Mary Lou’s Pizza in Old Forge: A Fresh Tomato Tray That Tastes Like Summer — 25+ Years, New Dining Room, House-Made Pasta

I walked in, ordered, paid the bill, and reviewed the pizza like every other customer. No heads-up. No comps.

Some pizzerias earn their loyal following through marketing, location, and volume. And then there’s Mary Lou’s Pizza in Old Forge — a place that has quietly, patiently built one of the most devoted followings in the Pizza Capital of the World for 25+ years running, without ever losing what made them special in the first place.

I’ve been thinking about writing a Mary Lou’s update for a long time. My original NEPA Pizza Review write-up of Mary Lou’s went up in July of 2013, and it was one of the earliest reviews on the site where a reader — a self-described pizza aficionado — put his personal pizza reputation on the line with a bold claim that Mary Lou’s was “the best Old Forge pizza in the area.” I made him back up the boast. He passed with flying colors. That review has been one of my favorite NEPA pizza stories for over a decade.

Thirteen years later, I finally made it back to 209 Dunn Avenue — and I’m here to tell you that not only is Mary Lou’s still doing everything I loved in 2013, they’ve quietly grown into something even bigger, more comfortable, and more delicious than ever before.

What’s New at Mary Lou’s Since 2013

This is the section that earned this article a rewrite, because a lot has changed at Mary Lou’s in the best possible ways.

A warm and inviting dining room. For the last decade-plus, Mary Lou’s was a takeout-only operation — you drove down Dunn Avenue, walked in, picked up a beautifully-boxed tray, and headed home. That’s still an option. But now, for the first time in my memory of the place, Mary Lou’s has a beautiful new dining room with plenty of seating. It’s warm. It’s inviting. It’s exactly the kind of dining space this pizza deserved — and it changes the Mary Lou’s experience in a big way. You can now sit down, order fresh, and eat that Old Forge tray straight out of the oven at the same building where it’s made. If you’ve only ever done takeout at Mary Lou’s, put a dine-in visit on the calendar.

House-made pasta and Pasta Night. Mary Lou’s is now making fresh pastas from scratch, in-house, alongside the pizza — and they’ve launched a Pasta Night that has developed a quick and loyal following. This is a big move. A pizzeria that expands into fresh pasta is a pizzeria that respects the kitchen and respects the craft. If you’re in Old Forge on a Pasta Night, you have to make it a priority.

Fresh in-house dough for pizza and pasta both. Mary Lou’s makes all of their own dough on premise for both the pizza and the pasta programs. This is one of those questions people ask constantly — “do they make their own dough?” — and at Mary Lou’s the answer is yes, from scratch, every day they’re open.

25+ years in business. In a competitive Old Forge market with dozens of pizza options within walking distance of Mary Lou’s, staying in the game for 25+ years while continuing to expand and improve is its own kind of achievement. That kind of longevity in the Pizza Capital of the World isn’t luck. It’s craft.

The Original Story: A Pizza Aficionado’s Reputation on the Line

Quick refresher for the folks who haven’t read the original 2013 piece — because the story is worth telling one more time.

Back in 2013, a NEPA pizza aficionado told me point-blank that Mary Lou’s was the best Old Forge pizza in the area and that he’d stake his personal pizza reputation on my rave review. That’s a bold statement in a town this deep with pizza history. I told him he was officially on the hook.

When I finally made it down to Dunn Avenue, I was hit with all the details I still remember today: the unexpectedly large building for a takeout operation, the impeccably clean visible kitchen, the fresh pizza crusts rising on the proofing racks, the classic Old Forge “machete” cutter, the friendly staff, and — my favorite touch — the way they boxed the pizza in a container that looked like the kind of gift box your mother would put a dress shirt and tie in for you on Christmas, complete with the Mary Lou’s seal placed on top before it was handed to me.

The pizza aficionado passed his test with flying colors that day. Mary Lou’s earned my highest praise on the very first review, especially for the Old Forge Red and the Fresh Tomato Pizza he’d told me to try.

