Mellow Mushroom

Gavage

New Jersey

4.4/5  rDev +6.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

This place was pretty crowded when we arrived so we grabbed a seat at the smallish 10 stool bar in the back. The bar overlooked an open kitchen where you can watch the cooks strecth and throw pizza dough. There are plenty of tables for dining here too. There are plenty of TVs to keep you up to date on latest sports news.

The beer is typical for a Mellow Mushroom - 39 taps of good micros with several local options. Several Starr Hill, Foothills, and a Blue Mountain offering allowed me to try some new beers. Smuttynose, North Coast, Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn, Oskar Blues, and Bells beers were also available during the visit. The beers we had were fresh and tasty.

Service was very good at the bar. Dinner was served quickly and beer refills were fast. The bartender knew the beers he was pouring. Food was good too.

This is probably the best option in Charlottesville. Definitely worth a stop.

08-14-2010 11:52:49 | More by Gavage

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

4.13/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5

The Mellow Mushroom is a breeze to find just past the overhead RR tracks. It is a sit anywhere kind of place and we never figured out where smoking and nonsmoking were. We though we were in non till people arrived and lit up in front of us and behind.

The beers and food were very fresh and our young waitress was fairly attentive. Happy hour prices were $2 and we got in two before the time change. They had a nice tap list with only one micro spotted in the lot. With a list of some great IPAs (HopDevil, Hop Ottin, Smuttynose, Nectar) how could you go wrong. Also a few Belgians, Victory's Storm King and a few other premium priced pints. The selection was about 35 taps as others mentioned and the food was great and fresh.

I'll be back to the Shroom. There can be no doubt.

07-21-2004 11:31:57 | More by GCBrewingCo

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

We pulled into Charlottesville as our pitstop on the ride home from Sexual Chocolate release, which coincided with the second blizzard of 2010. The east side of town, including our hotel, was suffering from a power outage. Fortunately, the Mellow Mushroom beckoned from the more fortunate western side of town. This was quite an enjoyable place to wait for the power company to do its thing.

As a pizza shop in a college town, the vibe was overwhelmingly collegiate. At 7pm on a Saturday this means the kids are just waking up and beginning their pre-game activites so things were pretty laid back.

Not sure if this place always shoehorns patrons into every available square inch or this was just a reaction to the crowd that was enjoying the snowy weather. But packed does not begin to describe the dining room.

Despite the crowd, the service was very friendly and the kitchen snappy once we sat down. Great garlic bread, good hummus, tasty $20 pizzas (too heavy on the toppings for me but you can always pick them off). Very nice.

About 30 taps I think. Lots of high quality stuff, including a couple locals (Blue Mtn. Full Nelson), good regionals (Terrapin) as well as Founders, Brooklyn BCS and other delicious options.

A very enjoyable stop, made even better by the fact that our hotel was back in business at the end of the meal.

HV

02-17-2010 21:24:45 | More by sholland119

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Visited on the way home from the 2010 Sexual Chocolate release. Charlottesville was as far as we dared to push as we dealt with deteriorating road conditions in the wake of February '10 Blizzard---the redux!

The MM is a BUSY pizza joint in downtown C-ville. Located within stumbling distance of UVA it was PACKED with college kids--and since it was a "we can't drive to go anywhere" Saturday night I can't say I was shocked!

Despite the throng of patrons our group of six only had to wait approximately 30 minutes for a table. While we waited we hung out in the bar area and enjoyed a pint from one of their 39 taps! A special was on...if it is precipitating they have a "when it rains it pours" special and all pints are $3!! Wow--awesome! So--$3 for a pint of Terrapin Hopsecutioner, yes please!

After we got seated our service was quite swift as our co-ed waitress and the kitchen staff were on top of things, VERY unlike the Asheville location where, I think, the influence of a certain chemical seems to slow the staff to a glacial pace.

Filling, carb laden, grub all around with tasty garlic bread, hummus, and HUGE, loaded to the brim with toppings pizzas. Plenty to eat for all and plenty left over for breakfast!

With 39 taps it isn't hard to find something good. Nice local presence with Star Hill and Blue Mountain Brewing alongside of a plethora of craft breweries from far and wide.

Another quality locale in the MM empire. I would stop in here again without hesitation.

03-13-2010 07:28:01 | More by Deuane

Seanibus

California

4.45/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

A great addition to the Corner, despite being stuck in the same walls as the hellish Red Roof Inn at the far end. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, the staff attractive and friendly. The food is great - excellent pizza. And of course, an extensive and well-considered beer list with the chain's usual attention to local and regional offerings. There are about two dozen draft selections with a couple of interesting bottles (hopslam today. Seriously). The drafts were divided into easy-to-comprehend categories and the offerings are worthy - a few imports, a nod to good national offerings (Founders, Left Hand, and Anderson, for example), with some nice locals - Starr Hill and an IPA each from Foothills in North Carolina and Terrapin in Georgia stood out. A family-friendly, cozy place that is well worth the trip to the less hip end of the Corner.

