Mesa Pizza

A great, quirky place to try some great pizza’s.
I was a student at the University of Minnesota when the first Mesa Pizza opened, so I was thrilled to find out they were launching their second location here in Iowa City.
If you’ve been to Madison this place is very similar to Ian’s. Fun and crazy flavors of Pizza served by the slide. Food is delicious. Mac and Cheese, Buffalo Chicken and BBQ are three of my favorites.
Décor is college-​esque, funky artwork on the wall and a long tunnel-​like restaurant setup. You can feel the tangible presence of hundreds of drunk Sophomores who stumbled in to feed after the bars close.
Definitely worth checking out.

Fast and yummy– perfect if you want a filling meal but don’t have much time to eat. Also, lots of great vegetarian options!

Amazing selection for my late night pizza crave.
Food (4 Stars) — You imagine pizza w crazy stuff on it they will probably made it. Had the meaty slice and mac & cheese pizza slice all were good!
Ambiance (4 Stars) — long corridor w odd mural paintings on the wall.
Service (4 Stars) — counter service
Jimmy’s Hacks — have an idea of what you’re craving before you when you get to the order counter especially when others are waiting behind you.
Note… reviews maybe updated after future visits. If you find any of my hacks or reviews helpful pls follow & like my review for more. Thx
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Okay, obviously these college kids are drunk and eating this pizza thinking it’s amazing. But if you’ve ever had actually good pizza, like in Chicago or NY, you would be appalled by this place. It’s usually a last resort after the bars bc it’s one of the few places still open, and with the lines at night you would think it’s decent. It’s not. It’s overpriced and flavorless. Anyone who tells you different does not know any better or was drunk when they had it. Way too pricey and doughy. So many places in iowa city/​coralville to choose from in the day time that actually have decent pizza. I would only come here if I was desperate and the chicken cart guy ran out of food or if Jimmy Johns closed.

I love their Pizzza!!! Trust me they have the best pizza!!! 5 stars for all their pizza!!!
Now the worst part– they sell pizza by the slice, so at least 1 slice for the entire menu items is good to expect. But never they would have their best pizza on shelf.
Mesa pizza is originally from Minneapolis & it is so well maintained so much organized but not this.
Hope after this review they do understand its high time they have to maintain their credibility.
But overall I LOVE THEIR PIZZA.
Suggestions if they have the slice available;
Guacamole burrito pizza,
Mac n cheese pizza,
Burrito Chicken pizza

Got to give a lot of love to a place that is willing to throw anything under the Sun on my pizza.
Our favorite thus far has been the pulled pork in onion rings over BBQ sauce. The standards are always solid, but seriously you can’t stop at this place and not get something a little bit exciting on your pizza. Bacon, cheese burgers, fries, avocado, kalamata olives, feta, and just about anything else you can imagine will grace the pie if you desire.
Perhaps our favorite thing about it is the fact that you can get a half and half pizza with half cheese and pepperoni and half specialty for about five bucks less than a specialty pizza. You make sure that the kiddos have something they like and that Mom and Dad get to experiment a little bit.
There’s a little bit of room to sit in here, and the place is abnormally long physically. The walls are graced with a bunch of art the reminds me of something from an old school Ghostbusters movie. Some art from bands and what I believe is a local photographer also graces the wall. Not really my dick, but it’s nice to see that they’re supporting folks in the area.
All in all, this place is legit. Really good pizza with a lot of different options and while it’s a little bit more expensive then the stuff you order at a chain, it’s well worth the extra to support a local spot and get something that you couldn’t get elsewhere.

Came in on a rainy night from out of town expecting the place to be dead due to the weather, but low and behold there was a decent crowd that seemed mildly intoxicated for it only being 10pm on a Thursday.
If the staff had half the excitement as the customers I might have had a good experience. Came in starving and ordered 4 slices when 2 is likely all a grown man should eat. Left a $ 4 tip. When I went to find the hot sauce to put on my pizza they only had it behind the counter. Told me in would be a quarter… Are you kidding me? Yea lets run my credit card again for a quarter especially after tipping $ 4.
The pizza came out of the reheat ovens fast, probably too fast as 2 of the slices weren’t very crispy on the bottom. Overall very disappointing… However if you do go try the Mac n cheese as that was the best by far.

