My Family Spent the Last Three Months With Solo Stove’s Pizza Oven — It’s Been a Delicious Investment

It happened over pizza, as so many of the best love stories do. I was getting ready to put a pie in the oven at my friend Victoria’s backyard pizza party when I locked eyes with a tall guy with a sweet smile. It was love at first bite — I mean, sight — as we shared a couple of slices together that October evening.

Fast forward 12 years, and that pizza cutie (Seth) and I are married with two kids. We still love pizza, and now we have a new backyard pizza oven to call our own: the Bonfire Pi Fire from Solo Stove. After my completely un-subtle hints (and some very effective advertising on the Tony Kornheiser show), Seth bought me a Solo Stove Bonfire fire pit for Mother’s Day in 2020. It was the perfect addition to our backyard, where we suddenly found ourselves spending a lot of time. 

Once we could invite people over again safely, we enjoyed hosting backyard parties around our Solo Stove. Anytime my kids had friends over, they’d beg to start up the fire pit for s’mores, and we spent many autumn nights cozied up by the fire with friends. But as soon as we added the Bonfire Pi Fire, a portable pizza oven attachment heated by the flames below, those cozy backyard hangs turned into full-blown pizza parties, where we’d invite friends to bring toppings (and wine) for a meandering evening of catching up while firing up thin, bubbly Neapolitan-style pizzas in the oven.

I’m no stranger to pizza ovens. Remember that fateful pizza party at Victoria’s? Around that time, I started working for Victoria’s now-shuttered mobile pizza business, Pizza Tonight. We drove a Forno Bravo mobile pizza oven to local breweries and events and made Neapolitan-style pizzas using fresh dough and gourmet ingredients. I was primarily responsible for stretching the dough and topping the pizzas, and I learned a lot about timing by watching our pizzaiolo, Evan, fire pie after pie in that hulking 900°F oven. 

The inverted dome harnesses the heat from the fire pit below and cooks a pie evenly from above and below the pizza stone insert at the same time. It’s easy to use and easier to clean. After the oven cools down, I use a brush to dislodge any bits that have stuck to the pizza stone and wipe down the outside with a wet kitchen towel before storing the oven in its handy carrying case. 

One feature I particularly love is that the Pi Fire’s long legs elevate it far enough above the fire so we can enjoy pizza and s’mores at the same time. If you’ve ever attended a backyard pizza party, then you know there’s a fair amount of waiting around, as you can only cook one pie at a time. It’s great to have the fire pit open below for folks who have finished their pies to be able to make a few s’mores!

We’ve only had the oven for about three months, but if we end up dusting off our camping tents this summer, you can be sure we’ll bring the miraculously portable Solo Stove and Pi Fire along for the ride.

The entire Bonfire Pi Fire package is a bit of a splurge, although it’s in line with (or even less than) other outdoor portable pizza ovens. It’s $260 for the Pi Fire (when it’s on sale) and you can either use it with the Solo Stove Bonfire (which costs another $260) or the Gas Burner attachment (which is usually $180 but you can get it for free with any Pi Fire purchase during Pi Day on March 14).

But for me, it comes down to two things: cost per use and the enjoyment factor. If I think about how many uses I’ll get out of the Pi Fire (which is a lot), those numbers start to make a little more sense. This is an investment for years to come, and when I think of the hours spent huddled together with family and friends around the oven, the expense makes total sense.