Photo by Grace Davis

Throughout this time of COVID-19 and quarantine, the term restaurant has become more than sitting down at an establishment to eat food. It has become less about the experience and more about the quality of both food and company. This is clearly seen in Majka Pizzeria & Bakery, the small Sacramento restaurant serving organically grown, fresh, and vegetarian food to the world.

Each item Majka Pizzeria & Bakery serves is made with locally sourced, organic, and sustainable ingredients. The menu is simple, only offering one type of pie a day. The yeast used in all the doughs are from the same “mother” starter and are naturally leavened. The goal of Majka Pizzeria & Bakery is to pay homage to the owner’s roots, honoring their mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers.

With that in mind, let’s taste the food!

Experience

Majka Pizzeria is in no sense traditional. Their hours are non traditional, as is their location. I started off my experience by placing my order on Monday. Majka requires all orders to be made ahead of time, so you must have a day and time decided before you order. Each customer is given a set time within 15-minute increments. This allows for the least amount of contact possible, a very smart and strategic move. As a customer, I felt very safe and grateful for this feature. Once your date and time are set, you can make your order. I went with the pizza of the day, salad of the week, and bread of the day. There are no customizations available, but each day has a different choice, so if you don’t want to try Thursday’s pizza, you can simply order on Friday for something different.

Once my order was placed, I was sent the location and given my time to pick up. On the day that I ordered, all I had to do was pick up the pizza. The directions were very straightforward and took me directly to the location. All I had to do was park and then pick up my order at the window.

The location itself reminded me of Alice’s from Alice In Wonderland’s rabbit hole. Once I found the building the process was super smooth. My food was hot and ready to go. All the items were wrapped up in a brown paper which reminded me of buying groceries in France. The employee was cheery and helpful, which gave me more excitement for trying the food.

Photo by Grace Davis

The Salad of the Week

The first item I tried was the Salad of the Week. Described on the menu as, “Mixed greens, marinated cucumbers, slow-roasted cherry tomatoes+yogurt dressing”, I was expecting a fairly normal side salad. However, the salad beat my expectations! The arugula was fresh, so fresh that I could practically taste the soil it was grown in. The cucumbers were firm and nicely chopped. I was not overwhelmed by the size or crunch, which can be common in salads. The cherry tomatoes were easily my favorite part of the dish. Roasted to perfection, the bites were juicy, bright, extremely sweet, and brought the whole salad together.

Each bite I took created a film of flavors that I could practically see. To tie it all together, the salad was topped with a divine yogurt dressing. The dressing was thick and packed with flavor. While the salad was a bit small for sharing. I cannot recommend this enough!

Photo by Grace Davis

The Focaccia Bread

After hearing about the special starter used for the bread, I knew I needed to try it! The day I ordered happened to be Focaccia bread. Focaccia bread is an Italian flat-oven baked bread often served with pasta. It typically goes, the more bubbles the better and this is clearly seen in Majka’s bread. The bread was very well seasoned and extremely fresh. The olive oil flavor was very prevalent, but without the greasy texture that focaccia can so often have. The bread was wonderfully salted and evenly distributed. The portion was huge and could easily be shared between 10 people. Although this may have been a rather heavy side to have with pizza, I thoroughly enjoyed the texture that it brought to the meal.

Photo by Grace Davis

The Pizza of the Day

Now for the pizza assigned to my order: Cremini mushroom, mozzarella, miso shoyu glaze, toasted sesame seed+micro shiso/mint melange. In no sense a traditional pie. The pizza was fairly large, easily feeding 4 people. The crust, spongy and bubbly, reminded me of the focaccia bread. The vegetables, well cooked, allowing for soft bites. The mushroom flavor, strong but not overpowering and the sesame seeds added the needed sweet element. The greens on the top, refreshing and tied each ingredient together to form an overall beautiful pie!

Overall

Overall, i rate the Majka’s Pizzeria & Bakery experience as truly neat experience. I enjoyed finding the service window, waiting to see what pizza was offered, and tasting the fresh ingredients. The food itself was obviously homemade and clearly made to order. Each bite brought a mouthful of flavor and made my taste buds dance. If you are looking for a non-traditional meal, this is for you! Happy dining!

Majka’s Pizzeria & Bakery is located at 1704 15th Street Sacramento, CA 95811. Vist https://majkabakes.com for more info!