Aldo’s NY Pizzeria – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Being within walking distance of Intel, my place of employment for eighteen years, made this old fashioned pizzeria an easy choice. Excellent pizza and a surprisingly varied menu (especially for such a small storefront) made it the right choice!  During Fab 9’s halcyon days Aldo’s, then named “Venezia,” was (along with the legendary Smokehouse) a virtual second home to Intel employees.  Aldo’s has  long been the right choice for Rio Rancho residents, many of whom have their familial roots in New York City just like Aldo’s NY Pizzeria has.

Moreover, Aldo’s has deeper roots in the mother country where pizza was invented.  When it first launched as Venezia, diners may have surmised that it was named for a family with the surname Venezia.  Instead, it was named for Venice (Venezia in Italian), Italy, the fabled city on the water which the New York Times has described as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man.” A framed photograph on the wall depicts a less romatic city–New York City. The photograph shares space on the walls with certificates of appreciation for the restaurant’s community involvement and sponsorship of youth activities.

Although Aldo’s has a “Rio Rancho Blvd” address, you won’t see it from Rio Rancho Blvd.  Rather, its storefront faces the Sandias and it’s easiest to get to via Sara Road (conveniently just across the street from Intel’s Fab 9).  On the pizzeria’s northeast corner stands a large plastic statue of the Statue of Liberty complete with stola, crown and sandals. New York City transplants in Rio Rancho appear preternaturally drawn to Lady Liberty’s beckoning, “Give me your huddled masses yearning to…eat pizza.” Some of them will tell you Venezia’s is the next best thing to being in Metropolis.

Aldo’s and Venezia,  its predecessor, have a long and storied history in the city of Vision.  It all began when family patriarch Adolfo Venturino and his wife Maria migrated to America from Italy in 1964.  They settled in New York until 1977 when they were enticed to the desert hamlet by the slick brochures and dubious salesmanship of the American Realty and Petroleum Company (AMREP for short). AMREP’s laid it on as thick as a marinara sauce to attract hundreds of New Yorkers (among others) to the then untamed western fringes overlooking the Rio Grande.

In 1978, Maria began working in the kitchen of Adolfo’s brother Frank, at Venezia’s Pizzeria which was already becoming a little piece of home for the City of Vision’s many New York transplants. Venezia’s thrived in Rio Rancho.  In 2013, brothers Renato and Aldo Venturino purchased Venezia’s from their aunt and uncle. Venezia’s in Rio Rancho was rebranded as Aldo’s while the Albuquerque location on San Mateo became Gino’s.  Perhaps no restaurant in local lore has garnered as much notoriety as the San Mateo location of Venezia’s (before it became Gino’s).  Venezia’s became famous for being the source of the uncut pizza tossed onto Walter White’s roof in Breaking Bad.

Even before divesting himself of the New Mexico locations, Frank had moved to Arizona to be near his children.  In the Phoenix area, Venezia’s Pizzeria has garnered significant acclaim   In a metropolitan area regarded by cognoscenti as one of America’s hotbeds for pizza, Venezia’s has thrived.  In 2019, Venezia’s was named “Best Italian Restaurant” by  Phoenix New Times readers.  That’s a true testament as to how highly Venezia’s is regarded, not only for its pizza but for its Italian food offerings.   Today Venezia’s operates in Chandler, Tempe, North Phoenix, Mesa and Gilbert.  It’s also got a spot within the Arizona State University campus.

Unlike other claimants to “New York style pizza,” Venezia’s has the pedigree and product to pull it off. The crust is foldable and chewy (ala New York style) while the ingredients are unfailingly fresh. Battleship sized slices are triangle-shaped wedges that puff up like a bantam rooster at the edges and taper to a thin bottom. The outer crest is crisp, the rest chewy with a nice char at its underside. Venezia does a robust take-out business, but the lunchtime crowd generally comes in for slices right out of the oven with their favorite toppings. These slices will burn the roof of your mouth if you don’t let them cool down a bit, but they’re so good, few diners wait.

15 February 2026:  Because nearly nine years have elapsed since my last visit (2017), the only dish I’ll describe on this review is Aldo’s Hawaiian pizza, described on the menu as “The “Big Apple” meets the “Big Pineapple.”  Festooned with ham and juicy pineapple. it’s an exemplar of perhaps the most controversial pizza in the world.  As if pineapple on pizza isn’t sufficiently divisive, we like it Sicilian style (a thick-crust, rectangular pizza on focaccia-style bread. Sicilian style pizza features a crispy bottom, airy interior, and is traditionally topped with a sparse meatless sauce and other ingredients.  It’s best consumed on the premises as we found out when I transported our pie some ten miles before we could enjoy it.  By then it was no longer piping hot and the exterior crust had somewhat “solidified.”  The best slices came from the pizza’s interior where there is no cornicione (an Italian term for the “lip” or puffy outer edge of the pizza).  It’s still a very good pizza, but it would have been even more enjoyed at Aldo’s.

Aldo’s Pizzeria is a Little New York institution which continues to thrive in the City of Vision.

Aldo’s Pizzeria
1690 Rio Rancho, Suite E
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
(505) 892-2026
Web Site | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 15 February 2026
# OF VISITS: 18
RATING: 19
COST: $$
BEST BET: Hawaiian Pizza, Meatball Sub, Cheese Ravioli, Lasagna, Baked Ziti