Space Themed Pizza Joint and Cocktail Bar Brings Its Out of This World Touch to Montrose — Inside the New Betelgeuse Betelgeuse

It is named for the red supergiant star, one of the largest visible to the naked eye (or so says Wikipedia). That bright shining celestial body dubbed Betelgeuse is the inspiration for Space City’s latest pizza and high-brow cocktail restaurant. Say hello to Betelgeuse Betelgeuse.

If you’re at a loss as to how to pronounce the double-named eatery (as I was), simply utter “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” like in the Tim Burton movie.

Betelgeuse Betelgeuse owner Chris Cusack is a bona fied sci-fi buff and collector of quirky space and alien ephemera. In fact he’s decked out his new pizza restaurant in the Montrose neighborhood (his first Betelgeuse Betelgeuse opened last year in Houston’s Sixth Ward) with a lot of it. That includes kooky mannequins dressed in everything from a NASA space suit to a Santa Claus getup poised in its display window flanked by plastic angels, saints, a blowup slice of pizza and a scribbled sign written on an 8 x 11 inch piece of paper that reads: “It’s a bar with good pizza.”

With Betelgeuse Betelgeuse housed in the space that used to be home to Kam’s Fine Chinese on Montrose, you’ll still find one remnant of its former visage — a neon sign lit as a backdrop to the karaoke stage on the other side of this funky restaurant. Keeping Betelgeuse Betelgeuse open until 2 am Cusack is aiming to also draw a late-night industry crowd. And anyone who after downing a boozy Hellfire Margarita ($11), ignited with a hellfire shrub or half-frozen French 75 ($11), might take to the stage and belt out a few songs or stick around to hear some live music.

But don’t be fooled by the eclectic, whimsical vibe of the place. Betelgeuse Betelgeuse is putting out some serious craft cocktails, not to mention pizza that could easily inspire a cult following.

Armed with a full liquor license, Cusack’s mixologists are shaking up martinis like the vodka-spiked pickletini ($13) complete with kosher dill pickle juice, a cold brew espresso martini ($12) and an ode to both the Rolling Stones and the tequila marketing invention that is the tequila sunrise, meant to introduce Americans in the 1970s to this “new” spirit. Here, the kitschy drink even comes with a temporary tattoo of the Stones logo ($13).

What’s a good drink without good bar bites? Betelgeuse Betelgeuse has got that covered with an array of French fries, from those doused with garlic butter and parmesan to pizza fries covered with brick cheese, salami and pepperoni with a marinara dipping sauce ($6 to $11). I wouldn’t miss the spaghetti balls, ($8) deep-fried orbs of spaghetti tossed with tomato vodka sauce and brick cheese, rolled in Italian bread crumbs and served with a side of the same vodka sauce.

The star of this menu, however, is the pizza, available in both 10-inch and 14-inch sizes, every pie cooked Ironclad style in a cast-iron pan. Unlike a lot of pizza joints where their doughy crust is absent any toppings, Cusack and his team adorn the entire circumference with an array of toppings from meaty to vegetarian add-ons. Best yet, they take that shredded Wisconsin brick cheese and push it to the perimeter to create a lacy, crunchy cheese edge.

Find pizzas like the meaty Alpha Centauri ($12/$19) made with Mandola Food Company’s Italian sausage, sauteed peppers, Calabrian chili and orange zest. I definitely wanted more of the pizza dubbed “Do you want more?” This is a white pizza, inspired by one Cusack has eaten in Philadelphia, is topped with a lemon tinged ricotta that is itself topped with lamb sausage, garlic honey and za’atar spice ($12/$20).

Veggie pizzas include a spinach artichoke white pie ($11/$17) and a sweet-ish fresh de frays, made with a ricotta cheese base and topped with fresh strawberries and chevre ($10/$16).

This new Betelgeuse Betelgeuse is located at 4500 Montrose Boulevard with the original at 2101 Washington Avenue. The Montrose pizza shop is open from 4 pm to 2 am seven days a week.