Mellow Mushroom — Restaurant in Charlottesville

Updated review: I came back to visit after five years. I'm not sure why it took me so long to come back. I walked in on a busy Saturday night, and the clatter of diner's voices prompted me to sit outside on a lovely night. Great people watching. I had looked at the menu online before I came, and I had my heart set on the Havana (Cuban) Hoagie, with pork, ham, pickles, Swiss and mustard. I was disappointed to learn that they could not source the pork, and so the sandwich was unavailable. I decided instead on the veggie supreme calzone, with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, mozzarella, and ricotta. It took a while, being busy and all, but the sidewalk of passing people was endlessly entertaining. The interior is beautiful, but loud and warm. When the calzone came, it was perfectly crisp dough, well done, and a generous portion for one. The sauce on the side was earthy and full of flavor, not too sweet. I paired it with a diet coke, but the beer (on tap) and cocktail menu is impressive. I love the pizza here, but did not miss it tonight. I would definitely have gotten the pretzels if I had brought someone along. Magnificent. The service was super busy, but they checked on us regularly. Great food, middling prices, appropriate service. Would definitely recommend.

Original review: Mellow Mushroom is one of the places that reminds me of my former home in Princeton, NJ. Truly soft crust, made with time and reason. Delicious sauces and toppings worthy of either coast. Dough used to its own best intents, like the amazing pretzels. Spices right on. A fun theme throughout welcoming everyone to come and sit at the table. The Mushroom is...

Absolutely epic pizza! Worth the trip to Charlottesville alone, what a great spot. We ordered a couple of large pizzas, and each was two halves of one of their specialty pizzas so we got to try 4 pizzas essentially which was terrific.

The Holy Shitake was possibly the best version of any mushroom pizza I've ever had. The caramelized onions just distinguish this pizza, the sweetness and tenderness in the onions is tremendous. There's a delicious olive oil and garlic base with roasted shiitake, button and portobello mushrooms, and mozzarella. Then the aged Wisconsin Aged White Cheddar cheese, fresh chives, and garlic aioli swirl and a spritz of black truffle oil accent this pizza remarkably well. Just superb.

Super Pepp starts with their red sauce base and is topped with mozzarella, loaded with pepperoni, tangy peppers, topped with generous dollops of seasoned ricotta cheese and a swirl of hot honey. I got it with some optional jalapenos and it was epic.

Kosmic Karma was made with red sauce, spinach, roasted tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh Roma tomatoes, crumbled authentic sheep’s milk feta cheese, and a generous pesto swirl. Absolutely delicious as well.

Last but not least, Merry Prankster has a herb aioli base, chicken, Italian sausage, garlic roasted red peppers, green bell peppers, mozzarella, Wisconsin aged white cheddar, and a key herb aioli drizzle. Another phenomenal pie.

Salad we ordered was lackluster but they remedied it kindly.

Service was superb, whole staff was really friendly and helpful.

Great artwork, funky vibe, and cozy booths make for a fun and unique...

Here’s my honest local guide review! Definitely one of the best pizza places around. It’s a small chain with restaurants mostly in college towns. The Charlottesville Mellow can certainly be busy with students and hospital staff during the academic year. The food is always outstanding. My go-to items are the Mega Veggie pizza, the house salad with the fantastic Esperanza dressing, or the Tempeh hoagie. All fabulous and I’ve been eating them for years. Mellow’s crust is unique with a Parmesan dusting. Recently since I started ordering online more I realized that I have way more topping options than I knew. So this time I got the BBQ tofu, pineapple, and caramelized onions. So good! I also realized I have the choice of jerk tofu and Buffalo tofu as well. I’ll try them next on a pizza or hoagie. I recently had the brownie and it was warm and yummy even after delivery. In the past I have had the gluten free crust and it was great too. The one downside to this location is there is very little outdoor seating and it’s on a very loud and busy road. Bottom line you can’t go wrong...