Pauly’s Pizzeria

Ugh, I used to sort of like this place but after today I might have to change my mind.
I got back from a long trip and decided I definitely wanted pizza. So I ordered that along with some onion rings. Usually the pizza is good. It is of the «cheap pizza, but good cheap pizza» variety. This time it tasted horrible to me. The oil that they use must be really cheap stuff because it feels like it coats the inside of your mouth and innards in a most unpleasant way.
The pepperoni they use, if cooked well, is quite delicious. I actually think the onion rings are good too… but that oil! It just left a weird aftertaste. It’s definitely not the best pizza joint around, but not the worst either.

First time going here.
Went there today for a slice while driving through town around 3pm.
My first impression was that this place was clean, recent or newish paint job, but somewhat awkward seating with a random sink.
Also at 3pm, I was the only person in the whole place besides the order taker and the cook.
Not a deal breaker or anything, it’s a pizza joint, and the proof is in the pudding, or in this case pizza.
Anywhoo, the lady taking who took the order was nice, no qualms there.
Then from scanning the picture menu on the wall I came to order a veg pizza slice.
Took a seat and after about 5 minutes the slice was brought to me.
The pizza was below par, for Chicago and human consumption standards. It seems that they had a leftover slice of cheese and simply put whatever vegetables they had, heat it in the oven for a bit and gave it to me. 3 types of onions, red, sweet and regular, tomato, broccoli, what looked like old green pepper, and mushrooms. All ingredients RAW. When eating the first bite, I spat out the mushrooms, and after that picked all the mushrooms off. Never had pizza with ingredients that raw.
Take consideration when eating at this place and check the food for how well it was cooked.
It could mean the difference between a so-​so slice of pizza and food poisoning.
Ps. For those of us that that eat pizza with fork and knife, this place only has forks. No knifes.

Every time I’m in the neighborhood I stop by to get a slice a Pauly’s! I wouldn’t say it’s the best pizza on earth but it is pretty good and you can’t argue with the price. It’s the perfect place for that «quick on the go» bite. I love it!

Food was decent. I ordered and paid for fresh mozzarella cheese and did not get it. The sauce and crust were good as well as the sausage. It would have been 5 stars had I got the fresh mozzarella. I was too hungry to send it back. My mom ordered the half pound burger and enjoyed it. Prices are good and delivery was fast and the food was hot and fresh.

First off, I do not get the pizza from Pauly’s. I have pizza places I love, so Pauly’s for me and mine is a sandwich and salad shop, and it is really good.
We order a couple times a week for delivery, and we pick up a couple times too. If you are fussy, and I am not but my wife is, be warned. Your orders will not always be correct. You wanted a side salad but got fries instead with your combo? Happens all the time, get over it. Eat what Pauly gives you.
Pepper and egg sandwich is awesome. Combo is great. Salads are fresh. Portions are large. The appetizer platter and the garlic knots are tasty. The prices are cheap. The hot food is hot. The cold food is cold. The daily specials include a pop, big time value.
If you live in or around Ukrainian Village and need another good sandwich and salad shop that is fast and delivers, try Pauly’s. The food is really good and the prices are great.

Ordered Garlic Knots and Asian Chicken Salad.
Food was fantastic, fresh and fast (delivery).
I will definitely be ordering from here again and recommending this place to my neighbors!

It wasn’t bad. I wouldn’t say it was great either, the thin crust pepperoni pizza GrubHub order. At least it wasn’t a mound of dough and at least they threw some seasoning on there unlike most places. And at least the delivery was really quick.
After having Coalfire, it’s hard to compete.
I will say I got a little scared when I saw a Thai menu stapled on the box with the same address.
I’d eat it again, but it wouldn’t be my first choice, though other than Coalfire, I don’t know what would be my first choice. We’re still searching.

Great pizza by the slice for your money in the area. Two slices costed me under $ 8 and they are huge slices so one will actually fill you up — unless you’re super hungry in which case two (I hope) should do it. I only come here for carryout and deliveries so can’t comment on the dine-​in service.

