Zachary’s Chicago Pizza

Best pizza and a must try I love there classic chicken and if you like veggie the Mediterranean is the way to go. Hands down the best pizza I have ever tried in my life.

You like pizza. They have pizza. Lots of it. And it’s extreme to the tenth power good. So, why are you still reading this and not getting their pizza? (Unless you’re waiting for your order to be called. Then you’re excused.)

First off, seating is very nice, there’s seating indoors and outdoors. Inside is very nice with lots of art. We came in hoping for a single slice of pizza but unfortunately we came too late. (Individual slices are no longer served after 3pm) Because of this I decided to order a personal pizza with mushroom and olives which only cost $ 8. Very affordable for pizza. Food came in 10 minutes as advertised
Now onto the food. For a personal pizza, it was very filling. Olives and mushroom tasted very fresh, cheese and tomato sauce very tasty as well. Best of all in my opinion, the crust, a soft but crunchy bread, complements the rest of the pizza very well.
Overall, I highly recommend this place, great customer and most of all great pizza.

If I set the bar of 5 stars being Lou Malnati’s pizza than this ends up a 3.5−4 but that is to say this pizza was good! We were staying in a nearby hotel and were just in a mood to pick up a simple not too heavy meal. Ordered a thin crust cheese pizza and a Caesar salad based on another review. Dressing did have a nice zip and yummy croutons. Thin crust was more hand tossed than thin which was on point with what we were looking for. Would definitely eat there again.

I came here a long time ago with my sweetheart, one of his very close friends whom we were visiting, his friend’s wife and their daughter.
They were talking about what foods were available in their neighborhood that weren’t too prevalent in NYC and someone are brought up deep dish pizza… I had not in fact had any impressive deep dish (or at least none came to mind) and so they suggested Zachary’s. Aside from the food being good, it’s a family friendly restaurant and their daughter was like 1 or 2 at the time.
We drove over and upon walking in I could definitely get that warm, family friendly vibe. This was a pretty good place for a no-​frills first night family dinner.
We ordered the BBQ chicken deep dish. It came with tons of sauce in a cool swirly pattern. It was a burst of saucy flavor. Was this really authentic Chicago style deep dish? Probably not. Was it delicious and really freakin’ awesome? YEP. I ate so much that nice that I remember poking my then boyfriend (now fiancé) and telling him I was now pregnant and that it was a saucy little pizza, lol.
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced family friendly place that isn’t bougie but who’s menu is super diverse, randomly has mermaids on the cover asking if you’re «hooked on Zach’s» and whose food is super saucy and scrumptious, then I would totally recommend Zachary’s Chicago Pizza… in San Fran… lol :).

The VegeGregian Review:
Went here after a 24 hr fitness Pilates class with my gym buddies for a postworkout meal at around 9pm. We didn’t order until around 9:30pm (knowing that they technically close at 10pm) and felt bad so we asked them when they needed to close their kitchen. The awesome waitress kindly responded saying that they were in no rush and the pizza would be ready in 30 minutes. She also added that we should take our time (of course we tried not to lollygag too long there) and it was very sweet of her to let us stay 30 minutes longer than closing time even though I told her to kick us out when they needed to.
In terms of food…
We got the «Spinach & Mushroom» from Zachary’s Favorites: Fresh spinach, mushrooms and a blend of three cheeses and special spices
Available Stuffed Pizza only: S $ 21.90 /​M $ 26.60 /​L $ 30.80
Now I have had Zachary’s before in Berkeley maybe 7 years ago but I don’t remember it tasting this good. Holy crap, I wasn’t even that hungry but I just shoveled piece after piece into my mouth slurping up all that good tomato sauce on top of the pizza. If you’re not used to eating pizza with a fork and knife, you will feel like a high class bada$$ eating this (’cause I did). I can’t believe I have not gone here since it opened in downtown Pleasant Hill until now.
Definitely coming back. I need to try their lunch specials too, heard those are dope.
Oh and random but those overhead outdoor heaters outside of the restaurant are niiiiiiiiice.

Let it be known that I love Zachary’s Pizza. Their pizza is consistently good in all their locations. However the experience changes depending on where you go. Pleasant Hill is the one that makes Zachary’s feel like a chain. Berkeley, Oakland, San Ramon all have a sense of hometown where Pleasant Hill doesn’t do that for me. Hosts, servers, busers, all feel and sound very robotic. During my last visit our table and as we noticed several others were not properly cleaned. To the point where our own server was wiping off (albeit slyly) our table with the menu she just took away from us. Our knives and forks were wet from the dishwasher so they weren’t dried off by anyone. The restaurant wasn’t busy at the time so there really wasn’t any excuse for overlooking all these little cleanliness details.
If you want Zachary’s any of their locations will do. You’ll get the pizza you want but in my opinion the Zachary’s feeling of it being from the hometown it’s in, Pleasant Hill really doesn’t have that welcoming feeling. But it’s probably the most convenient one to go to especially if you’re going to a movie which is right across the street.

