Black Market Pizza

Love this place! The Happy Hippie (Red peppers, mushrooms, onions, black olives & artichoke hearts) is my favorite. Much better than most pizza places stock vegetarian options.

note to country bumbkins, you get your own drinks. its not a full service restuarant. anytime i have ever been in there everyone is busting ass busy. the staff is friendly and pinball is always a plus

i was in bmp saturday night with my family and we tried several different pizzas. not only was the service exceptional, but the food was great. my teenage daugters dont even like pizza and they want to go back next weekend for more. thats really saying a lot. i would highly recamend the chigago style deep dish or anything with the sweet potato crust. i will be back soon.
-deb

Checked this place out a few day‘s ago. I was not impressed. It wasn‘t bad, but it wasn‘t great either. The prices are to high for a so-so pizza.

This Place really blew me away. MY first time there the owner came and talked to me about how he started the business and where his inspirations came from to make the Chicago style pizza he remember from growing up in the Windy City. The tomatoes were fresh and the cheese super stringy. This place isn‘t a half hour 9 dollar pizza joint. They take the time to make it right. Unlike some places where you can eat a whole pizza and still be hungry, their pizza has volume that really fills you up. A great place to get a real dinner NOT tailgate cheap pizza.

I Like this place and go there about once a month... They have a secret menu on their FB page that changes pretty frequently. The owner always comes and asks how everything is. I‘ve never had a bad experience here

One word, awful! Do yourself a favor and throw in a frozen pizza because it‘s cheaper and better!

I stopped in on a good word, and was totally satisfied! Great people, prices, and pie.

I would rather get a Jack‘s frozen pizza. It would taste better, be more affordable, and you would not have to wait the 1.5 hours it would take to get your pizza. Other than that i guess it wasn‘t so bad??

A frozen Totinos is better. If I called the service horrid I would be too kind. How this place stays open is a mystery.

Wait is bad. Service is bad. Pizza is real bad. One star!

Honestly, I don‘t know if the pizza is any good or not. I went with a friend and there were a few people ahead of us in line. As we stood there waiting, we looked around and noticed that the place was filthy! We also noticed a guy making pizza was not even wearing gloves, GROSS! My friend and I looked at each other and decided we did not want to eat there and left. I give a 1 star rating for being unsanitary.

LOVE black market. my mom and sisters don‘t like the tomatoes instead of sauce but i do (plus you can order sauce instead). usually if we eat in-store we call and order a pizza for pickup beforehand so that it is ready soon after we get there. whenever i have been the service has been good and usually the owner will come out and talk to people at the different tables.

The service is awful here. You will wait and wait. Staff is not friendly at all. They make you feel like they are doing YOU a favor by waiting on you. Even when your order is very delayed, they don‘t offer to compensate. We waited well over an hour for thin crust pizza. There is always an issue.

How is this place still in business?? Crappy food and even crappier customer service usually results in a closed restaurant. This is an insult to "Chicago" pizza. Many have already stated it well: rock hard, dry, tasteless crust, combined with dry, unripe tomato chunks and no cheese or toppings. All for a ridiculously expensive price. Jeff‘s Pizza is way better for cheaper and Vesuvius is much tastier.

I would like to say it is nice having a restaurant in town that actually serves real pizza. Great ingredients, friendly staff, and a wonderful environment. A+

I LOVE BLACKMARKET!! I had recently moved here from Chicago, and was feeling put out without my pie. I stopped in on a good word, and was totally satisfied! Great people, prices, and pie!!!

Crust is hard and blah. The toppings have no flavor and the cheese is bland. Sorry a light sprinkling of crappy dry herbs on the top doesn‘t really help.

