Pizza Amore Café

Pizza Amore Cafe is a 100% HALAL restaurant serving up Italian fare. They have pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, salads, and even desserts. On my maiden voyage I went with an Amore Supreme and Meat Lovers. Pizzas made here consist of the crust, sauce, toppings, and then the cheese is layered on top of this. It\'s a little different than other pizza places that have the topping on top of the cheese, so it\'s hard to tell how much of a particular topping is in the pizza. Amore Supreme ($25.75 large (14\")) - This came with 10 toppings: pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, salami, bacon, fresh mushrooms, red onions, green peppers and sliced black olives. The first thing one notices when biting into a slice of this pie is the gooeyness of the mozzarella cheese, followed by a light crunchy crust, which gives way to a doughy interior. Then one finally gets to all the toppings which are bursting with flavor! I don\'t think I have ever eaten a pizza with 10 toppings before! It tasted amazing! Meat Lovers ($24.70 large (14\")) - This consisted of pepperoni, Italian sausage, salami, ham and bacon. It\'s basically the same as the Amore Supreme, minus the vegetables. This too tasted great, but I think I preferred having the combination of meat and veggies. Overall, I really enjoyed the pizza here. It\'s great to finally have a HALAL pizza place close by to satisfy my pizza cravings! A friend had recommended their calzones, so I\'ll have to check that out next time! The Italian beef and pastrami sandwiches sound intriguing as well. They have covered outdoor patio seating as well as indoor seating (once COV19 restrictions end). I had a chance to chat with the owner, Nema, who was extremely friendly and helpful and I look forward to many return visits!

This place first caught my attention a while ago when I got personalized YouTube ads advertising this place, with the owner claiming the place serves halal meat. But, because their menu says they serve bacon and ham, I had my reservations. Then, recently on Yelp, I saw a few reviews where people expressed excitement of a halal pizza place in South Orange County. I called the place, and the young non-Muslim cashier I spoke with verbally confirmed all their meat is halal, and that they have no products with pork. Their menu also provides that they serve halal meat. But, I've always felt uneasy about this place. And the reason is because the menu simply is not clear. They serve "bacon" and "ham" at this place, and offer both as toppings on their pizza. To me, bacon and ham are unequivocally from pig. What bothers me is their menu is necessarily misleading -- it doesn't say "turkey bacon" and "turkey ham," as other halal pizza restaurants serving this kind of food say. It simply says "bacon" and "ham." To non-Muslims seeking actual bacon and ham as toppings, this is misleading. Or, alternatively, are these toppings actually bacon and ham, and it is Muslims who are being mislead? Either way, there is a group of people being mislead, and that made me uneasy about this restaurant. It's not a visibly Muslim restaurant --i.e., there's nothing about the decor of the place that would suggest this place would only serve halal meat, and while they have several certificates on display, none of the certificates are for halal meat. All of that said, if the management of this pizza place checks this website, I would urge you to clarify on your menu that your ham and bacon is not actually ham and bacon (but, perhaps, turkey or beef or some other kind of ham and bacon), if that is indeed the case. This would both bring peace of mind to Muslims seeking to patronize halal restaurants, and it would convey to non-Muslims that they are not actually getting the ham and bacon they think they are ordering. As for the pizza itself, it was good, and I especially enjoyed the crust.

Halal pizza in south county! The pizza was delicious! The décor is very eclectic. They have outdoor dining