aPizza Doho
Dana Point's best pizzeria serves maximalist New Haven-style pies and great Caesars
When Dana Point residents talk about their best pizza destinations, two names frequently rise to the top of their lists: aPizza Doho, opened in September 2022, and Truly Pizza, which followed in June 2023. While they serve such substantially different pizza crusts that we find them hard to compare in that regard, we strongly preferred everything about our experience at aPizza Doho, and unlike Truly Pizza, would unquestionably return again.
aPizza Doho takes its name from the way Connecticut residents say pizza: like “abeets,” derived from the Neapolitan term “la pizza.” While the pizzas here are described as being New Haven-style – a reference to regionally-famed Frank Pepe’s – anyone unfamiliar with those references might understand aPizza Doho’s pizzas as new wave Neapolitans: thin, lightly charred crusts with high-quality ingredients, applied not minimally in Neapolitan style, but rather with American maximalism.
aPizza Doho’s “more” approach becomes obvious from both the recipes and the execution of the normally 15-inch pizzas ($19 to $29 each). For example, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni aren’t enough for the “Original” – shredded hard, salty grana padano cheese is added on top with basil and the option of sausage. A Frank Pepe classic clam pizza, here called Littleneck, combines smoked mozzarella and sharp provolone cheeses with roasted garlic, clams, and a choice of white or red sauce. The Mia Mushroom ($26), offered optionally with proscuitto (+$4), similarly boasts two cheeses, mushrooms, truffled arugula, and white garlic sauce before you even get to the ham, which blankets the entire pizza to the point of falling off the edges.
We were thrilled by both the big and little details on those pizzas. Although we have loved pure, mimimalist Neapolitans at too many places to count, aPizza Doho’s approach is less about islands of cheese in San Marzano sauce lakes than layers of strong, complementary flavors competing for attention. As the photos above and below illustrate, there’s no skimping here.
Whereas San Diego’s New Haven-style pizzeria URBN underwhelms on clams, aPizza Doho’s Littleneck is loaded with them – still minced, but copious – to the point where every bite is garlicky, salty, cheesy, and olive oily. Similarly, what could have been a basic pepperoni pizza here benefits from the greater flavor and texture complexity of dual cheeses, and the mushroom pizza stacks enough prosciutto and arugula to guarantee that every bite has at least four unique elements before you get to the crust. While there’s no claim of coal in aPizza Doho’s oven, it’s appropriately lightly charred, alternatingly crispy and soft, and only occasionally undermined by excessive olive oil; this was our singular complaint, impacting only one of three pizzas.
Although aPizza Doho’s prices aren’t cheap, the consistently high ingredient quality and large pizza sizes make up for that; the lunchtime option of a $23 salad plus any house pizza at a smaller (but still substantial) 11-inch size is a comparatively excellent value. Their Caesar – a romaine and black kale salad with grana padano cheese and garlic breadcrumbs – is simply the finest version of this staple we’ve found anywhere in Orange County, with no need for the offered fresh grated black pepper to improve upon its flavor and textures. Combine that with a fresh house-made lemonade, a little hot honey dip, and some pizzas, and you’ll have an unforgettably excellent meal, notably including (unlike Truly Pizza) attentive, accommodating service. Our first meal here was memorably great, and we’re actively looking forward to returning for another in the future.
Stats
Price: $$
Service: Table
Open Since: 2022
Addresses
34255 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Dana Point, CA 92629
949.570.3636
Instagram: @apizzadoho