10 Pizza Chains Every Kid Ate At In The 1990s

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Oh, the 1990s. They were a glorious time. Many kids roamed wild with only the barest hint of parental oversight, weekends were filled with Saturday morning cartoons and late-night horror movies, and super fun (and occasionally super weird) themed restaurants were all the rage. Plus, the pizza was incredible. Ask anyone who was around during the '90s, and you'll probably hear them say that eating at certain pizza chains hit differently.

But why? What was it about pizza chains in the '90s that was seemingly better? Was it the fact that places like Pizza Hut had the kind of salad bar you actually looked forward to, with dessert pizzas on the buffet? Was it because pizza didn't cost a fortune then, and wasn't served with the side of existential dread that comes with virtually every meal in the 21st century? Perhaps. After all, while times weren't necessarily easier, they did seem better. The pizza was saucier, the toppings were piled high, the breadsticks were buttery, and dining at a pizza chain was an experience.

Some chains had arcade games and toy-filled crane machines; others had animatronics that were meant to be a fun thing to keep kids entertained (but were actually creepy, twitchy things with the kind of soulless thousand-yard stares that showed up in nightmares). It was a different time, but it was a fun time. So let's take a walk down memory lane and remember the pizza places that defined the decade for every child of the '90s.

Go back to the 1990s, and you'll find almost half of U.S. pizza industry was controlled by Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Domino's. Competition was fierce, and a war of sorts developed between pizza chains. Each chain was trying to outdo the others, and it led to some pretty strange things. Let's take Little Caesars, which had a business model that, in hindsight, seems strange. After all, if you were craving some pizza, you'd need to phone in your order ... then go pick it up yourself.

There was another option for getting your Little Caesars pizza back in the 1990s: By heading to KMart. Remember KMart? Reddit threads are filled with fond memories of '90s-era kids heading there to put clothes and school supplies on layaway, then stopping at the store's little food court for an ICEE or some Little Caesars pizza.

Why would anyone do either of those things when Domino's was more than happy to deliver? Because Little Caesars offered the best deal, with the most pie for the least amount of dough (see what we did there?). The '90s was also when this chain kicked off a mad scramble to offer the biggest pizza around, debuting both the Detroit-style Big! Big! Cheese pizza, and a three-foot-long pizza divided into sections, each with its own topping. There was Italian cheese bread that came with the meal, too, and you'd better believe it was quite the deal.

Chuck E. Cheese has been around since the late 1970s, and here's a fun fact: It was the brainchild of one of the co-founders of Atari. The 1990s saw the chain go through a name change as well as overhauling its famous mouse, and it became known as the place to go for birthday parties. The chain's slogan was "Where a kid can be a kid," and anyone who got invited to one of those '90s-era parties knows that happened on an unprecedented scale.

Imagine a restaurant-arcade hybrid perpetually filled with people in a child-to-adult ratio of approximately several hundred to one. The games were loud, and the kids were louder. Plus, no one seemed to care that the pizza was not good (which hasn't changed, as we here at Tasting Table ranked Chuck E. Cheese's pizza as the worst popular chain pizza of all). After all, in those heady days of sticky-fingered childhood freedom, it didn't matter.

It was also weird, and Reddit threads dedicated to 1990s memories include now-adults who are still traumatized by the fact Chuck himself seemed to like to take it upon himself to feed birthday party guests cake, crying when they refused. We also have to give a shout-out to ShowBiz Pizza Place. Plenty of 1980s kids probably remember this competitor — which was eventually absorbed by Chuck E. Cheese – that had the same idea of animatronic monstrosities, questionable pizza, and games.

Oh, 1990s-era Pizza Hut. We can count the ways in which we loved you. There was the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, the ultra-comfortable, dimly-lit red booths, the stained glass lights, the pitchers of soda and beer, or was it the tabletop arcade games that you could use to fill the time between ordering and being served your sweet, sweet pizza. Of course, there was also salad bars that were always super fresh, and the fact that if you wanted a salad that was entirely bacon bits, croutons, and cheese? You could darn well make that happen.

It was all of those things, and we're not the only ones who think so. Reddit is full of fond memories of Pizza Hut, and yes, the pizza was absolutely delicious. The crust was soft and crispy, the cheese was plentiful and perfectly-melted, and the pepperoni was on point. Even better was when you got to turn in your certificate from the Book It! Program, and enjoy your own personal pan pizza that was your reward for reading.

