Sometimes I love taking my sister to a pizza lunch; sometimes we go to fancy Italian places, but mostly we go to garbage fast food. So you know I have been dragged to Pizza in multiple times and I have things to say.
So, since I don’t like Pizza Inn, does that mean I’m some pizza guru? Not even close. I’ve made pizza exactly once—in an air fryer, no less.
But here’s the thing: you don’t need to be a mechanic to know when a car runs poorly. I’ve eaten from almost all major pizza joints; fast food chains, and artisanal pizzerias ….so I know my pizza rights.
And if experience counts for anything, consider this the well-fed take of a seasoned pizza enthusiast (emphasis on seasoned).
But First, What Defines a Good Pizza?
The Crust
For any style of pizza to be great, you need good dough, basic right? A Good beautifully bubbled hand-tossed crust doesn’t taste like cardboard.
The crust structure shouldn’t be too ‘floppy, no one wants to go pick up a piece of pizza and have the front end dip down and all toppings slide off. Mambo Italia Pizza is great but its crust is too floppy
Pizza Inn pizza isn’t hand-tossed while you might be thinking that is an artisanal move, Papa John’s instance does that and they are a pizza chain…
Hand tossing is what creates that bubbly fluffy crust. Meanwhile, Pizza Inn uses dough presses that compact the to-crust thus which is why their crusts turn out dense, chewy, gummy, and just boring, the crust is the biggest deal breaker about Pizza Inn pizzas in my opinion, sometimes the dough is just almost raw.
The Sauce
People tend to underestimate this part of the pizza. The sauce should strike the perfect balance of sweetness, spice, tomato richness, and savory herbs—neither overwhelming nor nonexistent.
A good pizza sauce should have a slight acidity and just a hint of tang—enough to brighten up the flavors
The sauce should be smooth (no surprise tomato chunks) and work as a flavorful middleman, seamlessly connecting the crust to the toppings.
At Pizza Inn, I can barely taste the sauce vibrance—either it’s being drowned out by everything else, or they’re stingily applying it with a paintbrush. Who knows? Maybe it’s there, just too shy and tastes muted like a tomato paste.
Cheese
I’m not a professional (as previously established), but if you want the best cheese for pizza, go with low-moisture mozzarella. Regular mozzarella is fine, but it’s basically a water balloon waiting to turn your pizza into a soggy mess.
Low-moisture mozzarella not only avoids that tragedy but also browns beautifully, making your pizza look—and taste—way better.
Pro tip: When buying dairy products like butter or cheese at the supermarket, always check the moisture content. The lower, the better—it usually means a richer, higher-quality product. Cheap brands tend to have more water and less actual dairy goodness.
For more details, check out these posts linked below!
Popular Cheese Brands in Kenya Ranked Worst to Best
7 Best Butter Brands in Kenya (Ranked List)
Back to the topic, of course, the gold standard is whole milk mozzarella, preferably freshly made. Realistically, no pizza chain is out here handcrafting cheese—they’re probably just using whatever comes in a vacuum-sealed block.
That said, La Villa in Kitisuru once served me a pizza with some of the freshest mozzarella I’ve ever tasted, which is probably why my pizza standards are now unreasonably high.
When it comes to Pizza Inn, the issue isn’t just stinginess—though, let’s be honest, they do ration their cheese like it’s a precious commodity.
Yes, cheese is expensive in this country, but that’s mostly for their budget pizzas. I went for their Deluxe, supposedly their best offering, and while they were a little more generous, it still felt… restrained.
But my real gripe? The cheese quality. It’s not bad—not at all. It’s pretty much on par with other pizza chains. But the pizza itself just doesn’t cheese, if that makes sense.
There’s no satisfying stretch, no gooey, elastic magic to hold everything together. If you’ve ever seen those glorious cheese-pull tests, well… don’t even think about it here.
Toppings
One thing I can’t fault Pizza Inn for is their topping quality—it’s actually pretty solid. Everything is okayish (which is high praise in this context).
The pepperoni crisps up beautifully with that satisfying inward curl, and the meat doesn’t taste like a shoe. So, if anything, toppings might just be their saving grace.
But hold on— before we hand them a trophy, there’s a catch. On their Deluxe pizzas, they go a little overboard. Yes, I get it, it’s called Deluxe, but sometimes it feels like they mistook it for a “ loaded pizza” pizza.
When toppings are just piled on, they don’t save the pizza…instead, they overwhelm the whole thing, drowning out the cheese and sauce.
So, Where Should You Go Instead?
If Pizza Inn makes you happy, then, by all means, live your truth. But if you’re feeling adventurous and want to level up, here’s a list of better options—both fast food and artisanal.
Look, fast food pizza will never compete with gourmet pizzas, but it does what it does best—it’s cheap, easy to find, and comes with a mandatory side of grease that we all love.
Chain Pizza Options
- Papa John’s (The best fast food pizza in my opinion, fluffy crusts, and the garlic dipping is everything)
- Dominos
- Pizza Hut
- Pizza Mojo (Not any better than Pizza Inn just slightly)
Artisanal Pizza
- La Villa
- Mambo Italia
- 360 Degrees
Also Read: The 12 BEST Nairobi Pizza Spots According to Reddit
I know I have probably stepped on some toes here, so…Don’t forget to send your hate comments in the box below…telling me why I don’t know what I’m talking about
