Rainbow Pizza

This restaurant had one of the worst catering systems I have ever seen. I walk in to order, the lady then takes my order, after telling her that I was in a big hurry. She said that the sandwich would take 5 minutes at least, so I waited. 3 minutes later, another couple walks in, gets their order taken, and actually pick up their order before mine. I did not order any elaborate sandwich, and after 20 minutes of reminding the lady that I was in a hurry, I simply asked for my money back. I did so much as to help the cooks pack the foods for to go, thinking it was mine, yet they give it someone who ordered after me. Not recommended, wasted both my time and patience.

This is probably by far some of the best food I’ve ever had. Me and my roommate make it a ritual to go out on payday, and this is one of our frequent stops. And let me tell you, they are the shit. It’s packed, crowded, and usually takes 45 minutes to bring out the food, but for the quality of what they got going there is definitely worth the wait. You can really tell they care about their customers. Once the food hits your table, you feel a rush go through your body as you stare at the creation. After taking a bite it’s like walking through Valdemort’s vagina, a flavor orgasm in your mouth.
I absolutely love this restaurant and would urge for many more people to try it. Except every other Friday, because it’s too packed for me as it is.

This place is totally amazing. Honestly its better than all the pizza places I’ve been too in the past. Yesterday was my second time at this place.
There was 11 of us dining in we ordered 1 caesar salad, 3 calamaris, 3 fetechini Alfredo pastas, and an extra large sausage and pepperoni pizza. It was enough for us at the end. We had left overs. The portions of the food is very large. Its worth what your paying.
The place is so beautiful, so decorative. Coming down from SF, is worth the drive. The waiters are also friendly and welcoming. It may have been busy while we were there, but they were on top of their duties. I’m so glad we’ve found this place. I will be coming back here again and again.

Love getting food here… dine in or take out is always great. I have practically grown up on the great food. The Greek salad is the best. I always get it when I come into San Mateo to visit my family. Their cheesy garlic bread is good too. The pizzas have a great crust and I love the Greek lemon soup. Very entertaining to watch them hand toss the pizzas.

If you have not been here before and are expecting great service, a warm greeting and atmosphere, keep driving.
Here is what you need to know:
If you are high maintenance keep driving.
The Menu’s and portions are GIANT.
Service can be spotty, be patient.
Its ALL locals, mostly families.
The Pizza is even better the 2^nd day, after you take it home.
A small Pizza is fine for 2 hungry adults.
The owner has been in business here for over 25 years, there is a reason for that.
Like most dining on the Peninsula, its packed between 5 – 7:30PM and quiet afterwards.
Almost everything on the menu is HUGE and tastes great.

Love love love this place… whenever i want a GREAT meal… in a comfy place with friendly people, i know exactly where to go. Rainbow Pizza is a true hidden gem right off of 92. I don’t think I have ever seen such an extensive menu … from Greek meals, to pasta, to pizza and things on the grill … i have yet to have anything that was not stellar…
Just went there tonight and brought my family from San Diego, and as always we all loved it !
Cant wait to go back and i will soon !
THANKS RAINBOW PIZZA !

A quick review to give thanks to Steve at Rainbow Pizza. I called in to buy a gift certificate and he was so very helpful. He mailed me the certificate and even threw in a couple pens. What a guy! Can’t wait to eat there myself. The gift certificate was purchased for family because of all the great Unilocal reviews. Thanks Steve!

Simply stated, this place has the best gyros I have ever had in my life. It’s incredible.
I’m not sure what they do to make it so good. The pita bread is moist and delicious. The sauce they put on the meat is fantastic. It’s an end-​to-​end melt-​in-​your-​mouth experience. I shutter at some of the bone-​dry attempts at gyros I’ve had at other places.
The menu here could be used as a home defense weapon, it’s so big, and I haven’t had any of the other hundreds of things on the menu. But if the rest of the food is half as good as the gyros I have here every time I visit, this is a place worth visiting repeatedly.

This place was excellent. Friendly staff. On point when waiting on tables. They have been around for awhile and are still mom an pop owned. The food has been consistent and great every time ive come here. I was only able to finish half of the American– Greek pizza and it did not disappoint.

I live in San Francisco, but will drive south to San Mateo just to have me some Rainbow Pizza. The menu is awesome. The atmosphere is awesome. The food is AWESOME! If you love seafood, the Seafood Pizza is a must. If you love salads, try the Greek Isle Salad (I mean, tzatziki dressing, need I say more?) If you like Gyros, this place is for you.
Just go, you can thank me later.

My go-​to place now for the random week night meal and if I’m off to somewhere I’ll call in a Gyro to go and pick it up. The portions are huge here, you can get two meals out of most dishes yet the taste is fantastic. It might seem a tad pricey until you realize that your Greek salad is good for two solid meals.
The pizzas are really good, gyros are addictive, staff warm and friendly, sodas are wonderfully huge, menus the size of Texas. Solid place all around that has been around for something like 30 years.

I have tried multiple different Greek/​Mediterranean places ever since I decided to stop hating all of it, but this place is taking the cake! Their Pita bread is so good! It is not dry like most places and doesn’t get too stiff after being left out for a little while.
The Gyro Platter and Greek Salad are my favorite things here.

This place has a huge menu (literally) and everything I’ve had has been great (except for the Philly cheesesteak). Service is a bit slow but that’s because they have a small kitchen. The staff are friendly and always welcoming.
If you come here for dinner expect to wait. If you come here for dinner on the weekend, expect to wait even longer. There is an old school charm about the place.

