What to order
Coastal Crust is a pizzeria by nature, meaning the wood-fired pizza is the star of the show. But the restaurant also features a “small but very nice” Italian menu, which includes dishes like Coastal Crust’s meatballs — an artisan recipe that, like all of the restaurant’s dishes, is made fresh.
Pizzas sit on a pizza stand on one of the Columbia location’s long wooden tables.
Sydney Dunlap/Staff
“Made every day — our dough, our meatballs, our sauce — it’s all done by hand,” Piesner said. “It’s not big batch-type product.”
Piesner said he usually likes to keep things simple with a Caesar salad and Margherita pizza, but said the fig and prosciutto pizza is a fan favorite with its truffle oil, smoked bleu and house hot honey topping.
He also recommends a Columbia-exclusive dish, crispy artichokes, an antipasto option executive chef Michael Holler thought up specifically for the new location.
A pasta dish from Coastal Crust.
Sydney Dunlap/Staff
And for those looking for a happy hour treat instead of dinner, Piesner also introduced Enoteca at the new location — a small wine shop and mercantile selling a selection of Italian, French, Spanish and American wines in an enclosed area of what would have been the building’s porch.
Overall, Piesner said success for Coastal Crust’s Columbia location could look like a couple of things, but primarily he’s looking forward to seeing how people feel after their visit.
“It’s warm and inviting, and it feels boutique, right? I want people to feel that,” Piesner said. “At least the restaurants and the businesses that I’m a fan of, I’m a fan because I can sense their personality right away, and that keeps me coming back. So my hope is that people see that in our staff and our leadership, and the atmosphere.”
A statue sits on the counter in Coastal Crust’s new Columbia location.
Sydney Dunlap/Staff
Coastal Crust is located at 2158 Pickens St. and is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
