Denino's Thousand Oaks — Restaurant in Thousand Oaks

December 2024 Huge disappointment. The whole "experience" isn't worth the hype.

I had the highest hopes for this place, but NO, I will NOT be back.

Logistic Problems: I can't figure out how to get in, where to park, is someone going to take my order, or do I need to go to a counter to order? Waitress/waiters?

The "front" is on T.O. Blvd. facing North. Chaos? Where's the front door? The counter? Where do you order?

Where do you park? Dimly-lit Alleyway at best, where Leslie's Pool is. If there was a sign indicating where to park, how are you supposed to see it in Pitch Black darkness.

Made it inside: There's a makeshift "cashier counter" inside, lined with the bins that are supposed to be used to make the pizza? Health hazard! Hello? But if you pay in cash, the cashier has to run over to another counter to make change.

Food/Pizza was Lousy, terrible, garbage. This is another replication of "Slice" down the street. It's "fake" dough, filled with conditioners and chemicals designed to help it rise, form a crust, and give it a crispy feel while at the same time being a huge sponge. Problem, it causes bloating, and lingers in your gut for hours. If you feel tired, run down, terrible like you got run over by a truck, it could be from eating pre-fab dough filled with a bunch of chemicals you can't pronounce. From experience, I can tell this place either uses a pre-made dough from a restaurant supply store, or they're using gimmicky unnatural "yeast" and chemicals, added in with a bunch of other forever ingredients. There's not enough salt in the dough either, which means there's no flavor. Pizza is all about the dough. And Denino failed.

The "sauce" was also terrible too. It's not even a sauce! It's literally some type of tomatoes straight out of a can, that was dumped on the pizza. There's no flavor to it, it's very sour, and doesn't have that deep cooked down flavor like a pizza sauce is supposed to have. Then they sprinkle dried oregano on top of the pizza when it comes out of the oven. Yuck! When did that terrible Trend start?! If you want any herbs and spices, they should be cooked in the sauce ahead of time, to develop body and flavor. The cheese was 90% oil. Probably fake as well, because the cheese didn't have any flavor or taste. It was literally just pure oil sitting on top.

Atmosphere? They put some kind of white paint or something on the windows that face the inside patio area where the fountain and the Beautiful lights are. So basically they don't want you to go out there. What a waste of ambience. If you can't see inside, the staff inside can't see you either.

Parking: Same owner as the Italian Ice shop next door (West). You can park there, or in the back, outside courtyard parking area where the apartments are.

Handicap warning/violation, ADA take note. There is a handicap ramp, but it dumps you into a chipped wood area. There's no way you're getting a wheelchair across that 10-ft stretch between the two parking lots on a rollator, or a wheelchair, or using any kind of cane or walker. You're more likely to stumble and fall because of the uneven surface.

Service: that's literally the only good thing about this entire experience and establishment. At least the people working there worked, and worked hard.

To the Management of this place: Start over! I would first of all put up correct signage indicating where the parking is, with the light on it so you can see it at night time. Once people get to the patio area, there needs to be a clear front door and a front entrance that is marked as such so that people know where the front entrance is. Open up the all those fixed windows, and let people have an inside/outside dining experience. Get rid of your makeshift walls of dough bins (health code violation), and actually put in some infrastructure there so the people know where the kitchen area is, where the counter area is, and where the seating and dining area is. Your dough and your sauce needs a major transformation.

No, I...

I'm born and bred in Brooklyn so let's be real, California pizza will never be like NYC pizza. But flying to NYC every weekend is not ideal. So this place is the next best thing. It is definitely the best NYC style pizza I have had in SoCal.

Crust is crispy, fold in half kind of crust. The vodka pizza was okay - something missing about that sauce but still good. The margherita pizza was delicious. They don't sell by the slices. They do a two slice and drink deal. You can also buy a pie and do half half. They also have an after school deal and gluten free option.

The atmosphere inside is not very inviting and definitely doesn't have the NYC pizza store vibe. You order from a window outside and We were able to sit inside to eat our pizza. The entire store is surrounded by glass windows but they are frosted 3/4 of the way so it doesn't allow you to see what's going on from the outside. Which makes me reluctant to even want to try this place if I was driving by. Hopefully in the summer they open up those doors or something.

The nice perk about this place is just next door, there is an Italian ice place where you can get spumoni.

If you have a NYC pizza craving and in this area, definitely stop by. But if you are looking for a cozy date night out, this isn't the place unless maybe if you are...

I just drove 1.5 hours to get Denino’s pizza. I am originally from Staten Island and everytime I go back it’s straight to Denino’s from the airport. Well we used to…everyone moved to Jersey now and I was soooo sad to not have this tradition anymore! Well Denino’s in Thousand Oaks opened 2 weeks ago and I went on a recon mission! The calamari was fresh out the frier and crispy, the marinara sauce was just like home. The pizza and the crust are exactly like it is in NY! Crispy thin crust! I am in heaven! I will be back with my Staten Island/LA transplants soon. If you want legit NY pizza this is the place!

Well went back and brought my friend from Staten Island. I ordered a white pie with broccoli which is what I always get. They put sauce on it!!! Gah sent it back and it took them over an hour to Make Another one. They added spinach and didn’t put onion on it and it tasted like plastic. Very disappointed. Guess I’ll have to wait until I go back to Staten Island to get the real deal. Have no idea why it tastes so...