Say ‘cheese’: A new pizza and beer spot opens in the Midlands. Here’s what we tried

There’s a new spot for pizza, calzones, beer and more near Lake Murray.

Cheesy Pint Pizzeria has opened its doors at 2742 North Lake Drive near Irmo. That’s located in the Murray Landing shopping center that is anchored by a Publix grocery store. The pizzeria currently is in a soft opening phase.

The new restaurant — which has a colorful message scrawled across a wall in its dining room telling customers to “Eat, Drink & Be Cheesy” — has a host of pizzas on its menu. Customers can customize their own pie or choose from a number of specialty pies, including The Meat-za. That one comes with red sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, Italian sausage and meatballs.

This reporter had a pizza with meatballs and jalapenos during a recent visit. The crust was light, with just the right amount of crispness, and the gooey, flavorful cheese offered the perfect balance against the heat of the jalapenos.

The menu also includes a host of calzones, salads and grinder sandwiches. One of the grinders is the Hot Italian, which has ham, salami, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion and Italian dressing.

The beer roster at Cheesy Pint includes a number of craft brews, IPAs, sours and domestics, and the restaurant also offers wine.

North Lake Drive through that section near Irmo is a bustling road, with Lake Murray off to the west and a host of residential subdivisions nearby. About 28,300 cars per day travel down that section of North Lake, per state Department of Transportation data.