It’s Pizza Time at Hamilton’s newest pizza joint — Cowabunga+
Pizza is one of the universal languages of food. Every city you visit around the world has a popular pizza restaurant. It doesn't matter where you are from, you can enjoy a good slice of pizza.
There are no shortages of good pizza in Hamilton. Especially in the last few years, there have been many new pizza joints popping up all around the city.
One of the most popular pizza restaurants in Hamilton is Cowabunga, which opened right at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Mountain residents were very excited to finally have another unique restaurant open up in their neck of the woods. But people in the downtown core were missing out. Well, have no fear, Cowabunga heard you, and they have officially opened their second location in downtown Hamilton called Cowabunga+.
The original Cowabunga had a simple menu with a handful of pizzas. Their original location on Upper Wellington is small and serves just as a takeout restaurant.
Owners Justin Tanada and Andy Huynh had bigger goals to expand their menu and have an area where customers can sit down, eat, and grab a drink.
We chatted with Justin and he excitedly shared: Cowabunga+ is the solution to a lot of the things we want to do with Cowabunga Pizzeria but can't because of the limited space and location.
We often run into the issue of selling out of pizza because of how little space we have in our (first) location, we can only do about 200 per night out of there, takeout only. That also limits the amount of other food we can do.
With the opening of Cowabunga+, Justin said they are more accessible to people in other areas and can produce a lot more food now, our space is almost triple the size.
We can now sell individual slices, and different styles of food, people can dine in and hang out, and we're in another great location in the heart of an awesome community. We're just really excited to be able to deliver a different experience we feel people deserve at Cowabunga Pizzeria."
Justin and Andy have known each other since they were kids. Their sisters are the same age and were classmates in grade school. Justin's sister had one of her birthday parties at a Pizza Hut buffet and that was when their families met.
Justin fondly told us: I remember having ice cream with Andy at the sundae bar, eating pizza and playing his Game Boy during the party. We've been friends ever since, passively (more because our sisters are friends), but it wasn't until we both had jobs at pizza places that we really started to talk more and hang out a lot together.
We would nerd out' a lot about pizza, constantly talk about our favourite places and even travel to visit all the pizza spots in the area. Eventually, it was a no-brainer to open a spot of our own with all the knowledge and resources we had."
If you have been following them on Instagram (Justin - @pizzatography and Andy - @doughbender), you can tell that not only is their friendship bond strong, but they definitely have the same vision for their restaurant goals and how they envision Cowabunga and now Cowabunga+.
Both Justin and Andy work tirelessly for both locations, sweating every detail to make the restaurants are fun and nostalgic for both their customers and staff. (Look out for how their staff tkes your order using a VHS tape!)
If you have been to Cowabunga before, you will notice familiar pizzas on their Cowabunga+ menu as well. But at the new location, you will also find appetizers, Bunga bites, and of course their signature pizzas.
If you are brand new to the Cowabunga menu, Justin recommends, the Pepperoni + pizza with a Garlic Dip, it is my usual go-to. It's a blend of our favourite Cup & Char Pepperoni, and our House-Pickled Jalapenos, topped with a drizzle of Spicy Honey.
If you don't eat meat though, the GG (Garlicky Greens). That's our answer to the Veggie Pizza. The Lemon Pepper Plus Bunga Bites (Boneless Chicken Bites) are one of our new favourite things to eat and the Fennel & Orange Salad has some amazing flavours and textures going on. It has two types of Oranges and Candied Pistachios on it. That salad there is honestly something special. Pair that up with a Tahitian Treat or Vanilla Coke and you've got a great meal going on."
Here are my favourites from the menu:
GG Dip: This is a creamy cheese blend dip with kale, broccoli, garlic, Parmigiano, jalapeno pesto, and lemon zest served with a side of homemade tortilla chips. If you have tried their GG pizza before, this is a fun take on the toppings on the GG made into a dip.
Cowabunga Bunga Bites: These boneless chicken bites come in three versions, Cowabunga, BBQ, and lemon pepper. My favourite was the Cowabunga ones. These are made with their special in-house Cowabunga sauce, pineapples, toasted sesame, roasted peanuts, and chives.
Fennel & Orange Salad: As Justin mentioned, this is a must-try item on their menu. It is a very refreshing salad to balance out a meal of indulges. This salad has lemon chive dressing, arugula, shaved fennel, pickled fennel, candied pistachios, navel, and blood oranges. Chef's kiss!
Cajun Shrimp Slider: Wow! This was an unexpected hit! Panko-crusted fried shrimp patty with iceberg lettuce, pineapple chutney, and Kewpie mayo. The fried shrimp patty was fresh and juicy. If you are a big fan of seafood, you cannot miss this one.
Pizzas: You really cannot go wrong with any of the pizza selections on their menu. I have tried Pepperoni+, GG (garlicky greens), Cowabunga, and Hawaiian pies. They are all a hit.
The Hawaiian pizza is not on their original location menu and while I know the Hawaiian pizza is a hot topic (to have pineapples on a pizza or not), if you are a fan of pineapples on your pizza, give this one a try! You won't be disappointed.
Another difference on this pizza menu is that they are also offering flights of pizza, which is a fun take on your typical flights of beer where you get a selection of a few pizzas to try out. You get to choose any four slices from their slice counter and two dips.
Speaking of dipping sauces, if you are a big fan of dipping your pizza in delicious sauces, my two favourites are the garlic dip and Sara's spicy honey. Love these two dips since they just give your pizzas an extra hit of flavours. The spicy honey hits you with sweetness at first and then slowly a little heat kicks in.
The original Cowabunga always had great service even when it was just a takeout restaurant, so it was great to see it translate over to their dine-in restaurant. The service was attentive and the serving team and owners were able to answer all your questions about the menu items.
It has become harder and harder to find a restaurant with not only great food but top-notch service too and Cowabunga+ nailed both. Great job pizza dudes, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo would be proud!
Cowabunga+ is located at 30 Vine St. in Hamilton. They are open Thursday to Sunday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Menu prices range from $5 to $23. Follow them on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cowabungaplus
Joyce Leung is a food writer and blogger who lives in Hamilton. Find her teaching Asian cooking classes around the city when she is not dining out and trying all the delicious restaurants of Hamilton. Joyce will not write about any organizations she has a separate business relationship with. You can reach her at joyce@joyceofcooking.com