MOD Pizza — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

By chance I had my first MOD Pizza experience at their original location in Seattle, and have been hooked since. What a great surprise when I saw one was opening right here in Santa Rosa!

•service: we were enthusiastically greeted by the front line staff as soon as we walked in. Like the concept Chipotle pioneered, you work your way down the line and create your own pizza. Established favorites are called The Classics Menu and you can tweak those as needed, too. Everyone was pleasant, likely bolstered by the recent grand opening and residual excitement. •space: obviously a brand new place, in a brand new building next to REI, so everything was shiny and clean. Lots of seating with large windows. Decor was typical MOD Pizza style. We took our food to go but while waiting we saw a lot of confusion about where to put dirty plates and dishes. There appeared to be a dish bin on a shelf under the condiments area, but nobody saw that and ended leaving their dishes near the clean dishes, or taking them directly to a worker at the counter. Room for improvement for sure. •food: we ordered a Mad Dog and Dillon James (with added pepperoni), which overall were tasty. The crust was crispy and thin but not too thin that the sauce/grease leaked through. My main gripe would be the portion sizes: I felt that the line cooks were maybe under serving portion sizes - which is totally understandable after a place opens and everyone was just trained on the exact portions they’re supposed to provide. Even then, I felt they may have been overly cautious, which ended up causing them to skimp a little.

Overall: cool chain that finally arrived in Santa Rosa that offers a better, more customizable, option to standing pizza joints. Service was friendly and the food was well worth the price, even if it did suffer from small portion sizes - which again is understandable for a chain location that...

As always, MOD pizza is the best! The customer service, their kindness, and their attention to detail is impeccable. Everytime my daughters and I are able to come get pizza, this amazing crew always go above and beyond to make our pizza experience more than just delicious! Last August, we evacuated out of Guerneville in a rush and panic due to the fires... we were so tired, and stressed that day, and of course hungry. We just needed somewhere to sit and eat, and catch our breath... MOD pizza came to the rescue! When we walked in, the manager could sense something was off, and asked if we were ok... I teared up, and my youngest started crying when I explained what was going on and how scared we were that we may not have our home to go back to. With one look to his crew, and a slight nod, they jumped into action... they took our pizza orders, and our drink orders, told us it was on the house, and even though I insisted on paying, he insisted right back that it wouldn't be right, and he wanted to help where he could, and if that meant a hot meal and a cold drink, than that's exactly how he and his crew were going to help. He sent us to our temporary abode with pizza in our bellys, cold drinks in hand, and an offer to feed us, on the house for the entire time we were displaced from our home... he said "During this scary and crazy time Ma'am, we want at least one stress and worry off your shoulders for you and your family... dont worry about lunch or dinner while your away from home, we've got you covered!" He and his crew were so kind, and gentle with our hearts, and still continue to do so, as they have earned themselves loyal customers for life!! We love you Santa Rosa MOD Pizza Crew! Thank you...

I was very disappointed. I've heard about this place from a couple of people who know I'm allergic to gluten. After looking at the menu online decided I would give it a try. My friend and I went on his lunch break, after looking the menu over I was ready to order. I was excited that they had to gluten free crusts to choose from, I picked the cauliflower. I told the young woman right up front that I'm allergic to gluten, just so she could take precaution not to cross-contaminate my pie (Pieology, Ike's, and other similar eateries accommodate by putting clean gloves on, etc. Not MOD. The young woman actually was quite rude, and told me not to expect my pizza to be gluten free just because the crust is. She told me that they still dust the bottom with flour and the pizza would be baked in the oven which is completely coverred in flour, also the flour touches all of their meats, cheeses and veggies. My friend and I got the distinct feeling that she really just didn't want to be bothered with taking any precaution and actually just didn't want our business. Unfortunately, she got her way. We won't...