Patxi's Chicago Pizza
- Hours:
Tue-Sun 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
129 reviews
San Carlos, CA
"NY PIZZA LIVES! I wanted to try this place for a while because of the good reviews on Yelp. Being an east coaster (from NJ, and no it…" read more »
237 Reviews for Patxi's Chicago Pizza
Honestly, I don't think I can really eat here.
One slice and you just feel gross. The slices are too tall, and the cheese is overwhelming. Plus there's a super long wait. And the options of quick appetizers while you wait are slim to none (a limited salad, I believe, is the entirety). Bleh.
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I am not a fan. I got a pizza to go and it just didn't hit the spot. The flavor just wasn't there. I am always surprised when people rave about this place, but I guess it really is a case of everyone having different tastes.
Expensive. Long wait. Bland.
3.5 stars. Don't throw tomatoes at me because I know this place has a lot of fans, but I had SUCH high expectations of this being the best pizza outside of Chicago, that I was a bit disappointed. Note that I still have a distinct blew-my-mind memory of a slice of stuffed pizza I had in Chicago last summer, so that may be influencing me. Don't get me wrong, it was still good, just not the best ever for me.
Cost to worth it ratio: 3 stars
Highlights:
- Clean atmosphere: circular open kitchen, wood tables, small black track lights, and red accent colors around. Polished but not fancy--no frills basic.
- Pizza: pastry crust, good amount of cheese, lots of tomatoes on top sans any canned tomato taste, internal ingredients seemed fresh and crispy (onions and peppers).
- Call ahead option: since the pizza takes so long to make, this is a great idea if you're hungry. Thanks other yelpers for letting me know this!
- Large salad: way bigger than I thought it would be for a house salad and on a small plate so it was overflowing. I got to share it with the fam though so that was good.
- Staff: friendly, efficient
Lowlights (my flip side to highlights):
- Pizza insides: not enough toppings (in this case fillings). In the case of our pie, we all found ourselves playing a game of find the sausage. There were large pieces in there, just not enough for our taste.
- Overall not tasty enough: at least for me, but I'm a crushed red pepperer so I did my thing there. It may be that the place is newer than other pizza places and the oven needs a few more years to give us that deep level of flavor.
- No appetizers on menu: I found this surprising since there is a long wait for the pizza, but guess you're supposed to opt for a salad
- Aftereffects: instant stomach expansion with the big pieces and deep dish crust ;-)
I'll come back and give it another shot and maybe try another type of pizza. As of now, I'm with Mr. E on this one: I prefer Zachary's but this is closer.
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I went to this place on a Sunday with a friend who suggested it. The restaurant is clean and very roomy. Well, I guess it was roomy because we were the only ones there. The menu was sufficient and they have a decent amount of selection. We ordered a Hawaiian and Spinach Pesto and both were delicious. My only complaint is that it took over half an hour to get our food. I expected them to be much quicker since we were the only people they had to serve.
Paxti's has supplanted Applewood as our favorite pizza. This is all based on carryout, since we've never actually eaten at Patxi's and I think ate at Applewood maybe once or twice. Tasty sauce, lots of cheese, but the best part is the crust. It's got cornmeal or something on the bottom so that it doesn't get all goopy and soggy, which takeaway pizza often does.
I am in love with Paxti's Pizza right now, call it the 8 month pregnancy diet or whatever, but my husband has been there twice this week picking up a pizza, bless him.
Best Deep Dish in the area & closer to our new digs then Wendy City in San Mateo.
It is a little crowded and the wait can be crazy (1.5 hours on a Friday night) so we have found getting it to go is the best idea and the wait time is 35-40 min.
thank you yelp!
Great place to visit when in the mood for Chi town style pizza, without having to drive a distance by going to Zachary's in Berkeley. Zachary's has a better pizza, but Patxi is closer when living in San Jose.
Decent amount of toppings, semi pricey...overall way better than the pizza huts, dominos, bj's, but not as good as Zachary's. 3.5 stars for this place.
YUM! Deep dish, saucy and cheesy slices of pizza. It's not a cheap place for a pie, however you do pay for what you get.
When I went, we were pretty much the only ones in the restaurant (we were having a late lunch) and the waiters did not rush us out or even refuse to serve us. They just let us know it'd take about 30 min. for our pies. This place is so YUM that I wanted to share its goodness and brought some co-workers here for dinner before a night of bowling!
Great place for a real Chi-town style pizza. Met some friends there last night (one grew up in Chicago), and ordered more than we could eat. Good beer selection too; on-tap and others.
