Mellow Mushroom

I am so glad it’s lunchtime. I went here yesterday and I have been looking forward to eating my leftovers ever since. I went here with a colleague and we shared the mushroom pizza. It was pricey ($ 22) but we shared lunch and I got the leftovers for that price so not bad (3 meals total). Full of garlic and cheese. So delicious.

Three of us ate here and the food and service was great! I loved the Magical Mystery Tour pizza which is packed with flavor (Pesto base with button and Portobello mushrooms, feta and mozzarella cheeses, spinach and jalapeños on a pesto basted crust). Another person had pizza with broccoli — his favorite. I shared the Magic Mushroom soup — really delicious.
The servers were friendly and attentive.

How can anyone not love Mellow Mushroom? Happy hour 4−7pm with $ 2 off drafts, including Woodchuck Gumption, which is a pretty freakin’ awesome cider (try it if you haven’t, game-​changer). Service is decent, nothing to rave about but solid overall.
Favorite pizzas: mighty meats and kosmic karma. I’ll admit that outside of pizza, I never have tried anything else here. But why would you want to?

I am giving 4 stars because the pizza selection and quality is quite good, otherwise it would have been 3 stars. We had a group of ~20 people and the ambiance … well it was underwhelming. The brewery smell in the private rooms got old real fast.

As chain restaurants go, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than Mellow Mushroom. This (primarily) pizza place and bar has always got a hip vibe, no matter which location I’ve been in, but the Herndon, VA location is always exceptionally friendly and fun. When I’ve been at the bar, the bartenders have been conversational and interested, and at tables the wait staff is personable and very professional.
If you’ve never had the pizza here, you need to. It’s wood-​fired and the crust is always bubbly and crunchy-​chewy in perfect harmony. The edges are brushed with butter and parmesan as well [Homer gurgling noise].
If you’re looking for traditional Italian or New York pizza, this isn’t it; even if you just get pepperoni and cheese (which you totally can), it’s a little more fun than lots of places. That said, I always stick with the house specialty pizzas, which are an eclectic mix of toppings arranged in beautiful harmony.
I’ve tried most of their specialties, and recommend most, but I’ll focus on my last visit, when I got the Maui Wowie. It has a pesto base, applewood bacon, ham, pineapple, banana peppers, and jerk chicken. Caribbean-​jerk, not jerky-​jerk or a-​hole-​jerk. «Wowie» is right! The flavors sync perfectly, and there is spice and heat, but it’s not «look how macho I am» hot. Just right.
I hate to admit it, but after years of going to MMs, my most recent visit was the first time I tried the pretzels. They’re literally made out of the pizza dough, and we got them with just the butter and salt (with mustard), but you can get them with butter and parmesan (with red sauce) or cinnamon and sugar (and honey). I was hoping for more of a grainy or pub mustard, and what came was more of a bold yellow, but the pretzels were better by themselves anyway. You can purchase beer cheese sauce to dip them in as well, which I might have to get next time just because beer cheese sauce.
Since our twin boys (now 2) were old enough to eat people food with us, we’ve gotten them a few of the kiddie meals. The French bread pizza has been the favorite, but the meatballs — cut in half with fresh mozz in the middle — are a big hit too. The food is fresh and not the usual chicken-​finger and soggy grilled cheese you find at most places these days. Other kid choices include pretzel bites and macaroni and cheese, and they get a drink and either broccoli or apple slices. Our boys have never eaten the broccoli, but it’s been cooked perfectly to our taste! (I’m not going to sit here and lie to you; it’s not the only food we’ve stolen from the kids here.)
Now, with the sweet must come a little sour, and here it is. At MMs in general — Herndon is no exception — I find that the toppings tend to be very concentrated, usually in a pile in the middle. I have used my fingers to more evenly distribute toppings most of the time; sometimes a slice won’t have any of one topping or another on it; it gets very frustrating. I’ve asked when ordering a couple of times if they can spread stuff more evenly, and I don’t think they quite understand what I’m asking for; I always get a «yes,» but then I find the same problem.
My other problem with this location is that it’s a Miami Dolphins bar. By this I mean on days on which the Dolphins play, their fans take over the entire bar area and spill out into the dining area. Oh, and it gets loud. Real loud. Mostly when refs are calling penalties on the Dolphins, but still. ;) I love having an enthusiastic sports crowd in a bar, but if you want a quiet Sunday (or whenever) meal with the fam, check the NFL schedule. When I say this place is a Dolphins bar, I mean that they put out massive flags and pennants and decorate the place with bobbleheads. They even WARNED us before they seated us (in kind of a «are you sure you still want to eat here» tone) that the place would be crazy the last time we were in. I heard them greeting other people with the same dire warning. It’s not a bad thing, but keep in mind that you might be walking in to a place that ISSUES WARNINGS about its other guests. I’ve been to «transplant» bars before, and it’s all in good fun, but your conversation with grandma after church might be better held elsewhere if you pull up and there’s a large inflatable Dolphins player lawn figure guarding the entrance.

