Orlando Food Blog 006: Mellow Mushroom in Orlando near UCF area

Mellow Mushroom Orlando near UCF

A groovy giant mushroom man stands with a peace sign raised on his left hand and a pizza pie in his right hand, enticing passerbys into the Mellow Mushroom restaurant.

The restaurant, started by two Georgia Tech roommates in the early 1970s, just opened a few months ago at the southwest corner of Alafaya Trail and Colonial Drive between Scoops and Big Lots.

Immediately inside, the mellow hippy vibe of the Mellow Mushroom could be felt. The decor is funky psychedilic, strewn with paintings featuring the mushroom man and a scuba diving rasta spearing a pizza on the ceiling. Inside, packs of young college-age patrons sit around pizza pies, laughing and seemingly enjoying their time with the mellow mushroom man. In front of the ovens, the pizza bakers wistfully toss their dough into the air, circling the pies with their fingers to a near perfect thickness.

Mellow Mushroom specializes in pizza, but also serves calzones, hoagies, salads, and other side dishes, priding itself on making their dough with fresh spring-water.

The beverage list includes a tempting 50+ craft and microbrew beers, with 20+ on tap, in addition to homemade sangria, and a full liquor bar. I decide to pick the orange blossom pilsner, a light crisp beer with a tangy citrus aftertaste. For appetizers we chose the stuffed portabello mushroom ($6.75), a mushroom cap with garlic butter, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese, topped with mozzarella on a bed of greens. The portabello mushroom was found to be delectable and an excellent start.

For the entree pizza, in keeping with the mellowed out theme, I chose the 10 inch savory Magical Mystery Tour ($11.50), a funky pizza with pesto, jalapeno, button and portobello mushrooms, spinach, and feta cheese, adding italian sausage to top it off. There are also the Kosmic Karma, Philosopher’s Pie, Mega Veggie, Mighty Meaty, and other themed pies to choose from on the list. My fellow diner chose the Hawaiian with pineapples and jerk chicken ($8.75) which, although enjoyable, was noted for its sparseness of toppings and the larger than expected crust. We finished off the meal with a cinnamon soft dough pretzel, dipped in honey. The pretzel was baked fresh out of the oven and still soft as it melted in our mouths.

The Mellow Mushroom indeed sufficed to entice and funkify our palates..

Tasty Chomps! Rating
3.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!.

Mellow Mushroom
11680 E. Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32817.
Phone: 407-384-4455
http://www.mellowmushroom.com/orlando