This was also when Pizza Hut released a menu item that was designed to go toe-to-toe with Little Caesars, and we are, of course, talking about the Bigfoot. There was also the tavern-style Edge Pizza, the Triple Deckeroni, and if you were really, really lucky, a Stuffed Crust pizza might make its way to the table. The decor was classy, the breadsticks were incredible, the pizza was perfection, and Pizza Hut? It was incredible.

There were a lot of things going on at Domino's in the 1990s, the pizza chain that endeared itself to children everywhere with the weird and undeniably creepy Noid mascot (remember the Avoid the Noid video game? That's for the best). And since this chain delivered, it was a go-to for families who valued convenience and relished the possibility of a free meal.

During the decade, Domino's debuted the seemingly brilliant promise that your pizza would be delivered in 30 minutes or less or it was free. However, this led to a perhaps predictable tragedy. In 1993, Domino's found itself served a $79 million settlement after a woman was hit and seriously injured by a delivery driver, forcing it to cancel the 30-minute delivery deal. Another '90s-era misstep was less tragic but more hilariously inept. When Domino's decided to try to take on Little Caesars' Pizza by the Foot and Pizza Hut's Bigfoot, they did it with the Dominator. A very large and very round pizza, it quickly confirmed the fact that just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you should (the pizza didn't fit in most cars, after all).

While the pizza wasn't particularly good, it was convenient — except for the Dominator — and it was wildly popular during breaking news events that kept everyone glued to their televisions. If that sounds like we're talking about something specific, we are, as the chain had record sales during OJ Simpson's infamous chase.

New England-based Bertucci's was founded in 1981, and the 1990s, it was bringing something unique to the U.S. — at least to the states between New Hampshire, Florida, and Illinois. Bertucci's undoubtedly introduced a lot of people to brick oven pizzas, and it's easy to see how families would be entranced by a type of pizza that was a complete departure from chains like Domino's and Little Caesars. Plus, its rolls were perfectly-textured on the outside, downright delightful on the inside, and served at a temperature reminiscent of the full force of the sun (and made even better with a pat of butter on the inside).

Some Reddit threads filled with those reminiscing about '90s-era Bertucci's locations recalled being kids who were given pieces of raw dough to shape, then having those shapes baked and served. Hey: Smartphones weren't a thing yet, and we needed to make our own entertainment where and how we could, so don't judge.

Some of these old school pizza chains have remained pretty successful. In 2025, Domino's had risen to be America's number-one pizza chain, presumably because whoever forgot to check if the chain's giant pizzas fit in delivery cars is no longer in charge of decision-making. Bertucci's, however, has been less successful. It's still around, but 2025 saw the chain file for bankruptcy for the third time, much to the disappointment of everyone who loved those sweet, sweet rolls.

Online shopping might be all the rage today, but in the 1990s, it was the shopping mall. There were few things better than an entire day at the mall: Grab a movie, pop in to Hot Topic, Waldenbooks, and Electronics Boutique, check out KB Toys, and — of course — grab some pizza at Sbarro. For many, a trip to the mall absolutely wasn't complete without stopping at this chain.

Sbarro has been around since 1956 and markets itself as legit New York-style pizza, and while it might not exactly measure up to some of the best places for a New York-style slice outside of the Big Apple, it was a respectable entry into the game. For many, there was just no question that a stop at the mall was going to include a Sbarro slice. Yet the chain also has some seriously outstanding calzones and, in some locations, there was a buffet. It was hot, it was tasty, and it was an absolutely reliable pizza to fuel you up before you continued on your shopping extravaganza.

There are a lot of mall food court restaurants that quietly disappeared, but Sbarro is still around. True, it's struggled with the fall of the great shopping malls, but in case you're wondering just how legit it is, remember that it's been inducted into the Pizza Hall of Fame. It's gotten a 21st-century makeover, but when it was served on a paper plate in a food court, it was the best.

