Mountain Mike's Pizza

Great salad bar and Pizza. Perfect place for families and after sporting events

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

It is really sad to go to a business anticipating something, only to hear the owner talking about ending the reason for the visit.

Since childhood, the ultimate pleasurable experience for me has been pizza. From American types (New York style, Chicago style, Detroit style, Minneapolis style, California style and Ohio style), to pizza I enjoyed in Italy, they are all good in different ways. Pizza and salad buffet was the ultimate celebration/broken heart/meaningful talk with friends and family experience. Unfortunately, Mountain Mike's did not offer a good pizza and salad buffet offering.

Because of, among other things, COVID, the number of buffet-style restaurant offering any type of cuisine has significantly decreased. Mountain Mike's is one of the few available restaurants offering a pizza and salad buffet. With service running from 11 AM-2 PM, I like to arrive for a new buffet about 12:30. Usually, this allows for the first batch of pizza put up to have been consumed and replaced by the second batch. Most pizza buffets will allow a 'request' for a specific set of toppings for this second batch. The salad bar may or may not have been replenished, but I am in it for the pizza, so salad usually includes tomato, onion, broccoli, raisins and italian dressing. It sits on the table, offering a reset of the tongue between different types of topping on slices.

On entering, I observed 1 table with a customer and 2 tables that folks had eaten and departed, waiting to be cleared. Under the heat lamp, half of a pepperoni pizza and 1/4 of a chicken pizza next to 1/4 of a hawaiian pizza were sitting there. The pepperoni 'cups' on the pizza looked to be a little dry around the edges, and the red grease from cheese and sauce sitting together was becoming obvious. The chicken pizza had white and yellow cheese, and chicken in strings, as if it had been pulled severely. The pineapple on the hawaiian pizza was looking a little dry, but the canadian bacon was still flat.

I paid the $16.95 price for buffet and water, and asked if more pizza was in the oven. The owner replied that, at that moment, he was hoping I would eat some of what was there before he put new pizzas in the oven. He then said it was very expensive to run the buffet, and as I could see, there was only 1 other person in the restaurant. I received the plate and took a slice of each type. The thin crust under the pepperoni was a bit dry, and the red grease was becoming very prominent with each bite. The chicken pizza was better crust-wise, but with so little chicken on it, it was more like a cheeze pizza. The Hawaiian was ok. The canadian bacon was flavorful, but the burst of juice from a fresher piece of pineapple was missing.

After effectively reducing the pizza on the buffet by over 1/3, I again asked about fresh pizza. The owner sighed, then asked me if I would like a personal pizza, with any toppings I liked. I told him that the reason for coming to a pizza buffet was to be able to try pizza of numerous topping choices (6 is the minimum I have experienced with other buffets) of pizza. He again sighed, and renewed the offer of a personal pizza. I ordered one with sausage and mushroom, and after about 10 minutes, the 10-inch pizza arrived. It was hot and fresh, the mushrooms available in significant quantity and the sausage playing hide and seek underneath.

While the personal pizza was an offer to placate, I would have preferred an actual buffet. That was the first negative mark. The second, on reflection, was how this business owner was not confident behind his offering. Telling me, his customer, how expensive it was and how he dreaded opening each day showed. The third, and in my opinion, final negative mark? As I was leaving, I saw the 2 tables that were dirty when I came in were now 3, as the other customer had finished and left.

All I can say to the owner is if you do not believe in your product, the product

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 3

Service: 1

I've given them enough tries, I'm DONE!! $30 for a large pizza that keeps shrinking. Asked for extra sauce on pizza, didn't get it and some pieces have no sausage. Very little cheese . Do better, there's way to many choices out there👎👎👎

Food: 2

It’s a clean, nice establishment. I’ve been here 4 times in the last year and customer service has always been very professional and courteous. If you’d like to try their pizzas come between 11a - 2p Monday thru Friday. I came today Saturday and missed their buffet lunch special! lol I ended having a cliff hanger. So let’s see how this tastes!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Salad Bar, McKinney Pizza, Pizza and Wings

Great pizza, great service and super cool beach vibes! Super cheap too!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I ordered a pizza for pick up. Arrived at exactly the time I was told my pizza would be ready. No one was at the front area to ring me out. There was a lady in the back that said someone would be up to help in a bit. 10 minutes later someone finally came up to ring me up. I don’t know if they were in the bathroom ? or what but you knew what time you told your customers to be there to pick their pizza up so arriving at that time was a known. By the time they showed up to ring me out, there was 3 customers waiting for pick up. The whole thing made me realize Mike’s pizza is not that great. Hard pass on this for the future.

Food: 4

Service: 1

I tried to order for dinner before the drive home and I tried to pay with my Chime bank card and it would not take the payment.

This place is very yummy. Love the pizza. Snowy Alps is by far the best pizza.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pizza and Wings

Great food, great service and good prices too. My very picky kids loved their food and so did we. Awesome variety of fresh hot pizza during the lunch buffet. We came in at the very end of the buffet time but they were still putting out hot, fresh delicious pizzas. Clean with good ac and clean public bathrooms (unlike many of the restaurants we've come across here in San Diego) Kids rated it 10 outta 10!

Kid-friendliness: Perfectly sized kids meals with personal pan pizzas includes a drink at a great price, plus a small arcade setup with claw machines. My kids loved it!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Salad Bar, Pepperoni Pizza

I could take you and myself out for a Steak dinner for less than the cost of one small pizza $35 barely larger than a dinner plate. If you have a hungry family of 4 make sure you have more than one $100 bill in your pocket.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

I love this place!!! The food is always great but it's the whole world pepperoni pizza that is my favorite!!! I wish Mountain Mike's pizza was all across the country. I miss it since I moved eastward.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great pizza!
AND a decent salad bar.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Salad Bar

I ordered a large half and half pizza online with 3 veggie toppings on one half and 3 meat toppings on the other half. They put one of the veggie toppings on the entire pizza and didn't even put one of the meat toppings on the pizza. They put meat toppings on 8 slices and veggie toppings on 6, so it wasn't even half and half. The pizza didn't even taste that good, this place has sadly gone way downhill from what it used to be.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

Got McKinley pizza, first time here, would definitely Come back. Pizza has a great crust, balanced chewy and fluffy and crispy and not overly oily!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The drunk outside are great so give him a tip

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5