I know guys, another post about food... I do write about other things on occasion, I promise!! Between you and me, though, I was super excited to be invited to try out MOD Pizza. I missed the launch of the restaurant back in June, and ever since various friends and coworkers have been and told me how great it is. "Why haven't you gone yet, you need to go!", they'd say. Well, I just hadn't had the chance yet. In my mind, me and Martin would go when there was a film we wanted to see (there is a VUE cinema in the same complex), and go chow down on some pizza afterwards. It was never a formulated plan, but that was the way it was going to go down when it did happen. Someone must have been smiling down on me, because I received an email a few weeks ago, asking if I would like to come along and review the restaurant. Me and Martin really wanted to go see Doctor Strange one weekend in the near future - so, at last, the plan came together! Keep reading to find out how we got on.






After seeing Doctor Strange (would highly recommend, by the way!), we headed across the complex for our first ever MOD Pizza experience. If I remember rightly, the building used to house a Harvester's restaurant before, which I had never been to. Rather unusually, it is close by to the resident Pizza Hut; which I have been to before, and wasn't overly impressed with. It is also next door to a Five Guys - which I also need to get around to trying one day - so it does well at fitting in with the rest of the crowd. One thing that struck me immediately was how bright and inviting the restaurant looked. We were greeted by all of the staff with a cheery "hello!" as soon as we walked in the door, so that immediately made us feel very welcome! I loved the decor inside, too; it reminded me in a way of Smoke Barbecue, which I reviewed earlier this year. It definitely had an "American" feel, with neon signs and bright, colourful, graffiti-style artwork on the walls, as you would expect - its story did begin in America, after all. The dining area is very simple, with no fuss, no pretence and even no cutlery - we don't do a Donald Trump and eat pizza with such things, you either eat it with your hands, or don't bother at all!







Before I tell you about the food, let me tell you first about how MOD Pizza works. Have you ever been to a Subway? It's a similar concept to that. You can choose either a pizza or a salad, and each of those is a set price - no matter how many toppings you have on it. So, whether you like good old cheese and tomato, or want to go all out with the meat feast, it will always be the same price! I loved this, and think it's a brilliant concept. Our pizza size (the MOD), was £7.47, for example - even though me and Martin had very different things on our pizzas. There are currently nine pre-made pizza options options on the menu, that you can order just how it comes, or you can modify according to your tastes - again, at no extra cost. Pretty neat, huh? When it's time to get started on the toppings, the choices are seemingly endless. Want some roasted, tender stem broccoli? Sure, why not. How about some chickpeas? Go on, throw some on there. Every possible topping you could think of for a pizza, they probably have at MOD - it was a bit overwhelming I admit, but you can have a lot of fun with it! If you're finding yourself spoilt for choice and can't decide what to have, the staff are extremely helpful and will make suggestions and recommendations for you. Once you have finally decided on the toppings, you can then add sauce and/or spices on top, and off into the pizza oven it goes. As extras, you can get garlic strips, and of course a drink with your meal. When we were there, the staff were trialling a new buzzer system, instead of calling out your name. This seemed to work perfectly, as less than ten minutes later our pizzas had arrived!





Now, onto the bit you've been waiting for, the pizzas. To start, we shared some garlic strips, with some "Sri-Rancha" sauce for dipping. This was just right for me, as I love a bit of spice, but it doesn't love me. This hit the nail on the head, delivering that kick without any of the pure mouth-burning sensation that Martin usually craves! I'm afraid that my pizza didn't photograph very well - the lack of colours makes it look quite unappealing! - but it was spectacular. I chose "The Dominic"; white sauce, asiago cheese, fresh chopped basil, red onion, tomatoes and mild sausage. However, I asked for it without the onions and tomatoes, and instead added black olives, mushroom, chicken, roast garlic and oregano. I won't pretend that I knew what I was doing when choosing these toppings, I just went for ones that I really like! I've never had a white sauce pizza before, so that was new to me. It was honestly one of the best pizzas that I've had in a long time; I could immediately tell that the ingredients used were fresh, and it makes such a difference on a dish like this. The pizzas do not take very long to cook, so having that freshness coming through was definitely something I was looking for, and it was spot on. I would have preferred mine little bit more well done, but the base was firm all the way through, and wasn't sad or limp looking - or worst still, raw in the middle! For Martin and his pizza, well, lets just say that he went all out. He started from scratch, and chose pizza sauce, mozzarella, chicken, jalapenos, chickpeas, asiago cheese, parmasan and blue cheese, topped with buffalo sauce. He wolfed his down so quick, that I had only just made it halfway through mine - it's safe to say that he enjoyed it! He isn't keen on a lot of vegetables, so to be able to pick his own and not spend ten minutes picking some off was a nice change, to say the least. Again, it was big on flavour thanks to the fresh ingredients, and the size of the pizzas were just right for us.



Feeling quite full, we didn't want a full dessert (the only option was cinnamon strips, but with a choice of dips), so instead decided to have a milkshake each. These were quite a bit filling than I had anticipated, so I neglected to finish mine! There is a choice of either vanilla, chocolate or strawberry milkshakes - which you can either have as they are, or add on a "mix-in". We both chose a vanilla milkshake, but I had mine with salted caramel and Martin had chocolate coffee crunch. I was expecting this to be blended in as a flavour to the milkshake, which it was, but there were also pieces at the bottom for you to eat too! Martin's had coffee beans at the bottom of his milkshake, which I have to admit was quite unexpected. The milkshakes really were good (definitely satisfied my sweet tooth!), but if I had to make a criticism, it's that the straws were too narrow. Because of these "bits" in the bottom of the cup, it was very difficult to drink through them! Still, there are worse problems to have, and I successfully gave myself brain-freeze from trying to drink it all. Good times! So, all in all, if you're looking for somewhere fun and relaxed to try next time you fancy a meal out, I'd highly recommend trying MOD Pizza. Not only is the food excellent and very reasonably priced, but it is served quickly - perfect if you're a bit short on time - and the staff are extremely friendly and helpful. It's perfect for couples, friends and families alike, and it's an excellent choice even for the most fussiest of eaters. I have no doubt that we will be back again in the future; my only regret is that I waited so long to give it a go!

Disclaimer: Our meal was complimentary, but this does not affect my opinion in any way.