Hot Rod Willy’s Pizza

From the The Veg California style pizza to the All Meat Chicago with Da Cheese option, they just always hit the mark, everything is packed with flavor and cooked perfectly. I'm almost always helped out by the owner and he is such a chill and inviting dude, has that family oriented local place vibe I love. They have a pizza style for everyone, but I think every style is for you, I can't imagine this place missing. The toppings are so fresh and the cheese is so melty, the crust is so complimentary to everything and the sauce is absolutely amazing. I've been here a multiple times now, every time I'm blown away by the flavors that come out of this place. Absolutely the best pizza I've had in Fresno, I like driving around California and trying out foods spots and honestly, I'm feeling it might be my favorite ever if not tied for 1st, but you can't beat the fair price and it being local to me here. This is the type of pizza spot I'll always love to go to, take my kids, and my grandkids when they're born in the distant future lol IT'S THAT GOOD 🔥🙏

Words cannot describe how overjoyed I am that not only does Fresno have someone making ACTUAL traditional Chicago deep dish pizza but the best I’ve had in California. The sauce and cheese ratio is just right. The sauce has that nice tomato tang to balance out the provolone cheese. Loved that the cheese wasn’t sweating out orange oil. Just beautiful cheese that stretches multiple arm lengths. I believe the owner told me they use provolone but I could be wrong. The pie crust texture was so satisfying, right about of buttery and bite. The owners, husband and wife, were knowledgeable and so personable. They told me they did so many versions of the pie before they found it fit to share with their customers. Thank you both for your passion for traditions, for the pie, and for choosing Fresno!

One bite was all it took, and now I am instantly hooked! This was my first time here, and it will now be my go-to pizza place! I absolutely love that this place is family ran and owned, and not some big corporate food chain. This place definitely has heart in what they do and it was so wonderful watching the kids work so hard creating this amazingly delicious food! I ordered the California 16" Pepperoni and Olive, and a side of garlic cheese bread...I was completely speechless! Everything about the pizza was MIND-BLOWING, the cheese was so thick and stringy, the sauce was perfection...as for the garlic cheese bread..WOW, mind-blowing as well and topped with tons of garlic chunks! I also loved how the tip jar was for the kids, and how the owner opened the boxes to show me my food upon handing it to me so that I can see everything was correct and just as I ordered. Lastly, the prices were great, very affordable and the food portions were not skimpy at all. I had asked the owner for some Parmesan cheese too, and the packets were set out to where you can actually take what you needed yourself...he actually said "take what you need"....I was instantly transported back to the "good ol days" when he said that...I mean, when do you ever hear those words nowadays, usually when you go out to eat, they only give you 2 packets of anything if you're lucky, and many times you have to pay for it and it's always kept behind the counter, away from customers. Needless to say, if you're in search of a new pizza place, this is the place to go!

Pizza was great. Got a Sicilian with white sauce, chicken and tomatoes, a Detroit with mozzarella, cheddar, pepperoni and garlic butter drizzle and a Chicago with pepperoni and da cheese. All three pizzas were fantastic. Definitely made with love. Customer service was great and the owner is awesome 😎. Will definitely be coming back whenever I'm in the area. Keep up the good work kind sir!!!

Hot rod Willy's Chicago style deep dish pizza is a must try. Get da cheese for the cheese pull it's fire. The staff is so friendly and inviting.pictured is Chicago style pepperoni, mushrooms, olives and bacon with da cheese 30.99. Also got their cheese garlic bread 4.99 so good. And wings 599 each order.

We wanted to give this place a try and we were not disappointed! We tried four different personal pizzas 🍕 to get a taste of them all. The sauce was sweet with an oregano scent. The dough had great flavor and chew. We had the California chicken garlic. The Chicago Hawaiian. The Sicilian with fresh mushrooms pepperoni and olive. The Detroit Spicy Hawaiian. Our family loved them all! Since they are in our neighborhood, we will be coming here more often. Thank you! 😊 Update: November 15, 2025… Had personal-sized Detroit Hawaiian… Sicilian Hot Hawaiian… Sicilian OMG with pepperoni and olive. 🫒 All three were fabulous!!! Adding the photos.

