Head to Allston for Pepperoni Negronis and Giant Meatballs

Pizzas and more at Fido Pizza. / Photo by Reagan Byrne

This summer’s drink just might be a Negroni doubly infused with pizza—and, naturally, you’re going to want to drink it with pizza. Thanks to the team behind Italian gem Bar Mezzana and high-end sushi spot No Relation, your wish can come true. Traveler Street Hospitality’s newest venture, FiDO Pizza, is now open in Allston, with “gently priced” bottles of bubbly, tomato-vine martinis, and that very intriguing Negroni to accompany light and airy New York-style pies.

It’s the latest in a string of fun pizza-focused restaurants from groups with finer-dining leanings. See also: June Bug (sibling to Field & Vine) and Gary’s Pizza (from the people behind Mistral, Mooo, and more), not to mention a new casual Billerica pizzeria from Tim Maslow, who was behind Brookline’s gone-but-not-forgotten Ribelle. While old-school, slice-slinging sub shops and crispy-edged bar pizzas are staples of Greater Boston pizza, locals have been eager to support these cheffier spots, too, where slow-fermented doughs and artisanal toppings supplant burnt edges and who-cares-where-it’s-from ingredient sourcing.

Fun and casual isn’t completely out of Traveler Street Hospitality’s wheelhouse, anyway, as the team also runs the South End neighborhood-y gastropub Black Lamb and tropical cocktail bar Shore Leave, another South End spot that always feels like a party. But one thing is new to Traveler Street: Allston. This is the group’s first foray beyond the South End, and despite some initial hesitance about expanding, they quickly warmed up to the space at the Allston Labworks campus, thanks in part to neighbors past and present.

Garlic bread with ricotta and stracchino cheeses and confit garlic purée at Fido Pizza. / Photo by Reagan Byrne

“We’re huge Ana [Sortun] fans,” says partner Jefferson Macklin, “so with her opening Sofra [down the street], that was validation” of the promise of the neighborhood. Plus, as chef and partner Colin Lynch notes, this part of Allston was once home to the Rabottini’s Pizza pop-up, which developed an enthusiastic fanbase during its limited run. “They were killing it out here,” he says, and the crowds they drew are more validation that there’s existing interest in pizza in the neighborhood, “and anyone we get coming from outside of the neighborhood is going to be a bonus.”

Following a jam-packed research trip around New York City, New Haven, and beyond, Lynch and the team developed a New York-style recipe for FiDO Pizza. “Less pizza-shop New York and more what new New York-style pizzas are starting to become,” says Lynch. “They’re putting a lot more effort into the dough.” As is he—FiDO stands for “fine dough,” after all. (Also, “I’m very partial to dogs,” says Lynch.) FiDO’s dough takes three to four days to prepare, including a 24-hour poolish (a high-hydration pre-ferment that helps give dough character), a 24-hour bulk ferment, and another 24 to 48 hours of fermentation after the dough is split into balls. The process and flour blend results in pizza with “a chew, but enough crunch,” says Lynch, and the 16-inch pies are cooked to a light char.

Pizza selections range from traditional (cheese, pepperoni, a vegan tomato pie, etc.) to a little bit funky, like Buffalo chicken with Calabrian chili, gorgonzola, and celery, or braised greens with anchovies, chili flakes, and mozzarella. Complementing the pizza: a few appetizers, including a giant meatball, baked clams, and wings; salads, such as a summer stone fruit and heirloom tomato combo; and a handful of pastas, including baked rigatoni with eggplant.

Fido Pizza. The mural above the bar is by Massimo Mongiardo, a former barback for Traveler Street Hospitality who has done artwork for several of the group’s restaurants. / Photo by Reagan Byrne

FiDO Pizza gets really playful when it comes to partner and beverage director Ryan Lotz’s cocktail list, which is partly “inspired by pizza.” (Some favorites from Bar Mezzana and Black Lamb make the list, too, including the former’s basil gimlet and the latter’s olive-oil-and-black-pepper dirty martini.) That aforementioned Negroni? The draft cocktail includes gin infused in-house with actual pepperoni pizza, “amped up a little bit” with the Rhode Island-based Industrious Spirit Company’s Li’l Rhody Pizza Strip vodka, which is infused with local pizza strips, says Lotz. (The same company makes an oyster-infused vodka, too.) The pizza strip vodka “has a really strong, pronounced garlic and tomato flavor,” says Lotz, although the finished combination is “pretty subtle and pretty tasty.”

Another drink that nods to pizza is the tomato vine martini, featuring Covalle gin by Project Optimist in Brooklyn. The vegetal spirit is made from tomato vines and leaves, so “it doesn’t really taste like tomatoes, but like the plant itself,” says Lotz. He mixes it with two vermouths, orange bitters, and salt, and serves it from the freezer. Try it with the tomato pie, he suggests, because the tomato on the pizza complements the everything-but-the-tomato in the gin.

Beyond cocktails, the team is hoping to find groups indulging in bubbles with their pizza. “There are a couple of bottles of Champagne on the menu at prices I probably should not be allowed to sell them at,” says Lotz, with a laugh. “So I hope people come and take advantage of that.”

Burrata and ‘nduja with spicy breadcrumbs and fusilli with basil pesto at Fido Pizza. / Photo by Reagan Byrne

The full-service space is meant to cater to everyone from students and families to businesspeople. “We knew the restaurant had to be approachable for the current neighborhood as well as have enough appeal for when Harvard starts to really bring people down here,” says Lynch, so it’s the kind of place where you can have a Guinness and wings at the bar or sit down with a group over a table of pizzas and a bottle of lambrusco.

Whatever the occasion, the team is excited to open its first restaurant in six years. “We’ve been at this for a while, but it’s been really fun to get [a new restaurant] going and see it come alive,” says Macklin. “I forgot that thrill, so it’s fun to see that again.”

FiDO is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday to start. 250 Western Ave., Allston, Boston, 617-420-3436, fidopizza.com.

Pizza at Fido Pizza. / Photo by Reagan Byrne