It was my first time to get a real Chicago pizza, so I am basing my review on my friend and my own experience with the deep-dish. Up until now, I had only been to Pizza Uno's once (in my life----never to return), and thought this style of pizza is sloppy and impossible to eat. However, the real thing is/was awesome.
I am not a veggie, but I would never ruin a pie with any meat. The veggies were super fresh, and the sauce was pretty good. I personally like a bit more Oregano/Basil, but it was still better than right-from-the-can tomato sauce.
Here's the thing I learned; seriously, the 10" is good enough for two people. The salads are also good for a party of four. It is OKAY to eat with a fork and knife. And the cold pizza version of Chicago style pizza is off the hook.---I am a new fan.
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This is the best pizza in the peninsula... by far. There are two places to get good pizza aka Chicago-style and that is Patxi's and Zachary's. I slightly prefer Zachary's but it is far. Yes, it can get crowded on the weekend but it is worth it. Both the deep dish and thin crust are great. Ask for honey for your crust. It is like dessert!
Yum yum. This place was pretty tasty. We were happy to find a Zachary's replacement so close to home...but it's not quite as good as Zachary's. Their pizzas don't have the giant tomato chunks like Zachary's, but otherwise, they are pretty similar. Patxi's is also not as liberal with the toppings. Instead of a layer of pepperoni, they were scattered around throughout the pizza.
We had a medium deep dish with two toppings (feeds 3 people), and I think the bill was around $24. Not cheap, but these pizzas are filling and tasty.
I recently ventured up north and my friend has been dying to try this place so we went at 3pm. The pizza is very good, totally not what I expected. Hopefully you go with a friend and can share a pizza because you probably don't want to take home leftovers as it will be incredibly soggy. We waited around 45 minutes for the pizza to arrive which was the only negative part. But it's not too bad of a downer considering the time we went. The price of the pizza can get steep but sharing it with friends/family helps. Now they just need to open a Patxi's in SoCal, maybe they have one? I'm not sure. Highly recommended.
This place is cheesy. No, seriously, they use a lot of cheese in their pizza. When the waiter brought out our pizza, the cheese was oozing off the pizza and onto the floor. The waiter tried to catch the cheese as it slid off the side. It was tricky because he had to balance the pizza in one hand, catch the ooze and walk. It was entertaining.
We ordered a medium half n' half ...one side was Hawaiian and the other side was spinach. Me and two healthy guys couldn't finish it off. One lonely slice was left over. We took a vote and some how the slice of pizza came to rest in my refrigerator.
Total cost was about $16 per person. Which included the pizza, water, and a plate of spinach salad to share.
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Totally overpriced. I paid $22 for a small thin crust with five toppings. Was charged x2 for pesto, per their menu, but could not see nor taste a single ounce of it on my pie. Specifically stated pesto sauce only, no tomato, but my pizza had lots of tomato sauce. One of my other toppings, garlic, was mysteriously missing as well. I was also charged x2 for kalamatas, also per their menu. At least there were plenty of those on the pizza.
Every time I've called, I've been told it was an hour and a half for delivery. I bit the bullet this time, and my pizza was here in almost exactly 90 minutes. The delivery guy was nice, very obviously rushed. Hey, Patxi's -- hire more drivers!
I really don't think it was anything special. I ate 2 hours ago and am still guzzling water. Waaaayyy too much salt.
I can't believe I have lived here two years and never had Patxi's pizza until yesterday! Delicious pizza all around. It made me realize that Pizz'a Chicago has nothing on them (except more room for a group outing). I would definitely recommend getting the Chicago-style Special (sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, and onions). There were not too many onions, and I could taste all the ingredients. I thought it was the perfect balance of meat and veggies in a pizza. The leftover slice (I shared a small pizza with a girlfriend and I couldn't even have the third slice) was delicious heated up the next day -- quite a surprise since I thought the sauce would slide off everywhere.
Funniest moment --
DH asks: "how many slices is the 12" pizza?"
Waitress: "uhh...I think 7." (COMPLETELY SERIOUS!)
DH: "really? that's awkward."
(slight laughter from our table)
Me (with the waitress still there): "No hun, there is no way there are 7 slices, I am sure it is an even number."
DH: "Ok. -- (to waitress -- I didn't mean you were awkward I meant it would be awkward to share 7 slices between two of us...)"
(waitress exits awkwardly)
We talked about it for at least the next 5 minutes. Pizza pies always (at least in my experience) get sliced in even numbers -- I don't think she'll forget that again.