The customer service at this place is poor! We were there on a Tuesday night before they got busy. We ordered 2 thin crust pizzas at 6:15 pm. Still don‘t have them 45 minutes later! I inquire and the kitchen guy says it will be 10 more minutes! 10 minutes comes and goes and still no pizza. I inquire again - it will be out soon is the reply. About 1.5 hours later we finally receive the pizzas. The fellow says he made an announcement that they had trouble with their dough machine. No announcement was made to us. The fellow gives us a gift card for a return visit to make up for the delay. I had to ask "Just why would I want to come back to this place?" The pizza is not great. We can head to Pizza Pit and get our pizza in 15-20 minutes and it is good pizza. I wouldn‘t recommend Black Market Pizza.

Great pizza and truly unique from all the other pizza restaurants in Ames. It does take a while when you get the deep dish but it is definitely worth the wait. True Chicago style deep dish with the roasted tomatoes, sauce on top.

Food is bland to poor. Not a real Chicago style pizza by any means. Sausage had a sour taste. Employee service is so-so. Very over priced. Nice atmosphere. But, will try again sometime but with something different.

$13 for a pizza and another $13 for a pitcher of beer??? Are you kidding me? The mob would seize this place, revamp it, and make it live up to its image. The pizza was like a saltine with sauce. I cannot understand how someone could so brutally assault a pizza. If two people can easily consume the entire pie, without being already obese, there is a problem. What a complete rip-off.

Freaking awesome food. A huge variety to choose from. The employees are super nice. Definately got my moneys worth.

deep dish takes a long time to bake, note the 45 minute warning. so worth it.

The way they make pizza is unique and it‘s pretty good. The amount of time it takes them to make the pizza is kind of absurd, but they have a really cool vintage pinball machine you can play while you are waiting.

SLOW!!!! Not worth the extreme wait!
Very expensive!

This is by far my favorite pizza place in Central Iowa. If you like a greasy slice of pizza - THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU. You actually get dimensions of flavor with their pizza. I am a huge fan of the Iowa Chop pizza, but I have liked everything I have had. You may have to wait a little, but it is worth the wait. Get in early, as they fill up fast on the weekends.

I love this place. They offer something different from your regular pie house. Many options, something different, the owners are nice, I love pizza.. I‘m too stoned for this right now.

Deep dish pizza is really great, many unique choices like chili dog and Witness protection (not on the menu u have to ask for it). I love it.

I love the thin crust pizza. SOOO GOOD!!!!

Made my first visit tonite. I have been waiting for a Chicago style pizza place in Ames. Service was good, though the place was packed on a Friday night. Not enough seats, people were standing around waiting for seats.

The pizza was pretty good. Crust was not as flavorful as I might have liked. The sausage was pretty spicy/tasty.

I don‘t think it was quite to the level of taste as I had hoped, but certainly worthy of a return trip. A welcome addition to the restaurants in Ames.

The owner is really friendly, but his wife is usually rude. The pizza is ok. No sauce on the pizza, only big chunks of tomato. If you order anything but thin crust prepare to wait at least an hour and a half for your pizza. The crust is usually hard, dry and over cooked. The sausage is very good though.

This is my favorite place to eat in Ames! The food is great, the staff is friendly, and we love the pinball machine. We‘ve loved every pizza we‘ve had so far and can‘t wait to try out more varieties!

Great Pizza.. Friendly staff.. Their Chicago Style is Spot-on authentic. The sausage is amazing.

The pizza is mediocre at best for how long it actually takes from order to table. I have seen the staff around at other establishments before and I am equally regretful as I was then.

I tried this place out for the first time on Mothers Day. I thought it was very sweet they gave carnations to all the Mothers. The pizza was scrumcious and the service was delightful!

By far the best pizza in town. Very unique.

By far the BEST pizza in town! Everything my family and I have tried is extremely exceptional! The chicago deep dish is enough to eat for a few days for breakfast, lunch, and dinner it seems! Thats not an exageration either. I tell all my friends to check this place out. Its nice and cozy and a great environment to spend time in.

I have pretty much tried every menu item. I don‘t even know where to start. One of my favorites is the "Witness Protection" Pizza. I have had that quite a few times. I have tried the Chicago Deep Dish, Chicken KaBlam, Bacon Cheeseburger and others. Everything I have tried is incredible! The service is great and I definately recommend this place to anyone!

