Pizza Mamo — Restaurant in Honolulu

Jan 9, 2025 Just went to get a slice at MAMO at request from the owner of Carelli's in Craig, Colorado. MAMO only had pepperoni, or mushroom or Margherita pizza available. It appeared that everything for sale out on the counter was old. I got the pepperoni as the friendly, counter lady said the pie just came out of the oven. Didn't look like it, however. But I ordered it anyway, trusting her to give me good information. 

The crust is thin and crispy. The taste is "okay". Like $5.75 a slice.... Which is pricey in my opinion for 1/8 large pie slice. The thin sauce had some zest to it. not very cheesy. The pepperonis were small kind size and were "ok". She warmed the slice up in the oven. Taste however was nothing to write home about and not memorable . Maybe I am too picky, but being from NYC and desiring a good slice, this slice didn't cut it for me. I took it home, couple blocks away and ate it there. I told her about a friend of mine from NYC who recently opened a pizza place in Craig, Colorado. Showed her pictures of his place and examples of his pies. She's from Colorado too. The guy in the back had a big smile on his face when I walked in the door, which was inviting, Would I run back over there and get another one? Probably not. Not for that price. I told her I wanted a sausage... but they didn't have any....the small place was empty at 3:30pm. Why not make a fresh sausage pizza? The outside of the pizza place is NOT inviting. Quite dirty. Not welcoming. And doesn’t make me think that this is a good place to get food. When it comes to food, I think cleanliness. Neither is the inside. Dark, simple, dingy. Not welcoming. Guy Hagi from the news gave a great review about the pizza several months ago on TV, so I thought I would try it. He had a sausage pizza in addition to other kinds that looked like ones I used to get in NYC. But I was disappointed at MAMO.

The place next door on the corner called "FETE" looked inviting, had outdoor seating and was busy. I may try that place in the future. Food on plates...

Visited this place for takeout on 20250903.

Apparently only people that have no idea what good pizza tastes like eat here. I ordered takeout whole pies, NY style, Margherita and Pepperoni. I asked the cashier guy about their marinara. This seemed to perplex him based on his response of, "It's marinara." I guess Is should ah e taken that to mean lackluster/generic/better stuff has come from jars/cans rather than his lack of lore than there are dozens of brands and types of commercial marinara. The tool next to him said that their marinara was in-house and secret. I asked to try a little. He said the they don't do that. I asked, "So I have to spend $60 just to try it?"...rather than be even slight helpful by suggesting a $2.50 side of the stuff, he said, "That's how we be."

After actually getting the pizzas, walking them to the vehicle, we all dug in rather than waiting for the drive back to our place. The Margherita was one of the most bland things I've ever had the misfortune of eating. The pepperoni just tasted like pepperoni. As in that's it. No nuance/notes of sauce, pizza breading...nothing but pepperoni. Maybe that's the reason they don't sample their sauce; it's tasteless horribleness that isn't even as good as a can of Hunts tomato paste.

No one opted for a 2nd piece. We ended up throwing the rest into the nearby dumpster. Just awful food and employee attitude. Zero chance of ever giving them further $$.

Contrast this to the 8th when we visited Chicken In a Barrel/Old Towne Pizza Company. There marinara has actual flavor and that flavor is very good. Their Margherita was exceptional. Even had a welcome pleasant hint of heat to it. Everyone thinking of wasting money at Pizza Mamo should first try Old Towne Pizza. No contest. The staff are infinitely friendlier and pricing much more...

Haven’t had pizza since I left New York two months ago, but we finally checked out the newly opened Pizza Mamo, which specializes in Brooklyn and Detroit-style pizzas. It was always hard to find good pizza places, especially slice shops in Honolulu so we thought this was a great addition to Downtown Honolulu’s growing food scene.

We decided to try one Detroit-style and one Brooklyn-style pizza so that we can compare the two styles that they served. For the Detroit-style, we got the pesto and sausage, and for the Brooklyn-style we got the mushroom, which the cashier had recommended.

Normally I would prefer the thin crust New York-style pizza, but I think the Detroit-style is the winner at Pizza Mamo. Coming from New York, where most of the best pizza places are located in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn-style pizza here wasn’t on par with what we can get back home. I know it is sort of an unfair comparison since this isn’t Brooklyn, but I thought the crust was a little bland even though it was soft and had the right texture. The Detroit-style pie, on the other hand, was very flavorful and not as heavy as the Detroit-style pizzas that I’ve had elsewhere on the mainland. I think I might go back and try the other Detroit-style options if I have a craving for pizza while I’m in Honolulu.

One of the down sides to this place was that the pizza slices were a little expensive even for New York standards. I think the slice of the Brooklyn-style mushroom pizza was almost $7 including tax and that is definitely on the more expensive side even at slice shops in New York.

The service here could also be better because the service here is not as good as the service that you get at most places in Hawaii. In fact, the service here is very “New York” and while New York may have good pizzas, service is not one of...