I was lazy and did not feel like cooking, and saw the groupon deal now, and figured that it was the way to go being that it was right down the street from where I live. I placed an order with a very friendly and helpful Kelly. She was very patient as I was deciding on what to order, and when I went to pick up my order and the application wasn’t working and loading my coupon. She didn’t even seem phased. I appreciate her calm demeanor while my dog was barking like crazy outside. The wings were very tasty and I was told by Kelly that they get them fresh from the butcher every day, and that there’s someone that comes to drop them off. I also got the Divine Pizza that comes with bacon, sausage, green pepper and onions. It didn’t have a lot of sauce, and I normally like a lot but it was still good. There’s something about it reminding me of pizza that I have eaten at home. I think the prices are pretty reasonable, and proximity even better!

My Goddaughter and I went there for dinner tonight. The «Garbage Pizza» was delicious and the Garlic Knots were heavenly. So much so, I went back later and got some more! It’s strips of pizza dough tied in a knot, smothered in garlic flavored oil, Parmesan cheese and herbs. YUM! I hear their pasta’s are great too! It won’t be long before I check that out! Quick service and a very friendly waitress.

The best thing about this place is that it’s open until 5am, so if you need somewhere late at night, in a pinch, Pauly’s will do… or will it?
So I was there about 1am or so last weekend. There were a group of teenage kids that were whistling INSIDE the place. I assume they thought that since I was the only one, they could do as they wish. They must have some connection to the place because they kept going back to the kitchen. It was annoying and obnoxious.
The pizza itself isn’t bad. One slice is $ 4.50, but it’s huge! Most could eat only one. It’s on the NY style of pizza. The crust is very crispy, with a crackly crust, not sweet, so they put no sugar in the dough. The sauce isn’t sweet, nor is it tasteless, it’s just ok… Not terribly seasoned. I always get the meat lovers, and the combo isn’t bad, but I fear all the taste is in the salt.
The napkins are compliments of Baskin-​Robins. I guess they buy them from Luigi and Alphonse off the back of an unmarked truck in a dark alley off Taylor Street.
Don’t avoid it, but don’t go out of your way either!

Just your average pizza joint. Slices are very big — one is enough for a good lunch. Pizza is ok — not fantastic but not horrible.

It’s ok in a pinch. Not disgusting but nothing remarkable here.

My review here is based on the customer service (including delivery):
Sunday night, we wanted to try a new delivery pizza place.
Delivery: Pizza Ria guaranteed a 40mins-​60mins delivery. There were approx. 30 mins delay according to the driver-​leaving-​kitchen time frame the manager provided us. Sunday night Chicago traffic must be AWFUL, Pizza Ria, to cost you such a delay.
Pizza: Supposedly the driver only took 15 minutes to get to us from the kitchen, however the pizza was already stone cold. Again, let us blame the SUPER BUSY Sunday night Chicago traffic.
Order: We got Ms. Debra’s pizza. Wrong pizza, Pizza Ria. Ms. Debra, you might want to double check yours.
Management: As the situation above happened, obviously it required a phone call. The manager was rather rude. First thing that came out of her mouth was, «it was not my fault, it was the driver’s fault» and went into great length about how she did all the right thing, she didn’t know/​have anything to do with the mistake. How about making a bad decision in terms of hiring a lousy delivery driver? As I explained that as a supervisor, she was supposed to SUPERVISE, she responded, that she would have the kitchen make a brand new correct order right now to try to salvage the pretty frustrating situation. Which is the only reason I am giving a two stars. Her attitude led me to feel this «what the heck else do you want to do? It’s just a pizza» statement almost slipped out of her mouth at the end of the conversation.
Pizza Ria, in a Capitalistic world, customer service is often more prominent comparing to the actual products/​food. Specially when the pizza is just ok/​not fantastic, and you being a local and easily replaceable pizza delivery company. Please get real if you want your business to survive.

The fact that they state on their menu that it’s the best pizza in town is a sick joke. This place reminds of of the pizza delivery you get in a city like Davenport, IA or maybe Evansville, IN… a stab at something somewhere between Dominos and some sort of «gourmet» frozen pizza that costs $ 9.99 and is marginally better than a Tombstone. The only saving grace of this pizza was the bacon… Large pieces of real bacon, and a lot of it. Other than that the crust had a very commercial texture and taste, although they swear they make it from scratch — which may be true, but then they probably dock the dough and freeze it. Either way, the recipe for their crust sucks. The sauce is completely over thought swill that has as much real tomato flavor as their crust does. All that and they put fresh mozzarella as a topping and it’s not. It’s just shredded mozzarella from a bag.
Bottom line: In a city with so many great pizza options, this should never be one of them. Pauly’s Pizza-​Ria? I say fast delivery with no delivery.

