Mellow Mushroom

Mellow Mushroom is one of those places that seems to be iconic in downtown Asheville. It is centrally located and hard to miss, with its large, in-​your-​face, rather quirky, outdoor patio. It is, in fact, one of the most appealing, and probably the largest, outdoor eating area in downtown. To add to its appeal, it is one of the few reasonably priced restaurants in downtown.
That being said, I have never been impressed with of the meals I have had there, and I have had many. I continue to return because of said patio, which I crave in the spring, prices, location, and the TAP LIST. Impressive beer selection.
It is an appealing place to meet friends, host a gathering, and have a good enough pizza with a better than average beer.

Great pizza! I would also recommend trying the pretzels topped with parmesean cheese and marinara sauce appetizer.

Ordered a house special tonight for take out. It was the BEST pizza I have had in a very long time time.

Before going to Asheville, several people suggested going here. I couldn’t wait to try it given all of the hype, but was a little nervous it might not live up to what I’ve heard. I was definitely wrong. Delicious food, great service, and an awesome atmosphere. If I lived in Asheville, I’d be here all the time. One of my friends who was with us is gluten-​free, and they were also extremely accommodating to all of her questions and special requests. I was also super impressed with how original several of their pizza options were.

I cannot get enough of the pretzels here! This place is a staple in Asheville. It is the original Mellow Mushroom. I am not one to visit chain/​franchise restaurants, but I absolutely love this one. Their pizza crust is like no other! Their funky décor is so much fun to look at while you’re enjoying your delicious eats. I recommend ordering a side of esparansa (spelling?) sauce for your pretzels and pizza crust.

Great little lunch spot. Really enjoyed the outdoor seating and the menu was HUGE! We settled on the pizza which was very good. I would come back again!!!

This has to be my personal favorite Mellow Mushroom! Although, the service was extremely slow and a little inattentive… The atmosphere and food is out of this world.
The pizza gods will truly bless you with this little slice of heaven.
The crust is amazing and the cheese is fresh and very tasty!!! Go Mellow go!!!

We arrived at the restaurant right on the cusp of closing, our first night in town from Raleigh; my friend has never been to Asheville, and this establishment was one of the first that came to mind embodying the spirit of the area. By the time we got the attention of a host he informed us it was 9.34 and they refused to seat us as they closed at 9.30, though they were clearly still taking orders and serving food; and not just one or two tables, it looked to be at least two-​thirds full. I called back to inform the manager of my displeasure and he informed us you have to draw the line somewhere, before telling me to have a good night (no apology). It pains me that this experience has now tainted my impression of the chain, this was really terrible customer service and I doubt I’ll be coming back.

Asheville’s Mellow Mushroom is a downtown location with an excellent patio for pleasant dining. We’ve found the appetizers (try the hot pretzels!) delightful and the hot sandwiches & salads quite good. Pizza is probably just average, though.
This location also has an extensive selection of local and regional craft beers. Almost too many to choose from!

Honestly I love mellow. As a vegetarian, it’s a solid choice and I can always depend on it. It’s got great menu items and beers. It used to be a favourite restaurant of mine. This mellow continuously has poor service (staff that don’t seem to care), super greasy pizza, and a not so great atmosphere. We ordered the bruschetta and there was so much feta on it we felt sick. The pesto swirl pizza was soggy. I am usually such a fan. The place itself is still pretty dependable, so I’ll leave 3 stars.

Was traveling through the area and a friend recommended it. We stopped and the food was delicious. They have a completely separate area for making GlutenFree food which was a huge plus! Everything was delicious and the place is beautifully decorate. Highly recommended.

Fun place with great food. The pizza was very good.
The device was excellent. My Caesar salad with grilled chicken was ok.

I cannot get over the horrible service here today. Not only did it take around ten minutes to even get an initial sever to get our drink order, but after the drinks came we couldn’t find her, so we asked another waitress for our bill to which she replied «I’m not your server, and I’m not getting your bill.» So we asked her to get our server and she said «well, ill get her but only she can give you your bill.» It was almost laughable how rude she was. Even the table next to me was like «wow… she was really rude.»
Customer service goes a long way, I will never return here.

LOVED it! Creative and delicious food in a fun atmosphere. Ate here 3 times in the week I visited Asheville — that’s saying a lot considering all the great restaurants around. My bf also loved it.

I always under estimate this place. Maybe the Mellow Mushroom in Knoxville is just not as good as this one. We had dinner delivered to our room at the Princess Ann last night by Valet Gormet.
My wife ordered the Holy Shitake small pizza. Wow, it was awesome.
I ordered the chicken and cheese by accident and it turned out to be great, I usually order the club sandwich.

