Mizner Plaza Pizzeria Boca Raton, FL
Slice Rating
Across the South entrance to Mizner Park in Boca Raton lies a strip mall that has seen plenty of businesses come and go. At the eastern end of the plaza in a corner that is very hard to see, lies a new pizza place called Mizner Pizzeria. Mizner Pizzeria in Boca Raton took the place of Jonathan's Corner which seemed to be put up for sale, soon after opening. After our first dining experience there, it was quite evident that Jonathan's didn't really have the pizza prowess necessary to remain opened for long.
People sent in emails soon after Jonathan's Corner opened to advise me that the location was for sale. My normal reaction to those that were interested and were looking for advice was that the location seemed doomed, since nothing lasts there, and no matter how good you are, some locations are empty or for sale for a reason.
We arrived at Tucci's Pizza the other day too early since I forgot they open at 12:00pm, and for some odd reason I thought they had opened at 11:00am. Since Mizner Plaza Pizza was within walking distance, we headed over there to see if they had opened officially yet. We were happy to see that their doors were opened and pizza was on the counter. So far Mizner Plaza Pizza in Boca Raton hadn't done much in the way of redesigning the place, but there really wasn't much that needed to be redone. Mizner Pizza isn't that big of a place to begin with, and the current tables and chairs are in good shape. They might want to make sure they remove all traces of Jonathan's Corner from the establishment. As you can see their soda machine is still branded by the previous owners. Why not just get a major brand of soda in these fountains while you are at it guys.
Just like when we had eaten at Jonathan's Corner for the first time, we were still confused at Mizner Pizza as what to do when we entered. Since there is a regular pizza counter, and a counter off to the right against the wall it was confusing where you order. It was also unclear if we order at the counter to begin with, or just seat ourselves and wait for a server. Hopefully the new owners will put up a sign saying Order Here or something.
We got a plain pie which was 20 inches but also priced at $17.00. I think this will be a deterrent for people to come and order pizza here. Many would prefer a $13.00 18 inch pie instead, so I am not sure that a 20 inch novelty for that price will help attract repeat customers. Especially when the crust took up abut 2-3 inches of that 20 inch pie, which really made it about an 18 inch full pizza anyways. Stretching shouldn't add so much money to a pie guys.
The pizza came out hot and crispy but could have benefited from an additional minute of cooking. The slice didn't fall apart when I lifted it towards my mouth and I liked the consistency of the slice, sans the bubbles that the pizza maker failed to pay attention to and pop. The pie had the right amount of cheese, but a little lite on the sauce, which didn't really impact my decisioin too much, since it had very little taste to it at all. Actually this pizza all around had very little taste. It isn't that it tasted good, or tasted bad so to say. It just really didn't taste. The consistency of the pizza was good, the look was good, but I am having a hard time describing the taste. It wasn't very memorable.
The new owner of Mizner Pizza asked us what we thought of the pizza on the way out, and I told him honestly that I thought his pizza was average at best and lacked a lot of taste. He seemed to genuinely absorb the feedback, and asked if we would come back. I told him I most certainly would since he just opened and I would love to try it again once he perfects his pizza. We gave him a few suggestions (he had no idea who we were) and said he needs to make it the best he could. I respected him for this, and wish him a ton of success and many years of prosperity. We will go try the pizza again in about a month just to see if he actually listened to the feedback or just patronized us. He really just needs to sweeten the sauce and it will impact the overall taste. I have always felt that it is important to be honest with places who ask you how the food was. When it is good I say it is good, but when it is bad or average it is equally as important to give your input.
Also, I fear that at $3.00 a slice, regardless of how big it is, that Mizner Pizza will not appeal to many of the people around the area. $2.50 would even be excessive to charge for a slice, so I sure hope you consider lowering your prices, and sell more. I was quite happy to see that they had Garlic Knots on the menu, but it turned out they were just big rolls.
Mizner Plaza Pizzeria in Boca Raton gets 4 out of 8 slices. Stay tuned for our second try next month.