Pudgy’s Pizzeria

Had an overall great experience here! My friend and I were very well taken care of from the moment we walked in by who I assume is the owner. The deep dish pizza we had was fantastic. Best overall pizza I’ve had in Omaha, definitely recommend.

Pudgy’s is a family favorite. Many people think it closed down after Pudgy died, but they are still open and ready to serve you pizza! They do decent Chicago-​style deep dish pizza, which is very hard to find in Omaha. They other styles of crust are good too. They put lots of toppings on their pies.
If you live nearby, be sure and check this pizza place out.

This is by far my favorite pizza in Omaha. If it wasn’t so expensive, I’d go a lot more often. You can thank places like Little Caesar’s for that. But if you’re really looking for the best Chicago style pizza around, Pudgy’s is the best!

Have never been disappointed here. Deep dish is authentic takes a while to cook but it’s well worth it.

This is our go to pizza place. Iv had there food dozens of time and it has never let us down. I think we order cheese bread sticks once and it came out regular breadsticks lol so if that’s the worse thing that happens after eating there 30 times then I’d say that’s pretty awesome. everyone is so nice and the pizza is always on time.

Never really having had deep dish pizza before, I was pleasantly surprised with Pudgy’s. It appears to be a family owned joint, and their specialty is Chicago style deep dish. The dough was great, and I really enjoyed the sauce. But for me the kicker was the excellent Italian sausage. Too often places never really get the flavor right. Well Pudgy’s is not one of those places. I’d come back again, and I’m someone who still prefers thin crust lol. The lady who seemed to run the joint was extraordinarily friendly and always going back and forth to make sure the customers were ok and enjoying their food.

Bought a 3 topping large pizza. Had next to NO toppings on it. I talked to the owner and she assured me that the pizza was supposed to be covered in toppings and that what I got was not correct. I went back about 45 days later to redeem the credit she gave me, got the same pizza I got the first time. $ 20 for the pizza I received was a waste of time and money. At least what was there tasted good? Never again.

Between people’s recommendations and the recent story in the local paper, I really wanted to like this place.
However, I was sadly disappointed.
I’ve eaten Chicago style *in* Chicago. Lou Malnati’s is one of my favorites.
We went in on a Sunday evening and the place was empty. I doubt any wait staff other than the owner was over 17.
We placed our order for a simple Chicago style with cheese bread and two salads.
Our appetizer was basically large hotdog buns, flattened, with garlic butter and topped in cheese?
Then, after our pizza arrived we realized we had not seen our salads.
As for the pizza, the crust portion the toppings rested on was very very thin.
However the edges were super thick and flopped over.
The edges were almost burnt as well.
The toppings were so spare and the vegetables chopped so small it was like looking at a Totino’s pizza.
We promptly received a refund on the salads and overall were bummed this place didn’t live up to our expectations.
The owner is super sweet and I wish her the best.
We won’t be going back.

Stopped in here on a visit to Omaha as I had heard it was the best pizza in town. It didn’t disappoint. I’m a deep dish connoisseur and this ranks among the best I’ve had. Sauce was just right and the toppings were fresh and crisp. I don’t know what anyone would go to a chain place when they had this as an alternative.

One of my favorite places for deep dish pizza in Omaha. The meat lovers is my favorite. I’ve only had the Chicago style (thick crust/​sauce on top) and it’s great stuff.

I ordered a thin crust pepperoni pizza. When I order a thin crust pizza I sort of expect there to be a little crispiness to the crust. This was soft and limp thin crust pizza. Sauce was okay and toppings were good, but crust was a bit of a turn off. Overall, their pizza is just pretty average. I’m not sure what people are so obsessed with. Is it that you can order deep dish here?
When we ate here the previous September I remember it being better. The place is obviously popular and there is a steady stream of carry-​out customers.
I never know how to rate a place when it’s mostly just okay. Considering this place is four stars I am going to have to label it as «over-​rated» and so give it two stars.
I guess I am more of a NY style pizza guy and so I’ll stick with Don Carmelo’s and Zio’s. Then again, I also like what I call «homemade style» and Big Fred’s, Bernie’s, or Mama’s are good for that.

I was excited to try Pudgy’s because is all the good reviews on Unilocal.I even drive across town to pick it up. It was solid pizza, but I was a little disappointed considering all the hype. I heard that the owner is very ill, so maybe that affected the quality.
I ordered the Chicago style pizza in Cheeseburger. It reminded me of eating a sloppy joe pie. It was topped with mustard and pickles. I actually would’ve like more pickles.
My sister ordered a gluten free pizza, and I tried a slice. I have to applaud them for making a homemade gluten free crust, but it was a little dry. She ordered supreme pizza, and I thought the sauce was lacking flavor. Maybe that happens with gluten free?
In conclusion, I would get Pudgy’s if I was in the area or a friend wanted to go, but I would not make a special trip for carry out.

I should first say that I grew up in Chicago and I have had deep dish Chicago pizza probably more then 200 times. That being said, unless I want to go to Chicago this is the best I am going to get in Omaha. The stuffed pepperoni is my favorite and it is pretty good. Is it giordanos, no, Leona’s, no. But for a local joint it does the trick. Pudgy is an old school restaurant owner and shows this every time I go, he puts the customer first. They even have old style most times I go.

I hate their obnoxious radio ads. «Pudgy» sounds like a jerk. So I was primed for a crappy experience. My expectations were blown away. The woman at the register was an older woman with dark hair who was super friendly and caring. This started the evening off right. Our cheese bread came out well in advance before our pizza. The pizza came out and OMG… who cares that people are saying that it’s not authentic Chicago style pizza. Does it taste good? Hell yeah! The nice woman even came over and checked on us and filled up my son’s drink (it’s not a traditional wait-​staff style restaurant).
Ignore their radio ads and give it a shot!

