Pepi’s Pizza

Long time fan of Pepi’s. They have great pizza and have long catered to local youth groups, hosting several small banquets for teams I have coached and they have photos of local sports teams under glass on their tables. They have been here for years and one of my first memories was of the original owner standing in the window flipping dough when I first moved to the area. While the pizza is great, recently made a discovery that I was previously unaware of. Wed-​Sat from 11AM-​3PM they apparently have a luncheon special where for $ 5 you can get a choice of several items (I highly recommend the sausage sandwich) and a beverage and it includes tax. I’m a big eater and the sandwich is huge with sauce and cheese and probably the best lunch deal in town.

Ordered a large pizza and 20 boneless wings. The pizza was ok but the «wings» came as sauce less popcorn chicken and NOT boneless wings (only half of the order had actual chicken) which was disappointing

Ordered a small pizza and 10 (jumbo) garlic/​parmesan wings. Pizza was bland and very undercooked, wings were far from jumbo and had a fishy taste to them. After telling them about the wings, our server said it had to have been the parmesan that made them taste that way. Wings were taken off the bill. Needless to say this was my first and only time there. Never again.

Would have left half a star or no stars if I could. Had the smallest and worst wings I have ever had. Got a order of hot and bbq wings they were foul. My pizza was not much better there was no tomato sauce on it. I will never eat there again. I use to go all the time as a kid. Used to love this place now I am warning everyone stay away.

Maybe I should wait a while before I write about our experience at Pepi’s in Oneida tonight. This was by far one of our worst restaurant experiences on all fronts. Our waitress was less than pleasant and when she had the opportunity to apologize for the neglect she deflected all responsibility. We were celebrating my granddaughter’s birthday. She had on a birthday button and a birthday girl sash. What waitress would not take this opportunity to engage with her guests and join in the celebration or at least acknowledge the birthday girl? Not our waitress. We had to ask for our drinks after 20 – 30 minutes, remind her we did not get one of the two salads we ordered, finally got our second glass of choclate milk after at least 20 minutes, never got checked on, had to go find someone else to get a take home box for our pizza and to get our check. Finally, once we decided we needed to tell management the girl at the front was speechless because apparently there was no manager there! Shocking! We wanted to voice a complaint and our waitress showed up! When I told her our experience was not a good one she responded «What table were you at»! She didn’t even know I was one of her customers! That says it all.
We will save our tip money for the waitress that makes us feel welcome.

Pepi’s pizza is delicious – thin, crisp, and cheesy. It’s a local favorite, and there are a handful of Pepi’s locations throughout Oneida and the surrounding towns. The Oneida location is popular with families and kids because of its vintage arcade and playful vibe. (Side note: this is a great place for enthusiasts of classic arcade games, all of which are still in working order!)
The Oneida restaurant was recently renovated and has a much more modern look than it once did. Yes, it’s brighter, more updated and probably cleaner than it was before. Still, I miss the dim lighting and vintage feel of the old place. It felt like it had been stuck in time from the ‘80s. I can see why they felt the need to renovate but I’m sad that the old Pepi’s is gone forever. They have tried to retain elements of the original restaurant (the old glass Pepsi lampshades, the game room, the toy train, even a handwritten list of game room rules that surely must be thirty years old) but it’s not quite the same. Feels like the end of an era.

To everyone who has written a positive review of this particular pizzeria: am I missing something? Horrendously overpriced ($ 10 for ten chicken wings? $ 25 for specialty pizza? Really really???), with overly-​sweet seemingly canned sauce, really ridiculously under-​cooked dough that even tasted raw, frozen meatballs billed as homemade, soggy bread, ersatz cheese, and to top it all off, burnt coffee (but that’s only a dollar). A connecting gelato place with «homemade» ice cream (but there’s that big Hershey’s logo right there on the menu). Come on, guys. Oneida is only a 20 minute drive from actual good pizza in Utica or really any number of places. Are you delusional? Adjust your medication please. Oh, I gave two stars because I have to admit, the service is really excellent. We had a great waitress. And it’s neat looking inside with the Pepsi light fixtures and the trains. Just do something about the food, ok?

Out of all the people who said this is the best pizza and crust around, I want to thank for the heads up on NOT getting any more pizza! I wasn’t impressed at all with crust where it still taste doughy. The hole experience just made me think I was back in grade school because that is how it looked and taste. Just not a fan of the tiny square pieces.

They have the best pizza around. My favorite is the red sweeties and pepperoni pizza the wings are okay. Their waitresses are very nice always there to see if you need something. I also like the old-​fashioned game room they have.

Great pizza!!! Ordered the stuffed pizza and spicy garlic boneless wings, and what a great dinner!!! Service was great as we were at a hotel near by!!! Will go there everytime we come back!!!

It’s okay I guess. There is never enough cheese. There will be 2 – 3 slices with no cheese at all, wtf? I like my cheese golden brown. Every time I ask for it, my pizza is under cooked. I’ve stopped ordering pizza from them.

Blah-Pepi’s used to be the best in town, but when Tony stepped down everything changed. The wings are a waste of money, while the sauce is good-​they have been raw on more than one occasion! The staff is not very friendly or efficient. It’s better than Little Caesars…

I originally gave it something like three stars, but I went recently and it was amazing.
I am not sure if they have someone new in the back, but the pizza I get that is usually soggy and not really cooked was awesomely crispy and tasty.
Someone got it right! Can only hope it continues. The service was great, too. Maybe they worked out some kinks?

My favorite pizza in Oneida. There’s a reason they have been around forever. Everything is good but the pizza and polla are the best.

Best pizza I’ve had. Get it every time we’re in the area. Delicious crust with the combination of the cheese and sauce… mmm. Savory and not sweet sauce makes the pizza. The best part? You get to play arcade games while you wait.

I really don’t understand why so many locals like this place. The pizza here is ok at best. The cheese tastes artificial and greasy, and the sauce is rather flavorless. The worst thing about Pepi’s though is the service. I have never had good service here. Most of the waitresses act like they hate their jobs, and it creates such a negative atmosphere. The food also takes forever to come out, even when it isn’t busy. I gave this restaurant so many chances just because it seems to be treasured by the local residents, but it just doesn’t measure up. If you want good local pizza and friendly service, go to Christopher’s instead.

Oh Pepi’s of old… what happened to you? Is it me? Did I leave and get a taste of what pizza is really supposed to taste like? Because honestly, I used to compare every slice of pizza to what I *remember* your pizza tasting like. Did you change the recipe? And seriously. You’re in central New York — you know that wings are one flavor, with three levels of spicy — why would you try to get all gourmet, and have flavored chicken wings? You should be ashamed of yourself. I’m still giving you three stars for the retro video games. That’s still awesome.

You know as well as I do that the sauce makes or breaks a pizza. Well this place has the best in Madison County in NY. Try the Green Olives and Ham.

Greasy pizza with too much garlic. Antipasto salad is a joke. Iceberg lettuce with ½ tomato and 2 – 3 olives (and pricey at that). I know it’s an Oneida institution, but give me Pizza Hut any day. Service is spotty, and not always friendly.

Great pizza and a great history. We passed through town from Chicago and we’re so glad we came across Pepis instead of some lame fast food place. Don’t want to ruin any surprises but kids will love the décor and game room.
It’s just great old-​school pizza, fluffy crust, simple tomato-​pastey sauce, and good crispy pepperoni. The wings were pretty great, too.