Whether Colchester is known for pan-baked pizza because it's a method of baking pies that was a family tradition for the town's pizza chefs back in the early days is unclear. It's just as likely that because electric ovens weren't available when the pizzerias in Colchester first opened, pizzas were cooked in wood-fired ovens in a pan to prevent the dough base from burning. Pan-baking pizzas is a method of cooking that goes back centuries and was, and still is, a common way of baking pies in both Italy and Greece. You'll find thick and thin crust cooked in round pans as well as baked in rectangular trays to form the great family-sized pizza known as grandma-style which originates from the traditional Italian al taglio takeaway pizza.

Best delivery pizza in Colchester, Connecticut

The Plum Tomato is the pizzeria that bakes the best delivery pizza in Colchester and what this pizza joint delivers is a great thick crust topped with real Italian flair. Once you've seen their menu, you'll want to eat your way through the entire range of The Plum Tomato's pies. They are so good that choosing just one to be delivered can work out to be extremely complicated.

The Plum Tomato is located on South Main Street where it's housed in a bungalow-style premises. It's not much to look at from the outside and the internal décor is never going to blow you away, but the pies they produce here certainly will. Whether you go for red, white, alfredo style, with meat or without, you'll be thinking about ordering another pizza before you've even finished the first.

Best takeout pizza in Colchester, Connecticut

You can get the best take-out pizza in Colchester from the Family Pizza Restaurant and Grill of Colchester on South Main Street. To be truthful, you'll get such a warm welcome here, you may well decide to forget about take-out and stay to eat instead. Family Pizza Restaurant opened the doors of their premises for the first time in the late 1970s and locals have been sitting on the porch of their wooden, house-style premises to feast on their food ever since. Here the food is more Greek-style than Italian and even the pizzas, which are pan-baked in a brick oven, have been given names like Moussaka Pie and Mediterranean. That said though, at this Colchester pizzeria they also prepare some interesting fusion pies like Teriyaki Chicken which is definitely worth trying.

Best pizza near Colchester, Connecticut

Marlborough

Take a ten-mile drive west out of Colchester and you'll arrive at a Connecticut town called Marlborough. The best thing to do is stop before you get there and spend a few hours in the Salmon River State Forest or the Grayville Falls Town Park. If you like taking scenic photos then you'll love both places. In the first, you can hike along the riverside on the Salmon River Trail, snap shots of covered bridges, or participate in the forestry division letterboxing project. In the Grayville Falls Town Park, you can stride through the woods alongside Raymond Brook until you reach the falls which are a scenic shot in themselves. When you've had enough of the outdoors, drop by 3 Fellas Pizza on North Main Street for a pie.

Old Lyme

To take an excursion to the coast without having to go too far from Colchester, Old Lyme, which is twenty-five miles south, is a great choice of destination. Take a refreshing stroll along Sound View Beach or the Rocky Neck State Park beach before heading to the Florence Griswold Museum. The museum was once a Colonial home, and remains furnished as it was then as well as housing an interesting series of interesting art collections. You may also want to check out the Thomas Lee House Museum, which is a wooden house built in the mid-17th century, while you're in the vicinity before trying a pizza at Teddy's Old Lyme Pizza Palace on Shore Road.

Chester

The drive to Chester from Colchester will only take you twenty minutes if you go straight there. Do that though and you'll be missing out on some great places to stop off at on the way. The first must-visit on your list should be the Devil's Hopyard State Park where you can hike up to the stunning Chapman Falls on Eightmile River. The second should be the Gillette Castle State Park where you can explore the interior of the fortress-style mansion of the 19th century playwright, William Hooker Gillette. If you want to add a third activity to your day then make it eating a pizza at Otto's on Main Street.