Mr. Moto Pizza
After a decade of expansion in San Diego, this NY-style slice pizza chain opened multiple OC locations
Authentically greasy and soggy New York-style pizza slices were never top-tier in our pizza rankings, but crispier versions recently brought into Orange County by chains including Slice House and Prince St. Pizza have won our repeat patronage and respect. Now they’ve been joined by San Diego-based chain Mr. Moto Pizza, which opened its first OC locations in Irvine and Orange during the final months of 2025, and instantly vaulted up our list of best NY-style slice options.
Mr. Moto’s individual slices range in price from $5 to $6, with around a dozen different options to choose from at any time, plus pizza-like garlic knots ($2 each) and stuffed knots ($3.75 each). Full 15″ and 18″ pizzas include cheese and sauce for $21 or $23, with each build-it-yourself topping adding $1.50 to $2.50, and complete specialty pizzas (white pies/red pies) going for $25 to $32. Additional savory options include salads ($11), pastas ($13), calzones ($17), strombolis ($23), and seemingly baked chicken wings ($12/6, $20/12) with Buffalo or BBQ sauces. Bottled drinks, fountain sodas, and individually packaged desserts such as cannolis, bundt cakes, and cheesecakes are also available for $4 each.
As the chain is regionally famous for its pizzas and its knots, we sampled both on our first visit, and were seriously impressed by their flavors, textures, and in some cases even their presentation. Though slices are delivered in mini pizza boxes, the $6 Piece of Art was actually decorated with streaks of sweet spicy honey and salty grated parmesan, building on oven-reheated milky burrata, charred pepperoni, and basil leaves. Despite all these ingredients, the slice remained just crispy enough on bottom to stay flat, and just pliable enough to fold without shattering. The same was true of Extra Virgin ($5), essentially an upgraded margherita with pesto and parmesan, which packed plenty of rich, umami flavor for a vegetarian slice.
We also enjoyed the meat-overloaded slice called The Hulk ($5), which combined enough thin-sliced ham, bacon, pepperoni, sausage, and cheese to soften the crust below – the only one that sagged, though thankfully without excessive grease. Similarly, our stuffed knot came coated in minced garlic and parsley, filled with a small but reasonable quantity of pepperoni, jalapeno slices, and mozzarella, and just warm enough to avoid feeling hot to the touch. As garlic bread fans, the heavy garlic, soft dough, and nice flavors inside made this certainly worth ordering; a vegetarian version with ricotta and spinach is also available.
Beyond Mr. Moto’s static menu of 11 pizzas, one recipe changes every two months, providing an extra incentive to return and try something new – potentially quite compelling given the chain’s list of prior pizzas of the month, which look likely to go beyond Slice House’s rotating recipes into the more experimental territory of Sugo. After enjoying everything we ordered on our first visit, we’re absolutely certain that we’ll return for more, likely including additional pizza flavors, quite possibly the wings, and hopefully at least one of the desserts. We’ll update this article with additional details when we have more to share.
Stats
Price: $-$$
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2015 (SD), 2025 (OC)
Addresses
17925 MacArthur Blvd.
Irvine, CA 92614
949.988.3380
2202 N. Tustin St. Suite C
Orange, CA 92865
Multiple locations in San Diego County
Instagram: @mrmotopizza