Z Pizza

A delightful place for family and friends. High ceiling with bright, cheerful colors. Neat games for our children with picnic style tables. The patio is pleasant and spacious.
The pizza crust is the best ever. I love the Napoli pizza
and the gorgonzola salad.
They have an excellent baked apple pizza desert with
almonds and carmel.
This is definitely one of the best pizza restaurants I have ever been in.

Pros: Unique menu choices and bright decor

Cons: Sometimes the lines are long waiting for your order

Posted 09/20/09

I have never had a pear & feta salad (they let me substitute feta for gorgonzola) but with the chicken added to it, it was delicious!! I will definitely get this again. I might even try it on pizza...and the pizza is amazing - I tried Napoli this week, and I am NOT a tomato lover. I ate almost every tomato since they were cut very thin and the sauce underneath was just delicious. Now I want to try everything on the menu! :)

Pros: Great unusual salad and pizza combos

Cons: Too far from my house to go often...:>

Posted 09/19/09

I actually stopped going here for a while because I had two or three bad experiences in a row. One night (a weeknight) I ordered two sandwiches for pick-up. I was told it would be 20 minutes. 15 minutes later I showed up and proceded to wait another 15 minutes before grabbing someone at the counter. They sounded confused like they had forgotten my order or something and said it'd be out any minute. It took up to a full hour after I had placed the order for two sandwiches before I got them. If I wasn't so dang hungry I would've left much earlier. And no, it wasn't particularly busy at the time, either. The staff were chatting with each other.
However, when I have a lot of patience and I'm really in the mood for something different, it's good to go there. The Moroccan pizza is amazing, and I love that I have so many options for food. I just don't suggest going there when there are more than maybe three other customers at a time.

Pros: variety

Cons: service, wait times

Posted 04/24/09

I am as much of a pizza expert as the next guy. I have lived in New York and Chicago and loved the pizza in both. I never lived in California, but after eating at Zpizza I wish I had. California style pizza is best labled gourmet, and the pizza at Zpizza delivers on that lable. They do have the traditional cheese and pepperoni and it is delicious. But everybody makes cheese and pepperoni. Zpizza specializes in thin crust gourmet pies. Some are intuitive, some are unsusual, but every one that I have tried so far is delicious. I have also tried the salads and they are a cut above also, especially the pear gorgonzala salad.

I expected this place to be expensive after reading some reviews, but frankly I don't know where that comes from. I think it may be because the large pie is huge. We had a coupon but forgot to bring it and an 18" gourmet pie (SantaFe with mulitple ingredients) was under $20. The coupon was for $5 off that. When you see what you are getting for that I think it is a good value.

We went to the Cary location which is nice, very open design. Has a patio for nice weather though too cold when we have been there. The service was excellent, though it is not a full service restaraunt. They do bring the food out to you. There are slices in a warmer that looked good, but I prefer to order fresh.

The atmoshere is nice, but certainly not fancy. It is the food that makes it. I have tried this place 5 times now and my only complaint was on one Friday night the wait got a little long. I highly recommend Zpizza for gourmet pizza and salads.

Pros: Outstanding Gourmet Pies and Salads, Surprising Value

Cons: Busy at peak hours

Posted 02/28/09

You will notice that I have reviewed most of the pizza places in Cary. About me...I have traveled the entire U.S. and like most pizza but many are better then others. I have eaten pizza almost everyday for over twenty years. I find pizza from the chains uneatable and do not count California style pizza as true pizza. I have eaten in every pizza joint in Cary and I have rated Z Pizza as edible but not true pizza. If you like lower fat California style pizza then you will like this place. Prices are high and toppings are lean. The best thing about the place is that they have board games that you can play while you are waiting for your pizza.

Pros: My kids enjoy playing the board games

Cons: The untraditional, small portioned, and high priced pizza

Posted 02/11/09

This pizza is the best in the Triange....even better than NY Brothers..which is damn good pizza too. The tie breaker between the two is the awesome z-crust and the awesome carmelized onions. Delicioso.

Pros: Everything.

