How pizza is reshaping pubs one slice at a time

For many operators, installing a pizza oven is rapidly transforming their offer, turning pubs into food destinations almost overnight.

At Lancaster Brewery in Lancashire, co-owner Matt Jackson has witnessed this shift first-hand.

The business introduced pizza in 2023 to address a familiar issue, customers leaving the pub to dine elsewhere.

Pizza, he said, felt like the “natural choice” due to its broad demographic appeal. What followed was a surge in demand that exceeded expectations, with the 60-cover site now seeing around 100 pizzas a day on average.

Each dish costs between £1 and £3 to produce and retails for £12 to £18. As a result, turnover has soared to £1m in the past year, well ahead of the £750k originally forecast.

“Customers now visit specifically for the pizza, often choosing food over drinks.”, Jackson told The Morning Advertiser (The MA).

Compared to traditional pub dishes, he added pizza offers speed, consistency and flexibility – all key advantages in a tight labour market. Installing a stone pizza oven also proved particularly effective for the business, enabling high output within a compact kitchen.

Quality and consistency

However, success has brought challenges. Capacity constraints during peak periods are a growing issue.

“We currently cook 4–5 pizzas at a time, which creates bottlenecks during peak demand,” Jackson said. “It’s not unusual to sell 50–100 pizzas per hour, so production capacity must match demand.”

To manage this, he advises keeping menus simple.

Lancaster Brewery offers six core pizzas, including staples such as Margherita and garlic bread, while rotating around 80% of the menu monthly to keep things fresh.

The business has also introduced a pizza dough-style sandwich and plans to use it as a pasta bowl on selected evenings.

However, Jackson urged fresh and high-quality toppings were essential to maintain quality and change consumer perceptions of pizza.

“Many people associate pizza with late-night takeaway rather than a high-quality, freshly made meal. This can make it harder for some customers to see it as a proper dining option,” he continued.

“Overcoming this requires consistent quality, strong presentation, and clear messaging.”

Dietary requirements remain another challenge, especially glute-free options, Jackson added, describing allergies as a “huge area of discussion”.

For multi-site operators, pizza’s appeal lies in both its adaptability and profitability. At Signature Group, head of food Tom Adlam described it as the most “flexible” food a pub can offer.

The Scottish hospitality group, which operates more than 20 sites, introduced a Napoli-style concept at its Cold Town House pub in Edinburgh in 2019, later expanding into Detroit-style pizzas across Glasgow sites.

At Cold Town House, pizza now accounts for more than 20% of total food sales.

“If it’s done properly, pizza is one of the most reliable and scalable offers you can have in a pub,” Adlam told The MA.

“It works across dayparts, it’s easy for groups, and it travels well around the pub environment. Operationally, it’s efficient, and commercially it delivers strong margins if you get it right.

“But the key for us was doing it properly, not just adding it as a token offer. Pizza looks simple, but it’s all about execution and consistency…just putting in an oven doesn’t guarantee success.”

Rather than treating pizza as an add-on, Signature invested heavily in authenticity, including importing a Napoli-built oven and sourcing many ingredients from Italy. Leftover dough is also repurposed across the menu, such as for house-baked ciabattas.

While the upfront investment was significant, Adlam said the theatre and quality it provides make it “absolutely worth it”.

In contrast, Signature’s Detroit-style pizzas are made using electric deck ovens, which Adlam described as “much lower investment and far more flexible”.

“[This] still delivers a really strong product, particularly for that focaccia-style Detroit base where consistency and even bake are key”, he added.

His advice to operators is to focus on fundamentals: dough, sauce and consistency. These, he argued, are where quality is truly defined.

Adlam also stressed the importance of considering space, extraction and kitchen flow, alongside maintaining high standards.

“Make sure the style of pizza fits your site and your customer base. Neapolitan style works really well in some venues where you have a higher level of skill, whereas Detroit-style can be more easily trained into teams while remaining accessible and indulgent for guests”, he added.

Lost revenue

For pubs with limited space, compact high-speed ovens are opening new opportunities.

Welbilt’s Merrychef range, for example, is helping wet-led venues introduce food with minimal footprint.

Key account manager Joshua Bruce said even a small food offer can significantly increase dwell time and spend.

“Without it, people get peckish, leave to eat elsewhere, and often don’t come back. That’s lost revenue”, he continued.

“In a wet-led pub environment, it’s about social, casual food including sharing options that people can pick at while drinking and socialising.”

Partnerships are also on the rise. London-based delivery brand Yard Sale now works with 160 independent pubs and bars across the capital, up 10% year-on-year.

The company provides partners with a branded ordering page, in-venue menus, table toppers, beer mats and other PoS materials, as well as staff food and event support. In return, pubs are expected to actively promote the offer.

Head of brand Louisa Hood said the model allows operators to focus on their strengths.

“We have a large amount of pub partners that are great at doing what they do best - running pubs and making sure customers are having a great time”, she told The MA.

“This differs massively from running a successful restaurant, especially one at an accessible price point. We’re a great solution to that as we specialise in providing award winning pizza, made by our in-house chefs and delivered quickly through our in-house delivery fleet.

“Many pubs we’ve worked with have even started out with a kitchen space that they’ve now converted into extra seating or private function rooms following the increased trade as a result of the partnership.”

Whether it’s made in-house or delivered in, pizza is proving its value in pubs and fast becoming a mainstay on menus, not just a side offering.