Pizza Works

Pizza Works started following me on Twitter some time ago and we’ve had several interactions since then. I love pizza and I was pretty excited about their gluten-​free and vegan options (frequently mentioned on twitter), so on NYE (while in the neighborhood) we found ourselves here picking out a pizza.
I was thrilled to discover that they have vegetarian Field Roast Grain Co. toppings and quickly sad to learn that their product is not gluten-​free. That’s fine for me, not so fine for the person I was sharing the pizza with. Darn.
The gal at the counter was super friendly, knew plenty about special diets and took the time to help us through our long process of picking out a pizza from the gluten-​free menu.
We ended up going with the fruit & veggie and they let us do fake cheese on just half the pizza (to try it out). We chose the bake-​at-​home option instead of «cook it for us» and were shocked by the MOUNTAIN of toppings on our pizza. They toppings came down and became a lot more manageable once they were cooked, but holy bajeezus! They don’t hold back on those toppings!
Our total came to about $ 27… which seemed a little bit outrageous for one pizza that we were going to cook ourselves. I love that they had tons of toppings on the pizza and great vegan/​gluten-​free options, but… that still seemed a bit high.
How was the pizza? Well… It was pretty good. I was a little bit sad to not be blown away by it. We were glad we went with the thicker crust to hold all the toppings, but were a little bit sad that it was a bit crumbly after being cooked. All in all I’d probably give the pizza itself 3 – 3.5 stars.
FYI
+ 1% discount if you pay cash, 10%?? discount for military & students.
+ I think they’re adding a small charge for CC transactions.
+ A sign on the window says the business is for sale.

When we had a friend in town who has to eat gluten free, we were really excited to try this place. We left disappointed, though, and won’t be going back.
First, it’s not close to anything. Our friend was staying in Woodinville, and it was sort of a trek even from there.
Second, the service was both slow and incredibly cranky. The guy at the counter was really rude. He was also extremely self-​deprecating, to the point that it was just super awkward. And we waved when we left, and he shouted «Fine, don’t say goodbye!» in a tone that I thought only bratty teenagers could muster (this guy looked to be in his late 20’s/early 30’s). He was seriously offended that we only waved, and didn’t say «goodbye» out loud. No, he wasn’t kidding. I don’t know if he was having an exceptionally bad day, or whether he’s just always that negative, but he turned what would’ve been a below-​average dining experience into a completely terrible one.
I have a hunch that he might be the one running the Twitter account for this place. The tweets are so desperate and self-​pitying and frankly, part of the reason I’ll never come back. It’s just completely unprofessional, and totally off-​putting. A prime example of what NOT to do if you’re going to use social media for your business.
As for the pizza itself, it took forever, and while it tasted okay, it was ridiculously overpriced. I’m happy to spend good money on food that merits it, and this just didn’t. At all. And I love pizza! Just not from here.

Pizza is decent — my 3yo liked it. We had hand tossed crust. Our take out order was ready when promised.
I didn’t appreciate the surprise 60 cent charge for using a credit card though — you guys should cut that out, or at least give me a chance to pay with cash/​check before running my card.
If you are in the neighborhood or have ingredient restrictions this place may make sense for you.

Pizza works has an awesome staff. The guy at the counter was super nice. I ordered a 7″ works pizza and it was LOADED with toppings. It had a perfect meat — veggie — cheese ratio that didn’t leave me feeling «weighed down», like at other pizza establishments. I was really happy to see that they have a whole wheat option for the crust. The crust was o.k. It was very thin and I wished it were slightly puffier. The cream cheese brownie I got was just a prepackaged one that wasn’t very good.
Pretty good pizza with a ton of choices for toppings. 1−7″ pizza + 1−10″ pizza + 1−12″ Grinder + 1-​Not so good brownie = $ 36 .
A bit pricey for what it was. Definitely someplace that I will be back to… just not that often.

My friend and I drove from Seattle to Kenmore (Pizza Works is technically in Kenmore, not in Bothell) to try this place out. We are both gluten free and he’s dairy free. We ordered the «The Works» with a thick crust. I’m personally not a fan of soy cheese but the man at the counter recommended one with casein because it melts better.
When the pizza came out it looked amazing, and the soy cheese was melted! My friend and I took a bite and were satisfied with the crust and general taste of the pizza. However, we felt like it wasn’t quite as warm as we wanted it. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t cold, it just wasn’t piping hot. We asked the staff to put the pizza back in the oven and they happily obliged. When they brought it back to us it was definitely hot and very tasty. Apparently the gluten free crusts are quite finicky and it’s sometimes hard to tell when they are done.
Outside of the food, the staff were incredibly friendly and gracious. The actual aesthetic of the restaurant isn’t that great but it’s the gluten free pizza that counts!

