Big Pete’s Pizzeria

I feel like this place is a bit overrated. It is decent food, but live from New York pizza is better. I’ve only had the pizza at Pete’s, but I hear the other food is good. Check it out. It’s not for everyone. Nice staff. Sports bar.

Couldn’t get past the pathetic customer service… no kidding, we were the only ones in the restaurant and stood at the register for ages and ages with no «hey or I’ll be right with ya» and continued to watch the chit chat and joking around and finally a girl got off the phone and asked with a snotty smirk… whatta you want?
Ugh! I couldn’t take it, just walked out.

Second best pizza in Humboldt County (after Paul’s). Good thin crust and loaded with flavor. Good friendly service. Love the hot wing pizza. Love the college town atmosphere. Stoners serving stoners? What’s the complaint?

They have Sierra Nevada signs everywhere, but no Sierra Nevada to be found. Oh and the pizza wasn’t that good and a little expensive. Good location though!

«Well, we can all thank those ass clowns for ruining a family tradition”-My husband, on eating at Big Pete’s tonight.
We stop here on every coast trip we make from Redding.
Here’s the skinny:
They just aren’t very nice. Like at all. In fact, I think they hate their jobs. For Pete’s sake (ha…pun intended) try to be cool with the patrons. Just smile and be pleasant. You work in an awesome pizzeria. You get to listen to pretty good music at work. You probably get to drink beer on tap too. You’re like, 22 and have your whole life ahead of you to hate people.
But we go anyway because the pizza is USUALLY good. USUALLY really good. The pizza by the slice options are USUALLY great and USUALLY include vegetarian, gf and vegan options as well. USUALLY. But not tonight. Not on a Saturday at 5:45 pm. Nope. One might think they would have a good selection on a Saturday at 5:45 pm. One would think they would even have garlic knots. But no. Just unfriendly and curt service and really bad pizza tonight.
I’m sad to say goodbye.

I have never in my life experienced so much consistent disappointment in pizza than i have at Big Pete’s. I ordered a pizza with EXTRA mozzarella cheese and asiago cheese because there is never enough cheese on their pizza, and i can STILL see through to the crust on almost the entire pizza. When i pay $ 3.75 for extra cheese i want an obscene amount of cheese, not an extra pinch! Get it together Big Pete’s! Best location in Arcata, worst pizza in Arcata. So sad.

Pizza is just okay, eaten here a few times now — it’s better than some but definitely not as good as others — from our most recent experience: A good crust with lots of flavor and not overly hard or chewy dough with nice charring on the bottom and crisp edges.
However, the veggies were not cooked (way under cooked almost still raw); the thin sliced tomatoes were barely warm at best and the broccoli still hard (signs of a not hot enough oven — yikes) and this particular pizza was way over done with whole garlic cloves. We like garlic but good lord! There was conservatively two whole bulbs of garlic cloves on this pie — so much in fact that we picked most of it off and still had plenty to go over the entire pizza. The chicken as well, was way overcooked — dry and very tough — not a pleasant eating/​dining experience combined with the over applied garlic and under-​cooked vegetables.
We called in to Big Pete’s for delivery, which they do not start until 5pm. calling shortly after 5pm (about 4 – 5 minutes) ordering was easy enough — quoted 45 minutes + and it took a solid hour to get to us about 3 miles away (in hind sight it would have most likely been quicker and definitely cheaper to pick it up) this was not a friday or saturday evening or a sunday sports day — where you might expect a longer delivery time but we called at 5pm on a monday… the delivery was okay when it got here. But when you are paying in excess of $ 30 bucks for a pizza plus a driver tip, you hope for and expect a bit more.
Again, the crust is what makes this pie — otherwise it’s just an average pizza, and sadly based on other reviews we have to assume that you get different quality service depending on if you dine in or call for delivery…
2.5 stars — average — rounded up for local support.
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I like Big Pete’s, they do things for the community, etc., but sometimes the service is a bit marginal. I ordered a medium pizza tonight and got there and was handed a large AND had to pay for a large. The cook told me, «oh, next time order a 14″ instead of medium, b/​c thats how we do it.» Total attitude, like it was my fault. I didn’t think in the moment because I was heading home to a pack of 11 year-​olds, but the onus is on the person taking the phone order to differentiate/​interpret/​ask clarifying questions about the size of the pie. Anyway, marginal pizza, college kids behind the counter, whatcha going to do… it ain’t Brooklyn. I think they feel that have the market locked in being near HSU and can serve tepid pizza and give bad service.

