizza for the first time. The italian sausage was absolutely identical to a true hole-in-the-wall chicago pizza place, but the sauce was not good. Service was excellent but probably won’t come back.

Wow! Really good stuff here! I would say a more honest score would be 3.75. I'll give the detractors first, but really it's just being picky. The accoustics caused there to be a low noise the entire time we were there. It just seemed louder than what it probably actually was. The service was fairly attentive, but could have been better. There didn't seem to be many working and a help wanted sign on the window. Not a big deal. As far as the food, I wished there would have been more depth to the garlic cheese sticks. For $11, I usually expect more than what seemed like 2 split hot dog buns. 8 sticks in all. They were very buttery and cheesy though. Now for the positives!! That stuffed pizza is fantastic! The garlic in the sauce just elevated the whole thing. The toppings were generous and tasted really good. The thin crust isn't really thin, but more of a traditional airy crust. Really nice. The marinara was savory with just a touch of sweetness. Needless to say, I ate way too much. Overall it was a really good experience. I want to try more off the menu when we go back! Try it for yourself!