Chenille C.
Yelp
This place is the best, most underrated pizza joint in San Diego.
We found this gem on one hungry late night, close to closing. No one was around and we asked if they were still open. To our surprise, we were given such a big, warm welcome by the owner - Pauly.
After we ordered, we looked to the wall to our left and see an old picture of a man masterfully tossing a giant pizza in front of some kids. Pauly says "Pizza making's a young man's game," and smiles. A look around the shop and we see that the place has history and heart. It is oddly familiar and comforting. We watch Pauly hard at work on our pizza: half Pauly's Walnuts (hilariously with no walnuts), and half Chicken Pesto. He asks us about how our day is and we chat a little while we wait for our pizza. When it was done, he gave us our warm box and sent us off with a genuine, satisfied good night.
We hopped into our car and left feeling happy with the pleasant experience - and I haven't even written about the pizza yet! We come home, open the box and the pizza still warm and fresh. Now, this is not your typical California, gluten-free, cauliflower crust, artisan pizza. It is the simple, wholesome, true pizza pie. Suffice it to say that it was absolutely delicious and that we were so happy to have leftovers the next day.
Since then, we have come every single time for all our pizza cravings. I don't know much about Pauly, but from the little that I know and see, he has been doing this for decades and the place is a reflection of who he is. Pauly's Pizzeria has character, heart, history, humility, care, hard work, love - and some damn good pizzas.
For anybody that's reading this and thinking about coming, I would encourage you to go inside Pauly's, sit and watch the people that come through the doors and order, so you can see for yourself the love the local community has for this place and for owners Pauly, Mona and the pizza.