Werkhaus Pizza

I love this pizza place. It’s locally owned and the food tastes fresh. If you’re ever craving dip dish, this is one of the few places that does it well. Like Cheers, this seems like the kind of place where if you went enough, everyone would know your name.

Just left Werkhaus after trying to have a belated Christmas dinner with my family. We walked in and stood by the «Please Wait to be Seated» sign for 25 minutes without being acknowledged by anyone. The cashier, who was busy ringing people out when we walked in, never did say anything to us once she was done being busy. Several waitresses walked past us and looked at us and then looked down to avoid making eye contact with us. There were several tables that were open but had not been bused. In the entire 25 minutes we stood there, very obviously looking to be sat, we were never acknowledged once. There were other parties that walked in after us and left as well, having the same experience. We have enjoyed the food here for a long time, but after such a rude and unpleasant experience, we will frequent one of the other pizza restaurants around.

Nothing like waiting over a half an hour for a simple pasta dish and steak hoagie, watching other patrons get their food who sat down after you. Dinner finally comes, pasta is cold, overcooked and sticking together, cheese is hard, sauce is cold, and garlic bread is burned. Yes, this was our experience tonight at Werkhaus Pizza on Werk Rd.
Their solution? Remake it in 5 minutes and leave off the cheese. No manager bothered to speak to us. Poor, poor service. Left and went through Chick Fil A drive thru and got a delicious grilled chicken sandwich instead. Their quality used to be much better.
Werkhaus lost two customers tonight. If they don’t care, neither do we.

We ordered their calzones for carry out. Unfortunately, there were only 5 pepperoni in my double pepperoni calzone. My husband’s mushroom calzone was lacking mushrooms, also. I love their marinara sauce but am very disappointed that 5 pieces of pepperoni is advertised as double pepperoni on their menu. Last time our calzone was burnt with not much inside and this time it was cooked well but nothing inside still. Unfortunately, we will think twice before going back.

I was honestly a bit skeptical at first — I couldn’t imagine what stuffed pizza would be like and imagined it wouldn’t be super exciting. Damn, I was wrong. We got a stuffed pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, and peppers and while it was filling (the box felt like it weighed 20 pounds and one piece was more than enough for dinner), it was SO delicious and well-​proportioned. Nicely done!

My husband and I live near here and decided to try something new for dinner. We were seated by a young blonde girl who barely greeted us and didn’t even ask us ‘How Many?’ … Which was off-​putting and we probably should’ve taken that as an indication of how the rest of our experience would be. Our waitress was fine in the beginning. We received our drinks and she took our order. Once our food arrived, she never checked in with us again. I even got up twice to get extra napkins and our to-​go container from the nearby service station myself, let alone to offer refills for our beverages. The food was okay… But just okay. It was obviously reheated. I ordered lasagna and the actual pasta was undetectable in the meat sauce. It was there, I could see it. But I couldn’t taste it … Evidence of it being reheated, possibly several times. The clincher of our experience was the actual customer service and lack thereof. This is a small place and I could see three people waiting on tables, but our waitress just couldn’t be bothered by us. In fact, as we sat, clearly ready for our check, she very audibly sent the blonde hostess over to give us our check in her place. Blonde girl rolled her eyes and huffed while giving us our check. I was actually a bit offended at the service provided to us and really wanted our tip to reflect this, but my husband doesn’t do that, understanding waitresses don’t make much in their actual wage. We both got in the car and stated that we would never come here again. It’s a shame … The west side could really use a good Italian alternative to Larosa’s.

We had a pizza. Spinich stuffed. The red sauce was bland. The pizza was boring. Not like I remember it years ago. Won’t be back.

Been ordering take out for many years. The staff is always friendly and helpful. We usually have a stuffed pizza or a whole baked lasagna. Definitely worth going.

Wonderful people and believe me the meat lover pizza will bring you back!

