Thoughts on Persona Pizzeria
Persona Pizzeria opened yesterday so I went down to check it out. It's a counter service restaurant similar to Chipotle or Subway. At the beginning of the counter you place your order and then follow the pizza down the line as they add toppings. You can choose a pizza from the menu or create your own. A Margherita pizza or a plain cheese pizza is $7.95 and it looked like the speciality pizzas were $11. Individual toppings were around $1.
We ordered two Margherita pizzas since that's the traditional style for wood oven pizza. When you get to the end of the counter and pay they give you a receipt with a number and call you to collect the pizza. It takes about 90 seconds to cook, enough time to get drinks. They also have ice cream and salads. The restaurant wasn't very busy yesterday so there were plenty of tables to choose from.
The pizzas are 12", which would usually be called medium. They're not very substantial though, less filling than a medium pizza would usually be. The crust is airy and the middle of the pizza is very flat and soggy with the sauce. It is cut into slices but I ate with a knife and fork, which is complicated by a sheet of paper underneath the pizza that breaks apart. It would be difficult to pick up slices by hand because of how thin the middle is. I was reasonably happy with the taste. It is reminscent of Italian pizzas I've experienced, since they use Italian flour. A few of the charred spots did taste burned but it takes a lot of skill to cook pizza correctly in a wood oven. It felt a little expensive for what it is, particularly if someone were to order one of the $11 pizzas. I think there might be a discount day when the Margherita pizzas are cheaper, and there is also a loyalty program that I forgot to ask about.
Overall I would give Persona 4/5. It's a good addition to the restaurants in the area and it's nice to have the option of wood oven pizza nearby. I would compare it to one of the high end restaurants like Grimaldi's, which may be cheaper for the size of pizza.
Persona Pizzeria is located in Park Lakes Landing at 9635 N Sam Houston Pkwy E #400
If you like Neapolitan pizza I would also recommend Bollo in Upper Kirby. Their pizza is a level above this with a very smokey taste almost like barbecue.