Delightful popular place right in downtown Pleasanton Hills. They have a small bar-​stool type area and a main dinning hall. I went in without reservations and they were seated me with a minor wait — felt guilty occupying a table for four all by myself — but I was assured that as it was getting late, they don’t expect more patrons.
I actually went for Chicago deep dish pizza but learned that it can take a good 30 minutes so settled for a Mediterranean Veggie. The pizza was good — crust could have been charred a little more. In all fairness, I could have explicitly asked for the extra char. The Racer IPA was hoppy and was the true highlight. On the big plus side, the waitress and the staff were extremely friendly and nice!

It’s no Giordano’s, but it’s the closest thing to me that will satisfy my Chi-​town deep dish craving.
Food: Great variety of stuffed (deep dish) and thin crust pies. Customers can opt to build their own or chose from some of the favorites. Salads are available and they are affordable too. We ordered a small 10 inch half/​half deep dish pie, half Good Health and the other half Zachary’s Special. We chose the whole wheat crust, since you can’t do a half/​half on the crust. Though healthy tasting as I’d hope for, the crust was flavorful, flaky and crispy. The Good Health comes with free range boneless chicken breast, red sauce, reduced fat mozzarella, spinach and I added jalapenos for a bit of a kick. The sauce was extremely chunky, savory, yet a bit salty. Plenty of cheese to go around, but not enough meat in my opinion. The Zachary’s Special was composed of sausage, green bell peppers, onion, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. You can taste the difference between the regular and the reduced fat cheese. The special tasted like your average combination pizza, but with a lot more cheese and chunky sauce. Tasty, but average. The cool thing about Zachary’s is that they offer half-​baked pizzas for those wanting to pick it up to-​go.
Price: The small feeds about 2 – 3 depending on how many slices you want, we had plenty to go around for two people. We paid about $ 22 for our small, very affordable! The thin crust pies are about $ 6 cheaper, the pattern for pricing is consistent as you go up in size with a clear difference of about $ 6.
Ambiance: Unique, contemporary and crisp. I loved that there was no clear pattern or symmetry to the portraits on the wall, a collection of random art pieces all having to due with pizza and pop culture. Busy, but calm and relaxing vibes during dinner time.
Service: Very friendly and top of the line. Waiters were attentive without being overbearing.
Overall: Yummy and satisfying deep dish for times when Chicago is just not in reach, fairly priced, great service and cool ambiance. I recommend Zachary’s for your deep dish cravings.

Since the time I’ve come to California i.e. almost a month ago, Zachary’s and their Chicago style deep dish pizzas have been on my wishlist. Finally got a chance to visit this place last Saturday and all I can say is that they serve the BEST PIZZAS EVER!
Regulars have been frequenting this haunt from a very long time, and while the reputation of their deep dish pizzas has always preceded them, the popularity of these only seems to grow with each subsequent year. What makes Zachary’s so unique is their classic Chicago sauce-​over-​cheese approach.
So when we finally visited Zachary’s, we settled into their wooden chairs in the charming interiors and quickly placed our order since we were super hungry and knew that their pizzas take around 45 minutes to be cooked. We whiled away our time sipping on some Wine and Beer.
And when our Half-​n-​Half Pizza arrived, it was love at first sight for me. The SPINACH & MUSHROOM PIZZA came with toppings of fresh spinach and mushroom blended with 3 cheeses and special spices and with a pizza base that was soft, fluffy and just the perfect level of crust. How can you possibly say no to that?
The other half was the MEDITERRANEAN PIZZA which turned out to be another great choice to sink our teeth into that came with enticing toppings of red bell pepper, green olives, artichoke hearts, feta and jack cheese.
The pizza was so filling that three slices were just enough for each of us (that too because we skipped lunch :-P).
The service was quick and our server was very polite and attentive even though the place was packed.
So to cut the long story short, absolutely loved the pizzas here and will definitely be going back for more.
Long live Zachary’s!

Never eating here again. Came here lastnight around 8pm. Sat, ordered a chicken deep dish. Around 2:30am my daughter (7yrs) threw up all the pizza & the rest of us who ate it aren’t feeling too good today.
I also read a review that a dad took his daughter and she started throwing up immediately. Obviously this isn’t a coincidence. Beware!

Incredible tasting food and great service. Crowded and not enough space between tables but that didn’t take away from the experience. \
We had a deep dish (stuffed is what they refer to it as) small Carne Pizza. This thing had bacon, sausage, salami and chunky tomato sauce.
The flavors were on point guys. This small Pizza fed two people easily. If you love pizza and don’t mind spending a little extra, this place is well worth it. Right across from the movie theater, it is a very busy spot. took us a 30 minute wait to be seated, but we were able to order our pizza while we waited so that was cool. When we were seated our pizza came out right at that time. Perfect. I can’t wait to go back next movie night.

