Mr Pizza serves pizza from 65 Pohutukawa Avenue in Ōhope, the beachside settlement just over the hill from Whakatāne, and holds a 4.6 rating on Google.
Pizza lives or dies on its base: a good one has a lightly charred, airy crust with a soft middle, proof of dough given time to ferment. The simplest order — a margherita or a single strong topping — is the honest test, since there is nowhere for a mediocre base or sauce to hide. Takeaway pizza suits a beach settlement: it travels well, feeds a hungry family, and spares the cook on a summer evening. Regulars anywhere tend to order ahead on fine summer evenings, when every pizza kitchen in town is flat out.
For a post-beach dinner in Ōhope, Mr Pizza is the local option, and its 4.6 rating suggests plenty of neighbours agree.