Anyway - had a great time. Loved the atmosphere. Hope I get to go back before the big move!
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I have no idea what Deep Dish is supposed to taste like, but I thought Pah-Cheese stood up to all my DD presumptions.
I built my own tonight, OMG that thing was a monstrosity:
-whole wheat crust
-low fat mozzarella
-spinach
-broccoli
-mushrooms
-beef
-Italian sausage
WHOO WEE!!! Just one slice did me in, the crust was not oily and all the ingredients were fresh. I would add more AROMATICS next time-onions and garlic.
Pre-order 35-40 minutes before you arrrive, or you'll have to pine away for your pie.
Mid westerners eat CASSEROLES, not pizza. Needless to say we had PLENTY of leftovers.
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Delicious Chicago Style Pizza. The wait is a little insane.
The pizza was quite good, although not as good as Little Star in SF.
The crust was great, the sauce was a little bit too tangy for my taste.
Service was relatively good.
Initially, I thought that this would be a good alternative for eating Deep Dish, specially if I don't want to drive to SF, but sounds like I'll satisfy my deep dish cravings with Little Star.
Don't get me wrong. The Pizza, atmosphere etc. is quite good, but just not the best for me.
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If you're looking for some good Chicago style pizza, Patxi's is the place to go. It can be easily missed if you just stick to the main drag, University Avenue, in Palo Alto.
I was going in with big expectations because my friend gave them some high praise. Needless to say I was not disappointed. The pizza was as advertised--AMAZING! From the crust, to the sauce, to the cheese, to the toppings everything tasted great. The cheese sort of oozed off each broken piece as we broke them away from the pie. Now I'm not usually a cheese guy, I'm more of a sauce guy, but the gooeyness of the mozzarella tasted so good. Meanwhile once I got past that, the sauce was equally amazing as well. So rich and flavorful. As for the crust, mmm, mmm, mmm! It wasn't rock hard like other's I've had.
I don't know what else to say except that my expectations were fully met with this pizza. The only thing that was lacking a little was our service and the fact that our pizza took about a half hour to cook. I know that it says in the menu that the pizzas take 30-40 minutes to cook, but being my first time there I just wasn't expecting that.
All in all I would give this place 4.5 stars, but since I can't do that I'll just have to settle on 5 instead and base my decision in favor of the food, which is first rate!
This place is a really good deal. Went there and got the 14" deep dish for 4 people. That was more than enough and the pizza was really good. Bill came out to only about $12 a person. You have to wait 30 minutes for the pizza to cook but it's certainly worth it.
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For deep dish pizza in the South Bay/Peninsula, I would go here. Its a Chicago deep dish style pizza, so for those that don't like their pizza hearty will want to stay away. The tell-tale sign of good deep dish is if the place can cook the fillings thoroughly and keep it hot. This place can do just that so that every bite is a gooey unforgettable experience. The pizza sauce is extremely good too, with fresh tomatoes being used as the base.
The restaurant is small, so I like to avoid the chaos and order to go.
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Born and Raised in Chicago, I'm pretty familiar a variety of Deep Dish Pizzas. From Giordanos to Edwardos to Medici, nothing but love. I can't say I've been to them all, but I have been to a Lot of good ones.
And then there was Patxis, whose name I would never have pronounced correctly without help... even though it's on the box... Bah
When I'm having Patxis (Pah-cheese), I might as well be back in Chicago. A good Chicago style, Deep Dish pizza starts with the crust. It has to be strong enough to support everything it's going to be filled with. Not only is Patxis crust strong enough to hold the cheesy deep dish goodness, it's delicious on it's own.
Not too dense.
Not too buttery.
Just Right.
The cheese and ingredients hold their form well, though a knife and fork are required (initially). Also delicious cold (as you're likely to find out when you can't finish the whole thing).
The marinara that tops it off is ever so slightly tangy and complements the crust well. Almost as well as a glass of Chianti complements a couple of slices.
Did I mention they serve the Deep Dish by the slice? This was a first for me and makes it much harder to stay away. I call in, see what slices are available (I think they even recognize me over the phone at this point), ask them to throw a couple in and by the time I get there, they're ready to go.
I've brought several friends here and they all left happy. I highly recommend Patxis not only to Chicago natives, but to anyone who's had and sincerely enjoys Chicago Deep Dish pizza.
