Geppetto’s Pizza And Pasta

This place is an Oak Park establishment. We recently revisited our old haunt and were pleasantly surprised. The garlic bread was crunchy, warm, and lightly. We had the chicken Marsala and eggplant parmigiana. The chicken dish was generous with abundant mushrooms and a nice done just right vegetable medley of broccoli, zucchini and carrots. The eggplant parmigiana was two nicely done breaded pieces. Entrees come with homemade soup or a crisp salad with lettuce, onions, cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes with a nice choice of dressings. It is still a reliable neighborhood place for dinner or a pizza. We will come back for the pizza.

Worst panini ive ever had was from here. Sometimes they are good, but three bad meals in a row was the last straw.
Side note, if you ever do go here and want a bbq pizza, get it without the disgusting salty olives.

PLEASE FOR YOUR HEALTH… STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. Let me just start out by saying that this review is not written by a customer, rather by the wife of a former employee. Believe me… I’m not writting this review out of spite, but just to educate people who frequent this establishment. My husband lasted literally 3 days there because he couldn’t handle working in a place with a MAJOR ROACH INFESTATION. On his last day (again he wasn’t fired but left because of the deplorable conditions) he was walking into the cooler in the kitchen and a cockroach fell on his shoulder wtf! He immediately brought it to the attention of the manager and was basically told that they were aware of the situation and working on resolving it. But come on… an infestation like that doesn’t happen over just a couple of days. It was sooo bad that when he lifted one of the mats behind the bar to mop the floor he said you could just see about 20 cockroaches scatter. He was told by the manager to «just wrap the bus pans at the end of the night to keep the roaches out» WHAT!!! Wtf r u guys thinking? I was born and raised in Oak Park and luckily I never frequented this place. I honestly don’t know how they even pass their health inspection. They should be condemned until further notice. My husband has worked in many palces in his 20 plus years in the hospitality business and said he never experienced anything like this before. We put a call in voicing our concerns to the Village of Oak Park asking them to get a health inspector over there asap. whether or not thats happend. I can’t be certain of. PLEASE AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAUGE. until you can confirm that they passed a recent health inspection. I really am genuinely concerned for everyone who eats there or orders delivery from this place… especially the kids or the elderly… anyone with a weakend immune system please stay away. My husband and I have both worked in the hospitality industry and know that this is absolutely unacceptable.

My mother, sister and I just had a FABULOUS birthday lunch at Geppetto’s on Sunday, 1/10/2016…the food was delicious, from the soup to the appetizer to the main course. My mother had the Tilapia (she LOVED it), my sister had the Salmon and I had eggplant parmesan; my only minor issue is that I ordered the eggplant sandwich, but was brought the eggplant dinner (charged for the sandwich), but no big deal, still wonderful! Their portions are very generous for the price! We will definitely be back (and soon)!

Second time here first was average at best. Had groupon so we came as it was last day we could use it. Service was bad to say the least. Brought me wrong drink and took my wife’s drink order just to come back and say they don’t have that. We were only the 3^rd table in place. Not busy you should know what is 86d. Food took forever and tasted bad. Chick parm tasted like was frozen breaded chicken dethawed in micro then just dropped in fryer and served. Wife’s dish came with wrong sauce. Server never asked how good was it came to see if we needed another round of drinks. Then when we barely ate anything and asked for bill she did not ask if anything was wrong. Salad bar looked old and not well kept. This place needs huge makeover in every aspect. Bathrooms were disgusting place is not very welcoming.

sauce is too sweet. whether it’s the pizza or pasta, it’s like one part tomato 10 parts sugar.
on a personal note, had a horrible delivery experience two weeks back, wife ordered chicken parm, delivery came without the spaghetti that was supposed to accompany, driver explained something to the effect that it would be delivered by someone else, 1 HOUR LATER another guy brings it in a soaked through bag as it had leaked, this is 30 minutes after we had finished our dinner mind you, who the hell is going to wait an hour after food is delivered? Called the restaurant to complain, explanation was driver called to ask if he should deliver this in its condition, I’m not sure what idiot said sure go ahead, and we were offered a $ 3.50 credit. Gee thanks. The food itself wasn’t good enough to justify dealing with this nonsense, and I have a pretty short leash when it comes to delivery as there are tons of other places to order from. That’s exactly what we’re going to do from now on.

