Buzzo

Dave Mitchell

Some of the best pizza I've ever had. Wood fired, classic thin, crispy crust...made and served by super friendly staff. We had a salad on the side which was also delicious and the gelato was the perfect dessert. Though we didn't have any apps, they looked tasty! Just go. You won't be disappointed... Update: Just had the Carbonara - the taste of the crust is exceptional and the topping ratio was perfect and delicious (leftovers made for an excellent breakfast topped with arugula and a poached edd 😋). We also had the crispy cauliflower which was super yummy. Honestly- this might be the best value in Santa Cruz.

C Insight

The five of us went there on a busy Saturday, July 20 for dinner. We loved the appetizers best. We had crispy vegetables, which we fried cauliflower, the burrito cheese, and the Caesar salad. All of them were surprisingly delicious with very distinct flavors. Then we had the mushroom pizza and the pepperoni pizza which were ok but did not compare to the appetizers. They only had ales and one pilsner as beer. Unfortunately no lager. We had one ale and one pilsner which were ok but not great. Our waitress, Julia, was very friendly and did a wonderful job. We will be back but more for the appetizers than the pizza.

Tyler Phillips

Buzzo exceeded our expectations! The atmosphere was inviting and cozy. The service was attentive and professional. And the food was absolutely terrific. We got a celery pear fennel salad that was crisp, fresh, flavorful, and perfect. We also ordered the squash delicatta pizza, and we were impressed. The wood-fired crust had just the right amount of chew, while staying perfectly soft inside and having excellent flavor. The sauce, squash, and bacon added richness and layers of flavor and individuality. Overall, this food was made with the highest quality and most flavorful ingredients, and an attention to detail that made the entire dining experience a pleasure. I highly recommend Buzzo Pizza; you will be happy you chose to visit.

Andrew Sutton

Amazing wood fired pizza joint in Soquel! Glad we finally tried this joint after typically driving across town to either Mentone or Bantam. My wife and I had the burrata with bread and the arancini for apps before enjoying the pepperoni pizza and zucchini pepperoni as we couldn’t settle on just one pizza. Glad we got both as both were super yummy, and we had leftovers to take home. Sitting inside was a good time as we could easily see the pizza being made and cooked, which just enhanced our time there. Great staff, too!

david spalding

Extremely flavorful pizza. Sauce had excellent balance of acidity and sweetness. Generous toppings. Server was very friendly and attentive. It was great to be able to see the cooks working their magic in the open kitchen.

Patrick Vuscan

Got two delicious pizzas, the burrata appetizer, and drinks! They’ve got a nice atmosphere/look, and our waiter Francisco was wonderful. Will come back :)

Joe Fabris

We’ve been waiting for Buzzo to open and we are so glad they have. We just had time for a Margherita Pizza and a Caesar Salad. The salad had a great dressing that covered the lettuce the way I like. The pizza had that great crust where you look forward to finishing the edge.

Excellent wood fired oven pizzas, great salads and nice atmosphere on their patio! They used to have fantastic arancini but have stopped offering this :(

Nice salads as well as variety of pizzas. We had the margarita and the sausage 12 inch pizzas easily enough for 4 people. Pizza was great and price was reasonable. Definitely will return.

Best pizza around! The pizzas are excellent, love the side vegetables and salads and the atmosphere is perfect - casual, but has an upscale feel

Huge delicious arugula salad with strawberries! Enough for 4! Service outstanding! Francisco our waiter very attentive! Good wine! Pizza Hot from the oven, so good! Our first time in this lovely garden setting! Will go back soon!

Food was amazing, restaurant was beautiful, staff was very nice. Ranks in my top three pizza places.

Linda C

Best pizza around! The pizzas are excellent, love the side vegetables and salads and the atmosphere is perfect - casual, but has an upscale feel

Kourosh Ghassemi

Excellent wood fired oven pizzas, great salads and nice atmosphere on their patio! They used to have fantastic arancini but have stopped offering this :(

John Pasquale

Nice salads as well as variety of pizzas. We had the margarita and the sausage 12 inch pizzas easily enough for 4 people. Pizza was great and price was reasonable. Definitely will return.

Michele Swanberg

Huge delicious arugula salad with strawberries! Enough for 4! Service outstanding! Francisco our waiter very attentive! Good wine! Pizza Hot from the oven, so good! Our first time in this lovely garden setting! Will go back soon!

