800 Degrees Pizza

They should call this place 800 minutes. The kid behind the counter was very slow and was much more interested in talking than listening. After about 10 minutes of discussion trying to put together 2 pizzas the 90 seconds in the oven was a godsend. Unfortunately the results were below average. One of the pizzas had more sauce then cheese and the cheese that was there was spotty. The space is really nice but it’s actually too nice. I don’t need my pizza place to be upscale, I just want the pizza to taste good and to arrive quickly. I’ll take my business back to Blaze. I give 800 Degrees 12 – 18 months, and hope that someone can open a good restaurant in the space.

We are big fans of Blaze Pizza just down the street from here, but the interesting topping options and classier seating area made us want to give this place a try. Crucial to our willingness to try it was the fact that they offer Daiya vegan cheese as a topping — I am highly sensitive to dairy, so this is a big deal.
The first thing we noticed was that the production line moved very slowly and seemed disjointed. The folks putting toppings on the pizzas all looked a little irritated, and we had to repeat ourselves several times.
What really irritated me, though, was that I watched the person who was adding the first ingredients to the pizza make one pie after another with the same gloves. Since there are almost no spoons or other serving implements on the production line, this meant that the person would grab a handful of garlic, then a handful of basil, then mozzarella, and then pass it on and start the next pizza with the same gloves on. Since I wanted my pizza to have no cheese on it, I asked for the person to please put on fresh gloves. She agreed and did that, but then passed it down to the next person on the line to add vegan cheese with gloves he had not changed — gloves covered in dairy cheese from his last pizza. I groaned aloud, and he switched gloves while
I hoped that not much dairy cheese was already mixed in with the tub of vegan cheese due to this lack of regard for cross contamination.
The same thing happened when they sliced the pizzas — one pizza cutter for all kinds of pizza, not washed in between dairy and vegan cheese pizzas.
This place proudly offers gluten free and vegan options, but it should be made very clear to their patrons that if they need to avoid their allergens strictly, this is not a safe place to do so.
Another less dangerous but still irritating issue: not a smile or a pleasant word from any staff, including when they misplaced my friend’s salad and had to go find it in the kitchen.
I will say this: the pizzas for everyone at our table were tasty. Clearly everything here is fresh and made on the spot, and the options are really interesting.
All in all, because of the way they handle all ingredients with the same gloves and slicers, I can’t really return — but if you have no allergies/​intolerances and don’t need to make friends with your food service providers, it’s probably fine. I’ll be at Blaze.

Fresh ingredients and awesome staff. Open late on the weekends too? Definitely will be back.

We tried this place because Evanston suffers from a paucity of good, or even acceptable, restaurants. We were not pleased. For starters, it was maybe 55 degrees in the restaurant and I had to keep my hat on. The music is blaring obnoxiously loud classic rock to the point where conversation, including ordering food, is a a challenge. Probably as a result, the wife did not get the mushrooms she requested.
800 degrees may literally be the temperature at which the pizza is cooked because it was served with the crust burnt to the point where the pizzas tasted like charcoal (see my pics of burnt to a crisp crust). Turning the pizza ovens down from 800 would be a good plan.
Even if the pizza crust had not been burned, the pizza itself was about as good as you can get at the Sbarro at the mall food court. Suggest going there instead.

I really want to love this place because it’s super well designed inside. A ton of crown molding and chandeliers make it feel pretty fancy for a pizza place. They also offer gluten free crust which makes me really happy!
However, whenever there’s more than a few people waiting for their pizzas — I find that the wait can be ridiculously long. I also feel like their timing while the pizza is in the oven is off sometimes. So while the pizza usually turns out well, there have been times where the crust on my pizza was burnt! Also, there is a lot of confusion among the staff about what toppings are gluten free and which ones are not.
All in all, great potential with more than a few kinks to iron out!

