7 Things Costco Shoppers Hate The Most About The Food Court Pizza

Costco's food court is known for offering some of its food items, including its pizza, at a fairly cheap price, making them popular with members. In fact, a single slice of pizza has cost $1.99 and a whole 18-inch pizza has been priced at $9.95 since they were launched in 1989. The low price makes Costco's pizza 20% cheaper per square inch than the 16-inch pie that Sam's Club has on its cafe menu.

While the pizza's affordability has made it somewhat famous, that doesn't mean it is consistently enjoyed by customers. As a matter of fact, when a writer for The Takeout ranked 11 pizzas from Costco from worst to best, the food court pizza fell to a rather low placing of spot number seven. On top of that, there have been a number of complaints that reviewers across Reddit and Facebook consistently had about the warehouse club's pies. 

We decided to compile and share these complaints so you are informed the next time you're standing in line at the food court waiting to order, or see if you agree with members' grievances. To learn more about our research process, visit the methodology slide at the end of the article.

One of the main turn-offs for customers with the food court pizza was how greasy it is. "90% of my single sliced pizza that I order has waaaaaay to(o) much oil on it and under it," a person on Reddit shared. "Yes I get it, it's a pizza. But it's literally wet, except for the crust." The whole pizza was also highlighted as heavily soaking the box it comes in with grease. "The refrigerated leftovers has solidified grease puddles on every pepperoni as well as the low spots on the cheese," a Redditor added. "Ordering cheese only will reduce the amount of grease, but not eliminate it." Additionally, others emphasized they can smell the grease coming out of their pores after they eat it and complained that they feel sick after having two slices.

The amount of grease caused some people to just give up on Costco's pie. One member explained that they ended up only eating the pepperoni and the crust, while another stated they threw it away after one bite due to how oily and undercooked it was. 

However, reviewers did share methods they use to improve the pizza, including using napkins or paper towels to sop up the grease, cooking it more in the oven or air fryer, or a combination of both. "I napkin blot it off with a loooooooot of napkins. Then take that pizza home and crisp it up in the oven or air fryer. Way better when cooked more," a Reddit user said.

Members were also left unimpressed by the quality of Costco's pizza, describing it as average or even awful. When compared to other pizza places, the warehouse club's pie was given an overall rating of three or four out of 10. Furthermore, there were people who felt that frozen pizzas were better than the food court dish. "Every time [...] I order a Costco slice, a small part of me dies," a reviewer on Reddit emphasized. "I sit in my car and look down at this greasy, tasteless mess sitting on top of a lifeless sponge and wonder what my life has become."

On top of that, the food item was dubbed a "soulless pizza" because of its dough and sauce. Eaters criticized the sauce as being overly sugary and the crust as being soft and soggy, adding the dough's flavor is not good. The proportions of sauce and cheese were also highlighted as being off. One poster stated they wouldn't want Costco's pizza even if it was free. Additionally, it reminded a customer of the pizza they were served at their middle school cafeteria, which they noted is not something they're nostalgic for.

Shoppers don't have many choices when it comes to what kind of pizza they can typically order from Costco food court: They can either get pepperoni or cheese. The warehouse club does have food court locations in France and the U.K. that offer the option of a BBQ Chicken Pizza with green peppers. Other international Costcos have different variations of pizza on the menus as well, including a BBQ Meat Pizza and one with bulgogi and green pepper.

In the United States, the chain used to have a combo pizza but got rid of it in 2020, leaving many members disappointed and wishing it would make a return. "Everyone on here pines for the combo pizza they used to have, the reason being when you are eating something that greasy you need the different textures from vegetables, and the acidity from the onions to cut it," a poster on Reddit stated. A petition was even started to bring it back. Posters who appeared to be employees on Reddit explained that the pizza was removed from the menu due to the cost to make it and because it was the pie that sold the least.

As far as what kind of pizza customers would like Costco to offer, a user on Facebook emphasized that they would love for a meat lover's option to be available. A Redditor agreed that they would like a meatier version of the warehouse club's pizza on the menu, or for a Hawaiian pie to be released. Someone also noted that they would like for a thinner crust to be offered.

Another grievance that reviewers have with Costco's food court pizza is its lack of flavor. They described it as a bland, tasteless, and unsatisfying pizza. It was also referred to as the saltiest pie one person had ever had. "While it's good value for the size, I'd say it's not worth the calories since it's pretty basic tasting," a Redditor emphasized. "Even cheaper Domino's pizza has more flavor." Some frozen pizzas were highlighted as being better than the Costco menu item, as well.

