The news about the Atlanta-based pizza joint chain, Mellow Mushroom, possibly offering gluten-free pizza has floated around online for well over a year. When I was finally able to get some details about this new venture, I was thrilled to find out they were going to use a proprietary recipe made with the mix from Domata Living Flour. The ready-made gluten-free crusts from that company are quite tasty, but the crusts my own pizza joint made from flour (when he ran out of crusts) were extraordinarily exceptional tasting. Therefore, I figured Mellow Mushroom’s version would take the gluten-free pizza wars to a whole new level.
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Skip to earlier this year, when Mellow Mushroom announced that they were now going to use a crust from Still Riding Pizza, of Pizza Fusion fame. Taste is relative and people tend to love that crust or not like it at all. I’m in the latter group, but most people do like the crust. I had only that crust at the now-closed Atlanta location of Pizza Fusion. The good news is that the pizza crust we had in Conyers, GA was better than any we’d previously had at Pizza Fusion. The bad news was that the pizza wasn’t good enough for us to go back – to any location. It’s likely that most gluten-free diners will enjoy the Mellow Mushroom crust, especially those who like what Pizza Fusion serves. Zack over at gluten-free Raleigh has not had the gluten-free crust at Pizza Fusion yet but gave the gluten-free crust at his Mellow Mushroom location a rave review.
Many people have contacted me complaining about the locations chosen for the Mellow Mushroom gluten-free pizza test market. I certainly had nothing to do with the locations chosen, but think the locations chosen are understandable. Gluten-free service is something that some large national chains have not been able to get a handle on, including some that have offered gluten-free menus for over five years. Mellow Mushroom has no interest in having this project fail and likely chose locations where there might not be that many gluten-free patrons. This allows them some room for growing pains.
We arrived during a very busy time and could barely find a place to sit at the Conyers, GA location of Mellow Mushroom. It was a quirky, fun place – just like all the locations we’ve been to before have been. There is a gluten-free menu of sorts. It’s actually a guide to what is gluten-free. You still have to look at a regular menu for menu choices and pricing. This is the same annoying situation we run into at almost every place we visit with a gluten-free menu so we don’t count that against them.
When we finally decided which salad and pizza to order, we were taken aback when our enthusiastic server told us that the feta cheese on both the salad and pizza we’d chosen was in fact, not gluten-free. That was certainly a new one for me. I assumed she was mistaken and asked her to double-check that. She went to speak to the manager and reported back that the feta cheese is not gluten-free. So we choose another salad but stuck with the gourmet white pizza – sans the feta cheese. There were to be many other kinds of cheese on it, after all.
Our small Chef Salad was a good value at $3.95 and was large enough to share. I’d ordered no croutons or bread because this location had started gluten-free service only a week ago. I did not think to ask for no crackers so they came on the plate. Luckily, they were wrapped in cellophane so they did not have to throw out the salad and start over. The salad was fresh and the house dressing was very good – just like I remember from my gluten-eating days.
The pizza arrived quite a while after we’d finished our salad, but Mellow Mushroom is known for taking its sweet time to make its gluten pizzas. I’d rather them take the extra time that might be needed to make gluten-free pizza safely than have them mess it up. The crust looked like the crust we’d had at Pizza Fusion, but was definitely better tasting. Both my husband and I agreed on that. He thought the toppings were good, and I did not. I think we should have ordered a different pizza because the feta cheese really makes the gourmet white pizza there. So, I take responsibility for ordering the wrong pizza, but would not have been in love with the crust regardless.
Without question, the 14″ gluten-free pie Mellow Mushroom offers are the best value for gluten-free pizza in the Metro Atlanta area. We paid only $16.25 for the gourmet white pizza even though we added grilled chicken. We didn’t want onions (and could not have the feta cheese) so the server didn’t seem to upcharge us for the chicken. They were out of Redbridge but had Amber Woodchuck Cider on Tap. It was wonderful and only $2.95. When in stock, Redbridge is only $3.25 at the Conyers Mellow Mushroom location. There was not an upcharge for the gluten-free crust either, which was not an oversight.