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The pizza is definitely good, but what pleased me most was that they were able to accomodate 30 of us with 1 day notice! I'm actually surprised they even took my lunch reservation for 30, but they were super nice about it. They recommended that we ordered ahead since the pizza does take some time to come out. I took their advice and ordered 8 of their specialty pizzas in advance.
When we arrived our tables were all setup and they quickly took our drink orders and any extra salad orders. The pizza came out 10 minutes after we arrived and they were really nice about serving each person the slice that they wanted. I had a slice of the Special and the Spinach Pesto. Both are very good, although I do have to agree with others that all of their pizzas kinda taste the same. I barely ate 1.5 slices and I was stuffed!
I was definitely impressed with their service, since it's not easy to deal with such a large group. They were very accomodating, and I'll definitely come back again!
Good atmosphere, good service and most importantly - good food.
The one thing I got from this place is that they knew what they were doing. And when it comes to deep dish style pizza... they better.
I was not disappointed. My order came out like what I think of as "Chicago-Style". Crispy and caramelized in the pan parts and rich and gooey cheese everywhere else. There's a balance between that and they achieved it for sure. Washed that down with some Stewart's root beer and I felt quite satisfied in that oh so familiar gluttonous way.
Solid pizza- feel the weight of that box! Always deep-dish, always delivered. Don't want to fight the crowds for this one. Spinach & Pesto is my favorite- but red sauce on top of a pesto pizza? OK, it's still delicious. Buttery crust and a nice tomato sauce. Is that the doorbell?
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Being from Chicago, I am really leery of out of state venues that laud themselves as "Chicago" style pizza. I have to admit Patxi's comes really close.
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I'm not gonna lie, I have no idea what Chicago style really is. Patxi's claims to make authentic Chicago style pizzas by basically making their pizzas upside down, cheese, then toppings, then sauce. Sounded weird to me at first, but they are scrumptulescent.
Great crust, great toppings, and really hefty slices. It does take a while for them to cook the pies, but trust me, it's definitely worth the wait. I went with a pepperoni, feta, and bacon (real bacon, none of that canadian weirdness), and have gotten it three times since then.
Holy Crap this is the best freakin pizza I've ever had! I have always been a major fan of thin crust but my husband made me see the beauty that is Patxi's! The prices are reasonable and pizzas are freshly made with each order. I found the sauce to be seasoned just right. Yum.
I'm drooling on my keyboard. I wish I had me some Patxi's right now.
Don't get me wrong, havng Chicago style pizza in PA is a blessing, but Patxi's just doesn't live up to the expectations set by competitors. Zacharay's, Little Star and maybe even Pizza Chicago are all better.
Why don't I like it?
1) Inconsistent- I've had fabulous pizza at Paxi's and horrible pizza at Patxi's/
2) Atmosphere is great but service is slow and often seems overwhelmed
3) The sauce is a bit too tangy
4) The pizza dough a bit too chewy
Nonetheless, it is deep dish and it is local!
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Excellent sauce, proper, buttery crust. A good approximation of the real deal. And they play Belle and Sebastian. How California!
This place satisfied my pizza & beer craving, but that's about it.
The pizza is good but nothing extraordinary -- so if you're looking for GREAT pizza, I say try some place else (although I had the thin crust so maybe their thick is better?). The menu is limited which is a good and bad thing -- they stick to what they're there for, PIZZA! But if you're looking for appetizers & whatnot, all they have are salads.
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Fail.
First I must disagree with the other Chicago natives that reviewed this pizza. I guess the pizza holds it's own against Giordano's, Lou Malnotti's and Edwardos , which it seems to be compaired to, but they are franchised chains! They are the McDonalds, Burger Kings and Wendys of pizza. I have never seen a review claiming McDonalds makes the worlds finest hamburger.
No fried mushrooms, onion rings or cheese sticks? What gives? Whole wheat or honey crust? What gives? Walk into Sano's on Lawerence ave or Pete's on Western in Chicago and ask for whole wheat or honey crust and you'll get a bash in the chops by the owner. These crusts do not exist in an authentic Chicago joint.
It looks like a true Chicago pizza, but it falls far too short. The sauce tasted like plain tomato sauce out of a can, the sausage seemed to be a sort of weird California tofu crap. Not the real pig as it should be.
I did not spend enough time in Palo Alto to see how other local Chicago style pizza's were but Patxi's is far superior to Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Ceasers, etc......, so I would recommend it if you live there. I just don't believe it deserves to be called Chicago pizza.
(Patxi's Chicago Wannabe Fast Food Type Pizza perhaps)?
