Santee is known for New York-style pizza and the one thing you should know about the New York-style pizzas the Santee pizzerias serve is the bigger they are, the better. The folks of this California city love a good slice and the majority of pizzerias are happy to oblige by baking mega big New Yorkers topped with super fresh California ingredients. New York-style pizza originated in New York around the middle of the 1930s and was created to be easy to consume bar food. Adapted from a recipe for Neapolitan pizza, this oversized, thin-crusted pizza rocked the popularity stakes where pies were concerned almost from day one. A New York-style pizza is at its best when not overloaded with too many toppings as it's a soft bake that doesn't hold up well to too much weight. Stick to a maximum of a couple of extra ingredients and you'll have a pie that's fit to enjoy.

Best delivery pizza in Santee, California

When it comes down to baking a great delivery pie you can't beat experience. To get the best delivery pizza in Santee you should order from Giant Pizza King which is a pizzeria in Santee that's been doling out their dough since 1984. Giant Pizza King has a premises on Carlton Hills Boulevard from where they prepare and send out their pizzas. While the name might lead you to think this is a chain pizzeria, it's not. It's family-owned and run. A lot of care and attention is given to making sure each pizza they create is one they'd be proud to serve to any member of their family. Whether you order a Mexican Special with jalapenos and refried beans or a Popeye with spinach and artichokes, you can guarantee it'll have been prepared with love.

Best takeout pizza in Santee, California

If you've worked up an appetite playing a game of disc golf in Mast Park or from hiking the Walker Preserve Trail, type Mission Gorge Road into your navigational app and head for there. In the Santee Trolley Square on Mission Gorge Road you'll find a pizzeria called Oggi's and that's the pizza joint that makes the best take-out pizza in Santee. Oggi's or Oggi's Sports, Brewhouse and Pizza to give it its full title, is housed in a large, pink-colored corner premises right on the parking lot. Even if you're looking in the wrong direction you'd have trouble missing it. Inside Oggi's is decked out in a stylish pub-come-diner style with lots of black and white skyline posters on the walls. It's a cool spot to sit and wait for your take-out pizza to cook, but if you prefer sunshine, Oggi's has a huge terrace where you can sit. You'll have fun reading through the menu here as most of the pies have sport-related names.

Best pizza near Santee, California

Chula Vista

Head around twenty miles south of Santee on the CA-125 and you'll come to Chula Vista which is a city on San Diego Bay. Enjoy a stroll around the marina or along the Imperial Beach Pier to take in the stunning coastal views before visiting the Living Coast Discovery Center to learn about the California coast and its varied ecosystems. To find out more about the city itself you can take a look at the exhibits in the Chula Vista Heritage Museum then, rather than have a meal in one of Chula Vista's posh restaurants, pick up a pizza from Rosa's Giant Pizza on Broadway and take it to the Border Field State Park for a seafront picnic on the sand.

Descanso

For a complete change from the California coast head into the hills of Descanso, a hamlet thirty miles north of Santee. Descanso is on the edge of the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park which is thousands of acres of open countryside. Park up at the Paso Picacho campground and you'll find trailheads for several incredible hikes. If hiking isn't your thing or it's just too hot to be bothered, take a drive along the Sunrise National Scenic Byway instead. It's definitely less taxing on the legs and you won't miss out on any of the magnificent views. When you want to eat, drop by Veronica's Kitchen on Viejas Grade Road and you'll be served a great pie.

Torrey Pines

While Torrey Pines may be world-renowned for its amazing coastal golf course, the place to head for a day out is the Torrey Pines State Reserve. After just a short twenty-minute drive from Santee, park up at the visitor center and museum then head out to explore an amazing and unspoiled part of the California coast. The park rangers also organize guided and mindful tours of the conservation areas if you prefer not to go it alone. There are mapped trails to investigate as well as endless stretches of beach which are nearly always deserted. If you picked up a pizza from Sorrento Pizza on Roselle Street, take care to have your picnic on the beach and not in the reserve areas as food isn't permitted there.