California Pizza Kitchen

I have been to this place before, but this last time was truly the best.
I am a vegan, and it’s a new thing for me to eat out. Some places, it’s hard to find foods that I can eat.
At CPK, they were more than happy to show me all of the options and work with me to accommodate my needs. I got the Cali Veggie pizza, no mozzarella and thin crust. It was absolutely delicious!
Our waitress was the sweetest girl ever, and the manager was very nice as well.
Great food and service. Highly recommend.

Could not get past the idiot dingbat hostess. Party of 5 and she told me 35 minutes when I counted 11 open tables. She said others ahead of us but there was NO ONE waiting. Even offered to split to 2 and 3 but she would not change. Took our money elsewhere.

I love pizza — I would eat it many times a week if I was allowed but I don’t know what the fuss is about with CPK because its just a-​ok!
We arrived to celebrate my nieces birthday and they were able to sit our big party pretty quickly, which is a positive in my book. However they only assigned one waiter to our group of 10+ which slowed things down tremendously.
I had signed up for CPK rewards on suggestion from a friend. The item you get for signing up is not on this menu and I was unable to redeem the reward. Our waiter wasn’t very knowledgeable but I ordered a half Caesar salad (which could have been a whole salad) and shared a pizza with another member of our group. Both arrived timely however my soda was only refilled 2x in my visit, which was very disappointing.
The food wasn’t disappointing, arrived hot and ready to eat. I would suggest that they assign more people to tables with bigger groups.

Terrible service. Never saw the waitress… had to find a manager just to get the check. Food was good.

So disappointing. Went on Saturday evening about 7:00 pm. Service was slow and inattentive (Is it that hard to fill water glasses when empty???) and one diner didn’t get her meal until all others were done. Then the waiter acted like he didn’t know her meal was late. After we asked they removed the charge for that meal from the bill. The other meals were fine.

I can’t express how much gratitude I have for this place. I came here with my parents last Friday for our usual Friday night dinner. Armani (if I can recall his name) was very attentive. I told him about my dietary restrictions when I ordered my pizza. The kitchen manager (if I can recall correctly) came to talk to me to reassure me that the pizza was made so that I can eat it without any GI distress. The pizza again was delish! My dad enjoyed his food. I am happy that they still have my fave dish (chicken tequila fettuccine), which I need to have on a cheat day. I have much much love for this place.

Worst service I’ve had in a long time. Pizza flavor was good but toppings were skimpy and one ingredient missing all together. Our waiter Stephen walked by several times without checking on us. The manager was very nice and did take care of our check.

So I work for a Global Fortune 100 company. A company revenues around $ 70 Billion a year. And guess where the cheap ass Vice President’s (not my VP) admin decides to send the group (and she is not in attendance by the way). Yep… you guessed it! Good ‘ol CPK!
I was an invited guest so I can’t really bitch I guess as I didn’t have to go. I just happen to run the building that they were holding their training today. So I figured, what the heck, I haven’t seen some of these people in awhile and I like a few of them so I’ll tag along. I think this is the 2^nd or 3^rd time I’ve eaten at one of these.
So first off, when I think of pizza, I do not think of California. And a real good way to prove that is when you think of California one does not think of pizza. I’m pretty sure when you think of pizza you think of NY, Chicago, Italy, or basically anywhere in the Northeast… including Mystic Pizza (ha, ha).
The restroom needed some work. The plates that they gave us were probably 25% dirty. The appetizers were absolutely disgusting. I have no idea what the hell I even ate. They serve beer in a can! Really? Beer in a can, yes that is what I said. Some may like that due to the novelty or some may like it cause they think they are cool or funny drinking a beer in a can, but ‘cmon. No one really likes canned beer. I don’t care what you say. If you had a choice, you would drink from the tap or in a bottle… not canned. Shut up. no you wouldn’t either. Not if you had a choice.
I had the Jamaican Jerk Pizza and I tried the BBQ Chicken pizza. Ok, there is an old adage that putting bacon on something makes it better. Yeah, well not on a California Pizza Kitchen Pizza. Both these pizza’s had bacon on it. Of course, the bacon was amazing… I ate that. But I could barely eat the far too ridiculously spiced Jamaican Jerk. Just cause it has «jerk» in it, doesn’t mean you can drench it in spices to hide the actual flavor of the meat. Jimminy Crickets!
I will say the crust was ok. My iced tea was watered to all hell. It’ll be too soon if I go back to another CPK in 10 years.
oh ps. the blonde manager of this CPK is smoking hot… that was literally the only benefit of tonight. My God was she hot.

