Pizza Pizazz — Restaurant in Federal Way

I really wish I didn’t have to rate this place 1 star but I do. I say that because while the pizza is very good, the service is consistently terrible. The entire operation is run by 16-17 year old kids who have clearly not received proper training. We have ordered here about 10 times over the past few months and have had the exact same experience every time: getting overcharged by $5 to $8 and then having a teenage employee get visibly annoyed and offer a different nonsensical explanation when we politely inquire about the incorrect total.

We always order a version of the same thing, a two-topping Mondo pizza for which the price is clearly written on a chalkboard on the wall of their lobby next to the register as $18.49. Since tax in WA is 10% it’s pretty easy to estimate the total, so we were surprised the first time when we heard the total of over $26 for a pepperoni & mushroom pizza. When we asked why it was so expensive if the pizza was only $18.49, the teen cashier replied “tax”. We clarified, “$7 tax?”, they told us yes. We let them know tax should only be about $1.85 if the pizza is $18.49, they rolled their eyes and walked away saying “let me go get my manager” in an exasperated tone.

The next time we ordered, we got charged $28 for the advertised $18.49 two-topping pizza. When we inquired about the total, we were told that since we wanted mushroom on one half and pineapple on the other half that the pizza could only be rung up in their system as a “specialty half & half” pizza. Not wanting to pay $28 for what we thought was a 2-topping pizza, we simplified our order so that it wasn’t “half & half” and then got a new total of $26 for the pizza that is advertised on the wall next to the register as being $18.49. Again, an annoyed teenage cashier goes to get another teen to help.

The next time we ordered I called beforehand when we were driving to the pizza shop to ask if the price of their Mondo 2-topping was still $18.49 “as written on the wall next to the register.” Over the phone I could hear the employee tapping on the computer screen a bunch of times and after 30 seconds of tapping they told me “no”. I was confused so I politely let them know that the last time I was there I saw the price written on the wall in the lobby and then asked again if the price was still written up on the wall. Again, I hear tapping on the computer screen and am again wondering why she just doesn’t look at the wall? She tells me no. I say ok thank you and hang up. When we arrive, the $18.49 price is written right there on the wall. And again we are charged $26. Sigh.

And so on. Always a new teenager, always a new explanation for the incorrect price.

The very last time we went, we opened the door to hear a teen on the phone at the register put someone on hold, ask a coworker a question, walk back to the phone and then before picking up the line again exclaim angry and loudly “now are you going to MAKE up your MIND!!?” before lifting the receiver again to speak to the customer on the phone. It was uncomfortable to say the least. She takes our order, charges us $27 for our two-topping pizza, so we calmly point at the prices listed on the wall and let her know we would just like the $18.49 two-topping pizza, to which she replies “well I could ring it up that way but it would be about the same price”. A $7 difference on a pizza isn’t really what I would consider “about the same price”. That was it for us.

Additionally, we have watched one of the employees stand about 10 feet behind the register area with her mask pulled down under her chin for over a minute and eat (pizza?) right next to their production area, spreading her (COVID?) droplets to everyone & all pizza in the area as she chewed and then continue working without washing her hands. I took pictures as I was sitting in our car and saw this through their front window while my fiancé was inside. Also, employees are constantly texting on their personal cell phones and then touching pizzas.

Tonight is pizza night, and I am writing this review because this place...

Road trip to Tacoma. After 1.5 hours checked into a Lakewood hotel, crashed, woke up in the mood for pizza. I passed by pizza pizzaz a half mile from the hotel. Checked their reviews and menu and it came together with a quick phone call with a friendly voice. So far so good. Ordered a medium special pie and for a completely different experience, the chicken bacon Alfredo sub. (Turned out the taste experience was so different from each in a good way that I gotta say: try it.)

Strictly a pick up store. No seating. Staff SUPER friendly and helpful an hour before closing. Pie was still hot. Crunchy crust, seasoned, cooked spot on. Sauce is a bold red sauce that’s not atypical but I was very impressed with the flavor. The toppings were generous and FRESH. Every topping could be distinguished. Even the usually masked flavor of the mushroom was clearly detectable. Damn good pie.

The sun was creamy and tasty. I was hoping for more chicken but the flavor compensated for that. That Alfredo sauce and the pizza sauce needs to be sold in house or marketed for the grocer shelf. Yeah. It’s that good. The bun was toasted perfectly and cut in half, saving me from making a mess. All product was FRESH. Totally opposite end of the taste spectrum from the pizza. Great combination.

I’m typically super critical of pizza crust. This crust isn’t thin crust NY style but comes close. A surprising change from the usual pre processed mass produced filth that’s an excuse for a crust. Good job.

Finally, I can’t say enough about the staff. Friendly. Helpful. And in my case the guy toted my stuff to my car in the pouring rain. I’m handicapped and use a cane.

The only two critically negative things I can say is that they need to open up a store in the Lake Stevens area. So not being close to where I live is a negative. The worst part of the experience with this company was after the food was gone, that was it. The end of the meal was a mini tragedy. If I’m back in the area I’ll be sure to do another visit. A very pleasant surprise....

This place is absolutely disgusting and I do not recommend eating at this establishment.

First of all, there ingredients. In the refrigerator they store non sealed boxes of mushrooms and green peppers on the ground in the walk in. Also on the makeline, they seldom to hardly ever change the containers the toppings sit in, they will just continuously refill a same container. At night they leave topping on the make line with out a seal tight lid that causes insects to be able to crawl into the make likes food area.(A spider has been found in the mushrooms on more than 1 occasion)

Second, there sanitary process for anything is not adequate nor meet health code guide lines. When washing dishes the sanitation sink only receives bleach about 50% of the time. So that's 50% of dishes not getting properly cleaned. The dish soap in the sinks are hardly ever changed until the water turns tainted of whatever color the food has been and there are chunks floating in the hardly soapy water. As for utensils such as pizza cutters, ect. Every one likes there butter sauce right? Well they literally NEVER wash the brush that is used to paint the garlic on your bread sticks, pizza roles, ect. They don't switch out the pizza cutters every 2 hours like heath code requires. Also to go with the fact that they don't use bleach 50% of the time a lot of the utensils used to prepare your food aren't preoperly cleaned. That goes with all equipment. Knifes, cutting boards, cups, forks, you name it. And I wanted to save this for last for this paragraph. You will love to here that they only sanitize their food prep and assembly area with just water more often than not. Not sanatizer, not bleach, just water.

Lastly, the little things. The soda machine on the other side seldomly gets cleaned so countless of times has there been ants crawling on the novel of the soda dispensar. They don't clean or even sweep under the kitched equipment. I could go on and on but I'll leave the decision making up to you....