“He’s been helping make pizza since he was three.” Johnathan Khalil’s mom beamed as she confirmed she’s not the “Johnny” for which Albuquerque’s newest New York style pizzeria is named. Johnny is her soon-to-turn-18-year-old son. Can you imagine how cool it would be to be a teenager with a pizza parlor named for him? Johnny must very popular. The pizzeria named for him certainly is. On the day of our inaugural visit–two weeks and one day–after its 29 May 2026 launch, the line was literally out the door. Johnny’s is scantly 1,200 square-feet so accommodating throngs of diners will be a challenge. Five two-top tables set against the walls are all the seating currently available though there is a slightly shaded (at times) patio which the Khalil family plans to expand and provide misters for.
Two things were in evidence when we visited. First, those of us who live in Rio Rancho or Albuquerque’s burgeoning northwest quadrant are jonesing for more great pizza options. Much as we love Thicc Pizza Co., Davido’s, Dion’s, Aldo’s NY Pizzeria and the Turtle Mountain Brewing Company, we like variety and crave more options. Coincidentally, Johnny’s launch day was just about a month after Richie B’s relocated to the City of Vision, giving west-siders yet another alternative. By the way, as of September, 2025 there were 64 pizzeria’s across the fruited plain named Johnny’s Pizza though they’re not affiliated with the Albuquerque location.
Second, the instant hit popularity of Johnny’s Pizza is a testament to the power of social media. How else can you explain the high volume of traffic to diminutive digs whose storefront isn’t visible from any main thoroughfare? Johnny’s is ensconced in the northeast corner of the Golf Course Marketplace at the corner of Golf Course Road, N.W. and McMahon Boulevard. Aside from the Marketplace’s anchor tenant, Smith’s Grocery Store, Johnny’s neighbors include Wings & Things, Perico’s, Rose Garden and Subway. Though there was a December, 2025 article on the Albuquerque Journal announcing Johnny’s upcoming “early next year” launch, the article preceded the actual launch by six months. A phalanx of Facebook posts within hours of Johnny’s opening probably had more impact on traffic than even the Journal.
Though Johnny’s may be new to the Albuquerque area, the Khalil family has been baking pies for metropolitan area diners for more than a decade. The family owned- and-operated Goodfellas Pizza in Albuquerque and Los Lunas, selling both in 2023 to focus on spending time together as a family. That wasn’t the family’s inaugural foray into the competitive pizza wars. Family patriarch Frank Khalil and his brothers owned a number of pizza shops in New York before selling them all and moving to the Land of Enchantment almost twenty years ago. One of Frank’s brothers blazed the path in 2006, launching Sahara Middle Eastern Eatery in the University area.
As with so many pizza purveyors in Albuquerque, Johnny’s is a claimant to New York style pizza. It certainly has the pedigree to back up those claims. New York style pizza (at least within New York City) is large, wide-diameter pie characterized by its thin, hand-tossed crust that is crispy on the edges but soft and pliable enough to fold in half. Buffalo has a pizza style all its own as likely do other areas in the Empire State. Another “New York style” offering is the availability of gelato. In recent years, gelato has become a very popular, high-end dessert pairing in New York City pizzerias–supplementing but not supplanting traditional offerings such as cannoli. Johnny’s offers both gelato and cannoli.
Johnny’s menu belies the shop’s Lilliputian lair, offering a selection of handcrafted pizzas, wings, subs, salads, gelato, and more. Each pizza is “handcrafted with fresh, high-quality ingredients and bold, classic flavors.” Pizza is available in ten- and sixteen-inch sizes. The ten-inch pie is surprisingly larger than most “personal” pizzas, big enough even for me. There are nine specialty pizzas on the menu as well as a “half specialty/half make your own” and a “half/half specialty” pie. The menu includes such unique (for New Mexico) offering as a hot Buffalo chicken pie. Green chile, of course, is available on any pie as is hot honey, once a novelty and now de rigueur in most pizzerias.
Stromolis are also featured fare. Unlike the more ubiqutous calzone (a folded, single-serving pocket with ricotta cheese and no sauce inside) a stromboli is a long, rolled log sliced for sharing, packed with mozzarella and no ricotta. There are six specialty strombolis on the menu. Although a lot of pizzerias offer garlic knots, Johnny’s one-ups (make that six-ups) them all with six different garlic knots on the menu. Picture hot honey garlic knots or green chile garlic knots. I’m don’t usually advocate getting a bread-based appetizer when having pizza, but these may make me a believer. And if the garlic knots don’t, maybe the cheese bread will! Wings are available in six or twelve count. Three salads and three subs make up the remainder of the savory menu while dessert options include gelato, tiramisu and cannoli.
If (like me) you have a hard time making up your mind which pizza to have when every pizza on the menu sounds tempting, Johnny’s has your hook-up. It’s called the Johnny’s Way. Essentially four pizzas in one, this prodigious pie includes two slices each of sausage, pepperoni with hot honey, Buffalo hot chicken and cheese. Where to start? Seeing the “cup and char” pepperoni made my decision easier. It’s my favorite type of pepperoni on a pizza. Hot honey provided a sweet counterbalance that just made the pepperoni’s salty flavor pop. My other favorite were the two slices of sausage pizza. The juicy, coarsely ground pork sausage has a bit of a kick (that’s a very good thing). Aromatic seasonings made that sausage stand out. The Buffalo hot chicken didn’t have the requisite heat its name might suggest though I wouldn’t ever kick it off my table.
My Kim who is becoming as staid a diner as her husband is adventuurous ordered a cheese stromboli. Cheese! That’s it! Nothing else! Aargh! She didn’t even want the accompanying marinara sauce (which I gladly absconded with). Done right, a stromboli (named after the volcanic island of Stromboli off the coast of Sicily) is a beautiful (and delicious) thing. Just look at that photo above. That crust is golden, no overly charred shade anywhere. Inside, the stromboli is a gooey molten mozzarella mess. Much as I would have preferred one with sausage or hot honey pepperoni, the stromboli was quite good.
Since our December, 2024 discovery of Gelato Dolce Vita in Mesa, Arizona, we’ve made it our first stop in the Valley of the Sun. It’s the best gelato we’ve ever had, maybe by far. It thrilled us to no end to discover that Johnny’s offers this exquisite frozen treat. While the Mesa store features dozens of flavors at any one time, Johnny’s is currently limited to six flavors. If those we sampled–mango and banana for me–are any indication, denizens of the Duke City are going to fall in love with this gelato. It’s simply the best gelato in the universe.
Johnny’s Pizza is may be a relative newcomer to the west side, but already has a loyal following of hungry guests who believe it should expand–maybe the way it’s expanding waistlines.
Johnny’s Pizza
10401 Golf Course, N.W.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 808-2441
Web Site |
LATEST VISIT: 12 June 2026
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$
BEST BET: Mango Gelato, Banana Gelato, Cheese Stomboli, Johnny’s Way
REVIEW #1526