The competition for the pizza dollar is tough in the western suburbs with a pizza bar on just about every main road. Having tested out the local competition, it was time to pay Seaton Pizza Bar a visit. This place doesn’t look like much from the outside, or the inside for that matter, but it’s inconsequential, because a majority of their customers are pickup and delivery. There are tables and chairs both inside and out if you choose to dine in, but most customers opt to sit on the old leather sofas as they wait for their pizza to be cooked. Like most pizza places, they offer a range of traditional and gourmet pizzas. Their pizzas comes in 4 sizes; small, large, family and party. They also offer a range of pasta dishes, chicken meals, ribs, and fish and chips.

Tonight, I ordered a small House Special Pizza (ham, mushroom, capsicum, salami, pineapple, olives, bacon, anchovies). I know from their competitors that a small pizza takes exactly 10 minutes to cook from the time it is made. The person behind the counter did warn me it was a busy night and that I would be waiting 15 minutes. I waited for over an hour and watched two episodes of The Big Bang Theory on their LCD television. I wasn’t very happy and they could see that. They gave me a complimentary garlic bread to make up for it, but I was thinking this better be the best pizza I’ve had in my life.

The Garlic Bread was your stock standard that all the pizza stores use. A small semi-sliced roll with butter, garlic and parsley shoved in between the slices. Not the garlic bread you would get a restaurant, but it was still tasty.

The base of the pizza was considerably oilier than their competitors. The amount of topping was generous with the crust slightly charred with burnt cheese. The vegetable toppings were fresh with the exception of the pineapple and ham. The pineapple came out of a tin and the ham was the cheap processed variety that you buy in bulk. The pizza base was of a consistent thickness and it held the toppings well. The pizza didn’t actually taste too bad, but my hunger probably had something to do with it.

The staff were friendly and the service was terribly slow. It appears they make the pizzas as you order them, but during peak times, I don’t think their pizza oven is big enough to cope with the demand. Waiting over an hour was just unacceptable. The cost of the pizza was $9 which is cheaper than their competitors. The pizza didn’t taste too bad, although, not all the ingredients used are fresh.

Verdict: Service can be very slow during peak periods, and you’ll find that some of their nearby competitors offer a better product.

WHERE: 358 Tapleys Hill Rd, Seaton