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MG's Pizza
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
12 reviews for MG's Pizza
i'm not really sure what all the complaints are about, but they sound personal.
i decided not to review mg's until i had had multiple experiences with it, and now, after three visits, i can officially say it is pretty damn good.
i haven't had any negative experiences with the staff or the owner, in fact, quite the opposite. there were some teenagers working there the first night i went, and they were good kids. i sat and talked with them for a while, waiting for my pizza.
the second and third time, i dealt directly with the owner. he's cool. i mean, he's not some overly nice guy. he's opinionated, yes, but who cares really?
i only do take out so i can't comment on the delivery, but the pizza always seems to take the standard 20 minutes to prepare for take out. the quality of the pizza is good. it tastes fresh and hot, and...ok, it's not the best pizza i've ever had in my entire life, but it's pretty freaking good. i brought friends here from tahoe and they were ecstatic about it.
i don't know. it is slim pickings in montclair, but i can say i would still order from this place even if it weren't. that says something, right?
oh, and they are open later than most spots in montclair.
recommended.
Every now and again signs pop up around the Thornhill/Mountain area telling people that the owner of MG's is a crook and not to patronize the joint. Weird.
Well, I did check it out and it was just plain bad, slow and expensive. Not sure about the crook part, but I sure won't patronize it again.
Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?
Today I stopped in to get a bite to eat ... and when I went to pay, I realized I forgot my wallet. Bummer. A nice woman at the counter, Carrie, said she would be happy to buy my lunch. I was shocked and thrilled. That was such a generous thing to do.
What a nice neighborhood spot that is very convenient. We will be back to try the pizza.
And when you go here, don't be in a hurry ... cause it can take a while.
11:30pm on a Friday night and our friends came over after a movie and hadn't had dinner. They wanted some pizza. We called several places and they were all closed (what's up with that Oaktown?). They said they saw lights on at MG's just down the hill so we rang them up and I was surprised when someone answered since their menus say they close at 10pm on Fri/Sat.
Score! . . . or so I thought.
The 1/2 hr estimate turned into an hour. Doorbell rings and one of my friends got the door and paid the driver.
"How much?" was asked when he came back so folks could chip in.
"$29.50. I gave him $32"
I bolted up. $29.50?!? I found the take out menu. 1 item large = $21?!?!?! WTF! Even their large special combos are listed at $22.50. Unless they have a $7 delivery charge for driving a mile up the hill or prices have gone up 40% in the last 3 months, the driver scammed us.
To add insult to scam-jury the pizza was the most misshapen, over herbed, over cooked thing I have eaten in a long while. Not good at all. Maybe some of Mike's friends were hanging out on a Friday night and just decided to answer the phone and fulfill an order? I can only hope.
Avoid at all costs. Shady. Very shady.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
8/4/2008
Being a local, I decided to "take one for the team" and see what all the fuss was about at MG's and… Read more »
I'm in the neighborhood. The owner will come out and yell at anyone going to the 7-11 across the street "Don't eat that #$@%...Come here"...There's always drama...Harrasses fellow merchants on the street. Avoid...
I went once. The owner appears to have zero food service experience. The pizza is very average, and the oven looks like something that would reside in a dorm room. I was hoping Montclair could get an alternative to Rustica(expensive) and Cybelle's(just bad) but this ain't it.
Terrrrrrrrible. We had a coupon for this place a while ago, and thought we'd try it out--big mistake! Our pizza was gross--jaw-achingly tough crust, canned sauce, dry shredded cheese. We ordered some goat cheese as a topping, and they placed it all in the middle of the pizza...I think it's safe to assume you don't put all the toppings in the middle of the pie for a reason. I don't think it was even goat cheese; it tasted like stale feta. The place itself was tacky as hell and gave me the willies, and the service was poor. Not worth a second try. One star.
This is in the phone book (and on google) as the Montclair Pizza Company, but Mike, the proprietor thought that was too fussy and changed the name to MG's Pizza. He makes an honest pie in a two-pie max oven out of a place in a strip mall. He's a character, a former builder who took home a Round Table pizza one night after a hard day and had to throw it out it was so bad. Anyway, he's decided to try and compete in this difficult market. He has one advantage for me--he's right down the street. Another is that its fun to go in and talk to him while he makes your pie.
We talked about Rustica, the gourmet pizza in Montclair and how fresh their stuff is. Mike, if you want fresh then cut it to order! When you get bigger, hire a prep cook.
So the pie. Its very good. Sausage and Pepperoni is my staple. A medium is under $15 and I know its fresh 'cause I watched it being made. Check it out if you live in the area. I think they deliver now, but, really, you should drive down and talk to Mike while its being made!
This is probably the worst pizza I have ever had. Pizzas at Costco are better and alot less expensive.
1. They are in the neighborhood, you can park in the tiny 6-car lot in front, and it's convenient. +1 star
2. The owner actually cares about the quality of the food he serves! He offers 100% whole wheat crusts (my son has a white flour allergy, so we know it's for real), won't buy produce from Mexico because of the salmonella outbreaks there, buys pesticide-free produce when possible, and even mentioned he may grow his own tomatoes soon because he knows they'll be better than he can get commercially. +3 stars in my book
3. The pizza is really really good. I don't know what some of the other reviewers are talking about--maybe they went on bad nights, or before the kinks were worked out, but we've gone twice in the last week and got whole wheat crust and it was phenomenal. +2 stars
4. So it takes a while. We were quoted 30 minutes, and when I showed up at 30 minutes he said he was putting my pizza in the oven. But I don't really care as long as I know I should just pad the time estimate and go later. -1 star
Total = 5 stars. Hallelujah! My math works in the end.
I like to support mom & pop businesses (or is it just Pop?) and I know they can't necessarily afford the gigantic pizza oven or to pay a full waitstaff. I can go to Cybelle's if I want awful-tasting factory pizza fast, which is probably never. And Mike is sure a character--like another reviewer said, he's really fun to talk to while you're waiting for your pizza. You don't get that at the chain pizza parlors either. Three cheers for Mike!
This is the place that has inspired me to yelp so I can give it a big fat one star. If zero stars were allowed.....you get the point. The pizza took forever I think over 90 minutes. I can't even agree that the pizza was average. Absolutely the worst.
The pizza is tasty, but it takes forever to get one. The oven can only bake two pizzas at a time. On the night we went in, the owner was exasperated because he had too many orders. No one wants to wait 2hrs for a pizza because the oven is backed up!
