03/11/2026
Out of town pizza review: The 4th Horseman
This one's extensive so buckle in. When the front door of this Downtown Long Beach establishment says "pizza, beer, horror, metal" you know you're in the right place. At least for Vulgar Display of Pizza. The place itself: As soon as you walk in you're greeted with horror and metal memorabilia everywhere so definitely the right place. The front section has a gothy cave-like feel then the back lightens up a bit and is chock full of old school arcade games and a pool table. This is most definitely an all hours hang out spot that caters to people such as ourselves. So once the shock and awe of the surroundings settle down we get to the real reason we're there: the pizza. Starting off, the place has a very extensive craft beer selection in bottle and tap then you head to the front counter to put in your order. The menu is eclectic, as it should be at a place like this, but still has the classics. Glancing at the menu, of which all pies have appropriately evil names, you have wild creations such as the "Captain Spudling" (bacon, cheddar, tater tots, mozz, ranch, parsley) and "El Puerco Loco" (spicy carnitas, mozz, jalapeños, pickled red onions, avocado tomatillo salsa) to classics such as Margherita and Meat Lovers. You can check the menu in pics for the appropriate names and the rest of their creations. Right off the bat, I felt so at home there that even if the pizza wasn't good it would still be worth going and hanging. But lo and behold the pizza was good. We started off with the "Cheez Knots" (sourdough garlic knots with olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, parmesan, and parsley) covered in mozz. Although a little doughy the taste was excellent as was the marinara. Perfect balance of garlic and spices. So far, so good. For the pies we got "The Pale Horse" (ricotta, mozz, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, sausage, pesto, basil). I'm a sucker for ricotta and pesto so that was a no brainer. First the negatives, albeit all quite minor. The pie had a little flop, the ricotta could have been season a bit more, and basil could have been fresher. Now for the positives. The ricotta was quite creamy and definitely seasoned. The pie had a perfect balance of ingredients, not too many olives, which would have made the pie too salty, great pesto and great flavor overall. Second was the "Death to Piggy" (tomato sauce, mozz, bacon, pepp, sausage). Great flavor, no droop on this one. It was super solid pie. Only negative would be that they were skimpy on the toppings, but we were so stuffed anyway by the time we got to that pie it didn't matter much at the time. So to recap: excellent beer selection, very good pizza, arcade games, pool table, horror movies playing on the TV, and "metal" playing. Now, that last part was THE biggest issue of the place. Most of the songs played in the 2ish hours we were there were Deftones. Not really metal and to play mostly Deftones in the time we were there is a little ridiculous. Plus, I personally hate the Deftones. If ya got metal in the tag line of your business I expect better. Still, I'm looking forward to going back some time soon and trying some of the more adventurous pies. 🤘