Mesa deserves 4 stars for two reasons: the quality of pizza versus what else Iowa City has to offer, and the number of vegetarian options. The only place that I enjoy as much, is The Wedge. Without giving one more credit than the other, I’ll just say Mesa has a unique variety of non-​meat specialties apart from other I.C. menus.
Recommendation: Avocado Delight
(But perhaps avoid the Eggplant. Found it a bit soggy & disappointing.)

Specialty pizza at a very competitive price. They have all kinds of crazy combinations and the pizza is always cooked to a perfect crispness. The line late at night gets excessive but depending on how much time you are willing to wait it is probably worth the wait.
Slice for slice, the best pizza in the downtown area by a long shot.
Favorite slice: chicken pesto

I only visited for the weekend, but I heard this place was a night life staple. I’ve never seen so much diversity in pizza. I’d highly recommend if you’re into crazy toppings!

If you want pizza by the slice this is the way to go. I make it a point to go here whenever I’m in Iowa city. The prices are reasonable-​if you buy two slices you get free pop. The macaroni pizza is super good! Also the décor is very unique, but I can dig it :)

When you think of pizza by the slice, you think of Mesa of course. Well unless you think of Falbos, but if you want something more than a sausage pizza, then think Mesa.
So you walk in and head to the back were they have this pizza buffet sitting out in front of you with huge slices of their classic Mac and Cheese, Pulled Pork and Onion Rings, Eggplant, and Southwest Burrito (only to name a small fraction). After a brief survey you choose one (or two if hungry). They throw it in the oven for 3 – 5 minutes and bam, you have a slice of melt in your mouth goodness to enjoy. Before you know it, your slice is gone, then you wish you had that second, or if you thought ahead, you start into your second. By the time you are done, your are stuffed, but happy as you sit back and finally notice the strange artwork on the walls.
Great place, great food, and depending when you come (Bar Close is crazy time) fast service. [It’s still fast at bar close, just lots more people.]

Love these types of pizza places where they have a huge assortment of toppings. I’ve seen many similar types of places on other college campuses. Ranging from macaroni and cheese to eggplant parmesan to steak and fries (fries on your pizza?) to even a marshmellow and nutella pizza I saw this weekend (halloween special maybe?), they pretty much offer anything you’re looking for. I love the ones with guac on them too. :)
I always ask for my pizzas to be extra crispy, so if you like your pizza nice and crispy, ask for that too! Otherwise, sometimes the dough is a bit too doughy and chewy for me.

Well, well, well I am late to this pizza party that is Mesa! I love pizza by the slice and more importantly pizza that is delicious, they were right before my eyes on the ped mall and I never tried them till today… How did I miss this awesome place?
They sell several varieties of pizza by the slice, they have them on display so you can see whats available at that time. I got the pepperoni which is my fav anywhere so very easy decision for me.
The crust is thin and crunchy with a nice taste to it. The sauce is a great blend, more on the medium side of not too strong or sweet, just right. The cheese is good has a good blend and does not fall off the pizza. All put together it is very good! I was happy I found a place this good that serves slices.
They have a little something for everyone here, quality pizza is a great thing.

TERRIBLE SERVICE!!! Do not order from here! I ordered a few pizzas from here and after order they told me it would be about an hour, 1:45 min later I called to check on it. When they answered the girl on the phone said «yea I’m sorry we just sent a 400 $ order to the volleyball tournament and it would be about another 20 – 30 min! I asked to speak with a manager and He yells from the back tell them it’ll be there in a few so I asked to actually speak to him, upon getting him on phone Hey. Said do you know how far away you are? I said well according to my Unilocal app you are 5 min away, he said no you are like 30 – 40 min away and there is like a river and stop lights and Sh*t, He then told me how they were too busy and it was a football game, I said the football game has been over for 7 hours he then said «dude do you know how F**king busy we are!!!» I said no but I can’t believe you just cussed at a customer he said «well I’m F**king busy» then hung up on me!
Not even five minutes later the delivery girl called saying «hi I am on the way with your pizza I got lost» I told her nevermind after we hung up I looked it up and it was a 6 min drive totaling 4 blocks!!!
I am giving 1 star because in order to write a review I have to gives at least one!
Not a good impression since we were in town on a recruiting visit with University of IOWA.

