Blossom Valley Shopping Center in Mountain View has been home to a number of pizza restaurants over the years, the latest being Milan Pizza Restaurant. Unlike Old Cal, Mountain Mike’s and Rafferty’s before it, Milan could stick around for a while – or not, depending on which Lunch Buncher is writing this review.
Milan fits somewhere between the old-fashioned pizza parlor with its dimly-lit dining area, faux wood-grain table tops and bulky video games, and today’s more sophisticated gourmet pizzerias with their mix of exotic pizza toppings.
Owned and operated by husband and wife Kourosh and Guita Shahidi, Milan opened in 1997. Kourosh, who has been in the restaurant industry for 15 years and owned two restaurants in Southern California before moving to the Bay Area, said he makes everything fresh daily.
In addition to pizza, the restaurant offers colossal calzones – stuffed with cheese and the toppings of your choice – that come with a cup of sauce for dipping. Then there’s homemade lasagna, an Italian hamburger served on a garlic spread and a variety of other pastas.
The four of us agreed that the restaurant offers some enticing specials. Depending on the time and day, a meal and a drink at Milan will set you back less than $6. A spaghetti plate costs only $4.99 on Spaghetti Tuesdays and a mere $5.95 will get you a personal pizza with a choice of two toppings and a 20-ounce soft drink during lunch.
The four of us parted company when it came to the food, however. Two of us liked the pizzas and two of us didn’t.
The chicken and mushroom and the chicken and eggplant personal pizzas were just passable, according to two Lunch Bunchers.
The chicken was too dry and the pieces too small. The breaded eggplant had little flavor. In fact, one reviewer couldn’t remember if she had eaten eggplant or artichoke hearts.
The two of us who ordered more traditional pizzas – pepperoni with pineapple and tomatoes with olives – were impressed with the generous amount of cheese and toppings, the pizzas’ sweet but not overbearing tomato sauce and the crunchy crust.
The bottom line: Two Lunch Bunchers would go back if the person they were dining with really liked Milan, but would never suggest the restaurant themselves unless they were at Blossom Valley and absolutely starving.
Two of us can’t wait to go back and try the spaghetti on Tuesday.
Milan Pizza Restaurant, located at 1724 Miramonte Ave. in Mountain View, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays – Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays. The restaurant is closed Sundays. For more information, call 988-9395.
