Long Islanders searching for that perfect slice might not have to go too far.
Mineola’s Taglio Pizza, which opened a second location in Massapequa Park earlier this year, has carved out its place among the country’s top slice shops, taking the third place spot for the second year in a row. It’s the only Long Island-based shop to make the list.
“Honestly, it’s just an honor to be on the list with some of the best in the country,” said owner Rob Cervoni. “There’s places like L’industrie in Manhattan and Mama’s Two and Slice and Pie in Washington D.C. These are the best of the best. They truly are the best in the world and some of my favorite places.”
The rankings, which come from the prestigious Italy-based guide 50 Top Pizza, also placed Taglio among the top 100 pizza shops in the world last year. This year’s world rankings haven’t come out yet.
Cervoni said winning the third-place spot again surprised him, as he was concerned it would be harder to keep the shop’s quality up after expanding.
“As you open multiple locations, it’s very difficult to keep the quality up,” Cervoni said. “But, the store that they reviewed was actually our Massapequa location, so that location was the one that was ranked number three in the country this time, which was great.”
He attributes his success to his team, his ingredients and the fact that he’s serving up a different kind of slice than most are used to – Roman style, a kind of pizza with a thin, crispy crust cut in rectangular slices.
“It’s like copy and paste for all these pizzerias. I wanted to do something completely different that no one’s ever seen before,” Cervoni continued. “That’s why we get the recognition that we get.”
He said he and his team pay extreme attention to detail and authenticity and pour their heart into properly making and fermenting their dough.
“All our flour is imported from Italy. It has no chemicals in it, no bleach, and bromate,” Cervoni said. “We try to serve an authentic Italian product, something that’s different from every other pizzeria that you would get on Long Island or in the country,” he said. “Everything is sourced properly, meticulously, and all the ingredients are the top of the top. That’s what makes us different.”
Cervoni, who comes from an Italian-American family, said he was motivated to open his Roman-style shop in Mineola in 2018 after visiting his Italian family, who live near Rome.
“I just decided to open it on Long Island because it just didn’t exist,” Cervoni said.
Before opening Taglio’s, Cervoni owned a 16 Handles frozen yogurt franchise in Great Neck. However, he said he’d been hoping to get back into the pizza business, as he grew up working in a Queens pizzeria and has always had a lifelong passion for the dish.
“I always worked in a pizzeria and had a pizza oven in my backyard,” Cervoni said. “I always loved making dough and making pizza, so naturally, I always wanted to get back into the pizza biz. When I found Roman pizza, that’s when I knew that I wanted to open it in Long Island.”
Now, he said he’s eagerly looking to continue expanding and that his next location may be in Suffolk County.
“Now that this one has been so successful, I’m looking for a third, fourth, fifth location, as many as I can open,” Cervoni said. “I guess I’ll keep going until I can’t handle it anymore.”
Both Taglio’s locations are open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, except Fridays, when they’re serving up slices until 11 p.m.