One of the west side of Cincinnati adventures. Thank God for GPS. lol
Heard bout this place from my boss & decided to check it out for lunch
People are super nice. This will be a short review. All we got was the stuff Chicago style pizza & it was amazing!!! Short of being in the Windy City itself this pizza is AWSOME!!!

Just ate here tonight with the family and had a meat and meat pizza and a supreme stuffed pizza. I enjoyed the pizza. The stuffed pizza was good also, but a bit soggy withe crushed tomato sauce on top. Crust was definitely homemade and very good. Prices were pretty good, and service was pretty good as well. The décor was not great, and dated, but I was not here for the décor, I was there for the pizza and the pizza was great!

Was told on phone delivery for two sandwiches and two salads would be an hour. It had been an hour and forty-​five minutes so far and no food. The manager could not get a hold of the driver to help the situation. The only reason the manager gave me was that they got «a little busier than expected». Worst service ever for what will probably be a cold sandwich and a wilted salad.

They have some of the best house garlic dressing and their stuffed pizza is just as good as some of the deep dish I’ve had in Chicago. The service is okay but the food makes it well worth it.

Walking in, doesn’t seem too friendly, it seems like more of an old people restaurant, seems like they only get the same people so us being new it didn’t feel too welcoming, doesn’t even seem kid friendly.
Our waitress was ok I guess she came by our table twice the entire time we were there.
Now maybe we just ordered the wrong thing on the menu, but will I be coming back here again? No, I rather eat papa johns (yuck).
I’m giving two stars because my kid seemed to like her kids pepperoni pizza and because the service was. ok

What happened to this once fine pizza establishment? Pizza comes to table cold gets reheated. Comes back to table dry and void of flavor. Bringing to the attention of our server, we get offered dessert. I didn’t come here for dessert, I came for pizza.
To top off the evening, once the counter person stopped texting her friend, she asked how my meal was. I told her it was not good. She responded, no, really? I told her I was serious. Then she explained stuffed pizzas were hit or miss. I replied I was a regular. She then replied, only a regular would tell the diiffernce.
After all this she lets me know the cook was new. Amazingly after voicing my concern to two people, not once did the manager even stop to talk with me. I paid my bill and left.
If you’re looking for Chicago style pizza try someone else that isn’t hit or miss.

Review #2 in September, 2013:
**** Stars — So we realized that Werkhaus delivers to our house and that they still have that
deal and don’t mind us using it for take-​out or delivery. We decided to give the pizza another try. Each time they deliver us a pie or two they are prompt, the food is HOT, and we REALLY enjoy it. Maybe the first time we tried we were just underwhelmed by the eat in experience. They are generous with toppings, the crust is buttery, and edges crispy. My bad, Werkhaus.
Review #1 in March, 2013:
** 3 Stars — After passing this place in its various incarnations for ages, we saw it on
and decided we had very little to lose. It is a family run restaurant and we like that here on the Westside. We tried the boring (lettuce/cheese)salad, pretty good pizza, and an order of fettuccine Alfredo that wasn’t amazing but was definitely generous portion-​wise. The garlic bread was delicious and I have heard the desserts are amazing but didn’t try them. Service was ok,(quick but not very friendly) food was run of the mill Pizza Joint Italian. Not fabulous but not bad. Very good value for your buck, for sure.

If you don’t get the stuffed pizza, you’re doing it wrong. It’s as close as you’re going to get to Mio’s (it used to be one) on the west side.

This place is a quaint little pizza shack on the west side of Cincinnati. It used to be a Mio’s Pizza and has retained much of the flavor and décor of that chain.
The family who runs it is friendly and they service is decent.
The pizza is a little on the greasy side and last time I was there it was a little burnt.
The salads are the typical iceberg with some cheese.
My biggest issue with the place is that there is nothing there to differentiate them from any other pizza place. There were no distinct flavors and it could have been anywhere that buys the sauce from a food service provider.
An ok experience but nothing there to make me go back.