Love it — hope they stay around a LONG time!
DELICIOUS hot pizza with a very «clean» taste to it — no grease running off the top into my hand. Also, major bonus points for offering breadsticks. Very few places do and they’re definitely a selling point with me!
Update: I discovered a new, secret talent that Pizza Works pizzas have. If you refrigerate your leftovers and reheat them in an oven a few days later, they are FANTASTIC! Absolutely uncontrollable scarfing ensued. I come back every time I allow for some pizza in my diet.

Though a bit of a haul for me in Redmond, I really appreciate how I can walk out knowing that I won’t feel sick from the pizza I just enjoyed. That alone makes this a five-​star and the drive (which is quite pretty, by the way) absolutely worth it.
If you’re missing pizza because you can’t eat gluten, you owe it to yourself to get to Pizza Works. I had a large thin crust gluten-​free pizza with canadian bacon and green peppers (my favorite combo!) and enjoyed every bite. I may have to recreate my old Zeek’s favorite on another trip (I miss you, deliciously porktastic John Candy!) but next time, I’m going to be all about the spaghetti! The moment they figure out the magic of gluten-​free calzones and grinders, my life will be complete once more.

It was a lazy Saturday of recovery from the Unilocal event and after-​party.
My good friend Sarah and I were chatting about the aforementioned events when she suggested getting some pizza and watching a movie. It sounded like an excellent idea and while I got some drinks, the non alcoholic kind and brought over some movies, she ordered the pizza.
I’d never had Pizza Works pizza before, but Sarah assured me it would hit the spot and she was right. «Pizza Bob» delivered the pizza himself and was a very polite and nice guy. We had decided on «the works» pizza: Pepperoni, Sausage, Mushroom, Olive, Green Pepper, Onion, Cheddar & Mozzarella Cheese. It was a damn good pizza and I was amazed at how greasy it WASN’T! I’m used to soaking up the grease from pizza with my napkin but this pizza almost seemed healthy, crazy I know. The pizza was also LOADED with toppings and I ate most of it with a fork.
This place isn’t close to my house at all, but since they deliver I’m sure I’ll be having more of Pizza Work’s pizza soon. Mushroom Magic or Robin’s Special anyone?

I really love Pizza Works! I always get the same thing: Mini, white crust, olive oil in place of pizza sauce, mozzarella, feta and kalamata olives. MmMmmMmm! I work at my own store a few doors down 2 – 3 times a week and ALWAYS look forward to lunch time! Shout out to Edna who always calls me when my pie is ready!
They also have a broad menu to suit all types, from the anti-​garlic like myself, to gluten-​free and vegan! Plus they have every topping under the sun.
If anything ever happened to Pizza Works … well, suffice to say I’d be one sad clown standing in line to have a sandwich made by the moving so slow she’s going backwards in time sandwich girl at QFC.

Its been less than 3 weeks since i moved to the neighborhood and i’ve eaten here 3 times (solo Mediterranean pour moi) already.
The toppings are plentiful, folks are friendly and it never takes them more than 20 minutes to hand me my pie when i stroll in after calling in the order … oh & the gluten-​free crust is an added bonus but if you don’t care much for it (i don’t) the regular hand-​tossed is just as good
I did eat @ Pagliacci’s down the street when i was house-​hunting and as nice as it was for a mainstream location, this place is worth the drive up the hill

Pizza Works makes my tummy happy. The gluten-​free crust is quite good, and their toppings are awesome. Let me tell you, this place does not skimp on the toppings. A certain other pizza chain that recently began offering gluten-​free crust DOES NOT COMPARE to the deliciousness of Pizza Works. Especially when it comes to the quality of toppings.
The place itself is cute. It has the pizza parlor feel goin’ on. There are cards, crayons and games on the tables to play with. My four-​year old daughter had a grand old time playing a Memory game while we waited for our pizza on our last visit. My one complaint is the use of paper plates, it just seems so wasteful to me.
It’s no secret that Bob the owner is a Unilocal’er himself, and I’ve «bumped» into his reviews quite a few times in the past. It’s obvious that he has put a lot of time and effort into his pizza joint, and it shows. The gluten-​free and vegetarian/​vegan options all seem to be very good quality. The pies and cookies from Sunny Valley Wheat Free are DELICIOUS!!! Very good choice, that was, and I sure appreciate it (that are «regular» treats there too, of the non-​GF variety, for those of you that don’t care about that).
I do come here as a treat. It’s not the cheapest pizza (even gluten-​free) out there, but as I said… it’s quality. You really do get what you pay for. Check out the website for printable coupons. Last time I was in, I noticed a «special» and took advantage of that to save a few bucks.
Lastly, the people in there have always been very friendly. No complaints there.
Bottom line, give Pizza Works a visit. Definitely go here before any ol’ chain and support local business. The benefits should be obvious once you stop in and give it a try.

