The Big Cheese & Pub

I am obsessed with their salad and mozzarella bread! I don’t know what it is about the salad dressing, but it’s simply delicious… crisp ice berg, big cucumber slices and thinly sliced carrots. The one bummer is that they don’t have a frialator so that means chicken parm is baked. (No fun!) The mudslides are a popular with fellow Big Cheese fans. Huge hoogies, Greekesk pizza. 1970’s décor. Friendly staff. This is a good Rhode Island pizza joint.

I was traveling back to NYC from Boston and get off at Cranston to get something to eat. I went to Unilocal and found this restaurant. Had good reviews so I thought it was worth a shot.
Well, the place was amazing. Very friendly staff. I was looking for a salad but was hungry. They recommend the «Stuffed Greek Popeye». When I asked if it would fill me, they laughed. It was unique and great.
I will go back again the next time I drive by.

Good food but the service got slower once the restaurant go a little busy. We were sitting waiting for more than 15 minutes for someone to taking or check.

Okay, so I finally had the pizza here, and in the famous words of Janice (from Friends): Ohhhh. Myyyyy. Godddd. My current review still stands but I add to it the wonder that is the pizza. Golden crispy cheese, soft crust. Chicago Mike’s roots might be coming through here.
Plus, we came on a busy Friday night, six of us, three of whom where under 13… and everyone was super friendly, upbeat, and accommodating. Ain’t easy to do, so high fives for service.

If your not eating pizza or a calzone don’t bother. Everything else in the menu is bland tasteless garbage that is way overpriced. The pizza and calzones are better than ok. You probably won’t flip out over them but they are better than average.

Had an early dinner here today with my family. It was okay but not a memorable experience.
Our waitress was kind but very slow. She was not refilling our drinks until we asked and took awhile to take our cards and close our check so we can go home. They turned on the AC and it was so cold, we wanted to leave right after the meal.
As for the food, it wasn’t bad. We ordered the famous Greek salad (to taste it for ourselves what the hype is) and the Mozarella Bread for apps. The salad was mediocre. They just had iceberg lettuce and romains with very basic veges. The dressing was not that impressive. We ordered the big size expecting to be amazing after reading the Unilocal,but should’ve just got the small or skip the boring salad next time. I honestly like the salad and the dressing at Olive Garden (it’s even unlimited!). However, the mozzalera bread was crusty and cheese inside chewy and rich.
We also got two pizzas, one was the Chicken Artichoke and the other was Gardinier something (one with medley of eggplant). They executed the pizzas very well. The bread was soft and crusty and the cheese once again was melted to perfection. Our party particularly liked the eggplant one as it was more creative.
Overall, i think it’s one of the better neighborhood pizza joint. And definitely better quality than Domino’s. But the slow service doesn’t quite match up to call it a recommended restaurant. And maybe this is because i am not crazily in love with pizzas in general, that the food here doesn’t linger in my mind to crave for more.

This place is so good! Their tossed salad was simple but delicious and filling! My boyfriend got the stuffed Greek Popeyes which was amazing! They are so nice, I love the service there!

We love Big Cheese. Great pizza. I also took the advice from other reviews and tried the mozzarella bread and salad with house dressing. They both were sooooo good. I always order them when i go there now.

One of the best pizza places in Rhode Island. Excellent pizza, cheesy, cripsy goodness. The salad dressing is an absolute must. I love to order some to dunk with the bread they give you. Garlic bread is also very good. I hope to go back soon to try other menu items such as the calzones.

I love the big cheese. The mozzarella bread is probably the best item on the menu. It’s perfectly crusty, filled with delicious cheese, and topped with amazing herbs.
The Greek salad is topped with an insane amount of feta. The dressing is addictive.
The Italian grinder I had recently was good. I don’t typically prefer toasted grinders, but I liked this one. The meats were good quality. The cheese was perfectly melted.
The interior of the restaurant is dated, but it has character.

Had the Italian grinder Food Fights coupon which brought us in. We got the grinder which was decent, nothing exciting, your basic grinder. The chicken parm sandwich is not your typical fried chicken sandwich (we were warned ahead of time but told it was delicious)…we decided to order this and realized you do need fried chicken to make it a chicken parm sandwich. We split the small greek salad which was delicious and a huge portion for 2 to spit!!! Lastly we got the mozzarella bread which was amazing. Overall the food was hit or miss, I do want to return and hopefully give a much better review. I think their pizza may be great because it looked delicious so I would like to return for that.
The décor is very old school Italian and the waitstaff is nice but just kind of order takers vs giving suggestions or asking specifics. I didn’t realize until after that I could get wheat bread on the grinders but was never told this upon ordering. I would say check this place out but maybe try a pizza and a salad to split.

