All Purpose Pizza & Ale House

We picked up large half prosciutto and pineapple and half pepperoni and pineapple on Wednesday with Drew and Nathaniel to eat while we watched True Blood. It was pretty good. I liked the crust, those who fear carbs wouldn’t though. The pizza sauce is definitely different, it has a sweet taste I am guessing from the wine they use to make it. Sauce isn’t going to be for everyone. It hit the spot, even if it was a little on the pricey side.

I used to say that it was impossible to make bad pizza, because even when it’s bad it’s still kinda good,… because it’s pizza! I have since learned better.
My friends had all warned me about this place, saying I shouldn’t go, that the pizza was bad, that the sauce was wrong, etc. I usually trust their opinions so should have listened, but I willfully rebelled and gave A.P.P. a try. I was in a hurry to get to a movie so wanted to grab a couple slices on the run.
First of all, it took 20 minutes to get two slices to the table, even though there was only one other occupied table in the place, and they were already eating. When I asked what the holdup was, the waitress told me that the slices were baking. What? Yes. She said they are par-​baked and then finish-​baked when ordered. (Tip: Don’t order here when you’re in a hurry.)
When I got the slices I was all downhill from there. Bewilderingly bad. How is this possible? Everything was bland: the sauce, cheese, bread. And everything was strangely thick and gummy. This wasn’t deep-​dish pizza mind you, which is supposed to be thick. This was thick like Aramark school cafeteria pizza, only not as tasty. It was so bad that I only ate half of each slice, then gave up, only picking off the toppings to fill up on.
I was very disappointed. I had been hoping to prove my friends wrong, and to become a regular supporter of a neighborhood biz. But that ain’t gonna happen. $ 8 for two wretched slices of pizza is too much to make me ever go back in there. Sorry A.P.P. — I’m down with O.P.P., other people’s pizza.

In a nutshell, APP is a friendly local pizza joint that serves decent yet pricy pizzas (sourdough crust).
The service is solid, and their small spinach salad is gigantic. My boyfriend and I ordered a small half and half (weed eater and el greco) veggie pizza. Both were decent, but I think preferred the weed eater for the chopped sun-​dried tomato. Personally, I would have liked a bit more pesto.
They may not be the best pizza I’ve ever tasted, but I would consider going back there to try different pizzas and/​or calzone.

We’re in the neighborhood and were excited when All Purpose opened up a few years ago. I am a pizza lover and typically love all pizza. Unfortunately, this now is an incorrect statement for me.
We’ve tried this place several times over the years to see if perhaps they’ve changed, and are always faced with disappointment. First off, the red wine sauce is horrible and totally bland. It has a weird, sweet aftertaste that just throws everything off. I’ve seen a couple postings about fancy toppings and honestly they are nothing special and once again, pretty bland. I mean, how can a pepperoni and sausage pizza be bland? Well, they’ve accomplished it.
Lastly, it is so so very overpriced. $ 22 for a large pizza that’s nothing to write home about is extreme. I wish they kept the Central District in mind instead of Leschi when considering pricing.
Even though we’d like to support a local business in our neighborhood, we’ll definitely be getting in the car and continue going to Flying Squirrel, Pagliacci or Via Tribunali.

Delivery of fairly good gluten free pizza is a dream come true. Crispy, not gritty texture and a hearty meal for one, reasonable for two. The red sauce is alright, toppings mid-​range quality and they are honest about delivery time. Their gluten-​laden pizza looked good too and pleased the crowd.
Only quibble is that one time out of three my GF pizza was delivered burned all around the edges. Kinda sloppy work, but I ate it anyway. Cause it is pizza, and who really cares.
I have never eaten there –cannot speak for anything but delivery.

The quality and portion size do NOT match up with the hefty price attached to the food at All Purpose Pizza. AT ALL! $ 44 is way too much to spend one salad and one large pizza, especially when both are just okay.
In a city with Flying Squirrel and Via Tribunali, All Purpose falls short of what it takes make you feel good about shelling out for a spendy pizza dinner. And when what you want is tasty affordable pizza there tons of options: Olympia Pizza, Piecora’s, and Big Mario’s, to name a few.
Sorry, All Purpose Pizza, but I am too underwhelmed to even give you another try. And, that’s too bad because I really wanted to like you and support a neighborhood establishment.

