After being founded by Spanish missionaries in the 16th century, San Jose spent time under the green, white and red of the Mexican flag before finally becoming part of the United States. Although San Jose is almost completely encircled by incredible national parks, the Sierra Azul mountains to the south and is fronted to the northwest by San Francisco Bay, it's the Santa Clara Valley and Downtown San Jose where much of the attention is focused these days.

San Jose is a city that knows how to keep up with the times and quite often leads the way into the future.Those broad, flat valley plains which were once farmland are now home to many of the world's leading technology companies and the area has become known as Silicon Valley. As the technology industry grew and the city began to receive an influx of young techies and nerds who needed feeding at quantum speed, pizzerias became a standard feature on San Jose's streets.

You can only eat so much on a short lunch break and getting something that's fulfilling but not heavy enough to induce snoozing at your desk is vital. That could well be one of the primary reasons that San Jose has become known for New York-style pizza.

Is it a techie and nerd favorite? Only they will know, but New York-style pizza does have its advantages when you have to work straight through the day because your boss is a slave-driver. If you do need to eat at your desk, then a slice of doubled-up New York-style pie means you won't get sauce dripping onto your keyboard. That’s a big bonus and saves on maintenance.

San Jose pizzerias know how to bake New York-style pies in style too and frequently use wood-fired ovens to give their pizzas an authentic Italian taste. Even if you were leaning more towards munching a burger rather than a pizza, in San Jose you can have both at the same time. Who could say no to a New York-style slice with a topping of bacon cheeseburger?

Best delivery pizza in San Jose, California

Getting a slice of New York-style Margarita delivered to your desk is just so not going to impress your colleagues or your boss. If you want to show you have discerning taste and are a cut above the norm, you'll want a slice of pie that exhibits your individuality and sophisticated taste.

You'll find the best delivery pizza in San Jose comes from Mountain Mike's and with several establishments around the city, you're bound to find one relatively close to you. Mountain Mike's have literally scaled the ladder of success in San Jose with their creatively named pies. There's no getting a boring old bog-standard pizza from Mike's. When work feels like an uphill climb, compensate with an Everest pizza topped with just about every ingredient in the kitchen or Pike's Peak for a full-blown meat feast. Yes, Mountain Mike's lives up to its name and there's a Mount Veggiemore special for vegetarians too.

Best takeout pizza in San Jose

If you're taking a break from your desk and having a stroll to clear those computing cobwebs rather than eating lunch, there's only one thing to do if hunger strikes. Get a take-out. You can grab a great take-out pizza in San Jose from Five Star Pizzas. That's a name they live up to as well both in their pie production and in the service you'll receive. You can even spice up your afternoon with a Chicken Tikka Masala, Paneer Tikka Masala, or Veggie Masala pie.

Might be a good idea to skip the Garlic Combo though. Wafts of garlic breath in the office are not very work colleague friendly. If you're sweet on one of your workmates but too shy to ask them for a date, wait until Valentine's Day and Five Star will make you a heart-shaped pizza take-out for sharing that will get the message across for you.

Best pizza near San Jose, California

Boulder Creek

Boulder Creek is a rustic town on the edge of the Big Basin Redwoods State Park and somewhere you'll be passing through if you're heading into the wilds for a hike. Boulder Creek may look like a hick town, but there's a pizzeria there that knows how to dish up a class pie. The Boulder Creek Pizza and Pub do a great Gourmet Cheese and don't stint on the types of base you can choose.

Morgan Hill

If you’re headed out of San Jose to go for a spot of fishing in Coyote Creek but forgot to pick up your lunch pail, don't go hungry, head over to Morgan Hill. Morgan Hill is where the local wealthy folk live in large houses among the vineyards. Can you get a pizza there? You can at Pieology Pizza in Cochrane Square. Whether you eat in or get a carry-out, you'll get a super oven-fired pie and plenty of sides to go with it.

Milpitas

When you're on a tech-related business trip to Silicon Valley, you're more than likely to find yourself in Milpitas at some stage. Many big tech and electronics companies are based there and what is attributing to its never-ending expansion. Stuft Pizza is a great go-to when you're in Milpitas between meetings and with hunger pangs. You won't have them for long once you've got a Meatball Pie, Basil Rathbone, or a Popeye's Special pizza in front of you.