You can’t go wrong with The Big Cheese! Tonight we ordered a pepperoni, spinach and black olive pizza… Sooo good! Crispy crust and fresh ingredients., from the salads to the pizzas to the calzones… They’re all delicious!

Yum! The Big Cheese brings me back to an earlier time — the time of no frills pizza parlors where cheese is plentiful and service is friendly. There’s just something cozy about it. Inside you’ll find all wood, old timey Italian posters, and a small bar.
The food is phenomenal. Big cheese takes no shortcuts with their food. The pizza is quintessential Rhode Island pizza. Thick crust, mounds of cheese, and a zesty sauce. Mozzarella bread is also amazing and should be tried at least once!
Easily top 5 pizza places in my book. Part for the nostalgia, part for the service, and definitely for the food!

We came here as part of the Rhode Island food fights pizza challenge. They didn’t have any restrictions on what we could order so that was great. It’s definitely a homey place with a lot of regulars. Great atmosphere. Out waitress was super nice and accommodating. We each had a Greek salad since everyone says how good
It is. It was delicious. Toppings were generous and the dressing is to die for. I’m told it’s made in house and people go in just to get some. I
Believe it. ! We split a small pizza and it was plenty for two people. It’s close to
Home made and was crispy and cheesy. Loaded with pepperoni and mushrooms too. It was great pizza. It’s a good place to brig kids too if you have any. I’d recommend it for a great place to get pizza and bring the family. Good stuff.

This place is awesome!!! It is the postcard of authentic Italian family restaurant! Nestled in the heart of Cranston, it is quaint and cozy décor and there were tons of decorations for Christmas! We got a salad to start and it was more than enough for 2 people to share. The pizza had crispy a crust and tons of toppings! The meatballs were to die for. We got them as a side to eat along with our pizza and the came smothered in sauce and melted provolone. The service was excellent, all of the waitresses and staff were super friendly and it almost felt like we were regulars the first time we ever went. I cannot wait to try some of their pastas and other dishes! We will definitely revisit this gem!

This is a fun spot to eat in! A bit of a 70s vibe, sassy and friendly waitstaff, and yummy thin crust pizza with traditional toppings. I went for a sausage, onions, and peppers pie, as well as a vegetarian pie, and both were delicious!
The Big Cheese also really shines when it comes to appetizers. The mozzarella bread is crazily delicious, as is the pepper toast. The salads are also much beloved, as other users attest to.

Kind of like Uncle Tony’s except better! The pizza is better here and so are the drinks! Pizza is not as greasy and it’s a thinner crust. They have a bar. Uncle Tony’s doesn’t.
If your not splitting the salad and sharing the pizza your kind of doing it wrong, ok? Because the salads are huge and a pizza is built to be shared. The portions for each dish are built for a family. So bring your family, share and enjoy!
I like it here, I’ll be back.

How can you not love The Big Cheese and Pub? The pizza is great and their calzones are fantastic! Some might complain about the décor but those people are most likely unoriginal and prefer the uniformity of a Starbucks over an old diner. This place isn’t Papa John’s, it has style and class and history. Have a drink in the back bar and feel like you’re in a scene from Goodfellas (but don’t forget your shine box) as you wait for your pizza. Seriously folks, this place is really good and has a really cool vibe and employees that make it even more special.

This place was great! I had been here maybe once in my life, until just recently. Wanting to try something we haven’t been, we just stopped in. Both times we have been here since the food had been really good. It’s a basic menu, I wouldn’t call it upscale by any means, but the food they make is made well and fresh. I’m a big Greek salad lover and theirs is awesome, and awesomely large! I’ve noticed all portions are pretty large. And don’t leave without getting the mozzarella bread. You can get just that and fall in love.

We’ve had Big Cheese pizza before but we’ve never eaten at the restaurant. We changed that the other night when we stopped in for a late dinner after one of the boy’s baseball games.
Despite the late hour it was still really busy. We were seated quickly at a table for 6. After a long, hot game we were ready for beers and sodas. The service was extremely friendly and a little slow. The adults ordered 2 large pizzas and the kids got a mini pizza and a side of chicken parm for my son.
The chicken parm was unusual in that the chicken wasn’t breaded but he liked it anyway. The pizza was delicious as expected. We liked the fact that you can choose your crust — 5 choices — as well as your toppings. We’d had the pizza before so we knew it’d be good.
As I said the service was slow and by the time we got our pizzas one of them was cold. It was good but cold so we asked our server if it could go back in the oven. She took care of it and when she brought it back she let us know she’d taken it off the bill. We were pleasantly surprised because we’d already eaten a couple slices — couldn’t help ourselves — and we had no complaint about the taste.
It was the perfect after game dinner — good food and great service. We’ll be back!