Gluten free pizza is hard to find, and this place fills the bill! Bob and Co. have really researched the best possible gluten-​free crusts, and have found both a yeast-​free and a yeasted option. The yeast free is really only for those who also have yeast issues, as it is tougher. However, the yeasted option (Kinnikinnik brand) is excellent as a GF crust.
I appreciate that they have a clearly labeled menu identifying what allergens might be in different ingredients, so that you can tailor the pizza to your own needs.
I also appreciate that they don’t make crusts there — it’s way too easy for wheat flour to float in the air and land on a gluten-​free pizza, thus creating problems for those of us who have genuine medical conditions. I feel like I have a place where I can go out with my friends — me with my gluten free crust, and them with their regular crust. And it’s close enough to my house that I can go up there and get pizza as often as I want, too. Thanks!

I’m going to have to go with four stars. The pizza’s themselves only warranted three, but I was really impressed when I looked around while picking them up. Vegan options, gluten free options, allergen warning labels up in clear to read places.
The pizza we tried, the Barbecue Chicken Supreme, was delicious. The chicken bits small and spread out enough that you got a bit in every bite, the sauce was flavorful, and the cheeses set it all off really well. A solid three star effort but for one little thing.
Portion control!
Pizza Works would make a great pizza if they didn’t suffer from too much of a good thing. The amount of toppings on their pizza is a bit much, overwhelming both the crust and the sauce and making the pizza a bit of a hassle to eat. With a little portion control discipline not only would the pizzas be a better eating experience, but they’d also maximize their per pizza profit — a win for all!
Whenever I’m in the area and feeling the urge for a pizza I’ll be hitting up Pizza Works. They may not have their pizza down perfect yet, but the conscientious approach they have to catering to folks with food allergies or a vegan lifestyle goes above and beyond anything I’ve seen in any other pizza place. I’ll happily give my money to a business that puts in that level of effort.

I’m going to start this with a HUGE disclaimer. Feel free to skim down past the ***** you’ll find denoting the end of it below.
I have been a Unilocaler for a little over a year.
During that time I have heard all about «reputations» and «behavior» that I find … unappealing. by all sides of the «Owner/​Yelper, Customer/​Yelper, Unilocaler/​Yelper» scenario.
I have never been personally subject to any behavior, statement, or message from any side of any argument or opinion. I have never seen any allegations made by any side of any argument proven or had them revealed to me firsthand.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and to respond to interactions however they see fit.
I have met the owner of Pizza Works, Bob and his wife, at a Unilocal event, and I am BestYelpFriends with someone who’s known his family for a very extended time.
I may be wrong, but IIRC I am not Unilocal friends with Bob, nor have we ever exchanged more a few compliments, such as when I’ve received ROTD.
THAT SAID, I am about to review Pizza Works, for their food ONLY. I will not reduce myself to making crude jokes, angry spouts, innuendos or other ridiculous behavior at the expense of this establishment for your entertainment.
*************************************************************************
Hanging out tonight at a pseudo-​housewarming, I found myself in the midst of a Vegan, 2 Omnis, myself and just a few hundred feet from Pizza Works.
I suffer from NO food ‘issues’, such as allergies, pizza snobbery, gluten sensitivities, etc. I am not vegan, nor vegetarian.
The «Omni’s» in the group with me shared a Barbecue Chicken Pizza.
This was actually pretty close to, if not, the best Barbecue Chicken Pizza I’ve ever had. It was not overly ‘sauced’, the onions, pineapple and Feta were welcome additions to the mix of toppings, and on the whole it was very tasty.
The toppings are very heavily loaded onto this pizza. Clearly «skimp» is not in the vocabulary of anyone working here.
However, there is a downside to that. On the thin crust, which I believe is a pre-​made, it weighs it down and as the pizza rapidly cools the crust cannot bear all the additional moisture and weight from the toppings.
The MIX of toppings are paired very well taste wise, but even a smidgen less, or a fresh baked crust, would improve this pizza greatly.
Unlike some other chain pizza’s, where chicken is sparsed about in mammoth chunks, there was not a single bite of this pizza that didn’t have a little of every topping in it. That kept the flavor completely consistent throughout the entire slice. That is a fairly rare occurrence in pizza sometimes.
The Vegan in our party tonight had the Fruit and Veggie w/​no cheese. She happily ate and made no complaints. Again, massive amounts of toppings was a good idea gone potential downfall, but she chose the ‘regular’ crust not the thin and seemed to fair better.
I do not know if I am likely to visit Pizza Works again, it’s location and offerings are not enough to pull me past all the other options closer to my home, or where I’m within delivery bounds. If I ever developed a need for food sensitive pizza options, however, Pizza works would be my choice.
Overall, since I have only tried one menu item, I will give Pizza Works a solid «A-​OK» 3 stars.