I'm a thin crust fan and this is the best outside of Zachary's (Oakland & Berkeley). Same style great sauce and excellent crust - though I tend to have to order it "well done" to get it as crispy as I would like. I wish they had a "pick-up" parking slot as that's the hardest thing about getting it to go.
This is hands down my favorite bay area deep dish! They kick the SHIT out of Little Star in Sf.
People complain about the wait, but, its a deep dish. Real deep dish takes a while to cook. Take the pepsi challenge and put a Pizza Chicago or Windy City pizza slice next to a Patxis slice. its feeble in comparison.
2 slices will do you in.
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Oh boy! I ate here recently, and it sure made me happy! I went to college near Chicago, so I know stuffed pizza... and Patxi's does it proud :) Thick tomato sauce, gooey cheese, and a hefty, tasty crust (I recommend the whole wheat). Service was decent for a pizza place and seating was reasonably comfortable. But forget about that... mmm... stuffed pizza outside of Chicago... just divine! :-)
I ordered the pizza to go taking on the yelpers suggestioins about how Paxti's is not a great dine in restaurant. I had the california pizza with added mushrooms. It sounded delicious but when i got it, it was completely soggy. They drenched the pizza with sauch, so much so that it leaked through the box. I'm sure it would've been more tasty if the crust was crunchy, but the soggy mess i got. I seriously seriousy don't recommend ordering a chicago pizza to go. Such a hot mess and not in a good way!
Also, I'd have to say that the balance of the pizza was off. There was so much cheese and tomato sauce that i didn't even taste my toppings. Not to mention, expensssiiive! I like the healthier options though, and I think next time i'll have to order a pizza and eat it there so i can see if it'd affect the taste much. I'm thinking it doesn't but you never know...
The service was fast and friendly so I'll definitely call in for a sit down order than update my review. :)
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This is a great place for pizza -- almost as good as Zachary's. Every Chicago-style pizza I've had here has been delightful. The restaurant is a litte small, so reservations are recommended. They also deliver. The staff is friendly, and the menu is reasonable with good prices.
I met friends at Patxi's last night and to much of a surprise, all other parties were being seated before us, since they had resos.
A pizza place that takes reservations? I wish I knew that before driving to PA.
We hung out at the bar for a bit and placed our order for a salad to share and a large pizza. The salad was pretty good and was not over dressed. The large pizza was great for the 1st slice but upon taking a look at a second slice, the pizza was completely wet and soggy. So, I passed on it.
This is definitely a good place to catch up with friends, as long as you have a reservation. The wait staff at the bar and table were pretty good too!
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Keep in mind that this is a take-out order review.
I called ahead for a deep-dish, which is the only reason I would have to check the place out- many folks having wisely pointed out that one can get a thin-crust almost anywhere.
I will offer this proviso to other yelpers, and i hope they won't be terribly offended: When talking about REAL FOOD- dishes which must be carefully prepared and BAKED TO COMPLETION like deep-dish pizza pie, STOP complaining about having to WAIT for it.
It makes you seem unsophisticated- like you are whining because water is WET or something.
I've had Pizza Chicago, and while it wasn't NASTY or anything- this one is simply better.
I'm kind of a country-boy, and the truth is I don't care that much about whether some undergrad is perfectly kowtowing to my every whim.
The fellow who seemed to be the boss was young but he took the product seriously. I'm an ex-chef myself (OK, maybe semi-retired is a better description- you never stop cooking,) so a brief conversation with the man convinced me that this was going to be a good pie (in my way of thinking, deep-dish Chicago is the only pizza that deserves to be called "pie," though I realize this is a generic term back East.)
I couldn't really try out my own favorite kind, since I was bound to honor the tastes of others (I better not tell you what I REALLY like on my pizza.)
Got it home and even though I'd driven fifteen minutes and it was stored in cardboard- the bottom of the crust still had crunch to it. There was a ton of everything we asked for- over an inch thick.
NOTE: Four stars is a good rating for me.
Hands down, best pizza I've had in CA. The crust is buttery and flakey, the red sauce (on top) is simple fantastic, and every topping is fresh and delicious and very generous. Did I mention the cheese? Wow, and so much. I can't eat even two slices of their medium deep dish without going comatose for a few hours after, and the leftovers keep me satisfied for days.
The dining is my favorite too. It will take at least 30 minutes for the pizza, so call ahead, drive down, find parking, grab a beer from their excellent (if small) draft selection, have a salad, and your pizza arrives perfectly when you want it.
The thin crust style is good too, but nothing beats their excellent deep dish.
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