Casa Mia Pizzeria — Restaurant in Jacksonville

UPDATE: Glad to report it holds up months later, quality has not changed, added more pics for reference

Over the last decade or so, Jacksonville has been lucky to have several great pizza options take root. Ten years ago, Tony's was the main game in town, and the default answer when someone would ask "where's the best pizza?" Over the years, due to increasing competition and increasing their prices to mall-inflation levels, they've since lost that title. Later, Abruzzo's and Lazarra's had their time at the top. All three of these spots make a great slice, no doubt, but none of them are perfect. All of them have some slight defects whether it's the flavor of the sauce, the texture of the crust, or the quality of the toppings that prevents me from calling it "a perfect slice." I had heard some rumblings that there was a new challenger to the throne and its name was Casa Mia. Best slice in town they say. Well, that makes me curious.

Born and raised in New York, I grew up eating some great pizza. My standards therefore are pretty high, and I often find the hype to be overblown, so I had to see for myself. I don't normally come to this side of town, but I made the trip over and was immediately greeted by very friendly staff hustling at top speed. The lobby has old school NY pizzeria vibes, and there was several teenagers and families with kids seated enjoying a slice. A good sign. I ordered 2 slices of pepperoni and a drink, $9.99.

After a few minutes in the oven I was ready to dig in. Like most things in life, good pizza is all about balance, and here Casa Mia nails it. The star of the show is the crust, it is crispy throughout the entire slice without being the slight bit burnt, every bite was tender and chewy yet had that crisp that makes great pizza so good. The toppings were fresh and flavorful, the pepperoni was crisped to perfection. The cheese was perfectly proportioned and melted to the maximum level without being overly messy. You can get a legitimate cheese pull biting into this slice. The sauce, you won't be overpowered by basil, oregano or garlic here, you will just find a well balanced, laid back sauce that compliments the slice perfectly.

All in all, I would have to say they've done it. Casa Mia has created the perfect slice. Out with the old, and in with the new. The old king is dead, and a new king rises, and its name is Casa Mia. Long...

I have been to this restaurant many times and they make excellent food. Unfortunately, I placed an online order at 5:18 p.m. and received an email that it would be ready at 5:48 p.m. I arrived knowing that they are typically far behind schedule at this pizza joint, but by 6:00 p.m. I found my pizza sitting on top of the oven and was told that the subs chicken tenders and fries were not yet done. I waited 40 minutes with my pizza in a box on the oven and the calzone on top of that while I watched people order their food at the counter and receive their food such as subs half an hour before I received my food. It seems as though there is preference given to people ordering it the counter it is just unbelievable that I ordered it 518 and did not receive my food to walk out the door until 6:40 p.m. The food is good but certainly not worth that kind of wait. I certainly don't want to wait an hour and 20 minutes for a pizza that's been sitting on top of the oven for 40 minutes. You should never have to wait an hour and 20 minutes for a simple sub sandwich. Unfortunately, I will not revisit this restaurant because a pizza joint should never take one hour and 40 minutes to prepare simple food. Insult to injury was allowing a pizza to sit for over 40 minutes while I watched other people pick up their subs long after I had already placed my online order waiting nearly an hour before I even arrived to the store. Again, excellent restaurant but absolutely infuriating wait time with zero response from the staff after inquiring why a sub still was not prepared well after one hour after...

Stopped in Casa Mia’s Surfside today for our fourth time since their Grand Opening. This was our second time there in two weeks to watch the Ravens game. Today they had a special surprise for everyone, a Marylanders favorite. Pit ham and Pit Turkey! Joe, the owner, was Pit Boss today and did an absolute amazing job. Our server was Donna. It’s funny because Donna has been our server three of our four visits there. At this point she’s practically family and we love her! She was also our very first server at the Grand Opening. She’s amazing, funny, friendly and an overall positive professional.

One thing I’ve noticed about this business is the improvements as they’ve grown more popular here. Although the food has been spot on since day one.

They were slammed today with a packed house of Ravens fans. Everyone from BOH to FOH now seems to work towards the goal of customer service tirelessly and seamlessly. It was amazing to watch and I tried to thank everyone as we were leaving. Shout out to Alison and Maggie as well. Your enthusiasm and energy didn’t go unnoticed. Y’all ladies were killing it there again today!

If you get a chance and want a small taste of a few outstanding Maryland favorites. This is the place to go near Myrtle Beach. You absolutely will not be disappointed.

I can’t comment much on the other items on the menu yet. In time, I’m sure I’ll get over my addiction to everything crab that they serve. But then again maybe I won’t. It’s extremely hard to pass on perfection.

Well done...