Chuck E. Cheese was such a big deal that it's not surprising that others would try the pizza-and-playtime combination. Yet no one did it quite like Discovery Zone. Imagine, if you will, a giant hamster cage made for human children. Fill it with ball pits, slides, tubes and tunnels, soft climbing blocks, and slides, then just cut the little ones loose. And yes: There was pizza. In fact, there was a whole snack bar, and rooms that could be rented out for birthday parties. If that sounds fun, wait until we tell you some Reddit users report their local DZ had laser tag, too.

However, this is one thing we can also confidently tell you that is better in theory than in practice, because do you know what kids are? If you said, "Kinda gross," you know where we're going with this. Reddit users also report that as cool as this place looked, it inevitably smelled like feet and various bodily functions that kids might not have complete control over yet, so there's that.

There were hundreds of these places in the '90s, and here's a little fun fact to hit you right in the feels: It was originally expected to be ultra-successful in part because it was backed by Blockbuster (insert sad Millennial noises here). It was completely gone by 2001, partially because children who were theoretically in school for much of the day weren't exactly a huge customer base, and adults found it predictably awful.

California Pizza Kitchen was just hitting its stride in the early 1990s, buoyed by a unique menu. Sure, a strawberry and tomato pizza or a fully loaded barbecue chicken pizza might look perfectly normal to us as we go wildly careening through the 21st century. But in the '90s, a grilled lime chicken, Thai, or Peking duck pizza was wild stuff. Quickly developing a reputation for being the kind of place that walked the line between causal and upscale, many parents went, and took their kids.

If you wanted to feel trendy during the '90s, you went to CPK. Interestingly enough, reviews from the early '90s wavered between calling it sort of acceptable and the best food of any pizza place around. Either way, we have to wonder if California Pizza Kitchen hitting big during the formative years of Millennials has something to do with the type of pizza varieties we see today.

Head to Reddit, and you'll find some users saying this place introduced their '90s-era self to the idea of shaved parmesan (which makes it a standout memory in itself, if we're honest). Others reminisce about the pear and gorgonzola pizzas, the barbecue chicken, and the Thai chicken. It's clearly the place that showed many people that pizza didn't just have to settle for being covered in greasy pepperoni, and one of those — the rosemary roasted potato and grilled chicken pizza — was put back on the menu for a limited time in 2025.

There's almost infinite knowledge to be found on the good ol' information superhighway, but sometimes, we find ourselves stymied on our research. That's the case with Godfather's Pizza, which notes on its official site that in 1990, it started a program called "Math by the Slice." That's got some serious Book It! vibes, but we couldn't find anything else about it out there. Weird? We thought so, and we're also a little bummed by the fact that we also found coupons from 1997, which allowed the bearer access to the all-you-can-eat pizza and salad lunch buffet for just $3.99.

There's no denying that Godfather's struggled through the 1990s, relying heavily on a mob theme that was, by that time, looking pretty dated. It wasn't up there with the big three chains, but it certainly held its own and plenty of fans — especially when it comes to the dessert pizzas.

Still, Godfather's is hanging in there, and turned 50 years old in 2023. Anyone looking for a reminder of just what was being served on those incredibly affordable buffets may also like to know that you can buy a three-pack of Godfather's pizza sauce on Amazon for $15.75 (you're welcome).

The Peter Piper Pizza of 2025 looks little like the one that '90s kids remember, and that's kind of a shame. There's been new menu items added, the color schemes are different, and in 2016, it was announced that the chain was going to be focusing more on the food instead of the games. Why, we ask, do you have to choose one or the other? Why not offer some great food with a 1990s-era vibe, because if there's one thing that the 21st century needs, it's more of the '90s.

Take a gander at the old commercials, and you'll see a place that admittedly looks pretty fun. Brightly-colored, cafeteria-style tables are filled with pizza that might look like nothing super extraordinary, but add in a slew of arcade games, and you can sign us right up. We do have to note that Peter Piper wasn't the only pizza game in town, and there was also the strangely similarly-named Pistol Pete's.

Peter acquired Pete in the mid-1990s, and we're trying to make this as little of a tongue twister as we can. The neat thing about these places was that they were a little more adult: Reddit users recall games like "Mortal Kombat" and "Street Fighter" set the vibe, and in case you're wondering, the pizza was meh. Still, it's the kind of meh pizza that defined the formative memories of a generation, and that makes it a special kind of mediocre.