First Things

You should phone in your order before coming to Emilia's Pizzeria. The wait can get pretty long. We start taking phone orders at 4pm. Our phone number is 510-704-1794.
We only take cash.
Our normal hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 5pm to 9pm.
The restaurant is located at 2995 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, CA, directly across Shattuck from Chevron.
You can find lots of good info in our Q&A.
Sometimes there's good info in the Updates section, too.

Updates

Q&A

When do you open?

We start making pizzas at 5pm, but we start taking orders at 4pm. Occasionally, we start a little early, so you might want to check out the Updates.

What time do you close?

Unless something goes wrong, we make pizzas until AT LEAST 9pm. We usually also take orders up until 9pm, which means you can get pizzas after 9pm. Orders for pizzas made after 9pm are taken on a next-available basis only, which means you can't call at 4:00 and order a pizza for 9:30. Sometimes, but rarely, we'll get so many orders for pizzas made after 9pm that we have to stop taking orders before 9pm.

How far ahead should I call to order?

You should call as soon after 4pm as possible on the day you want the pizza, because you can request specific pick-up or dine-in times that are not necessarily the next available. You don't need to wait to try to "time the wait", so to speak. As for how long the wait gets to be, I'll try to summarize what is typical: Tuesday through Thursday, the wait time usually peaks at somewhere between 1 and 2 hours. There are often minimal waits for pizzas before 6pm. On Fridays, the peak wait time is usually closer to 3 hours, and usually occurs early. So, if you wait until we "open" at 5pm to call, the next available pizza might not be until after 8pm. Saturdays are usually more like weeknights than like Fridays.

Really? If I order now it's going to be 2 hours to get a pizza?

This is a question we get from walk-ins a lot. Unlike many other pizzerias with substantial wait times, we encourage people to order by phone, because most people have better things to do with their time than to stand in line. Also, most people take their pizzas to-go. So, the restaurant is usually busier than it looks.

Can I order pizzas for a specific time, other than the next available?

Yes

When is the next time for 1 pizza for take out?

Can I get 2 pizzas for pickup around 7:30?

These are my favorite kind of questions to get at the start of a phone call.

Do you take reservations?

Yes. When you call to order, let us know up front that you want to eat at the pizzeria, and how many people will be in your party. We'll find a time that works (usually) and hold a table for you. Our timing is based on when pizzas will be ready - you should arrive at least 10 minutes before your first pizza comes out of the oven so that you can get settled in and so that the pizza doesn't have to wait around for you to eat it.

Is it OK if we eat this here?

We get this question a lot from people who have already received their pizza in a box. The answer may be "no," because the tables may be reserved. If you did not reserve a table, but later decide you want to dine in, please let us know as soon as possible, even if that's just seconds before you pizza is done. The boxes don't fit well on the tables, and are not very reusable.

Do you have a bathroom in here?

No. Please plan accordingly if you are going to eat at the pizzeria.

Do you deliver?

No.

Do you do half-and-half pizzas?

Yes.

Do you sell pizza by the slice?

No.

Do you sell half-baked pizzas?

Sometimes. There's a higher chance of mistakes, but we've handled these requests pretty well so far.

What kind of pizza do you have tonight?

Do you only have 1 kind of pizza?

Emilia's Pizzeria is a build-your-own kind of place. That's the way every mom-and-pop place used to be, in my experience. Our "regular" pizza is Margherita-like (you can call it a "plain" or "cheese" or "Margherita" if you want). You can choose to add up to 4 toppings, at which point it ceases to be "regular."

How big is your small / medium / large pizza?

We only have 1 size. It's about 18" across, gets cut into 8 slices, and typically feeds 2 or 3 adults.

What style of pizza do you make?

I think pizza classifications should only be used loosely. That said, our pizza can loosely be classified as "New York style." More specifically, it's a lot like this.

Could you repeat that?

This is a very common question, because the acoustics of the pizzeria are bad, and there are a lot of obnoxious drivers and loud trucks nearby. Also, how sure can I be that you said your name was "Zeeba" the first time I hear it? Lucky for you, many tedious questions you may have had will have already received tedious answers from this very website before you call.

Do you take credit cards, debit cards, checks, etc.?

We only take regular old American cash money, the kind you might get from the ATM at the smog station diagonally across the intersection of Shattuck and Ashby. Our cash prices include tax, so we can all avoid counting out coins.

Do you still have dough?

Yes. That's the answer 99% of the time. We ran out of dough before 9pm several times in 2009 when we were ramping up, but it doesn't happen any more.

What kind of ______ do you use?

We use a combination of 2 or more ________s. The ratios, treatments, and specific _______s used are tweaked based on a variety of factors to achieve the best, most consistent results we can.

Who is that picture of?

It's Frank Sinatra.

Why do you have a picture of Frank Sinatra?