Messenger Pizza — Restaurant in Nampa

The pizza here is pretty good. The portions are enormous for a single so I actually posted a photo of that. It is a little odd that they sit out without any apparent warmer so you kind of have to just take their word for it that it is rotating stock fast enough that they are not just sitting out for hours at a time before being sold and re-warmed. I had a few sips of the draft Rootbeer, it was good in terms of sweetness and mouthfeel, etc but I would have preferred some more carbonation but that is a personal taste so I won't mark them up or down for that. It is worth trying for a draft Rootbeer fan. I also liked that there was a non-alcoholic option on tap. Kudos for that.

Where we get into dings is on the layout. I was there with my friend who is in a wheelchair. It was actually potentially/possibly his last meal out as he is dying. But it was pretty hard to navigate the place in a wheelchair. And the "seat yourself" vibe might work well for the college crowd but it was tough on us and came off as indifference. The tables are beautiful but they are also extremely heavy and I had to move a couple of those out of the way to make room for us to all be seated together.

The bathrooms were simply atrocious. In very poor repair. There were no towel dispenser and a marginally effective hand dryer plus freezing cold water to wash my hands left a really bad taste in my mouth.

I think if they were to do even minimally basic maintainance on their bathrooms and clearly identify handicapped seating that they would get another star and a half, maybe two from me. But if those things don't matter to you (the reader) then this place is worth checking out for the eclectic menu, really creative and engaging decor, and...

Messenger is where the cool kids are.

Okay, update 2024: (Since I wrote that last bit when I was a silly thing in my early 20s)

Seriously, Messenger is still probably my favorite pizza place in the world.

Recently I brought my best friend here for the first time. He is totally a gourmet, his favorite food ever is pizza, and he's had a LOT of pizza in his life. He also told me this pizza is maybe the best he's ever had.

I've been a frequent customer here since 2014, when I moved to the area for college. I don't live in the Treasure Valley anymore, but whenever I visit, this place is a must-stop.

Their pizza is the very best. I am not going to try to describe it because you just have to taste it for yourself. But there are definitely points for their crispy crust, super sized slices (it takes 2 paper plates to hold one) and unique toppings.

Love that they have have sourdough crust as an option for custom baked pies.

Love that they support using non GMO ingredients.

Their salad bar is amazing and all their ingredients are always so fresh and yummy.

Love the funky, indie decor in here and the laid back atmosphere. They have a great beverage selection. They also have plenty of sauces you can help yourself to. Including genuine Sriracha.

A few downsides to dining in:

In recent times the music playing in the restaurant has been pretty annoying. It's very much loud, throbbing pop or rap music, which doesn't appeal to everyone's ears.

The majority of the staff are very young, (as has been the case for years) and they seem to be more concerned with making money than with customer service. They definitely aren't particularly friendly or warm.

Totally still worth it for the food.

I'll be a loyal...

The little girl working the counter with curly hair and glasses is so so rude. My family came in for the first time during the street festival. We ordered 5 slices and received 4. I told her right away she forgot one slice.... She then tried to embarrass me by telling the line of people out loud, "ohh she wants more food hold on..." I said out loud" no you didn't listen and made my order wrong but charged me." That's on her for not listening. Then when I added pepperoni to a slice it came with non. I went to the salad bar to grab only 4 pepperoni I paid for to replace the incompetence of my order. .....She the curly hair little girl, came over and literally grabbed the pepperoni from my hand and said now I need to throw this away. I told her I paid for extra pepperoni on my pizza but didn't get it so I'm just getting what I paid for from the salad bar because of her not putting in my order correct BUT I PAID FOR THE EXTRA.... She grabbed my hand with the pepperoni and told me it's too bad and it's principal. She literally grabbed it from my hand and took it ! Is this how your employees are trained???! To be so rude when they get orders wrong but customers are changed??? They messed up my order and are still so very rude!!! Not professional at all! I was one of of 5 that day that got a wrong order ... I counted while waiting for my right order.. Do better when hiring. Curly hair little girl with glasses is awful at this job. Her attitude is horrible for working customer service at the counter. Perhaps nepatism is not your...