Love pizza? You’re in good company.
According to WorldMetrics.org, approximately three billion pizzas are sold each year in the U.S., with an astounding 350 slices eaten every second. Pepperoni reigns as the most popular topping, closely followed by mushrooms. Pizza’s popularity as a comfort food among U.S. consumers drives hospitality entrepreneurship, with pizzerias accounting for 17% of all U.S. restaurants, generating about $46 billion in sales.
While October, National Pizza Month, has ended, it’s still the perfect time to celebrate local favorites. With over 200 pizza spots listed on Yelp in Orange County, the choices can be overwhelming. Here’s a curated selection of standout pizzerias, each offering something special.
Parlor Woodfire Kitchen & Cocktails
The Business Journal’s 2018 Restaurateur of the Year, Russ Bendel Jr., and his RJB Restaurants group opened Parlor Woodfire Kitchen & Cocktails in July, with Executive Chef and Partner Jared Cook, the Business Journal’s Chef of the Year for 2024, overseeing the menu.
Located on El Camino Real in San Clemente across the street from Bendel’s first restaurant, Vine, the new Parlor eatery is dubbed “a pizza Americana and spirits-forward restaurant.” Parlor also has appetizers, salads, pasta and entrée dishes, but the focus is on pizza.
Taking center stage is a Wood Stone Mt. Baker, a six-foot stone hearth oven that combines both radiant gas flame and wood-fired cooking. An infrared burner helps maintain floor temperatures, ensuring even cooking. The oven was made in the U.S. and is fueled with almond and white oak logs.
“Parlor is our version of pizza. It’s what I wanted to offer – sourdough crust, big puff bubbles from cold fermentation, crispy, chewy outside with soft tender interior,” said Cook, who noted it took him a while to create the perfect pizza dough.
“All the pizzas are what you’d expect to see,” explained Cook. “I kept the menu very approachable. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. With every pizza, I took the approach of how can I make this pizza the best I have ever had. Our barbecued chicken pizza is the best I have ever had. Our pizzas are simple and high quality—they are elevated versions of pizza.”
Parlor currently has seven different pizzas on the menu, from a straightforward margherita pizza to a more exotic truffle roasted maitake mushrooms pie.
“Our most popular pizzas are the margherita, the pepperoni and the sausage,” said Cook, who added that he will be updating the menu soon and adding another starter, another pasta and a vegetarian pizza option with a cauliflower crust.
Parlor, 216 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente, parlorsanclemente.com
Gibroni’s Pizza
It started as a pandemic culinary experiment making pizzas for friends and neighbors in San Clemente. Soon, Tony and Lindsey Gioutsos had 50 reservations a night and set up tables in their driveway.
That experiment has turned into a full-blown pizza restaurant called Gibroni’s Pizza and Sports Bar. More than just another pizza joint, Gibroni’s Pizza is home to Detroit-style pizza. The signature pizzas feature a thick, rectangular crust with a crispy exterior and a soft, airy interior. Baked in traditional Detroit-style pans, the caramelized cheese crust gives it an extra crunch.
“I grew up in metro Detroit and that’s the pizza I ate all the time,” said Tony. “Back in the 1960s, Detroit pizza was made with a certain kind of blue steel pan. It’s square. The dough is a fluffy focaccia. You put the cheese all the way to the edges—it makes a butter crust which is what we call it, and then sauce on top. That’s what makes a Detroit style pizza. I like having corner slices, and everyone gets a corner.”
Among the many pizza options: double pepperoni with marinara and parmesan; the Baba pizza with fresh mozzarella, marinara and basil; the Caprice pizza with fig, prosciutto, blue cheese, balsamic glaze, parmesan arugula salad and lemon wedge garnish; Fun Guys pizza with cremini mushroom, sausage, white truffle oil, porcini cream sauce and a parsley garnish; the Greektown pizza with gyro meat, kalamata olive, red onions, feta cheese, grape tomatoes, tzatziki drizzle and fresh dill.
Pizza may be the star of the show, but the restaurant also features Greek recipes courtesy of Tony’s family including a Greek salad and wings with a 14-spice rub. Tony recruited his brother, who runs an Italian restaurant in Detroit, to create the pasta dishes.