I’m not sure how this place remains a secret. Pudgy does it right. Not totally authentic Chicago pies, but the closest I can find in Omaha. I’ve explored some of the other pies though and they are awesome too. I think its in the sauce. I love it. Extremely casual dining area and expect to wait a while but it will be worth it. I usually order for carry out. Pudgy and his wife are usually in here working hard and have a great attitude. I wish them much success with this place because they deserve it. Easily in my top 5 favorite pizza joints ever.

Reading the previous reviews, I gotta say I’m really surprised., because I don’t find this the BEST deep dish pizza at all. Now I love the owner, Pudgy, he is a very nice guy and ALWAYS does the right thing. However, as much as I hate to admit this, we have NEVER received an order from here that was either cooked properly (usually under cooked) and/​or the order was simply incorrect. Now, Pudgy has always rectified our issues, but that usually means that we have to wait an hour plus for a replacement or simply cook it ourselves, which never tastes the same.
As far as the taste of the product, it’s ok and certainly a treat in the pizza vaccum that is Omaha; however, it seems as time has gone on that the quality of the product seems to becoming less fresh and tasty. Like I said, its not a bad choice, but Zio’s and Don Carmelo’s is a much better pie.

For Omaha, this place is the definative deep dish pizza… but probably for anywhere else where deep dish is the norm it may not be. So we will take this from an Omaha point of view. Its good pizza, filling, pizza… hence the name. Not really the origin of the name, I know, but if they will add some girth to you.
I did a pick up here one night and took them up on their Meat Treat pizza… just a deep, meaty, saucey thing of a pizza that may have to be fork and knived (I still refused to… it got messy). And I can go on and on that it was a good pizza I would start to sound redundant. So its worth the trip on that merit. But its a bit pricey. A deep dish pizza that is 12″ across is almost $ 20. I don’t know what that seems a bit much for me especially to take part in what this place is suppose to specialize in.
To their credit they do give you this lil pizza magnet thingies and if you collect 10 you get $ 15 off… still won’t get you a 12″ Meat Treat for free but that would mean you’d have to get 10 12″ Meat Treats (about $ 200) to get almost a free 12″ Meat Treat. At least they say you can use each lil magnet on its own for a $ 1.50 off your order.
So to summarize: Good pizza but I’ll take a star off because to engage in what their big pull is it is a bit steep. Eat up Minions!

I won’t bore you with details you can read elsewhere; Jim L has it right. This isn’t Chicago style pizza.
That being said, it’s also not terrible pizza. Mediocre is a good word for it. It’s better than delivery, worse than take and bake. Overall, worth it if you’re nearby and want to eat out. Traditionally I’d give this sort of C-​Student establishment a long, wordy review and 3 stars, but a) Jim already covered the details excellently and b) Pudgy’s commercials and radio appearances just make me want to punch him. So I gave him 2 stars. Be less of a tool, and I’ll up you to the 3 stars your food earned buddy.

Great pizza. Great staff that you won’t find at a large chain. the guy working the register was very kind. I want to go back.

Let’s start by talking about the big stuff. Chicago style deep dish, right?
No.
No no no no no. No way, no how. Not even close.
I ordered the stuffed pizza. First thing I notice is the edge rolled like a calzone. Not traditional, but not a big deal. So I start by tasting the crust. Chicago style pizza starts with the crust. There’s some minor variation among Uno, Due, Giordano’s, Malnati’s, Gino’s, and that little place I can’t remember the name of over in Hyde Park by Medici’s, but they’re all pretty much the same. Low-​protein flour, a high oil (olive) content, blended just until mixed well, not long enough for gluten development, yielding a soft, almost biscuit-​like crust with a slightly crispy exterior and a light (some would complain «bland») flavor. Gino’s puts yellow food coloring in theirs, but otherwise just the same.
You see, a Chicago deep dish pizza is actually a fairly delicate thing, flavor-​wise. It’s not especially spicy on its own; the flavor is all in the toppings you choose. Pudgy’s is something else entirely. It’s a very developed dough, lots of texture, chewy, and dense. It starts out with the cheese first, and the sauce goes on top, which is all classic Chicago, but the crust kills any resemblance. A Chicago deep dish should look like the picture I have on my profile. Made that in my own kitchen. Best Chicago pizza I’ve had in Omaha.
But you know what? Forget about Chicago style. I’m still giving this place a bunch of stars, because that thick gooey chewy pizza tastes awfully good. Doesn’t taste like a Chicago deep dish at all (if you’re curious, get one of the frozen Uno pizzas from Super Target; it’s not precisely right, but way closer than anything else in this town)(except my kitchen), but it’s darned good. The cheese is top quality, the sauce has a nice balance of savory with a slight hint of tomatoey (I swear that’s a word) sweetness, and the sausage is full of fennel and very flavorful. As far from real Chicago as Old Chicago is, but a far superior product to the mediocre Old Chicago. I just wish it wasn’t halfway to Lincoln from where I live.
I know I’ve had pizza like this before. Somewhere in central Illinois, though I can’t remember where. Urbana, most likely. Yeah (leaning back, opening a beer) I remember when… oh, sorry, where was I?
Right. Pudgy’s. Give these guys your business. The pizza’s darned good, and unique in Omaha. Just ignore the Chicago thing. Pretend you never saw it. Everything’ll be all right.