Pizza: Manassas Park Style

Name: Pizza Spot

Cuisines: Pizza, Wings, Salad, Sandwiches

Payment: Cash, Visa, MasterCard

Alcohol:   No

Price: $

Address: 9107 Andrew Drive, Manassas Park

Hours of Operation:  Mon to Sat: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Salt's Take:

Pizza Spot isn't your typical pizza restaurant. I found that out when I first walked up to the counter and asked the manager what he recommended. He seemed to be a wealth of information— a connoisseur of all things pizza pie. After he told me that a restaurant is only as good as its most popular pie, he recommended The Godfather. According to him, it was by far the most popular and is served with a signature sauce which he assured me was made with over 11 ingredients. Since he sold it so much, I had to try it.

It came with pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, bacon, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and olives. The ingredients were incredibly fresh and very flavorful, but for me the best part was the crust. It was airy, buttery and light. It made the pizza one of the best I've had in recent memory. Even though many of the ingredients on the pie usually make for an oily, soggy experience, the pizza was perfect. It was one of the non-greasiest I've had ever.

The Pizza Spot opened about seven months ago. While the sign outside says “Dine-in, Take-out, Delivery,” I would suggest only the latter two. There are only two tables in the restaurant, and aside from that the ambiance isn't very dine-in friendly. The entire staff is very friendly. The manager gave me a couple of breadsticks while I waited. They were amazing. They were just as light and flavorful as the pizza crust, but they were so airy, it was hard to believe they were breadsticks and not dinner rolls. No complaints here though, I loved them.

The restaurant was very clean, the staff incredibly friendly. I have no complaints about the Pizza Spot. I would recommend the restaurant to anyone and do see myself coming back in the future.

Pepper's Take:

When I walked into the spot, I grabbed the menu to check out my options and was asked for my order before I could even open the menu.  The manager and part owner, who asked me for my order, was very polite and told me to take my time. I decided on a large cheese pizza, as I was hungry and the specials were a little too much for me right then. And unlike Salt’s experience, no one offered me any assistance in making my decision. The place seemed like the type of place that had some really good greasy pizza, and you can never go wrong with a cheese pizza.

As I was ordering my pizza, the manager went to the group of patrons seated at one table and told them that they could put the second table with theirs. Oh dear, no place left for me to sit—the place only has two tables.  I guess my order is to go. So I took the pizza home with me. The manager told me they were planning on making some changes—hopefully more seating is one of them.

So if you’re planning to go there for a sit down dinner, you may be seriously disappointed. While the staff were certainly friendly, I think they are a little ways from being a full-fledged restaurant. When I paid for my order, I was not even told an approximate wait time, he just walked away. So I went to get some gas and take pictures, which only took about three minutes as the shopping center has a gas station in it. After that I  just stood there by the door, waiting for my order.

The place appeared clean, not really any ambiance and it felt more like an office deli. The one good thing is that some of their prices appeared cheaper than most, such as their appetizers of mozzarella sticks or onion rings. If I was in the shopping center for any other reason, I may make an order. But in general, I’d rather order Domino’s or Pizza Hut, since Pizza Spot's pizza is not quite extraordinary.

The sauce was great and they used good cheese. The crust was well baked, but was not anything special. I personally think if a pizza is that greasy, it needs a little crunch to it. This pizza was very doughy. But pizza preferences vary from person to person, and I certainly wouldn’t deter anyone from going there.

Personally, I thought the crust was mediocre; you could easily go to Joe’s or Jerry’s and get an identical or even better-tasting pizza.  I probably wouldn’t go back there just for their pizza, while it was good enough, it wasn’t spectacular enough for me to ever crave it.

The place is still new, and I’m sure they’ll be making some good changes over time, but I think mostly it is a place only for carry-out or delivery,within the 3-mile radius of, course.  

There are certain places where pizza is so above par, you can’t stop thinking or talking about it. This is not one of those places.