Crrrrrrrrazy delish! We’ve had some awesome, amazing pizza in our lives, but this was something special. We did Thai dye, Holy Shitake, Mighty Meaty, and Redskin Potato. The Thai pizza burst with flavor in my mouth. The mushroom pizza was rich and decadent. It tasted like a mouthful of truffles. The Mighty Meaty was filled with ample meat, crispy bacon aplenty, and the Redskin Potato was insanely rich with sliced creamy potatoes and topped with crispy bacon. Every bite was packed with flavor over this crazy crust. If you love pizza and amazing flavor combos, this is a must!!!
PS — the service was awesome!

Glacially slow service. Insensitive waitstaff. Pizza crust equivalent to drywall with cornmeal embedded in it. Toppings that only sound good on paper. I just don’t know why I would ever consider coming back. There are plenty of places more deserving of your dining dollar. Even Pizza Hut the next day is better.

Had the house pizza and I’ve had better pizza at 7 – 11. Rather bland. There are far better pizza option available.

3.5÷5. We stopped here while visiting the area. The service was very good and our waiter was very attentive, especially considering they were setting up for football that afternoon (apparently it’s a Miami Dolphins bar, who knew). The pizza was pretty good and everything tasted fresh. The prices were on the steeper side but not outrageous.

I hate to do it but I have to downgrade MM to a three star rating. Service is painfully slow, as in a meal is a 90 minute ordeal or more. If you come with a group, prepare for it to take evem longer. While the servers are genuinely nice, everything moves at a slower pace. I haven’t experienced this at any other MM location.
I really enjoy the food and they have a good beer list (when it’s actually up to date). Seriously, the beer list is a mess. On any occasion they will be out of at least two drafts that are listed on the menu. The items that are listed either have abbreviations or misspelled words so you don’t even know what it is. Then it turns out to be something unexciting by New Belgium.
MM just added burgers to their menu. I was underwhelmed by mine. The meat was dry and the best part was the aioli mayo on the bun.

I’ve been here a number of times and it’s always good food. My favs are the pizza, there are LOTS of options on the menu but I generally stick with a basic and a couple toppings. The crust is kind of unique I can’t quite put my finger on it. A tad sweet, and maybe some wheat added? It’s good I think but it’s not your standard crust. The meatball trio is delicious! Not so good warmed up/​leftovers but there are only 3 so you generally eat the whole appetizer. The tortilla soup is delicious (add chicken) one of the best soups I’ve had. The spinach salad is amazing, highly recommend. Their salads (and the pizza) you can customize about 100 ways so you’re sure to get something you love. You pay for it tho one you tack on all the extras they definitely add up.
If you order the pretzels, be warned it’s a huge tray of 6 full pretzels! Must be for sharing. You can order a half-​order tho.
They have a great beer selection and they are happy to give you a sip or recommend one to your liking. The service can be somewhat iffy (didn’t used to be this way at all) but there’s been a lot of bartender turnover I think so it’s less settled.
They have a happy hour M-​F so that saves a little. I think it’s just beer/​wine specials. They have a gluten free menu if you need that.
Definitely check the place out!

I drove past here so many times before a coworker finally told me I HAD to come here. I was hooked since the first bite.
I’ve tried just about all the pizza options and have yet to find one I even remotely dislike. The Magical Mystery Tour and Redskin Potato Pie are my favorite options. Opt for getting a half & half pizza so you can try more choices! I’m also a big fan of the Mushroom Soup.
Wednesday night is trivia night starting at 8pm. Be sure to call ahead to reserve a table or get there by 7pm because it gets packed!

Stopped in here since we have a Mellow Mushroom in Columbia, SC and have loved and missed it since moving back to NOVA. We came here on a Wednesday night, and had the best experience. Wednesday nights are trivia nights here too which we found out.
Our service was excellent. Everything from the beer recommendations to what to order was on point. Our glasses were always full and we always had everything we needed. Will be coming back here time after time.

