Mad Meatball Pizzeria & Pub

Mad meatball is tucked away downtown not too far from principal park. They have excellent happy hour specials. Pizza was pretty good, but not the best I have ever had. I got the bbq chicken with sweet bbq and pineapple. The crust was kind of overdone, but other than that it was good. You can add a side salad for $ 2. My boyfriend got the graziano sausage hoagie and it was probably one of the best ones we have ever had!

Food is amazing, pizza is a favorite and awesome drink specials! Everyone there is so friendly and the service is great! Great patio!

Kinda dirty, kinda gross. Not my kinda place! The food was nothing to write home about. I would not recommend this place to anyone who asked me. The supposedly awesome meatballs were just meatballs. The pizza I had was bland and the crust was not enjoyable. I really don’t see how you can screw-​up a ham and pineapple pizza the sandwich my hubby had was just as thumbs down as the pizza. Our server seemed either hung-​over or getting a little toasty herself. Sorry Mad Meatball. You just don’t do it for me.

I give this place 0 stars. Food is average at bast. the manager Andy is a dick. There is no email on website. I figured that they had so many complaints they had to take it down.

By far the best pizza I have had. Try the Idaho nachos or meatballs for an app. You won’t be disappointed. The bbq meatball pizza is top notch. I could eat there ever day and never get tired of it. They’re spicy meatball pizza has an insane kick, so if you only like a little spice, try something else. This one is for real spice lovers. The chicken Alfredo pizza is delicious also. In fact, there’s really not anything that I’ve tried that I don’t like. And that’s saying something as I’m a super picky eater. Love!!!

We found this place on Unilocal on our way through town. The food was good and it was a really fun atmosphere on a Sunday. Our server Kayla was awesome and she made us feel right at home.

Had the Mediterranean Pizza and a brown lager. Both were delicious. Service was a bit slow considering the amount of people present but friendly. Getting to me took some time but she did get me a new beer quickly. Pleased with the beer selection. Price for the food is good, beer seemed a bit pricey.

What a surprise! The Mad Meatball is not only a cool little bar to grab a drink but the food is really good! They have a decent selection of beers on draft and a large selection of bottled and canned. We ordered the mozzarella sticks as an appetizer and they were delicsious. The breading was very crunchy and marinara sauce, which they make in house, was so good. I was excited to try the pizza as the pictures on Unilocal looked amazing and I love thin crust pizza and have not been able to find a good one anywhere. We ordered the veggie 14 in and a side of french fries. This pizza is hands down the best pizza I have had in Des Moines area! The crust was crunch, the cheese was delicious and not too much or too little, the sweet red peppers in combination with the sauce was exquisite! I would highly recommend you stop by and enjoy some food and a drink. I can’t wait to go back!

I drive by this place several times when heading to work and am always mad that I don’t have time to stop in to check out Mad Meatball. I finally got a chance last Saturday night to stop at the Mad Meatball and I was very happy!
The place was pretty slow, but it was New Year’s Weekend. We sat at the bar and the gals were both very friendly and made you feel welcome.
My sweetheart was excited they had a house Moscow Mule which was excellent. They had local beer on tap and after sampling a couple I settled for a Porter made in Ankeny, IA and it was excellent.
We decided to try a few pies since this was the first visit.
The taco pizza was an excellent choice. A little heavy on the beans, but plenty of toppings and the crust was excellent.
The Mad Meatball was OK, just an average Meatball pizza, a good choice.
The Stew Special was maddening, an excellent combination of pepperoni, Graziano sausage, Meatball, mushroom, green pepper, banana peppers, and onion. It was a heavenly pie! Excellent flavor and perfect crust.
I will definitely be coming back and am Mad I don’t live closer to Mad Meatball!

This place wasn’t my fare. In not a fan if big thick onion rings. Plus when I heard the pizzas crust was super thin I was not prepared for how thin. Taste was okay, except for the above mentioned. Probably won’t be back.

Awesome place to go have some great food. The pizza is some of the best in Des Moines. The staff is polite and friendly.

I got to admit, I go Mad for Pizza, I’ve gone Mad for Pasta too, and you know I go Mad for a good selection of beers!
Well guess what this is a great place for me to go Mad! I love the outdoor seating even though the speaker is really distorted playing TLC songs and other 90’s R and B Jams! But it was a good conversation starter! Did you know T-​Boz is from Des Moines! How cool is that! I bet she would not go chasing Waterfalls if she knew about this place she would be chasing the Pizza!
We arrived pretty early, it will still happy hour and a guy at the bar gave us a tip, they have have off all drinks and apps for the next 15 minutes! We sat down ordered some drinks and some onion rings while we waited for our guest! The onion rings were thick and crispy and not to greasy! I dug them! So did the 1 and a half year old daughter of our friends! They are served with in house made Ranch, or as I prefer Ketchup!
Everyone else at the table ordered sandwiches and I choose to get a large Vegan Veggie pizza with no cheese! It was fantastic, lots of of toppings and a very thin and crispy crust! Perfect for eating the whole large pizza by yourself! I did share a couple slices with the 1 and a half year old!
The service here was great, they had a great beer selection, and a big Moscow Mule selection as well! For the first time here I was very happy with my experience! And I will be back for sure!