Amazing pizza! Amazing staff! Love the décor and ingredient selection!
My pizza was the original margherita with Italian sausage and mushroom. DELICIOUS! Had the Cesar salad as well and the dressing was appropriately salty, tangy and fresh. Loved the whole experience and will be returning in the near future

Let me start off with the positive of this place! The footprint of this establishment is amazing! You do not think that this is a pizza joint, let alone a quick made to order pizza joint! The restaurant is very spacious, and down right elegant, with dark woods on the walls, and partially the flooring, also marble flooring in the entryway, and in the ordering/​pass area. A huge chandelier also accompanies the space!
The staff are very friendly as well! The guys and gals here are very helpful, and very welcoming! That alone should be a no-​brainer in the quest of returning but wait…
Now that I have the positives out of the way here come the negatives…
Although they have a great selection, and the extras (i.e. veggies, meats, cheeses) look great, and appetizing, the pizza in itself is sub-​par at best. It does look and taste good, but once you pick up a slice, it is all over! The pizza itself is very soggy, with the olive oil and water based mozzarella they use. The toppings, no matter how little or many you have on your pie, they fall off, and leave you with nothing but limp, dough, with a smattering of tomato/​marinara sauce on the slice, you have prepared yourself to enjoy, only to be let down… no bueno!!!
The menu on the wall under the Neapolitan selection does recommend that you use a fork and knife, as a parent, I do not see a child, who wants pizza, to use a fork and knife, and given how soggy the pizza is, I do not think the parent would want pizza sauce and toppings all over the child’s clothes, let alone their own.
I hope that they work this place works out, because they have a great concept, and the staff again is just amazing, they try hard to make your experience at 800 Degrees an enjoyable one, but the overall product fails.
One other issue, remembers those stunning marble floors I spoke of? They are carried throughout the restaurant, even in the restrooms. When visiting the men’s room, there is a mat under the urinal, which slips right out from under your feet, and I actually hit my head (I am 6’1) on the light fixture right above the said urinal, and my partner did the same thing, not good.
As of this writing, I would not return to 800 Degrees based on the finished product that is offered, if they were to change the technique in which the pizzas were made (no olive oil, and definitely no water based cheeses) I would consider returning.
In summary, you will get great service, but at the price of a less than great pizza!
Ciao!!!

800 Degrees Rocks!
Best new place to eat in Evanston. GREAT Neapolitan pizza at reasonable price. Great for families or a big group. We eat here at least once a week. Picked up a 10 pizza’s for a party last Tuesday. A little known fact… follow 800 Degrees on Instagram for the $ 5 weekday pizza special. We got 8 and two others. Forget Blaze around the corner. 800 Degrees restaurant is big, nice deco, clean with plenty of seating space. Wine, Beer (bottles and on tap), good salads, sides and appetizers and the Pizza is the real thing! It’s like being in Italy! This will be your go to spot for a quick wood fired pizza in Evanston or the North Shore!

If you’ve only tried BLAZE PIZZA… you are totally missing out by not coming to this gem! Seriously, my wife, son, and I have eaten at BLAZE for the past year, but no more. On a whim we decided to give 800 DEGREES a try as a post Christmas treat and we are BEYOND HAPPY we did.
First the atmosphere is very comfortable, warm, a bit «up scale» but inviting. Great music from downtempo chill to Stevie Wonder played in the background as the friendly and knowledgable staffed helped us build our 3 pizza pies.
The pies – yes they have some unique specialty options, but the build your own is where it’s at. 3 crust options to start you off (gluten-​free being one of them), then you move to 4 different sauce bases beginning at $ 5.55 some with or without cheese (vegan cheese is available – it was great). Then you dive into an enormous selection of fresh ingredients ($ 1 per topping) and the fare ranges from standards like pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, green peppers, and red onions, to unique toppings such as: bacon marmalade, soppressata, kalamata olives, capers, pine nuts – even a cracked fried egg in the center of the pizza!!! (I had the egg and it was tasty.)
Our 3 custom pizzas ranged in price from $ 8 — $ 11. My wife and son tend to be picky eaters (both are vegetarian and dabble with vegan foods) and as they took a skeptical first bite (they were grumbling and hoping it was «as good as BLAZE») their eyes lit up. My wife let out a deep satisfying sigh with a smile and my son, mouth half full exclaimed «THIS IS AMAZING!!!» (All three of us had the crispy crust.)
Will we be back? …oh yes!!! They’ve only been open about 9 weeks and deserve your patronage. It won’t break the bank and you won’t regret it. BTW, they have fresh gelato, wine, and beer too. :)
As this kids say these days, «Hey BLAZE, bye Felicia!» This is our new jam. I highly recommend 800 DEGREES!

