Wine, I mean Pizza...a Mom's Best Friend

Pizza is a mom’s best friend. You might not have it often but it’s there when you need it. It might not be your favorite way to pig out on carbs but it’s reliable and plentiful….hey, kinda like wine! Well, pick your pizza because Lamorinda is not short on pizza options!  Depending on your taste, occasion, atmosphere preference, dine-in, pick up or delivery...there is something for you. There are pizzas in a wide variety of budget options and you can find just about any style pizza in Lamorinda, from fancy to fast food. While many restaurants throughout Lamorinda include a couple of pizza or flatbread options on their menu, such as Chow and The Bistro at the Park Hotel, both of Lafayette, there are many restaurants dedicated solely to pizza. ​​

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Quick Pick Up or Delivery

For a quick pick up or delivery, there are ‘fast food’ pizza chains to be found, such as Round Table in Lafayette and Moraga as well as Lamorinda Pizza in Moraga. Lamorinda Pizza is known for their great deals for school and swim team functions and you can walk into their small storefront in the Rheem Shopping Center just down from the theater. Mountain Mikes is just around the corner, also in the Rheem Shopping Center, and like both of the local Round Tables, serves the purpose of a gathering place to enjoy pizza at birthday parties or team celebrations: big pizzas, large tables, salad bars, soda machines and lots of noise for a crowd.

Celebrate With Pizza

Also great for a crowd or celebration is Mangia in Lafayette and Penninis in Moraga. Both restaurants have a wide variety of menu options including salads which can be served family style and pizza and pasta choices.  There are also entrees on these menus. Friendly service can be found at both and the servers are not indimidated by a crowd or the noise that a big table brings. Mangia pizza chefs are at work in the restaurant’s entry and kids can request a little piece of dough to keep them busy while they wait for their pizza to be cooked. Penninis has some video games in a little side room which keeps kids busy while parents get to chat over a beer and pizza back at the table.

Pizza in Orinda

Orinda is brimming with pizza, including a classic Italian restaurant La Piazza Pizzeria and Trattoria, across from the Orinda Theater. In addition to the seven or eight pizza options, there have a full menu with Italian appetizers, entrees and desserts.  This restaurant is more of a special occassion or date night venue. Down the street is Piccolou Napoli, which in addition to their classic pizzas, they offer calzone and eggplant parmesan as well as antipasto, starters and dessert. Over on the village side of Orinda, just minutes away is Zambonis Pizza, a casual and fun restaurant with classic and Chicago deep dish pizza options.  Village Pizza in Orinda is a long standing entity popular with locals for their class pizzas, friendly service and large round tables for a crowd. A plus for Village Pizza is its proximity to the park in Orinda to play before or after a pizza dinner with family and friends on a hot summer night.

Pizza in Lafayette

Back in Lafayette, popular pizza venues include Pizza Antica and Paxtis, different, but equally popular. Pizza Antica is a bustling resaurant with a fresh, seasonal menu that features popular favorites like warm brussels sprout salad and gourment pizzas topped with fresh ricota or fennel sausage...as well as some more typical favorites like cheese and pepperoni. The restaurant has a bustle to it and you can see families with young kids or couples out on a date night. Paxtis Pizza just down the street is known for its deep dish pizzas with local names like the Matt Cain (meat pizza). There are also delicious meatballs and thin crust pizzas. Take out and delivery options are available at Paxtis, too.  Just add a salad (which they also serve), and a Paxtis pizza makes a great meal even for having company over!

A Short Drive Away

Just a short drive away on the edges of Walnut Creek can be found other popular pizza restaurants freqented by Lamorinda families. Pancoast Pizza, right near Kaiser Walnut Creek, is owned by a Lafayette family will deliver to parts of Lafayette and is known for its delicious crust and quick service. Pizza My Heart offers whole pizzas or pizza by the slice and is popular with teens on a budget because for $8 you can get a slice, drink and it all comes in a frisbee!  Skipolinis is slightly further into Walnut Creek, but a family favorite...and is also known for it’s Prego Pizza where expectant mothers hoping to induce labor travel to dine on the Prego Pizza, which is loaded with veggies, six types of meat, extra onions and garlic. There are legends of how many people have gone into labor shortly after eating this pizza!

This is just a ‘small slice’ of the pizza you can find in Lamorinda as many restaurants also have flatbread and pizzas on their menus. Choose your crowd size, location, occassion and taste preference, and any night of the week, there is sure to be a pizza waiting for you to enjoy in Lamorinda!