I have to say, I really like this place. We’ve been here a couple of times, the atmosphere is mellow, the pizza is thick, (love the crust), and their salad dressings (particularly the vinaigrette) are unusual and very tasty. I like having a little place to go in the neighborhood that has the small neighborhood feel to it.
I also want to mention the service, both times we were here the waitress was fast and super friendly. The first time I think may have been the owner but both times we felt welcome.
You got me, I’m a regular.

First time my boyfriend and I went to All Purpose Pizza, they gave us a free pie because they baked it a minute long. We had pizza with green apples, chicken and bacon and it was amazing. We also had Woodchuck Hard Cider. We have gone back for this combo several times. This is where we take our friends before baseball games. Ooh, and try their cheesy bread!
The pizza is great. The atmosphere is amazing. Just go check it out.

I eat here a lot. Both take out and dine in. The pizza is incredible! Although not the cheapest pizza in the city of Seattle, it is definitely very very tasty. They put on tons of unique ingredients on their infamous sourdough crust.
The deals on pitchers are also great so definitely try to make it in time for one of those. Unfortunately they close early (like 9 PM) and they don’t really have delivery capabilities (unless you want to wait awhile) so I recommend going by — even if just to pick up your pizza.
Enjoy!

F.Y.I. Half price Pitchers when you order one of there awesome Pizza’s

Have had pizza delivered from All Purpose twice. I’m not so impressed and we have Flying Squirrel less than a mile from our house, so I doubt we’ll be back.
Their crust is between thin and thick. They say it is sourdough, but I could not taste it. I tend to like my crust a little more crispy and this crust has a lot of doughy bubbles in it. Red sauce is okay, not special. The second trip we had a large salami pizza, large Kedi’s Fave (with prosciuitto), and a large salad was $ 60. That’s pretty spendy for pizza. The house salad is supposed to have tomatoes and I didn’t see them. WAY too many onions and I’m not wild about field greens with pizza.
Just all in all not an exciting experience.

Things I love about All Purpose Pizza:
The owner — she rocks! Super duper cool and always has a smile on her face. Even when I say no to the beer she’s pushing on me. ;)
The pizza — umm… I heart the Afternoon Delight (I mean, who doesn’t, really) as well as the Le Verde.
The location — super convenient for me, and that’s all that matters
Great caprese salad
Good soups
Happy kitchen people
If you’re walking thru the neighbourhood, you can smell the garlicky sourdough crust being baked and it beckons you to come in and grab a bite.
I recommend that you do b/​c you won’t regret it and you’ll want to come back for more!

All Purpose Pizza is original in that they use only sourdough for their crust, which gives their pies a very unique flavor. Their use of fresh ingredients is rather impressive, using things like carmelized onions. I thought they were a little pricey but considering the quality and the location (near Madrona/​Leschi), it’s expected.
The service was nice but was a little slow even though they weren’t that busy. I think they were trying to pump out a ton of pizzas for a big delivery order or something. Nevertheless, we got our pizza piping hot and delicious.
I was able to try their «Kitchen Sink» which is similar to the house «special» in most pizza places (combination type). I’ll be back to try their other concoctions.

Small little hole in the wall on Jackson street. My friend and I found it by accident and had nothing better to do.
The service was… well, it was. It wasn’t bad. Took a while to get attention and most of the time the crew was sitting and talking with each other behind the counter but it wasn’t that bad.
We tried the 3 cheese pizza. It has an Italian name, but whatever. It’s a 3 cheese pizza. What’s neat is that one of those cheeses is a blue cheese. It was both terrible and delicious, like most blue cheese. The first few bites were awful, but the more I ate, the better it tasted. Blue cheese pizza. Weird but delicious.
The tables were clean and the place was empty. The only additional problem I had was the pepper shaker was full of powder, just pouring a little bit of pepper on the pizza created this swarm of tiny pepper flakes that caused my eyes to burn. I have no idea if that is the fault of the pizza place but it sucked, so –1 star. I’d definitely go back.

I lived in the apartment building right behind this place for a while, so All Purpose was the closest food option if I wanted to go out with the roommates. I’ve been there a couple times and both times, I was less than impressed.
First, and most importantly, the pizza just plain isn’t good. I don’t like the sourdough crust and their red sauce has a really funky aftertaste to it. The toppings were the only thing going for the pizza and those are overpowered by the subpar crust and sauce.
The price is another place where it takes a hit. Their prices really are high, especially for the pizza you get. They are catering to the Leschi neighborhood East of them, rather than the Central District a few blocks down.
Finally, the service really doesn’t make you want to go back. I automatically lower the level of service I expect when I go into places obviously staffed by hipsters, but this place is bad even for them.
Overall, with so many excellent pizza choices in Seattle, I’d rather take the short bus ride elsewhere than go back to All Purpose.