I was so hopeful that this was going to be truly authentic Chicago style deep dish pizza. However, I was disappointed to say the least. The crust is hard, dry and bland. The canned mushrooms are a huge disappointment, and tomatoes were a sad excuse for sauce. I had such high hopes and really wanted it to be good. Hope they make some changes/improvements. For now, big disappointment.

Tried a thin sausage mushroom. The sausage is phenonenal! Some of the best sausage I have found in the area. Good seasoning. The crust was ok. The cheese blend was very good. Canned mushrooms were a big disappointment. The biggest problem this pizza lacked was a decent sauce. The sauce was bland and uninspiring. I would suggest it needs some garlic.

The service was very poor. I would echo a previous reviewer that the counter people act as though they are doing you a favor.

The ambience of the place is severely lacking. Compare it to the Cafe or Brewers up there and the place just feels wierd. i can‘t get my finger on it.

I thought the pizza, when factoring in the quality and service, is a bit over priced. I wouldn‘t avoid this place but also don‘t see it as a destination.

I was (and still am) really pulling for these guys. They‘ve got a great story and have worked so hard. That being said, the pizza is...ok.

What‘s hurting them is their ABYSMAL customer service. The three guys in the original video shown are CNN always seem to be busting their asses. But the young women at the counter and doing the waiting can barely even work up a sneer. Unbelievably lazy...they do a lot of standing around (while tables need to be bussed, napkins need replacing, drinks need filling). It would be a shame to see this place fail because of a miserable wait staff. I‘ll go again and give it one more try...but if it seems like I‘m putting someone out by simply being a customer, I‘ll be gone for good.

Love this place!..They have something for everyone. They have a original thin crust which does have sauce and Chicago style which is topped with diced tomato‘s, which is the way it‘s supposed to be! They have a variety of specialty pizza‘s. The bacon cheeseburger pizza is awesome. It‘s tastes just like eating a bacon cheeseburger!
Prices are reasonable, don‘t shy away from the Chicago because of the price, it‘s well worth it and will feed a lot. I could only get one piece down that‘s how filling it is.
The staff is friendly and willing to please. This is by far the best pizza place in Ames!

Diced tomatoes does not qualify as sauce!

Everything is bland tasting.

Service is terrible. Slow and it should be considered a miracle if you get what you ordered.

70 bucks for two large pizzas! For that type of money you would expect some flavor.

Being a Chicago pizza lover I was excited about this place; however one of the key components of the "authentic" pizza has missed the mark. The crust is more like a corn biscuit than the foundation to a sauce on top pie. It‘s good in it‘s own right; just to dense and dry to be anything better than boxed cornbread.

Fantastic service; great ingredient list and specials; I just won‘t ever order the "authentic" Chicago pizza.

I stopped by and checked this new place out. It was great!

best pizza in ames by far-authentic and reasonably priced!

this place is amazing! I have tried every pizza place in Ames-and this is by far the best place! Original crusts and a special "vinaigrette" sauce beats and other crusts paired with honey. I would recommend this to anyone. I went with a friend who lived in Philly for a few years and has traveled to chicago and new york numerous times, and she said black market is one of the best pizza places by far! friendly service, caring owner. not a "fast pizza" place, but absolutely worth the delicious wait!

Not impressed but will probably give it one more shot. Ordered a couple weeks ago and the food left a lot to be desired. Bread sticks are plain, bland, and rubbery. A simple cheese calzone was raw, with the cheese not even partially melted. My thin crust sausage pizza was decent. The reportedly homemade sausage is pretty incredible. While I acknowledge they were/are new... they need to figure things out. Delivery took over twice as long as I was quoted (over 90 minutes). The voice who took my order not at all helpful, and not very knowledgeable about their products either. A long way to go if they want to compete with places like GP, Jeffs, etc IMO.

A great new locally owned pizza place, it had been a long time since I had had a really good deep dish pizza.