TJ’s Woodfire Pizza

If you are going to charge almost $ 30 for a Sicilian pizza, it needs to be great. It wasn’t. Although the sausage and meatball toppings were tasty, they were essentially absent. The sauce was paste-​like, acidic and bitter, not like the sweetness of imported San Marzano tomatoes or the California home grown brand 6 in 1. We expected much better quality for the price. The grilled broccolini appetizer was excellent.

Delicious! GMO free pizza that doesn’t make your stomach hurt after eating. Kind of pricey, but you get what you pay for. Pasta is delicious as well! The salads are also great! They import their ingredients from Italy, so it’s authentic and clean ingredients. Delicious and highly recommend it.

Went here a few months back. Busy and full of locals.
The pizza was quite good, but as for value for the money, this place is steep. I guess because it’s San Clemente where the demographic can afford it, but still it’s steep. So steep I won’t head back any time soon.

Amazing. I would give 6 stars if it was an option. Our entire family loves this place and we have yet to order anything we don’t like, from appetizers to pizza and pasta. In fact we’d probably eat there several times a week if we didn’t feel like we should mix it up. Seriously everything is so good that the only negative I can think of is the size of the place. There isn’t a ton of seating, which made us a little hesitant to go at a busy time with a large party.

So, it is a Friday evening, but for two slices of pizza, taking 40+ min is just ridiculous ! It was before 6pm, and they had a full pizza half cheese /​pepperoni completely made which they were handing out as individual slices. The kids up front would start my order, then the phone would ring and someone else would take over, only having to repeat my 2 slices & 2 drink order 4 different times was a bit of a joke to beginning with. After waiting 25 min, I asked a server to check on my order. Never came back with an answer. I waited another 5 min and walked to the front to ask about my order. Someone went to go check on my order and said it would be another 15min. Ha ha really!?! Ya’ I’ll pass. Horrible service for the customer who are actually in your business. The phone orders clearly took presents over people actually ordering in your pizzeria.

A great thin crust pizza with a good compliment on toppings. Not saucy or over the top with too many toppings. My wife and I shared a pizza, and it was perfect.
If you’re looking for a big heavy combo pizza, call Dominos.

I would say 3 to 3.5 stars. It was good, but I’m not in a giant rush to go back. Let me qualify that this review is for the gluten free pizza (I’m Celiac). I’ve had better gluten free crust. But like I said before, it wasn’t terrible either. I got the pizza with the pesto, pine nuts, and prosciutto (forgot the name?). It was just ok. Not a ton of flavor in my opinion. My mom (also gluten free) got the pizza with the red pesto sauce… SO MUCH more flavor! Hers was very tasty. They cook their gluten free pizza in the same oven as regular pizzas but place it on a separate cooking sheet to make sure it doesn’t touch the surface as regular pizza. Nice atmosphere and great service — everyone was super nice and patient while we were ordering (as we were newbies). Large selection of beers (not my thing but my husband loved it). TVs if you wanna catch a game.

Just walked outside from eating. Was very very good. I had new york pizza, and side of meatballs, and bruchetta. Each item was authentic, but just most if all fresh. And tasty… best pizza north sanclemente for sure. Sorry zpizza time for reformulated pies or this place will take a huge bite outa your pies…
Priced similar to restaurant style worth every dime…
There is a way for ordering at home but ita a delivery company,
Next order is done online ita next to movie theater so loud and kids plenty on a friday night…
Five thumbs up!!!

This place is awesome! The staff is great and the pizza is better! The wood fire pizza is out of this world. I’ve had the Margherita, the big al l, and the fog and leaf– all of which are amazing. The fig and leaf is different in a great way. Also they sell pizza by the slice! Happy hour every Monday ALL DAY. They have a great selection of local beers too

Came in yesterday to the San Clemente restaurant. I was somewhat skeptical as there are some great reviews, but recently some poor reviews. It seems to be that the poor reviews are based on the Neapolitan pizza… so, I had to give it a try. Prior to ordering, we asked the difference between the different pizzas. Apparently some people don’t do this. Cause the staff will clearly explain the differences in the types of pizzas, so you will know exactly what you are getting. If you see three different styles of pizza on the board and you don’t know the difference. Shame on you for not asking and then complaining about what you got. The Neapolitan is a thinner crust and more soft. To say it’s soggy is not accurate. It is wood fired and surprisingly, it was excellent. We also ordered the garlic knots, which were good!!!
I thought the food was excellent. We had two of the 12″ pizzas and only finished half of each. Took the rest home for lunch today. The food was a little pricey, but it’s not a standard fast food pizza spot. It’s a little more of a gourmet place. Don’t get me wrong. I know blaze pizza is «gourmet» as well. But I think the quality of pizza is much better here.
My only complaint was the staff. It’s all young guys, which isn’t s problem. But, we asked for a table to be cleaned and it took quite a while for it to be done. There’s definitely a few people here that are needing a little extra encouragement and direction; although, the rest of the staff was great. I was very impressed and plan to come back. Give it a shot. Ask the differences in the pizzas before you order so you get what you want.

Highly disappointed in the quality of this pizza… price excluded (which is to say F’en pissed once I factor in price). The pizza was twice as much as Blaze Pizza and taste like crap.
The dough was soggy and had no resemblance to crispy crust. It was more like eating half baked sourdough. Gummy… tacky…limper than a 90 year olds… well you know. Actually was like it was made on raw naan bread dough.
The pepperoni looked like lil red melted condoms according to my family.
Blaze Pizza is lightyears ahead in quality, taste and cost.