My wife and I love CPK, their pizza is amazing, but their bathrooms here are absolutely DISGUSTING!!! You know those gas station bathrooms, in the middle of nowhere, that only have an entrance on the outside of the building, where you have to go inside to get the key (usually attached to a piece of wood)? This is very equivalent, only inside a nicer restaurant. Food’s good though!

Generally pretty good. tad pricey but that’s what you expect when you go there. Not a terrible value, just a tad pricey.
Here’s my complaint. Needs more attention to cleanliness. Standards are low. We ate before noon on a Saturday, when they were slow so no excuse for seating us at a dirty table. had to ask two people to get the table wiped down. Then they brought out some bread and small plates. One of those plates was disgustingly dirty with visible food on it. Sent the plate back with the waiter. The later when our pizza came, we used the small plates they leave on the table. One of those was nasty dirty too.
We were in a booth and the wooden wall next to us was also in need of a good wipe down.
So all in all, it’s ok but need to pay more attention to cleaning.

I’ve been to three different California Pizza Kitchens. I can’t see what all the fuss is about. The last two times I’ve gone, I haven’t been in the mood to eat, so perhaps this review will be unfair in its assessment of CPK.
My most recent visit was to the Chesterfield location. I believe Chesterfield Mall is at an unhealthy place. Perhaps it has started its slow death. CPK was slow when I arrived, but it was busy by the time I left. I wasn’t expecting a lot of ambiance at this chain restaurant, and I didn’t get it, either.
Not being in an eating mood, I selected the least offensive item: fettuccine alfredo, which I usually dislike. I’m not into alfredo sauce. I took a few bites, made excuses as to my appetite, and took the rest home. I gave my leftovers to someone else, who said it was the best fettuccine alfredo she’d ever had, so perhaps there is merit in the positive reviews of others.
They had me sign up for the free rewards program, which is great if you like the restaurant, I guess, but all of these programs offered by restaurants and stores just fill my inbox with requests to visit so many places I neither the time nor the money to visit. It’s handy with a few, but a free small plate with the purchase of something else, which is, I believe, what this «reward» was for, was not quite appealing enough to get me to show up to CPK again before the too-​prompt expiration date, which has already passed.

This is the 2^nd CPK I’ve tried. I have no issue with this place and the staff is very helpful. I really enjoy their Sicilian Pizza with the truffle oil. Both trips to this location ended in a full stomach, great service, and a fun time. The Staff answered all of my questions, made some suggestions (which were great), and made sure I never went thirsty. I highly recommend this place. My only suggestion: a Diverse Menu.

This place should just go ahead and change it’s name to «Cheesecake Factory Backup Plan» because that’s the only reason to eat at this mediocre trend from 1985.

Had a chopped salad and pizza and shared with a friend. Very good taste but pizza could have been cooked just a little longer to get the crust bottom a little more done. Large portion on the salad and more than enough to share. Pizza as well. Meal with two soft drinks and 20% tip was over $ 40.00 so it’s a little pricey.

We had never been to a California Pizza Kitchen before and we were looking forward to trying it. My wife and I arrived there Tuesday (3−19−13) at 12:05 pm. We walked right in and were immediately told there would be a 10 – 15 minute wait. There was absolutely nobody waiting in front of us and there were several visibly empty tables. I asked why the wait? I was told «the wait staff can only handle 4 – 5 tables at a time per person». Huh? We departed. No «sorry» or anything from the host/​hostess. They just lost $ 30-​$ 40 of our money. Is that how a business makes money?

i love the food at CPK! I also like how they are encouraging people to try new things and if you don’t like it they will make you whatever you want. Most restaurants will do this also but they don’t broadcast it.
No drink specials or happy hours ever according to the waitress which I thought was weird.
Over all great food. Get the habanero pizza!