The same amount of food and drinks at other places that serve gluten-free pizza here would run us $10-$15 more – easily. I hope the test market program is successful, even though I won’t be a regular customer unless they change the crust – again. The staff at the Conyers location of Mellow Mushroom knew more about gluten than 90% of the servers that work at national chains that offer gluten-free menus in this area.
Check out the Mellow Mushroom gluten-free menu.
All of our pizzas may be ordered on our 10” Signature Gluten-Free crust. Four of our Specialty Pies can be made using our Certified Gluten-Free Safe Procedures: Kosmic Karma, Veg Out, Mighty Meaty, and House Special.
Additional Certified GF ingredients vary by location. Ask your server for details.
Made with our signature 10″ gluten-free crust. Build your own by choosing from our curated selection of ingredients that can be prepared with allergy-safe procedures
Mellow takes veggies to the max. This pie starts Gluten-free crust (available only in size small) and Mellow red sauce layered with mozzarella, spinach, green peppers, sliced mushrooms, sweet onions, black olives and Roma tomatoes.
A carnivorous mix, this pie starts with Gluten-free crust (available only in size small) and Mellow Red Sauce covered with mozzarella, pepperoni, Italian sausage,
ground beef, honey ham and applewood-smoked bacon.Filled with goodness, this pie starts with Gluten-free (available only in size small) and Mellow red sauce covered with spinach, roasted tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh Roma tomatoes and authentic sheep’s milk feta cheese. A hypnotic pesto swirl adds the finishing touch.
The Ultimate Mellow: this pie starts with Gluten-free crust (available only in size small) and Mellow red sauce, mozzarella, topped with pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, honey ham, applewood-smoked bacon, black olives, sliced mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, green peppers, sweet onions and the finishing touch…more mozzarella.
Individually wrapped brownie, baked with cage-free eggs, a blend of gluten-free flour, sustainable chocolate and ingredients free of GMOs and artificial additives. (cal 360)
As always, when dining out gluten-free, do your due diligence and make sure the staff understands your needs. There are very few restaurants that are 100% gluten-free, so cross-contamination is always a risk. If you don’t feel comfortable with what you are hearing from the staff, perhaps it is best to dine elsewhere.
For information about other gluten-free restaurants menus, check out our gluten-free restaurants page.
Hey – I’ll offer my thoughts… I believe the feta cheese issue is not really because it is not GF and more because the supplier they use doesn’t have a GFCO certified feta cheese. All the toppings used for the GF pizzas are GFCO certified per MM procedures.
Also, the 9 locations listed in the original press release – there was one switched out at the last minute and replaced by the Wake Forest, NC location. The Raleigh, Durham and Wake Forest locations are all owned by the same franchisee. This may be the confusion around your final paragraph.
The word from the corporate guys I spoke with about the test markets selected were more about the franchise owners and ability of the locations rather than “likely chose locations where there might not be that many gluten-free patrons.” I have to take offense to your statement anyway, there are a ton of GF consumers in the Raleigh area! MM told me that they sold over 100 crusts in the first week. Obviously we are not as big as Atlanta but the GF market in Raleigh is very strong and a perfect place for a test market.
You’re right Zach – your market is the biggest chosen and at least in your area, gluten-free is not a new term for the community there. Also, I think the FL location has a lot of gf consumers in the area as well. The Peachtree City, GA location was the one that reportedly not have the gf crust five days into the test market program. One location in Metro Atlanta told me they’d love to offer gluten-free pizza and another told a dinner club member here they didn’t think there was a market for it. Since there are a ton of gf patrons that live near store, the person is obviously quite confused.
I’m sure you’re right about the feta cheese issue and I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. I should have asked to see the container and ordered it unless I could not determine by the label that it was gluten-free. Unless they switch to another crust, I wouldn’t go back anyway, but I think people that like the gf crust at Mellow Mushroom should be able to have a Greek salad made correctly – with feta cheese. The NFCA needs to work that out, no doubt.
Sounds good!! I hope that MM makes this a nationwide thing, as there is a MM less than 5 minutes from my house. That could be dangerous! LOL!
The gluten in the feta probably means the feta has some strange unidentified “modified food starch” in it.
I live in Conyers … so personally I’m thrilled it’s the metro Atlanta area test market for the gluten free crusts. I usually have to drive 25-45 minutes to eat out, which is rare, but a nice treat every once in awhile.
