Dave’s ‘Pizza My Heart’ Review: Justine’s in Loveland

Join me as I travel around Northern Colorado looking for NoCo's Greatest Pie. This week, a visit to Loveland's oldest pizza joint.

Having grown up in Loveland you'd think I've been to Justine's thousands of times. In reality, I think the last time I was there was as a very young child.

Justine's has been around since 1971, right there off of Eisenhower and Van Buren. I remember having Fanta soda when my mom and dad took me and my younger brother there when I was like, 4 or 5.

The current owner of Justine's, Greg Jensen (no relation) used to own the Fort Collins Justine's Pizza but sold that and bought the Loveland one in 2014. Greg went to Loveland High School, like I did, graduating a year ahead of me. But, none of this nostalgia held any sway in my review for 'Pizza My Heart.' Swear.

Justine's isn't open for lunch, so my cohort, Jake, and I hit them up on Wednesday night October 23, 2019. We sat on the new side, sitting at the bar. The 'old' side remains pretty much as it was in 1971. I recognized the booth that my family would sit at.

The new side is very cool, with the Rat Pack murals they had done.

The menu at Justine's is pretty simple when it comes to pizza. Five signature pies, which all (except the vegetarian) start out with pepperoni and sausage.

Jake and I opted to go a-la-carte; I'd never had SAUERKRAUT on a pizza, and it was on the menu as a topping, so sauerkraut and Canadian bacon it was.

It didn't take long for our pie to arrive, and they were pretty pumped about our topping choice, as they handed us some honey for the crust. The staff was terrific.

We got the 16" pie which had plenty of slices. The hand-tossed crust (which you can watch them make) was thin but not like a Neopolitan-style thin. The sauce was good and the toppings were VERY good. Sauerkraut. Who woulda thunk it?

Folks really seem to love Justine's.

Google Reviews (308 of them) give Justine's a whopping average of 4.7. That's pretty high.

I'm going to have to disagree with that rating.  It kind of feels like people are voting with their hearts, more than anything.

I'd like to have seen more menu options, such as a white pizza option; and though it was a GOOD pie...

My 'Pizza My Heart' Review: 4.0 pepperonis out of 5.