The Judge likes Mad Meatball. Judge Minty and I stopped there after duty/​patrol on a recent Friday evening. We sat on the patio. They even let us park our Lawmaster’s next to the patio. This is a comfortable place. Not stuffy at all. We like this fact. Lots of room on the patio.
Our server was a nice Lady. She had a lot of table’s in and out but still did a great job. We had the Sausage, tater tot and cheddar pizza. It was outstanding! The pie was HOT and fresh. Crust was tasty and crispy. Good sauce and ingredients. Good proportions of the ingredients as well. We ordered a small, but our server put in as a large. She gave us the larger pie at the small pie’s price. A nice thing by her! The Judges thank her for that.
Lots of interesting pies to try on the menu. They also have a Italian Beef. The Judge is eager to try one as they say they are good. The Judge loves and knows a good Italian beef sandwich. Look for that judgement to come soon… Also you can watch Cubs fireworks from the Patio!
JUDGEMENT:Both Judge Minty and myself approve and like this place. We will visit again soon. Great pizza, good service, good drinks as well. As always you should go try Mad Meatball and be your own Judge!
That is all for this review… Till the next Judgement Citizens…

First of all, I just want to say this place is a dive bar. So if you’re expecting some place fancy or really nice looking inside, look elsewhere because you’re going to be disappointed. The place is dark and divey inside and decorated with various beer signs. But it has its own sense of charm. It feels like a neighborhood place you can go to for some great food.
My husband and I both ordered 7″ pizzas and they were fantastic. I got the supreme and my husband got the combination pizza. The crust was thin and just the right amount of crispy. After we finished our pizzas, we were still hungry. They seemed kind of small. We were wishing we had gotten a 14″ pizza or an appetizer.
Although the food was great and this is a dive bar, that’s no excuse for the slow service from our waitress. She seemed really indifferent, like she didn’t want to be there. It took her awhile to get our drink order and our food order. She also didn’t know the price of a beer when my husband asked her and she guessed the price. But when we got our bill it was a dollar more than what she told us. The other two waitresses seemed more on the ball, so if we had gotten one of them, we probably would have had a more pleasant experience.
So I would say the food gets 4 stars and the service gets 2 stars. But I would still go back again for that great pizza. I also want to try some other things on the menu. The onion rings looked delicious. If you want some good pizza, give this place a chance. But just be prepared because you might have to wait a little bit.

Discovered this pizzeria from a Groupon. Wow! We had the house favorite and will be back!

We had the Mad Pizzeria with red spicy sauce. This is a thin crust pizza which was pretty dang decent. Atmosphere was causal locals with a good spring/​summer feel. They have happy hour everyday from 2 – 6 so be sure to check that out.

The moment that you walk into Mad Meatball Pizzeria and Pub you know that you are in a dive bar. The only question left is what caliber of dive bar? The answer for me today was a pretty damn good one.
The dark and intimate atmosphere puts you at ease right away. While eclectically designed with junkyard leftovers it still has a subtle charm to it. It truly felt like a place that I could get lost for a little while. have a couple beers and get some good food. We happened to have a Groupon for a large pizza and two beers. (I recommend the deal for $ 18) My wife and I split a Meatza Pizza; it was delicious. The crust was thin and crispy, the sauce was tasty but understated, and the meat toppings of sausage, pepperoni, Cappicola and bacon made for a fantastic combination. The glassware was clean and my Confluence IPA was nice and cold and a perfect complement.
Our server was pleasant and helpful and brought me a sample of another beer I was interested in without a moment’s hesitation. The pizza was on the table in about 20 minutes hot and fresh.
This was a great first stop at Mad Meatball for us, and we will definitely be back!

The restaurant was understaffed, and on top of this the one waitress seemed indifferent, and hard to get a hold of. There was a little over a dozen people. The bathrooms are gross. The wings I had had good flavor but I was disgusted by finding loose bone shards in the meat, the waitress didn’t care when I pointed this out to her. The piazza was good but nothing great. I’m undecided if I would give them another shot. If I was to order from here I would definitely get my food to go to avoid some of the problems I have seen.

I just stumbled on this place, and since I have a love for dive bars this is right up my alley.
Interesting place with friendly and informative wait staff.
I ordered dry rub chicken wings, the waitress warned me they were very hot but I didn’t really believe her. I wasn’t expecting them to be breaded but they were and yes they were HOT, but very tasty. I needed lots of blue cheese dressing but I ate them all. I sweated a little in the process but enjoyed them all.
The cook came out and asked if they were good and told me they had habanero and ghost pepper seasoning, nice guy. The waitress was very attentive and friendly.
I would recommend this place to anyone.

Great for a quick lunch. I’ve been here a number of times. Only item that was not a favorite of mine was the chicken parm sandwich. Everything else has been quite tasty. I’ll be back again and do enjoy the laid back atmosphere.