The Standard

The Standard is a New York-style pizzeria and bar on University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa, built around large, hand-tossed pies rather than the smaller, individually portioned pizzas found at national fast-casual chains. The restaurant specializes in twenty-inch pizzas and pizza by the slice, served alongside a menu of appetizers, hand-cut fries, and chicken wings, positioning it as a late-night, full-bar pizza spot rather than a strictly family-dinner restaurant.

The restaurant is located at 1217 University Boulevard, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, placing it directly along one of the city’s main commercial and nightlife corridors near the University of Alabama campus. It operates a full bar, serving beer, liquor, and frozen drinks alongside the food menu, and stays open well past a typical dinner service, running from lunch until late into the night. That extended schedule sets it apart from many of Tuscaloosa’s other independent Italian and pizza spots, most of which wind down service earlier in the evening.

The pizza itself follows the New York tradition of large, foldable slices from oversized pies, a style that is distinct from the deep-dish or thin, cracker-style crusts found elsewhere in the city’s pizza scene. Beyond the pizza, the kitchen turns out a menu of bar food staples designed to pair with the full bar, including hand-cut fries and wings, giving The Standard a dual identity as both a pizzeria and a late-night bar and grill.

As a single-location, independently operated restaurant rather than part of a franchised pizza chain, The Standard fits into the smaller category of locally run Italian and pizza spots in Tuscaloosa, a category that also includes sit-down Italian dinner houses and other independent pizzerias around the city. Its emphasis on a full bar and extended hours, however, gives it a distinct role: it functions as much as a late-night gathering spot as it does a pizza restaurant, drawing a crowd well after the dinner rush has ended at most other restaurants nearby.

Guests can reach the restaurant at (205) 247-9876 to ask about the current slice selection or bar offerings, since the late hours and rotating specials make it worth a call ahead on busier nights. The location on University Boulevard puts it within walking distance of much of the campus-adjacent nightlife, making it a convenient stop for a late slice or a full pie to share.

The twenty-inch pizza format is a deliberate choice that separates The Standard from the smaller personal-pan and delivery-focused pizza options elsewhere in Tuscaloosa. A pie of that size is built to be shared, whether by a table of friends splitting slices over drinks or a group ordering a whole pizza to go after a night out along University Boulevard. Pairing that format with a full bar and a kitchen that stays open into the late-night hours gives the restaurant a role that goes beyond a simple pizza stop, functioning instead as one of the corridor’s later-closing food and drink options.

As an independently run, single-location restaurant, The Standard fits into the broader story of Tuscaloosa’s locally owned pizza and Italian food scene, a category that includes both dinner-focused Italian restaurants and more casual, bar-forward pizzerias like this one. For visitors mapping out the city’s independent pizza options, The Standard stands out specifically for its late hours, its oversized pies, and its position as a full bar as much as a restaurant.

For visitors looking for an independently owned pizza and bar experience in Tuscaloosa that keeps its doors open long after most other kitchens have closed, The Standard offers oversized New York-style pies, classic bar food, and a full bar in a setting built for both an early dinner and a late-night stop.