QuickTake:

Tandoori chicken is delicious on its own, but Fusion Curry Pizza amps it and other classic Indian dishes up through its pies, breadsticks and wings. The place has been open for about six months.

The best part of Indian food might just be the naan. Specifically, using the pillowy flatbread to sop up butter chicken, paneer curry and other scoopable delights.

Fusion Curry Pizza successfully morphed that experience into pizza. The Springfield joint opened last year at the former R Pizza location. It’s been on my to-try list since January, so when a reader wrote in last week with a glowing review, I told myself it was time. 

Fusion infuses flavors of popular Indian fare, from tangy and pickle-y achari to smoky tandoori chicken, into pizza without losing the appeal of either dish. You get gooey cheese, slow-cooked curries and a light crust in one package.

Or, as my dining companion put it, Fusion is “proof you can make anything into a pizza.”

The Punjabi garlic breadsticks at Fusion Curry Pizza in Springfield are loaded with blistered cheese and a spicy chili and onion center. Credit: Taylor Goebel / Lookout Eugene-Springfield

Because I’m a kid at heart, I had to start with the breadsticks. You can order the regular version for that classic salty cheese pull, but I recommend the Punjabi garlic breadsticks ($7.99), which promise that same blistered, stretchy goodness, along with a spicy heart of green chili, red onion and bell pepper.

While waiting for the butter chicken pizza ($21.99 for a medium, 12-inch pie), I washed down the breadsticks with Fusion’s cardamom-kissed and tart-sweet mango lassi ($4.99). 

Then it arrived: Aromatic spiced chicken, a thin yet punchy layer of makhani (butter) sauce, crisp-tender red onion and bell pepper, charred edges and a golden brown undercarriage. 

The crust is slightly thicker and airier than naan, but it’s just as buttery and crisp. It’s got a slight flop, but that’s more than acceptable considering how Fusion loads its pie with so many juicy cubes of chicken. As all pizzas should, the butter chicken pie makes for excellent leftovers, especially when crisped up in an air fryer. 

My only gripe: There is no option to order a side of butter chicken sauce. Pro move: Order the pizza and the butter chicken entree ($20.95), and scoop up that sauce with a cheesy slice.

For our vegan and veggie-focused readers, you can order plant-based versions of the breadsticks and pizza, from Punjabi garlic to pepperoni. The vegan tandoori pie was solid, with spicy hunks of plant-based chicken. I’m not a fan of most vegan cheeses for their tendency to be, well, gluey, so I would try it with no cheese next time. The combo of sauce and toppings, even without cheese, makes for a robust vegan pie.

Fusion Curry Pizza in Springfield offers several vegan pizza options, including the tandoori pie with plant-based chicken and cheese, crisp-tender bell pepper and red onion and a shower of cilantro. Credit: Taylor Goebel / Lookout Eugene-Springfield

Fusion is a late-night dining option (for Lane County standards, at least), open until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 p.m. the rest of the week.

I contemplated ordering Fusion’s brownie pizza, but figured that was enough pizza-fying of nonpizza foods for one night. 

If you go

Fusion Curry Pizza is at 1406 Mohawk Blvd., Springfield. It opens at 11 a.m. daily. It’s an ideal spot for takeout or delivery, but you can dine in at one of a handful of tables in the cozy establishment. Fusion offers Indian-inspired pizzas, as well as pepperoni, loaded veggie and other classic pies. Vegan and vegetarian options are abundant.

Taylor Goebel covers Lane County's food and drink scene. She has nearly a decade of experience in multimedia journalism, having reported across the Mid-Atlantic on dining, food systems, education, healthcare, local elections, labor and business. She was most recently a food reporter in Washington state, where she documented a fourth-generation fishing family, covered a David vs. Goliath conflict between a national coffee chain and a small Turkish cafe, and had many culinary firsts, from ensaymadas and gilgeori (Korean street) toast to morels and black cod.