Papa Zuzu’s Pizza — Restaurant in Kelso

What started out as a bad experience has  been transformed into a 5 star review! We had been eager to try Papa Zuzu's after hearing fantastic reviews from several friends and acquaintances. One friend suggested we try The Pepperoni with hot honey garlic drizzle. So that's what we ordered. The pizza looked wonderful but for whatever reason there was way too much of the honey garlic drizzle. Well I contacted Papa Zuzu's" on their Facebook page and told them we couldn't eat it like that and they offered to make us a new Pizza and put the garlic honey glaze on the side. Well let me tell you how wonderful the pizza was!! Papa Zuzu's will see us back as regulars now thats for sure. I truly dont know if I've ever seen such a beautiful perfectly cooked pizza! The taste was even better. The sauce was heavenly and it had just the right amount of cheese, and this cheese has flavor, not like so many pizza joints who top their pies with a no flavor bland cheese trying to make it look like a pizza. Papa Zuzu's cooks the crust perfect as well, and I have to say it again its the prettiest pizza ive ever seen , the photos dont do it justice. The prices are definitely fair for this large sized pizza, it fits tightly inside the large box and it will easily feed a family of 4 or more. Now we might just pass on the honey garlic drizzle in future but hey we're sure there are bunches of others who just adore it that way. I might suggest getting the drizzle on the side if you're not sure because even if you dont like the glaze youll still be left with a fantastic pepperoni pizza to thoroughly enjoy. Kudos for Papa Zulus In responding to my Facebook message very quickly and for giving us a 2nd chance to enjoy what they really have to offer, the best pizza ive had in over a decade...lol and we eat a lot of pizza!! Thanks Papa Zulu's for your excellent customer service I hope all who read this review and are wondering which local place to try can stop here because they won't find any better!

Bon...

We were somewhere around the edge of Cowlitz County when the hunger began to take hold. My attorney had vanished hours ago, swallowed by some ghastly tavern full of pool tables and regret. I needed sustenance. I needed a sign. That’s when I saw it: PAPA ZUZU’S PIZZA—glowing like a holy relic in the gray Washington mist.

I slammed the brakes, made an illegal left turn, and stormed into the place like a man possessed by cheese-based demons. The smell hit first—yeasty, smoky, like the ghost of a wood-fired orgy. This was not Pizza Hut. This was not Domino’s. This was the kind of pizza that makes you question your loyalties, your sanity, your cholesterol levels.

They handed me a slice that looked like it had been carved from a sacred volcano. Crust with the chew of an old bluesman’s soul. Sauce with the bite of a stolen sports car. Cheese so gooey it could fix a broken marriage. And the toppings… dear God, the toppings. Pepperoni that snapped like angry jazz. Sausage like tiny meat grenades. Onions sharp enough to make a grown man confess his sins.

There were locals in the corner muttering something about “best damn pie north of Portland.” I believed them. I would follow them into war. Or at least into a second large with extra garlic.

The staff? Saints. Mad saints. Smiling like they knew the truth of the universe lay hidden between layers of mozzarella.

I lost three hours and possibly a chunk of my liver in that joint. Walked out with a full belly and a profound spiritual clarity I hadn’t felt since Nixon left office.

Papa Zuzu’s isn’t a pizzeria. It’s a psychedelic pizza church built on dough, sweat, and beautiful madness.

If you're within 100 miles and not going, you’re a coward.

Zuzu forever. Viva la pie.

—Dr. Gonzo, Food Correspondent Kelso...

The pizza is absolutely phenomenal. The atmosphere is dive bar, but charming in a sketchy way. The service was... Interesting. The server took our order, two half and half pizzas. She brought us (and charged us for) three pizzas. When I tried to tell her that we ordered the two pizzas as a half and half, she said that they didn't make one of those pizzas as a half and half, I started to say something else, but she walked off with one of the pizzas, then she came back and said "Yeah, it's right, it's in my own handwriting and it says those are two pizzas." I was obviously very concerned and she said "You look concerned, but it's right" and walked off. She was NOT receptive of correction, and we didn't want to make a scene, so we just went with it. Our bill was around $89 for three pizzas, before tip. And yes, we still tipped because she was working hard, she just needs to slow down and actually listen to the customers. If there is a pizza that isn't made as a half and half, just say so when it's ordered, and when a customer has a concern, listen to them. We now have a whole extra pizza. We'll definitely go back, the pizza...