Uncie Ro’s Take and Bake Pizzas

I guess it’s just me but I thought their pizza was way overrated. First off it’s super expensive, like $ 10 for a personal size and they skimp you on all toppings. If you can see the sauce under the cheese then there isn’t enough cheese. All the good review must be from all the weird Santa Cruz hippy dummies who eat tree bark and dirt.

We really wanted a pizza oven for our wedding and couldn’t have been happier with Roland and his crew. People got in that food line over and over and over again! We had three pizzas plus a gluten-​free option, plus an array of roasted veggies, salads, and delicious garlic knots. Roland set up a tasting for us to choose the menu and was really flexible and open to requests. Their setup is very professional — all self-​contained and looks great with umbrellas, a wooden serving bar, tablecloths, etc. One thing to know is that Roland can sometimes be a little bit hard to get ahold of – he does a lot of events and I think he needs to prioritize his emails and calls. But if you’re persistent (perhaps overly so) he’ll get back to you. And when it’s go-​time, he’s 100% on it – we couldn’t have asked for the day to go better!

I’m allergic to dairy and don’t usually eat gluten, so I can only vouch for the gluten-​free vegan take-​n-​bake pizza.
It’s the best I’ve ever tasted! Loaded with yummy veggies (quality mushrooms, onion, peppers, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, kale, etc) that are sautéed just right. I prefer to take it out of the oven hot and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Himalayan salt and toasted pine nuts, but that’s just me.
My daughter has ordered pizza by the slice, cheesy pretzels and Italian soda from the Wednesday downtown Farmer’s Market (where I get the gf vegan) and never a complaint.
My only request us that they sell the gf vegan in stores, like they do other flavors.

Love these guys. We booked Uncie Ro’s for our rehearsal dinner. At first, it was a little hard to get a hold of Roland, but we were finally able to schedule a tasting. It was amazing, and once our contract was secure, we had no problems.
It was so nice to have them pull up to the venue and just start cooking at no impact to us. They made us an amazing meal that our guests could not stop raving about. Everything was local and fresh. We had plenty of food for everyone and Roland was kind enough to box up all the leftovers for later. The pizza was so good, I couldn’t resist have a slice before I walked down the isle the next day.
We would definitely book them again for a future event.

Thank you for all that you dough, I mean do to dough.

***BEWARE IF YOU’RE STRICTLY GLUTEN-​FREE*** DESPITE LABEL, CRUST IS NOT GF.
We picked up a «GF» crust at the West Side Farmers Market. While certainly tasty, it is not gluten free. The label states «Gluten-​Free», in bold letters, yet goes on to acknowledge that the crusts are processed in a facility that also processes with wheat flour. Bummer.

Oh man!!! Just bought one of their pretzels at the Farmers Market and WOW! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! I hesitated on buying a pizza because they started at $ 11 and were tiny, but after having tasted this I will definitely visit them again!

Love the pizzas, haven’t tried the gluten free yet so I’ll have to give it a shot. For price range it should have two dollar signs only because they are a bit pricey for their size but the organic and fresh ingredients make it worth every penny. I commend Uncle Ro’s pizza for their awesome business.