Fast-forward to July 8, 2026 — I finally made the return trip. And I did what a lot of first-time and repeat Mary Lou’s fans do in the summertime: I ordered the pizza that only shows up on the menu for a few short months of the year.

Atmosphere: The New Dining Room Is a Real Upgrade

I want to spend a minute on the new dining room because it genuinely changes the Mary Lou’s experience.

Walking in, you can still see the classic Mary Lou’s touches — the visible kitchen, the crusts rising, the friendly staff, the machete on the cutting board. But now, instead of hovering near the takeout window waiting for your tray, you can settle into a warm, welcoming dining room with plenty of seating and let the whole experience unfold at a slower pace. It’s the kind of room that turns a pizza pickup into a proper Old Forge meal — the kind of place you bring family, friends, or the Pizza Princess for a Saturday afternoon that doesn’t need to end at the car.

The rest of the operation is exactly as I remembered it. Everything still spotless. The kitchen still visible. The staff still ridiculously friendly and welcoming — genuinely one of the most positive customer experiences you’ll have at any Old Forge pizzeria. And the pizza still comes out of that same trusted kitchen that’s been feeding this town for over 25 years.

The Old Forge Fresh Tomato Pizza (Summer Only)

Here’s the detail I want every Mary Lou’s fan and every out-of-town pizza pilgrim to know before they plan a visit: the tray of Old Forge Fresh Tomato Pizza is a summer-only special at Mary Lou’s. This pizza is not available year-round. It shows up when the tomatoes are at their peak and disappears when the season ends. If you want to eat this pie, you need to plan a summer trip to Old Forge. Full stop.

And let me tell you — it is worth planning a trip around.

Here’s what landed in front of me on July 8, 2026:

  • Fresh dough Old Forge crust. The dough at Mary Lou’s has always been a strength, and the current program (all made in-house) is doing something really special. The crust was flavorful, tender, with a pleasant chew and plenty of character. It ate like a crust that knows exactly what it wants to be. Soft in the center, lightly crispy around the edges — that combination is the sweet spot for a proper Old Forge tray, and Mary Lou’s nails it.
  • Super gooey cheese with buttery notes. The cheese pull on this pie was outstanding, and there’s a subtle buttery undertone in the cheese blend that adds a layer of richness you don’t get from a standard mozzarella. That buttery note is one of those quiet Mary Lou’s signature details that sets them apart.
  • Fresh, ripe, vibrant sliced tomatoes. The tomatoes are the whole reason this pizza exists as a summer-only tray, and Mary Lou’s is sourcing tomatoes that look and taste like they came out of the ground yesterday. Bright red, juicy, structurally intact, and layered generously across the tray so every cut gets its fair share.
  • Big-time flavor across the whole tray. Plenty of garlic, fresh basil, juicy tomatoes, parmesan cheese, seasoning, and (I presume) EVOO — every one of those flavors landed clean and pulled its own weight. This isn’t a pizza where one element dominates. Every bite delivered garlic and basil and tomato and parmesan and the buttery cheese underneath, all in one satisfying mouthful.

Here’s the line I want to end this section with, and I mean it exactly as I say it:

This pizza tastes like summer.

If you handed this tray to someone with no context and asked them to describe it in three words, “tastes like summer” would be an entirely reasonable answer. That’s what Mary Lou’s is doing with this pie. It’s a seasonal celebration on a rectangular Old Forge tray.

