The pizza here is very idiosyncratic; let me explain. The mozzarella is housemade. I could taste that the dough was housemade too. It was very soft, almost pita like, yet it retained char from the brick oven giving it a smoky taste. Simply, a unique crust. The tomato sauce tasted fresh and unique too. If I was a betting man, I'd wager that the tomato sauce is housemade too. I'll also mention that most of (if not all of) the pies cost $15 or less. The quality certainly places Mercurio's pies in Pittsburgh's elite class of pizza..
Now the gelato. There are about forty flavors. I settled on the Salted Caramel Truffle. Honestly, I felt like I was in a TV commercial for ice cream as I enjoyed it. The base was luscious and creamy. The gooey caramel and the crisp chocolate truffle bites created for textural contrast. Altogether, it was rich and delicious, yet not overbearing.
A few final points: The service here is very fast; I sat near the oven and witnessed my pizza being taken out of the oven and brought to my table within a minute. The waitresses were very attentive. I also liked the atmosphere. The staff seemed to enjoy working there. There were small subtleties which indicated that this was clearly a small business striving to offer a completely gratifying experience.They also have several beers on tap (Peroni, New Castle, Stella, and a seasonal draught which was North Country Brewing Co.'s Buck Up Black Pale Ale - a beer from Slippery Rock) - all of which were $5 or less.
Mercurio's does not settle on quality.