Lilly Anne

Tried Hot Rod Willy’s Pizza and loved it! I got the deep dish pizza, breadsticks, and BBQ wings. everything was delicious. The staff was super friendly, and the prices are a great deal for the quality and portions. Definitely coming back!

Reveline Bergquist

I finally got to try Hot Rod Willy's Pizza that was highly recommended by my co-worker who has a sophisticated palate. I had all meat deep dish pie (Chicago style) and the other was a veggie with added pep and sausage on thin med crust. (Cali style). They were onolicious!! (#1 and delicious). Surprisingly satisfied because I am normally a NY thin crust style kinda gal and for Fresno, they did not dissapoint. I too highly recommend and definitely coming back. Great job!

Andrew Duran

Ordered a Chicago Deep Dish with Pepperoni, Sausage and Mushrooms. Been meaning to try this place for a while now, but finally decided to go (from a little encouragement from TikTok). First of all, this place does NOT play when it comes to their cheese! As you can see in the pictures. The sauce was perfect, the dough was even better and it was cooked to absolute perfection. 10000000/10 will be returning at some point. Definitely a hidden gem for me. Go support!

Ryan Roberts

Sometimes I don’t want to give great reviews for great companies… I’d rather them stay low key to help avoid changes or it being so busy but HRWs got DA CHEESE!!! As a native Chi town boy now in the No I know Chicago style pizza and, this is the best you will get anywhere in the valley and likely in Cali. Don’t change HRWs!

Caleb Ryujitsu

I was looking for some deep dish pizza, it's really hard to find in Los Angeles and Fresno. I saw Hot Rod Willys had a deep dish and gave them a try! Ordering over the phone was easy and delightful. The woman who took my order is the wife of the family that runs this place. Its a family owned business and probably the reason it's so good. Lots of restaurants are corporate and the food is degraded in quality. NOT HERE!! The deep dish pizza we tried is called the Chicago style. It's about $24 per large. They might look small, but they are heavy and thick. Perfect!!! Two slices can fill anyone. Three slices if your a big eater. Me and my family loved all three variety we got. Chicken bacon ranch with extra topping - Garlic was my favorite from the three. Jalapeño Hawaiian was good if you like a little kick. Standard pep and sausage with veggies was also great. The dough not only holds up together well, it tastes good too. The cheese they use is real, it melts and you get that nice cheese string when taking a slice from the box. The filling is generous considering the size is a bit small, but it makes up for it with how thick the pizza is with all the fillings. Tasting very fresh and delicious. I would say it was so good, It's my number one deep dish pizza now. This includes being better than the places I've tried in Los Angeles!!! Huge!!! After Numero Uno closed down in Los Angeles there has never been a good deep dish place and I've tried a lot. I'm happy to say with Hot Rod Willys Pizza, I have found another place to get deep dish pizza and it be really really good, worth going back to. Highly recommend! If you get the chicken bacon ranch, add garlic it was like a mouthgasm!! Since they use fresh ingredients, even the simple real garlic flavor stood out a lot. I loved it. Thank you for the deep dish pizza!!! Customer for life!!!

Marc. Wise

Wow! This place is amazing. I cannot believe I’ve lived here for 20 years and did not know about it until I read it on a Facebook post. The outside is not very impressive and it is pretty small with very limited seating, but that is not what you are there for. First of all you choose from the style of pizza you want. They have Chicago deep dish, Sicilian style, Detroit style, California style, and calzone’s. The personal pizzas cost around $10 and the whole pies are 20 bucks and then you can add toppings for anywhere from $1.50 to $5.00. They do not skimp on the toppings or the cheese or anything. The sauce is phenomenal and the crust is perfect. We were there on Father’s Day Sunday and it looked like their whole family was in there working. Kids and everything. Everybody was very nice and helpful. I already can't wait to go back.

The Pickled Parlor

This pizza joint makes me want to open a pizza parlor and borrow his recipes :). It was really a great calzone and Chicago style pizza. The amount you get is way under priced. The owners are welcoming and really knew their stuff. I was going to take a star down for not having house made ranch but…. The pizza was great the way it was. They are expanding soon so the decor was missing some love. Definitely worth a try!