Pizzaiolo’s Notes 🍕

A few things from the pizzaiolo seat after this visit:

  • The house-made fresh dough program is a real point of difference. Making dough in-house every day for both pizza and pasta is more work than most shops are willing to do. Mary Lou’s does it, and the dough character is the payoff.
  • The buttery notes in the cheese are a signature detail. I don’t know the blend, and I don’t expect to. But that buttery undertone is doing quiet flavor work that separates Mary Lou’s tray from the rest of the Old Forge field.
  • The summer-only fresh tomato tray is a real seasonal event. Most pizzerias run their menu on autopilot year-round. Mary Lou’s is one of the shops treating summer tomatoes with the seasonal respect they deserve, and putting a pizza on the menu that literally cannot exist in December. That’s a kitchen paying attention.
  • The dining room addition is the right kind of growth. Some restaurants expand and lose their soul. Mary Lou’s expanded and kept everything that made them special — the same kitchen, the same craft, the same friendly staff, the same trays coming off the machete cutting board. They just gave the community a place to sit down and enjoy it.
  • The pasta expansion is a natural extension of the dough program. A pizzeria that makes their own dough well can almost always make their own pasta well. Same skill set, same attention to detail, same reverence for fresh ingredients.

What I’d Order Next Time

I want to come back and put the Old Forge Red tray on the current 10-point rubric — my 2013 review of the red was on the old 5-point system I retired years ago, so it’s overdue for a fresh scorecard. I also want to make it back on Pasta Night and give the house-made pastas the proper review treatment. And honestly, I want to bring the whole family — the First Lady, the Pizza Prince, and the Pizza Princess — to the new dining room for a full Mary Lou’s evening. That’s on the calendar.

Final Thoughts: A Quiet Old Forge Original That Just Keeps Getting Better

Mary Lou’s Pizza is one of the great quiet stories in the Old Forge pizza universe. 25+ years of consistent craft. A pizza aficionado’s confident guarantee that has held up for well over a decade. A staff that treats every customer like family. A dough program that they’ve now extended into fresh pasta. A dining room that finally lets you sit down and enjoy the food where it’s made. And a summer-only fresh tomato tray that is one of the most seasonal, most alive, most vibrant pizzas in the entire Pizza Capital of the World.

If you’re planning an Old Forge pizza tour, working through the best pizza in the Pizza Capital of the World, or just searching for the best pizza in Old Forge, PA on a summer afternoon, do yourself a favor: make it to Mary Lou’s, and make it while the tomatoes are in season.

My Takeaways

  • 🍕 The Old Forge Fresh Tomato Pizza is a summer-only tray — plan a summer trip to Old Forge around it
  • 🍅 Fresh, ripe, vibrant sliced tomatoes plus garlic, basil, parmesan, and EVOO — this pizza literally tastes like summer
  • 🧀 The cheese has subtle buttery notes that set the Mary Lou’s tray apart
  • 🥦 New warm, inviting dining room means you can now dine in — a big upgrade from takeout-only
  • 🍕 House-made dough and fresh in-house pastas — and Pasta Night is a growing local tradition

Have you been to Mary Lou’s since the dining room opened, or caught one of the Pasta Nights? What’s your go-to order — the Old Forge Red, the summer fresh tomato, or something off the new pasta menu? Drop it in the comments, and congratulations to the whole Mary Lou’s family on 25+ years of Old Forge pizza craft.

Pizza is Similar to:

Rating Table — Old Forge Fresh Tomato Pizza (July 2026)

CategoryScore
Crust7.7
SauceN/A
Cheese8.5
Taste9.1
Crispy/Cooked Properly7.4
Value7.0
Overall Rating7.9

Old Forge Red tray scorecard on the current 10-point rubric coming on a return visit — the 2013 review used the retired 5-point system.

Mary Lou’s Pizza
209 Dunn Avenue, Old Forge, PA 18518
Dine-in & Takeout · House-made dough · House-made fresh pastas · Pasta Night
Celebrating 25+ years in the Pizza Capital of the World

Speaking of sauce — if you’re curious how Mary Lou’s tomato-forward summer tray stacks up against the rest of the NEPA sauce field, check out our NEPA Pizza Sauce Rankings for the running leaderboard. And if you make pizza at home and want the gear I actually use, our Amazon affiliate picks are linked on the site — every click helps keep NEPA Pizza Review independent and ad-light.

Pizza Pics from 2013!

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