• Established: 1959
• Signature dish: California-crust pizza, Hot Hat sandwiches

Are you looking for authentic, real, genuine Californian pizza? How about some amazing potato wedges? Maybe some nice sandwiches? Yes? Amazing, because Straw Hat Pizza is exactly the place you have to visit to find them all! With almost 70 years of experience in serving amazing food to more than 200 communities, this generational Californian pizzeria is all about friendly experiences, amazing dishes, and topping pizza with only the best of the best!

Straw Hat Pizza is a true restaurant gem and is definitely worth your visit. For now, though, buckle up, because we have a lot to talk about! 70 years is a long time and we're going to tell you exactly why you should give this culinary landmark a try.

Origin Story

If someone wanted to write a book on the origins of Straw Hat Pizza, they could. Dating back to 1959 San Leandro, this pizzeria wears its history on its sleeve. You can read all about it on their website, but let us give you a quick recap!

The first-ever Straw Hat pizzeria was opened in San Leandro in 1960. Two friends who were already in the business thought they could do better than what was already on the market and guess what? They were right.

At the time, straw hats were a regular part of any pizza man's uniform, hence the name - Straw Hat Pizza! They started their restaurant with a mission to serve true California-style pizza and other creative dishes. Ordinary was not a term in their dictionary! They started off with only real Cali pizza but soon after brought their famous hot hat sandwiches to the menu. This is when the true originality and genius of the brand started to show. After this, it was all up! Merging and franchising started and the locations grew, but the true mission was never out of sight.

In more recent history, the Straw Hat Pizza menu features a lot of new, exciting dishes. However, you can also still find recipes dating back to the olden days. One such dish is their Lemon Pepper Chicken pizza that's still a favorite to this day!

Pizza Culture

When we say true California-style pizza, we mean a pie that sports a thin, crispy crust, a tangy tomato or white sauce, and the best toppings a pizza could ask for.

On the Straw Hat Pizza menu, you can find such pies in a huge variety. Toppings can range from pepperoni, jalapenos, and bell peppers to things like ground beef, linguica, and your classic mushrooms. Pies that have these toppings are called Master Pizzas on the Straw Hat menu and are an absolute must-try! The combinations are truly innovative and the sauces, whether tomato or white, hit the spot just right.

If we have to pick some flavors to recommend, we'll have to go with the aforementioned Lemon Pepper Chicken pizza, their Chicken Bacon Ranch pie, the ground beef wonder that is the Meat-E-Or pie, and of course, the California Veggie pizza. Also, don't miss anything with pepperoni in it. Trust us!

These are the top pizzas Straw Hat Pizza serves according to us, but we do urge you to visit and find your very own favorite at one of their locations! You can also order online and dine at home.

The Menu

Even though their excellent pies are what brought fame to the brand, Straw Hat Pizza also serves other amazing dishes. One example would definitely be their hot hat sandwiches.

As we said before, these were introduced back in 1977 and are still going strong today. They come in a variety of flavors and are always accompanied by potato wedges. Really worth a try, these sandwiches are a favorite to many for all the right reasons.

Some other dishes we can highlight are their garlic parmesan groovy twists, the bacon cheese groovy twists, their green bean crispers, as well as their superb garlic bread. If you can't really choose, you can always get the Appetizer Combo and sample a bit of everything! Then, you can go ahead and enjoy a royally good main course!

Straw Hat Pizza also serves amazing signature sandwiches and some locations even serve dessert items - like the cookie pizza.

Deals & Coupons

Straw Hat Pizza coupons and deals are a regular occurrence. We urge you to keep an eye on them before ordering. These offers are created to make your experience more affordable and get you more for less, and who doesn't like a good bargain?

Always remember that you can get Straw Hat Pizza straight to your door by ordering online or you can arrange pickup. Either way, the restaurant will make sure you get food that's hot, tasty, and worthy of the name.