I wasn't very keen when I got an invite for Papa John's because I had a not so good experience when I tried them for the first time - back in 2011, in their first ever branch in Greenhills. The food wasn't so bad but there wasn't anything special about their pizza, etc. But then I believe in second chances HAHAHA! So I decided to give them another chance, after 6 longs years, since I thought that they should have improved after all these years.
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| A portion of Papa John's open kitchen in their Megamall branch |
The place had a very casual and relaxed ambiance, just like your usual pizza place. Posters of pizza and other dishes offered lined up the walls. They also have an open kitchen adorned with bricks - a signature of every store. IMO, this added charm to the place and made the experience different from other pizza parlors.
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| A feast of pasta, pizza and more! |
As soon as we got there, were welcomed by their staff - Layton, Rizza and Ryan. They prepared a lot for us and some of us even ended up with take aways. Let me drill down ---
Sides: Herbed Parmesan Bread Sticks & Ultimate Potato Wedges
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| Herbed Parmesan Bread Sticks for 120Php |
My favorite of all that night! It wasn't really about the bread, though they were warm and soft, but the butter that the bread sticks were drenched with. Melted butter with garlic and herbs, man it was so delicious! I can imagine smothering that cholesterol loaded stuff into anything at all and it will make anything delicious!
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| Ultimate Potato Wedges for 145Php |
Skin on and thick potato wedges with crisp skin, drizzled generously with cheese an garlic ranch sauces, topped with pepperoncini and bacon bits. This was good!
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| A closer look at this delicious appetizer! |
I liked the sourness from the ranch and the saltiness from the cheese sauce. The bacon bits made this even better!
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| Pizza, appetizers and pasta! |
Pasta: Creamy Crab Meat, Spinach Alfredo & Mediterranean Seafood Linguini
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| Creamy Crab Meat Pasta for 99Php (Single) | 297Php (Platter) |
This was my favorite. Honestly, it was a simple pasta dish - carbonara sauce with garlic, chili flakes, Parmesan cheese and chunks of crab sticks. I liked the way that the flavor of the crab sticks blended with the cream and the chili flakes enhanced the flavors.
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| Spinach Alfredo for 99Php (Single) | 297Php (Platter) |
This was a little bland for me. Alfredo sauce with spinach, hints of garlic, Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese. I would love more saltiness in this pasta.
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| Mediterranean Seafood Linguini for 99Php (Single) |
Rich tomato sauce based pasta with crab sticks and shrimps - this was just okay. Nothing special about it and could have been better if they added pieces of seafood meat.
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| A trio of Papa John's Pizzas! |
Pizza: Super Papa, Chicken Cheesy and Tuna Pesto
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| Super Papa Pizza - Small (9″) – ₱350 | Medium (12″) – ₱485 | Large (14″) – ₱595 |
Super Papa Pizza is their signature pizza. It has the ultimate combination of ingredients - pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and black olives. It's one loaded pizza and it's pretty good. Far from the first time I've tried it, I guess this has improved.
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| Clock-wise from the top: Cheesy Chicken Pizza | Tuna Pesto | Super Papa's Pizza |
Cheesy Chicken Pizza is one of their new flavors. Tender chunks of chicken with spinach onions, a hefty serving of mozzarella and a drizzling of their special cheese sauce, this pizza was oozing with cheesy goodness!
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| Tuna Pesto Pizza - upgraded to Cheesy Stuffed Crust |
This was my favorite pizza that night. The marriage of tuna and pesto with lots of cheese worked so well together. They also added chili flakes here amplifying the tuna flavor. Best when upgraded to cheesy stuffed crust for an ultimate cheese lover's treat!
PSA: Cheesy Chicken and Tuna Pesto are part of their Summer Duo Savers Promo where you can get both for only 495Php (family size each).
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| Hearts for Valentine's Day! |
We also got to try their Valentine Special Stromboli Flavors - Mi Amore Stromboli. Available in several flavors, you can combine two in one heart shaped Stromboli, all pegged at 214Php. We tried the following ---
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| Mi Amore Stromboli - Pineapple Caramel Stromboli |
Pineapple Caramel Stromboli is a dessert Stromboli. It has pineapple tidbits with caramel inside, drizzled with strawberry syrup. This was served with more strawberry syrup on the side.
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| A closer look at this Valentine's Day ready Stromboli! |
This was sweet, way to sweet IMO. Trust me, you won't need the extra syrup coz it will get really cloying plus it tasted like candy.
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| Half and Half Stromboli - Savory and Cheesy Pesto |
Savory Stromboli had some ham/bacon in it but it was surprisingly sweet! Layton explained that the sweetness can be attributed to the base sauce. Could have been good if they added lots of cheese. The other half of this half and half Stromboli was Cheesy Pesto. It was oozing with cheese with a good pesto flavor but overall, it was just okay.
PSA: They also have set meals for their Mi Amore Stromboli - Meal A for 299Php that includes 1 Mi Amore Stromboli, 1 featured pasta & 2 glasses of iced tea AND Meal B for 369Php that's the same as A but you'll get 2 featured pastas.
Overall, it was a satisfying dinner. I'm glad I joined in because I discovered that they can also be our go to pizza place when we're too lazy to cook at home. A good alternative to our trusty Pizza Hut, since they also have a store near our village and we can always call for delivery.
4 out of 5 Stars for Papa John's Pizza!
--- Papa John's Pizza: Unit 335-C, 3rd Level, Mega Building A, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City
***you can also check their other branches HERE!
I am a workaholic mom who is also trying to be the best wife ever. I am a self proclaimed food lover, a frustrated cook and pastry master. I have a thing for books and scrap booking fills up my free time. Blogging? It's something I do once in a while when I can squeeze in some "me time" in this super busy life.
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