An ode to Gabriel’s Pizza, the best pizza in Tennessee

Cleveland, Tennessee, is often overlooked. We are just a few exits away from the cultural center that is Chattanooga. However, the best pizza restaurant in our region is not found in the Scenic City.

You just travel up I-75 to Exit 25 and then meander your way to Keith Street in Cleveland. There you’ll find the restaurant where your tastebuds will come alive.

Gabriel’s Pizza has been a staple of my family’s diet since we moved to Cleveland 10 years ago. This restaurant is one of the few places that I’ll get a bit adventurous when ordering food. As a notorious picky eater, when I find something I like in a restaurant, I’ll stick to it until the day I die. Gabriel’s is a different story. There are several different dishes on the menu that I’ll eat. While I still haven’t worked my way up to the Really Big Pie or the Archangel, I’ll still eat most of the Piattos and standard pizzas.

Even if Gabriel’s didn’t serve a single pizza that I’d be willing to try, I would still go purely for the breadsticks. These garlic butter soaked wonders are one of my main motivations to make money – so I can buy more. If I were ever stranded on an desert island and I could only take one type of food, I would take these breadsticks. They are the absolute best.

With the breadsticks, I usually get a side salad. While green things are cool and all, I’m not a huge fan of salads in general. That’s why the side salad is perfect. It hits the highlights of what I will eat on a salad (lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots) without bogging me down with all sorts of extra things I have to ask to leave off (I can pick around the tomatoes and onions). The dressing is what makes the salads. Most of the salad dressings are made in house, so they’re actually amazing. Once you have Gabriel’s ranch, Hidden Valley doesn’t cut it anymore.

Once I’ve made it through the eating pre-game, I move on to the big leagues. I get to dive into the pizza of my choice. I personally favor the piattos, which are the ultra thin crust pizzas. That just means that I can eat most of the pizza in one sitting without feeling like an obese whale after. My favorites are the Buffalo Chicken piatto, the Alfredo Chicken piatto, and Big Al’s piatto.

Gabriel’s has something for everyone, though – the Stockyard for my meat loving parents, the California for my vegetarian friends and the Archangel for people who like to eat EVERYTHING on their pizza. All the ingredients on these pizzas are fresh, the dough is made every morning, and the cheese comes from Sweetwater Valley Farm, which is just a short drive away. These pizzas are phenomenal and I miss them dearly when I’m away for school.

I could go on about how spectacular the food is, but truth be told, my words will never truly be able to describe the feeling you get when you take your first bite. During my time there as a server, I’ve been privileged to see people get to experience their first taste of Gabriel’s pizza. Few things can compare to the euphoria in their eyes.

So, if you’re coming through Chattanooga and you want to get something to eat, you need to drive away from the bustle of Gig City and come to Gabriel’s. You won’t regret it.