Cons: Inconvenient store layout.

Posted 11/24/08

I consider myself to be pizza guru of all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Very surprisingly ZPizza blew me away. I'm a fan of strong flavors, but my wife likes more subtle basic pizzas-- there was all of that and more. The Napoli had an unbelieveable garlic sauce and each flavor on the Santa Fe just jumped out at you. The location was great and having the toys available on the side for my 2 year old to be occupied was an excellent little addition. Although she spent most of the time watching the pizza makers toss the dough! The employees couldn't have been more accommodating.
If you don't try out ZPizza, then you just don't know the definition of good food

Posted 06/17/08

First let me start out saying the pizza is GREAT! We had various pizzas from them so far my favorite is the Thai. It is spicy but yet not too much so. The delivery was good (waited half an hour from ordering so pretty damn fast), Pizza was hot, and just as good as take-out. The place is clean and comfortable but the one thing was the cashier asked us three times which Pizza we wanted and Either they forgot, or it was in the oven, but when we asked if our pizza was ready (after 20 mins) they man gave us someone elses that was in the delivery warmer. Also the man in the black shirt (I assume manager) is really nice and always checks to make sure its the right pizza before he hands it to you. Last minor compliant they gave me a citrus SoBe and online I ordered a green tea. It actually turned out to be better.

Pros: GREAT PIZZA!!!!!!! , Customer for life!!!

Cons: Not the best service (but its still good, im pickey, and its hardly a con)

Posted 06/12/08

After reading all of the reviews on this site. I just had to go find ZPizza (a little tricky to find), and see for myself what the deal was. Here's my take. First, the pizza and the salads that we ordered were wonderful. The quality of the food was on par with high end Italian restaurants. No matter what else, the food is worth the trip. We got 3 pizzas that they list as zcreations: tuscan mushroom, santa fe, zbq. All were delicious. We also got the salad with pear and gorgonzala. It had some candied walnuts, and balsamic dressing: delicious.

We went on Monday, and the place was packed. Still, service was resonalby fast. It took 30 minutes, but it was very busy. The staff was very friendly. The space is beatiful. Warm colors, lots of windows, open, and most of all very clean. The bathrooms were also very clean.

The place is very family friendly, I did notice that a couple of the games were missing pieces.

My first experience with ZPizza was very good. I will be back and encourage anyone to try the place.

Pros: Outstanding food, great envirnoment, solid service

Cons: update board games

Posted 03/19/08

No better place for family pizza and game night! My husbands only day off during the week is thursday, and guess what the last thing I want to do is.... figure out how to make a healthy, fun meal for my family that doesn't take too long. Yeah right. We also try to make this our family game night. Well...one thursady we were next door at the video game store and we saw a pizza place next door. Decided to go and we found the solution to all of our problems... Pizza..healthy..board games..no dirty dishes..delicious!!! And my kids ate half of my salad! With balsamic vinaigrette!!!(requesting recipe or brand name if at all possible, haha) Seriously, I'm not from new york or anything, but when I was at the drycleaners earlier today and my children were begging to got to Zpizza, you know you've found a great place. Thanks.

Pros: delicious, healthy, fun games, lots of choices

Cons: don't sell bottles of salad dressing

Posted 03/16/08

Z Pizza has great tasting, organic pizza. I feel good about taking my family to eat there because not only is it good, I feel as though it is healthier than most pizza joints! The atmosphere is great and on Wednesday, they have a lady that makes balloon animals for the kids - they loved it!

Posted 03/16/08

My husband and I took our friends there to lunch. We sat outside on the patio as it was a beautiful afternoon. The salads were perfect - very fresh and loaded with fresh fruit, cheeses, etc. We ordered 3 different pizzas and fought over which one was best. This is perfect if you are looking for extensive variety and something everyone in the family can enjoy.

We are very picky about service and were pleased with our treatment.

You HAVE to try this place! I can't wait to go back.