Tristen Myers

This place actually made me angry, not because there was any issues, but because of the lack OF. The food was amazing, decadently crunchy, flavorful Detroit style with a plentiful amount of a very, very tasty mix of cheese. The sauce was also nice, almost sweet, which gives a nice bite of flavor on top of everything else. Not only that, but they were kind enough to let me stay past closing to make sure they made my pizza as best as they could, absolutely class people, very friendly and very kind. If I lived near Fresno I’d eat here all the time, the other thing I’ll mention is they have great prices, it was 20$ for what felt like a 3-4 pound pizza, and I, a 250lb man who had been hiking for about 8 hours couldn’t finish it, as I was the leftovers right now I must say they are still highly enjoyable. Make sure to give them a stop, great stuff

Anita T

This place is so good. Best pizza I have had in a lone time. Everything is fresh & the staff is awesome. The Calazone can feed an army!

Hector Casanova

I ordered the 12 inch Deep dish pizza With spinach, sausage and cheese. This is the closest you gonna get to Chicago pizza. I give it an 8 out of 10. Only because you can't dine in and have a fresh there. Also, Fair price $28 for the pizza compared to what you would pay in chicago for $50 for that size pizza. I recommend everybody to go try it out. They have a good menu, to order other items of food.

Mandy Kirby

Omg! This spot is fabulous! Several different styles of pizza served here. All of the ingredients are fresh and the highest of quality. The Chicago style is on point with anything you find in the Windy City. Absolutely loved it! And the owner and his family are incredible, such great people!

Carlos Gamez-Martinez

From the The Veg California style pizza to the All Meat Chicago with Da Cheese option, they just always hit the mark, everything is packed with flavor and cooked perfectly. I'm almost always helped out by the owner and he is such a chill and inviting dude, has that family oriented local place vibe I love. They have a pizza style for everyone, but I think every style is for you, I can't imagine this place missing. The toppings are so fresh and the cheese is so melty, the crust is so complimentary to everything and the sauce is absolutely amazing. I've been here a multiple times now, every time I'm blown away by the flavors that come out of this place. Absolutely the best pizza I've had in Fresno, I like driving around California and trying out foods spots and honestly, I'm feeling it might be my favorite ever if not tied for 1st, but you can't beat the fair price and it being local to me here. This is the type of pizza spot I'll always love to go to, take my kids, and my grandkids when they're born in the distant future lol IT'S THAT GOOD 🔥🙏

Long Lai

Words cannot describe how overjoyed I am that not only does Fresno have someone making ACTUAL traditional Chicago deep dish pizza but the best I’ve had in California. The sauce and cheese ratio is just right. The sauce has that nice tomato tang to balance out the provolone cheese. Loved that the cheese wasn’t sweating out orange oil. Just beautiful cheese that stretches multiple arm lengths. I believe the owner told me they use provolone but I could be wrong. The pie crust texture was so satisfying, right about of buttery and bite. The owners, husband and wife, were knowledgeable and so personable. They told me they did so many versions of the pie before they found it fit to share with their customers. Thank you both for your passion for traditions, for the pie, and for choosing Fresno!

Ashley Matossian

One bite was all it took, and now I am instantly hooked! This was my first time here, and it will now be my go-to pizza place! I absolutely love that this place is family ran and owned, and not some big corporate food chain. This place definitely has heart in what they do and it was so wonderful watching the kids work so hard creating this amazingly delicious food! I ordered the California 16" Pepperoni and Olive, and a side of garlic cheese bread...I was completely speechless! Everything about the pizza was MIND-BLOWING, the cheese was so thick and stringy, the sauce was perfection...as for the garlic cheese bread..WOW, mind-blowing as well and topped with tons of garlic chunks! I also loved how the tip jar was for the kids, and how the owner opened the boxes to show me my food upon handing it to me so that I can see everything was correct and just as I ordered. Lastly, the prices were great, very affordable and the food portions were not skimpy at all. I had asked the owner for some Parmesan cheese too, and the packets were set out to where you can actually take what you needed yourself...he actually said "take what you need"....I was instantly transported back to the "good ol days" when he said that...I mean, when do you ever hear those words nowadays, usually when you go out to eat, they only give you 2 packets of anything if you're lucky, and many times you have to pay for it and it's always kept behind the counter, away from customers. Needless to say, if you're in search of a new pizza place, this is the place to go!

