La Nueva Pizza Mandala

Photo from Pizza Mandala website

Pizza Mandala left its historic location, on Calle Lerin in Pátzcuaro, sometime last summer. The cozy pizzeria with Bohemian atmosphere, on the ground floor of the Posada Mandala, close by the famous arches of El Sagrario, has now made a giant leap forward. Its new quarters are in a spacious house at Ibarra 130, Pátzcuaro. Inside the modest gate is a broad grassy area, with a shade tent. It would be suitable for a major fiesta.

The entrance is close to Refacciones Sami's, if that is meaningful to you.

I was apprehensive that the quality of the food might have slipped due to the move, but I needn't have worried. If anything, the pizza, and even the salad (of which I'd never been a fan) were better than ever. Moreover, the three dining rooms are spacious, naturally illuminated though large windows.

More formal "upper" dining room

The Bohemian atmosphere, alas, is vestigial.

 

The menu is the same as before, with an emphasis on umami-rich toppings: anchovies, olives, goat cheese, etc. The Mandala Ensalada "Niçoise" is quite unlike a classic Salade Niçoise, but is good in its own right.

The six of us ordered 3 large pizzas: two Mandala Plus, and the worthy, but easily overlooked Margarita Plus.

Mandala Plus

Margarita Plus

We washed this down with cerveza, agua mineral, and vino blanco. Note that it's possible to get individual bottles of Peñafiel Agua Mineral, an improvement over the previous glasses of mineral water from a bulk bottle.

Beer served with frosted mugs!

Large ("pizzas grandes") run about $140 MX. A large salad, $50 MX. There's also a short menu of pasta dishes, but as I rarely order pasta in a restaurant, I can't give an opinion on those.

Here's an update: the Official Pizza Mandala Menu

RATINGS

Food: 8

Service: 8

Ambience: pleasant, upper middle-class Mexican home. Smooth jazz plays in the background.

Cost: up to $200MX pp.

Horario: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Opens at 2:00 p.m. Closes 10 p.m.

Location:
Calle Ibarra 130. Pátzcuaro Centro, Michoacán. (The Google Map is slightly erroneous, as it places the Pizza Mandala a little too far east.)

Tel: +52 434 342 4176

EXTRA: There are two modest rooms offered for rent, at $400MX per night. The bath is shared.