Mesa Pizza is a bit of a legend among my friends in Iowa City, and here’s why: one night, after countless hours of drinking copious amounts of alcohol, a group of coeds stumbled into Mesa in order to preempt their inevitable hangovers. One friend in particular, seeing that his favorite slice was almost out, swayed in line patiently until he could claim the last of the– wait for it– avocado, steak and chipotle pizza. His drunken enthusiasm compromised his ability to maintain a grasp on the slice, and the next thing he knew, the slice had landed face-​down on the floor. Not one to waste food, but also not one to deliberately ingest other peoples’ hair, he had a choice to make… long story short, my friend ate this pizza off of the floor. Such is his love for Mesa. So, we made Mesa a priority for our Iowa City tour last weekend, hoping to secure a few slices of the southwestern-​flavored pizza for ourselves.
The most impressive part about Mesa is the selection– vegan pizza, buffalo chicken pizza, mac and cheese pizza! Since the avocado, steak, and chipotle pizza was unavailable, we ended up ordering a full pizza (8 slices, perfect for 4 [sober] people) so we could get that variety. I would have preferred a vegan slice myself (because it’s like a unicorn… vegan pizza in the midwest?!), but I went with the flow, figuring the avocado would redeem whatever crazy pizza came out of the oven.
Now, I’ve been reading that people don’t love the crust here– I’d say it was the best part. It had a nice crunch to it, but wasn’t cardboard-​y or too flat. The weird part was the pizza itself. Now, forgive my admittedly non-​fratty palate, but the combination just wasn’t working for me– I love avocado on pretty much everything, but I’m more of a pizza purist (a discovery I made on this very day). I didn’t like how the whole thing was slathered in a heavy chipotle mayo (MAYO!) sauce, and the «steak» was more of a ground beef. It tasted like it could have been Taco Bell’s pizza (which isn’t a bad thing; love me some T-​Bell!), which was a bit of a disappointment considering they have so many awesome looking varieties of pizza going on.
I’d come back here in a heartbeat, if only out of curiosity for the other 500 flavors they have going on. While in any other case I’d opt for a simple Pizza Margherita, Mesa is a great place to branch out and try something unique.

While there are several pizza joints scattered throughout Iowa City, if you need to grab a slice or two, this is certainly the place to be! They have a wide variety (usually 10 – 14 options) of vegetarian, chicken and other meat varieties.
Their Mac & Cheese pizza is the best I’ve ever had. It only takes a couple minutes for the slice of your choice to come out warm and with just the right level of crispiness!
Due to their pricing structure, I recommend buying pizza by the slice rather than whole pizzas. Their pricing for whole pizzas needs to be reevaluated. Regardless, if you’re in Iowa City, even for just a weekend, this is a highly recommended spot to dine in or take out!

It seems like just about everyone who reviewed likes this place. I’m here to rock the boat a little. I was not impressed. And I don’t think I’ll be back again.
The positive: Yes, tons of different toppings. Some of them more creative than others. And some of them look really good.
The negative: 1) The crust. It’s terrible. The crust is the most important part of a pizza. And Mesa’s crust is dry, stiff, chalky and tastes like it’s half baked. 2) Some of the toppings are just not all that great. I’d much rather have a nice slice of cheese pizza than some of the crazy combinations.
I miss Pittsburgh’s Mineo’s pizza. $ 1.70 a huge slice of cheese pizza, beats these fancy $ 3.50 a slice here hands down any day.

I’ve been back several times while van camping /​biking in the area. Mesa still continues to be a favorite. I love the Philly Cheesesteak and monthly offerings.
Nobody has more kinds of attractive vegetarian pizza slices available at a moment’s notice. They are beautiful, too!
If I could say one thing frustrates me, it’s having to choose what to try. There are that many tasty and visually stunning options.

Slices!
And tons of choices! The pizza Gods would be pleased.
Macaroni and cheese pizza? Chicken-​pesto, you want just regular cheese – they got it.
I’m still waiting for a bagel and cream cheese pizza (never seen that) but this place is innovative and gourmet.
I had a roni and sausage slice and a chicken pesto. The chicken pesto stood out but both were phenomenal.
Don’t know why you’d ever go to Pizza on Dubuque – no offense… I guess Dubuque does have a bathroom.
This slice house is visionary and quality.