Table of Contents
- Aegean Pizza
- The Brown Jug
- Colombo’s Cafe & Pastries
- Carmines Pizza
- Giardino’s Family Restaurant
- Mike’s Pizza (Hyannis)
- Mike’s Roast Beef and Pizzeria
- Pizza 1 & Subs 2
- Whole Foods (Hyannis)
- Market Basket (Sagamore)
- Dollar Tree
Had enough clams yet? It’s easy to feel that way after a few days on Olde Cape Cod! Pizza is an economical way to stretch your vacation budget, while keeping your time on The Cape fun.
In seven years of living year-round on Cape Cod (with teenagers!), I’ve eaten a lot of pizza. Here is an assortment of pizza sources to fit whatever mood you’re in. Since I’m not writing from the typical comparison-reviewer POV, you’ll find this is more like asking your friends and family about where to get a good pizza on the Cape (list is alphabetical, with a couple surprises at the end).
Aegean Pizza
378 Barnstable Rd, Airport Shopping Center, Hyannis, MA 02601-2920, +1 508 771 7722
This is my son’s favorite lunch stop, when he is working. He finds Aegean’s freshly made food healthier that the fast food chain offerings. He’s a basic guy, and this is basic food. For example, the Greek salad may be iceburg, but there’s plenty of Feta, and the dressing is homemade.
If you’ve just flown into the Cape Cod Gateway Airport, and, boy, are your wings tired, Aegean Pizza can provide you with some good pizza and sandwiches. Greek pizza can be a funny thing – You look at it, and it doesn’t seem to have much sauce, but it’s always tasty. I‘ve appreciated that it was a little neater for the kids to manage, and that the crust wouldn’t flop and buckle when lifted up.
If you order a Greek salad there, by the way, be specific in your ordering, because they have two varieties – There is the Greek Salad, and the Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken. Unlike their Caesar salads, the two Greek salads are not listed side by side on the menu, but are separated on the list by several other offerings, making the kind with chicken easy to overlook. My guess is that the grilled chicken is a newer menu item, and was simply added at the bottom of the list when they redid their menu.
Speaking of the menu, my title link will take you to Z Menu, so you can have a peek at Aegean’s menu, via screenshot. Don’t follow online links to their website (they don’t have one); they are incorrect, including the one offered by Trip Advisor. Their link takes you to an Aegean Pizza in Chepachet, RI, which is an entirely different place, different town, different state.
They have seating, but most folks are glad to grab their food and head for their check-in. I had to chuckle at the reviews regarding the “sullen,” Greek staff. It’s ironic how some people are all multi-culti and hot on diversity, as long as everyone acts just like them. If you want decent, fresh food from a family restaurant, go to Aegean. For artificially-flavored, fake food, thrust out of a window by someone who is forced to say a script written by a corporate HR, there are plenty of fast food joints down the street.
The Brown Jug
155 Main St, Sandwich, MA 02563-2271, +1 508 888 4669
If you just can’t get enough of the great outdoors on The Cape, The Brown Jug will be your go-to pizza stop. Why? Because it’s outside! Your pizza is cooked in an outdoor oven, and served on their charming patio (not sure what they do in the inclement weather, as I only think of them on sunny days).
My favorite non-traditional pizza at the Brown Jug is the Porky Pig – Roasted fennel, pulled pork, BBQ & tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, caramelized onions, four cheese blend. My palette can’t quite identify all four cheeses, but it checks a lot of boxes. Mozzerella, Provolone, Parm., and…?
One little fluke about the Brown Jug- They don’t have pizza for the first couple hours they’re open, so if you’re looking to grab pizza early to bring to the beach, they can’t help you out on that!
Colombo’s Cafe & Pastries
544 Main St, Hyannis, MA 02601-5408, +1 508 790 5700
If you’re looking for fancy pizza, something from the pages of Gourmet magazine. Colombo’s if the place for you. Please don’t read that as unappetizing and overpriced! I wrote this article specifically because I can’t stand places where the flaccid “pizza” has scorched spots that sneak up on your palette (don’t worry, the charcoal is good for your teeth), and is covered with weeds and streaks of sticky, brown stuff that they squirt out of a plastic art bottle from Hobby Lobby.
Colombo’s isn’t like that at all. Yes, presentation is important to them; but they back up their fanciness with food that tastes as good as it looks.
If you’re missing the pizza from the now-gone Roadhouse, you’ll be pleased to know that Colombo’s is owned by the same family, and their pizza will bring back old memories, while creating new ones.
Carmines Pizza
595 Main St, Chatham, MA 02633-2273, +1 508 945 5300
A Chatham mainstay, Carmine’s has been giving shoppers of this quaint downtown a place to rest their feet and fill their tummies for a couple of decades now.
Carmine’s tomato sauce is mild, but zesty enough, and they are generous with the toppings. They have all the traditional ones, sure; but I love their expanded variety of choices, including eggplant, Bleu cheese, and burger (not on the same pie…unless you want it). Just pointing out that you could run up quite a bill adding this, that, and the other thing. I’d suggest trying one of their combo pies. They’re really imaginative and never disappoint.
You may find yourself returning later for a coffee, or a soft drink for the kids. Their beverages are as upscale and imaginative as their pizza!
Giardino’s Family Restaurant
242 Route 28, West Yarmouth, MA 02673-4659, +1 508 775 0333
My neighbors would push back against Giardino’s modesty- They claim their pizza is “one of” Cape Cod’s best; but Sean and Jane think it’s da bomb, driving 20 minutes to get there.
This is your parents’ Italian-American restaurant. If you’re looking for designer ambiance, move on; but if you want feed your family without donating a kidney to pay the bill, stop in.
