Ordering pizza is often associated with a meal of last resort. Maybe you need to feed twenty screaming kids for your child’s birthday party, or you don’t have time to cook and want something cheap. Pizza often fits the bill.
If you want to make pizza into a truly classy and delicious experience, though, the East Bay has some great options.
My favorite pizza place in San Ramon, California is Delarosa pizza in City Center Bishop Ranch. I lived in San Ramon for three years, so I got to eat at Delarosa on the same day it opened. I still go there at least twice a month.
San Ramon’s Best Pizza
Delarosa is a large and upscale pizza place at City Center Bishop Ranch. This isn’t a greasy corner-store pizza joint like you’d find on the East Coast. (Although I love those kinds of places too.)
Delarosa serves Roman-style pizza. That means their pizzas have thin crusts, bubbly dough, and lots of fresh ingredients.
One of my favorite pizzas at Delarosa is a pie that features prosciutto, shaved Parmesan cheese, and greens. I like to add red sauce to it, cause it otherwise comes as a white pizza.
Another great option is Delarosa’s spicy pizza. It features hot salami, coppa, marinara, diavolicchio, and definitely had a kick to it.
My Favorite Pizzas at Delarosa
Here are my favorite pies:
- Proscuitto di parma pizza, but with marinara sauce added
- Hot salami pizza
- The plain margarita. I don’t like the burrata one because the cheese is too runny.
Sides and Other Menu Items
In addition to the pizzas, Delarosa has some great sides and other items on their menu. I especially like their bruschetta, which includes cheese, hazelnuts and honey. It’s a far cry from the normal slices of bread topped with a bit of tomato!
The meatballs are great too. Delarosa has some tasty kids meals as well. My kids love their buttered noodles.
If you don’t feel like having pizza, Delarosa also has some good entrées. Many of their pasta dishes are scratch-made, which means delicious and fresh noodles topped with things like a hearty meat sauce.
I like their pappardelle, and their pumpkin ravioli is a great seasonal choice if you’re in the mood for some pumpkin awesomeness. Their normal ravioli is tasty, too.
Wine and Drinks at Delarosa
Delarosa has a full bar to complement the pizzas you’ll get there. Pairing beer or wine with pizza is one of the best combos in the world, and Delarosa can deliver.
One annoyance is that they clearly want you to order alcohol. Their soft drinks cost as much as five dollars for a can of soda, which is a little silly. I’d like to see some cheaper offerings for people who want a Diet Coke with their pie and don’t want to pay a fortune for it.
That said, if you want to sit at the fancy bar area’s high-top tables and have a pizza and a cocktail, Delarosa can deliver that very nicely.
Ambiance and Atmosphere
Delarosa has a cool interior that brings forward the Roman theme. You’ll find lots of Vespas, black-and-white photographs, and a lively white and orange color scheme.
Delarosa has long communal tables, high-top tables in the bar area, and more traditional tables towards the back of the restaurant. They also have a nice outdoor seating area.
One of the best ways to enjoy Delarosa, though, is to take your pizza to go and have a picnic on the large lawn area at City Center. The kids can run around while you eat, and it’s a protected area that is sheltered from the wind and secure.
When the restaurant first opened, they seemed to have no desire to serve kids. They weren’t high chairs, good changing facilities, or even a kid’s menu.
Now Delarosa has clearly wised up and realized that a pizza place needs to be family-friendly. Again, they offer some great kids’ meals. You can also get a basic pizza with marinara sauce and traditional cheese if your kids aren’t into fancy Roman food!
Takeaways
Delarosa isn’t cheap. You’ll pay as much as $21 for some of their pizzas. If you want fancy and delicious pizza meal in San Ramon, though, Delarosa can’t be beaten.
My favorite way to enjoy their food is to get a couple of pizzas to go, grab some cheaper sodas from Mendocino Farms next door, and have a picnic on City Center’s sprawling central lawn.
When we’re done eating a pizza, my family heads over to Geo Gelati to continue the Italian theme with some gelato. It makes a great outing–combined with the Italian styling of City Center, which was designed by the architect Renzo Piano, you’ll feel transported to Rome.