Natalie – actually, I remembered after writing this post that about three years ago I went to MM with friends and had a salad – the Greek salad with feta cheese. It was fine then and I’m pretty sure it still is. Glad you live close to the test market MM. Go out and support the efforts if you like the pizza. So far, I’m the only person I know of that doesn’t care for it. Of course, having real – not frozen – gf pizza in NYC kind of ruined me for frozen pizza. The only place in the area that I know of that offers a “real” tasting gf pizza that is serving a frozen crust is Blue Moon. The crust they use is from Gluten Free Kneads and my pizza place ordered those crusts to experiment. They flattened out like a tortilla in his oven so it didn’t work out.
Do you know where Mellow Mushroom gets their toppings from? I recently ate at one and was told North Star was their supplier and that it was a 100% gluten free facility. However, the only food distributor I can find called North Star is a huge warehouse and *nothing* on their website says anything about being gluten free! I’ve written to see if they are the Mellow Mushroom supplier, but have not heard anything back yet.
The reason I’m trying to find out is the topping we picked was chicken, which showed up with grill lines. Grill lines are notoriously from the grill being floured — which sears the lines onto the meat. But the MM folks swear the chicken was baked, so something doesn’t add up to me. (Usually we get pepperoni, but that topping was NOT on the gluten free list, to our disappointment.)
I got stomach pains after we ate there, which seems out of the norm based on what I’ve seen gluten free folks say about the MM.
Amanda – sorry I don’t know much about MM suppliers, but at the location we visited, pepperoni was listed as gluten-free. It would seem odd that it wasn’t listed that way at your location. MM is probably still working the kinks out regarding their gluten-free offerings.
I just went to Mellow Mushroom last night here in Orlando, FL and I hate to say that the crust was really disappointing. It’s the garbanzo or fava bean flour and I’m not sure why it’s used in this and the Pizza Fusion recipe. I think it might be because it’s cheaper but I’d rather pay a little more for a rice flour blend than pay the same price for a gross crust with an after taste. My girlfriend has Celiac and when she was diagnosed 3 years ago the first flour blend that we found was Bob’s Red Mill. We thought it was going to be a real downhill experience after tasting it and then we discovered that the only bad tasting ingredient in gluten free foods is when bean flour is used. So unfortunately MM tastes similar to the Bob’s Red Mill crust we made and we won’t be going back for it. Even the Uno’s crust was better tasting, but our location just closed. I’m writing to MM corporate and I encourage anyone else who has already tested the crust and doesn’t like it to do the same. The owner at the location we went to last night said corporate would love to hear feedback since it’s such a new offering. I make my own GF pizza with Alton Brown’s recipe and Pamela’s bread mix or Whole Foods 365 brand (recently replaced with Gluten Free Pantry) and it’s delicious. I’ve gotten to the point where I can make a “doughy” dough without it sticking to my fingers. So if I can do it, I think a large corporate chain can to.
So, thanks for the review Tiffany, that’s how I found out that MM had the GF crust. A for effort on their part but a D+ for taste.
David – I’m so sorry you didn’t like the crust, but I can’t say I’m surprised. When MM first started working with Domata flour (NO bean flours in it), I heard the crust was exceptional. Something happened and the next thing I knew the plan changed and MM was going with another crust. In my opinion, people either very much like the crust MM went with, or they don’t like it at all. There is no in between with it. I personally would not want the pizza they serve now if it was free. Life is too short to eat gluten-free food you don’t love. Anyway, the MM in Chat. can’t keep the gf crusts in stock so maybe the number of people who don’t like it is much smaller than those that do. If that’s the case, there isn’t a reason for MM to change the crust they’re using. It’s really unfortunate because MM could have had an exceptional gf pizza if they’d stuck with the Domata flour. I say that because the BEST pizza I’ve had in the South was at my pizza place when they ran out of Domata crusts and used Domata flour to make crusts onsite. They only did that once and they didn’t use the Domata instructions to make the pizza – they made up their own recipe. It was the only time I felt like I had “real” pizza outside of NYC. Thanks for sharing your comments with us and most importantly, for sharing them with MM!