Julie Cooper

One of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. We got the Caesar salad, meatballs, and pepperoni pizza. Everything was amazing. The service was also a 5/5. Will definitely be returning next time I am in the area.

As a family that truly loves Italian cuisine, we’ve visited countless Italian restaurants in various regions. Buzzo Wood Fired Pizza immediately impressed us with its modern, stylish interior and its open kitchen — a design choice that suggested both culinary transparency and a commitment to cleanliness. It set the stage for high expectations. Yet, upon entering, there was an inexplicable sense of unease. It’s hard to pinpoint whether it stemmed from the service itself or the overall atmosphere, but the warmth and friendliness we often appreciate in a dining experience felt somewhat absent. For our mains, we ordered The Charlie Pizza and The Jenkins Pizza. The Charlie Pizza was, unfortunately, far too salty. A touch of saltiness can enhance flavor, but in this case, it overpowered the dish and made it difficult to enjoy. The Jenkins Pizza, featuring jalapeños for a bit of spice, was fine but lacked any particularly memorable or distinctive character. The highlight of the meal, however, came in the form of the appetizer: Arancini. These crispy, golden risotto balls, served with a parmesan sauce and leek oil, were exceptional. The contrast of the crunchy exterior and creamy risotto center, paired with the rich and aromatic sauces, was superb — easily redeeming the shortcomings of the pizzas we ordered. In the end, Buzzo Wood Fired Pizza shows great potential, with a stylish setting and certain dishes that shine. A warmer, more welcoming service experience and better balance in the pizza seasoning could elevate it into a truly outstanding destination.

Really solid pizza. It was overall a great vibe, with a nice outdoor area. I had heard a lot of great things about Buzzo's before finally getting an opportunity to eat here, so was really hopeful. Definitely see why people like it! The crust is damn near perfect, and the arancini was wonderful. The better pizza was definitely the margherita. I had heard a lot about the potato pizza, but to me it just didn't really seem to work; there were so many ingredients and it just didn't meld well to me. Neither pizza had the marbling on the cheese I was hoping for, but definitely overall a really solid experience! Would come back for sure!

Nice, clean, ambient little restaurant. The meatballs were 10/10. They toasted the bread perfectly to go with it and the ricotta added on top was soo delicious! The arancini that people seemed to rage about wasn't really special to me personally. The filling was a bit bland and the sauce wasn't anything too crazy. Just your typical arancini. For this place being a pizza place, the pizza that we received was a 6/10 for me. The crust was spectacular. Very soft yet chewy, it felt like a warm mochi. The flavor was overall good but I don't like my pizza wet. The waitress was very sweet and nice. It was busy for a Thursday night. She came and checked up on us three times during their rush asking how everything is. The ambiance and service got me enjoying my stay here.

Very good overall. Pizza is consistently to my liking - thin bubbly crust, not too heavy on the toppings. If you love Oak & Rye, Del Poppolo, Manresa, Bantam then this is closer to those than not. Excellent Caesar salad, and the fried appetizer (usually green beans or cauliflower) is always spot on. I’m not huge on dessert, especially brownies, but the brown butter gelato, and the brownie a la mode, are worth eating. And the service is always friendly. February 2026 - still going strong. Caesar remains one of the best three in town. My new favorite pizza here is the Nduja; have had Nduja pizza elsewhere but the combination of the black olives and arrested onions works very very well.

Terry Sung

As a family that truly loves Italian cuisine, we’ve visited countless Italian restaurants in various regions. Buzzo Wood Fired Pizza immediately impressed us with its modern, stylish interior and its open kitchen — a design choice that suggested both culinary transparency and a commitment to cleanliness. It set the stage for high expectations. Yet, upon entering, there was an inexplicable sense of unease. It’s hard to pinpoint whether it stemmed from the service itself or the overall atmosphere, but the warmth and friendliness we often appreciate in a dining experience felt somewhat absent. For our mains, we ordered The Charlie Pizza and The Jenkins Pizza. The Charlie Pizza was, unfortunately, far too salty. A touch of saltiness can enhance flavor, but in this case, it overpowered the dish and made it difficult to enjoy. The Jenkins Pizza, featuring jalapeños for a bit of spice, was fine but lacked any particularly memorable or distinctive character. The highlight of the meal, however, came in the form of the appetizer: Arancini. These crispy, golden risotto balls, served with a parmesan sauce and leek oil, were exceptional. The contrast of the crunchy exterior and creamy risotto center, paired with the rich and aromatic sauces, was superb — easily redeeming the shortcomings of the pizzas we ordered. In the end, Buzzo Wood Fired Pizza shows great potential, with a stylish setting and certain dishes that shine. A warmer, more welcoming service experience and better balance in the pizza seasoning could elevate it into a truly outstanding destination.

