Mike's Pizza recently moved across the street from its old location and nearly doubled in size. The inside is fresh and unlike anything else in Rockland, let alone the standard fare pizzeria and sub shop it was before. It looks like it belongs on Nantasket Ave with its surf shack theme. The cool blue and neon green against a clean sandy earth-tone wooden floor pop - it's modern, it's simple, and it's different. Walls are adorned with humorous signs, surf boards and other beach items, and a shark head with a "politician" in its jaws, which gets me every time. There is a lot of room for seating, with plenty of booth seating. It's comfy and laid back.
I am a frequent customer in the summer, often stopping during my exercise routine for lunch, so the cook and some of the wait staff know my usual order and are friendly to me. I usually get a grilled chicken club sub (bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo,) toasted. The lettuce is always crisp and thin-sliced, and I am a huge fan of how they marinate their chicken. The bacon is crispy, but not dry and overdone.
Other favorites of mine are the turkey cobbler, which combines Thankgiving sides into a tasty sandwich, although I like adding lettuce to mine; their steak bomb is juicy and I had no problem with gristle in the meat; their pan pizzas have a strong crust which doesn't limp over when you pick up a slice. I felt that the time I got a Greek salad, it was a little heavy on the feta cheese, but otherwise fresh and enjoyable.
They are usually speedy in service even under high order volume, both in delivery and sit-in. They usually deliver faster than the time estimate they give you over the phone. One of the times I did eat in with my fiance and ordered pizza, they let us know right away they had an oversight in my pizza and there would be a delay as they corrected it, which I felt was courteous as opposed to giving it to me without half of my toppings. While waiting, I did try out his barbeque chicken pizza, where the sauce was drizzled all over and each bite was rich with flavor. When they had completed my order to request, the pizza was piping hot out of the oven, fresh, coated evenly in tender bits of steak, pepper, and onion, and it was absolutely delicious. They did not just cook the other toppings separately and let the rest of the pizza sit and cool to make up for lost time and ingredients. That is excellent service in my book.
There was one night we entered about 20 minutes before close, and were still served - some businesses can be finicky about this. I tried out their fried calamari platter, which I got with a marinara dipping sauce and fries. It was about the quality you would expect from a formal, run-of-the-mill seafood restaurant, and I really liked it for more reasons than just that. I felt that this kind of food was just what the town needed. There are enough cafes, Greek, Italian, and Chinese eateries in town, but little in the way of seafood. Currently, it seems that they only have most things available fried, although they do have baked fish and grilled shrimp as options. You would have to still go out of your way if you wanted something more exotic than what they have to offer, but it's still nice to see them expanding in this direction.
Cakes, brownies, fried ice cream, fried twinkies, and cookies make up their dessert selection. I have not tried any of these yet; I do remember in the old store they'd have some of their desserts, such as the cheesecake, pre-sliced and displayed at the front counter and ready to go on request, and it did look tempting. Their coolers have water, sodas, juice, iced tea, and Gatorade, and it's always well-stocked. Beer and wine are available for adults dining in, but I have not inquired about it and do not know which beers and wines they offer.
Noise levels are usually low when I go there. It is popular with students after school so it can get crowded in the afternoon, but for the most part, the kids are mature.
Recommended for inexpensive family dining both in and out. I have yet to have a truly negative experience here after dozens of visits over the last 3 years. read more