I reviewed another Mellow Mushroom location before, but decided to write-up another review after trying additional menu items at the newly opened Hyde Park location. The pizza chain opened in the space recently abandoned by City Barbeque in the Hyde Park Plaza.

Inside

The inside wasn’t as large as other locations I’ve visited in the past. As with all of their restaurants the decor is simple and the walls are covered with interesting paintings and decor representing various local attractions. There are a handful of televisions at the high top bar, and some neighboring tables have a good view, but for the most part this is more restaurant than sports bar.

Enlightened Spinach Salad

My wife and I started with the Enlightened Spinach Salad ($5.95 for the lil’ size). The combination of fresh spinach, dried cherries, apples, homemade candied pecans, and feta cheese is similar to many spinach salads I’ve had before. However the cherries were are nice replacement to the more common cranberries. The flavors were good and this is a nice way to start a meal.

Maui Wowie / Thai Dye Pizza

As far as pizza goes my wife and I split an order as well. Since we couldn’t decide on one pizza we did half Maui Wowie and half Thai Dye (just over $20 for the 14″). The Maui Wowie was my favorite of the two with a very interesting but delicious combination of pesto, ham, pineapple, jerk chicken, banana peppers, Applewood smoked bacon & mozzarella cheese. The jerk chicken was especially well-flavored.

The Thai Dye is no slouch either with olive oil and garlic base topped with curry chicken, mozzarella cheese, Roma tomatoes, onions, fresh basic, cucumbers, and a sweet Thai chili sauce. I think both pizzas are some of the more unique offerings on the menu and are both worth a try.

To wash it all down there is a really good craft beer selection. The prices at Mellow Mushroom are a bit high, but the quality and creativity are there to help justify the cost.