well, here is what happened for us… we were very excited the first night we went to community pizza night. we adore companion bakery and love everyone there. we had a pepperoni with the peppers on one side so our 3 year old could eat too. we ate next door and had an amazing bottle of pinot noir along with it. we were so excited and talked about organizing a tuesday family night with all our friends, at the winery next door while we had delicious pizza. the next week it was one guy and roland, the owner, working. we had invited a new santa cruz family to join us and this mom has a 5 year old and a 2 ½ year old. they arrived first and had ordered their pizza just as we arrived. i stepped up to order ours and asked if we could get the pepperoni pizza with the peppers and tomato sauce on one side so our 3 year old would eat the pizza too. he said no, we don’t do special orders. i said well, our 3 year old won’t eat spicy peppers or tomato sauce. he said we don’t do special orders. these are hand crafted pizzas and i make them in a specific way and that’s how i serve them. i said, look, i really want to support you and we really like coming here on tuesdays… we invited some friends this week, but if our kid can’t eat the pizza, we can’t come back. he was very upset that i wanted him to change something and kept saying they didn’t do special orders. i was getting frustrated because i’m thinking, what the heck is going to hurt to put the peppers and tomato sauce on one side. at that very moment, the barista walks over with some pizza tickets in her hand and says to him, here is john _____’s special order. he grabbed her hand and in a very rude voice says «not right now.» she says, well, here are the tickets then (thinking he just didn’t want to be interrupted). again, he repeated in an even ruder tone, «not right now.» ok, so at this point it became comical to me and i had to hold back my laughter. my spouse walks up at that moment and says, «what is going on?» i say, with a smile on my face, that apparently he does special orders, just not for us. he was obviously very angry that he got caught in his own lie. so here’s my last few thoughts… the pizza is really good if you don’t need any changes and don’t mind dealing with an ass of an owner. it is not a good place to take kids unless they will eat anything. in the end, my biggest issue was the way he treated the barista with such aggression. no one should have to deal with this at work, regardless of what may be going on for him in his personal life to act out in this way.
in the end he said he would make us a bianco pizza. so we ate pizza crust with cheese and tomato sauce on one side on top of the cheese. the kid ate it. we really just wanted sauce and peppers on the side, however. and our new friends had the same issue. she just wanted it without peppers so her kids could eat it too, but he said no.
it was over for me and i had let go, but alas, as we were leaving and getting into our car, he gave me an eye roll and head shake! lol… c’mon, grow up!

Really really really good pizza. I’ve had pizza in Italy before and have been looking to find something similar here — thin chewy crust, fresh toppings with lots of flavor. I’m pretty picky and I love Uncie Ro’s. We have their breakfast pizza every time we go to the Farmer’s market.
And how awesome is it that their ingredients are farm fresh (Roland and his wife live on a farm)! You can taste the freshness. This is my favorite pizza hands down. I will be taking all my family and friends here whenever they come to Santa Cruz.
I particulary enjoy Community Pizza night where we dine outside on the farm (bring your own beer). Beautiful California weather and delicious pizza — there’s nothing better.

Roland is the best! We first discovered Uncie Ro’s at Eastside Santa Cruz Farmers Market 3 months ago — never tried «breakfast pizza» before — but right away we knew this was the best pizza. Started talking to Roland — found out he uses all fresh, local, organic toppings — combine that with his brick oven and Roland’s expertise — simply perfect!
We recently hired Ro for a company dinner — he and his team showed up with the brick oven — and they were the hit of the party. Besides all the great pizzas — they made meatball platters, eggplant lasagna, salads, appetizers — it was all crazy good! Everyone at the company commented on how delicious all the plates were — he made the evening a great success! If you want pizza as good or better then New York — then find Uncie Ro!

Wow! Best pizza in Santa Cruz and for miles. This is an elegant pizza with an exquisite crust — very light yet with just the right amount of chewiness and crunch. We ate outside on their tables near the fabulous wood fired oven under the twinkle lights.
Ours was the Bianca Pizza. Best white pizza we’ve ever had anywhere. We were blown away. Enjoy!

I have tried them all, this is truly as good as a pizza can get, fresh multi colored, purple and green, organic basil leaves spread on top is amazing, the organic ingredients are chosen after years of experience and baked with love. They use some type of special, marinated peppers that are secret, nobody else uses them. these things make it special. they use whole grain, organic crust and the pizza is like from Italy, thin and crispy crust that tastes SO good, it’s hard to explain. I had a few in santa Cruz and live in NYC .I have tried to get some mail order, and am looking forward to it. I suggest trying this, get a few of them, and try the basil leaves and the special secret peppers. You will agree, this is the best Pizza in the world. I am 100% serious, not exaggerating.

Ro’s pizza is awesome. Whether at farmers markets throughout the area, or some of the various pizza nights he hosts, his pizza has never failed to amaze me with its thin yet chewy crust, its perfect homemade mozzarella, and its flavorful ingredients. Until I tried his pepperoni (from a local charcuterie, in SC) I had had a poor impression of the infamous pizza topping. His pepperoni padrone pizza has thoroughly changed my mind.

