zpizza (with an intentional lowercase z) is a franchise based in Laguna Beach, that serves California-style pizza in locations all around the US, including two in Columbus — one in the Short North, one in Clintonville. Knowing that the Clintonville location is still somewhat new and busy, I stopped by the Short North location for dinner recently.
California-style pizza is somewhat similar to New York style pizza with thinner crusts and traditional ingredients (tomato or marinara sauce and mozzarella) as a base but the toppings are focused first and foremost on being healthy. zpizza’s sauces are organic, their meats are low-fat, and their veggies are fresh. Pizzas here can come with gluten-free crusts, and toppings can include artichoke hearts, avocado, pine nuts, roasted eggplant and more.
The Pear & Gorgonzola Salad ($6.50 small / $8.50 large) is a mix of greens, sliced pears, gorgonzola cheese, candied walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The salad was a bit heavy with walnuts, but they added a nice crunch and I like walnuts anyway, so no complaints there. The pear was cold and crisp and juicy. A nice mix of ingredients.
The Berkeley Vegan Pizza ($10.50 small / $17.50 large / $19.95 extra large) is a newer menu item that comes with marinara, vegan cheese, crumbled veggie burger, zucchini slices, tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers and mushrooms. At first glance and first bite, you’d hardly notice that you were eating a vegan pizza, which is good news for vegans and non-vegans alike. After closer examination, the vegan cheese had a noticeable gluey consistency that didn’t quite seem right. The veggie burger crumbles on the other hand were an excellent addition for being faux-meat, and complimented the traditional veggies quite well. If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, you’ll most likely love this pizza, along with several others on the menu that cater to your diet. If you’re a cheese eater, I don’t see any reason to opt out of real mozzarella.
To change things up, I tried the Meat Calzone ($6.95) which is filled with sausage, ricotta cheese and marinara sauce, and served with an additional side of marinara. The calzone was served piping hot, and the mix of fillings worked quite well together. The sausage was of a mild variety, the marinara was straightforward and the ricotta, while not my favorite cheese, added a nice smoothness mix without being overly gooey when melted like mozzarella. The Meat Calzone is one of the least healthy menu options at zpizza, clocking in at 760 calories, but the serving is quite large too, so you potentially have enough for two servings here if you’re ordering it with a dessert or side salad.
The Short North zpizza has a few unique dessert items including the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar ($1.99) which is fresh baked and gluten-free. This made for a nice small semi-sweet dessert, and definitely had a homemade flavor and freshness to it. It was a large portion for the price.
Overall, zpizza makes a solid addition both to the Short North neighborhood and to the Columbus pizza scene as a whole. It’s sometimes hard to find restaurants that focus on healthy menus that don’t also skimp on flavor, and it’s nice to see a place like zpizza thrive on that concept.
It’s also worth noting that the building that zpizza is located in is currently under construction (as you can see in the photo below), but the restaurant is open for business. It might be a little tough to spot while driving by due to the scaffolding, but you’ll be glad you stopped.
zpizza is located at 945 North High Street in the Short North. More information can be found online at stores.zpizza.com/columbus.