Pros: Great variety, excellent fresh salads, great outdoor seating

Cons: none

Posted 03/11/08

Zpizza in cary has quite a concept, however badly they manage to pull it off. I have ordered from zpizza a few times and at best can describe the experience as ahit or a miss. I'm gonna give a synopsis on each of their dining options. First, Delivery is out of the question. When it's not on time in my experience,which is usually, it's wrong or cold. Sometimes it's only one topping off, but at 19-25 bucks for some pizza's that's just too much for me. That being said I wanna talk about eating in. I have often experienced long waits and had my pizza long finished before a salad was even made if it wasn't forgotten about. Finally, I will say that in general they have done an ok job to take out. The trick is to order in advance and too doubl check the order once you get there. In closing I guess I would say to be realistic it's about 2 and a half stars but that wasn't possible. Also I just wanted to say avoid delivery like the plague, and I would stay away from dine in's as well. Stick with take out and make sure to check your entire order and you should be fine. When the pizza is good it's good. I guess I should address the store itself by saying it looks nice very trendy and contempo theme, but the general level of cleanliness in the store could use some work!! Keep up the work and try for more cause whe it's good the pizza is really good. I just think things could be more consistant!

Pros: Huge topping list, nice design

Cons: Cleanliness,Wait Times, Mistakes

Posted 02/26/08

My family and I have been dining at Zpizza for a while. At first, it was great excellent food and excellent service. My only complaint had been that occasionally we got really old slices and at $2.75 for slices that come in such an assortment sizes with no uniform portion it's a bit upsetting. However, recently when dining in this establishment all of the food has seemed a little dry or just rushed together. I have also noticed that the store has become increasingly dirty and that none of the kids activities seem to be complete. Best summary, I would love to continue eating there if things went back to how they used to be, but for now I'll do without pizza that tastes like cardboard and service from a staff witha bout as much personality as cardboard. Also the kids games need new pieces just to let the management know. Being kid friendly was one of the main draws of the establishment. Taking a mop to the floor once in a while or cleaning the bathrooms wouldn't be so bad either.

Pros: Kid friendly environment, customizable toppings

Cons: Dirty, Food can be below average, Ordering and wait times can be a tedious process

Posted 02/25/08

We had seen Zpizza go up in Cary and decided to finally give it a try. First impression was chaos. Lines to order seemed to be everywhere. I don't even see this at a fast food restaurant much less a "gourmet pizza" restaurant, and the people behind the counters had no idea what they were selling. Dirty sums up the dining area. Food on the dining area floors, tables not wiped up. My wife and I had to do the cleaning ourselves even though two employees passed right by us without even offering to help. When we did get the pizzas they were small for the price. $30+ for the two of us and a 3 year old. And come on guys...paper plates??? If that is a company standard you need to cut your prices. The only reason for a second star is that the pizza was OK. Bad service, dirty dining area, paper plates, crazy prices for pizza. This is one family that will not be returning.

Pros: None

Cons: Service, Price, Cleanliness

Posted 02/15/08

We've tried multiple times to see if this place improves on the service and it continues to disappoint. Multiple customers trying to figure out where the pizza was - how hard is it to make pizza! Finally left with a refund tonite. And the place is very dirty (don't look in the kitchen if you want to enjoy the food!)

Pros: Location, Variety of Toppings

Cons: Dirty, Service

Posted 02/13/08

I eat here on a regular basis. LOVE the Tuscan Mushroom pizza. It has a fantastic sweet garlic taste that I haven't found anywhere else. The staff is always frierndly and most of the time the owner is there to give it a more personal touch. That is the kind of thing you just don't see much of anymore. I always reccomend Zpizza for its more "eclectic" styles of pizza. You can't go wrong here.

Pros: Friendly people, Great taste

Posted 01/22/08

I am at Zpizza a lot and one of employees there who always treats me so nice asked me to write a glowing review. No problem. Zpizza IS the best. The pizzas are amazing. The crust, the different sauces (try the Thai), the loads of cheese, and especially the super fresh toppings. They have like a million of them (even unique stuff like roasted eggplant, spicy chicken and spiced veggie burger) with a create a pizza option so you could go every single day for months and never have to the same pizza twice. Or you can pick one of the specialty pizza like my favorite the mexican with pico and lime chicken and avocado that is muy delicioso. They also have Calzones, salads, sandwiches, and BEER! Its not exactly cheap but eating out never is. So if you want a cardboard pizza with no taste because its cheap Zpizza is not for you. But if you really LOVE pizza like I do and you want something different and delicious Zpizza is for you.

