I Visited Dave Portnoy’s Highest-Rated Pizza Joint in Michigan

Melvindale — Over the past decade, Dave Portnoy has become one of the internet’s most trusted pizza critics. The Barstool Sports founder’s “One Bite Pizza Reviews” series has grown into a hugely popular phenomenon, with more than 2,000 different pizzas reviewed on his YouTube channel.

The formula is simple: He visits a pizza place, takes one bite—although he usually takes a few more—and gives it a score out of 10.

What started as just reviewing pizza in New York City has since taken him all over the country, including plenty of stops in and around Detroit. Back in 2021, he visited Fredi the PizzaMan in Melvindale, just southwest of Detroit, and gave it an 8.7, basically a Michelin star coming from him.

“This is the best pizza in Detroit. Period. Fredi the PizzaMan. Bar none. Hands down. This is the best pizza in Detroit,” he said.

He’s yet to rate another slice in Michigan higher, so I had to find out if, five years later, it still lives up to the hype.

Now, Fredi’s isn’t the kind of place you can just stop by on any given night and expect a quick bite to eat. They’re only open four days a week with limited hours, no online orders, no phone orders, and no deliveries. You have to show up, take a ticket, and wait your turn.

When a local business can afford to be that particular about when and how you get its food, you know it’s got to be good.

The exclusivity makes a little more sense when you realize every single pizza they serve is made by one man and one man only: the owner, Fredi Bello. He started working at his father’s pizzeria in Inkster as a kid and has spent about 45 years perfecting the craft. He has staff helping him, of course, but he still handles every pie himself.

And he knows he makes a good one. In fact, back in 2021, Bello was actually hesitant about having Portnoy even do the review. He was so confident that the pizza would get a good rating and wasn’t sure he could keep up with all the buzz it would cause.

“You get lines out the door,” he told Portnoy. “I’m like, how the hell am I going to make all these pizzas?”

And the day after the review was posted, that’s exactly what happened. People were lined up down the street before the restaurant even opened, and they were completely sold out after four hours.

It’s always heartwarming to hear about a small business that's taken off after a positive review on social media. But in this case, the exposure was doing good beyond just helping a local pizzeria thrive.

Not only is Bello a magician when it comes to making pizza, but he’s also a great guy.

In 2016, Bello started the Fredi the PizzaMan Foundation, a charity for people with autism inspired by his son Antonio. They raise money to equip sensory rooms in Michigan schools and public spaces, giving people somewhere to calm down, move around, or take a break when their surroundings become overwhelming.

As Bello explained in Portnoy’s video, he doesn’t just send schools a check. It's very important to him that he actually buys the equipment and delivers it to classrooms himself.

Within about a day of the review going public, the foundation had reportedly received more than $23,000 in donations. Continued exposure has helped the foundation expand its work to schools across Michigan and equip sensory rooms at both Ford Field and MSU’s Breslin Center.

Every review I read on Google, Yelp, or Facebook confirmed that the post-Portnoy traffic hasn’t slowed down a bit. Even five years later, customers were still talking about lines everyday, long waits and the pizza frequently selling out.

With this in mind, my master plan was to get there bright and early on Saturday, right when they open at 10:30 a.m. I figured I’d get a nice chat in with Fredi himself and beat the crowds before things got too crazy. I mean, after all, who really has a hankering for pizza at 10 a.m.?

As it turns out, a lot of people.

Either that or everyone had the same idea as we did, because by the time we got there around 10:45 a.m., the place was already packed.

The inside looked like a completely different restaurant compared to the one in Portnoy’s video. He visited right after the pandemic, so every worker was wearing a mask, and he was literally the only customer in the place.

Our visit painted a very different picture. Photos of Bello with various celebrities covered the walls. Large dining tables had been added inside, along with an entire covered outdoor seating area.

Obviously, though, the biggest difference was the crowd. Every seat was filled, and people packed the place wall to wall, waiting for their number to be called.

It was so busy that we waited about 30 minutes before even getting to place our order. And remember, this was shortly after breakfast.

Bello was behind the counter, obviously slammed and hard at work. I wasn’t going to bug him beyond just introducing myself and telling him how much I admired his work for the autism community. He thanked me, then got back to making everyone’s pizza brunch.

Despite how busy it was, it’s clear the national attention hasn’t turned the place into anything fancy. It felt very welcoming and homey, with several customers who were clearly regulars and a familiarity that made it seem like everyone knew each other. It was still Fredi’s, with Fredi right there making the food.

We ordered a large classic margherita and the goulash, another one of his specialties that Portnoy reviewed in the video and apparently you just have to try, and our total was $36.

I do think it’s important to note that while Portnoy dubbed this the best pizza in Detroit, that doesn’t mean it’s Detroit-style pizza.

Fredi’s is actually more of a New York–New Haven style, with a thin crust and a little char underneath. Personally, my favorite kind. I prefer it to a thick Detroit-style square anyway, so I had very high hopes, and boy, did Fredi meet them.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m probably the opposite of a foodie. When it comes to something like pizza, I’m extremely easy to impress. A Hot-N-Ready from Little Caesars and a pizza baked in a wood-fired oven in Positano can both get the job done for me.

But that’s not to say I can’t recognize when a pizza is particularly good, because this one was exceptional and easily among the top five slices I’ve ever had.

My only critique was that mine was slightly floppier than the slice Portnoy ate. That’s a small detail I normally wouldn’t care about, but I feel it’s important to disclose for any self-proclaimed pizza snobs reading this.

The goulash was great, too. Piping hot, well-seasoned, and exactly what you want from a bowl of stew. It’s the perfect bite for a chilly fall day, and I was happy we’d added it to the order.

While I don’t have any credentials qualifying me to declare this the best pizza in Detroit, I can confidently say it was worth the wait and won’t leave you disappointed.

Beyond that, you’re supporting a local business owned by a great man who is doing wonderful work for families across Michigan.

And what better way to support someone than buying his pizza?

You can also donate directly to the Fredi the PizzaMan Foundation at fredithepizzaman.com.