If I could give this place a 0 I would. Our waitress completely forgot to put my order in with my family. We waited 40 minutes and our waitress came by to «check on us». The manager came seconds later to apologize and offered to comp our meals.
We came here 2 hours before we were going to watch our movie across the street.
The manager did his best to accommodate to the situation but our waitress made a huge mistake.
HOW CAN YOU FORGET OUT ONLY ORDER AT YOUR RESTAURANT?!
if you come here set a timer for your order at 20 minutes and then check your order with your waitress because they probably forgot… I’m not coming back.

This is the first time I have been to this Zachary’s pizza location, we ordered our food about 45 minutes ago and still have not received even though we had been told we would get our pizza in around 20 minutes. We were seated next a couple who became obnoxiously drunk by yelling and hitting the table. We had to ask to be moved to another table because it was so disruptive. I had to ask where our pizza was to even get it.
The pizza we ordered was a Zachary’s western which was delicious, but the atmosphere had definitely taken a toll on out experience. I am not sure if I will return.

This Zachary’s location is definitely better than the other Bay Area locations when it comes to wait time. The two locations in Berkeley are usually crowded due to college students/​local residents. We pre-​ordered our pizzas 5 – 10 minutes before being seated. Our waiter served us water and spilled it on my clothes from the pitcher somehow… I was just given a very brief apology. Not the best service. Our pizzas were served hot and fresh out of the oven and were delicious. We ordered a large Zachary’s Special and a small Spinach and mushroom. We all enjoyed the food and left feeling stuffed. If you like lollipops, they always give them with your check.

Great pizza. Being from the east coast I take pizza very seriously snd struggle continuously in finding pizza worth a dang. Do far the Zachary’s chain has been some of the best.
Every time I have been in one of them there is usually a wait. Which works out fine because we always order the stuffed pizza which has about a 25 minute cook time. So they let you order while you wait, when you finally get your seat your pie is ready. It is Chicago deep dish style. And freaking delicious. I usually get the carne meat pie It is topped with thick cut chunky seasoned tomatoes. And full of yummy goodness. It is not cheap but you definitely get your money’s worth. Just pick up pizza and the weight will let you know how serious it is. Very friendly staff. Give it a try. A lot of character at their Berkley Rockridge local.

I called on Friday to give them a heads up that I was coming on the following day with a party of over 20 teenagers. I was a little distressed that they didn’t take reservations, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that a table for 20 reserved for us the following day.
We ordered the following:
Caesar Salad
Spring Salad
Carne — Stuffed Crust
Spinach & Mushroom — Stuffed Crust — ehh, I wouldn’t order this again
Barbecue Chicken — Thin Crust
Garlic & Sausage — Thin Crust — our new favorite
Our host, Gabrielle & the rest of the food servers made sure drinks were refilled & constantly checked that we were okay. They have a nice group of people that work at Zachary’s. They really looked out for us.
In addition, they allowed me to bring a cake, and had the entire restaurant sing to my daughter. Thank you to all the staff at Zachary’s Chicago Pizza. We will definitely be back.

I am more of a thin crust type of gal and Zachary’s has been my favorite for years. The one on College and Solano I use to frequent often.
This time didn’t fail me again, although the service could have been a bit better, I wasn’t sure if the waitress was supposed to come back and check on us or not but, she didn’t after she served our pizza, she was MIA.
So happy the pizza was good. Of course i’ll go back!
4.0 yums for the pizza, not the service!

I haven’t had Chicago deep dish style pizza so I was willing to try it out. We came in about 15 minutes before the place was going to close, but they let us sit. It takes approx. 30 minutes for a deep dish pizza so call ahead for take out and be aware if you want food fast.
We ordered a small half Chicken Special and half Carne. It’s enough for 2 – 4 people depending on how hungry you are. It is very filling since the crust is a little thicker to hold the toppings and sauce. It was good for our first time eating Chicago style pizza. We still prefer thin crust/​regular crust.
There are restrooms at the back of the restaurant and there’s ample amount of seating. The staff were nice and helpful.

How have I NOT made a review yet?! I was here a month ago but wow… I still remember the taste like it was yesterday.
After picking my boo up from Bart we drove over here because people have been telling me to go here.
No one was in there so we were seated promptly and had our pizza to us in a reasonable time.
To start, we shared a large Caesar salad. Fresh, crunchy, and garlicky. Perfect!
Pizza comes, we takes several bites, and our lives change forever.
Now, I’ve actually been to Chicago and had deep dish, Chicago-​style pizza there, but I prefer Zachary’s more!
NEED TO COME BACK.