Come Hungry Because This Small California Shop Serves Giant 28-Inch Pizzas

featured image b96b53f02a8c 1ba2bc2c7590 - Decor Hint

Twenty-eight inches changes the rules. This is no longer “grab a slice and move on” territory.

The pizza lands like a centerpiece and whoever claimed they were not very hungry starts reconsidering that statement almost immediately.

California pizza lovers have plenty of oversized pies to chase, but this one turns sheer scale into the whole event.

Bring people. Serious people. The kind who will not abandon you halfway through and leave three feet of crust behind.

Fold the slice if you dare. Compare arm spans with the pie. Take the photo before somebody gets impatient and starts cutting.

The size gets the first laugh, but the real test comes after the novelty wears off.

Can a pizza this enormous still make everyone reach for another slice? That question is much more interesting than the diameter.

The Giant Pizza Really Does Stretch 28 Inches Across

Few menu items announce themselves quite like a pizza that measures nearly two-and-a-half feet wide.

The 28-inch thin-crust Giant Pizza is listed right on the current menu, and it is exactly what the name promises.

Ordering one is like planning an event, since the pie needs its own table space and several sets of hands to carry it. The kitchen appreciates advance notice for this size, which makes practical sense.

A pizza that large ties up oven space and prep time, so calling ahead helps the staff work it into the rhythm of a busy night.

Groups planning a birthday, a team dinner, or a family reunion may find it easier to coordinate when the restaurant knows the order is coming.

Thin crust is the style used for the giant version, which keeps the whole thing from becoming impossibly heavy.

Slices come out wide and flexible, the kind that call for a two-handed fold. Anyone expecting a novelty gimmick may be surprised by how normal it tastes, because it is built on the same dough and sauce used for the regular sizes.

Leftovers are almost guaranteed unless the group is genuinely large.

Bringing a cooler or asking for boxes ahead of time can save some awkward juggling in the parking lot afterward.

A Single-Location Family Business That Never Became A Chain

Plenty of long-running pizza shops eventually franchise out, and that path was never taken here.

Perry’s Pizza sits at 21411 Brookhurst St, Huntington Beach, CA 92646, operating as a single location owned and run by one family.

Everything happens under that one roof, which means decisions about recipes, hours, and menu changes stay in-house. Being independent shows up in small ways that regulars notice.

Menu items stick around for decades instead of rotating out for corporate promotions.

Staff members often stay long enough to recognize repeat customers, and the pace of service reflects a room where people know each other rather than a script.

The corner spot near Brookhurst Street and Hamilton Avenue puts it in a residential stretch of town rather than a tourist strip.

Free parking is available on site, and the surrounding shopping area includes other everyday errands, so a pizza run can fit into a normal afternoon. Weeknights tend to move at a steadier pace than weekends.

The restaurant currently opens at 11 a.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, closing at 10 p.m. daily, though hours can shift and a quick call is never a bad idea.

Pizza Making Here Goes All The Way Back To 1973

1973 was the starting line, and the ovens have not stopped since.

More than fifty years of continuous pizza making puts this shop among the older restaurants still operating in Orange County.

The fiftieth anniversary arrived in 2023, a milestone that very few independent pizzerias in Southern California ever reach.

Longevity like that usually comes from consistency rather than reinvention.

Customers who ate here as kids in the 1970s and 1980s can now bring their own children and order something recognizable.

Dough and sauce recipes have carried forward through ownership changes, which is a big part of why the food still tastes familiar to longtime visitors.

Half a century also means the restaurant has lived through several eras of dining trends without chasing them.

Delivery apps, food fads, and shifting neighborhoods came and went while the core menu held steady.

The result is a place that feels grounded rather than styled for social media.

Nostalgia clearly plays a role in the appeal, and the walls and atmosphere lean into that history without turning it into a theme.

First-time visitors may not feel the weight of the timeline, but they will notice a kitchen that has clearly repeated the same steps thousands of times.

That kind of muscle memory is hard to fake in a new restaurant.

The Owners Met Right Here Behind The Counter

Restaurant origin stories do not usually include a romance, but this one does.

One of the current owners was working at the shop back in the 1980s when the other began stopping in as a customer. Conversations turned into a relationship, and the two eventually married.

In 1996 the couple bought the business outright. Going from employee and regular to owners of the same restaurant is an unusual arc, and it explains the personal attachment that shows in how the place is run.

Nearly three decades of ownership have followed that purchase. Personal investment tends to show up in the details.

Recipes were preserved instead of streamlined, the single-location model was kept, and the restaurant expanded rather than relocating again when it needed more room.

Decisions like those usually come from people who plan to stay. Diners will not be handed the history at the table, and nobody makes a performance of it.

