Quick Take:
Location: Lake Alfred
What Katie ordered: Queens Pizza
Extra Order
(Mike's Order): Pizza Bianca
Final Score: 5/5
Price: ~$10–20 per person
For our sixteenth stop on our Polk Food Quest, we visited Calogero's Pizza in Lake Alfred.
This is what I would call a hidden gem.
As I've had to mention in other articles, especially inside The Best Food In Polk lists, Katie and I LOVE food, but we do have a particular standard for pizza being that we're from Long Island and New Jersey.
So I want to start by prefacing this review with this:
This is NOT New York Style pizza.
If you want New York style pizza, we love Palace Pizza in either Downtown Lakeland, or Bartow.
Those are the best we've been to so far on our Food Quest (and our top picks in general since moving down to Polk County nearly 10 years ago).
That said ...
This IS some of the best pizza you can find in Polk...
It's just the style you'd find if you were in Italy.
"Wood Fired" pizza.
And I'd go back and get that Pizza Bianca pizza every dang day of the week.
But okay, before I spoil anything else about this review, let's just jump into it...
By the way: if you're new here, the concept of my Polk Food Quest is simple: every week I try a local spot, order the most common thing people get, try a few extras, and rank it on taste, value, vibes, and overall.
This week: Regular Pizza!
Which means Katie ordered a Queens Pizza (we debated Margherita Pizza, but Queens is the closest to NY Style), and a Pizza Bianca (holy moly!)
How Does This Work?
I order the standard item for that category (for pizza that's a regular pizza), plus a few extras so I can get a full feel for the menu.
Then I rank the experience on four things:
Taste | Value | Vibes | 
Overall
Taste focuses on the standard item.
The rest reflects the entire experience.
Taste: 5/5
As I mentioned above: Calogero's Pizza is not NY Style.
Therefore, this is not what Katie and I are used to from Long Island and New Jersey.
BUT ... I'm giving the Wood Fire pizza an EASY 5/5, with the Pizza Bianca getting my full recommendation.
That said, Katie and I both enjoyed everything we had from Calogero's (we even took home some dessert treats that were amazing).
Here's a quick breakdown for my quick scanners, though:
- Queens Style Pizza: This was great! We ordered it because it was the closest to NY style (to be able to give a fair ranking against other spots); but there was SO much more on the menu that looks so good.
- Pizza Bianca: Holy cow, Batman! This was incredible. It's 8AM as I'm writing this up and I'm drooling at the thought of it.
I'm almost upset that Pizza Bianca was so good (almost), because now I know I'll want to get it every single time I go instead of trying different things on the menu.
But, I'll just have to bank on Katie ordering new things and me being able to eat the leftovers when she inevitably gets full. 
All that to say, I'm giving Calogero's a 5/5 for taste, and I can't wait to get back to try some of the other styles.
Vibes: 5/5
Calogero's is right in the center of Lake Alfred, which may not be somewhere you're venturing out to too often, but is a great passing-through location nonetheless.
Their spot is awesome, with two different buildings, and an outside seating area in the middle.
This isn't Downtown Lakeland, or the main strip of Winter Haven, but when you know you're going to be passing through Lake Alfred (which is a spot a lot of us often pass as we're leaving Polk), plan a trip to Calogero's and treat yourself a bit.
Tack on the fact that the owner, Charlie, and the rest of the team will make you feel right at home (either that or Italy); and I'm giving the vibes a solid 5/5 as well.
Extremely friendly, great hospitality, homey-quaint vibes, nice spot to sit for a bite, and a great passing-through location in Lake Alfred.
Value: 5/5
You can't really beat it.
Katie and I each got a pizza and both left full to the gills.
The pies range from $14 to $18 depending on the type, because of the toppings; but as I quickly learned from the Pizza Bianca ($18); it is WELL worth it.
Two people could probably split a pizza as more of a quick bite (just because it's so good), but I'd recommend a pie per person.
That said, I originally thought about dropping down the score to a 4 or 4.5 being that *most* of the pizzas are $16-$18 — but, truthfully, the taste, the vibes, the whole atmosphere of this little hidden gem make is so worth every dollar.
Another 5/5 for Calogero's.
Overall: 5/5
Calogero's is coming in with 5s across the board, giving it 5/5 overall.
This spot might just be our new go-to pizza spot.
We will obviously still need to grab a NY style pizza here and there, but living 10 minutes away from a spot like Calogero's can get dangerous.
Would I bring my visiting family there?
110%.
My family will be flying in from Long Island. They'll have had great NY style pizza before they came. But when they get hungry here, we'll be headed to Calogero's so they can experience 5/5 wood fire pizza from Charlie.
Here’s how I’d sum up Calogero's Pizza:
Calogero's is a wood-fired, Italian-style pizza spot sitting right in the heart of Lake Alfred, and it's one of the best-kept secrets in Polk County.
If you walk in expecting New York style, you're going to miss the point.
This is a completely different experience, and once you accept that, you're going to love every bite.
Charlie and the team are genuinely great. The hospitality feels real, the spot has a homey charm to it, and the whole setup, two buildings with outdoor seating in the middle, just works.
The Pizza Bianca alone is worth making the drive.
I'm already thinking about the next trip back.
Do yourself a favor...go to Calogero's the next time you're anywhere near Lake Alfred.
Before You Go....
Hey!
I want to know what you think of Calogero's Pizza.
Leave a comment below.
The more you share, the better, but anything is appreciated.
Each comment helps The Best Of Polk articles and eventually, the yearly awards!
Have a place you want me to try?
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I’ve been there and yes the pizza is excellent, hopefully you guys stuck your head in the shop at the end Biggers antiques? The store is amazing especially starting in October with the fall merchandise.
We did not! But we’re only 10 minutes away here in Downtown Auburndale, so we’ll definitely be back quite a bit.
Pizza is a very subjective issue, but for my taste (moved here from Ohio 7 years ago) Polk County lacks for good pizza. Then I found Cologero’s in Lake Alfred, and they immediately became my favorite pizza…no others are even close. Good vibes, good value and however you like your pizza…it’s gonna be good at this gem of a pizza parlor. I’m hooked.
Well put. We agree completely. We don’t have the Polk County tastebuds for pizza, so the closest we’ve found to our style is Palace — but Calogero’s is different. It’s just great freakin’ food.
I went out to lunch with some ladies the other day in Winter Haven little restaurant doesn’t even have a really good sign in out. Front called Kokomo‘s. It was really cute and the price was good and the food was all homemade sandwiches of course but thought you guys might want to try it out probably have to Google where it is because I know it’s next to a store that sells musical instruments and straight down from the library
Hey Wendy, you’re the second person who commented on an article this week recommending Komomo’s. And funny enough, the first person was Regina Carlton from Carlton Music Center! We’re planning on trying it out sometime this week 🙂 Thank you! 🙏
I actually saw Ryan at Calogero’s. About half od my weekly meals come from there (twice a week, leftovers, and extra meal). I can no longer eat “value” pizza. As much as I love Calogero’s pizza, I often get the specials because they are so great.
Hey Bonnie — That’s great! Ryan is now there weekly so you might see more of him 😂 We’re so happy we found it and are only 10 minutes away.