Now Lurking at in Another Restaurant, for Some Reason

I love Donatos Pizza. I am not a paid shill for them, and this isn’t some weird sponsorship thing. I just really like their thin crust, square sliced pizza. I was introduced to them in Indianapolis, when I lived there, and there were plenty of Donatos stores around the city. But since moving away I haven’t been able to have them, having to settle for Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, or other chains that, honestly, I just don’t like as much. We all have those places that we jive with, the ones where the good strikes our fancy perfectly, and when it comes to chain restaurant pizza, Donatos was my place.

Recently I went out to dinner with family and they wanted something generally appealing, not too expensive, and fairly safe to eat at for those with dietary restrictions (such as gluten issues). They made the choice to go to Red Robin, an okay-ish burger chain that has decent food but, honestly, always seems overpriced for the kinds of stuff they have on offer. Their food isn’t that different from Steak and Shake, for example but their prices are easily doubled. Still, for the sake of family you go where they want, so we did. And that was when I made a weird discovery.

Red Robin has Donatos pizza. For whatever reason, when you’re eating at Red Robin you can order Donatos pizza to the table as well. They offer it as an entree, but also as an appetizer, and it’s the same pizza you’d expect to get if you went to a Donatos stand-alone store and got the pizza from there. Naturally, being a fan of Donatos, and also because my family hadn’t ever had their pizza before, I got a pie for the table and… yeah. It was great. It was weird getting it at Red Robin, but it was great. And since I got a regular pie, and my wife got the gluten free, it seems like as good a time as any to do a proper review for Donatos (with or without the Red Robin connection).

For those in the know, Donatos is famous for their hand tossed, thin crust pizza, which is then cut into rectangular slices. Their pies aren’t fancy, and especially if you’re getting it at a Red Robin, the menu is a tad limited. You have the expected specialties, like a Works, Serious Meat, Hot Honey Pepperoni, and Veggie, although there’s also the simple and traditional Cheese and Pepperoni options as well. If you know a normal chain will have it you can expect similar from Donatos.

Despite coming from inside a Red Robin, the pizza was just as I remembered it. The crust was soft, not crispy, but in a good way. It wasn’t doughy or chewy, but it wasn’t so thin and overcooked that it was like eating a cracker. It had the right give, but enough body to hold up. Normally I don’t like thin crust pizza because it’s too crunchy, but Donatos crust is just right. It’s hand tossed without too much flop (although that could be because of the square cuts which make for smaller, less bendy, slices of pie).

The toppings are well seasoned and very tasty. I went with the basic pepperoni because that’s what I first got at Donatos and, I figured, for a table that had never had that pizza before you go with something safe and traditional. But it also helps that Donatos pepperoni is very tasty. It’s well seasoned, with a nice blend of herbs and spices, and not too greasy. Some pepperoni pizzas can swim in grease, but I didn’t have that problem here (and, honestly, have never noticed huge pools of grease on my Donatos before). It was really good.

Of note, my wife’s gluten free was also a pepperoni. She raved about it, saying (as I had been) that it was just as good as she remembered. I tried a slice (with her permission, of course) and I had to agree. While you could tell the crust was slightly different from the normal, gluten-full version of the crust, it wasn’t bad. Maybe it was a little firmer, maybe tasting slightly more floury, but I think if you didn’t know it was gluten free you likely wouldn’t even think about it. It was pretty darn close, and probably the best gluten free crust I’ve had before. She loved it and already wants to go back.

Honestly, my whole family loved it. They all enjoyed the bit they sampled from the appetizer pizza, and more than one family member commented that they didn’t think they’d get burgers again from Red Robin so long as Donatos was there as well. The pizza was better than anything else they sampled from the restaurant, and considering they really liked Red Robin anyway, that does seem like high praise.

Of course, since this is a pizza option that’s being served as part of a larger restaurant, some of the traditional Donatos fare is unavailable. If you wanted to get their side salads, wings, or breadsticks you won’t be able to get that at the Red Robin version. Red Robin has their own salads, their own wings, and I’m not even sure if they have breadsticks, but you won’t be able to get the Donatos version as it’s only the pizzas that are available through the larger store, not anything else.

On the other hand, it is kind of cool being able to go to a burger joint and also get a pizza as well. It adds variety and gives more options for anyone picky at the table. Along with the appetizer pizza I also got a Bacon ‘n Bleu burger (bacon, caramelized onions, blue cheese crumbles, Swiss cheese) and it was pretty good. Not as good as the pizza, I will admit, but then I’m also not the Red Robin fan in the family so I expected as much. The star of the show for the table was the pizza, and there’s no question about that.

So yeah, Donatos is just as good as I remembered. It’s a little weird to realize they’re now a fixture at Red Robin and, seemingly more often than not, that might be the only way to get them now. But hey, their pizza is great and if I have to get them from Red Robin that’s still better than not being able to get them at all. Any Donatos is better than no Donatos, especially for this fan.