Pizza Tempo opened in Bowie's Collington Plaza nearly two months ago, and we stopped by for dinner Friday night. The new shop is located at the former site of Luigi's Pizza and Armand's Pizza.The Pizza Tempo menu includes Pizza Margherita - a variation of a style of pizza that dates back to 19th century Italy. According to the popular story, a pizza maker prepared a pizza in 1889 for Italy's Queen Margherita that included the colors of the Italian flag. The pizza had tomatoes (red), mozzarella cheese (white) and fresh basil (green). Queen Margherita loved the pizza, and it was named in her honor. Pizza Tempo's version is made with tomato sauce and real mozzarella cheese, but there is no mention of basil on the menu. Pizza Margherita should not be confused with Pizza Latifah - the pie that originated in 20th century New Jersey.
The pizza was good, and the crust was noticeably fresh. The food is definitely worth a repeat visit.
Pizza Tempo has two locations - Rockville and Bowie. The Rockville location appears to be pick-up and delivery only, and the Bowie restaurant offers pick-up, delivery and dine-in service.
The Bowie location may be the restaurant's first attempt at having a dine-in location, and they have a few kinks to iron out. A cashier takes customer orders near the kitchen. The cashier didn't seem to know the menu very well, and she seemed a little overwhelmed. I liked that she read my order back to me - especially since she seemed so frazzled. After she handed me my receipt, I asked if she was going to call my number when the food was ready. She said, "no. Just come back up here in twenty minutes." I thought that was a strange answer, but I later noticed that someone was bringing food to the tables. Dine-in customers are served their pizza in takeout boxes, and I would have been annoyed if we didn't have an empty table nearby for the box. Kid sized drinks are not available, but you're allowed unlimited napkins when your kid spills their adult sized drink.
The bottom of my receipt displayed the calculated amount for a 15% gratuity, although the gratuity was not included in the total. It seemed odd given the format of the restaurant.
The Pizza Tempo menu includes salads, subs, panini sandwiches, some entrees and desserts. They also offer a lunchtime buffet.
Although I didn't think the service was great, I felt like they were trying to figure it out. I imagine we'll stop in again sometime soon.
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3552 Crain Highway, Bowie MD 20716 (near Walmart)
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that location has not been very good for pizza places. My personal favorite for pizza is Ledo's, followed by Papa Johns
ReplyDeletePapa John's is probably the best of the delivery chains; it's good for what it is.
ReplyDeleteBut I think the two best places for pizza in Bowie are Cetrone's and TJ Elliots (Ledos). Of course, the best pizza in Bowie used to be Happy Italian Delight (RIP!). Come back Joe!
Dickster, good point. There seems to be a revolving door at this location. We liked going to Luigi's, and we were sorry to see it go. Seems like the restaurant sat empty for a while.
ReplyDelete20715_native, yeah, I miss the Happy Italian after the renovations at Free State. I heard rumors immediately after it closed that it would be opening up in Crofton, but that obviously never happened. We don't usually think to get pizza at TJ Elliots, even though it's close by. We'll have to do that soon.
This new Pizza Place has very good pizza as well as subs and salads. I think it can easly considereble as the best pizza place in Bowie. It is definitly worth to try. The menu price is also very reasonable.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, your comment reads like an advertisement for Tempo Pizza! Maybe they should hire you for their marketing!
ReplyDeleteIf you are exploring the best Pizza services and diner in Cape May town visit Pizza Heaven, offers ultimate Pizza services at amazing prices.
ReplyDelete