Michiganders longing for home along with fans of Motown will enjoy the many culinary odes to Michigan, including the Faygo Pop soft drinks and other treats from Michigan, and of course Superman ice cream—a Detroit specialty.
The restaurant’s décor practically screams Detroit. Odes to the motor city abound, including the bar adorned with dozens of Michigan license plates and murals depicting Detroit celebrities from the music and sports worlds.
The Detroit pizza concept resulted in a line around the block for the restaurant’s grand opening, and its continued popularity has Tony and Lindsey contemplating additional locations.
“That’s the goal,” said Tony. “We want to get settled here first, and then why not more locations? And if we go out of state we can franchise.”
Gibroni’s Pizza and Sports Bar, 555 North El Camino Real, Suite E, San Clemente, gibronispizza.com
Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizza
I have been a fan of Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizza ever since four friends purchased the iconic Newport Beach restaurant and reopened it in October 2013.
Newport Beach residents Stan Frazier (former drummer with Sugar Ray and the winner of TVs “Chef Race”), Andy Hong (partner in a music management company), Jeff Roberts (former SVP of worldwide retail for Volcom) and Rob Dodman (former CFO of Winchell’s) remodeled the 48-year-old restaurant and created a new vibe along with a refreshed menu.
Pizza takes center stage, but diners can also order salads, sandwiches, Stan’s famous meatballs (pork, beef and pancetta), garlic knots, wings and pinwheels: pizza dough stuffed with toppings, rolled and sliced into pinwheels with marinara sauce for dunking.
“This is more than a pizza place. This place came together by four partners from different backgrounds with a common thread: music, food and love,” said Frazier, who graduated from Corona del Mar High School in 1986.
“Once the deal to purchase the restaurant was worked out, we had a two-month waiting period to prepare for when we got the keys,” added Frazier. “We got the keys on a Friday. By the following Friday, we were open for business. We had 25 to 30 people working around the clock pulling out the carpeting and the ceiling. We installed new heating and air, did exterior and interior paint plus a kitchen renovation and menu renovation. I did not think we could do it, but we set a time limit.”
Their deadline was mandated by their opening night fundraiser for Mariners Elementary School, due to start at 5 p.m.
“We pulled it off with three minutes to go before opening our doors. There was a line out the door, not a single parking space, people were walking blocks to come here,” said Frazier. “It was amazing and proves that people love what we’re doing here.”
Diners loved it so much that Frazier and the company opened additional locations in Irvine and Aliso Viejo.
The initial fundraiser for Mariners was the first of many charitable endeavors hosted by Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizza over the past 11 years. Their largest annual fundraiser is held in September for the LEGO Corner at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). In addition to diners donating LEGO sets and cash so kids have toys to play with while undergoing treatments, sales of the pizza of the month also go to CHOC.
Last month’s flavor was The Baked Potato Pie, created by Frazier exclusively for Sgt. Pepperoni’s. The Baked Potato Pie is crafted with a tangy sour cream base and topped with grated pepper jack and mozzarella cheeses, thinly sliced potatoes, minced garlic, crumbled bacon, fresh rosemary and finished with parmesan and chives.
The Baked Potato Pie proved so popular they kept it on the menu through October.
2300 S.E. Bristol St. Ste F, Newport Beach, (949) 852-9500, SgtPepps.com
4533 Campus Dr., Irvine, (949) 748-1080, SgtPepps.com
26601 Aliso Creek Road, Suite D, Aliso Viejo, (949) 215-3070, SgtPepps.com
Foretti’s
Chef and Restaurateur Alessandro Pirozzi is known for his Italian restaurants in Laguna Beach including Alessa and Salerno. For several years, he also owned and operated a restaurant in Corona del Mar called Pirozzi’s.
In 2020, London-born Thaddeus Foret purchased the restaurant and officially reopened it in 2023 under a new name: Foretti’s.
Foret brings more than 30 years of experience in hospitality to his new restaurant, working his way overtime from table busser to general manager, then managing partner, at Antonello Ristorante at South Coast Plaza Village in Santa Ana, across from the street from the shopper center.
