When the signage for Papa Murphy’s went up, people started getting excited. I wasn’t too excited because I figured it was just another pizza place (just what Santa Clarita needs). When I asked a friend what all the excitement was about, she explained that it was a make your own pizza place, which I took to mean it was like Pieology, Pizza Rev, etc. Then she explained that you actually took it home and baked it…okay…so basically like Nick-N-Willy’s and the grocery store. That was essentially my attitude before even walking in.

I took one for the team and headed over to Papa Murphy’s to pick up a pizza. I don’t cook much at home, but how hard can it be to bake a pizza, right? My original intention was to get one pizza and be on my way, but they had a sign advertising a text special where if you signed up for alerts you could get a free pizza. Not sure how that worked out exactly, but I ended up paying only about $10 for two big pizzas!
So the layout is similar to the Pieology/Pizza Rev/Project Pie business model, where you either order from the menu board or make your own by choosing your ingredients. One of the biggest complaints I have been hearing is that they pile the ingredients too thick instead of evenly distributing the toppings, and the pizza therefore doesn’t end up baking all the way through in certain areas. I didn’t see this problem at all. Every single ingredient was evenly distributed and (spoiler alert) the pizza didn’t have any undercooked areas after I baked it.

I ordered a plain pepperoni (which I gave to a friend) but for our dinner I ordered the angus steak with creamy garlic sauce, roasted garlic, mushrooms, green onions and parmesan. Soon I was on my way out the door with two big pizzas, wrapped with instructions, 15 minutes at 425°. My ordering experience was pretty smooth because I was the only customer, but on busy days the wait can get long as orders pile up. You can place your order online for pick up, but even then you might be stuck waiting if it’s busy.

Papa Murphy prides itself on the freshness and quality of their pizzas. They make their dough fresh daily (and indeed they have a huge mixer in plain view), they use 100% whole milk mozzarella, and hand slice their veggies daily.

When I walked into Papa Murphy’s, I wasn’t expecting much, but honestly? It wasn’t bad. Yes, people will say you can just make your own dough, and that it takes 5 minutes to prepare your own pizza at home and talk about the wonders of a pizza stone. Yes. I get it. But not everyone has the luxury of time, and if it makes someone feel like they are making dinner for their family by baking one of these, then good for them. Papa Murphy’s works for some people, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The quality is much better than typical delivery options in town and it only takes 15 minutes to bake. I’m not sure when I’ll be back to Papa Murphy’s, but I definitely have a new perspective on it.

Papa Murphy’s is located at 26583 Golden Valley Road in Canyon Country (only a few doors down from Starbucks). Think of the general area near Rattler’s.