Stefano’s Pizza opened its newest location in San Anselmo in December of 2016 and offers Italian favorites including pizza, sandwiches, and salads.

However, Stefano’s is not at all a new addition to the Marin food scene; it first opened in Mill Valley in 1976 and since then has served over 10 million pizzas.

Stefano’s proudly uses solar pizza ovens in each of its locations, and its Mill Valley location is the only completely solar-powered pizzeria in the nation.

This compelling mission statement is even more of a reason to support this establishment. (And for the record, my pizza didn’t taste like it had been scorched by the sun, even if it was made in a sun-powered oven.)

I did some research before I headed over to Stefano’s, and I stumbled across their website. On the exterior, it looks sleek and modern.

However, certain tabs, when clicked, led to no page. Stefano’s puts their blog front and center on their website, yet it solely consists of posts titled “BLOG POST TITLE.” I found this to be quite amusing.

At Stefano’s, the unmistakable greasy, delicious pizza smell wafted towards me while I waited in line. Next to the register, people were busily making pizzas–shaping the dough, spreading the cheese and sauce, and putting on delicious toppings.

The combination of these two things made me even more excited to receive my food.

The pizza and drink combo ($5) is by far the best and most popular item. The pizza slices at Stefano’s are well worth the price. I had expected that it would only come with one slice, but it came with two pieces of pizza that were each larger than my face. The crust was thin and airy, and the sauce and cheese were both delicious.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the hot cheese garlic bread ($3.67). As the name implies, this was very cheesy and likely to ward off vampires. However, the garlic flavor was not overly pungent and complimented the meal nicely. Though it is a little bit heavier than something that I would typically order, it was a nice change.

The Caesar salad ($5.95) was slightly underwhelming. It hadn’t committed “culinary atrocities,” so to speak, but at the same time it just blended into the crowd. The dressing was fairly standard, and the croutons taste processed. However, it was still better than I had expected it to be. After all, you don’t usually go to a pizzeria to order a salad.

The interior of Stefano’s was homey and comfortable, like you should expect from any pizza joint. The service was quick, and the people working there were very helpful.

Upon entering Stefano’s, to my left I was greeted with a large bicycle art piece hung underneath three candy dispensers made for people half my height. This reminded me that people in Marin like biking and kids like candy. On the right hand side, a large TV blared a football game to remind me that people like sports.

Stefano’s by no means serves the finest food around. But, like the decor suggests, it gives the people what they want. Don’t come here expecting the best food that you’ve ever had. That’s simply not the purpose that Stefano’s serves.

This was not the first time that I had eaten the pizza from here. Several months ago I tried the pizza from their location in Novato, and my impression of Stefano’s has not changed much. It offers good, honest food with a reasonable price tag.

When I went to the location in Novato, I tried their food because we needed food when we were in a crunch. Stefano’s is convenient and the perfect place to grab a bite on the go.

If you come here, don’t try to get too fancy. Just order some carbohydrates with cheese. It’s what they do best.

330 San Anselmo Ave San Anselmo CA 94960 (415) 460-6330
HOURS Sun-Thurs 11 am-9:30pm Fri and Sat 11 am-10pm