Mellow Mushroom Comes to Toms River

Mellow Mushroom’s website claims there is a new pizza place in town for Toms River. However, bringing a new pizza joint to this area is a lot to live up to. In the tri-state area your mediocre pizza just won’t do. On the snowiest day of the year, my husband and I were pleasantly surprised to find this place open so we could finally give could give it a try.

I’ve never heard of it, even coming from the South so I was actually anxious to give it a shot. Of course on a snowy day the place was empty and there were plenty of spots to park. Walking in we noticed a sign announcing a Grand Opening for February 18^th even though they have been open since December. The hostess was there to greet us and seat us quickly. The décor has a funky, 70s spin, think That 70s show meets Chucky Cheese is the vibe I got. Loved the menu cover and the way they were bound together but such a huge menu to choose from! Too many choices!

It was lunch so I was excited to see a lunch special from 11am-2pm for a slice, soda and a ‘lil salad they called it. My husband was interested in a sandwich so we were set. Our waiter came over for the order but to my surprise they weren’t offering slices- the waiter suggested a whole pie for the two of us because that was the best bet-even though that’s not what my husband wanted at all. On a whim we ordered a whole cheese half pepperoni & mushroom with a side Caesar salad. My husband raved about their beer menu and ordered a McKenzie’s Black Cherry which was good by the small sip I had and my husband loved!

Our Ceasar arrived, easily shareable for a small size. However, the shaved parmesan cheese and crispy, crunchy croutons were hidden on the bottom and it needed more dressing. Why showcase the lettuce?

Finally, our pizza arrived, “Super Fresh” is how our waiter described it as he placed it on our table. It was also half pepperoni and half mushroom and overwhelmingly cheesy. Reminiscent of one of those Boboli supermarket pizza’s from the freezer. But, I grew up on freezer pizza, how bad could this be? I took my first bite and just kept chewing cheese and not the good kind. The mushrooms were good and fresh, not over-seasoned, just right. I was actually glad to have them even though I originally wanted my half to just be cheese. This pizza left a lot to be desired. In this town there is a pizza shop on every block, you have to make sure your pizza is on point and for me this just fell short. Even the bad pizza in this town is usually pretty good.

We boxed up our left overs and weren’t offered dessert. I doubt I’ll be back, in fact I know I won’t. This is a gimmicky chain who will probably get eaten up by the locals. The dinosaur outside is fun, stop and get your picture taken with it. It could also be fun for a kids Birthday party.I’m a pizza girl but I’m sorry I wasted my #NationalPizzaDay calories on this and won’t be back for their pizza. The mushroom soup sounds interesting, I’d possibly try that since the mushrooms were good.