Bongiorno's NY Pizzeria — Restaurant in Poway

I love the pizza, but the 8 PM closing time Sun-Th and 9 PM closing time F + Sat is incredibly inconvenient.

(I wasn't sure which category covered "insufficient hours of operation," but the Service section seemed closest, hence the 2 star service rating. I have not had any negative experiences with their actual service, they've always provided good customer service, except for closing too early for me.)

Like most pizza places, they stop taking delivery orders a little before closing time, usually about 30 min beforehand. Unfortunately, many people nowadays, myself and most of my friends included among them, eat dinner later in the evening than 7:30 or 8 PM. In fact, it's usually right around 8:30 that I'm getting hungry and decide I should start thinking about placing an order with one of the few good Poway restaurants that deliver. So on the rare Fridays & Saturdays when my desire to order take-out/delivery coincides with my desire for Bongiorno's in particular, I look at the clock, see 8:30 PM and realize I have to immediately drop everything and make the call so that I don't miss the cut-off. When my craving for Bongiorno's falls on a weekday, as it does more often than not, I see 8:30 PM on the clock and realize I'm already too late.

With that out of the way, onto reviewing the pizza!

I can agree with other reviewers that the single slices you can buy there are not always great, they're hit-or-miss. However, I don't expect reheated pizza to ever taste great, no matter where it came from, or how long ago it was cooked (unless you actually saw that it JUST came out of the oven, with your own eyes, of course).

Where Bongiorno's pizza excels in is with its fresh, whole pizza pies. They are great even after a 10 or 15 min car ride when delivering, but are frankly sublime when fresh out of the oven. Now, I've only had the Pepperoni and Chicken Bacon Ranch pizzas, but THEY ARE, WITHOUT EXAGGERATION, THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD. One of my most anticipated experiences when ordering take out is getting to the car with the box of pizza, opening it up and steam is still coming off of it, then taking that first slice and blowing on it to cool it off enough to take that first bite. THAT moment, the first instant when that particular pie has reached a suitable temperature to be eaten and enjoyed, and you're getting the first bite.

I'm pretty specific with my food preferences, so I don't know if I'll branch out and try other types of pizza that Bongiorno's offers. The Chicken Bacon Ranch used to be my favorite, but recently I've taken to preferring pepperoni. If you like pepperoni too, try asking for double pepperoni, its really good with twice the amount as it would normally have, in my opinion.

All in all, I hate that I can't give Bongiorno's a higher score, they SHOULD at least have 4 stars, MAYBE even 5, though it is rare that I think ANY place deserves 5 stars. Anyways, the limited hours of operation is my only real complaint for Bongiorno's. If not for that early 8 PM closing time, I think I'd eat here at least once a week. It is my favorite pizza, but that closing time makes it so that I hardly ever get to actually have the stuff.

If they end up reading this: Guys, please stay open until 9 PM every night! Or even 10 PM! (That just might warrant a 5 star rating, though I'd have to experience it for a few weeks to be sure. Worst case scenario, a later closing time would update my review to 4 stars, as I want to give a 4 star rating already, but can't because of my inability to order during the times I'm...

I moved from New Jersey to San Diego about 5 years ago on the great search of a true NY pizza. This. Is. It. It has that dreamy crispy but soft crust, perfect amount of cheese and sauce, this pizza is the real deal! I even use to work in a famous NY pizza parlor growing up and it's the closest I've ever had to it. We got the artichoke pizza, I was happy to see more than one vegetarian special pizza option. I can't wait to try the regular cheese. I use to miss pizza terribly but now I'll be getting it from here every week for sure. I also got the cannolis which were incredible. I love the gelato but unfortunately I didn't think they would make it on the ride home. My ONLY complaint is I wish you guys were open one extra hour, and I wish I could sit with my dogs after the dog park and enjoy a pie outside in the weekend but that's really my problem not yours 🤣. I really have to gun it over there after work. Truely. The best pizza I've had in California, my husband and I were fighting for the last slices. From some Italians from Jersey,...

My husband was recently put on a vegan diet by his doctor and we were really worried about finding quality places to eat with his new restrictions. After searching around Poway we found Bongiornos and we couldn’t be more grateful!

We’ve been ordering delivery almost weekly, as they offer vegan cheese on any pizza which makes it super easy for my husband. Being from NY he is very picky about pizza to begin with, let alone vegan pizza, but he is a huge fan of what we’ve received.

I will admit I am not following his new diet so I’ve been enjoying the 14 inch pizzas (pesto & white pie are my favorites) and it’s the perfect amount for me to have for dinner and then save left overs for myself and daughter the next day for lunch. I also highly recommend the salads.

Their website makes it very easy to order and customize salad & pies. Delivery times are accurate, and all delivery drivers have been COVID cautious and worm masks. I absolutely recommend to anyone looking for awesome pizza in...