For some reason, Mozza Mia has been somewhat controversial in the restaurant review world. People like it, but wish they liked it more.
That’s how Dara’s review read in Minnesota Monthly, and I’ve read other views with the same tone.
I brought the family there a couple weeks ago, and I want to go on record saying: I like it. A lot, actually.
Mozza opened up the same time Pizzaria Lola opened just up the road. You know about my love for Lola.
But Mozza deserves some love too. Why? The pizza is very good, the mozzarella is something unique in this town, and they take reservations!
I know a lot of you single people dining out at 9 p.m. don’t care about this, and when I have a babysitter and am headed to Tilia, I don’t care about this either, but when I’m looking to take my kids to dinner on a Friday night, I can’t be waiting with them for 30 minutes. They’ll freak out. It’s not an option.
Mozza Mia takes reservations!
We tried the mozzarella sampler (shown above; small size was $14), and we absolutely devoured it. The burrata was creamy and luscious, the mozzarella was good, and the smoked mozzarella was great. Then there was a decent ricotta, and a crowd-pleasing rollatini (prosciutto rolled up inside mozzarella). Served with a pear mostarda and cannelini beans, this was a great value, and really quite delicious.
Could it be more delicious? Yes! There are certainly some more creative things that could be happening with the mozzarella, considering it’s made in-house. Does that make what they’re doing less delicious? Not to me.
As for the pizza: the details really stood out to me. The wood-charred crust was strong enough to support a huge amount of vegetable toppings on the special pizza the night we showed up. The nice crunch on the cauliflower, the perfect crisp of the asparagus, and the carrots were roasted before being put on the pizza. I really enjoyed it.
The wine program is also delightful: You order a carafe with about a glass-and-a-half of wine…. which to me is ideal. One glass is never enough, two glasses is occasionally too much. OK, two glasses is never too much for me, but it can be for my wife. The list is nice, with most of those carafes in the $9-$10 range.
Service was attentive without being fawning—a hallmark of the quality training that happens in Parasole restaurants.
Kids eat free on Sunday at night, too. So what’s to complain about? Mozza Mia is another addition to a South Minneapolis/North Edina area that is really exploding with fun, casual places to eat.
Mozza Mia
3910 West 50th St., Edina, MN 55424
mozzamia.com
