Mad Bene invested in building a custom ceramic pizza oven in an effort to bring NYC Italian-style pizzas to Hawaii. While the handful of pizza options all sounded great, we were drawn to the Mad Garlic which featured garlic in six different preparations. We also added some of the Ezzo pepperoni as an add-on at our server’s recommendation.

Hawaii sorely lacks great Italian food options, and even among the few gems we do have, very few if any have great pizza. For me, great pizza starts with the crust and that is where most local eateries fall short. Mad Bene’s pizza crust is probably the closest I’ve had in Hawaii to slices I’ve had in NYC. The crust is thinner yet maintains a delightful chew. The high heat from the ceramic oven creates some of that char you expect to see. The Ezzo pepperoni was some of the best I’ve had on a pie in Hawaii.

While I could absolutely see markers of a great pizza at Mad Bene, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the one big issue with our order. Judy and I were both finishing our first bites, admiring the crust and the pepperoni, when we looked at each other and asked “Wait, didn’t we get a garlic pizza? Where’s the garlic flavor? It’s very light.” I picked up my next slice of pizza and took a bite, only to be met with an utter explosion of garlic that nearly blew out my palate. Unfortunately, as we worked through the pizza we found that the garlic elements were very unevenly distributed. Some slices and bites made us wonder if there was any garlic at all, while others were simply overpowering. Had the garlic been more evenly distributed, I would’ve walked away much happier with my overall experience.