Some restaurants have tropical islands for their theme if they serve seafood and farm or ranch scenarios if they offer steaks or dairy products. But a pizza parlor that has King Arthur and his knights for a theme? You mean Round Table Pizza, now, don’t you? That’s exactly the point that founder William R. Larson, Sr. was trying to make when he opened the first Round Table Pizza restaurant 55 years ago in California’s Menlo Park.
Round Table Pizza Has Gone Global
Crazy? Maybe, but definitely different. For two years, Round Table Pizza had muppets Matt and Marcus as their official mascots and then they had the “Defender of Family Night,” the Pizza Knight. These days, it’s the “Pizza Whisperer.” With over 500 company-owned and franchised locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska, Round Table Pizza has gone global in Mongolia and Vietnam and its seven Dubai branches.
One factor that makes Round Table Pizza unique is that it is now 100% owned by employees after Larson sold it to investors in 1979. This ownership is spread out among 2,500 former and current employees, a key motivational element to continuous innovation, upgrades, adjustments, and improvements to provide exceptional quality food items served by professional and trained individuals. Artisan flatbreads have been added to an ever-expanding menu.
The Legendary Pizzas
It’s hard to be on the scene for more than half a century and not earn a reputation for top rate products. The Premium Specialty Pizzas of Round Table Pizza have withstood the test of time and the present generations of pizza lovers can savor the delicious creations their parents and even grandparents used to enjoy.
King Arthur’s Supreme®, for instance, has the legendary combination of Italian sausage, linguiça, black olives, onions, pepperoni, mushrooms, salami, green peppers, and red sauce.
Montague’s Meat Marvel® is the über meat fest with linguiça, Italian sausage, salami, and pepperoni on red sauce. Linguiça, for the uninitiated, is succulent pork sausage cured, smoked, and seasoned with paprika and garlic.
Guinevere’s Garden Delight® is an all vegetable creation guaranteed to delight vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike with mushrooms, onions, black olives, green peppers, and tomatoes spread on red sauce.
Maui Zaui ® is a concoction reminiscent of tropical islands, beaches, white sand, and blue waters. Savor its juicy pineapple, tender ham slices, green and red onions, crispy bacon, and tomatoes on red sauce.
Chicken & Garlic Gourmet™ is a Round Table Pizza Original with grilled white chicken meat, garlic, mushrooms, and tomatoes, green and red onions, all seasoned with Italian herb.
Italian Garlic Supreme™ was popular back in the day and remains a choice with customers for the awesome combination of mushrooms, tomatoes, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and a lot of garlic spread on the creamiest garlic sauce.
Gourmet Veggie™ is the upscale vegetarian creation with creamy garlic sauce topped with zucchini, tomatoes, spinach, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, green and red onions, and garlic.
Smokehouse Combo™ is sure to be a hit with lovers of grilled food, a spread of Italian sausage, linguiça, grilled white chicken meat, a three-cheese blend, BBQ sauce, pepperoni, Roma tomatoes, and green and red onions on red sauce.
Those Artisan Flatbreads
Depending on the location, lunch buffet is available daily and, on certain week nights, dinner buffet is offered as well with a delicious and generous selection of pizzas and salads. The addition of artisan flatbreads to the Round Table menu, as mentioned, offers a lighter option for weight watchers.
These artisan flatbreads are “lighter” because of their crisper crusts. All flatbreads are brushed with garlic-infused olive oil, with a sprinkle of cheese, and topped with some fresh basil. The three varieties include:
• Tomato pesto: pesto sauce, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.
• Pepperoni Artisan: tomatoes, pepperoni, red onions, and fresh mozzarella.
• Roasted Veggies and Chicken: onions, zucchini, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, Parmesan, and grilled chicken.
Round Table Pizza makes it easier to host birthday parties or other events. Depending on the location, many of Round Table Pizza’s restaurants provide party packages and banquet rooms to choose from.
No Gluten-Free Pizza?
Most people are wondering what Round Table Pizza’s latest tagline – “The Last Honest Pizza” – means. Does it mean they use superior meats, make their dough fresh everyday, and have no factory chopped or shrink wrapped vegetables? According to their website FAQs page, Round Table Pizza’s cheeses are a blend of mozzarella from whole milk (80%), aged cheddar (10%), and Provolone (10%). So is it the cheese?
Those may be wild guesses from customers but those answers seem to make Round Table Pizza stand out from the rest of its competitors. Why don’t they have gluten-free pizza crusts? According to their website, it can be difficult to keep dough fresh when the demand for it is low at their outlets, although they will study that option when there is an increase in this product’s demand.
I’m an employee at Round Table Pizza! Our vegetables are 100% fresh-prepped every day; Never frozen! Our meats come refrigerated and they stay refrigerated, once again never frozen. Our dough is made fresh in-store every day, and gluten free pizza crusts are now available (but only in a small.) Our cheese and toppings go all the way to the edge of the crust, so there’s no waste! It’s all pizza.