I’ve been enjoying Ro’s pizzas at various farmers’ markets ever since I moved to Santa Cruz a year ago, but it’s two pizzas I recently had fresh out of his brick oven at his pizza kitchen on Friday night that made me realize that I had to write a review.
Imagine thin chewy crispy crust with tomato, mozarella, local pepperoni, and padron peppers– wonderful.
And I never thought I’d say this, but my favorite was a pizza without tomato sauce, just the tastiest homemade mozzarella and caramelized onions that I’ve ever had.
It’s fun to get slices at the farmers’ markets, but Friday nights at Research Park Drive where Ro has a kitchen and produces his take-​n-​bake line, you can bring some beers and a bunch of friends and get great pizzas.
The service is very fast, I guess because the oven is very hot.
Anyway– it’s definitely the best pizza in Santa Cruz.

*Cali Vacay 2012
I’m a self-​proclaimed pizza junkie and this is some of the best I’ve ever had. The recent addition of the brick oven on a trailer is such a good idea. I’ve known Ro and his wife for about a year, but I’m pretty picky about my pizza and wouldn’t have even written a review about this if I didn’t love this pizza enough for a solid five stars!
I hadn’t had an Uncie Ro’s since last year, and I think it has evolved since then. The crust is lighter and the breakfast pizza (available at the Westside and Live Oak Farmers’ Markets) is a great addition. This pizza has coppa from el Salchichero, padron peppers, Ro’s signature tomato sauce and an egg on top. It was so delicious, I would have eaten another one if I could have. At the farmer’s market, also get an italian soda or try a calzone.
The take-​and-​bake pies are lovingly prepared. The squash blossom pizza looked so pretty and so good! You can get these at the Farmers’ Markets or at the New Leaf or many of the area Whole Foods. I just wish we were in town long enough to attend Pizza Night at Companion Bakeshop, which sounds like so much fun.
With the new mobile pizza oven, I’d also be expecting to see Uncie Ro out catering events, which would be lots of fun, and I hope someday soon when we’re visiting, we’ll be hanging out at an Unice Ro’s pizzeria!

Their breakfast pizza at the Westside Farmers Market is well worth checking out. Made to order, it normally comes with meat (coppa?), cheese, tomato sauce, herbs, garlic, and a nice, runny egg. We ordered it without the meat (they were nice enough to offer spinach as a substitute, which we gladly accepted). Delicious.

Gluten free take and bake pizzas!!! Super tasty. Even got one thats gluten free and no cheese which is nearly impossible to find unless i make it myself! Only downside is they’re $ 12 which is a bit of sticker shock. I’ve seen regular pizzas (not gf) at new leaf and whole foods, but I usually get my pizzas from the campbells farmers market– get a frequent buyer card!

Uncie Ro serves up the best pizza in Santa Cruz, imo. His Take and Bakes are tasty, I grab em at New Leaf or the Farmers’ Market, and a nice thing to come home to after slaving away at a keyboard all day. The pies and slices at the Farmers’ Market are are no comparison to the garbage people call pizza in this town. A great New York style pizza with quality ingredients from farmers in the area.
I checked out his Pizza Nite at the Companion Bakeshop recently and it is a whole different style there. More Neapolitan, smaller pies, out of the big hot brick gas oven. Very good dough, nice texture, and a little char, love it. I hope to see him open a pizzeria sometime soon.

I had a slice from Uncie Ro’s at the Westside Farmer’s Market in Santa Cruz. He makes delicious organic gourmet pizzas that you can bake at home (or buy a slice to eat at the market). The ingredients are all local except the cheese (imported from Italy) and the pizzas are delicious!
I was surprised I couldn’t find Uncie Ro’s on Unilocal so I Googled and found this article:
. Apparently you can only get Uncie Ro’s at 7 farmer’s markets (from Menlo Park to Santa Cruz). I’m bummed I can’t get it at home, but if I’m ever in any of these areas, I’m definitely picking up a slice!