Arrived an hour before closing and the host recommended we sit at the bar, which was excellent b/​c we had the bartender’s full attention — great service! Also had a great view of the baseball game! Bartender provided excellent recommendations for the beers and let me taste two before deciding. They have delicious root beer ON TAP as well.
Had the Philosopher’s Pie and loved the crispy, chewy crust and the great cheeses and other toppings. Will be looking forward to my next visit.

I love this place. Have eaten here many times in the last few months. It is the Thai Dye pizza made vegan that does me in. I love it.
Tofu, vegan cheese, no butter. Get the gluten free crust too if you want. Yum. So good.
Servers are always nice. Looks like a great local football crowd has a good time at game time too. Go upstairs if you want a place to chat with your friend (s) during game time.
Lots of awesome beers on tap that change.
There are too few places for vegans to go and have options. Here — at Mellow Mushroom — we have awesome options!

I’ve been missing Mellow Mushroom since I first tried them at their location in West Palm Beach, so since the mood struck, it was into the car and off to Herndon, and it was well worth the drive. I really love their Mellowterranean pizza, with chicken, onion, roasted red peppers, olives, mozzarella, and feta on their wonderful, garlicky-​buttery crust, nicely puffed up around the outside and with just the right amount of crispness. These folks really do know how to make a great pizza, satisfying even this native New Yorker, and the couple of slices I brought home with me made for a great lunch today.
The service was on-​point, with everyone being very friendly and helpful. We also had a nice chat with the owner, who told us about his plans for the new Mellow Mushroom location slated to open in late 2015/​early 2016 in the Rockville Town Center. It sounds like it’ll be a very nice location!

A colleague and I decided to stop in for lunch on a whim after a client meeting. The interior décor is interesting and different with the industrial look and feel coupled with random artwork and paint on the walls. We ordered hot pretzels with a side of mustard to start with and I had a meatball hoagie. The pretzels were piping h-​o-​t and oh-​so delicious. But, the meatball hoagie was just –ok– and had little personality.
Just a few days later my family and I had lunch at Mellow Mushroom over a weekend. We had the «Bloody Murder» drink to start with and they kick up their version of the Bloody Mary with some nice spice. Meatballs sliders before the pizza was a great choice! We also shared a full size garden salad which was plenty for all us. The three of us split a 14″ pie with cheese, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and green peppers. The best thing I can say about their pizza is that the crust is neither too thick or thin and it has a very subtle and mellow sweet kick to it while the sauce to cheese ratio is ‘just right’.
To top it off, the servers are extremely helpful and courteous. Kudos to this very cool concept that differentiates from the rest of the pizza pack and wanna-be’s!

Just spoke with a very nice girl named Megan who took my phone order and I would have to say one of the nicest employees I’ve spoken with since the opening of this location!!! Mellow had some new menu selections and we spoke about them one of which I ordered which is a Temphe pizza on a olive oil and garlic crust with pineapple and Mozzarella… Megan confirmed my order and notified me on their happy hour choices! I declined but the fact she offered was awesome!
Will be picking up my new Temphe pizza soon!!!

I’m not sure about this place. I will have to go back and try a pizza one day since there are some positive comments about those.
I went here this evening and got drinks and appetizers. I ordered white sangria, garlic & Parmesan pretzels and the stuffed portobello mushroom. The sangria was a good size but it wasn’t that great tasting. It tasted like store bought sangria drink mix (overly sweet and fake). The pretzels and portobello were pretty good.
The worst thing is, when the waitress spilled the sangria all over my bag and Louis Vuitton wallet when delivering it to my table. :(she apologized but I mean… I’m still upset about it.

My husband and i stopped in for a bite to eat on a Friday night. The only area opened was the basement area. It was slightly on the colder side but we managed. I ordered the shiitake mushrooms: Olive oil and garlic base, Shiitake, button and Portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, mozzarella and MontAmoré cheeses. Drizzled with garlic aioli and black truffle oil. Garnished with fresh chives and shaved Parmesan. This was pure deliciously for fellow mushroom head. The husband ordered MAUI WOWIE
Pesto base with ham, pineapple, jerk chicken, banana peppers, Applewood smoked bacon and mozzarella cheese. This was a good Hawaiian pizza but not mind blowing. I want to come back to try other pies because there was so many that sounded and smelled delicious.