I have been meaning to review this place for a while. Great Customer Service.
Huge servings. Any dish here can serve at least two people. Also they have several varieties of food here, which is nice for when you can’t make up your mind on what to eat.
My favorite dish here is the Tortellini de la Mar. This dish is savory and garlicky.
The garlic bread is nice and garlicky and is almost always served hot. Mozzarella sticks are also really good. The onion rings here are pretty good; they have a nice breaded coating.
I have tried the calamari before and it is just okay, nothing special there. Same with Jalapeño poppers; however by the time the jalapeño poppers arrived to my table the filling was already room temperature.

Popped in for lunch the other day. I’ve eaten here many times, but generally stay clear of the pizza. I think they do a good job, but I’m just not that big a pizza fan. I had the shrimp salad (½ size is plenty, their portions are huge) My husband had the Greek salad, also half size, and we shared fries. I’m not a fan of their fries, they’re steak fries and just not very crisp. My salad was delicious, and even though they were clearly previously frozen, the bay shrimp were the larger variety with some real texture. They could use far less lettuce, it’s just a huge portion, even for the half salad. I guess they’re trying to make it look abundant, but what it does is skew the proportioning. I also really like they’re gyro salad and the California Caesar with chicken and avocado is very good.
Sitting in the back room is nice, because it’s quieter and I like the mural.

Their gyro meat is awesome.
imo the pizzas were too thick and «goupy» but if you like Chicago style, this place might be up your alley.
The mozzarella sticks and the Greek appetizer plate are both also stupendous.
Delivery is as good as it gets for this area.
We will be back! Thanks Rainbow.

Well cant say anything negative really.
Food is really really good from Pizza to Pasta.
Yes, pasta as in seafood pasta! Try it you will love it! The food is so big, u can be able to share it and get satisfied with it. Next time im having a party this is the take out place to go to!!!

Nice little spot for work lunch. Came here with a couple coworkers (only ordered fries) but their menu is VAST!
they each got pizza which they said was good and was large and a great meal!
It wasn’t crazy busy the time that we went.
A nice spot for lunch with great service!

May 02, 2015 4 stars
Greek feast after a ~7−8 mi ~1600 ft elevation hike. In our group of 9, due to diet restrictions and people having to leave early after the hike, four of us decided to share 3 dishes; a Gyro Platter, Linguine Pescatore Platter, and a All the Meat you can Handle pizza. The portions were very large and we had ½ — 1lb of pasta (didn’t take home) and 2 slices of pizza (boxed and taken). Pizza and garlic bread was a little greasy, and the tzaziki sauce was a little thin, but overall would return if I’m in the area and is famished.
***Food***
~Gyro Platter
This was the first dish of our order we received. Gyro wasn’t dry and has good flavor; fries was crisp and soft in the center; salad was a little over dressed, not too much lemon flavor. Be careful of the olives, they have not been pitted, would have been nice if they informed us. Tzatziki was a little thin but full of fresh vibrant flavor. It was a little disappointing we was not able to open it to fill fill the pita with the Gyro, fresh dice tomatoes, onion, and tzaziki sauce. We made do and had an equivalent of a open faced sandwich.
~All the Meat you can Handle pizza
There was a lot of meat, but because there was 7 types, it was difficult to taste the individual flavors and quite salty. The tray was slightly greasy because of all the fat rendering out of the sausage, meats, and cheese. The cheese was melted very well, and passes the stretch test, more than 2 feet, so the cheese had not broken down from the baking, and there was a lot of cheese. It was a little soggy in the middle from where the grease had gathered and was absorbed by the crust. This is not your New York style thin crust, but a hearty thick chewy crust with a lot of topping. We had to box up the last two slices of pizza to take home.
~Linguine Pescatore Platter
The pasta was cooked well, toothsome, and not mushy. The pasta was generously mounded in the middle with a light red sauce, clinging nicely to the pasta. There was mussels, clams, calamari/​squid, and shrimp. None of the seafood was over cooked, they were all very tender and delicious. The garlic break accompanying the pasta was delicious and buttery, I would estimate the butter it absorbed, soaked into the bread an eighth of an inch. There was so much food we was unable to finish ½−1 pound of pasta, but finished the seafood.
***Hostess, staff, wait***
When we walked in there was no one to greet us at the door, but we was greeted as we walked through to the dining area, and happened to be the same person taking our order waiting on us. He was very kind and accommodating, willing to provide us with 3 different checks for the same table. There was no wait because we arrived around 2:30. He provided us with an extra set of utensils when someone accidentally dropped theirs, a pitcher of water when asked because we was very thirsty after the hike.
***Ambiance***
The front entrance is unassuming and we walk down a hallway with the kitchen to the right and some small tables to the left, before we reached the dining area. The hallway entrance leading into the dining room is a little darker, but very good aromas was drifting from the cooking area. The main area was nice and bright with with scenery painted on the walls.
***Parking***
NOT INCLUDED IN RATING
There’s a parking lot available, but can get crowded because it’s in a plaza shared with various stores and restaurants.

We came for the salads!
My BFF’s favorite salad is Rainbow Pizza’s Chicken Cesar. To me it appeared to be a simple Caesar salad, but to her it’s a magical bowl of deliciousness. Fair enough.
I ordered the half size Shrimp Louie and was pleasantly surprised with the large portion and fresh greens. They offer both half and full-​sized salads, with the half being a perfect meal for one person, and the full size enough to share with a few people. I assume most people order a full size salad to go along with their pizzas.
The pizzas that were being served to tables around us looked amazing, but since we’re on a health kick we had to pass.
Rainbow Pizza’s menu is gigantic by the way (both literally and figuratively), and they serve way more than pizza and salad. I didn’t get a chance to look through the whole thing, but there is surely something on the menu to please everyone.
Great family atmosphere and cozy, casual dining. Would definitely come again!