The story is simply part of the background, occasionally mentioned in interviews and anniversary posts.

Thick Sicilian-Style Squares Are The Other Signature

Headlines belong to the giant thin crust, but the thick rectangular pizza has its own loyal following.

Sicilian-style here means a taller crust cut into rounded squares, sturdy enough to hold up a heavy layer of cheese and toppings. It is thick without being greasy, which is a distinction regulars point out often.

The Los Angeles Times has referred to the Sicilian-style pepperoni pizza as one of the restaurant’s famous offerings.

Recognition from a paper of that size says something about how long the style has been part of the local conversation.

Choosing between the two crusts is the main decision at the table. Thin crust bakes up lighter and crisper, while the Sicilian delivers more bread and a chewier bite.

Groups sometimes order one of each to settle the debate, and that approach usually works better than arguing over it.

Portion size matters when planning. Sicilian squares fill people up faster than thin slices, so ordering a smaller pie than usual is a reasonable move.

Both styles come out of the same kitchen with the same house-made dough, so neither feels like an afterthought on the menu.

Dough, Sauces, Meatballs And Sausage Are Made On Site

Scratch cooking is easy to claim and harder to keep up for fifty years. Dough and sauces are made in-house, following recipes that have carried through decades of operation.

Meatballs and Italian sausage are also prepared on site rather than bought in finished form.

Making sausage internally gives the kitchen control over seasoning, which shows up on pies where sausage is a main topping.

Meatballs turn up in more than one place on the menu, including a meatball soup that regulars order frequently.

Consistency comes from repetition, and these are recipes that have been repeated a very long time.

Fresh dough also affects timing.

Pizzas are built to order, so a busy Friday night means the wait can stretch, especially for larger or thicker pies.

Beyond pizza, the menu covers pasta, sandwiches, salads, and appetizers, which helps when not everyone in the group wants the same thing. Garlic knots and cheesy garlic bread are common table additions.

The kitchen has handled enough special requests over the years to answer without much fuss.

Two Fresh-Baked Cookies Wrapped Around Vanilla Ice Cream

Dessert here has one clear showstopper, and it involves cookies straight from the oven.

Vanilla ice cream gets pressed between two freshly baked cookies to create a sandwich that is considerably bigger than anything from a freezer aisle.

Warm cookie against cold ice cream is the whole appeal, and it works.

Timing matters with a dessert like this. Ordering it near the end of the meal means it arrives while the cookies still have some softness, and eating it quickly is the only real strategy.

Sharing is a fair idea after a full pizza dinner. The sandwich is substantial enough that two people can split it comfortably, especially if the table already worked through a large pie.

Kids tend to gravitate toward it immediately. Cookie options at the shop include chocolate chip and white chocolate macadamia nut, so the base of the sandwich has some variety depending on what is available.

Anyone who plans to order dessert on a busy evening might mention it early, since fresh baking takes time.

A little patience pays off when the plate finally lands on the table.

Weekend Mornings Bring A Separate Breakfast Menu

Pancakes at a pizza place sound unlikely until the weekend rolls around. Saturday and Sunday mornings bring a separate breakfast and brunch menu, currently served from 9 a.m. to noon.

Doors open at 9 a.m. on both days to accommodate it.

Breakfast is a newer chapter for a restaurant that spent decades known almost entirely for pizza.

The morning crowd tends to be quieter than the dinner rush, with families and small groups filling tables at a relaxed pace.

Light through the windows makes the dining room feel noticeably different than it does at night.

Hash browns and pancakes come up frequently among weekend regulars, including banana pancakes for anyone who wants something sweeter.

Arriving early in the window helps. The three-hour service period means late arrivals around 11:30 may find a busier room and a shorter list of options.

Anyone hoping for pizza instead should note that the regular menu starts later in the day.

Weekend breakfast makes a reasonable stop before a morning at the beach, which sits just a short drive away.

Induction Into The Pizza Hall Of Fame

Industry recognition arrived in the form of a hall of fame nod.

The restaurant states it was inducted into PMQ Magazine’s Pizza Hall of Fame, an honor that comes from within the pizza trade rather than from general dining lists.

Peer recognition like that carries a different weight than popularity alone. Honors of this kind usually reward staying power and consistency.

A shop running since 1973 under a single roof, still making its own dough and sausage, fits that description closely. The award sits alongside decades of local familiarity rather than replacing it.

For visitors, the practical takeaway is simple. What draws people in is not a marketing campaign but a menu that has held its shape through relocation, expansion, and generational change.

Planning a first visit takes very little effort.

The restaurant sits at the Brookhurst and Hamilton corner with free parking, opens at 11 a.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. on weekends, and closes at 10 p.m. daily.

Hours and menu details can change, so a quick check before heading out is always worthwhile.

More to Explore