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Here's What to Order at San Jose's Late-Night New Indian Pizza Player
is a writer and recipe developer living in San Jose, California. His work has appeared in KQED, Serious Eats, Food & Wine, Metro Silicon Valley, The Kitchn and more.
A pickup window in Downtown San Jose is slinging Indian-inspired pizzas topped with samosas, vegetable manchurian, and palak paneer. There's also saucy tikka masala wings and masala fries loaded with cheese and green peppers. The window sits directly on the sidewalk and catches the eye with a large menu and striped awning. Downtown San Jose isn't known for its late-night dining scene. Most open signs flicker off by 10 p.m. But Mazala Pizza, which opened in late 2024, is open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays making it an ideal spot for an early breakfast after a night out.
In May 2019, Jay Patel opened a modern Indian restaurant in Chicago called Moti Cafe. A year later, the pandemic hit — he transitioned to a takeout-centered concept named Mazala Pizza to stay afloat. The name blends the Hindi words maza (fun) and masala (spices). The menu was built around Indian flavors combined with dishes that lend themselves well to pick up or delivery like pizzas, tacos, and burritos. The venture was a success and Mazala Pizza has since expanded to several locations in Illinois and one in New Jersey.
Octavio Peña
The San Jose pickup window opened in November 2024. This marks the young company's first location on the West Coast, bearing a slightly different menu from their previous location Their California location removes tacos and burritos in favor of sandwiches and wings. It's connected to San Jose's downtown food hall which is a hybrid between a ghost kitchen and an actual mall food court. There isn't much of an ambience, but there are tables for enjoying your meal. Thankfully, you're a short stroll away from San Jose State University where you can plop down for a picnic on the lawn in front of Tower Hall. Keep in mind that the dining room closes at 9 p.m., so if you're stopping by for a late night slice you will need to find somewhere else to take your feast. Here's what to order.
Indian-inspired pizzas
Mazala Pizza isn't the first to make pizzas infused with Indian flavors, but they bring a distinctive approach that draws inspiration from multiple facets of Indian cuisine. Many of the flavor combinations are inspired by chaat, Indian street food. Others are creative riffs that play with elements of fusion in a smart, flavorful way. The palak paneer pizza, for example, is made with a spinach-based sauce that has that same leafy green flavor you would get in a pesto pizza. A highlight is the samosa smash pizza stacked with crushed samosas and sev (crunchy noodles) on a bed of cheese and tikka masala. It's drizzled with mint and tamarind chutneys which add contrast in the form of freshness and tanginess. Another notable option is the masala elote pizza speckled with charred corn kernels heavily seasoned with masala. The pizzas are served in personal naan size or as a 12-inch thin crust or pan crust. At $22, a 12-inch samosa smash pizza is the smartest order.
Sandwiches and wings
The Tikka masala chicken at Mazala Pizza. Octavio Peña
Keeping up with pizza shop tradition, Mazala Pizza offers a selection of wings to gnaw on between slices. The sauces the wings are tossed in are the same used in the pizza — that includes a spicy firecracker sauce and tikka masala sauce. If you prefer to keep your fingers sauceless, you can get fried chicken in sandwich form. The vegetarian options aren't an afterthought here. There's a sandwich made with a slab of paneer coated in panko and deep-fried. Both variations feature pickled onions and a medley of chutneys.
Momos
Mazala Pizza also offers momos stuffed with vegetables, chicken, or paneer. They're available either fried or steamed. You can get them topped with any of Mazala Pizza's signature sauces plus a sprinkle of green pepper, onions, and sev. The fried version provides a better textural experience as the crisp exterior provides contrast to the sauce. A solid option are the moti momos coated in a zesty mayo-based sauce.
Mazala Pizza (82 East Santa Clara Street, San Jose) is open from 11 a.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m., Friday and Saturday.
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