Pizza has always been a deeply personal thing. You’ve got your New York slice loyalists, your Chicago deep-dish defenders, and that one person at every office who insists a gluten-free cauliflower crust is “basically the same.” Into this landscape arrives Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza, a Miami-born, Michelin Recommended institution with what appears to be a deeply held conviction that pizza deserves better. It opens at The Market at University Town Center in Sarasota on June 23, and this is one that ought to be well worth the drive.
Let’s start with the name, because it really does deserve a moment. The “O1” isn’t a random alphanumeric flourish. It’s a reference to the O-1 visa, the U.S. government’s designation for individuals with extraordinary ability. Founder and Italian chef Renato Viola came to the States on one of those visas after demonstrating extraordinary culinary achievement, which means the federal government has officially recognized that making pizza at an exceptional level qualifies as a special skill. This is apparently the world we live in, and honestly, it’s the right call.
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Viola opened the first Mister O1 in Miami Beach in 2014. The Miami Beach location has since earned a Michelin Guide recommendation, and the brand has expanded to include multiple locations in Florida, as well as Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas. The Sarasota debut marks its first foothold in the area, with a second location already planned near Heritage Harbour later this year as part of a broader expansion across Tampa, St. Petersburg, and surrounding Gulf Coast markets. Worth the roughly hour-long drive from Tampa, Mister O1 is the kind of place that makes you feel like the trip was part of the experience.
Here’s how it works. The dough is made with Italian flour and fermented for 72 hours, designed to create a lighter, more digestible pizza. The result is a crust that’s about as far from a frozen store-brand circle as you can get. The star-shaped pies come with ricotta tucked into each point. The “have to try” item is the Star Luca, a star-shaped pizza filled with ricotta, mozzarella, tomato sauce, spicy salami calabrese, and basil. If you’re feeling adventurous, there’s the Coffee Paolo, made with mozzarella, blue cheese, honey, coffee, and spicy salami. That combination either made you say “oh wow” or “absolutely not,” and both reactions are entirely valid.
The menu also includes calzones, fresh salads, a burrata bar, and desserts including a Nutella pizza and a banana-Nutella calzone. Yes, they bake Nutella on pizza dough. Yes, you’re ordering it. The UTC space comes in at 2,200 square feet with indoor and outdoor dining. Hours are Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
