The Rock Island Pizza

I'm probably not the target demographic for this restaurant (health nut yuppie with no kids) but I absolutely adore this place. It's unpretentious, so cozy, and serves food that is honest and carefully prepared. The menu is mostly pizzas, sandwiches, and pastas, and after a rough week they're my go-to for spaghetti with meatballs or a pepperoni pizza. Their Thai-style spaghetti, something I would normally never consider ordering at any other restaurant, is spicy (genuinely spicy!), complex, and satisfying.

Sometimes it's not the speediest, but you're on Vashon, so how big of a rush could you possibly be in? It's full of nice people and good food, so take a breath, Slim. I recommend the table next to the fireplace, any of their pizzas, and a slice of chocolate cake.

I order the same pizza everytime for pickup because it's so delicious (the sauce is uniquely tangy and flavorful). I'll have to break this habit to try the other menu items like the Stromboli, lasagna, salads and pho. The back bar is a perfect refuge to enjoy a local IPA, wine or cocktail - reminds me of a Wisconsin neighborhood bar where a conversation immediately starts. Don't overlook the homemade desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth. The staff and hands on owner make this a great joint for dining or takeout.

The pizza, spaghetti and salad are great. Service is hit and miss, but they are very friendly. A large pizza and salad is roughly $37.00,so not inexpensive for pizza.

We dined on the patio area because it was a lovely sunny October day.
we ordered the shrimp and garlic pizza and ask for it to come in the box so we didn't have to change it to a to go box since we knew we wouldn't finish it and they were happy to do it.
One of the best custom pizzas we have had. we asked for some extra sauce and they brought it out in a bowl which made us think it was a bowl of soup. Nope, just a very generous bowl of sauce.
we liked that they had some games to offer and we played some trivia while we ate.
1 * off for having the TV on inside with a really annoying TV show and commercials playing loudly. Some happy music would have been a better choice for dining enjoyment. We did actually start indoors and moved outside because of that.
They have a game area that we did not get to try but the karaoke booth looked fun and they had a Lord of the Rings pinball machine!

Very friendly service, reasonable wait time. The ingredients are fresh tasting and well placed on the pizza. Herbs are well noticeable in the red sauce, which was applied in moderation ( not over sauced). While the crust was slightly more oily than I care for, it was well cooked and the thickness I prefer. Good overall two ingredient pizza.