Outdoor Kitchen With Pizza Oven: Worth It? Ovens, Layouts and Costs

An outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven is the kind people stop to photograph. It also needs careful planning. An outdoor pizza oven is heavy, gets hot and takes up countertop space. You need to plan it into the island. You cannot just set it on top like a portable oven. We sell four built-in pizza ovens and an island cut specifically for one. Customers ask us every week whether an oven is worth it. Here is how we help you decide, plan the layout and work out the cost.

Is a pizza oven worth it?

If you host, yes. A pizza oven makes dinner part of the gathering. Guests build their own pizza on the counter. The oven cooks each one in a couple of minutes, with a crust no home oven can make. The cook stays part of the party instead of standing at the grill. You can also cook bread, roast vegetables, a whole fish or a steak finished in the oven. They all come out better than they do on a grill. A wood fired oven adds smoke flavor, too.

If you cook for two on a Tuesday, that is a lot to spend on something you will use once a month. We would put that money toward a better grill or a griddle instead. Think honestly about how you cook. An oven you plan into the kitchen and never use becomes the most expensive thing on the patio.

The ovens we sell, and who each one suits

Summerset Hybrid Pizza Oven, $3,999

The Summerset is the only one of the four that burns wood or gas. You get authentic wood fired flavor on the weekend and gas burner convenience on a weeknight. It is the entry point to a real built-in oven and the one we recommend most.

Videl 30″ Outdoor Pizza Oven, $5,076

The Videl runs on gas and fits into a Videl island. Its finish matches the grill and the doors. If you are already buying a Videl kitchen, this is the natural fit.

Fire Magic Aurora Built-in Pizza Oven, $6,784

The Aurora runs on gas and is made in the USA. It has the Fire Magic handle and stainless face that match their grills, doors and drawers. It suits a Fire Magic kitchen where you want everything to line up.

Fire Magic Echelon Black Glass Pizza Oven, $7,324

The Echelon shares the Aurora’s stainless steel body, burners and 18 by 18 inch stone, and adds the black glass face with a digital touch screen, an included meat probe and app control, for the flagship island. You can find all four on our pizza oven collection page. The wood-capable model also has its own hybrid pizza oven page.

Four ways to design an outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven

1. Oven on the corner of an L

This is the best layout if you have the room. Put the grill on one leg and the oven on the corner, where both legs can feed it. Use the other leg for the prep counter. Two cooks can work at once, and the heat stays out of the walking path. Start with Videl’s L shaped outdoor kitchen islands.

2. Oven at the end of a straight run

Put the grill in the middle, the oven at one end, and the fridge and sink at the other. Leave about three feet of countertop beside the oven for the peel and raw pizzas. Do not squeeze it against the grill. Use granite or concrete beside the oven. Both can handle a hot peel.

3. The pre-fab pizza oven island

Fire Magic makes a concrete-look island already cut for a pizza oven. It includes openings for a fridge and doors and costs $5,541 (Check Price). It assembles on site from sections. You choose the oven and drop it in. This is the fastest way to get the setup shown in the photo at the top of the page.

4. Oven on its own island across from the grill

Put the oven on a second small island facing the main one, with a walkway between them. This keeps the oven’s heat on its own side and gives you a second serving counter. You pay for a second countertop, so this layout suits bigger patios.

What to plan before installation

• Counter space beside the oven. Leave three feet minimum on one side. You need it for toppings, the peel and finished pizzas. A small fridge underneath is useful here, too.
• Clearances. Every oven’s manual gives distances to the roof and anything that burns. Read them before choosing the spot, especially under a cover.
• Gas. All four ovens run on gas. Have the plumber run a line as they would for the grill. Choose propane or natural gas before ordering.
• Weight. A built-in oven is a heavy appliance. A brick oven or stone oven built from scratch is heavier still. A block or steel-framed island carries a built-in easily. A light frame may not. Ask us before you commit.
• Storage underneath. Use the space under the oven for a wood drawer or a set of outdoor kitchen doors. You can keep the peel and stone brush there.

What an outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven costs

Start with the kitchen you were going to build anyway. Add $3,999 to $7,324 for the oven and about three feet of island to hold it. With the Summerset hybrid oven, a Summerset Sizzler built-in grill at $1,699, doors and a fridge, the equipment comes to about $7,000. That is before the island itself. The pre-fab pizza oven island offers a shortcut at $5,541 plus the oven. For full cost tiers, including the island and utilities, see what an outdoor kitchen costs.

Questions people ask

Wood or gas?

Gas is ready in about 25 minutes and holds its temperature without attention. A wood fired oven tastes better and takes an hour to heat. A traditional brick oven you build yourself is the most authentic and the most work, and it takes more backyard space than any built-in. The Summerset hybrid does both, which is why it is the one we point most people to.

Can a pizza oven go under a covered patio?

Yes, and it makes the oven a year-round appliance. Follow the clearances in the manual. Under a solid roof, use an outdoor vent hood sized for your grill beside the oven. Check the oven’s manual for its own venting and roof clearance.

Can I add a pizza oven to an existing island?

Sometimes. It needs a cutout, a gas stub and a strong base. If the island has a spare opening, it is easy. Otherwise, the second-island layout above is usually cleaner than cutting into a finished counter.

Plan the oven in now

Send us a sketch of your outdoor kitchen with pizza oven marked where you want it. Tell us which oven you like. We will check the opening, gas and counter space before you order. Everything else for the build is on our outdoor kitchen page. For more layouts, read our outdoor kitchen ideas post. We offer free shipping on most brands (exceptions apply), no sales tax (except WY), and real people to talk to before you order.