The Besta Wan Pizza House — Restaurant in Encinitas

Like someone else said, this place is officially dead. Went back as my first time was amazing and was given attitude right away when I didn’t hear the host ask me how many people were in the party (should’ve been the first red flag) and then she pointed to the general direction of the turf seating area as it was empty and walked away. After about 5 minutes a different host came out and asked if we wanted menus?? Can’t really know what they have without one lol but also asked what do we want to drink then realized we didn’t have menus lol. Took her Atleast 5 more minutes to bring out waters as well. The host also complimented my dog but never gave her a bowl of water when previously that was the first thing the host would do as well as had treats in their pockets for the good doggos. The menu is ridiculously small now which wouldn’t be a problem unless you’ve been here before and knew how diverse their menu was. Ended up telling them to cancel my appetizer as nothing on their menu was really impressive anymore and was pretty much guilt tripped to pay by saying they’re about to come out. Took them another 10 minutes before my wife had enough and asked for a refund. They were not concerned at all and even getting that refund was a big struggle. Safe to say I’m never coming back and will be taking my business to best pizza and brew only a couple steps away or even carls Jr....

“Eclectic,” “quaint,” “independent”, “eccentric”, or perhaps just a little weird. No matter how you choose to describe it, being different can be a really good thing.

Don’t worry about reassuring “The Besta-Wan Pizza House” that it’s ok to be different. They clearly got the memo! Our server probably described the menu best when he said “it is a hodge podge of Mexican and Italian” offerings.

The music matched their vibe perfectly. During our visit the playlist literally transitioned from the Rolling Stones, directly to Country, then to the Beach Boys, followed by Dire Straights, and then on to Johnny Cash.

We went with “The Beardown Pizza” and were not disappointed. The flavors were complimentary and delicious, but what really caught our attention was the crust. It was actually…crunchy. Yep, you heard us. You could hear the crunch with each bite (it was not burned and the flavors didn’t suffer any ill effects.)

Be aware that the jalapeño’s are not for beginners (so pace yourself and adding a little ranch dressing is allowed to extinguish the 🔥 as needed). We found a medium to be enough for two people.

Our only suggestion to the owners is to consider changing the name to the Besta-Wan Pizza “Experience.”

I mean, why not? 🤷‍♂️ You’re bound to enjoy far more than just a pizza when you visit!

And that’s…Henry’s...

Bestawan is a super casual, super chill place where you get to spend time interacting with the surrounding community. Locals, would be locals and visitors have always come to Besta because it's a cool place to hang out and enjoy the beach community. Even better is, with the new owners, the food has become off the charts good. The Italian Beef is becoming the signature dish and the burger is one of the best in town but my personal favorites, at the moment, are the Detroit style pizza (the layer of baked parmesan around the crust is simply genius) and the shrimp scampi with Calabrian chili butter is just redonkulous. Seriously, I could/would do shots of that butter. There is now a rotating weekly specials menu that has been creative, delicious, and keeps me coming back just to see what's new (some recent examples from the specials menu: curried carrot & coconut soup, truck stop beef chili, steak frites, moules frites, house made cannoli's etc. etc.). They also now have an excellent wine selection on top of their traditionally excellent beer selection. I have always loved to hang out at Besta but with the new ownership it is easily my favorite restaurant in the Del Mar, Solana, Cardiff, Encinitas,...