7 Best Pizza Restaurants in Menlo Park

“One of the best up-and-coming pizzas in the bay. Plain cheese has always been great and I recently got the "Pub Grub" pizza lab special that had buffalo cauliflower and a house made ranch sauce, probably the best speciality pizza I've ever had.“

“Cafe Zoë is an incredible little community space that serves delicious beverages, food and entertainment. Kathleen, Zoë and the staff are truly amazing and provide great service. They are community minded and love how they support the arts as well.“

“Appetizers and dinner was great. So good to be able to eat outdoors.“

“best location, its the original round table and the decor is what makes it better. pizza is always delicious and the garlic twists are a must. kids love the cheese pizza and the king Arthur is a must. Best Rachel you will find in the bay area. if youre around for lunch the buffet is an amazing deal.“

“We love the restaurant, the staff are polite and attentive, they have great communication skills and are great at explaining both the menu and how long the food may take (exceptionally quick with getting the kids meals on the table!) and, on that note, very flexible with the kids meals in terms of how they may prefer a different type of pasta, or sauce on the side or extra cheese. Overall a great family friendly experience. Also a lovely date night or special dinner spot to be enjoyed with friends. Inside is beautifully decorated and provides a warm and inviting ambiance, and outdoor seating is kept warm by outdoor heaters.“

“My first time here and the food was great I tried the pepperoni pizza and I would 100% recommend. The service here was amazing the staff were very helpful and friendly. Also thanks to Nelson my first interaction with Avanti pizza was wonderful! Would 100% come again.“

“Mountain Mike’s – Menlo Park’s Certified Slice of Nostalgia

Welcome back to another episode of Local Eats For People Who Know Better, and today’s star is none other than Mountain Mike’s in Menlo Park. A Bay Area staple. The kind of spot that doesn’t need to reinvent itself every three years. No sourdough crust, no “Neapolitan-style artisan fire-kissed flatbread.” Just heat, cheese, carbs, and memories from a simpler, pre-smartphone era.

Before you even walk inside, the aroma creeping across that Main Street intersection hits you with the force of a Chuck E. Cheese pizza siren. A primal call. A scent that grabs your childhood by the collar and drags it out of hiding. By the time you pull the door open, you’re already halfway transported to 1998, seatbelt optional.

Inside, nothing tries to impress you—and that’s exactly why it slaps. No animatronic rodents. No LED menus. No QR-code ordering labyrinth with a “20 percent tip for literally handing you a cup” prompt. This place is a preserved time capsule: warm, chaotic, stubborn, and beautifully unfancy.

We pulled up on a Thursday and ordered a large cheese pizza with jalapeños to split like joint custody. Bless the pizza gods, because it just so happened to be half-off large pizza night. Destiny. Fate. Providence. Whatever it was, we didn’t question it.

We wandered into the arcade corner to kill some time, and the lineup is exactly what you’d expect from a place running on pure tradition. A graveyard of mostly fighting games, modded cabinets held together by prayer, controllers drifting harder than a 1994 Civic on bald tires. Street Fighter Turbo, MK1/Trilogy, NFL Blitz, Golden Tee, X-Men 4-player, Deer Hunt. Free play, baby. Calibrate your expectations… because the joysticks definitely aren’t calibrated.

Slightly charred bottom, yeast-forward crust, cheese melted into a perfect golden blanket, jalapeños sprinkled with the kind of confidence only a seasoned pizza vet possesses. Whoever was working back-of-house that Thursday deserves a medal. The pizza did what pizza is supposed to do: slap.

The front-of-house team held it down too. Two cashiers greeting customers with actual warmth instead of that dead-behind-the-eyes “I hate my job and everyone in this building” retail energy we’ve all survived. Hospitality wasn’t forced. Smiles weren’t fake. Management clearly runs a disciplined ship, and everyone—from the register to the oven—pulled their weight.

Overall? I’d take a fresh, steamy slice from Mike’s over Round Table next door any day of the week. Between the nostalgia, the customer service, the arcade lineup held together with duct tape, and the old-school Menlo Park charm, this spot still honors tradition in all the right ways.

There’s nothing more American than inhaling a cheese or pepperoni slice while chugging a Mountain Dew, wondering where your life went wrong and also feeling comforted at the same time.

It is your constitutional right to bear pizza.

And Mountain Mike’s Menlo Park is still out here defending that right with pride.“