I Expected MOD. I Got Moto.

I grabbed a pepperoni solo at Moto Pizza in Bellevue Square, and for about a minute it reminded me of MOD. It's casual, you order at the counter, it was born in the Seattle area, and you can get a pizza that's all yours.

Then I opened the box, and the resemblance pretty much ended.

It’s Not MOD

MOD, which started in Seattle in 2008, is about speed and building your own: thin crust, pick your toppings, done. Moto goes the other way. The solo is two thick, Detroit-style slices side by side in a long box, with the edges baked dark and crisp. The sauce goes on top in big red stripes, the pepperoni cups up underneath, and there's a snowfall of parmesan over all of it.

The box says it best. The side reads "ODD PIZZA," and the inside of the lid says "ROOT ROOT ROOT / LOVE WINS."

You don't build anything at Moto. You pick from a set menu of pies that are a little odd on purpose, and that's the point.

How Moto started

Moto opened in February 2021 in a converted cottage in West Seattle. The owners, Lee Kindell and Nancy Gambin, had been running a hostel in Belltown, and when the pandemic shut that down, they switched to pizza. Moto describes what they make as a mix of Detroit, New York, Roman and Filipino styles, and it's grown from that one cottage to locations around Seattle, Edmonds, Bellevue, T-Mobile Park and a few in California.

What else is on the menu

I stuck with pepperoni, which is the right way to test a crust. But the menu is where the Filipino side shows up.

Mr. Pig, the best seller: lechon kawali (Filipino pork belly), pork sausage, onion and a calamansi lime sauce.

Kissd: pepperoni and sausage with spicy honey.

Root, the vegetarian one: mushrooms, black olives, onion and a balsamic glaze.

If you go

The Bellevue Square location is at 1020 Bellevue Square. It's open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The other locations and their hours are on Moto's site. There's also one at T-Mobile Park, in Section 314, during Mariners home games.

MOD is still MOD. Moto is something else: thick, square and a little weird, in a way that feels like it could only come from around here.