They actually understand what a Vegan diet consists of. It’s nice to have that level of understanding considering that there are so few places catering to Vegans. I read the reviews prior to my visit and it was just expected. I have been 3 times now and it’s great. My only complaint is that it was TOO busy to only have one person working during lunch. It took 45 minutes to get my pie today and I was late going back to work form lunch. I will still go back though, what options do I really have around here?
PROS: Great for Vegans, Veg’s and Celiacs
CONS: Took a hundred years

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed Pizza Works yet. We’ve been there many times, I just assumed I had helped spread the word… so, here’s the word! Pizza Works is tucked away in a strip mall between Kenmore and Kirkland, on Juanita Drive. The great thing about Pizza Works is the availability of gluten-​free pizza. They can cook it for you or it can be made to take & bake. The staff at PW is knowledgeable about GF dining and they are a friendly group of people. The pizzas (I’ve had both the GF and glutenfull) are very tasty and the prices are great. My GF companion can’t get enough of Pizza Works and is sending her GF buddies in the directtion of PW.
Pizza Works recently raised their prices but it is still very affordable compared to other pizza places. The Pizza Works experience is nice because the staff actually acknowledge your presence unlike many places that slide your pizza across the counter and go about their business. It’s a good idea to call ahead of time to place an order otherwise you might have to wait. Even if sometimes there’s a wait, the service is friendly and the staff genuinely seem to care about their customers.
The Pizza Works décor is kinda funky and the menu has way too many items making it hard to read. They have magazines to read (some new ones would be nice!) and a computer for internet access. It’s a comfortable spot but in need of some TLC. But, it’s all about the pizza which is great. Pizza Works provides food that those on a GF lifestyle can’t easily find and for that they should be commended!

Breadsticks are very good, wings are good and everyone was friendly. Deep Dish the works pizza was good but not great and my wife thought our thin crust pizza was not warm enough and neither she nor the kids really ate much of it.
Overall it was ok, I would not go out of my way to eat there, but I would eat there again if in the area.

Edit: Bob wrote me and explained that, in fact, my address is two miles outside of the delivery zone, not the 0.2 miles that Unilocal suggested. Oops. He also recommended that, in the future, I ask them to verify with the driver as (assuming it’s not rush hour and they’re not slammed) they’re willing to be flexible. Hopefully that’ll give me the opportunity to try their pizza soon!
Original Review: After the mixed reviews, I was curious to try Pizza Works so that I could come to my own conclusions. Unfortunately, I live maybe 1,000 feet outside of their delivery radius — which, out here in suburbia, really isn’t that far. They wouldn’t budge.
Admittedly, few options for delivery is an understandable consequence of not living in the city. Nonetheless, I’ve been continually impressed by how many locations are willing to stretch their delivery radius by upwards of a mile to gain a new customer. From Pizza Hut to the hole-​in-​the-​wall Chinese restaraunt in Woodinville, I’ve continually found that delivery restrictions are flexible guidelines with some wiggle-​room. Not at Pizza Works, though.
This isn’t to say their pizza is bad — I’ve never had it. I’d like to, but honestly I can’t remember the last time I went out for pizza. It’s one of those natural delivery foods that sounds perfect when you’re tired or sick and don’t feel like cooking or leaving the house.
Maybe they’ll extend the delivery zone by a few feet. Or, perhaps more likely, my house will get caught in a mudslide and wind up inside their jurisdiction.

