Table of Contents
Preamble
So, here’s a question – Can a pizza be both one of the best you have ever tasted and one of the worst values you’ve encountered?
I didn’t start this review with that question. In fact, I wrote the entire review first and only then realized that was the real story.
Wildflour serves some of the most interesting and best-executed pizza I’ve had…anywhere – INCLUDING NAPOLI. The dough is extraordinary. The ingredients are top-notch. Yet somehow, I left wondering if a pizza can be so good that it transcends traditional pizza pricing.
That got me thinking about The Bear. Somewhere during the show’s transformation from a Chicago sangwhich shop into a Michelin-star hopeful, one of the characters questioned whether the prices still matched the clientele.
Which raises an interesting question: Can a pizza shop become the pizza equivalent of a Michelin-star restaurant and charge accordingly?
I’m still not sure. But Wildflour certainly gave me something to think about.
Introduction
Most pizza reviews are straightforward. I eat the pizza, take some pictures, write some notes, assign a rating, and move on with life.
Wildflour isn’t that simple.
I’ve raved about Wildflour’s sourdough pizza since they opened a few years ago. In fact, we’ve introduced plenty of friends and family members to Wildflour over the years and have never left disappointed.
On our most recent visit on June 13, 2026, to maximize my research efforts—and because self-control has never been one of my strengths around pizza—I ordered two very different pizze (Italian plural).
- The first – that day’s “Pizza Special” of sourdough crust, fresh Rigot, local basil, tomato sauce, and Parmigian cheese.
- The second – their regular Sicilian pizza.
What followed was one of the more confusing pizza experiences I’ve had in a while.
The dough was extraordinary. The tomatoes were among the freshest tasting I’ve had all year. Yet by the time the bill arrived, I was doing the mental math that would have impressed Professor Subramanian (my Differential Equations professor).
Let’s dig in.
The First Pizza – Pizza Special
This was Wildflour’s special pizza of the day: a sourdough round topped with fresh rigot, local basil, tomato sauce, and parmigian cheese.
The Dough
Perfection.
Wildflour’s sourdough crust was everything I hoped it would be. The flavor was deep and complex without being overwhelming, and the bake was remarkably well executed, especially considering it came from a conventional gas oven rather than a blazing-hot pizza oven.
The crust had enough character that I found myself eating every last edge, which is usually a pretty good sign.
The Sauce
Calling it a sauce might be generous.
This pizza leaned more toward a tomato “rub” than a traditional sauce application. The seasoning profile was very black pepper-forward; not our favorite combination. Instead of complementing the outstanding crust, it distracted from it.
The cheese wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly memorable either—most likely because the pepper-forward tomato rub…err…sauce dominated the flavor profile.
The Cheese
The rigot brought some pleasant flavor to the pie and worked reasonably well with the sourdough crust. Unfortunately, Wildflour was a little stingy with it for my tastes.
The parmigian didn’t add much additional character. The cheese wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly sharp as one might expect from a good quality parmagian at this price!
The Value – MEH
And now we arrive at the elephant in the room.
A 15-inch pizza for $40 works out to about $26 on a 12-inch equivalent basis. That’s a hefty number for a New York-style pizza, especially one that didn’t completely win us over with its toppings.
The exceptional dough softened the blow, but only a little.
Rating – MEH
This was very difficult for me to write. I truly love Wildflour and believe the owner has created something unique. But I must call a pizza a pizza. Even the finest artists occasionally create works that aren’t their masterpieces.
Would I Go Back? NO QUESTION
The Second Pizza – Sicilian
The second pizza was a single rectangular cut of Wildflour’s “regular” Sicilian. There’s nothing “regular” about this! It’s an absolute STAR!
The Dough
This was the star of the show.
The sourdough whole wheat dough was outstanding. The interior was filled with large airy holes while somehow remaining both crispy and soft at the same time. Every bite had that wonderful sourdough complexity that makes you keep reaching for another piece even after you’ve told yourself you’re full. The whole wheat flour adds another profile that is earth shaking.
I make lots of sourdough whole wheat bread – nearly weekly! What this chef does with sourdough whole wheat is at a level beyond!
More simply, this is THE BEST SICILIAN DOUGH I HAVE EVER HAD.
Not this year.
Not just in Rochester.
Just – Ever.
The Sauce
Oh my.
The sauce tasted incredibly fresh, almost like they had picked and crushed tomatoes five minutes before serving the pizza. It was bright, vibrant, and packed with tomato flavor. There were even visible tomato seeds, which only reinforced how fresh everything tasted.
This sauce didn’t hide behind garlic, sugar, or spices. It let the tomatoes do the talking, and they had plenty to say.
The Cheese
The cheese was good, but it couldn’t quite keep pace with the dough and sauce.
A combination of moozedell and freshly shaved parmigian provided a nice balance, but neither component really elevated the flavor profile. The cheese did its job without making a memorable contribution.
The Value – MEH
Again, this is where things get complicated.
That rectangular cut cost $4.50. Perfectly reasonable.
But when I normalized the dimensions to a standard 12-inch pizza for comparison purposes, it worked out to roughly $102. That’s the highest equivalent pizza price I’ve ever calculated.
At that price point, a single slice isn’t just competing against other pizzas—it’s competing against an entire dinner for two.
Was it delicious? Absolutely.
Did I need some alone time with my wallet afterward? Also absolutely.
Rating – GOOD
Only because of the cost. It was GREAT otherwise.
Would I Go Back? YES
I’d happily return, but probably after checking my retirement account first.
Final Thoughts
After eating both pizzas, one thing became crystal clear: Wildflour knows how to make dough.
Whether it was the round sourdough special or the Sicilian pizza, the crust was the star of the show. The sourdough flavor, texture, and baking execution were all exceptional. The Sicilian also featured one of the freshest, most vibrant tomato sauces I’ve encountered in recent memory.
The challenge isn’t quality. The challenge is value.
Both pizzas carried price tags that made me look twice at the receipt and then look a third time just to make sure I wasn’t accidentally buying part ownership in the restaurant. While the quality was undeniable, the cost kept me from rating either pizza as highly as the flavors alone might have deserved.
So, can a pizza be both one of the best I’ve eaten all year and one of the worst values I’ve encountered?
Apparently, yes.
Wildflour proved it.
