Chris turned 40 at the end of 2025, and I wanted to do something special without throwing a big party that he wouldn’t appreciate. So I gave him what I knew he’d appreciate the most: 40 slices of pizza!
Our nineteenth stop was: Joe’s Pizza
111 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Restaurant Location and Vibe
I was travelling to a work conference in San Diego, and we decided to cram in a quick visit to Channel Islands, so Chris came with me for a couple days before the conference started. We passed through Santa Monica after landing in Los Angeles on our way to Ventura. We stopped here specifically because Dave Portnoy had rated it an 8.3.
It’s New York style pizza – you pay by the slice, and it’s actually quite reasonably priced. The pizza is on display in front of you and then they reheat it after you order.
To describe the vibe, I’d say to imagine eating New York pizza, but in a casual California beach setting with relaxing music and friendly staff. A clash of two worlds for sure!
The Pizza
We each got a slice of cheese and a slice of pepperoni, and we shared a serving of garlic knots. To be honest, when you order, it doesn’t look especially fresh, but that’s how New York style pizza works – it’s not completely baked until you order it. Once it’s reheated it looks much better.
Despite being PIPING HOT, I felt the cheese pizza still looked a little old, and I preferred the pepperoni as it provided that grease that I love. I thought the pizza was pretty gosh darn good, but Chris LOVED it.
The pizza has a good crispness to the crust and it was very close, if not identical, to pizza you actually get in New York City. In fact, later that night as Chris was drifting off to sleep, he mumbled “that pizza was good, wasn’t it.”
The Score
Chris rated his pizza a 8.1, a very high score!
Enjoyed this post? Subscribe below to get new posts by email!
Click here for a complete listing of all 40 pizzas we rated!
Leave a Reply