I really try to give places more than one chance, and since Werkhaus is a family business, I’d like to cut them a little more slack, but…
On my last visit, we were seated quickly, but that was about the only fast thing, except for bringing the check, which was presented seconds after receiving our food. It felt like they were in a hurry to turn tables, and it was not that busy.
Werkhaus is in a converted house, but inside it looks like your typical family Italian place. A little cramped, not much room to maneuver, and if you have a big group you’re going to struggle for space.
Werkhaus offers the usual suspects on their menu, with a twist on the thin-​crust. It’s a sesame-​seed crust, that while tasty, can leave little seeds stuck in your teeth. We both did get pizza and salad, and they were mediocre at best. The salads were little more than limp iceberg, a token few tomatoes, pepperoncini, and cucumbers. The menu says the salads «are freshly chopped daily», but there were far too many brown pieces of lettuce for that to be true.
About 20 minutes later, the pizza arrived, we ordered a medium with pineapples and spinach, and there really was not an overabundance of either. There was a good amount of cheese, and the sauce was good, but a little too sweet for my taste. But it was lukewarm, like it had been waiting for about 10 minutes before it was brought out to us. After waiting for 20 minutes, we didn’t want to have it redone, so we ate a few pieces and brought the rest home.
The dessert selection is small, but the carrot cake we shared was the best part of the meal. Moist, a little spicy, and the cream cheese frosting thick and sweet.
If the service had been a little faster and the food fresher, at least 3 stars, maybe 4. But on three consecutive mediocre visits, 2 is the best I can do.

Happened upon this spot on a whim taking the back way out of Big Lots in the Glenway/​Western Hills area. We were hungry, I was sort of thinking pizza, and the Italian food mentioned on the sign appealed to my fiancée.
I wasn’t initially sure what to expect as it appears to be set up in a house, but it looked legit enough, and I could tell there were other people inside eating. Inside the décor was darker in the romantic Italian way and it didn’t look anything like someone’s home. There were about 4 booths against the wall, several 4 tops and then another section we didn’t see much of. We got a booth at the back and the service was friendly and fast.
The menu consisted of typical Italian/​pizza dishes from appetizers, to entrees to pizzas. Apparently their specialty is «stuffed» Chicago-​style deep dish pizza. Drink-​wise they appeared to have a full wine menu but a somewhat limited beer list of the most bland, typical domestics. Later I noticed Yuenglings at the counter, but it wasn’t mentioned on the list. We both got waters.
As for food, she selected the Ravioli Florentine – cheese ravioli with alfredo sauce, spinach, cheese, mushrooms, and tomatoes, and I got the Garden Stuffed «Chicago-​style» personal sized pizza with zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, fresh garlic, green pepper, and 3 cheeses. The dinner portion of the Ravioli came with a salad and two slices of garlic bread (might have been one slice cut in two?). Since we usually share meals like this we had debated on the dressing for the salad and so the waitress was generous enough to divide it on two plates with a different dressing for each of us.
The house salad was your typical plate of iceberg lettuce with some fresh tomato slices and a little more onion than I prefer (any, really). It was nothing special, but fine. The garlic bread was plenty garlicy, tasty, and not too crunchy – pleasing. I tried the Ravioli Florentine first. The sauce was very rich – a little too sweet if you asked me. The raviolis were fine with big slices of the veggies – they use large mushrooms that were clearly fresh. The pizza looked comparable to other Chicago-​styles I had. Big pieces of tomato in the sauce, and the nice hunks of veggies «stuffed» on the inside with the cheeses. The crust was firm and flaky.
Overall the food was fine – not amazing, not bad. A-​Ok. Probably not something we’ll drive out of the way for, but not a place we will avoid. It was filling and we had plenty to take home for another meal. And the cost was very reasonable – under $ 10 each!
Had we not been so full, I would have considered dessert. When we checking out, we noticed several homemade dishes of desserts that looked very tasty – something to checkout if we visit again.
In conclusion: décor was nice, service was top-​notch, food was just okay, price was a great value.