Mod Pizza – Restaurant Review

https://www.nrn.com/top-200-restaurants/mod-pizza-leads-pack-growth-again

Ava Kavanagh, Staff Writer

Mod Pizza located at 924 E Ontario Ave in Corona, California is a franchised counter-serve chain known for its build-your-own pizza. In 2008, the Mod franchise was founded by a husband-wife power couple in search for quick and affordable restaurants with diverse options. This Seattle-based restaurant has since grown tremendously, with 400+ locations in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

At first glance, Mod Pizza captures the essence of eccentric Californian culture. The restaurant has an open setup with many windows allowing sunlight to enter, highlighting the colorful murals painted on the walls. The high ceilings are framed with low-hanging rustic lights and various metal insulation, which leads toward their brick oven. They also provide seating such as an island and wooden tables spread throughout the restaurant. In the background, a mix of beachy 70’s blues is playing, catering to the pleasant ambiance and easing customers into a relaxed, easy-going setting.

At the front door, you’re greeted by the staff, ready to swiftly take your order at a serving bar, full of 30+ toppings of your choice. Some of my favorite toppings include artichoke, Greek olives, pesto drizzle, and grilled chicken. Their menu is customizable and features the mini 6″ pizza priced at $6.67, and the Mod 11″ pizza priced at $8.67. I recommend the Mod pizza; it’s fairly priced at just under $10 with a fountain drink, plus who doesn’t love leftovers? There are other options available for most dietary choices such as gluten-free and cauliflower dough, as well as dairy-free cheese, and six different sauces to choose as a base.

Although they provide these allergy options, there is a warning present on their website, cautioning customers: allergens or gluten may still be present in the food. A simple change of gloves or fresher ingredients may ensure no food contamination, but always let your server know about these allergens beforehand.

After your order is placed, it takes just about 10 minutes for your pizza to come out of the oven. While waiting, there are other menu options to check out. Besides their freshly baked pizza, there are hand-tossed salads, cheesy garlic bread, cinnamon strips, and milkshakes to try out. Their menu might be small–but it’s packed with a lot of flavor! (Plus, almost everything has at least five different sauces to go with it!)

Another feature of Mod Pizza is their fountain drink selection. In my opinion, this can honestly make or break a restaurant–the first benefit is the “good ice” which are the smaller spheres of ice instead of your standard squares. They also have more selection besides soda which includes: Marion blackberry lemonade, caramelized pear iced tea, vintage lemonade, and classic black iced tea. This, of course, is in addition to eight other soda options!

In the future, I hope you check out Mod Pizza–it’s only a five-minute drive from Santiago High school and would be a great destination for off-campus lunch, a family dinner on weeknights, or just about any get-together.