Food Stop: Mama Maria's Pizzeria
Location: The Peak, Gaisano Mall, Davao City
Mama Maria's Pizzeria as the name obviouslly states is a pizza parlor located at The Peak, Gaisano Mall. The Peak recently generated a buzz among Dabawenyos and one of the reasons of that buzz is the Mama Maria's Pizzeria. The place boasts the World's Largest (Commercial) Pizza. I don't know if that's official or it's just a statement for marketing purposes. One thing is for sure though, the pizza there was surely HUGE! You can choose from a variety of toppings from their menu. The usual hawaiian, pepperoni and bolognese are there but there are also the unique ones such as mexicana, kinilaw, chicken, kebab and who can miss the crocodile pizza. There are also a wide selection of pizza sizes which ranges from 8 in up to 30 in and they also have the 52 inch pizza (Mother of all Pizzas)
After sleeping the whole morning because of the tiring trip from Manila, I invited my family to go out together and eat somewhere new. Im going to skip at the actual food trip portion of my story to make this a little short. My Father and I went to The Peak where my brothers and sisters were already waiting. They have already ordered a set of pizza (Hawaiian and Bolognese) I wasn't aware that they have an ongoing promo where you can take two pizzas for the price of one. You would only have to pay the amount of the most expensive pizza from the two you picked. So the first set of pizza we ordered only cost 365 pesos instead of 660 pesos. You also have to order on a given span of time to avail of the promo. I think if I remember it right it, the promo in "The Peak" branch/franchise was 3-6 PM. My sister told me that the promo hours differ from each branch. Knowing it would take time to bake a pizza, I invited my father to go to the shoe store so I could buy him a pair of casual shoes. We went to the shoe store and browsed a little. After 20-30
minutes my sister already texted that they were already eating the pizza we ordered. I was surely amazed on how fast they baked our order and we quickly went to "The Peak" again so that we can eat what would be left of the pizza. I was sure that from the time we arrive at our table the pizza would be gone but luckily my brother and sisters have not eaten half of the two pizzas yet. When I sensed the pizza would be short for us, I ordered another set of pizza (Fantastico [Meat Lover] and Mexicana) for just 395 pesos.
minutes my sister already texted that they were already eating the pizza we ordered. I was surely amazed on how fast they baked our order and we quickly went to "The Peak" again so that we can eat what would be left of the pizza. I was sure that from the time we arrive at our table the pizza would be gone but luckily my brother and sisters have not eaten half of the two pizzas yet. When I sensed the pizza would be short for us, I ordered another set of pizza (Fantastico [Meat Lover] and Mexicana) for just 395 pesos.
Its time to verdict the pizza. I was really expecting a piyaya looking pizza that would be so thin it would be as if you were eating a cracker with toppings but I was amazed to see it was not that thin. I took a bite and you could still feel the presence of a slightly chewy dough which as if I was eating a thick crust pizza. The tomato paste would surely pop up with its sweet and sour flavor. The toppings was also generous in serving and there was no huge gaps of open space on top of your pizza. An applause for giving the customers the value of their money. The hawaiian pizza was like the usual hawaiian pizza and so as the bolognese pizza but it was still good to the mouth. The Mexicana pizza promises a spicy pizza but for me it did not deliver. I even have to put hot sauce just to make it hotter and spicier. It might be just me though because I grew up in a Family that loves siling labuyo, tabasco, wasabe and anything hot and spicy. The Fantastico pizza lived up to its name as it was really fantastic as it was overloaded with meat. This would be one of my favorite pizzas here in Mama Maria's Pizzera. It was surely a fun and enjoyable dining and thanks to Mama Maria for not disappointing us.
My Rating
Food/Drinks : 7
I have eaten several thin crust pizzas and I was already aware that thin crust pizzas have a tendency to become too crispy and ends up looking like a giant piyaya with toppings but I was relieved to see when our first batch of pizza came. The crust they used was not to thin and not too thick for a thin crust pizza. They were also generous with their toppings and tomato paste. They made sure that the size of the pizza and the ratio of the toppings was appropriate. When it comes to the taste, you could surely distinguish the sweet and sour taste of the tomato paste which for me was good. My mouth is already watering just by remembering the time I took a bite of that pizza. The sad thing though is when you have several kind of pizzas in front of you, it would be hard to distinguish the taste between the variety of pizzas you ordered. It would end up tasting the same as the other but all in all the pizza was great.
Service : 6
Their oven can surely bake (I wonder if this is the right word to use) fast. After waiting for just a while (20-30 minutes), our first batch (We ordered a total of four 15 inch pizzas) of order was already in our table. I know someone would say 20-30 minutes is still slow but come on, we are talking about pizza here. I would really say fast because I had already experienced waiting for an hour or so in another pizzeria for the same size of pizza. The only setback I saw was that their waiter/waitress tends not to think ahead of their customers. I mean in some restaurants and even fast food chains, when a waiter sees a table is missing something (extra plate, water refill, rice refill) they would take the initiative and offer the service by themselves. The situation here was the opposite, the waiter/waitress here would literally
just wait for you to ask them something. Not to mention they tend to group themselves in a specific place where some of the farther tables would sure have to dance just to get their attention. Maybe a little service crew meeting would fix this up.
Price : 8
It was not cheap but considering we can eat two pizza for the price of one, it would surely make your wallet happy for not forcing it to spit more cash than usual. So far this is the highest rating I gave for the Price Section of a food stop so you better go there during there promo hours to save a lot of cash.
Ambiance : 6
This certain branch or franchise was located at The Peak so it would boost their ambience rating but that wont help too much if the place itself has some minor setbacks. The place could only cater a small group of people basing on
their current setup. The atmosphere inside the airconditioned room was hot that is why we opted to eat outside. Maybe if they would fix their setup which is a little bit crowded or if they would consider having a better exhaust system for their oven (Located inside the same room), the room would become more comfortable to dine in.
(10 is the highest)
Total Rating: 27/40