Mellow Mushroom is a chain. They’re a mostly Southern chain that capitalizes on some cartoonishly grotesque concept of 60’s era hippiedom as a way to make money off of tourists. Mostly in college towns. I never really gravitated towards their pizza recipe, but this is Asheville, and good pizza is few and far between. In sum, I went into Mellow Mushroom yesterday, fully expecting to hate it. And I didn’t hate it, after all.
It says a lot about Asheville pizza that Mellow Mushroom could get a 4 star review from me, in this town. There’s enough Italian restaurants per capita. The problem is, most of them are not particularly too good, and many of them are too expensive to bring kids to.
I went to MM in the afternoon, and I was immediately struck by the beautiful indirect light coming through the skylights overhead. It gave the whole place an unexpected glow. The outside patio is lush, green, and well-​tended. They have a few dozen wonderful, local beers on tap. Lots of kids. Some older business people. A few locals. It was crowded, but not loud. The sound didn’t seem to travel where it wasn’t wanted.
I ordered a small Greek salad. Don’t be fooled: this is your typical iceberg-​based salad like you might find at Olive Garden. It has nothing to do with actual Greece. It happens to be a particular variety of salad that I totally love, and Mellow Mushroom’s version was fantastic. Abundant, crisp, mildly flavored, with some nice, unambitious dressing. What’s not to love? I think it cost about 5 bucks. That’s awesome.
Regarding pizzas: I’m pretty sure, during the 40 years of Mellow Mushroom’s operation, nobody ever gave a second thought to the subject of authenticity. These pizzas have no resemblance to anything classical: Neapolitan, Bronx, or otherwise. These are pizzas that you can pile high with pineapple, tempeh and ranch dressing, if the spirit moves you. Stoner pizzas, I guess. There’s nothing wrong with that; just know what you’re getting into…
For celiacs: Mellow Mushroom has a very conscientious approach to Gluten Free cooking. They have an entirely different food prep area for non-​gluten cooking, and they take it seriously.
For vegans: This restaurant is about as good as you’re going to get, pizza-​wise. They have all the fake cheese you crave, and will leave the butter & parm off the crust, per your request. Count your blessings.
Something else I noticed besides the gorgeous afternoon light, the gentle acoustics, and the tasty salad: the wait staff.
I can’t really put my finger on it, but for some reason, the servers and cooks at Mellow Mushroom look healthier, happier, and more vibrant than servers and cooks I’ve seen elsewhere in town. They came in all shapes/​sizes/​ages/​colors, but they all had a relaxed way about them, rosy cheeks, and white teeth. Maybe Mellow Mushroom pizza is actually full of nutritious vitamins, soluble fiber, and micronutrients??? Probably not, but that’s kind of what it looked like. Mind you, these servers didn’t treat me any better than servers at other places, they just looked like they had more «prana», somehow. Maybe that building is sitting on a secret electro-​magnetic ley line.
If you want something more local, with tasty pizza and a nice selection of beer, you might consider Barley’s Tap room.
If you don’t feel like walking that far, or you’re in a rush, you can still have a reliable, tasty meal at Mellow Mushroom and I won’t think less of you for it!
In conclusion: Eat at Mellow Mushroom; harmonize your Chi.

It’s a mellow mushroom, wherever you go, but they really fit in downtown Asheville with their décor.
Friendly service, fair amount of seating, outside seating too, although the weather was too nasty when I went to do so. In that case be prepared to wait.
Food was good, my friends and I all enjoyed. Found out you can leave off toppings to a signature pizza, nice. (some places can be defensive about that).
They also have a bar here with a lot of local beers.

Full disclosure: I work at a pizza place in town. With that being said, I’ve always loved Mellow. Actually, some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. They use quality ingredients, and they put this delicious parmesan crust on their pizzas. The have a pretty decent draft beer selection, although today they were out off ever single beer I wanted :(Their salads are also pretty solid. However, their prices are steep for pizza. Also, the service here is TERRIBLE! I’ve been to this location three times and each time I was met with a rude hostess and even ruder service. I’m a server and I know that everyone has a bad day, but its just consistently bad here. I regularly frequented the Mellow in Wilmington when I was in college, and it was always such a fun atmosphere. This place really embodies that atrocious Asheville I’m cooler than you attitude.
So, I recommend ordering takeout, but go in to pick it up because it is a beautiful restaurant.

This Mellow Mushroom is absolutely wonderful. I had actually never heard of Mellow Mushroom before stumbling upon this one along with my husband. It was definitely the outside appearance that made me want to head inside, and I’m so glad that that’s what we ended up doing. Since visiting this Mellow Mushroom, I have now driven past a few different ones in a few different states, and absolutely none of them have given off as great of a vibe from the outside as this one did.
The inside of this place is honestly just as great as the outside. Sitting in this Mellow Mushroom is kind of like being on a drugless acid trip. There’s a ton of stuff to look at whilst you’re waiting for your pizza to come, and depending on where you’re sitting, you might even get a little glimpse of Wonderland.
Everybody who works here seems to be incredibly nice, and the food is absolutely wonderful. My husband and I ordered a Magical Mystery Tour to split, and it was more than insanely fucking good. Mellow Mushroom is decently expensive though (in my opinion), which is obviously kind of a bummer. We spent about $ 20 just to split a 10″ SM and get a soda and a cup of water. However, the pizza is VERY good, and the experience is also rather awesome. Even though it’s a little pricey, I would have to say that this place is undoubtedly a must visit if you’re hungry and in the area.

Great location smack in the middle of downtown, lotsa outside seating and a funky interior fitting an old gas station. Worked great for us as a place to job a light lunch and couple local pints.
After a big breakfast and some stomping around window shopping and such, MM didn’t seem like a likely place to find such fare, but a couple apps did the trick for a party of two.
An order of the fresh baked pretzels and their capri salad (Vine-​ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil drizzled with a balsamic glaze. Served with a side of spring mix tossed with an herb vinaigrette dressing) turned out to be a great combo — basically salad and bread, or maybe a cold, all veggie pizza without heavy sauce or cheese. Presentation and quality of the salad was pretty high, and fresh pretzels wonderfully warm and chewy. Would like a to see an upgraded mustard above the standard yellow — a course, whole-​seed number would honor the simple dough without overpowering it.
There are also soup options and a hummus plate, so maybe the idea of a light lunch at a big crust pizza place is not so impossible.
Along with three $ 3 draft pint specials, I think the total was about $ 25 — and not too filling or greasy. Just enough to keep on stomping into the afternoon.