I was delivered a menu with coupons to my residence so I decided to give the place a try. I tried to use a coupon for garlic knots after placing my order and told that I couldn’t, that I would have to use it on my next order of $ 25. Me and my wife then had to sit at the bar because they don’t have enough tables to accommodate. I won’t be returning.

Great selection of beers and you will love the pie. I think the owners put a lot of thought behind the vibe and quality of this joint. Go early on Friday night if you want a seat.

Pizza & salad was great!
It took awhile for food to come out considering they are using the «fast fired» way for pizza, but I think this is because they were just so busy. They need more seating, the location was small and people were packed in to the place.
A kink that I noticed: they give you a number when you order, but do not collect it when the food comes out. This makes it difficult for the food runner going inside and outside because they had to look at so many numbers, when 50% of those tables already had there food and nobody collected the numbers off the table– this went on for an hour.
The guys actually making the pizzas were working hard and going non-​stop. The space where they put the pizza toppings on & cook the pizzas with the long wand is within the same space, so the pizza cooker, and the pizza maker kept running into each other.
Overall, pizza was great (see my pics) and I loved the salad. The concept of gourmet along with fast fired is great. I want to return and try something else off the menu.

I ordered through Door Dash tonight and got a bunch of stuff. The Cesar tasted like bagged romain and was lacking enough Parmigiana. The meatballs were chewy and bland, the sauce and presentation was good! The pizza had this really tough cornmeal on the back of it and was like eating chewy sand. But overall I think the dough was delicious, I just wish they used very fine flour instead of cornmeal. I prob won’t order again, but gave them 4+ for effort. They are missing the mark only slightly. Try it! I’m a picky bitch.

Been driving by this for months and finally decided to come in and check it out!
We showed up around 6:30pm and the place was full of people already. Seating is limited, so try to avoid the rush hour. Luckily, we were able to find seats pretty much right away. We ordered garlic knots, New York Neopolitan pizza, and two beers. For this it was $ 37. A little pricey, but doable.
What impressed us was the freshness of the food. We enjoyed watching the garlic knots go in to the oven and on people’s plates in minutes. You will wait about 15 minutes for your pizza, but it’s totally worth it. No microwaves here!
Garlic knots: you get about a dozen or small garlic knots brushed with butter. They have a lot of garlic flavor and came out piping hot and soft. Huge highlight of the meal. (Dip them in ranch — so good!)
Pizza: one pizza is definitely enough for two people. The cheese was melty and the toppings were fresh. Again, this comes out fresh from the oven and is super hot. The ricotta on this particular pizza makes it stand out. The only downside was that it was a bit greasy, but a few dabs of the napkin made it OK!
They have craft beers on tap which go well with the pies. Service is very friendly and welcoming. Cute little restaurant as well — doesn’t feel like a cheap pizza place. We will definitely visit again.

No longer at the Great Park! Finally have their own place, which means no good food now at the Great Fart… sadly.
The owner is awesome. Real cool guy who cares about the input of his customer base.
They have four styles to choose from, which I believe the Neapolitan Style is still his best.
Good pizza in OC is few and far between, and this has to be the best here.
Come give it a try. Wonderful service.
Go with the Big Al and wonder at those small, beautiful pepperoni perfectly laid out and a nice airy, fire charred crust.
Next to the Krikorian Theater across from The Habit.

I only tried the beer here, but the service was friendly so I gave them 4 stars for that. The people that sat next to us had a pizza that looked really good.

I tried TJ’s for the first time at The Taste of San Clemente. One day when I was craving pizza I drove by on a Saturday or maybe a Sunday, I can’t recall. It was about 5 minutes til 3 and they were closed. Luckily they opened at 3. I waited outside until about 5 after when they opened the doors. There were a few other people waiting as well. I ordered a wood-​fired pizza and was not disappointed. I love the interior however when the sun hits those windows, it’s baking hot in there.
The pizza was slightly more greasy than it needed to be but I’m down with grease on a good-​tasting pizza.
I’ve gone a second time and got a slice of cheese. These slices are your regular NY style pizza made with the semolina dusting and in their deck ovens.
Here’s why I only gave 4 stars:
They are only open for dinner. I own a local business in town and I’d really like to order a pizza for lunch.
I definitely prefer the wood-​fired to the NY style. While both good, the slice I got was 1. WAY over priced. It’s a large portion but I paid over $ 5 with tax for a slice. $ 3.50, okay, but over $ 5, eh I rather just get a whole pie and have two meals.
2. They used coarse semolina on the NY slice and for my personal tastes, I didn’t enjoy the I’ve crunch.
I’ll definitely be returning, often, as long as the pizza continues to taste great. I am looking forward to this business hopefully extending their hours and rethinking their pricing on slices.
Update: after posting my review today I decided I needed a pizza. They expanded their hours!

Happy that we now have a great pizza restaurant near Capo Beach! The wood fire pizza was amazing. We ordered the big Al with a Misa salad which was perfect for two people. The pizza crust was thin and delicious. The salad was fresh and the balsamic dressing wonderful.
They also have a lovely selection of craft brew on tap. I do wish the place had more seating but everything else was top notch.