Poppa's Pizzeria — Restaurant in Parksville

I usually really appreciate this place for being a local business that serves quality pies. Unfortunately I will not be returning after my last experience with them. I had some family visiting from out of town and they wanted some good pizza. So I reccomended Poppas. Some of us were vegetarian and my mom was with us. On our way back into town we called to order.

We ordered two pizzas -- a chicken barbecue and a vegetarian Mediterranean. The Mediterranean had meat on it, but otherwise the pizza was delicious but our vegetarian friends couldn't eat. When we called to figure it out, the fellow yelled at my senior mother, then at me... He agreed to pay us back for the pizza, but not without arguing that he didn't know what we meant by "vegetarian"...

(Edit: even after viewing this review Poppas continues to insist that I, the customer, don't know how to order food for a vegetarian. It's 2020 and there are lots of vegetarians out there. Most places would take the word vegetarian as an adjective meaning ”served without meat". This ought not to be a matter for debate.)

When I gave him the definition of vegetarian [ btw: vegetarian (adjective)

1: of, relating to, or suitable for vegetarians Eg: "a vegetarian restaurant"

2: not containing meat : consisting wholly of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and sometimes eggs or dairy products Eg: "a vegetarian diet" "a vegetarian pizza" ]

he got very irate. When we arrived to get our refund, the woman in the kitchen had a screaming fit when I told her I had ordered a vegetarian Mediterranean in the past from them and gotten a pizza without meat. She yelled at us saying something like "I'm not gonna stand here and have you tell me what I made"... I asked if I should be video recording this transaction and she immediately left the situation. (There is no excuse for this kind of behaviour. Ironic that Poppas says they won't tolerate aggressive or insulting behaviour when one of their staff was so outright abusive toward my cousin and I. Neither of us raised our voice while she insisted she wasn't yelling while screaming at the top of her lungs... This was a simple misunderstanding and there is absolutely no excuse for such an outburst.)

We were treated like dirt. They were obviously high or something as they were very reactive and extremely poor in the service department. I would have rated zero stars if possible. Decent pie, not worth the foul...

Tried this gem of a Pizza shop tonight. My only suggestion is about the online menu, The one we read was lower priced. So we looked again after receiving our pizza and there are more than one menu, same items, different prices. So why not remove the old priced menu? BUT, Happy to know that staff was masked when he picked up our pizza. We did ask for green peppers instead of red on my vegetarian side of a half and half pizza. The cheery guy on the phone said that would be fine to do. I dont like the red. But red it was with no green ones at all. BUT, the pizza besides that was good. We both liked ours. His was meat lovers half loaded with meats. Was better than anywhere else in this town that we have tried. Fair amount of toppings. The crust was very good, tender with great crispy edges. Lots of cheeses. I have not had a pizza that didnt have some sogginess to the crust from the oil in cheeses. This was just a bit soggy nothing bad. Wasnt smothered in sauce either, was just the right amount. We will definitely order again from this Restaurant. (and get my extra greens peppers then that were missing on...

Well it’s not your mama’s pizza.... Seriously though, this pizza is uncanny. My entire outfit is soaking in the tub, pizza spills everywhere, and it doesn’t matter. Why? Because this pizza is that unreal. Usually I’ll eat an entire large Papa John’s to myself, but one slice of Poppa’s can satisfy your every urge. I don’t even like pineapple on pizza but on Poppa’s it’s love at first sight. The delicate flavour medley is like none you’ve ever enjoyed. While it trickles down your face you just think... this is it, I can die happy. Since you’ve so absolutely changed my life (turned around from our walk home from Rod and Gun), I just have one last thing to say, “it’s DEFINITELY not be your mama’s pizza, it’s your Poppa’s. P.S. I’m sorry if this review sets high expectations too high, but what can I say.... Poppa’s...