Pros: Great pizza. Family freindly. Healthy. Really nice staff.

Cons: Funny music. Lots of kids (some behind the counter)

Posted 01/15/08

A friend of ours raves about this place so we had to try it. First, the cashier didn't seem to know much about the products she was selling. She fumbled for answers. Secondly, gourmet or not, the prices were crazy high for PIZZA. The crust was fine; the tomato sauce was basically crushed tomatoes with no spices - it's organic, I know but organic can be tasty; the toppings were fresh although sparse; and the size of the pizza was genrally smaller than I'm used to. I know a lot of pizza "joints" serve you on paper plates but salads served on wax paper and baskets? TACKY. Don't call your restaurant gourmet if you are going to put stuff on fastfood plates and hand out plastic cutlery. Our pizza took forever and a day to cook. Our beers were too expensive. The boardgames they had were all missing a lot of parts - so we could not even entertain ourselves. The floor was dirty. For a couple and a 2 year old to spend over $30.00 for pizza and 2 beers is a little over the top. Last straw: No one said "Welcome" or thank you for your business. We will never return.

Pros: Healthier than usual dough and sauce.

Cons: Everything else - SIGH.

Posted 01/13/08

I had pizza here before, which was fairly good (although cold when I got it home), and decided to try lunch before giving up on them. Their turkey sandwich was mostly bread--cranberry sauce was conspicously missing from half of the sandwich, and really the only flavor I could taste was the mustard. The antipasto salad had barely anything but lettuce in it. No tomatoes, no cucumbers (which I believe the menu said were included), about 1/2 of a pepperoncini sliced thin, 2 black olives sliced thin, and unbelieveably 2 slices of rolled meat and cheese about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Pathetic.

Posted 01/08/08

The pizza was better than most in the area. The chese and the crust were really good. I've had better sauce but by no means am I saying their sauce wasn't, just not outstanding. The spinach salad was awesome. The apple pieces on the top are a nice touch. The staff was extremely polite, patient, and attentive. The price was a little higher than I expected but I am firm believer that you get what you pay for! I'll definately order from them again and recommend it to others.

Posted 12/31/07

This place had good pizza the first few times I tried them, but their quality has gone way down hill. The last few times I have ordered a pizza from them, they have been very stingy with the cheese, despite the fact that I asked for extra cheese. The last time I ordered a delivery from them, the entire outside inch and a half of the pizza was nothing but crust, despite the fact that I had asked for extra cheese. And to top it off, the pizza was already cold when it finally arrived.

I can't recommend them anymore. Their quality control seems to be non-existent these days.

Posted 10/21/07

I love that the choices there are healthy & organic. The atmosphere & terrific as well as the food. This is by far my favorite place to eat!

Posted 09/16/07

I've tried take out from here twice, the first time we got pizza and enjoyed it very much, even though by the time my husband got it home, the pizza was almost cold. He had to wait a long time to pick up because of some customers ahead of him who were asking a bunch of questions about the menu. It sounds like they need a separate line for pick-up only. The second time I ordered the Chicken Basil Pesto Pasta, and it was pretty bad. The pasta and chicken were very dry, even though it was covered in a very oily pesto. The pesto itself was bland as well. From my experiences I'd say stick with the pizzas since that seems to be their specialty.

Posted 09/09/07

We're new to the area, so we used the City Search site's map/directions option. A trip that should have taken 10-15 minutes took more like 45. The directions weren't even close. Once we called the place from a borrowed cell phone, we were there in less than 10 minutes. It was worth the confusion and multiple u-turns. For reference, the Cary location is off High House one light past Davis in the shopping center with the Chik-fil-a and new Harris Teeter.

