Pickles on pies, craft beers on tap: Sabatini’s remains a NEPA pizza institution

The comforting pairing of Sabatini’s pizza and beer has kept generations of families coming back to the Exeter pizzeria that first opened in 1958.

Normally, the best-case scenario following a night of drinking is waking up the next day with a manageable hangover and a story you’ll be telling for years. But Lindo Sabatini, owner of the NEPA pizza institution Sabatini’s, emerged from an evening of boozing with an arguably better outcome given his vocation.

After spending the night at a local bar with some buddies about 10 years ago, Sabatini said they returned to the Exeter pizzeria his grandparents founded in 1958 hungry and craving deep fried pickles. With no batter for the pickles, they opted instead to make some pizzas and top them with the dill pickles Sabatini had on hand in his kitchen.

“We were drunk,” Sabatini admitted. “But it was great.”

Just to make sure it wasn’t the liquor talking to his taste buds, Sabatini made a couple of pickle pies the following week and handed out samples to customers. They loved it. So much so that pickles are now the second most requested topping at Sabatini’s behind pepperoni, and other pizzerias in the area have adopted their own variations of the pickle pie.

“A lot of people may not be aware of where it came from, but it did come from one drunk night here,” Sabatini said. “When we went through the dining room with those two trays, it was no joke. They loved it and they started ordering it. And I reluctantly started making it and one day said, ‘Alright, I guess this is a thing now.’’’

For a first-timer, the pickle pie can take a moment to process. But after a few bites, the crunchy, tangy diced dills paired with the sweetness of the sauce—applied with a hose over cheese that runs right to the edge of Sabatini’s light, cracker-like crust—start to make perfect pizza sense.

The same goes for another Sabatini’s signature: diced pepperoni instead of traditional slices. Sabatini said his father started doing that when his parents took over the shop in the 70s, aiming to deliver spicy, smoky flavor in every bite, which it absolutely does.

As the third-generation owner of the family business since 2005, Sabatini has stayed true to the pizzeria’s roots. The recipes, save for pickles, are the same ones his grandparents used in 1958.

“I won’t change anything,” he said. 

Sabatini’s Pizza in Exeter, not long after it opened in 1958. (Contributed).

And Sabatini’s price points remain very affordable, with specials like Pizza Friday, where a large plain is just $13.95. During a recent visit, I ordered two medium pies (one pickle, one pepperoni) and a 16 oz. draft beer and the bill came to $35.95—and I had plenty of pizza left over to take home.

Beer has always been part of the experience at Sabatini’s, but in 2015 Sabatini expanded the business by opening a full-service bottle shop and bar right next door. The space stocks more than 4,000 craft beers and 300 whiskeys in stock, along with more than a dozen rotating draft beers.

The expansive shop and bar—complete with a fireplace and an altar—has even hosted weddings since opening. It’s a sign of how much the pizzeria, and the comforting pairing of Sabatini’s pizza and beer, means to generations of local families.

“I know people that had their first date here that are now bringing their grandkids,” Sabatini said. “We have a lot of those stories—first communions, first birthdays and 90th birthdays, and we’ve unfortunately had countless bereavement dinners here. Every phase of someone’s life, pizza and beer works.”