I was there today for the first time and I tried the Specialty PIe Sausage and Peppers.
The PROS…
1) The décor is awesome you wouldn’t think this is a pizza place
2) Very clean
3) The staff is welcoming and they offer you suggestion
4) Fast service
5) Outer crush was crispy – perfect in my opinion
6) They sell booze
The CONS…
1) Very little condiments, I literally had 4 pieces of arugula in my pizza
2) The bottom/​inner crush soggy, everything fell off when I grabbed a slice
3) Not very flavorful
In comparison to other similar establishments in the vicinity, I would stick to Blaze. Its the same price but I feel that I get more at Blaze

It’s the first location in all of Illinois. And, interestingly enough this small chain has locations in Dubai and Japan.
The process is a bit like Chipotle where you can build your own pizza in the line, or you can choose from select combinations. It’s a little complex like Allie P mentions, because there is a lot of decision making right up front, starting with the crust (yes, they have gluten free). For someone who is hungry, be prepared to spend a little time ordering if you’re a first-​timer like I was. This is my public apology to those hungry regulars I made wait while I figured out my order.
Here’s the deal. The product appears fresh. It’s good! My pizza with spinach, red peppers, olive oil and cheese was tasty… don’t get me wrong. I did have to ask for extra ingredients while they were building my pizza. Don’t be afraid to ask, because you’ll end up with a semi-​burned pizza like my dining partner’s, honestly because I think there wasn’t enough stuff on it. They made him a new one, and the manager said they are still working out portion sizes.
Overall, it was a good value. It was one of those situations where I was in the area and just happened to stop in. Would I go out of my way in the future? Considering Evanston is a little out of the way for me, probably not.
For those who want a new place to study, they do seem to have ample table space. I saw a bunch of people on laptops, so I assume they have WiFi.
Give these nice guys a chance, but remember they are in the newbie phase too ;-)

What a disappointment! 800 degrees pitches its ingredients as superior to other new concept pizza places — and some of the veggies, such as the broccolini — are quite nice. However, the staff is untrained, the vibe is chaotic, and twice in a row the pizza has turned out to be mushy, limp, and salty. I had to teach my pizza maker which item an artichoke was. The atmosphere appears posh from outside, but is actually just a fast food joint with sports TVs. Disappointing enough to post a review!

I love the idea of this place and I think it could great with a little work. We got two pizzas, the sausage and peppers as well as the bianco. The pizzas themselves were just ok. The sausage was a bit off though. It just didn’t taste right.
We also ordered a chopped salad as well and again, both my wife and I noticed the meat was just not right. Unfortunately, it was inedible for us and we wasted $ 10.
I’ll give them another shot because I want this to work.

I recall someone doing private house parties/​underground cooking, who did the 800 degrees pizza concept. I don’t know if this unrelated famous chef used 800 degrees or higher, but regardless I understand the idea. Which would be more interesting if you they weren’t just using standard wood-​fired stoves in the back. So, minus one star in theory because this place has absolutely nothing to do with 800 degrees. I mean look at their own page about concept:
However, their about page highlights the truth of something they do indeed do well — faithful to italy pizza. While it is very fast-​food-​ish, the menu is extremely faithful to Italian pizza styles, including their salad and portions.
I had the burrata with beets & balsamic, and the burrata was extremely fresh and delicious. I do love a good burrata cheese. It was, however, extremely small.
Meanwhile, the Tartufo and Zucca pizzas I tried were amazing. Likewise in their continuance of the Italian concept, the pizzas were sized for an individual — not unlike what you’d see at Union pizza or Trattoria DOC. All of the pizzas were well made, and fit with the style I recall from Rome — where you don’t have an excess of tomato sauce and you aren’t looking at a deep dish. It’s more like foccacia meets flatbread.
The restaurant itself felt very, very fast-​food ish though. Oh, and they do have highchairs for children.

I agree with the other reviewers on this spot — this is in a beautiful space with a very promising setup. But 3 things really need to be worked on to make this an enjoyable experience. Preparation time, price, and food flavor.
I went there about 3 weeks into the opening, by then — it still took a very long time to prepare the pizzas. I was about to leave the first time because of how long it took to get to the start of the preparation (choosing the dough) then was surprised at how long it took to put on ingredients and make it to the cashier and then still had to wait several more minutes until I actually received the order. At pretty much every other pizza place I’ve been to, it’s been no more than 10 minutes to get in and out, even when busy. Ideally, when not busy, my pizza is completed minutes after paying the cashier.
Second is price — The crust + simple base is already 6 – 7 dollars before any additional toppings are added (at about a dollar each). Compared to say Pie Five which is $ 7 filled with unlimited toppings or MOD also at $ 7.87 with unlimited toppings. Or even Lou Malnati’s which is only around $ 7 for a personal pizza.
Last, the food was nothing special at all. The bases didn’t contain much flavor and the toppings didn’t add much flavor to the pizza. They weren’t bad but they lacked any distinguishable personality and were completely unmemorable.
Nice concept, and the ingredients are definitely a bit higher end — but could use a few improvements.

