They aren’t very good.
Little Caesar’s doesn’t deliver, which takes them out of the running immediately. I wasn’t even sure they were still around until people started mentioning them in this thread, so I don’t think they’re as ubiquitous as some of you think. That said, I lived on their large Greek salads in college (two meals!).
Domino’s has started adding some sort of garlic seasoning to their crust and I dislike it, so I normally order thin crust from them. Papa John’s crust is better, but the sauce is gross and Papa is a repellent human (sorry, it matters). Pizza Hut crust is unbelievably greasy and…spongy. Bleah. I would only eat Pizza Hut if I were starving and literally nothing else were available.
When I was a kid Pizza Hut was good Pizza. Not just for a chain, but good. It went way down hill.
The owner being a dink notwithstanding, I ate at Papa Johns when it was a small regional chain and the pizza was pretty good. It got worse as it grew.
Dominos was always so so but they actually improved over time and tastes not bad.
Also, not for nothing but I really like their plain wings. Really juicy and tasty. I recommend them.
Maybe they don’t in your locale or maybe they’ve stopped, but I delivered Little Caesar pizza in Carson City 20 years ago.
MoonMoon Same comment.
I’m not sure if the UK versions differ significantly in quality from the US ones but:
Papa Johns and Dominos are pretty much a tie quality-wise; I like Papa John’s sauce slightly better but Domino’s has better sides and dipping sauce. Given that they’re also comparable pricewise, we tend to go Domino’s in part because the Papa John’s website is a pain in the ass and in part because Papa John’s CEO (or former CEO, as it were) is just an ass.
Pizza Hut is oversalted crap. And Little Caesar’s isn’t an option here.
Yeah, definitely. I looked back and found a thread from 2010 where I said I preferred a frozen Tombstone to Domino’s pizza. That opinion definitely changed in the interim with Domino’s 2.0. (Though I do have a certain fondness for Tombstone pizza, as it reminds me of getting sloppy drunk in college at the 4 a.m. bar while ordering the bar pizza, which was Tombstone, for sustenance.) Also interesting to me is that in that thread, I actually called Little Caesar’s the bottom of the barrel, which I don’t think I’d agree with today, either. I generally hate bready pizza, but I’ve enjoyed their Detroit-style deep dish since that thread, so they’ve bumped up a little bit in my estimation. I have had a Papa John’s recently (at a party), and it was every bit as shitty as it always was.
It looks like, as a general rule, delivery isn’t part of the current Little Caesars business model, and not offering it is part of why they’ve been able to keep prices down.
I’d put Papa Murphy’s first. Domino’s second I haven’t had Pizza Hut in decades, but had no objection to it when I did go there. Never had Papa Johns.
I prefer the crust on Papa John’s pizza and the garlic sauce is a guilty pleasure, but my family loves the breadsticks from Pizza Hut. I’m cool with the hand-tossed or pan crusts from Pizza Hut.
In recent years, I think Domino’s has become quite good. Not great, but better than they used to be. As others have mentioned, Pizza Hut tends to be greasy, and I quit patronizing Papa John’s when he threw a bitch fit about having to provide health insurance to employees - saying it would force him to raise the price of pizza (for something less than a quarter each, I seem to recall.)
Unfortunately, the closest Domino’s to me is almost 9 miles away and we’re outside of their delivery area. So we go with a pricier, but also tastier local place.
I’ve always liked Papa John’s crusts and breadsticks.
Now I have no way to choose from the biggest chains. The only one here is Pizza Hut. No Dominoes, Little Caesar’s, Papa John’s, or Papa Murphy’s.
No matter. Mazzio’s is less than a block from my house. We have “third service” there on Sundays after evening service, and spend hours talking (and we eat, too.)
Papa John’s<Domino’s<Pizza Hut
Domino’s has really turned things around. Even just 10 years ago I’d never even consider getting food there, I’d actually rather go hungry, but their food is very edible these days.
Given a choice between these three, Pizza Hut by a slight margin. I have an affinity for what is probably the unhealthiest thing on their menu, the meat lover’s pan pizza, but it’s a once-a-year-if-that sorta thing.
Stuffed Crust and quepapas. Pizza Hut wins.
The toppings I like may have an effect on the final result, but apparently I’m one of the few that prefers Papa John’s over the others - with the possible exceptions of Domino’s new “Brooklyn style” and Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Crust.
Of the “top ten,” my favorite is Round Table, but I rarely go there any more as it has priced itself out of my pocketbook ($22 for an 18" 2-topping - and that’s after a 15% Off coupon; I can get three 14" Domino’s Brooklyn Style with three toppings on each for $24).
OMG, I miss Round Table so badly, though I wonder if it’s even remotely the same as it was 25 years ago when I lived in CA. I remember they had that crispy but chewy crust and the sauce was thickish and kind off spicy. A childhood favorite that I think of every time we talk about old restaurants. Or pizza.
IMO, Pizza Hut and Dominos make a similar level of pizza- what I would call “average”. I voted pizza hut because I think theirs is just a little bit better.
Papa Johns and Little Caesars make a similar level of pizza to me as well - what I would call “barely adequate”. Papa johns charges 3 times as much as Little Caesars so I would rate them so far below Pizza Hut and Dominos it isn’t even a competition.
That’s basically my take as well. I have an affinity for Papa John’s “Works” pizza.
anyone remember the huts “bigfoot” pizza ? that was my go to for years after my pizza king went under (I miss the 24" inchers the one here made)
little ceasars went bankrupt in the 90s ( a lot of them became redbrick franchises ) and almost faded but used the recession to bounce back to give school cafeteria pizza a run for its money
I started going to dominoes because after our red brick pizza places went out in (the owners divorced and they had to sell) they were the only one that had half way decent bbq chicken pizza (pizza huts comes and goes )
I used ot order from papa johns because I used to buy a huge coupon book of theirs from a charity very year when they quit selling those we quit them
Pizza Hut gives the best first couple bites IMHO, but they are too greasy for me to really enjoy. For eatability I’ll go with Dominos first. Papa John’s has seriously dialed back its quality over the past 8 or so years–they may as well not exist as far as I’m concerned. If I can’t get Dominos, Hut, or Caesar I’d sooner grab a Totino’s or Freschetta out of the freezer. Or maybe a cereal box.
I have always preferred Pizza Hut over the other three mentioned as being in the top-4. But I qualify that remark by saying that I’ve not had Domino’s since they reformulated their pizzas; in the past Domino’s was trash, not fit to fill packages with. In my opinion, the ONLY reason they did so well as a chain was their old guaranteed delivery time along with their relatively cheap pricing.
Anytime you can get two pizzas for the price everyone else charges for one, that’s a pretty good indication the quality is crap, Little Caesar’s.
Chalk me up as a fan of the Last Honest Pizza (RoundTable).