Living in the neighborhood for several years I have been reluctant to visit this restaurant because of its low ratings. I was finally convinced to give it a try and boy was I glad I did. The place was nicely lit, clean and offered many different varieties of pizza's some of them quite unusual. It was also quite reasonably priced. Nice selection of beer on tap. My wife and friend ordered a large meatball and sausage pie. They said it was delicious. It was indeed quite large with enough to take home for a nice lunch. Being a vegetarian I ordered "the organic" with fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes and pesto. It was superb with standout seasonal heirlooms adding a distinct flavor to the pie. I pretty much ate the whole thing myself. Don't know what took me so long, I highly recommend this place. read more

This place consistently closes at 9PM. Not sure why or how they're listed as closing at 10PM, but again and again people are confused by this. Yelp-admins, PLZ FIX this TIME WASTING ERROR. THIS RESTAURANT CLOSES AT NINE, so stop giving them credit for staying open late, and causing my friends to go bang their head against a brick wall when they're at my place wanting a pizza. If it's late and you want pizza in this neighborhood, get over to Lanesplitter, they're open past midnight every night. And the pizza is better IMO read more

I was very disappointed with my last order from this place. First, I waited for 45 minutes even after calling in my order. Drove across town after calling in my order which took up a lot of the time YOU recommended for pick up. Got lucky and found parking (which is unheard of) and per your pick up time, had about 10 minutes to wait. No problem. I then get a text that my order is ready. I walk in show them that they text and I then ended up waiting for 45 minutes. Once I got home from an exhausting day, I open the box and my crust is all burnt. Not good. Not good tasting and really ruined the whole pie. Thanks to the old stand by, which is now my #1 place for any pizza, my evening dinner was rendered by another pizza company who always puts out an outstanding pizza pie. My question, what does that young man with the black chef hat and apron do? What a waste of time that person is? I watched him just walk aimlessly to and fro the kitchen and avoiding the already perturbed folks who had been waiting just as long as I. Which I had something better to say but you're not for everyone. All the best!!! read more

I just walked over here before the warriors game to get a pizza. Two other patrons in warriors gear and I were outside the door during their "open hours". Employees were inside but the door was blocked with chairs. We all waited a bit, looked at each other, shrugged and walked away. Terrible management and customer service. This isn't the first time this has happened to me and I won't be returning. read more

The pizza is ok when hot and fresh out of the oven, so dining in is the best option. It's food, I live close so it's convenient def would not drive here. lane splitter is right around the corner and has better pizza. I agree with the review that said they must use the same vendor as Oakland City schools for the dough cause the crust on the personal size pizza was horrid. Haven't tried anything except pizza. They need new recipes for all pizza from dough, sauce, seasonings everything....and it would be a great neighborhood spot. Also, a little boring...I don't remember any music, t.v's or other entertainment. read more

Let me start off by saying that if any of the people reading this review enjoy Round Table or Dominoes Pizza, you should probably stop reading this and just go home. HOWEVER, if you prefer really good pizza with amazingly fresh ingredients then come here. It's good- real good and I'm so ecstatic that they are down the street from us. Their salads are delicious too! Pizza, for me, is an indulgence - it's one of my favorite things to eat but let's be honest, it's not too healthy. So when I eat pizza, I want it to be special and good, hence why I eat at Leaning Tower at least once a week. After having lived in the bay area for over 10 years, I'm going to have to say that Leaning Tower of Pizza is now one of my favorites. It comes pretty darn close to my all time favorite in the city, Ragazza. The new ownership has completely transformed the menu and brought great quality to the Lake Merrit Area - so very needed! While this may not be a place to come to for the romantic ambiance, the people are lovely and go out of their way to make you feel right at home. This is not a fancy place, you will not have the boot and shoe type service with the hipster attitudes, rather you will get good food with down home type people. Ok here are my suggestions for coming here: - Mushroom pizza - my boyfriend who hates mushrooms is obsessed with this pizza. *Note - this is not a mushroom with red sauce pizza - they use some sort of cream sauce - not sure what it is but it is magical. This pizza emboddies everything I love about mushrooms and uses a perfect cheese to accompany the mushrooms. Divine. - Sausage Pizza - This is now my new favorite. They put thai chilis and roasted red pepper which pairs amazingly well with the sausage. Almost sweet and spicy. - Margarita - Very special - Cheese - I can devour their cheese pizza. The sandwiches - Meatball sandwich - come hungry. This is good and the meatballs are delicious. Roasted chicken sandwich. Perfect on a cold day. Salads - their seasonal uses only the freshest ingredients and their dressings are made by hand. Sometimes I come just for these. Their Caesar is fantastic too. This place is special and to all of you foodies out there - you know who you are. Stop by and see Lake Merrit's best kept secret. I'm hungry just writing this. read more

