Gusto Pizza Co.

After grazing our way through the Downtown Farmer's Market on Saturday, we were looking for a spot to hit for a late lunch. After a couple of beers at Flanagan's on Ingersoll, we hopped in the car and happened to see this sign. 

Gusto Pizza Co., located at 1905 Ingersoll Avenue in Suite 106, opened to much fanfare earlier this year. Being former restaurant owners, we understand all of the things that can go wrong upon opening a new place, so we usually like to let them work out the kinks before we visit. I'm here to tell you, there ain't no kinks at Gusto Pizza.

Gusto Pizza offers some inspiring appetizers, an excellent array of signature pizzas, salads with house made dressings, an innovative sandwich menu and even some desserts. For lunch, they offer the Gusto Pronto, a prepared mini pizza special. They also offer wine by the glass or bottle and a great selection of beer including many from local area breweries.

It's a casual order at the counter kind of place, and service is fast, friendly and efficient.

The restaurant seats about 65, but they do have additional space available for private events.

And don't forget about this fabulous patio. What a great spot for a nice leisurely evening of pizza and fun.

OK, on to the important stuff - the food! We decided to start with the Meatball Skewer appetizer. An excellent choice. Served with red sauce and grated Romano, the meatballs covered a wide range of deliciousness. 

Here's the proof.

It was definitely a tough choice to pick just one pizza to try from the bevy of gourmet pizza combinations available. The fresh ingredients include a variety of different sauces, cheeses and toppings. You can choose one of their signature pies or create your own Gusto.

We went with The Stallion - red sauce, mozzarella, Italian meatballs, yellow onions, garlic and green peppers - it was a thing of beauty.

We were so impressed with the crisp crust, the crunch of the fresh peppers and onion, just the right amount of cheese (too much cheese kills the best pizza for us) and those meatballs! I know we had just had the meatballs for an appetizer, but overkill this pizza was most definitely not.

Maybe you should have another look.

We were also impressed by the selection of locally brewed beer - Madhouse, Hub City, Millstream, Peace Tree, all were available at Gusto Pizza Co.

Grant enjoyed a Peace Tree Brewing Co. Red Rambler. Their labels are awesome.

Yes, for shame that we waited so long to finally eat at Gusto Pizza Co. We will rectify that bad decision with many more pizzas in the future. We heartily recommend this reasonably priced, not the same old thing pizza restaurant. Making our way through that signature pizza menu is way up there on our list.

Gusto Pizza Co.

1905 Ingersoll Ave., Suite 106
Des Moines, IA  50314

515.244.8786

Hours

M - Thu  11:00am - 10:00pm
Fri - Sat  11:00am - 11:00pm
Sun  4:00pm - 9:00pm

Menus and more information at www.gustopizzaco.com