My Favorite Pizza Is Now Available At… Red Robin?

As long as I can remember, my favorite pizza has come from Columbus’ own Donatos Pizza. This underrated chain has offered quality tavern-cut pies since the 1960s; by 1999, the chain had over 140 corporate-owned and franchise locations across the Midwest. That same year, McDonald’s purchased Donatos Pizza to stake a claim in the pizza market. (That was around the same time the Golden Arches purchased a minority stake in a little 16-location chain from Denver called Chipotle. That initial stake expanded to 90% before McDonald’s divested fully in 2006.)

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By 2004, McDonald’s had sold Donatos back to the founder and his daughter, Jane Grote, the company’s current chairwoman. Since then, the chain has grown to more than 400 locations in ~30 states (not counting the fully autonomous pizza-making robot at my home airport seen below).

That said, I recently learned Donatos is even more widespread than I thought. My favorite pizza chain is available not only at their standalone restaurants, but also at… Red Robin? In 2018, Red Robin added Donatos Pizza offerings to their menu at four test locations. The test must have gone well; as of 2026, the partnership spans hundreds of Red Robin locations nationwide. You can now get fresh Donatos Pizza (including their secret-recipe crust, shipped frozen from the factory here in Ohio) at Red Robin locations in California, as far from Ohio as you can get without a boat.

Which Donatos Pizza should I order from Red Robin?

As with all pizzas, the answer lies in your heart. That said, I’ll offer a few suggestions as your local expert. Donatos is famous for its “Edge to Edge” pizzas, which are absolutely covered in toppings; a large pepperoni pizza from Donatos averages over 100 slices of pepperoni. You can’t go wrong with their standard pepperoni pizza or the new hot-honey variant. I also love that The Works, Donatos’ equivalent to the supreme pizza, doesn’t include any trash black olives.

I would love for Red Robin to expand their Donatos offerings with one more classic pizza from the original menu: Hawaiian. I’ve always laughed at the “does pineapple belong on pizza?” debate because, at least in my house growing up, pineapple wasn’t even the strangest topping on our Hawaiian pizza! Donatos’ Hawaiian pizza features smoked provolone, shaved ham, pineapple, sliced almonds, and cinnamon. Don’t knock it ’til you try it; it’s a game-changer. I’m not saying I wrote this entire piece just to shine a light on the best Hawaiian pizza in the game, but…