Always delivers the GOOD goods, as promised. Nice service personnel. I have not visited in person for some time but delivery — pizza — is always hot and typically arrives as promised. Had only one bad experience, approx. 8 months ago. Late delivery, food (something other than pizza) not good. Received $ 10 food credit, used it today. NICE delivery person.

I ordered the eggplant dinner without cheese, it took about 20 minutes for bread & salad, and there was only 2 other tables of people, empty… They screwed up the order and had to remake it, so they offered a free salad bar… I already had my salad, very goofy… Salad bar was very sad and probably not refilled since they opened… The dinner, after about 45 minutes of waiting, very dissapointing, super thin eggplant, very fried with too much bread crumbs, and the sauce was so bland, tasted like canned sauce… I have been a patron since the 80’s when at times it was very packed house, no longer… They need to take a tip from Eric’s Deli — 2 doors away from them… Close down, regut this very dated place, and update to todays standards, foodwise, & atmosphere…

Been going to this restaurant for over 30 years. This experience was the worst; non-​responsive waitress, couldn’t get our very simple order straight. Salad bar was disgusting with creamy soup with a thick film on top, yellowing lettuce and old looking chicken, cheese, cut up veggies (all less than half full containers), pizza bread looked and tasted like it had been there for hours. My husband said that men’s restroom stunk, was dirty. He feels lucky that he never received his food.

The pizza was pretty standard nothing in particular really stood out. I do appreciate that they have a gluten free option. The reason for a 3 star because the employee I ordered from didn’t seem to really care and the tone of her voice seem like it was an inconvenience that I chose to eat here which I personally think dampened the mood. I experienced employees who are up beat and at least sound happy I tend to return as a regular.

Came in for a slice of pizza with my girlfriend and we weren’t greeted. Asked to sit down and we were told to clean up after ourselves. Very prejudice.

Like these guys for taking my late order for just 2 slices of pizza made fresh right before close. Way above and beyond, you guys rock!

Deserves the 2-​ish stars as it is fantastically average. Boring salad, boring pizza, flat-​tasting sauce. Not TERRIBLE but not good in any way really. Only recommended if you’re looking to fill your belly with bleh.

I think our waitress was stoned. We were 1 of 2 tables in the joint and our order was pretty messed up.
Besides that, the lobster and crab ravioli tasted like dirt. There’s a difference between Al Dente and undercooked.
The only time I’ll write a bad Unilocal review is when I’m on the toilet 15 minutes after eating, pooping my brains out because the crab/​lobster was probably old.

Ohhh Geppetto’s! I’ve had such great memories with you! You were my favorite pizza delivery spot while living in Oak Park for many years…
I needed to find out if my pizza memories here were still on point, so I was excited when my sister mentioned finding a Groupon deal for $ 20 (2 glasses of wine & Med. one topping pizza included) & said: «Wanna meet me in Oak Park at Geppetto’s for pizza»?. She & I lived in Oak Park together for a year, and while she’s been teaching here for over a decade, we both have fond memories eating Geppetto’s together… I of course, could not wait to be reunited with this unique pizza again…
Walking in around 4ish on a Thur., the place was empty. Our server immediately seated us in our booth and gladly accepted our Groupon… no issues of any kind.
We ordered the fried zucchini app, 5 cheese roasted red pepper and basil thin crust specialty pizza & I had a small bowl of pasta fagioli. Everything was served right away — wine, then came the fried zucchini… these were thick cut portions of crispy fried, tender zucchini and really very good (not greasy at all)…so fresh and hot, served with side of marinara… she loved them. My pasta fagioli was not as brothy as traditional Italian style — it was more of a thick minestrone to me, but I will say this was very tasty, full of beans & vegetables with ground meat… I really enjoyed this…
The pizza? hmmmm… well…I was sort of bummed… let down… the crust was just not as thick and crisp as I remembered… it used to have more texture for a thin crust and I found this experience to be on the thinner side… maybe the difference was the fact that it was a specialty pizza? It was good, but didn’t knock my socks off as it had it in the past. The five cheese was full of cheese but not very distinguishable (fontina, buffalo, mozzarella, romano and smoked gouda). This was our first time trying this as we chose to get something different — had we ordered a sausage or mushroom pizza maybe it would have been closer to our past experiences… and my sister agreed. OR, maybe I’m just in denial, because I REALLY wanted to love this pizza again…(cries). :(
Leftovers were not as great the next day… crust got a little soggy.
The service here WAS OUTSTANDING though. Our server introduced us to the young Chef who brought our pizza (was ready in 10 min) and checked on us at least 3 or more times, ensuring we were pleased and had everything we needed… what a nice guy!!!
Aside from the OK pizza, everything was really great. I did notice the salad bar upon walking in and it needed to be ‘freshened up’ a bit… I might try the pizza again… but because I am such of fan of everything Oak Park has to offer (along with nostalgia) — I will definitely be back! 4 stars for excellent service, our delicious app & soup (and my sister’s company — i’ll give her 5 stars for that alone ;)
Ps…check out Groupon first, if its still offered, get it! GREAT deal. our balance was $ 8.00 pre-​tip!