Like other reviewers suggested we tried the Pear and Gorgonzola salad, a small cheese pie and an onion/mushroom medium pie. While we waited for the 2 pies, my husband had a slice. The salad greens were fresh, baby lettuces, not just a bunch of iceberg. The small was enough for my husband and I to share as an appetizer. Their pizza crust is delicious. It has great flavor, ours was cooked to perfection - not under done and doughy or overdone. The toppings were definitely fresh, as was the cheese. The service was good. Of course, we were some of the only customer's in the place by the time we got there. The employees were friendly, polite and patient. They didn't make us feel rushed even though we were the last people in the place. My husband's pizza jones is satisfied! We'll definitely be back.

BTW, the place is clean and fresh looking. Not the "pizza joint" I was expecting (read: dive). It is to pizza what Chipotle is to Mexican. Oh yeah, we're from the NY metro area, we're pretty picky about our pizza!

Pros: Straight forward or "gourmet" style, the pizza is great

Cons: None, so far

Posted 09/06/07

Z Pizza is a pizza chain that has just opened in Cary. I was happy to find out that they have a soy cheese pizza with veggie sausage on it called the Berkley Soy Cheese Veggie.

Pros: Vegetarian/Vegan Menu Items

Posted 08/30/07

Z Pizza rates 5 stars, maybe 4 1/2. Why? Not because they are ready to go head to head with the best, fanciest white-linen dining experiences in the Triangle, but because they are the best of breed. Yes, I would prefer china to paper plates, I would also prefer linen and a team of waiters, but ZPizza is a fast-casual restaurant, not a fine dining restaurant.

Overall my experience with the service has been excellent. Friendly staff, all working hard. I have been to the Cary location about 10 times, having only one mildly negative experience. It was a phenominally busy Sunday evening and the wait time seemed a little long. The manager appologized for the wait, apparently a cook quit and the volume was atypical for that time of night. The other times have been great. There are no waiters, so don't expect to be waited on hand and food (see fast-casual). And they do bring your food to your table. It is a beatiful space with a very nice casual feel. But the thing is the food.

The pizzas and salads are simply the best that can be had in the fast casual world of the Triangle. Reasonable people can disagree, but I have been to nearly all of the so called "gourmet" pizza places in town, and ZPizza is hands down the best tasting food. I took some business associates for lunch recently and was asked which is my favorite. I honestly couldn't pick just one. I could narrow it to about 5 depending on the mood. They have excellent cheese, pepperoni, etc, but to devine the real quality of this place you must try a salad and one of their gourmet pizzas, which to me at least seem reasonable priced compared to other "gourmet" pizza places.

The price can add up if you create your own gourmet pie, but the suggested gourmet pie's (especially the large) are actually values.

Anyway, I love this place and encourage people to try it out and see for themselves. You won't be disapointed.

Pros: Delicious Food, Beautiful Space, Patio, Great Service, Mezzanine for Groups

Cons: New staff, occasionally very busy

Posted 08/26/07

This is the best pizza I have found since moving to North Carolina. I have not had a chance to try all the different varieties, but I enjoy such a selection. I was supprised how affordable the pizza was for lunch. The ingredients tasted fresh, not like they came from a can. They even used Fresh Herbs. I would like to go back with my kids, I'm sure they would enjoy it too.

Posted 08/23/07

My family loves trying new restaurants and live considerably far away from Z-Pizza, but when we were there for business, we tried Z-Pizza and loved it. The Napoli was simple and delicious. The pizza isn't your run of the mill "chain" kind of flavor. I don't see how this is in the same venu as a "chain", considering there are so many choices of fresh flavors. We can't wait to go back!

Denise W . from Goldsboro

Pros: food is excellent and refreshing in such an over-saturated pool of restaurants

Cons: we need one in Goldsboro!

Posted 08/23/07

Zpizza deserves fair analysis, and I would be shortchanging the place if I gave it fewer than three stars; however, I can see that the last two reviews were written by someone in league with the ownership at Zpizza. Five stars? The pizza and salads are great, but gourmet is rarely served on a paper plate.

