Pazzo

My new pizza spot to go to when I amIn the area. Friendly fast service and great food.

Pazzo has been on my to-try list since before the pandemic and we finally made it happen. There aren't many places in the Bay Area that make a clam pie and Pazzo's doesn't disappoint. It was perfect, chock full of finely-chopped clams, pecorino, parsley, and garlic. I honestly could have eaten a whole pie myself. The house made fennel sausage with mushroom was also really tasty. I will definitely be back to try more pizzas! The Caesar salad was a really good one, with dressing that was heavy on the anchovy and garlicky croutons. Yum. And I'm normally not a fan of gnocchi, but Pazzo's ricotta gnocchi was surprisingly light. Like little pillows of delight! And the homemade sauce was so good. Pazzo's pretty much got everything right. The restaurant is small so seating felt a bit cramped. Service was very nice and friendly. Oh, and their prosecco exceeded expectations. It's not as boring as other proseccos. Crisp, fruity, easy to drink. Get the bottle.

Disappointing... not many good pizza places in San Carlos. We chose Pazzo to stay local and not wanting to drive any further for food and we really wanted a wood fire pizza. We ordered online for pick up. Arrived exactly when expected arrival was noted. The pizza was already cold when we picked up. Drove a few miles home (we used an insulated pizza bag to get home). When we got home, the pizza was cold and soggy. We put it in the oven at 400 for 10 mins to reheat, that worked well. The flavor was good, I liked the crust but could have been a bit thicker. Probably won't try Pazzo again, unless we eat at the restaurant for a fresh pizza.

Get the cauliflower. No... like... you HAVE TO order the cauliflower.I'm no vegetarian or anything, but whatever these guys do to the cauliflower dish they make... I could live off the stuff.Oh, and the pizza is also quite good haha.

We took a quick trip to the Bay Area a couple weeks back and met up with our friends who live in Redwood Ciy. We needed a place to get dinner without reservations on a Friday night, and they suggested Pazzo, a New Haven-style pizza joint in San Carlos.The place apparently gets busy, so my husband and I went early and camped out at the bar, enjoying a round of beers while we waited to claim a table. The staff wouldn't seat us far in advance, but we were in there before 5:00 and they said we should be good for another half hour. It turned out we could've walked in whenever we wanted. The dining room filled up while we were there, but never to capacity.The space was comfortable and inviting, built around an impressive pizza oven. We watched the pizzas take shape while we sat at the bar, then moved to a pleasant table that looked out onto the street. The New Haven pride was apparent, with posters and pizza boxes from Sally's, Pepe's, and Modern. There was even a potato pie on the menu, a probable nod to Bar. (I spent a few years in the area and got to know the pizza scene reasonably well.)The vibe was casual but lively, and service was good, helpful and attentive. There was a pretty robust beer and wine list. We went for the beers, mostly localish brews that we don't see in Southern California. I had the Little Beast Hot Break, a dry-hopped sour ale, and the Ghost Town Scaredy Cat, a Brett saison. My husband had the Moonraker Captain Mo pale ale and the Ghost Town Lecherous Haze, a hazy IPA. All nice, and well suited to a pizza dinner.The food was excellent. We started with several non-pizza offerings, and they were all winners. The housemade focaccia was fresh and warm, flecked with herbs and salt and served with an addictive sun-dried tomato spalmare (I guess that's an Italian word for spread). The meatballs al forno were hearty and delicious, bathed in tomato sauce with mozzarella and a side of toasted garlic bread. The crispy cauliflower was a pleasant, unexpected dish, tangy with citrus, almost like orange chicken. The cauliflower was lightly breaded and fried and served with currants, pine nuts, honey, lemon, champagne vinegar, and parmigiano. We also shared one pasta, the lovely, rustic cavatelli with slow-braised pork ragu and pecorino romano.We ordered two pizzas for the four of us and this filled out our substantial meal, with a few slices left over. The pizzas were in the New Haven style, with thin, almost crackery charred crusts. The margherita was classic, a red pie with fresh mozzarella, parmigiano, and basil. The New Haven clam pie took me back to Pepe's, chewy nuggets of clam on a white pizza with pecorino, parsley, mozzarella, and plenty of garlic.This was a fun dinner, with great food and drink in a charming, cozy environment. I'd recommend Pazzo if you're looking for a noteworthy restaurant in this part of the Bay.

Came here on a Thursday evening for dinner and I'm glad we came early (~5:15) because it started to get packed shortly after!We ordered the crispy cauliflower and the New Haven style baby clam pizza. The crispy cauliflower was delicious and I was surprised that I haven't had cauliflower served this way before. It had a nice caramelization and slightly crunchy texture that was light and not heavy at all. It reminded me of maple glazed brussel sprouts which I'm a big fan of. I'm usually not a white sauce pizza kind of person but I was very intrigued by the clam pizza. It was good and I was pleasantly surprised by the abundance of baby clams and how they did not give off an overly seafoody or fishy flavor. After a couple slices though, it did become a little one note for me and I think I might have preferred it without the mozzarella.Service was super friendly and food came out in a decent amount of time, with the pizza piping hot from the wood-fired oven.I'll be back to try their other pizzas soon!

A solid pizza spot! Good char on the pepperonis (but maybe too much char on the crust) and I can always appreciate the cupped pepperonis.The dough is really well done - some crisp on the surface but has some chew on the inside, good amount of toppings, and the ratios for cheese and sauce were good. It's a solid pizza that I wouldn't mind going to if I'm already nearby.

Visited this DDD destination for a quick dinner before heading to my hotel. Pazzo makes all of their pasta in-house and claims to serve "New Haven"' style, wood-fired pizza. Started with the fried cauliflower and an order of focaccia which were both very good. The focaccia would have been even better if served warm. The tomato spread was a perfect compliment to the focaccia. For a main course, tried the rigatoni with sausage and broccoli. Pasta and sausage both made in house. Pasta cooked to a perfect al dente and the sausage was really nice. Very good dish. Finished the meal with a citrus ricotta cheesecake. Decadent, not too heavy, and great creamy texture with perfect hints of citrus. Service was great as was the atmosphere. Impressive wood fired brick oven. All the right pieces for a quality Italian restaurant!

I have been coming to this restaurant for a very long time and my family has been going to all of their previous locations. The staff are always super nice and the food is always amazing!

This place was hopping on a Friday night. Service staff sufficiently attentive. On the food, ordered the arancini, caeser, and one of the pizzas. The first two were delicious. The pizza was the downfall, not sure if it was an off night. The sauce was on the light end. The plate facing surface of the pizza was covered with burnt flour. It was impossible to get off. Any toppings that fell on the serving dish could not be eaten as it would be covered with burnt flour. We brought most of the pizza home and it was soggy even after reheating in oven.