Their pizza has just the right amount of topping: not loaded, not skimpy.
Giardino’s is a very good choice when you want pizza, but your family does not. They have plenty of other choices, doing an impressive job with fried chicken, ribs, soup, and many other choices from their menu.
Mike’s Pizza (Hyannis)
1220 Iyannough Rd, Hyannis, MA 02601-1873, +1 508 790 3554
I love this place, in a way that only a local can – Mike’s is that pizza place next to the urgent care, where a good, hot meal can be picked up, when you’re not having such a great day.
…but you’re probably looking for food, while you are having a great day. If you’re having it at the Cape Codder Resort/ Water Park, Mike’s is right across the street. Like the Aegean, it’s a very basic, local place. Don’t expect anything fancy. The pizza is good, fresh and hot. Don’t order delivery from your room; go pick it up, for the best quality.
The beauty of Mike’s is that when other iconic Cape places are packed, Mike’s gives you a better chance of obtaining your food before your kids devolve into full-scale mutiny. This place often, undeservedly, escapes the notice of the masses. It’s easy to drive right past Mike’s without realizing they’re even there, due to quirky “historic commission” laws that keep the signs muted and unnoticeable in Mike’s strip-mall location (funny how this doesn’t apply to the major chain stores, just feet away).
Mike’s Roast Beef and Pizzeria
459 Route 28, West Yarmouth, MA 02673-4844, +1 774 470 6151
If you’re easily offended by greasy pizza, don’t come here. I happen to love greasy pizza, because that grease is usually streaming off an abundance of pepperoni. Such is the case at Mike’s.
People who hunger for a chunky, packed pizza will love Mike’s. They serve the kind of pizza that catches your attention, right from the moment you heft the box off the counter.
My last Mike’s pizza had bites of awesomeness that consisted of three or four slices of pepperoni, stuck together. Where the pepperoni slices had landed individually, they were curled up at the edges and crisped like a fine bacon.
Pizza 1 & Subs 2
2956 Falmouth Rd, Marstons Mills, MA 02648, +1 508 420 1212
This oddly-named pizza parlor in Centerville is truly the neighborhood place to get pizza. It’s not fancy, but they make a good steak bomb and chicken wings, as well as pizza. Like Aegean, this is a lightly-sauced pizza with a sturdy crust.
Pizza 1 is a solid choice, if you are in the Craigville Beach area. Occasionally, you encounter a place, such as Pizza 1, that charges more (3.75%), if you use a credit card. Think of it as holding the prices down for paying cash.
Whole Foods (Hyannis)
990 Iyannough Rd, Hyannis, MA 02601-1829, +1 508 418 5900
I know, “Whole Paycheck” and all that…but compared to going to a pizza joint, it’s really a bargain. Plus, you know they’re using the very best ingredients, from top to bottom.
Their pizza shows it, too. Essentially, you’re getting all the sophistication of the trendy places, with the prices of the neighborhood place (too bad that pricing doesn’t extend farther into the store!).
The crust is crisp, but chewy, with the occasional nice big, bubble. The toppings are plentiful and really imaginative. The use of premium meats, especially, makes a distinctive difference in bringing Whole Foods’ pizza efforts over the top.
Market Basket (Sagamore)
1 Factory Outlet Way, Bourne, MA 02561, United States, +1 508 833 7333
If you think this sounds like a supermarket, you are correct! Frankly, this is right up there with the best on this list. Fresh, cheap, and available by the pie or the HUGE slice, Market Basket pizza has it all. Shown in the photo is what they consider one slice – It’s so large, they cut it in half, with each half being, easily, as big as one slice from a standard pie.
This is no freezer-case pizza. I have personally seen the baker open a proofing drawer, pull out a puffy ball of dough, and whip up that pizza from start to finish.
The reason I used their pizza for the thumbnail of this article is to show you the great magnitude of the slice. Although it appears to be two, that’s actually considered one slice.
When you get to Market Basket’s pizza counter, choose from the featured slices of the day, tell how many you want, and they’ll ask if you want it heated. Each massive slice is placed in its own cute, little pizza box, and closed securely with the price sticker.
A healthy way to accompany your pizza is with a grab-n-go, fresh side salad, or a Bolthouse drink. They also have a cafe counter with all kinds of coffees, milkshakes, and smoothies, at amazingly cheap prices.
They have seating and a reasonably clean bathroom. They’re located right at the bridge; so you don’t have to shop for your vacation food supplies on an empty stomach. Market Basket may seem more expensive than your hometown store; but you’re in for sticker shock, if you wait until you’re further onto the Cape to grab your groceries. The prices only go up from there!
Back at the cafe counter, weary kids can enjoy a $1.99 soft serve ice cream on the way out.
Dollar Tree
500 Route 134, South Dennis, MA 02660
OK, a weird suggestion, I know. It is, however, worth knowing that you can buy good pizza components at Dollar Tree, and whip up pizza back at your cottage. This is a great thing to do on rainy nights, make pizza and play board games or cards. They have 12″ ready-crusts that are deliciously thin, and sell for much more at the supermarket. Get a can of pasta sauce. They even have the pan, although if you check your cottage’s kitchen, you’re likely to find cookie sheets, foil, and pan spray.
The Dollar Tree in Dennis has grated cheese. The one in Hyannis, however, does not (no refrigerated section in that store). If you shop at the Hyannis store, you’ll have to either pick up your cheese at a grocery store, or settle for bottled parm on your pizza. Ditto if you must have pepperoni; although I personally think their Summer Sausage, sliced thin, tastes really good on the pizza.
