Organ Stop Pizza — Restaurant in Mesa

What in the world did I just stumble into? What a unique and fantastic dining experience! I don’t care how old you are, you go eat here, you’re gonna feel like a kid again. So, first of all, I stopped by here a couple times and the line was quite literally, out the door. Yesterday, I got there early and was committed to experiencing this, I was not disappointed!

The place is pretty packed but the line actually moves at a pretty good pace so don’t let that deter you like it did me. The best thing to do is to send someone to go look for a table while someone else waits in line to order food. The ordering system is pretty unique too. After you order, they will give you a ticket with a number on it. There’s a couple big boards in the dining room with numbers on them (pictured), when your order is ready, you number will light up and you go back out to the pickup area to get it. BRING YOUR TICKET WITH YOU. Also, after you order, you have to go around the corner to order your drinks separately. There are no refills but you can order a pitcher.

The food: So, the pizza was ok, I’d give it 3.5 stars. We had some garlic cheese bread, that was really good and we also got the combo appetizer. The fried mushrooms were some of the best I’ve ever had. Really really good! They have what looked like a pretty good salad bar also.

The experience: Wow. Just wow! So this guy, (well, there are 4) runs what I can only describe as the most elaborate one man band I’ve ever seen. This place has drums and horns all the way down to a xylophone hanging from the walls and ceiling and the musician is also controlling the lights and other effects in the room. From a disco ball to dancing muppets… then there’s a kaleidoscope, and just when you think you’ve seen it all, bubbles! The organ has a ton of keys. It starts down below a stage area and when he starts playing, it rotates and rises up. The sheer mechanics of it all is mind boggling. The very talented man playing last night was playing such a variety of music from Disney, to patriotic, movie themes, to hymns. Under the Sea from Little Mermaid , A Whole New World from Aladdin, the Beauty and the Beast song, to the Titanic theme song, Mission Impossible, Bohemian Rhapsody, Dancing Queen by ABBA, and so much more. People in the dining area couldn’t help but to sing and clap along.

This really is a MUST SEE! If you are in the area, don’t leave without checking...

I just recently heard about this place and took my mother there for a surprise. It was very cool, very entertaining, and the food was delicious and priced just right. We went in and found seats first, then I went to the counter to order and returned to the dining room. My mom was enjoying the music, the lights, it was pretty different from anything I'd ever been to!

You get drinks from a separate counter, they have regular soft drinks and also beer, pitchers, and wine. My order# lit up and I picked up our dinner. We had a large Combo pizza and the Combo Appetizer. It was really good pizza. Usually a slice from a large pizza with that many toppings will feel floppy, but this was crispy and LOADED with fresh ingredients. The combo appetizer had a little bit of mozzarella sticks, zucchini and mushrooms and ranch and marinara sauce. Crunchy and hot. It's VERY LOUD, as to be expected, I guess, and sounds fantastic. The organist takes requests and then he blends a bunch of songs one into the next, it's honestly fabulous. His rendition of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody nearly brought a tear to my eye! Seriously.

There were all ages there, plenty of older people and a TON of families and small children (some of whom were running around a bit). The loaded Combo large pizza was I think about $28, and the Combo Appetizer was about $11, with tax it was $42 altogether. We could have ordered about half as much, but we love leftover pizza! We arrived around 4pm on a Monday and most of the seats in main area were full, but we still got a great spot. The Organist plays 45 on and then takes a short break, this is where a lot of people left and a new group started coming in. Super casual, loud...

It's not about the food, it's the show!

We knew parts of the "worlds largest Wurlitzer theater pipe organ" came from Organ Grinder Pizza in Portland, Oregon in 1996... So Jay wanted to hear the organ again and relive some childhood memories. We meet up with friends and took my parents along.

The place was packed. I felt some anxiety ordering and trying to manage food retrieval, plates, utensils, drinjs, jostling past people too big to fit between tables... Honestly, I loathed this part. And it was so loud!

But... The organist is, to put it bluntly, a magician! He played super complex music for 45 minutes at a time, all from memory. He played requests that included movie scores, pop hits, broadway musicals, and classics. Once we had our food and didn't have to move around things settled down.

Talking during the show was nearly impossible. The dancing puppets were... unsettling. 😂

The food was basic pizza. Better than Chuck E Cheese... Probably... Maybe... You pay for the pizza on the way in. Then you buy drinks separately. You can then buy ice cream at yet a third counter.

Dad asked the kid at the drink counter, "Are there refills available for drinks?"

"Yes!" The kid said. "They cost $3, just like the first fill..." 😂

It's a unique experience that all should experience......