Powerhaus Wholesome Pizza & Eats (Pacific Beach) - San Diego, CA

We're enjoying the warmer weather these days which encourages us to do more outdoor activities like relaxing strolls or energetic cycling routes. A compliment to that active lifestyle includes some healthy dining at restaurants such as Powerhaus Wholesome Pizza & Eats. We were invited to check out their accommodating and nutritious selection of pizzas and smoothies earlier this year. This local small business has been open for 1.5 years and is located on Garnet Street in easy breezy Pacific Beach.

Here's the shaded, noon time view of the restaurant front. There's designated "Powerhaus" parking spots directly behind the restaurant (drive around to the back). DON'T park in the animal hospital's lot to the left because they DO enforce parking tickets for their private lot! We learned the hard way!

The inside decor is simple, beachy and casual to match the neighborhood. Accents of palm branches, surfboards, and a calming flow of blues and sandy toned streams were painted by local artists @riaptor and @kayleewol. I also picked out a cute artisan bracelet supported by Lotus and Luna in their shop.

Dennis was thrilled to see kombucha on tap here featuring local brewers Tapshack, Seven Seas, Bootstrap and Bambucha Kombucha. In addition, there were several other healthy bottled drinks in the fridge nearby that were available for purchase.

Powerhaus. The name makes sense because you'd want to provide the best nourishment for your body... your source of power! We met with the owner Anisha and she walked us through the restaurant's concept. Want a wholesome meal or post-workout drink? There are pizza options, wraps, salads and  shakes to pick from. All items contain ingredients that are all-natural and good for you! They have options for hi-protein diets, low carb diets, vegan diets, etc. which opens up their menu to more of the community! Thanks for the inclusiveness!

The menu includes build your own as well as prepared combinations (with additional subs as needed). There are different crusts available which are garlic herb, whole grain (vegan), gluten-free (vegan, gf) or cauliflower (gf). Unfortunately, the facility itself is not gluten-free so this place would not be recommended for those with a gluten allergy (celiac).

This is our first pizza with half and half toppings. These were the personal pan size pizzas around 10" diameter. We chose the Garlic Herb Crust for this one. I like the thicker, slight chew of the crust and the garlic flavor was just enough and tasty!

BBQ Chicken Pizza (12.95) - BBQ sauce, mozzarella, chicken, pineapple, corn, red onion

My chosen flavor (and favorite) was the BBQ Chicken Pizza. I am into southwestern style and enjoyed those sweet little nibbles of corn! Chicken pieces were plentiful and moist enough while there was slight crunch with the onions. The BBQ sauce was not too tangy or sweet so it was quite enjoyable, especially thinly drizzled over the other ingredients. If desired, you also have the option to substitute vegan "chicken" as well as vegan cheese.

Mushroom Pizza (12.95) - mozzarella, ricotta, roasted portobello and button mushrooms with shallots, arugula, cherry tomatoes, balsamic glaze

The other half was the Mushroom Pizza, which was Dennis's top pick. He likes his ricotta too so that was a plus for this pizza! It was hearty with roasty tomatoes, a surprisingly agreeable arugula layer (usually I'm not a fan), and a tasty reduced balsamic glaze.

We went with lower carb on the second half and half pizza. It had a cauliflower crust base which was a little stiffer in texture but did resemble a regular crust for the most part. It held up the ingredients very well.

Prosciutto and Pea Pizza (12.95) - "pea-zza" sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto, cherry tomatoes, artichokes

For one half, we picked the Prosciutto and Pea Pizza. Instead of tomato sauce, there was "pea-zza" sauce. I would toss the idea of an oil-based pesto out of my head before taking a bite... it's more of a thicker paste with the taste of peas! It wasn't quite our thing but we continued on to enjoy the thinly sliced prosciutto, softened tomatoes, and artichokes.

Beyond Meat Pizza (12.95) - vegan sausage, bell pepper, red onion, vegan cheese (as requested)

The second half was vegan. The "sausage" has a nice seasoning on it, reminds us of regular meatballs with a good oiliness and meaty chew. Once into the second bite, Dennis had already forgotten it was vegan! I even snuck in vegan cheese into this pizza order and he had no idea until I told him outright! The "cheese" integrated very well and we couldn't tell the difference! The crust does affect the overall taste so we'd still prefer the garlic, regular carb version!

Superfood Salad (5.95) - walnuts, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes, carrots, red onions, spinach, red chard, with mango apple cider vinaigrette

You can get your protein on without any meat in this Superfood Salad. Some feel-good veggies are hidden under the nutty toppings too! We especially enjoyed the house-made vinaigrette, a thicker, creamy spread that added some slight sweet to the meal. The onions were a bit too strong for us but otherwise, we enjoyed this healthy bowl of greens!

Carrot Smoothie and Sunrise Smoothie

Dennis is always interested in carrot juices so our first pick was the Carrot Smoothie. Luckily, this one isn't in-your-face raw carrots and managed to successfully combine carrots with fruit juices for a mellow sweetness. My eyes landed on the Sunrise Smoothie which is a more common smoothie blend. You can tell there is some protein powder in there but the mix gives you enough of that fruitiness to overshadow the *power* punch part. I've also had their Date Smoothie and it's quite delicious and highly recommended! The smoothies aren't sugary or too sweet, so we enjoy them here!

Powerhaus provides easy support for a variety of healthy and active lifestyles. Plus, pizza is one of my favorite foods so I wish Powerhaus were closer to my work! The restaurant is taking additional precautions to keep their customers safe during this time of COVID-19 so rest assured that they are following the proper protocols to prevent spread of the virus. Hope you are able to check them out and support another local small business!

Disclaimer: I was invited to the restaurant by their PR company and the food and drink was complimentary. I was not otherwise compensated and all opinions are my own.