I hadn’t been to California Pizza Kitchen for a long time. When I have gone, I’ve only gotten the pizza. It’s okay, but I generally prefer other pizza parlor pizzas. So on Friday, Feb. 24 my wife and I decided to try CPK again. This was only because it was 7 pm, and all the places we preferred had crazy full parking lot
Our drink choices are non-​alcoholic, decaf, and sugar-​free — which often means water. But since we do enjoy drinking something that actually adds to the meal, we will order sparkling water if they have it. CPK had San Pellegrino listed on the menu, and what was very nice (and unusual!) was that they included not just its price, but prices for both a 500 mL bottle and for a 1L bottle. $ 3.50 and $ 4.50. Well, the $ 4.50 bottle was obviously a much better deal, and is how much two people would drink, so we order that. Kudos to CPK!
They now have a small plates menu in addition to the regular menu. I like small plates, but even though I’m not a big guy it takes eight to ten items to fill me up. That gets pricy. CPK’s choices, though, looked like good options for individual appetizers. My wife got white corn guacamole & chips for $ 4.50, and I ordered a cheese bread with rosemary oil for dipping plate for $ 2.50 They were well sized for individual appetizers, and appropriate for the prices. Flavor and presentation were good for both. However, one of my bread pieces had some nylon bristles baked into the cheese topping — which I discovered when I bit into it. Must have been from a basting brush. I pulled them off and finished eating the food, since it wasn’t something that indicated uncleanliness to me. I notified our waitress as soon as she came by (to bring our entrees), and she apologized & immediately had the manager remove the item from my bill. Since the manager was right there, and we were close to an ordering station, it only took about 30 seconds.
Speaking of the bill, it seemed odd to me that the bill was delivered at the same time as the entrees. It was just a register receipt, and placed face down, but normally that happens after the entrée. Not a complaint, just a bit quirky.
I went non-​pizza this time, and got the jambalaya. It was a pleasant surprise. Lots of meat & seafood with linguini noodles, and enough heat in the flavorful spices to tingle my lips. One thing about jambalaya — I always wish the shrimp tails would get cut off. Why do I have to do this myself?
My wife ordered their Margherita pizza, one of the thin crust items. I didn’t taste it until the next day’s leftovers, but it was pretty good. Nice strong tomato flavor, with a crispy but not crunchy crust.
We had forgotten that the place is pretty popular with families. That’s not a bad thing, but it can make for some unpleasant situations. Seated behind my wife were two tables with small children. They did not make a sound the entire time, and either crew with crayons or simply talked quietly. But seated behind me was a family with three small boys. They laughed and joked, a bit loudly, but not too bad. Then the conversation got a bit rude. First one boy asked his dad if he had ever farted into a trumpet, and dad enjoyed playing along with the gag about the sound it would make. Then the conversation turned to poop — and the mom got in on the whole thing. Dad also brought up Mr. Hankie, and at this point I turned around and said, «We don’t need to hear this» — with a smile and laugh. So the point was made, but the mood wasn’t ruined for either of us. Oh, well — that’s the hazards of eating out.
Overall, I’ll give the place an all right. It was good, but I just can bring it to a 4 star rating.

Called before we went out on 12/​31/​2011 and was told they would close at 9:00pm. We showed up at 8:00pm and the doors were locked. Employees and customers inside ignored us at the door — very rude! May never return to this CPK…

I love the new grilled peach salad! I added the grilled chicken and it made a very tasty lunch!

Pricy and sooo delicious.
The boyfriend and I rarely go to places like these, but for some reason, we enjoy this place and Cheesecake Factory, more for the memories, but the food does play an important part.
On this particular occasion, we ordered the Thai Crunch Salad and it was beyond amazing. Two different kinds of crunch, the best pieces of chicken, and just the right amount of greens. We’re super cheap and the price of a half a bit ridiculous when the full isn’t that much more so we went for the full and stuffed our faces.
We also tried the new Korean BBQ style tacos because we missed kbbq from ATL and it was pretty good. For an American restaurant, we were both impressed. Not quite Korean but still flavorful enough.
Next, my bf was too excited about the habanero pizza (I was ready to stop at a half Thai Crunch salad). We ended up taking it home for dinner, and although I enjoyed it, I avoided the habanero salsa that came with it, and my bf insisted that was the best part. It was insanely spicy with the salsa, but without, still just as flavorful. It had cilantro and pesto and carnitas on it, can’t really go wrong there.
Overall, a fun experience with great service.
I’ve never really liked the pizzas at CPK and always gone for their Waldorf salad (to die for) and now their Thai Crunch salad. They cost a bit but it’s so fresh and damn do they know how to make a good salad!
The bill also wasn’t as pricy as we were expecting, or maybe we’ve just gotten old…