We’re off to see the Wizard, The Pizza Wizard called Bob.
You’ll find he is a Whiz of Wiz! If ever a Wiz there was!
If ever oh ever Wiz! There was a Pizza Bob is one because,
Because because because because because
Because of the pizza pushing he does!!!
Once upon a time there were five brave Unilocalers who were in search of the one. the one called Pizza Bob. They were…
Scott «of Lionheart» K
Quani «The Texan Scarecrow» C
Michael «the Metal Man» O
Betsy «the Ruby Redhead» K
And there was douchey Dfens Dan T… I guess that makes me the stupid smelly dog.
A terrible tornado took them from the safe confines of the Emerald City to the far reaches of the I-​5. There they fought off the crazy flying monkeys during rush hour traffic. After a full hour on the road they finally reached the mythical place called Pizza Works in Bothell.
As we pulled into the mini mall our eyes immediately shimmered with excitement.
Walking into pizza works we were befuddled by the menu. Choices ranged from cheeseburger pizza’s to a huge variety of specialty pizza’s for our vegan Michael O. We ordered three pizzas and breadsticks.
As we waited in the Pizza Wizard’s palace we noticed the interesting décor. It was obviously geared for children. There were crazy 8 cards, crayons and trivia pursuit cards on the tables. The walls had children paintings. Even when whizzing in the Pizza Wizards restroom, if you look over to your right there’s a weird photo of McCauley Culkin with a slice of pizza.

There is also a computer at Pizza Works so when you wait you can do what the Wizard does. Unilocal!!!
Our gang was so excited when the food came out. The breadsticks were our hands down favorite. They were of course guarded closely by the winkie soliders…
We were nearly killed by the gluten, dairy and yeast free crust pizza with soy cheese which tasted like scat.

There are those people with allergies and vegans who are forced to eat this but not even the Wicked Witch of the West could come up with a more vile trick for us to eat!
The Cheeseburger Pizza
tasted like a pizza you would get at an elementary school. The Spinach Delight Pizza did not taste fresh. I do have to admit that that I have never seen so much toppings on a pizza. The toppings were literally falling off the pizza. It was definitely quantity over quality as the toppings didn’t taste fresh.
But as we finished our meal we finally did meet the Pizza Wizard! Oh yes we did see the one, the only. PIZZA BOB!!!

Some of us danced in excitement!!!
Some of us applied for a job.
If you call in quickly maybe I can take your order
I really wanted to like the pizza but it didn’t do it for me. I tried their whole crust, thick crust and specialty crust and didn’t feel like it was up to par with even Pizza Hut. The toppings didn’t taste fresh and were disappointing. I even went back a week later and ordered two more pizza’s and more breadsticks. The second time the breadsticks came out with cold marinara sauce.
On the upside the «Works» pizza was by far the best pizza I tasted there. Also their specialty pizza are geared to those with special dietary needs so if you need real vegan pizza this is the place to go.
I do encourage any Unilocalers who are visiting (or living) in Bothell to support your fellow Unilocalers by visiting Pizza Works. Now don’t get excited because not everyone gets to meet the Wizard called Pizza Bob!
But after visiting I am sure you will be jumping for joy…

As a disclaimer… Unilocal is a place where people share their own, personal OPINIONS and OBSERVATIONS on places they visit and the experiences that they have. That being said, this is not an attack, this is just merely my opinion of my experience at Pizza Works.
After making the epic trek to Pizza Works in Bothell with a few other fabulous Unilocalers, we finally located and wandered into Pizza Works… but not after taking lots of pictures outside and waiting for the other member of our party. We’d heard it talked up a lot on the site, so we’d decided to make the trek once and for all.
The restaurant was clean with child-​like artwork on the walls and streetposts in the middle of the floor, decorated festively with garland a la barber posts. There’s a computer with free wifi during business hours (the wifi is shut off when the shop is closed, understandably) and playing cards, crayons, and trivial pursuit cards at the tables for some pre pizza-​ing entertainment.
The menuboard is somewhat confusing, we reverted to the paper menus to choose our pies. We selected a small gluten-​free, soy cheese Mediterranean pizza, a small cheeseburger pizza, and a large Spinach pizza. Topped it off with an order of breadsticks. I have to say, the breadsticks were my favorite part. Of the three pizzas, to me, the spinach was the tastiest, but none of them were spectacular, or worth a return trip. Although I’m aware that they were made fresh, none of them were piping hot as I’d expected. The gluten free crust and soy cheese were as I’d expected, but caught others in my party off guard. I believe someone used the word «stale.» There was also an obvious lack of ambient sound (no music was being played overhead), which kind of made us sing Prince songs to ourselves to endure the deafening quiet.
On the upside, I think it’s wonderful that Pizza Works is working on catering to those with food allergies/​specific preferences… and putting those things above a sound system or the like.
As I said, not worth the trip back for me.