Quick Take:
Location: Auburndale
What I ordered: Cheese Pizza and Cheesy Twist
Extra Order
(Wife/Katie's Order): Hawaiian Pizza
Final Score: 2.5/5
Price: ~$15–20 per person
For my ninth stop on Mike’s Polk Food Quest, I visited Pizza Connection in Auburndale.
Pizza Connection made it onto our Best Food In Polk list of The Best Pizza In Winter Haven and just missed our newest list for The Best Pizza In Polk County.
Add on the fact that Katie and I have been craving pizza AND we're walking distance from Pizza Connection (just on the other side of the train tracks in Auburndale); and it was a no brainer for us to stop in.
It's actually surprising (probably to you AND us) that this is the first time we've been able to get there — but they were closed for a while after a fire and just re-opened their doors in November 2025.
By the way: if you're new here, the concept of my Polk Food Quest is simple: every week I try a local spot, order the most common thing people get, try a few extras, and rank it on taste, value, vibes, and overall.
This week: Cheese Pizza!
Which means I ordered a cheese pizza and cheesy twist Katie ordered a Hawaiian pizza.
Katie wanted me to be sure to let everyone know that I'm actually the one who orders Hawaiian pizza, but because of the Polk Food Quest rules she took one for the team here so we can split them. 
How Does This Work?
I order the standard item for that category (for pizza that’s a cheese pizza and a bonus speciality slice), plus a few extras so I can get a full feel for the menu.
Then I rank the experience on four things:
Taste | Value | Vibes | 
Overall
Taste focuses on the standard item.
The rest reflects the entire experience.
Taste: 2.5/5
This was not good pizza.
I really don't like giving poor reviews (and I've been lucky enough to not have to score anything under a 3.5 so far) but this one completely missed the mark.
I want to keep Mike's Polk Food Quest as a place where I can be blunt and give real reviews — including when we don't like something — and this was one of those occasions.
I understand that Pizza Connection has a loyal fan-base that mentions it every time pizza comes up in Polk County, but if that is what you consider good pizza, you probably have MUCH different taste buds than I do.
Here's a quick breakdown for my quick scanners, though:
- The Cheese Pizza: Katie and I both agreed this tasted like Chuck E. Cheese pizza. If that's what you're into, then you might like it.
- The Hawaiian Pizza: This one was even worse. It was doused with ham chunks you'd find poured in salad, canned pineapple and tons of bacon chips.
- Cheesy Twist: We were recommended these over the garlic knots and expecting it to be similar, but it did not land for what we wanted when ordering a garlic knot. Not even close.
All that to say: some Polk locals LOVE Pizza Connection. So maybe you will too.
All I can give you is our honest feedback and leave it up to you to go and try for yourself.
Value: 2.5/5
Katie and I spent about $30 on our two small pizzas, cheesy twist and a soda.
After turning down sauce for our cheesy twist that would have cost $2.00 for dipping sauce.
And that $30 may not seem horrible, but that was after a Buy One Get One Half Off on the small pizzas (contingent on the fact that you buy the same size pizza).
Being from New York, and gravitating towards places like Palace and Upper Crust, we'd definitely prefer to be able to grab a 3-4 slices for $15-20 and not be stuck spending $15-20 on ONE small flatbread.
This value range is comparing it to other pizza places and factoring in what we could get for the same price, and ff we didn't have the Buy One Get One Half Off it would have been closer to $40 for the two of us.
Vibes: 2.5/5
The location is brand new inside after re-opening in November 2025 (after fire damage prior).
The new interior was definitely nice. It was clean and new. That part was great.
BUT .. it was also littered with advertisements all over every table (you can probably see in our pictures) and by the drink station.
This is also going up against places like Lovebird Chicken, Unfiltered Coffee, Grievous Angel (just to name a few) and other spots who just crush their branding and vibes.
It felt that things were just a bit thrown together. There's a bar in there that is very nice, but then also a row of gaming machines, and ads all over tables.
All this to say: it wasn't horrible, but it also just really didn't hit the mark.
Overall: 2.5/5
This one is getting 2.5 across the board, making it an easy 2.5 overall.
This is our the lowest score we've given thus far (we're only 9 in, though) and we want to keep it blunt and honest.
We still think you should go and try it for yourself, because clearly there are many Polk locals who love it.
It just wasn't for us.
Here are some of the new standards I like sharing in the Overall section:
Would I bring my visiting family there?
No.
Not only would I not bring my visiting family here in general, but they're also visiting from New York and New Jersey when they come, and this pizza does not even come close to meeting their high standards.
Here’s how I’d sum up Pizza Connection:
If you're a Polk local who loves this place, we get it — and we're not here to take that from you. But for us, it just didn't land.
The pizza didn't hit the way we were hoping, the value felt off without the deal, and the vibes didn't quite come together the way a neighborhood spot like this could. We wanted to love it. We really did — it's literally walking distance from our house.
We'll probably give it another shot down the road, because we're rooting for it. But right now, there are other pizza spots in Polk County we'd reach for first.
Before You Go....
Hey!
I want to know what you think of Pizza Connection.
Leave a comment below.
The more you share, the better, but anything is appreciated.
Each comment helps The Best Of Polk articles and eventually, the yearly awards!
Have a place you want me to try?
Make sure to comment that as well.
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