Mellow Mushroom

Newcomer makes top 5 St. Charles County Pizza List

With Mushy Mushy Good Pizza

Mellow Mushroom wants you to leave boring pizzas behind. As soon as you walk in the door the Cottleville, Missouri newcomer is anything but boring. Their pizza offerings range from the Holy Shitake (mushroom) Pizza to the Pacific Rim Pizza that combines ham, pineapple, and jalapeno flavors. If you want a plain cheese or pepperoni pizza, those are available too, but Mellow Mushroom is definitely for the adventuresome

In this Mellow Mushroom photo montage, you get a feel for the eclectic 1980's  murals on the walls, and throughout the restaurant, you also see some mushrooms (bottom right).

It's a pizza place that's so much more than a pizza place. And I'm happy to give it the "P" of Approval for their pizza, but I am also impressed by their unique ambiance. The 1980's themed Mellow Mushroom in Cottleville is a state of mind, a flash back to happy memories. Wonderful local artists covered the walls with murals. Diners can see Ozzie Smith in the middle of a backflip. On another wall above the kitchen, you can see the Back to the Future Delorian with the 88 mph license plate, or spy Geoffrey the Toy's R' Us Giraffe perched near the ceiling keeping watch over the restaurant.

Stlpizzaguy and sister Krista give the P of Approval for Mellow Mushroom. Pizzas pictured on the left: Half Pacific Rim, Half Meat Eater. Right: Holy Shitake Pizza with Steak.

THE PIZZA DETAILS

CRUST: "This place is for crust lovers. Their fresh, thick, filling, prominent crust is big enough and tasty enough to sell dipping sauce. For extra tastiness, their thick crust is basted with garlic butter and dusted with cornmeal before serving."

Mellow Mushroom touts their crust is always made with spring water imported from the Appalachian Mountains. All I know is that it tastes GOOD. 

CHEESE: Mozzarella, they use a special part-skim mozzarella cheese.

TOPPINGS: Their pizzas are absolutely loaded with toppings, no skimping here. The Pacific Rim Pizza has ham, bacon, caramelized onion, ham, and jalapenos. The Mighty Meaty has pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, ham, and applewood smoked bacon. 

Their Holy Shitake Pizza has an olive oil sauce with shiitake, button and portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, mozzarella and MontAmoré cheeses. The pizza is finished with a garlic aioli swirl and a spritz of black truffle oil. Garnished with fresh chives and shaved Parmesan. We added steak. I do not typically like Mushrooms, but I just pretended that it was all steak and all good. Seriously though, the Holy Shitake is one of their most popular pizzas. 

SAUCE: tangy, and slightly sweet.

OTHER TIPS AND OBSERVATIONS:

Their 13 specialty pizzas is one of the most expansive selection I have EVER seen. This is a great place for people who want to try crazy combinations, or like to have pineapple on their pizza. If you have problems deciding on a pizza, they also allow you to split it half and half.

Mellow Mushroom is a VERY large space. It is a Pizza Mecca that currently employs 80 people. I would not be surprised if their restaurant sits 300 people when they are at capacity. 

At really busy times, people should expect to be patient for their pizzas. Servers will tell customers if you are looking at a 45-minute wait once you order your pizza. Our pizza came to us on a Sunday night in less than 20-minutes after ordering, but I know that wait times can be longer.

I also enjoyed their partially open kitchen where you can see pizza makers kneading, tossing, throwing dough, and an assembly line of 5-7 people all working to make a pizza. 

Mellow Mushroom is located at 4716 Mid Rivers Mall Dr. in Cottleville, Mo. 
Special thanks to owners Ian and Tammi Hilton for the interview.