02-05-2011 20:41:11 | More by Seanibus

jrancan

New Jersey

3.86/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4

Walking in off the street you would have no idea that this place served good beer other than the Brooklyn Brewery sticker the size of a postage stamp on the front door.
Bar in the back...walk past the open air kitchen and the tables and hit the back wall with the 35 taps on it. I think they hold 40, but it was 35 the day I was there. DFH Snowblower, Victory Storm King, Lagunitas Maximus, Delerium Tremons, a couple from Star Hill (very local). Good stuff and cheap as well ($3.50) usually. Bad bottle selection as far as I remember...usual swill and Pacifico? Strange...
Come to think of it, I don't have much to add that PintOfAll didn't cover already (we must have been there the same weekend).
Nice place that I would frequent if I lived in the area.

06-06-2004 04:02:01 | More by jrancan

ggaughan

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Visited the Mellow Mushroom a few weeks back with my wife on a vacation trip to C'Ville. We were there right when UVA let out for fall break so the place was pretty empty with the exception of about 10 or 15 locals. The draft selection is pretty good and especially considering it is in the heart of a major college campus. There were about 30 taps when we got there and although a few were out due to a busy night the night before, what was there was very good. They had DFH Punkin, a few Legend beers, some Tuppers, Blue Glass and several other U.S. brews. The bartender was very helpful in making selections and give me a few samples of things he suggested without me even asking. Very cool. The prices were very reasonable, maybe $3.50 for a pint and if you go there on a day that it rains, you get $1 off pints. What a great promotion but unfortunately it didn't rain while we were there.

12-10-2006 03:57:47 | More by ggaughan

IBUnit63

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Went here on a visit to my parents in C-Ville; Saturday early lunch with Mom.

Good, wide open atmosphere with large bar and several huge TVs to catch sporting events. Also, good room up front suitable for groups or families with kids. Surprisingly not too loud even though the place was relatively full.

Taps are plentiful (I saw over 20 at first glance) with a lot of quality names. The Hop Rod Rye out of the tap was very enjoyable. Nice spectrum of solid micro offerings.

Service was courteous, effective, prompt and friendly.

Food (ordered pizza) was very well-made - chihcken cordon bleu personal-size pizza may have been an odd choice but was very tasty.

Very reasonable pricing caps off an overall enjoyable outing. Would recommend for a wide range of patrons (college (of age) students, young families, anyone thirsty looking to catch a game on TV). Solid choice!

03-01-2008 23:29:13 | More by IBUnit63

argock

Virginia

3.7/5  rDev -10.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

This is my favorite happy hour stop as it's walking distance from work, has amazing $2 pints, and has upwards of 30 craft brew offerings anytime with a good rotation. It's very low key in the late afternoon with the service hit or miss and a bit sparse at times. Their beer selection includes beers from national and regional breweries such as Bell's, Rogue, Stone, Victory, North Coast, Brooklyn, Left Hand, among others. They are also ardent supporters of Charlottesville's local brewers Starr Hill and Blue Mountain. Their pizza is good with a soft, thick crust and is reasonably priced. They need to bulk up their starters menu with some more appetizers, but, all in all, MM does a solid job of serving great beer (although almost always too cold) and good pizza at nice prices.

05-16-2008 01:05:16 | More by argock

Proteus93

Virginia

4.1/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Came in on a Saturday night, so this place was buuuusy. Fortunately, it was an easy going night out with the son, so there was no real rush

Nice, low light ambiance in the evening, though the front of the place could potentially get a little bright in the day as it's fairly open.

Service is pretty speedy, especially considering the amount of people dining. Waitresses/servers are cheery and helpful (well, willing to be helpful. My server asked what kind of beer I liked and I said I was in the mood for something hpoppy to which she said "Ooooh, the exact opposite of me," but I went with the Hop Rod Rye, so that was easy enough

Beer selection is nice for a restaurant setting that doesn't focus on beers... Bear Republic, Brooklyn Brown Ale, Humboldt, Dogfish Head, Rogue, along with the locals and a couple of German/Belgians... though Belgians are literally a couple (unless you include Stella Artois to make 3), so don't get your hopes up on those.

Food is pretty tasty, and the price is decent... maybe even a little on the low side, honestly. Pizzas were pretty standard pricing for an indie joint, and the beer prices are pretty good, as well. $3.50 per pint unless otherwise noted, and the only exceptions at the time were the Blue Mountain Full Nelson ($3.50 for a snifter, which seem an unusual serving, as it's just a standard pale ale), Hoegaarden ($4.50), Leffe ($5 snifter), and PBR ($1.50 / $5 pitcher). Having the snifters available shows that they will serve in proper glassware, as well - everything else is pretty much suited for standard pint glasses.

Regular priced drafts are apparently also $2.50 per pint when it rains, and $2 during Happy Hour, so if going with something like a Bear Republic, Rogue, Arrogant Bastard, etc... the prices can be great.

Overall, a pleasing experience, and something I will happily do again. I'd kinda like to check it out when things are a little slower to see how it is then, too. I imagine if it holds up this well when it is nuts, it would be amazing on a quiet day.

04-06-2008 03:35:19 | More by Proteus93