One free way to upgrade Costco pizza while still at the food court is by asking an employee for the chopped onions that are meant for the hot dogs, which you can then sprinkle over the top of the pizza. Eaters did share other methods they use to improve the taste of warehouse club's pizza, taking it to the next level. "I like to season mine at home with Italian seasoning, onion/garlic powder, and sometimes I put bell peppers/onions on it too," a member shared on Reddit. "It makes a huge difference in the taste and still cheaper than ordering pizza from other places." 

Additionally, customers advised adding olive oil, crushed red pepper, parmesan cheese, balsamic, oregano, basil, or thyme to the pie to enhance it. On top of that, one person revealed that they bring their own garlic to Costco with them so they can add it to their slice.

The quantity of cheese that comes on the food court pizza was also something that customers complained about. "I've never seen a piece of cheese pizza with so much cheese on it!" a poster on Reddit said. "The pepperoni has less cheese." Additionally, another Redditor felt that the single cheese slice from Costco's food court comes with more cheese on it than an entire pizza does. 

A Reddit poster who appeared to be an employee or someone with insider knowledge explained that the cheese pizza comes with 24 ounces of cheese, on it while the pepperoni is made with 14 ounces of cheese and 60 pepperoni. On top of the complaints about the excessive amount of the topping, the cheese was also described as rubbery and tasteless.

Despite the criticism, there was one person who felt Costco has actually decreased the amount of cheese it puts on its pies. However, they were met with disagreement from commenters who emphasized that the pizza has more than enough cheese on it and doesn't need anymore. "My Costco pizza has a ton of cheese as usual. I think you maybe got a bad slice or something," one Redditor  added. There was one person who recommended scraping half the cheese off a single slice of pizza before folding it in half to improve its ratio.

Throughout our research, we also saw members consistently having issues with receiving soggy and undercooked pizza from Costco, causing the dough to be thick and chewy. "The pizzas are always extremely under baked. The dough in the center 25% of the pizza is genuinely raw every time I bring one home," an eater on Reddit shared. "I end up having to put pieces we're going to eat in the oven on a pizza pan to finish the baking process. It's been like this for over two years so it seems like this is just their normal." Others explained that they're regularly given pies that are pale and poorly cooked, with one person stating there's a more than 50% chance they get one that is overly doughy. There were those who preferred the single slice over the whole pizza as they're able to cook a little more under the heat lamps, making them crispier.

In order to fix the problem, customers recommended asking employees for the food court pizza to be made "well done" or "extra crispy." They did note that if its busy workers may not be able to cook the dish longer due to the ovens being full. Additionally, there were claims from reviewers that they've had the pizza still come out soggy even after ordering it well done. "Even told the lady handing me the pizza, 'I ordered extra done.' She just nods and says okay and proceeds to hand me the same pizza," a Redditor added. For those who are given an undercooked pizza, commenters advised using an oven, air fryer, or pan to further cook it and make it crispy.

Reviewers regularly receive pizzas that are not cut all the way through or have slices that aren't evenly sized. "In the past, the slices were fairly even and the kids could just pull them out of the box. Now, they are wildly uneven where there is a slice that's way bigger than an 1/8th and others much smaller, but we have to cut through the crust again just to get it out of the box," a member on Reddit explained. "Not sure if there is some new process (I notice there are machines doing everything from flattening the dough to portioning the sauce) but cutting isn't that hard." Another customer shared a video on Reddit showing that their pizza didn't even come sliced and they were able to pick up the whole thing without it falling apart.

Commenters stated that Costco does have a way to uniformly slice up its pizza – which is a cutting guide, or what customers on Reddit referred to as a "pizza cutting fence" — that employees are supposed to be using. "Must not be all Costco's. We always end up having to reslice the pizzas as they are never cut all the way through," an eater added on the Reddit thread. Multiple people theorized that the guide is only used for the individual slices and that the whole pizza is just freehanded. They also believe the pie not being cut all the way through is due to the pizza cutter being dull.

In order to determine the things that customers dislike the most about Costco's food court pizza, we started by looking at reviews for the dish across Reddit and Facebook. While analyzing them, we made note of the different grievances that people raised with the warehouse club's pie.

From there we did further research to figure out which ones were the most common and compiled the list from there. During the process, we paid attention to any recommendations that members had to rectify the problems or improve the pizza, then made sure to include them to inform readers about what steps they can take to enhance their experience with the menu item.