Brunch runs until 1:30pm, for now. I visited here on Sunday for brunch. C and I had breakfast pizzas — sausage and yukon potatoes on hers, Goat cheese and caramelized onions on mine — all of them come with two sunny-​side up eggs. Thin crust (their signature sourdough, of course), delicious, runs around $ 10 /​pizza. They also do frittatas, omelettes, and the like, but why go to a pizza place and not get the pizza?
I imagine it will be a lot more crowded once word gets out that they’re doing brunch, so I’ll enjoy it while I can.

I love that this place is with in walking distance (even though we drive there since we get carry out).
After reading the reviews of the service and the kids play area I WON’T be dining in the restauraunt, so my review is of the food itself.
YUM. So far we’ve tried the «kitchen sink» and the «feta-​cini». Both have been excellent.
The sizes confuse me a bit. a 12″ is perfect for 2 people (3 little pieces each). A 16″ will serve 2 (w/​lefovers) — 4 people (2 – 3 big pieces each). I guess it depends on how hungry you are.
They’ve never screwed up an order and they’re always right with their time estimates when we call.

Laid back pizza place, with plenty of flat screens to catch a game while you enjoy your pizza. Loved the fromage a trois pizza, and can’t wait to go back and try all the other veggie options. Will also go back to enjoy a pitcher of Hale’s Cream Ale with freinds. I also like the fact they have tall tables with bar stools if you’re eating with a small troup and don’t want to be crowded into a booth.

While I did enjoy the décor, and the kids’ play area is super (they get to play with dough, which amuses everyone to no end) when I went there on a recent Saturday night, the fans were on full blast even though it was cold, and the speakers were letting off this high pitched feedback hum that made everyone at our table nervous and cranky.
After asking the waitress (and then another waitress) to turn off the «music» because it was making us sad, the dinner got off to a good start. We had their garlic bread, which came with a nice, chunky marinara, and then two large pizzas, an El Greco, which was tasty but had a bit too much mozzarella for one diner, and a Kitchen Sink, which was also quite good.

There are 3 pizza places to get awesome pizza in Seattle. Stellar, All Purpose and Piecora’s. In that order.
Stellar and All Purpose get 5 stars, Piecora’s only 4 (because they aren’t as consistent anymore and can get really damn greasy on occasion).
All Purpose has awesome crust and always top notch ingredients. I am happy that they’ve lasted this long and wish them years of great business. I missed out on a trip to get their pizza the last time I was in Seattle and wont pass up the chance the next time I am in town.
Awesome sauce too.
Just a little about my pizza taste so you know how I compare to your taste. I am ok with Neapolitan pizza margherita style pizzas but prefer west coast style pies. New York slices have never done it for me (probably because I have never been there and have not had «the best» representation of this incarnation of pizza). Chicago deep dish isn’t pizza. It shares a lot of the same qualities as pizza, but just isn’t pizza (blasphemy for a lot of people I know… sorry). I like a crust that is voluminous and crunchy but still has substance. The pizza substrate (the area of the pizza under the toppings) must not be soggy or thicker than 3 quarters stacked flat preferably only 2. Ingredients must be so fresh I feel like my face is being smacked by a farm with each bite.
All Purpose does this and more!

Went here a whole bunch when our kid was under 1 just to have a place to get out where noise wouldn’t be an issue. Just went back — place is exactly like I remembered it. Tasty pizza with a «just-​right» crust (although I can’t say the sourdough does anything interesting for me), beer and wine and a little kid play area. They even give your kid some dough to play with if you ask.
There’s a ½ price pitcher night (or there used to be) where you could get half price pitchers of beer with a large pizza during the non-​busy days of the week. Not sure if that’s still happening, but that was a really good deal, even if it did make me drink 2x what I normally would.
The specialty pies are all interesting, if eclectic, and of course you can «make your own» to order. They also deliver, but alas we’re across Madison and outside the delivery area. So that limits how often we’ll get pizza from here.
In general, nice seating, easy parking on the street, couple of TVs usually showing sports and the food comes in reasonable time.
BTW — The last time we went my wife got her wine in this metal glass which made it taste really funny, but they were cool about taking the wine back/​off the bill and giving her a beer instead. So kudos for the waitress not being a PITA about that.