Just tried the GF pizza at the MM in Winston-Salemm, NC. I actually thought it was pretty darn good! But, I had GF pizza from another NC MM and the crust was totally different…also very good. If the crusts are frozen and are all from the same supplier, I am wondering why they vary so much in taste and texture at different locations?
Mmmm….very interesting Hannah. That does not make much sense unless the two places are serving two different crusts. The location near us finally brought in the gf crusts but I spoke to the manager and that location has the brand I don’t care for. I have not heard of MM switching crusts or using different crusts at different locations, but I can’t keep up with everything 😉
I just attempted to eat Gluten Free pizza at the Mellow Mushroom in Norcross, GA. FORTY minutes after we ordered, I still had no pizza. At the 30-minute mark I was told they had to make sure it was thoroughly cooked. When it finally arrived, my family had finished eating, so I’d asked for my pizza in a to-go box. When I opened up the box, thinking I’d have a slice before we left, it was BURNT. Dark brown and crunchy. I won’t bother again, because I can get gluten free pizza at ZPizza that arrives at the table with the rest of the order.
Tammy – I’m so sorry to hear about your bad experience at MM in Norcross. Since gf pizza is still pretty new to most locations, I think they are trying to work out the kinks. In your case, they might have made your pizza with a gluten crust by mistake and had to start over. I’m unaware of any place that makes gf pizza that hasn’t done that before. However, our pizza at MM took only about 15 minutes to arrive after we ordered and I asked for an extra crispy crust…so I’m not sure how it took them 40 minutes to deliver your meal no matter what. I would have asked for a refund if that happened to me.
I heard from the corporate office of MM last week and they are very happy with the crust they are offering. They said most of the feedback they are getting is positive, but I’d love the company to do a test taste with various crusts and see which one is preferred by the most people. They might not be taking into consideration that some people (that might say they like the crust) have not had gf pizza before so they would say cardboard flavored pizza was good. Though many people are now trying the gf pizza at MM, a whole lot of them are not returning. I hope you’ll consider sharing your feedback with the corporate office. If you are in the Gwinnett area, you might want to check out Blue Moon Pizza when they open in either Duluth or Suwanee.
I did complain to corporate and got a rather condescending email in return from the owner of the Norcross MM. He told me that the GF crusts have to be cooked longer than the gluten crust so they won’t be “chewy” and that this results in them being darker than the gluten crusts. Um, I know the difference between DARKER and BURNT. Nick, the owner of Little Azio’s in Norcross, stocks GF crust especially for me, and I’ve NEVER had to wait 40 minutes, nor have I ever had a crispy, dark brown pizza that was inedible. I doubt I’ll return to MM.
Wow Tammy! You know, I don’t think MM is the same company we used to love…oh well, I’m not going back either unless they change the crust to something we like. Sorry the owner didn’t step up and do the right thing and I’m sure you probably over the whole thing. However, you might want to let the corporate office know what happened. I’m sure they’d be interested to know what happened with that store owner.
Also, thanks for letting is know about Little Azio’s in Norcross…..I didn’t know they offered gf pizza 😉
Tiffany, Little Azio’s actually doesn’t offer gluten free pizza, at least not yet. The owner orders it so I can eat there when I bring a group of senior citizens in after we go bowling a couple of times a month. However, I bet if enough people asked for it, he might put it on the menu.
We went back to MM tonight to redeem the free pizza certificate the owner sent me. The crust was just nasty. Bleh. I won’t bother again. They screwed up my husband’s salad as well, and didn’t bring the salad out until after everything else was on the table. Didn’t even start cooking the meat for the salad until the pizzas had been served.
Thanks for the info, Tammy. I agree that if more customers ask for it they might offer it and I have a couple of gf friends that live in that area so I’m going to let them know they might want to ask Little Azio’s about gf options 😉
I just had this pizza over the weekend. I was a little dubious when I heard it had bean flour, which gives me the heebie jeebies, but I thought it was tasty. I got no bean taste or aftertaste. The texture is a little odd. I can’t quite describe it. It’s crispy when you bite into it, but it gets a little grainy as you chew. Not gritty like rice flour, but a little like cooked corn meal. But on the whole I was pleasantly surprised.