He was also instrumental in the purchase of Villa Nova with The Winery Restaurant partners prior to shifting gears with Foretti’s.
Foretti’s specializes in authentic Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana-certified, wood-fired pizzas baked in a 900-degree oven with the same techniques and ingredients used in Naples, Italy.
“To be part of the association, you have to do everything by their guidelines, so everything has to be authentic,” explained Foret. “We get the flour from Italy; we use dedicated origin tomatoes. People from the association go around and spot check you. I believe we’re the only ones in Orange County that are part of the association. There are people who travel that will go to restaurants that are certified because they know they will feel like they are in Italy.”
When Foret purchased Pirozzi’s, he acquired the restaurant’s pizza oven as well as the signature recipes including the famous meatballs. Other dishes on the menu include authentic appetizers, salads, a prosciutto and formaggi bar, soups, gnocchi, entrees and pasta dishes including a sensational Limoncello tagliarini with house made limoncello infused pasta and tiger shrimp, a satisfying pappardelle lamb ragu with Colorado 16-hour slow braised lamb shoulder ragù, and bucatini with maitake, portobello, porcini, and cremini mushrooms (add wild boar sausage for an extra-special taste treat).
Signature pizzas include the Salsiccia with house made wild boar sausage and sautéed mushrooms; Quattro Stagioni with tartufotto ham, artichokes, kalamata and castelvetrano olives, mozzarella, mushrooms and tomato sauce; and Pizza Di Mare with wild white shrimp, calamari, yellow and red grape tomatoes, arugula, marinated garlic and Calabrian oil.
One of the most popular pizzas is the Nutella pizza with organic bananas and strawberries—a perfect way to end a meal.
Foretti’s, 2929 East Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar, (949) 675-2932, Forettis.com
Truly Pizza
Truly Pizza opened last year in Dana Point and has proven to be so popular that the team behind the brand plans to open a second location in Laguna Beach next year.
Founded by Las Vegas hospitality veteran Donna Baldwin along with World Pizza Champion members John Arena, Chris Decker and Michael Vakneen, Truly Pizza has had a truly remarkable first year.
In addition to Truly Pizza being named to several Best Pizza lists, its Champion Cheese Pizza, created by pizzaiolo Sergio Balderas, won the Best Traditional Pizza award at the 2024 World Pizza Championship.
Truly is known for its artisan 12 inch crispy and airy hearth-baked pizzas and square pizzas. A three-day fermentation process for the dough creates small bubbles of air that char in the oven forming “micro-blisters.” The result is a unique crust that is simultaneously airy and crisp.
Baldwin, a longtime resident of Laguna Beach, said in a press statement that “bringing Truly Pizza to Laguna Beach feels like coming home. We believe in creating a space where pizza brings people together, and our new location on PCH is the perfect place to make that happen. We are looking forward to sharing our love for authentic, quality pizza with even more people.”
Truly Pizza, 24402 Del Prado, Dana Point, (949) 218-8220, trulypizza.com
Prince Street
Prince Street Pizza at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa has no tables or chairs, and little in the way of décor. What they do have is pizza so delicious that there is always a line of pizza lovers waiting to take home a coveted pie or slice.
This is the first Orange County location and the 12th overall for New York-based Prince Street Pizza, famous for Sicilian-style square slices, Neapolitan pizzas and proprietary pizza sauce.
The pizzas are made daily from scratch. To get the same dough texture as the original location in New York City, Prince Street reportedly uses a water filtration process to replicate the water used in New York.
Among the pizza offerings: Sicilian Soho Square pizzas which consist of a thick, crisp and fluffy crust along with assorted toppings such as fra diavolo sauce and pepperoni; and the thin crispy crust round pizzas come with toppings such as nut-free pesto sauce and smoked mozzarella.
Prince Street Pizza also has small pizzettas (available 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), salads and risotto balls as well as desserts. You can also take home a jar of their pizza sauce.
Prince Street Pizza, 1870 Harbor Blvd., Ste. 104 (facing Newport Blvd.), Costa Mesa, (949) 220-7107, princestreetpizza.com