For those of you looking for a menu: http://www.leaningtowerofhaddonhill.com/menu Only had this place once, will have to try again. I did the roaster peppers diavolo, probably won't be doing that one again. It has whole thai chili peppers with all the seeds, my first bite was of oil from the peppers and put me in pain (and I love spicy food)... Hoping that I just ordered the wrong thing, service was friendly and prices are average. read more

Unusual pizza in a hidden location. About a 3.5. Parking sucks and it's freezing in the winter and hot in the summer,but worth a go. I like their Louisiana Purchase that comes with hot links and shrimp. Not bad. read more

They were almost closing as we arrived. We ordered half mushroom and half meat pizza. It was hot and delicious, it satisfied every craving. And, we got to play boardgames there while waiting for the pizza!! Nice, local dig that we will definitely be re-visiting. read more

Since living on Lake Merritt two years now, this is a reliable, walk-to business that I wholeheartedly support. Turkey pesto and meatball sandwiches are good, pizzas are nice too. I will continue to prefer the little guy to the big chain through life. I hope to live here for a long time and enjoy Leaning Tower's friendly service. read more

Pure convenience. I live down the street from this place, and when my fridge is empty, it's quite hard to resist walking down and picking up a pie. I'll know I have gotten truly lazy when I start taking advantage of their excellent delivery service. Pizza is good, relatively cheap, they have outdoor seating, but it's a little overly cheesy (the pizza, not the seating) and not very innovative, considering what else is out there. I like them well enough, particularly their Mediterranean pizza, and they do traditional pick-your-own-toppings-thin-crust pizza quite well--just with lots and lots of cheese. Worth a gander, and definitely nice to have it down the street in case of a pizza emergency, but compared with the excellence you can get at Arizmendi or Pizza Pazza or Zachary's, this place doesn't quite cut the bay area gourmet cheese. read more

A hidden gem! Amazing sourdough crust and super fresh toppings. We order it for take home almost every week and it never disappoints.

3 stars breakdown: 0 stars for food, has anyone tried this CRUST????? NASTY!!!!!! They serve your pizza on a giant flavorless cracker not dough!!! I mean WTF?? Who does that?? 2 stars for $5 pitchers of New Belgium on mondays!!!!! Only hang up is you have to order some of their nasty ass pizza to get the deal..... *Shrug* read more

I don't know what's up with the negative reviews but I've tried their pizza and it's one of the best I've had. We tried the mushroom pizza and OMG, it was delicious. Had shitake which I rarely see on any pizza and I love shitake. Plus the crust was thin and crispy just how I like my pizzas. My friend ordered the potato pizza and although I'm not a huge fan of potatoes this was delicious. I will be back to taste the other pizzas. read more

There's a new owner/pizza maker in the leaning tower, and Kabamm shazammm Isaac is fantasgormic! Pizza crust much thinner, menu is millennium/ foodie cuisine than the old italian family style but it is well welcomed and offers a great alternative in the neighborhood to Lane Splitters or Round Table!. I would normally scream "gentrification" but the Squash salad and Mushroom special were so devine, and the delivery guy so polite that I just can't. Besides - the old guy who was here for 30 years moved in at the same age the new guy Isaac is now... change is good in this case. The varied italian menu is gone, with a strictly pizza pie and salads. (The speciality pizzas are incredible, but don't ask for substitutes or additions or you'll get a lecture - Think Arizmindi. Really - try these guys, they're upping the level of pizza without being pretentious and devoted to making great pizza. read more

Rat and cockroach infested. Baked into our pizza which arrived 2 hours later. When we called the owner about the situation he hung up on us. Nuff said. read more

This pizza would not pass for Italian, but you've got your solid American pizza joint here. Especially like the neighborhood setting and kid friendly interior. This is a good options for locals looking for a place close to home. If you need fancy pizza, then head to the good local alternatives on Grand. read more

After 5 years in the bay finally a decent New York style slice. This message was approved by a native New Yorker.