OMG the 5-​cheese, roasted peppers and basil pan pizza is like so delicious I can’t even explain. Order that please.

It’s in a great location in downtown oak park, nice little hole in the wall.
But that’s it from what I could see.
Salad bar and soup just alright maybe a B, nothing to write home about by any means.
Not impressed.
If you like good salads with unusual offerings and fresh tastes this ain’t it.
Then others in our group ordered off the menu– oh no.
Took at least 30 maybe 40 minutes. Way too long.
Once it arrived was good enough.
The the tab was 85 $ for 4 adults and 2 kids.
Eh.
I’m a tourist and wanted some pizzaz; not here.

So heres the thing about this place. It was AWESOME in the 80s before food got really good around here. The pizza is good… and thats aboit it. I will say the drinks are cheap which is awesome and the service is fine. They NEED TO UPDATE EVERYTHING. This includes décor as well as food. Its still stuck in the 80s. Im not trying to down this place its been around since I was a kid and I would hate to see this place go. But… future looks grim.
Props on the marinara.

Review is based on carryout only (I’ve never dined in).
We choose to order here often because it’s some of the best local deep dish. I have lots of positive memories associated with Geppetto’s because I ate this pizza as a kid. It’s fun to still eat here as an adult. It’s our go-​to for hosting parties. Thin crust, deep dish, tons of toppings, or just cheese. I’ve had it all. Most recently, I enjoyed sausage deep dish, which was great. It’s not as heavy as other pizzas, but still a substantial indulgence. I also sampled a thin crust with a bunch of veggies, including red bell pepper. This isn’t a topping option for a lot of pizzas, so this was exciting for me. My vegetarian mother and girlfriend were certainly pleased, too.
I definitely prefer the deep dish to the thin crust, but I’m just a deep dish kind of guy. As I mentioned, I can’t speak for the dining-​in experience here. I noticed a lot of reviews have complained about the service, but I don’t have any complaints in that department. As a take-​out option, Geppetto’s is definitely a solid option. We always pick up, so I can’t speak to the speed of the delivery drivers. Man, I’m getting hungry just writing this review. Looks like it’s time for a trip to Geppetto’s in the near future!

This restaurant used to put out a decent meal but that was before the standards of what a customer expected for their $$ were enlightened. The salad bar offers a bowl of iceberg lettuce, a bowl of mixed iceberg with a little cabbage and carrot, obviously packaged and a bowl of spinach. Surrounded by massive amounts of kale for decoration! They «stretch» the tuna salad with potatoes. If you don’t want to do a salad bar right, stick to pizza. Check out the salad bar at Mariano’s or Whole Foods for a good selection. Even Eric’s deli just a few doors away does it better. the waiter greeted us at 1:40 with, we break down the lunch buffet at 2:00 sharp.
How does this place keep filling the seats? Must be customers coming out of habit or they’re tourists and made the wrong choice. Come on… step it up.

I have to give them a nod for excellent service: specifically to the dark-​haired, smiley and quick moving bus boy and the girl with the bird tattoo. (That’s more fun than reporting their names, yes?) They WERE fun. They were young-​early-​college age — but also professional — much appreciated.
Pizza by the slice was made to order and HOT. At a price of only $ 3.50 a slice, I had to try the «thin crust» (see photo.) It was «pretty darn good!» not «amazing» otherwise, we’d have five star here. If this review were based on the garlic dinner roll alone — five star. I don’t recollect that they have a full bar– beer n wine.
The restaurant is simple. A couple booths, a bunch of tables… bi-​level. I enjoyed a window seat.
I’d definitely recommend you give it a try if in the neighborhood.