Breakfast Menu "Pizza John's" Essex
Roomy long-running (since 1966) stop for pizza, pasta, subs & other Italian fare, plus beer & wine.
Pizza John's, 113 Back River Neck Rd, Essex, MD 21221
Photos
All
Latest
Videos
Menu
Food & drink
Vibe
Take-out
cheese pizza
Pizza
Chicken Wings
Juice
Street View & 360°
Services
Service options
Highlights
Popular for
Accessibility
Offerings
Dining options
Amenities
Atmosphere
Crowd
Planning
Payments
Children
User Reviews
Pizza Johns has the best Pizza in Maryland. It is fresh with the perfect amount of ingredients. The pepperoni are abundant, little saucers throughout. Plenty of mozzarella that covers the whole pizza. The sauce is tomatoes and the right amount of spices and the crust is cooked just right. The restaurant is for family fun. You order your pizza and when your number is called you pick it up at the counter. They have lots of other foods as well, subs, pasta, wings and the best old style crinkle fries. You can’t go wrong. We’ve been going there for 30 years. Family owned and Not Papa Johns! Day and night! It is the best!! Oh great meatballs and sausage!!
I ❤❤❤ Pizza John's. Great food and friendly employees. Their meat lovers pizza is my favorite thing to order. You can eat in or carry out. The place is clean and has plenty of seating.
A classic Italian-American pizza spot that is family operated offering great service and great pizza. The ordering counter system is efficient and I was happy that one can buy a single slice, which is great way to rest out a spot. I ordered the classic cheese, the sauce was great and the crust was nice ( best time I’ll request it “well-done”) it’s heavy on the cheese, so that will make many happy. This place is classic and I recommend it. The restaurant is big and perfect for large groups.
Oh man, did this live up to the hype. It's hard to find genuinely good pizza in this area, especially Glen Burnie. We heard about this restaurant and it was well worth the drive. This is a big operation, popular, and delivers across the country for a reason -- it's the real deal. There's plenty of dining space and very sweet and attentive staff to assist you at your table if needed. Everything was quickly made and tasted amazing, especially the wings. The pizza was just perfect and every one we saw at other tables looked fantastic. You can't go wrong with whatever you get. We didn't get dessert, but it was so very tempting.
Quick and friendly service the pizza had a great flavor affordable quality
The pizza was awesome. We live 3 1/2 hours away so it’s a treat when we come down to get the awesome pizza. The staff is always very friendly. Highly recommended!
I went for a kid’s bday party and left feeling pizza John’s lived up to its reputation. When I told a neighbor I was going there for the first time, she raved about food, the history, and even the rapid fire ordering at the counter. The pizza was good with tiny, crispy pepperonis and the white pizza was damn tasty too. I gotta say though, those hot wings are outstanding. I am iffy on wings sometimes and they have to be a certain kind of way to enjoy them. These were super meaty and I believe lightly breaded to give a perfect crisp out the outside. Also, the real bleu cheese with bleu cheese chunks 🙌🏻 I randomly bumped into another woman who was visiting from our home state NJ and we agreed the pizza was acceptable, which is saying a lot haha the restaurant was packed and I am glad a long-standing local gem is still flourishing after all these years
TLDR: A pizza institution for Baltimore natives. Dine in for the retro pizza parlor experience. Come for the infamous pepperoni cups pizza, bored out on heel meatball subs and overloaded cheesesteaks. Vibe: 5/5. Pizza Johns has been a staple in the pizza scene since the 60s. Over the years they have expanded their storefront from a small takeout shack, all the way to the giant multi room indoor dining and takeout behemoth that stands on Back River Neck road today. This place gets busy, but fortunately they have fine tuned their facilities over the years to successfully accommodate the demand. When you pull up to the building, you are greeted by the classic American Italian restaurant decor, complete with the huge Pizza John statue standing front and center at the driveway entrance. Parking at Pizza Johns is great, as they have numerous parking spots running the length of both sides of the restaurant as well as additional parking in the rear. There are several entrances to the restaurant, but once inside it is very easy to navigate to the ordering counter. Regardless if you are dining in or out, you must order at the counter and pickup your order at the right side of the registers. Again, Pizza Johns has evolved to their local demand, so it's not uncommon to see 4-5 registers ready to take orders to keep the line rolling. If dining in, you will see that the inside is broken up into several dining rooms, most of which are booth seating. These retro red vinyl red booths are oversized and can easily fit 4-6 hungry guests. In the farthest adjacent dining room, there are several 4 tops that can be pushed together for larger groups upon request. Seating is first come first serve, so it's wise to divide and conquer by having one person wait in line to order and another to be scouting out an open table. Service: 5/5. The staff at Pizza Johns have always been extremely friendly, helpful and professional during my several visits. When placing both phone and in person orders, the counter workers are always clear and concise, ensuring our order is correct. When dining in, the dining room attendants do a great job at keeping tables bused and check up on us periodically. This is above and beyond considering they are not true waiters that are being tipped. Food: 5/5. Growing up in the area, I have dined at Pizza Johns on dozens of occasions over the years. From pizza in highschool to gnocchi in my 30s, I never had an item that wasn't delicious. However, there are a few items I find myself ordering time and time again due to their tasty excellence. The first item, which has also gained a cult following is the Pizza Johns pepperoni pizza. The pizza has a slightly spicy tomato sauce that plays nicely with the generous amounts of cheese. The signature Pizza Johns crust has a braided rope-like pattern that has the right amount of crunch. All of these components make for a superlative pie, however the Pizza John pepperoni's take it to the next level. They use tiny, thin cut ronis that crisp up in the oven to form delectable little grease cups that crunch upon chewing. Truly a topping that elevates the pizza to the next level. Moving away from pizza, Pizza Johns is also known for their best in class subs. Starting with in house fresh baked rolls, all subs are overstuffed and constructed with care so each bite is perfect. Of the entire sub menu, the standouts happen to be the cheesesteaks and the meatball sub. The cheesesteaks use fresh shaved ribeye and are served overflowing with tender, paper thin meat. For the meatball sub, they use only the heels of their sub rolls and bore out the centers in order to insert the meatballs, cheese and sauce directly in the center. This unique approach creates a pocket full of amazing marinara and homemade meatball flavor in every bite. You truly can't go wrong with either of these and I highly recommend trying both if possible!