How Dave Portnoy's One Bite Pizza Reviews Work: Scores, Rules and History
The short answer
One Bite is Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy's pizza review series. He picks up a pie, steps outside the pizzeria, says "one bite, everyone knows the rules," tastes it and gives a score from 0 to 10 using decimals, like 7.4 or 8.6. The series began in March 2013 after a food bet with Barstool's Dan "Big Cat" Katz, grew into one of the internet's most-watched food franchises, and became the One Bite app in 2018, where fans can find his reviews and post their own.
Readers have been coming to Page Twenty One for Dave Portnoy's top 10 pizza places in the US, plus his top picks in Toronto, Boston and London. This guide explains the system behind those lists.
How did One Bite start?
In February 2013, Portnoy and Big Cat argued about which food you could eat for the rest of your life. Katz picked burritos and Portnoy picked pizza. On March 10, 2013, they started a challenge where each could only eat his chosen food, as Foster's Daily Democrat reported. Portnoy reviewed the pizza places he ate at, arguing that one bite is enough to judge a pie.
The challenge lasted less than a week. Portnoy kept reviewing anyway, and when Barstool moved its headquarters from Boston to New York, he set out to try pizzerias across the city. "It was obvious there was something to it," he told the paper.
How does the One Bite scoring system work?
The 0-10 decimal scale
Portnoy scores on a 0-10 scale with one decimal place. He mostly judges the plain cheese slice or pie, so places are compared on the same basics: crust, sauce, cheese and how they come together. Fans read his scores roughly like this. It's a community rule of thumb, not an official scale:
Below 6: a miss
6 to 7: decent, everyday pizza
7 to 8: good, worth the trip if you're nearby
8 and up: great
9 and up: rare and among the best he's reviewed
The "rules"
One bite. It's the catchphrase, even though he usually takes several.
No whole numbers from guests. If a guest gives a round score like 7, Portnoy mocks it as a "rookie score."
No take-backs. Once a score is said, it stands.
The experience counts. A fan analysis of his reviews found a handful of zeros, some given because of the experience rather than the pizza. A 0 doesn't always mean the pizza was inedible.
By the numbers: average score about 6.8, roughly 200 reviews a year since 2016, eight zeros, and 175K app downloads in the first month (fan analysis; Digiday).
What is the highest One Bite score?
His very top scores are famous among fans. In past reviews, he gave Sally's Apizza in New Haven a 9.2 and John's of Bleecker Street in New York a 9.3, according to Benzinga. Fan data analysis of his reviews lists Monte's Restaurant in Massachusetts as a perfect 10. Scores can change if he re-reviews a place, so check the One Bite app for the latest.
Why do One Bite reviews matter to pizzerias?
A high score can bring lines out the door. A low score can bring a viral argument with the owner. Portnoy has said his most popular reviews often come from unexpected people who become "the main character." That mix of honest scores and unscripted moments is why the format works and why so many people copy it.
The One Bite app
Barstool launched the One Bite app in 2018. It lets users look up Portnoy's reviews, post their own 0-10 scores and, at launch, order through a partnership with Slice. Digiday reported more than 175,000 iOS downloads in the first month, and CNBC reported that 30,000 people joined the waitlist within hours of the beta announcement.
How to use One Bite to find great pizza
Search your city in the app and sort by Dave's score.
Compare Dave's score with the community score. A gap tells you whether the place is a crowd favorite or a critic favorite.
Watch the review, not just the number, to see what he liked or didn't.
Start with our city guides: the US top 10, Toronto, Boston and London.
Frequently asked questions
What does "One bite, everyone knows the rules" mean?
It's Portnoy's catchphrase before he tastes each pizza. It refers to the idea that one bite is enough to judge a pie.
What is a good One Bite score?
Most fans treat anything above 8 as great and above 9 as elite. A 7 is solid, everyday pizza.
Has Dave Portnoy ever given a 10?
Fan analyses of his review data list Monte's Restaurant in Massachusetts as a perfect 10, which makes it extremely rare.
Why does Dave Portnoy only review cheese pizza?
He usually reviews a plain slice or pie so every pizzeria is judged on the same basics, without toppings getting in the way.
When did One Bite pizza reviews start?
In March 2013, after a food bet with Barstool's Dan "Big Cat" Katz.
Related reading on Page Twenty One
Sources
Foster's Daily Democrat, "Dave Portnoy brings his 'One Bite' Pizza Reviews to Rhode Island" (Jan 2024): https://www.fosters.com/story/lifestyle/food/2024/01/26/dave-portnoy-brings-his-one-bite-pizza-reviews-to-rhode-island/72369884007/
Benzinga via Yahoo Finance, "Dave Portnoy explains the history of One Bite": https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dave-portnoy-explains-history-one-160733143.html
CNBC, "Barstool Sports founder and CEO discuss company's Yelp-like pizza app" (2018): https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/13/barstool-sports-founder-and-ceo-discuss-companys-yelp-like-pizza-app.html
Digiday, "Barstool Sports' new pizza app gets 175,000 downloads in a month": https://digiday.com/media/barstool-sports-new-pizza-app-gets-175000-downloads-in-a-month/
Zeeshan Chatur, One Bite review data analysis: http://www.zeeshanchatur.com/posts/onebyte/
Image credits: cover background photo of an L&B Spumoni Gardens slice by Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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