Ordered a 14 inch pizza to be delivered… a Big Pete’s Veggie. It was 28 dollars with the tip for the nice delivery girl. But, I was really disappointed as soon as I opened the box. Instead of a luscious, cheesy pizza loaded with vegetables, I was looking at a dull, warmish pizza that lookedlike someone calculated how little of each ingredient he or she could use. It was really disappointing! I had to go back and see if I had misread the menu — - maybe the veggie actually didn’t have cheese on it? No, it said it did. But, in many places on the pizza, I felt like I was looking directly at the crust instead of at the ingredients that were supposed to be on it. It actually made me feel sort of sorry for Big Pete’s. They are really nice when I go in there. But no more deliveries for me!!!

Good Pizza, but not the best ever. prices seem a bit high for the quality, but Tuesday Buy one Get one makes it worth it. Definitely, worth a try.

When it comes to restaurants, I believe that there are three primary factors that should be considered: (1) Quality, quantity, and flavored compared to expectations, (2) Service, restaurant cleanliness, and group size appropriate server interaction, and finally (3) atmosphere, location, and experience.
Big Pete’s is what I think of when I think of a stereotypical old school 80’s/90’s pizza parlor except that they have a ton of micro brews on tap — not just the good old budweiser. I don’t think it’s the best pizza place in town, but if you have a big group to feed or you want to catch a sports game with friends this is a good spot.
PROS
They sell pizza by the slice and they use the pizza oven to reheat it so it tastes oven fresh! The wings here are pretty good. Not Six Rivers Brewery good, but certainly second best. If you buy 50 wings, they are priced very fairly compared to other local wing places.
CONS
I have never had a slice of pizza here and thought to myself, «That was the best pizza ever!» I’ve been multiple times and it’s always been good… just not great. Also, avoid this place like the plague between noon and 1pm when the local high school is in session. Arcata High students get to leave campus for lunch and this is a favorite for them. I’ve had to wait 30 minutes before when I made the mistake.

We were passing through. The pizza was good, overpriced, and the service wasn’t so good. No where to sit.

Best Pizza in Humboldt Bay Area by far. I am a thin crust fan though, so maybe biased.
Pizza is always fresh, good creative combo slices. Staff is always really nice and helpful (especially with TVs). 2.50 for a large cheese slice is pretty good deal in my book. Lunch specials are good too. Have never had salads or other things they make, just pizza by the slice. Pretty much only place that will have hockey games on (or at least permit a TV if you ask) especially if Sharks or Kings and/​or playoffs. Plus!
Overall my pizza/​sports hangout for my 3 years in Arcata. Awesome.

Big Pete’s converted me to a pizza lover! I really wasn’t a fan of pizza ever until I tried Big Pete’s! It’s their organic ingredients and interesting topping combinations that really sold me. Plus, their crust is far and away the best I’ve ever had! It’s the best part of their pizza, as far as I’m concerned. My personal favorite here has to be the Hot Wing Pizza with blue cheese. Very original; tastes just like a perfectly zesty hot wing! Their salads are awesome, too. I highly recommend the Spinach Caesar. The only con of Big Pete’s for me is that they are definitely pricey. But you do get what you pay for — this is seriously high quality pizza! Plus, if you take advantage of their nightly specials, you can sometimes score a pretty good deal! I know I sound over the top with this review, but this is my favorite pizza place of all time.

Really bad. Love the pizza but have problems every time. They always make it my fault.

We usually stop by here when we are in town. The beer on tap is nice and they have a variety of slices available. It’s pizza. I’m sure there are more gourmet places available, but it does it for us. The slices are pretty beefy.

Bad. There’s a reason they closed their eureka store. Overpriced everything, wobbly tables, and tvs with sports. *shudder* They do use good ingredients, but their crust just isn’t right and their cooking style leans towards extra well done.

Not the best pizza I’ve ever had, but definitely the best I’ve had in Arcata!
Their crust is thin, crispy, and pretty floppy, but it’s really tasty and the toppings they use are good quality. They have a good variety of ingredients for all meat-​lovers, vegetarians, and gluten-​free people. When they aren’t busy, it has a great atmosphere. When they are busy, I tend to sneak into the back to avoid the sports crowd.
Overall, great place with good food

Pizza is ok, service is terrible. I’ve been here a few times just to grab a quick slice.
I was here the other day and ordered a salad and beer. After 35 minutes I go ask about my salad, obviously she forgot, and didn’t even apologize she just said ‘woops, I can refund your money if you’d like… or I guess I can make it right now quick”. I chose to get the refund and leave. It wasn’t even that busy in there. This is a college pizza place with a bunch of stoner employees. Don’t go here if you.

Big Pete’s Pizzeria is open very late and on days that many business are closed! We found this place over New Year’s vacation from our trusty Unilocal app (Thanks, Unilocal!) and boy, this place did not disappoint. Quality ingredients and gluten free options. Hooray!
If you like spots, a bunch of dudes seem to chill here gulping down pizza and soda in front of the big screen.