Here’s the thing: 800 degrees is fine. It’s okay. It tastes pretty good.
It’s just not excellent and, given how much I ADORE Blaze, it’s just not necessary. I went here once for the novelty of it, and because the space is beautiful, but I just can’t see myself going again.
The portion sizes are smaller and less satisfying, the wait is longer and service was spotty — my pizza had completely cooled by the time I got it, and one of our pizzas wasn’t sliced. I guess we were supposed to roll it up and eat it like a burrito?

How does 800 Degrees compare to Blaze Pizza? The food quality is similar, but the execution is much worse at 800 Degrees. In particular, at 800 Degrees:
1) they hand-​form the pizza dough, results of which varied with the staff member on dough duty
2) there were no oregano, chili flakes, or parmesan dispensers available
3) they use an annoying paper ticket system, in which you take a ticket from the food prep area, show that ticket to the cashier to pay, and then have to give the ticket when you get your food
4) the interior, despite its beauty, is all hard surfaces that amplify the regular noise (music, sounds from the food prep area, and people talking), and the result is an unpleasantly loud dining experience

I just dined here for the first time this evening with my wife. This establishment is similar to Blaze Pizza down the street, however it is slightly more upscale.
Regarding the restaurant itself, it is decorated very tastefully. I especially liked the copper ceiling tiles and marble tables. On the other hand, I HATED how loud the music was. This alarming trend among new restaurants is downright annoying and I can’t stand trying to hold a conversation while some terrible pop music is being blasted in the background.
My wife and I both ordered pizzas with the original Neapolitan crust. I got the Bianca base and she got the Margherita base. She added a few veggies as her toppings and I added spinach and meatball. I thought the pizzas were perfectly cooked and had better flavor than Blaze. If you get a traditional pizza with red sauce, your pizza does run the chance of being slightly soggy and will require a fork and knife. I recommend the Bianca because of the lack of sauce and the extra flavor the garlic and oil provided. I will certainly not hesitate to return.

Went to 800 Degrees with some coworkers on their opening day. The space is really well done, with high arching ceilings and handsome wood floors. Feels like it should be in the heart of the old Union Station or something like that.
Everyone was really friendly on opening day. You pick your crust and then your base sauce/​ingredients which determines the base price. They have several to choose from with varying prices. You can then add any ingredients you want but it’s a dollar/ingredient…even for vegetables. The ingredients also aren’t labeled which made it hard to tell what all they had to offer. I think the +$ 1/​ingredient needs to be better labeled on the menu.
Pizza was solid. It definitely doesn’t compare to the legit Neapolitan pizza places in Chicago, like a Spacca Napoli or Pizzeria Da Nella. I have to agree with a few of the other reviews that the pizza was pretty greasy as well.
I’m sure they’re still working out the kinks! I’m definitely open to going again in a month or two and giving it another shot, but as of now I prefer Blaze.

I had good expectations coming here after having a fun dinner at Umami Burger a year ago. They are owned by the same parent company so I was hoping for better food and experience.
The space is beautiful and the attention to aesthetics is great. It is the same concept as Blaze just across the block but additional toppings are about a dollar each on top of a $ 6 sauce. I ordered a Zucca (white sauce, bacon, onions, and some yam or potato thing) just to try something different. With no sides and drinks it came to just under $ 10.
My criticisms begin here. Although the female staff workers were friendly, I am not sure the male workers knew what they were doing. Their disinterest is really off-​putting especially on opening weekend! From what I understand the pizza is cooked at an extremely high heat for a minute. It was 2 PM and I was waiting for almost 10 minutes for my pizza when the place was nearly empty. The best word I can describe my pizza was wet. Things were sliding, the dough was soggy like wet noodles, and the the thing was way more oily and greasy than I expected. The freaking pizza was lukewarm when they called my name. It felt like it was par-​baked in a convection oven. After finishing I felt very heavy and frankly not very happy either. It’s opening weekend, but I really expected better enthusiasm and most importantly better food. I would opt for Blaze next time.