Never again… not even if it was free.
It was over THREE HOURS from the time we ordered before our pizza was delivered (we live 1.3 miles from the restaurant).
It required a total of FIVE PHONE CALLS… with THREE DIFFERENT EMPLOYEES for them grasp the correct address.
The woman taking our order had NEVER HEARD of Division Street?
Our pizza, OBVIOUSLY, was freezing cold upon arrival (we would have canceled… but we were moving in, had NO food in the house, and by the time it was clear there was a problem, it was to late to order from anywhere else).
The manager has STILL not returned my phone call… that was 5 months ago!
This isn’t baseball, one strike and you’re out!

I am sad to have to say that the delivery service of this location has done it again! I order out several times a month and for the life of me only this restaurant can never get my food to me under 1.5 hours. The first time it happened it was over 2 and the pizza was cold and the order was wrong. I love their pizza and thought I would try again today, 4^th time my delivery is OVER an hour.
Lost my business once and for all.

My review is based on delivery.
I am a pizza fanatic. I kinda think it’s one of those things where when it’s bad, it’s still kinda good. Although I do have some standards, since I grew up in an Italian family.
Unfortunately, when I order from here, I know I am taking a chance. I would say the majority of the time, it’s fine. Once in a while, it’s fantastic and once in a while it’s bad. I changed to a healthier diet in the past few months, but I’ll include those heavier calorie treats I have ordered in the past.
I ordered the Chicken fettuccine on one of those nights I had some raging PMS. I almost never like alfredo sauce, but this night it was like crack – not too rich and thick and not too runny and bland. I remember thinking, «Now I understand why people order this heart attack on a plate sauce.» Skip ahead a month or so, and I ordered it again. This time the chicken was dry and, frankly, seemed old. And the sauce was thick and rich, but not in a good way. So, I am done with the pastas. it’s easier and cheaper to make at home anyway.
The pizza: Kinda the same thing. I have never had a BAD pizza here, but it’s usually just average. I always order thin crust, so I can’t speak to the pan or stuffed. About 40% of the time, it’s been fantastic. I don’t know if it’s a difference in the cooks? The margherita is good. The sauce tastes fresh. The pepperoni is consistent. I have had a veggie pizza, which was also good. It tastes best when it arrives hot, which probably goes without saying.
I have had really great salads from here also. But, again, perhaps 20% of the time, they have messed up my order (either left something off, or added something I wasn’t expecting). They also have these brownies that are like crack too. But, going healthy means I don’t order them anymore.
I would give this place a better rating if they were consistent – with the food, and even sometimes, the delivery. One time I ordered from grub hub and waited and waited… and then called and they claimed they didn’t receive the order. They did give me 50% off and delivered it quickly tho.
I also think their prices are too high compared to other delivery places. If their food was consistently fresh and excellent, I would be willing to over look that.
I have never eaten inside the restaurant, but I see the Chicago PD eating there all the time. I know you can get a slice, and I would chose this place over the walk in slice places on Chicago Ave.

This Pizza-​Ria (now Pauly’s Pizza-​Ria) is under new ownership… hadn’t been in at least a few years, found it to be rather meh on last visit. They have definitely improved and was very pleased with the veggie slice as well as the pepperoni.
The slices are very big and cut in half, so you essentially have 2 good sized slices when you order just one. My two slices were the equivalent to at least half a medium sized pizza. They also came out piping hot and were incredibly fresh; often times a slice can just be an exercise in reheating but these slices tasted like they were individually prepared and made.
End of, bigger is not always better, but this place is better than it used to be and i’m now a fan.

Blahhh, really?
The other day we wanted pizza delivered, and were disappointed in ln how long our regular place had been taking, so we looked around for something different. We’re New York (aka REGULAR) pizza people. None of this deep dish chicago soup stuff. Unilocal reviews suggested Pizza Ria.
Ugh, Unilocal,buddy… ya let me down. This pizza was meh, but not good. It had crispy bland crust, and boring flavor throughout. The «cheese-​sticks» were more like rolls with barely cooked cheese on top. I didn’t kick it out of the house, I ate it. But I wouldn’t order it again.