Papa Johns Pizza — Restaurant in San Diego

Food: 4/5 Service and Setting: 4/5 Value: 4/5

This Papa John’s has been here since my childhood and was singlehandedly the reason why I stopped eating Papa John’s for almost 20 years. A recent addiction to pizza has emerged deep inside me and forced me to again explore Papa John’s. I can now confidently say that within the trinity of fast food pizza, Papa John’s is my favorite for the time being. The restaurant itself was very pleasantly clean and the employees were very nice and addressed me right away. Even though they could not get to me right when I got in, they assured me that they would help me as soon as they could. A very positive experience indeed. Make sure to download the app, use your deals, and double check your order is correct before leaving!

Epic Pepperoni-Stuffed Crust Pizza: 4/5 After eating several artisanal pizzas this year, I have come to the conclusion that having a solid pepperoni pizza is its own category. The pepperoni pizza here has a perfect ratio of pepperoni without turning it into a salt bomb. The tomato sauce is a little blander and sweeter than other places, but I think I like that. The cheese is nothing noteworthy, but the most important thing for me is that it is not sharp in any way. The pastry under the pizza is again nothing special but slightly too oily. Overall, it is a very balanced dough that leans on the softer, more tender side of pizza doughs. Finally, that crust. It is super pillowy and seasoned with this buttery garlic glaze. The cheese inside gives it a rich savoriness while the added pepperoni makes it even more delectable. Dipping the crust into that spicy garlic sauce is an almost religious experience, something that everyone in this world needs to try at least once. I really hope that this stays as a permanent item.

Spicy Pepperoni Rolls: 4.5/5 These need to be eaten fresh fresh. I recommend going to the restaurant a little early and wait to ensure that you have the freshest rolls. Crispy, cheesy, warm, pillowy, savory, the list goes on and on with these. Imagine the best pretzel bites you have ever had and replace the pastry with pizza and you get these. I felt that the jalapeños were a little heavy handed, but just take one or two out per bite and it is beyond perfect. Spicy garlic sauce or marinara are the ultimate dips. I lowkey like these more than the pizza.

Spicy Garlic Sauce: 3.5/5 Ah, the upgraded version of Papa John’s famous garlic sauce. There is this sort of artificial funk in this sauce that I feel gives it a slight toxic inedible edge, haha, but it is so alluring and matches their pizza so well. The vibe is very similar to fake cheese spread or nacho cheese, slightly chemically but impossibly delicious. You can only use this sauce with Papa John’s pizza or else it is inedible. This rendition takes away some of that funk and tones down that sort of artificial creamy flavor thing they got going on and replaces it with spices and a good amount of heat. I can definitely taste more garlic, onion, and chilies in this versus the original. Give it a try at least once, it...

If you want to leave a restaurant feeling full with your wallet uninjured well here you go. Compared to round table, pazzo's, and little caesars Papa John's always has their price right on the money. Could it be cheaper? Maybe, but for what you get I don't think anyone should be complaining. The pizza melts in your mouth, isn't overpowered by too much of one thing, and is always at the right temperature.

Their menu definitely has something for everyone whether it be breadsticks, garlic knots, salad, wings, chicken, etc. They also have desserts too. And the service is outstanding. Outstanding! The staff does an amazing job and I hope they're getting paid enough to at least support themselves. I've got nothing else left to say except here's your...

FOLLOW-UP TO ORIGINAL REVIEW: We gave their breadsticks another try over the weekend and, to our delight, they are back to their original buttery-garlic-y glory! The giant chocolate chip cookie was also very good. Keep up the good work, and I'll upgrade my next review to 5 stars. ORIGINAL REVIEW: The garlic parmesan breadsticks used to be great, with plenty of garlic butter sauce and seasoning. But the last two times I ordered them from this location, they were absolutely dry, with hardly any sauce or seasoning, and practically flavorless! I was fine with the price increase (now $7.25) because the quality was always good before ..... but now, dry flavorless breadsticks for over...