Sam Stancato

Pizza was great. Got a Sicilian with white sauce, chicken and tomatoes, a Detroit with mozzarella, cheddar, pepperoni and garlic butter drizzle and a Chicago with pepperoni and da cheese. All three pizzas were fantastic. Definitely made with love. Customer service was great and the owner is awesome 😎. Will definitely be coming back whenever I'm in the area. Keep up the good work kind sir!!!

Nathan Tamayo

Was feeling something different than the basic: Domino's, Pizza Hut, Little Ceasars. So this place came up. Gave a shot and let me sat BEST EFFIN DECISION EVER! I had Chicago style with mushrooms and sausage... let's just say delicious! I am a 280lb guy and I usually kill 4-5 slices of pizza but this on the other hand 1 slices and a couple bites of my wife's and I was DONE! Extremely filling and hands down the best pizza I've had in a very long time. Price was not bad I spent roughly $46 on 2 deep dish pizzas, 2 cheese bread. Service was great it looked like to me a family ran business very friendly non rushed. Definitely going to make the 25 mile drive to get pizza from here again!

If you’re looking for the absolute best pizza in the Central Valley, look no further than Hot Rod Willy’s. I’ve tried a lot of spots, but nothing else even comes close to the quality and flavor they’re putting out. The food is incredible, but the tremendous service is what really sets them apart. From the moment you walk in, the staff makes you feel like family—they are fast, friendly, and clearly take pride in what they do. The crust is perfect, the toppings are fresh, and the atmosphere is awesome. Whether you’re a local or just passing through, this place is a must-visit. Five stars all the way!

I got the chicago style cheese pizza with DA CHEESE. As a skinny girl one slice was enough for me 😭. But when i’m telling having the experience of trying Chicago style pizza in California, especially IN FRESNO. It’s amazing!! Thank you for the delicious pizza and a experience in fresno like no other!! 🫶🏼🫶🏼

My wife and I were pondering what to eat for dinner and behold Dale Yurong of ABC30's Dine and Dish featured Hot Rod Willys...specializing in Chicago Style, Detroit Style and Sicilian Style pizzas. Perfect! I hadn't had Chicago Deep dish in about 5 years. This pizza is fantastic. Excellent deep dish. I didn't get a chance to experience the atmosphere as I arrived for pickup just at closing.

I ordered the Chicago meat lovers. Heaviest pizza i ever carried. The ingredients were fresh, the sauce was perfect ,the crispy bottom made it easy to eat without a fork. Well worth every penny. I had two slices and was instant food coma. My pizza looked exactly like the reviews pics so I won't post any but this is my new spot from now on. Keep up the great work. The passion is THERE.

Mehak

I got the chicago style cheese pizza with DA CHEESE. As a skinny girl one slice was enough for me 😭. But when i’m telling having the experience of trying Chicago style pizza in California, especially IN FRESNO. It’s amazing!! Thank you for the delicious pizza and a experience in fresno like no other!! 🫶🏼🫶🏼

bryan iriye

If you’re looking for the absolute best pizza in the Central Valley, look no further than Hot Rod Willy’s. I’ve tried a lot of spots, but nothing else even comes close to the quality and flavor they’re putting out. The food is incredible, but the tremendous service is what really sets them apart. From the moment you walk in, the staff makes you feel like family—they are fast, friendly, and clearly take pride in what they do. The crust is perfect, the toppings are fresh, and the atmosphere is awesome. Whether you’re a local or just passing through, this place is a must-visit. Five stars all the way!

Louie Myers

My wife and I were pondering what to eat for dinner and behold Dale Yurong of ABC30's Dine and Dish featured Hot Rod Willys...specializing in Chicago Style, Detroit Style and Sicilian Style pizzas. Perfect! I hadn't had Chicago Deep dish in about 5 years. This pizza is fantastic. Excellent deep dish. I didn't get a chance to experience the atmosphere as I arrived for pickup just at closing.

Vino

I ordered the Chicago meat lovers. Heaviest pizza i ever carried. The ingredients were fresh, the sauce was perfect ,the crispy bottom made it easy to eat without a fork. Well worth every penny. I had two slices and was instant food coma. My pizza looked exactly like the reviews pics so I won't post any but this is my new spot from now on. Keep up the great work. The passion is THERE.