Don't get me wrong: I am a regular patron and I frequent Zpizza because I enjoy it (I recommend the Mexican). The specialty pizzas are the highlight (as you might have guessed), and the salads are fresh, big and satisfying. Wine and beer on tap are available. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the patio is perfect for evening dining.

The problem seems to be staffing. The same employees taking your order at the register are also bringing your food, bussing your tables and doing dishes. Sometimes they seem as if they can barely keep up. They also seem unable to keep experienced staff: someone is in training nearly every time I come in. I'm not sure how management is treating its subordinates, but the "little people" are the ones who can keep the place running smoothly.
The pricing should be reconsidered as well; everything at Zpizza seems just a bit too expensive. It's true it isn't as highly-priced as California Pizza, but Zpizza's not quite as good either.

Despite some of its problems, I think Zpizza is good enough to give it a shot. It is a fairly new location; I'm sure they'll work out the kinks.
So if you're in the neighborhood, try it!

Pros: fresh ingredients; friendly people

Cons: long wait and loud on busy nights

Posted 08/21/07

We ordered a carry out pizza for a Friday night dinner. When my husband brought it home, I opened up the box and there was a huge tear out of the side of the pizza (equivalent to about a half a piece) My husband said he hadn't opened up the box yet, and we realized that is how it must have come from Z pizza. We called the manager and he said he knew he went the pizza out like that, and since it shouldn't have affected the taste of the remaining pieces, he didn't have a problem with it!! No offer to replace it, no apology we didn't receive the whole pizza we ordered and no apology that the pizza we received looked like it has a huge piece eaten out of it before it was given to us! One reason we had tried Z Pizza was to see if it would be a good place to order if having friends over or when my husband provided lunch for his employees. Needless to say, we DEFINITELY won't be going back. Unless you want to embarrass yourself in front of friends or co-workers, don't waste your time here.

Pros: none

Cons: management doesn't care about the pizza or the customer

Posted 07/21/07

Ok, Sunday afternoon and not busy at all. The girl is having issues understanding the register, and when i get my take out, they have messed up a 2 item pizza. I was really hoping this was going to worth the $30 for 2 medium pizzas, it was not. Poor crust, no flair in the sauce, pretty blah. The white pizza garlic sauce was ok, but did not save this. Figure this place is either too new, but it is overpriced. I gave them a shot, and on a scale of A to Z, they get the Z.

Pros: Not much

Cons: overpriced, food not worth the effort or cost

Posted 07/14/07

Sometimes I really think these negative reviews are written by the competition. I mean the last two reviews for ZPizza Cary are way off the mark. I am a relatively regular patron of ZPizza in Cary and let me tell you this restaurant is beautiful and clean, on the corner, lots of windows and light, and the service has been freindly and excellent. But let me tell you go for the food, the pizza has no equal in the Triangle. Think California Pizza Kitchen at a reasonable price. Highest quality ingredients, awsome zcreations, and the salads are awsome! Try this place and you won't be sorry. Love it!

Pros: Best Gourmet Pizza and Salads, Beautiful Restaurant, Great Service

Cons: Crowded on Weekends

Posted 07/07/07

This place is too expensive for what you get. Service was not good and you eat off of paper plates. NEVER AGAIN. You can get better quality food just about anywhere except for fast food places. My family of 3 spent $37.00 and we still left hungry.

Posted 06/07/07

I must be honest, I am a huge fan of ZPizza on Falls of the Nuese in Raleigh. I have been there many times and tried just about everything on the menu. There is not a weak offering. Everything is flavorful and fresh. The salads are amazing, especially the pear gorgonzala salad. Try any Zcreation and you'll love it.

The restaurant in Cary has the same outstanding food, but it is a much bigger space, has beer on tap and an outdoor patio. I have only been once but the experience was great. The place was very busy on Thursday, but the service was still excellent.

There are a few pizza restaurants in Raleigh that bill themselves as gourmet, but none are as good as Zpizza.

Pros: highly flavorful pizzas, quality salads, beautiful outdoor patio

Cons: hard to find

Posted 05/19/07