Review of California Pizza Kitchen

Great pizza, great experience!

I spoke with the manager on the phone before eating here, and she told me they have a separate area in the kitchen for preparing their CERTIFIED gluten free pizzas, and extensive procedures in place to prevent cross contamination (approved by the Gluten Intolerance Group, no less!), including changing gloves and using separate utensils. I asked for the manager when I got there, and she let our server know I have a gluten allergy. There are 5 different pizzas on the certified gf menu, and I felt pretty darn safe selecting from one of these.

IMPORTANT: As far as I know the gf pizzas are ONLY gf if you order off the certified gf menu, and don't ask for any substitutions or additions. For example, if you ask for additional toppings, they would likely have to get them from the main part of the kitchen, so the pizza would no longer be considered gf. Also, keep in mind that everything marked gf on the regular menu only contains "no gluten ingredients," so ordering off the regular menu could be risky if you have celiac or gluten intolerance.

Now for the fun part! The manager herself brought our pizzas out, and they had a little flag in them that said Gluten Free. I had the Margherita pizza. The cauliflower crust was thin and crispy with a pleasant chew, just like regular thin crust pizza. Came out piping hot with deliciously gooey cheese! It was honestly better than a lot of regular pizzas I've had before I was diagnosed, and I felt great afterwards!

Celiac friendly?

Yes