Monday - Thursday pizza special at Massimo’s
Pizza and pasta at a discount in Houtbay
Written by Shawn Godfrey (The Roasted Dad)
Massimo’s is an absolute institution in Cape Town. Nonethless, Lianne, the kids and I had never actually eaten there.
This week we finally changed that. I had bought a new camping fridge on Facebook Marketplace, and with it needing to be collected in Houtbay after work, we found ourselves looking for specials to have a quick dinner before we headed back home.
A midweek family dinner
From Monday to Thursday, Massimo’s offers a 20% discount on all pizzas and pastas. Their children’s offering is also a great deal: for R80, kids can order their own pizza with three toppings of their choice. To their delight, juice was included too.
It took a while for the kids made up their minds which three toppings they each wanted, so Lianne and I ordered a bottle of Anuro Lagato (R245) to start. The setup at Massimo’s naturally invites you to watch the action. Once we had placed our food orders, the kids walked over to the pizza oven, to see how the kitchen team stretched the bases, topped them, and slid them into hot oven. I’ve got a Kiln pizza oven (1) set up at home, so the kids are not unfamiliar with the process, but at Massimo’s it’s done at another scale.
(1) If you also have your own pizza oven, try out Stone-Ground Pizza with Blistered Tomatoes, Parma Ham, Basil and Mozzarella or a folded Pancetta, Peach and Mozzarella Calzone. And even if you don’t, these pizzas can easily be baked in a conventional oven as well.
Alba Pizza & Lamb Ravioli
The Alba pizza topped with garlic butter, brie, pancetta, mushrooms, and truffle cream was easily the most memorable pizza topping combination I have eaten in a long time.
Back to Massimo’s; our mains and Lianne and I had opted to order two different dishes: the Alba pizza topped with garlic butter, brie, pancetta, mushrooms, and truffle cream (R211), and the lamb ravioli. The menu gives you the choice of napoletana, bolognese, pesto, or butter and sage; we chose the butter and sage.
Both were excellent; it was easily the most memorable pizza topping combination I have eaten in a long time and the pasta had a good, tender texture with a proper bite. We were glad to have chosen the butter and sage lamb ravioli as the rich lamb filling did not need anything more than that glossy sage butter to round it off.
If you like making fresh pasta from scratch at home, you can check out my step-by-step guides for how to make fresh pasta, or try my other Italian-inspired recipes:
Vegetarian gnocchi with fried curry leaves and raisins
Squid ink spaghetti with asparagus and a tomato and aubergine sauce
Creamy chicken, mushroom and biltong pasta
Squid ink spaghetti with asparagus and a tomato and aubergine sauce
Roasted butternut, truffle oil and fried curry leaf risotto
Blistered Tomatoes, Bocconcini, and Basil Leaf Salad
Unreasonable Hospitality at Massimo’s
What really made the evening memorable was how the staff treated the kids. The kitchen staff got chatting with them while they watched pizzas being made; the restaurant owner showed Aiden the best place to stand for the best view of the pizza oven, and to top it all of, Aiden was handed a wooden board with a lump of fresh pizza dough to play with.
After all three kids had finished their pizzas, they were easily entertained shaping the dough into different objects and figures while we finished our pasta and pizza. The kitchen staff then took their dough shapes, baked them right in the pizza oven, and packed them into takeaway boxes so they could take them home. It was a thoughtful touch that went down a treat, and the baked dough shapes ended up in their school lunch boxes the next morning.
It takes quite a lot to surprise me when it comes to pizza execution, but Massimo’s earned its reputation that night. Between the reasonable midweek pricing, solid food preparation, and warm hospitality toward families, it delivered a great evening out for all five of us.
Monday Open Mic at Massimo’s
Every Monday from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Massimo’s hosts Josh Samson as MC and you get to enjoy an evening of live local talent, authentic Italian cuisine, and great company. Whether you're performing or enjoying the show, there's no better way to start the week. Happy hour is from 6:00 - 7:00 pm, and the 20% off pasta and pizza special applies.
Pet-friendly restaurant in Houtbay
Massimo’s is known to be pet friendly. Well-behaved dogs (on a leash) are welcome, and they even have a dog menu. For every doggy meal sold, they donate R3 to The Underdog Project.
Booking Information for Massimo’s
If you are planning a visit, especially if you want to take advantage of the midweek discount or are heading out with a bigger family group, reserve a table ahead of time. It gets busy quickly.
Address: Oakhurst Farm Park, Main Road, Hout Bay, Cape Town
Contact Phone: 021 790 5648
Email: book@massimos.co.za
Website: massimos.co.za
Massimo’s also delivers through Mr D and Uber Eats, and is available on Dineplan.
Terrarium is situated within the Queen Victoria Hotel, in the the Queen Victoria Hotel in the historic Portswood Ridge precinct, a short walk away from the hustle and bustle of the V&A Waterfront.
More restaurant reviews:
If you are looking to map out your own culinary exploration across Cape Town and the wider Western Cape, check out a few of my other recent reviews:
Dinner at Journey (Urchin): Chef Marcus Gericke has taken over Urchin restaurant which is located inside the Hyatt Regency in the Cape Town CBD. The restaurant itself has an interesting backstory…
Dinner at Terrarium: An intimate, sustainable fine dining space at the V&A Waterfront where Chris Erasmus experiments with playful optical illusions and deep, local flavours.
Little Fox in Constantia: A quiet suburban escape nestled in the winelands, perfect for disconnecting over an accessible multi-course menu.
Eleven Restaurant in Franschhoek: Ryan Shell's South African-inspired culinary gem located right on the bustling main strip of the valley.
Spookfontein in Hermanus: Striking architecture meets incredible hillside views, making it a fantastic stop for lunch while exploring the Hemel-en-Aarde valley.
La Colombe in Constantia: My thoughts on Constantia's world-renowned institution and how they continue to push boundaries on the global stage.
About Shawn Godfrey
Photo credit: Niki M Photography
Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.
Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.
It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.
On his blog, Shawn shares Restaurant Reviews and Accommodation Reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (8), Olivia (6) and Harvey (4).
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