California Pizza Oven

Great pepperoni slices! The staff isn’t too helpful, but it seems they just don’t speak English as first language, so can’t expect a whole lot on the speaking end. Had a few different types of pizza but the pepperoni was by far best flavor! Fast, tasty, and large slices.

3 stars. Average NY pizza for the price. Real name is Little Italy Pizza III. Two slices of cheese pizza and a drink between for $ 5 between 11am-​4pm.

I really wish the older Califonia Pizza were still here. I thought it much better than Little Italy Pizza (it’s new name).
Main problem is their pizzas don’t have enough tomato sauce. Hardly any. I thought it was me, then noticed the couple next to me dipping their pizza into a small container of extra sauce they must’ve asked for.

This place is now Little Italy Pizza 3, but yeah, they do serve a fine pizza.
It’s best when it’s fresh. Their crust is super crispy and crunchy and has a lot of chewiness to it.
I like it.

Why did they close??? I love this place! Hey new owners: take down the California Pizza sign! Your tricks dont work!

Makes
As much
Sense as a
New York Taco
Shack in San Diego. At best its meh.

California Pizza is pretty much my go to pizza, sandwich, etc place (when I’m in between half assed diets) though it is pretty much you’re average pizza/​deli. They just happen to be able to accommodate to whatever I’m feeling at the time, whether it be pizza, salad, falafel, burger, etc. and they do them all pretty well.
They have lot’s maaaany different pizzas, a deli section, a create your own salad section, and my favorite… falafels. It’s all reasonably priced and they have special combo deals for drinks and fries. It does the trick, especially since it’s right around the corner from my classes where I end up losing track of time until I realize I’m starving.
They also serve breakfast for a little while in the morning. They’re a multi-​trick pony. And everyone in there’s so friendly, I can’t help myself.

This is my default pizzeria place, mainly b/​c of how they make their plain slice– tomato sauce and splotches of cheese all around. I first tried this style of pizza at a pizzeria that was also located on Union Square but sadly, it closed. So when I came upon this pizzeria and learned they have this style, I got hooked.
It is actually nice to know what the tomato sauce taste like without the onslaught of the cheese (nothing wrong with that, I am also a big cheese fan). It just have a lighter taste than the typical taste of grease resulting from the melted cheese. But if you want to try something more heavy, then I recommend the pepperoni slice b/​c they are generous with the pepperoni.
If you are lucky, you might have a chance to try their pizza for ONE DOLLAR. IT IS TRUE b/​c one late night, I went in and order a plain slice. I was prepared to pay $ 2.50 until I hear the cashier said, «One dollar please». I must have a shell-​shocked expression b/​c the cashier explained that it was some kind of late-​night special. I think I went WOO-​HOO! at this point b/​c I could not stop smiling as I grabbed my pizza to go and gobble it away as I head off to the gym. Yep, that was a LUCKY DAY FOR ME

This spot is okay for cheap 7 – 8 bucks personal pizza. I had the Veggie loaded pizza, Hawaiian style pizza which had strips of ham, scallion and generous pieces of pineapple. Not the best of pizzas… I’d say its average quality… good stuff for that price point…

Pretty good pizzeria. I tried the Jill’s Favorite, which consisted of feta, pesto, and roasted garlic. Pepperoni slice is good also.

Really, don’t even bother.
Aside from the possible trademark infringement, California Pizza is nothing notable.
Avoid the egg salad. The eggs aren’t even chopped – they’re whole.

Does California have that much brand equity that it can support two places that refer to it for a dish they are perceived to suck at? I mean, it’s not like there’s a Oklahoma Sushi or Montana Bagel Company…
But despite their odd choice in geographic association, the quality of the pizza here is surprisingly good. The cheese slice ($ 2.50) is carried by the sweet sauce, applied in blobs vs. equally spread to showcase it. The cheese and crust are both solid.
Would take this slice over nearby Stromboli Place or any other ones in the block radius of Union Square.

This place landed on my do not try list after hearing the boy I was dating yelling very angrily «MY PIZZA DON’T GOT NOT SAUCE ON IT» repeatedly up and down the street.
(Don’t worry my taste in pizza is not nearly as bad as my taste in men)
Some time after I stopped dating him (I know you’re wondering how on earth that could have ended) I decided to give it another try (I lived a few blocks away so it was calling me)
BOY OH BOY if I had known then how good that pizza is I probably would have turned lesbian back when sauce boy was yelling up and down the street. The sauce is sweet and the bread is like a pastry. Do not, I repeat do not, get any other slices besides plain, sausage or pepperoni. Anything beyond that your doin’ too much.
sidenote: I don’t eat pork so it’s kinda fun for me that the plain slice looks like a pepperoni slice.
HUNGRY HIPPO PICK: Plain slice (I also hear the french toast is quite awesome)

My second favorite pizza in NYC. The sauce is sweet (which reminds me of the pizza of my youth, St. Louis style pizza, specifically Imo’s Pizza), and the crust is thick enough that it doesn’t all fall off as you’re eating it.
It’s location is fantastic too. Go to the Union Square Greenmarket, maybe take part in a protest, and then treat yourself to some yummy pizza.

This is one of my GO To pizza slice spots in the area (Due Amici is the other one). I would call their pizza thin crust style but what makes it special is the dough. It’s slightly sweet and never has to compete with too much cheese or sauce. My favorite is the Italian sausage slice.
Wait — .Christina A. thinks the sauce is the sweet part. Maybe that’s it and not the dough. Maybe it’s both. The important thing is that it IS slightly sweet which I believe makes this slice special.
They have tables outside and you can usually catch a soccer game playing on the TV while you enjoy a quick slice.

Pizza is one of my fav foods, but it’s also one that I eat more out of convenience than desire. I’ve grabbed slices on the go at a lot of places around town and all of them have blended into each other with no real siginificance. This place is the only one that stood out to me. For me, it’s all in the sauce. I like a very slight sweet taste to my tomato sauce and this places does just that. And I like the way they put splotches of sauce on top of the ingredients instead of underneath the cheese. You can actually taste the sauce better and it enhances the flavor of the pizza!

This place has one specific function for me: If i’m seeing a movie at the Regal Union Square and I’m by myself and dont have enough time to sit down to eat and coming by subway from brooklyn. There’s a jamba juice across the street to get some healthy nutrients, and I go here not for the pizza, but for the chicken gyro/​sandwich. The white sauce is a bit much but very good in lesser doses, and the lettuce is light and the tomatoes fresh. The wrap they use tastes like the pizza dough, and its tastes really good, its chewy and dense.

I just love this place. Always get the same thing (just plain cheese) and it never disappoints. The crust – slightly sweet and perfectly chewy – and globs of sauce disbursed throughout the pizza make this a tasty slice.
Yum.
NO. This is NOT California Pizza Kitchen! Please…

I’ve only had their pizza once and it was their ‘spinach plus’ slice that had cloves of garlic too, which was not bad.
Later on I’ve been back a bunch of times for their $ 3 falafel sandwich. It takes a while for them to make but it’s always fresh, tasty and is always a best friend to broke-​assed Parsons students.

New York pizza in California I can understand, but the reverse is a concept that just doesn’t make sense, especially when the pie is as ho-​hum as this.