Jake Byman

Really solid pizza. It was overall a great vibe, with a nice outdoor area. I had heard a lot of great things about Buzzo's before finally getting an opportunity to eat here, so was really hopeful. Definitely see why people like it! The crust is damn near perfect, and the arancini was wonderful. The better pizza was definitely the margherita. I had heard a lot about the potato pizza, but to me it just didn't really seem to work; there were so many ingredients and it just didn't meld well to me. Neither pizza had the marbling on the cheese I was hoping for, but definitely overall a really solid experience! Would come back for sure!

Einna

Nice, clean, ambient little restaurant. The meatballs were 10/10. They toasted the bread perfectly to go with it and the ricotta added on top was soo delicious! The arancini that people seemed to rage about wasn't really special to me personally. The filling was a bit bland and the sauce wasn't anything too crazy. Just your typical arancini. For this place being a pizza place, the pizza that we received was a 6/10 for me. The crust was spectacular. Very soft yet chewy, it felt like a warm mochi. The flavor was overall good but I don't like my pizza wet. The waitress was very sweet and nice. It was busy for a Thursday night. She came and checked up on us three times during their rush asking how everything is. The ambiance and service got me enjoying my stay here.

Porschephilia

Very good overall. Pizza is consistently to my liking - thin bubbly crust, not too heavy on the toppings. If you love Oak & Rye, Del Poppolo, Manresa, Bantam then this is closer to those than not. Excellent Caesar salad, and the fried appetizer (usually green beans or cauliflower) is always spot on. I’m not huge on dessert, especially brownies, but the brown butter gelato, and the brownie a la mode, are worth eating. And the service is always friendly.

Jack Hanson

This is a wonderful pizza place with a unique menu. The potato pizza is actually quite good! I have never heard of that before coming here. Their Mushroom pizza is very good. Their artichoke hearts are also phenomenal. Their pizza is cooked in a wood fired oven from what I can tell and the crust is thin and crispy. Their Caesar salad is great as well. I was very happy with the food they served my family and I.

Recent visited - first and only time there. The atmosphere wasn't particularly nice, but that may be because we were seated at what's probably the worst seat in the house - right next to the entry way at the bar, right next to the bathrooms, and right next to the access way to the kitchen/behind the bar. The pizza was good - the crust was nice and chewy, but if you're not into white sauce or pineapple the selection becomes somewhat limited. I had the Nduja, which was good. The vegetarian person in my party had the Margherita since it's the only red sauce vegetarian pizza without pineapple - it was okay, but we've had much better elsewhere.

Mike Delorme

Recent visited - first and only time there. The atmosphere wasn't particularly nice, but that may be because we were seated at what's probably the worst seat in the house - right next to the entry way at the bar, right next to the bathrooms, and right next to the access way to the kitchen/behind the bar. The pizza was good - the crust was nice and chewy, but if you're not into white sauce or pineapple the selection becomes somewhat limited. I had the Nduja, which was good. The vegetarian person in my party had the Margherita since it's the only red sauce vegetarian pizza without pineapple - it was okay, but we've had much better elsewhere.

Waiter was excellent. Atmosphere too. Pizza was very spare with toppings. Crust was cooked, but only crisp on the outermost edge, otherwise unusually limp…almost wet. Caesar salad was gooey. Rita choices….ultra sweet but waiter brought extra lemon juice (nice). Olives were good. Meatballs very good. So much room for improvement on this simple, but very hard-to-interpret menu. And pretty pricey!

marilyn hoyt

Waiter was excellent. Atmosphere too. Pizza was very spare with toppings. Crust was cooked, but only crisp on the outermost edge, otherwise unusually limp…almost wet. Caesar salad was gooey. Rita choices….ultra sweet but waiter brought extra lemon juice (nice). Olives were good. Meatballs very good. So much room for improvement on this simple, but very hard-to-interpret menu. And pretty pricey!