The pizza here is great. I actually love the thin, European-style crusts, and the goat cheese/sun-dried tomato pizza is my favorite. It's definitely different than a normal pizza joint - no huge, fluffy, cheese-filled crusts or layers of grease swimming on top. It actually feels healthy. Other bonuses: large-screen TV and alcohol prices. The booze is cheap! $2.47 or something for beer, around $3 for a glass of house wine, and the house red is actually pretty good. The half off special on Mondays makes the booze a steal. I also like the Lake Merritt/Leaning Tower mural on the wall, though it's a bit quirky. One part looks like someone is birthing a cow furnace. read more

It's close to the laundry mat, so convenient to grab a bit when washing a load. Pizza quality isn't too good though, and i always leave with a stomach ache. It's a shame-- location of this Pizza place gives it potential-- just needs an owner who cares more about ingredients and taste. read more

Need more stars than 5, as this pizza is more than "Great." It is outstanding! I have lived the first 2 decades of my life in NYC, and the last 4-plus decades in CA, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area; both places reknowned for lots of great food. While I have always beed fond of pizza, in my whole life, I have never had pizza as good as this. We chose 2 pizzas, the mushroom (with 4 kinds of mushrooms), and roasted pepper (w/o sausage, as I am vegetarian). They were both incredibly deliscious. And as if that weren't enough, the market salad was among the best salads we ever tasted. This place is a bit of a drive from where we live, but the food is SO good, that we will return. Do yourself a favor, if you are looking for great pizza (or great salad), go to The Leaning Tower of Pizza! read more

If you like mushrooms, the Mushroom Pizza, will, as promised, "overwhelm you with mushroom flavor in every bite." It's truly delicious. Even cold. My husband hates cold pizza (go figure), but he loved it, too. The crust is real, genuine pizza crust. Yay! Bonus: the guy who took my order over the phone spelled my name right. The service overall was excellent: friendly, pizza ready when I came in to pickup, and they acknowledged me when I came in even while serving other customers. Having lived in this neighborhood for way too long I was a little nervous about the change over at Leaning Tower, but I'm happy with the changes they've made and wish them much success. read more

I was at the chiropractor and wanted food after. Saw pizza and pasta sign which I like. Went inside, ask if they do pasta because the ugly menu didn't have any pasta option. NO THEY DONT SELL PASTA, even though painted outside building, pizza, salad, and pasta. Waited 50 mins and finally went up and ask and pizza was sitting in box on top of their cooker. Girl who took my order didn't even call me or anything. Place is slow, service terrible, I mean I was standing in front where I'm visible and no one called out the orders to come up and get it. Even a couple before me got a refund and left who wanted to dine in. $17 for non appealing small combo, not good. Pizza and dough taste like rubber. Worst pizza. Save money and go get McDonalds. read more

What had happened here?? This was our favorite pizza place for so long but has it changed ownership? Our last three orders have been so disappointing. Pizzas are coming out super thin and with slim on toppings. The margarita is our go to but contains much less fresh mozzarella and they've started adding regular mozzarella-?? Plus basil in the corners of the box. Inexplicably the pizzas - even when we wait for it are getting cold super fast. Maybe bc it is too thin. Either they are having money problems or it's been sold. We gave it a few times to recover but it seems as if this level of quality is here to stay. We'll probably move on. read more

I had from here, hands down, the best to-go meatball sandwich I've ever had last evening. Give these folks some time to get it going here....they've only been at it a couple of months. Not sure they should be using the same name as the old place...AKA the Kwik Way curse. Hard to beat down crummy past branding reputations. read more

I like that they have whole wheat crust. Upon exiting my weekly therapy appointment (out the back way) I spill upon the sidewalk and always marvel at the large group of people hanging, chatting, and drinking beer. I wish I knew one of them so I could join them to eat and drink away my sorrows every Tuesday night. I was tempted to pretend that this was my neighborhood and join one of the local council meetings going on there but couldn't muster up the moxie. read more

I want to want this place... ...but I find myself trying and not liking their pizzas. I space out my trips there so that the distaste of my last visit has had sufficient time to buried itself in the realm of suppressed memories. Their cheese is either fat-free or part Velveeta, both of which were created in complete defiance of the laws of nature. The cheese tastes strange and has an odd consistency. And I don't care for the pizza sauce. It doesn't have to be made from scratch, but it's not good enough for them to be so heavy handed with it. Maybe the taste of sausage-basil-onion-pepperoni-eggplant-kitchensink covers up the funkiness but whatever. I'm into simple pizzas where the essentials have to be solid. Aside from the food aspect, this place is just what a cozy neighborhood joint should be, and for that, I will continue to patronize it. Maybe I'll start trying their pastas or wings. read more

This place is delicious and fun. Came here on a double date and had half pizza with mushroom and half with pepperoni and sausage. My favorite was the mushroom pizza- it had all assortments of mushrooms. Crust was crispy yet the perfect touch of chewy and thin. Yum!! To add to the delicious side of things, they have a variety of board games and we played Scrabble...it was such a fun night - I actually learnt a few new words lol. Staff was very friendly and service was fast! Thank you for keeping the quality up! Will definitely be back when in the area. read more

