The Pizza Press — Restaurant in Anaheim

You really, really want to like a place in these challenging COVID times with limited hours, menus, seating, and ever changing restrictions for everything to try and reduce the spread of COVID-19. This location on Harbor Blvd in Anaheim across from the Disney Resort which has been closed so to say theme park and hotel closures has hurt their business is an understatement. That said you would THINK you would be met with enthusiasm and hope your experience overall was great, but I am sad to report that, for the money spent, it is average at best. And average during this pandemic is a sure fire way to business closure, especially in the restaurant world. I ordered in person. This was my second attempt to order. Last week I tried to order on a 3rd party web site they link you to from their company site and I was instantly confused. When I figured out what I wanted (they have a pizza wings deal for $11), I noticed it said my wait time was 50 minutes. So i cancelled the order, went in. They were empty and prepping NO ORDERS from on line or phone sales so I wondered how my on line order could have been a 50 minute wait. I asked about the special I wanted and they had no such thing on their menu so I double checked to make sure I was on the right site and I had been. Even after showing it to them, they wouldn't honor the price. When adding up what it would cost me to order there it was double so I said "no thank you" and left. Attempt 2: Last night, knowing the pricing, I tried it anyway. Ordered THE HERALD PIZZA and an order of six habanero-mango wings. The wings were pre-cooked and taken out of their fridge put on a metal try and put on the same oven conveyor as the pizza. Since no indoor seating is the rule in CA currently, I was the only person there and sat outside in an unlit patio. Every single chair was nightmarishly dirty and, what little light was reflecting off the black wood slatted tables, there was food grease, food remnants, and other particles on every single one of them. I went back in got paper towels and soap, found one, apparrently new shiny black metal chair I cleaned a layer of dirt from and sat there. Went to get food through the patio door and it was locked. I had to walk around to front to the open door even though staff members saw me try the locked side door. I washed my hands in their blocked off restroom properly before eating. Overall FOOD REVIEW: Very good. Better than Blaze or even Domino's and both brands are much better tasting and a better value. I went to throw trash away and notice the can inside the lid was almost full and there was food waste below my feet. I was there until 10pm when they close. At 9:53pm a group of 3 tried the front door, it was locked, so they left. At 9:54pm, a taxi drive got out and the door was locked and he went around to the side where I was and someone inside realized he placed an on line order and handed him the pizza. He asked the employee if they were closed and they said no. He then asked why the front door was locked and told them about the other people that tried it and left. Then a young lady from the counter inside said "NO WE'RE CLOSED." As he walked by me he shook his head and sarcastically said "I guess business here must be awesome." No it is clearly not. I doubt this location will last this downturn based on the food, prices, cleanliness, and their daily business plan of closing early. FYI. I saw every employee there leave minutes later leaving every dirty surface, full garbage cans, and food waste on the patio behind for I guess the overnight janitorial service to take care of? I am not going back to find out. P.S. I only took this picture. I wasn't really thinking of the review . Wish I...

I read quite a few reviews and was a bit apprehensive to visit, but I’m grateful that we ignored the negative reviews and focused on the positive.

Though some of the negative reviews warrant their ratings (messiness while super busy, for example), some were just off kilter (“their pizza is too oily”— look, man- you’ve gotta request olive oil on your pizza to begin with, so don’t be surprised if the final product is “oily”. I’m just sayin’…)

I’m from a high tourist area and I understand how high and low tourist times can affect, make, and/or break performance and reviews. (Not to mention the EXTREMELY difficult time managers and owners are having while dealing with covid restrictions and desperation for reliable employees.)

With that in mind, I’ll be clear: we went on a Monday night around 7:30. Disneyland was very busy that day, but the park hadn’t closed yet.

With that knowledge in mind, here’s my overall review, based on my personal experience:

The staff: Outstanding! Very friendly and hardworking. Well kept and they all wore their masks the whole time. I asked “May I have some ranch on the side, please?” And our cashier responded in a genuinely friendly manner, “Absolutely! My pleasure!”

The cleanliness: One out of every ten tables were dirty- they DO need a regular wipe down routine- especially during a pandemic, but their tables, overall, were clean to the e naked eye- however, we chose to wipe down our table with disinfectant wipes because we realize it’s a fast-food style pizzeria- things will be missed, unintentionally or otherwise. With or without a pandemic involved in the equation.

The pizza was delicious (we made ours to order— it’s like Blaze, but they’re more giving with toppings and the taste is amazing! Blaze is good, as well, just in a more ‘meh’ different kind of way).

Their cheesy bread is the size of their 11” and is DELICIOUS!! Know that If you order a “single combo” with an 11” BYO AND a garlic cheesy bread— you damn well better be hungry if you’re a family party of 2-4 (unless you’re all big eaters) because that’s a LOT of food!

Again, overall: Staff on the night of January 24, 2022, around 7:30 pm: awesome!! More than friendly and respectful. Food: SO GOOD!! It was freshly made and ready by the time we paid, they were generous with toppings, and they made me realize that fresh cilantro on my pizza is a MUST from now, until forever!

The beer selection was really good (though we’d love for them to separate themselves from the “Blaze-like” stigma by offering pitchers, at the very least).

We’ll happily go back next time we’re in Anaheim and won’t forget that they give you a dammed good amount of food and quality for your dollar! They’re a better version of Blaze in my opinion (though I really do like Blaze, as well… I just like Pizza...

The pizza is usually always great. I tried the "thick" crust this time. Not a fan. I will definitely stick to regular thin crust.

My issues were that even though it was a Sunday night, and you factor in The Disney Land Resort being right there, they seemed to be staffed correctly (I counted 7 people) but they were unorganized and under prepared.

The place was also a disaster. Trash was overflowing, tables weren't being wiped down (luckily most people were getting to go) they had no peppers and cheese or even napkins. And they were prioritizing online/app orders over the customers standing in front of them.

It took about 40 minutes to get through the line, "make" my pizza and pay. As im am there waiting for the one person ahead of me to go, we both watched 4 different employees create 6 different pizzas and not one was for the other people ahead of us. That's not a good thing. If the wait times are too fast on the app/online they either need to be stopped or adjusted to accommodate the customers in front of them. I also watched 5 different gentlemen go into the back to figure out how to obtain more pesto for the pizzas being ordered by the lady ahead of me.

I would definitely say that a few of them were working there butts off and few were not. But what they really needed was someone to keep them on track and organized. They kept switching places and having side conversations.

I'll be back to give this location another try. It used to be my favorite when they were in the other building. And I'll definitely remember to not go on...