Went back again! So good. The crust is delicious and the toppings are fresh and super tasty. Tried their spicy pepper special an it was HOT. I mean that in a slang a literal way. Love this place. Has an awesome community vibe and Isaac is striving to make it something special. read more

Ate: A regular (cheese) slice and a margherita pie. Cheese slice was fine, margherita was really excellent! I like New York style and I thought this was great, the best around (much better than Lanesplitters). Decor was fine and staff was friendly. read more

Oh... Leaning Tower of Pizza, where have you been all my life? If you're looking for a thin crust pizza with an amazing sourdough crust, this is your place. I guess maybe you would call me a pizza snob because I have my favorite places that I will go for pizza. This place now belongs on that list. My sister wanted "thin crust" pizza so we came here. We had the mushroom special, hawaiian, veggie and pepperoni. Yes, this was for two people. Needless to say, my sister LOVED the pizza as did I. I love the consistency of the pizza, not to mention the friendly staff! I will definitely be visiting this place again very soon. read more

Pizza's OK, but service is so bad and delivery so unreliable that it's not worth it. Ordered two pizzas to share w/ friends that just helped us move and they only delivered one. When I called the manager he said he'd give us a refund but they were too busy to send another pizza. I wanted a pizza to feed my friends not a refund but they apparently didn't feel that fixing their botched order should take priority over new orders. So I took the refund and a week later realized they charged my card in full and provided no refund. So now I have to dispute the charge with my credit card company. The manager was rude, unprofessional, and lied to me. I cannot support this place. read more

This pizza is really just only okay. It's pizza, it's good. What more can I say? The employees are nice, the place was quite bare. They have some TVs, and seating to spare. You can call ahead to place an order of food. But it's not like there's a line to ruin your mood. read more

This is not your father's Leaning Tower - the guys that own Haddon Hill Cafe are expanding their gourmet empire and it's a good thing. Ironically, many of the menu items (TOPS pizza, pesto chicken sando) come from the old menu, but the guys have focused the offerings and cranked up the quality, and it's a whole new experience. So don't mind the awkward entrance and funky decor- they'll get to that. But check out this awesome new neighborhood gem, and if you have them swap the moz on the TOPS combo with goat cheese, I hope you'll like it as much as I did. read more

I have real mixed feelings about this place. I live across the street and am frequently here IMHO... Food: The pizza is decent thin-crust with old school American style toppings. Hits the spot every time, plenty filling. The Crust's cooked-ness varies a bit but satisfies. Salads are average but a good size. -Hot Wings and Sandwiches are forgettable and i usually avoid them. Drinks: They have beer on tap!! Prohibition Ale, Fat Tire, 1554 Black Ale and Trumer Pils available by the pint or pitcher and reasonably priced. A number of bottle beers, house wines and soda is also available. I think that 1/2 priced mondays are still in effect which makes pitchers quite cheap ($6? check first) Atmosphere. Mellow most of the time, Family friendly, sports on the big screen muted or quiet music. This is a perfect place to study or kill time waiting on laundry at the laundromat across the street. Huge open dining room with high ceilings and a massive mural of Lake Merritt. I see a lot of potential for greatness if they'd update the menu/recipes a bit. My WISHLIST New crust recipe Better salads and wings Gluten-free crusts Calzones read more

Nice space, good location, terrible pizza. But the beer selection is pretty good. do you know what good pizza tastes like? does it taste like loads of dried marjoram? is there a questionable substance resembling mozzarella on it? semi-baked crust with a hint of no flavor? it's kind of like the kraft boxed pizza i had as a child but you'll pay for each slice what you'd pay for the box. inflation. read more

Always a good pizza. Super friendly staff. Great board game collection! Thanks for being my awesome neighborhood pizza joint

Pizza was solid, but wait took forever. Poor overall service, with attitude and wait time. Watched them put the pizza on top of the oven and it sat there for a good 15 min before they finally brought it to our table. May go back to see if they have better service on another day, but not sure if I'm willing to risk it. read more

This place really needs to have a higher rating. The pizza is one of the best I've ever had. On top of this, the staff and owner are always just so nice and friendly. Truly an Oakland establishment! read more

I don't know what kind of donut crust some of these other reviewers are used to, but this place is great! I've tried the regular and the whole wheat crusts now and they're both fantastic. Thin enough to have a crisp to it without the flaccid sogginess that can tend to go along with the style. I recommend the whole wheat. Lots of interesting combo options for the vegetarians (I am one so I paid close attention). And who could say no to half price pitchers of Fat Tire on Mondays? A large pizza and a pitcher only set us back $28 after a generous tip! You can't even get a large pizza for that at some places. I think I have a new Monday night football spot. A little more atmosphere (even just lower the lights a little) would have gotten them 5 stars. read more