Pompei of Westmont

Horrible food and service. That’s what happens when a wanna be restaurant owner has never worked a day in a restaurant.

I feel bad for these folks (hence the extra star). Seems like this restaurant is cursed — we’ve seen it come and go a few times now. Since the big sign out front says they’re under new ownership, we just tried some basic Italian staples; baked mostaccioli, cheese ravioli, and minestrone. I gotta say, I don’t know how you can manage to mess that up, but boy was it ever tasteless. And not farm-​to-​table «only organic» tasteless like some have the custom, but genuinely a mouthful of disappointment. And cup of broth and and two cups of pasta a minestrone does not make. I think it’s time for a new concept over there, because Mount Vesuvius has indeed buried Pompeii with choking mediocrity. Sorry.

We had lunch here over a week ago. It was our first time here, and my wife and I really liked it. The prices are reasonable for large portions of very tasty food. I ordered a strudel, which is a lot like a calzone, and it was delicious!
The atmosphere and décor reminded me of some old Italian American restaurants that I’ve been to, but it was obviously remodeled recently or very new, and they were playing Italian music as well. The restaurant was very clean, and the service was friendly.
I recommend this to anyone looking for great Italian food and a family friendly environment. I know we will return.

Definitely not like the old one in Oak Brook Terrace. Food was ok, served entrees before salad, brought out food that wasn’t ours several times. Just wasn’t as good as it used to be.

Recently I read an article about Pompeii on Taylor St being in an elite group of oldest restaurants in Chicago, with the article was a picture of a pepper and egg sandwich they supposedly specialized in, instead of heading to Taylor St, I knew they had recently opened up in Westmont, so I thought I’d throw them some business,
The building itself is nice with a nice patio in front, unfortunately the view is wasted by not so scenic Ogden ave traffic.
Inside is very clean with a Sbarro type service style window display for some items which had obviously sat too long, They have a small menu as well. The staff seamed pretty confused and unorganized allowing us to stand at the counter a little too long with no assistance, we were the only ones in line, intending on a carry out!
Once I got home I disappointedly found out this pepper and egg sandwich, supposedly topped w herbs and cheese, was nothing special at all, bread, eggs, undercooked peppers, and to my surprise, NO HERBS, and NO CHEESE, I was pretty annoyed because I actually asked for cheese when I ordered, but was redirected by the order taker reminding me it already had cheese on it. Come on Pompeii, how hard is it to make such a simple sandwich, I have to mention I also ordered a pasta dish to go, while waiting, they suddenly informed me they were out of Pesto. I doubt there were enough customers to have actually ran out of Pesto !
I wish them luck but have my doubts!
Sorry, just disappointed !

NEW OWNER SAME OLD CRAP. We went to Pompeii in Westmont last night March 3^rd for my 35^th birthday. Well upon pulling in the lot they looked closed, so I called in to see if they were in fact open, the young lady who answered the phone said «yeah we’re open». We were a party of 7 and upon walking in the door were overwhelmed of the stench of stale bread and pot smoke. We went and seated ourselves and put our coats on our chairs and proceed to the counter where the girl who had answered the phone was busy talking with some ghetto looking staff. No one acknowledged us, said hello or offered us anything to drink and we were standing there over 8 min by the drink portion of the counter. Then we moved over to the food side where some rotten looking strudel and pizza were frying under a heat light for god knows how long. Mom asked if they could make a salad to her liking and they said all they could serve was the food under the heating lamps as they needed to sell that first in order to not lose profit. This Place is a joke the last owner was sometimes a little eccentric but at least he greeted you and valued your patronage. Now they try to force moldy food on you and are rude or don’t acknowledge you at all. Way younger group working here and the owner needs to drug test as a heavy set guy and Hispanic guy prepping food both smelled of pot. Please save yourself heartache and don’t eat here… we went down the street to Omega family restaurant and had a great time, friendly service and wonderful food. If I could give Pompeii –5 stars I would have. SHAME ON YOU NEW POMPEII OWNER FOR RUINING A FAMILY NAME 100 YEARS OLD! Get new staff, a better made to order system and a manager who knows what to do and how to do it.

Useless manager quotes me 1 hr for 3 pizzas, then says it actually takes only 35 min. Seriously, I was going to pick up, but forget it

Brought a couple friends with me to try it out. I loved Pompei when it was in Oakbrook Terrace but was wary about how this one had opened, closed and now open again. I see why. The menu was what I remembered. I order a slice of Pizza Pompei but not after I asked the girl behind the counter if she would be serving the one that had been sitting under the heat lamp (for how long???). She assured me that I would get a fresh one.
At the cashier, I again mentioned that I expected a hot slice and he pointed to the ovens and said I would get one.
Slice delivered to table. Barely luke warm. Sent it back.
My friend who was behind me in line said, I watched her serve up the slice under the heat lamp.
Bingo! Ift I wanted heat lamp pizza buffet I could go to Pizza Hut. This site doesn’t have the volume to serve up fresh and piping hot. So the food sits out.
Won’t be back.

Wouldn’t even step a foot in this place because the first place was a joke! I’ll take my money elsewhere.

I had a party for my husband last night at the pompei in Westmont the staff was GREAT and the food was delish! The new owner and Brittany were wonderful to work with. We will be back.

Came here yesterday wanting a caprese salad and they don’t have one. What Italian place doesn’t have this?!! They used to when they were at the oak brook location. This place is not gonna make it. They have no one good running it and it’s set up strange and the food is average to below average.

My family and I came here right before the new year to try it out since it had been closed for a loooooong time. We used to frequent this place when it was on Butterfield Road but this location closed down before we could try it out. I thought they would’ve gotten a new listing here on Unilocal since they were closed for, what seems like, over a year.
Anyway, they re-​opened about a month ago and it’s pretty good! We went right when it opened and we were the second customers of the day and a few other people came in while we were there — not super busy though.
They have a great selection of meals, lunch specials, desserts, and coffee bar. We got the spinach lasagna with marinara sauce (they offered us a choice of marinara, meat sauce, or alfredo and I kinda want to go back and try lasagna with alfredo sauce! Why not right?!?). We also got the minestrone soup and the chicken parm. Everything was great for having it ready for you within a few minutes. The soup was meh at best and pretty salty, wouldn’t get it again.
Overall I would come back for a laid back family dinner or lunch.
One thing I do not like is how unsafe the walk to the entrance from the parking lot is. The entrance from the parking lot has no sidewalk so you have to walk in the road where cars are entering the lot. We were walking in and a car came into the parking lot and almost hit us, bad design!

It’s worth trying now with new ownership. Marie’s Salad is always awesome. My children love how you can totally customize your pasta. You can make custom pizzas and burritos, so why not pasta?

New ownership! So happy they reopened. It’s comparable to the old Pompei on Butterfield. They don’t have the viewing buffet like the Pompei did on Butterfield but maybe because this one is smaller? The slices of pizza were good, $ 4 each only. I really liked the vodka pasta I had too. Overall a good meal.
I think they are trying to get their routine down. Might need to check who heads their kitchen staff too. I’ll be back either way.

Was so excited to see Pompei reopen in Westmont. Had a fantastic greeting as I entered the restaurant, ~nice touch. As I took my first bite of the ricotta sausage pizza ~recommended by Brittney ~had memories of Taylor Street and many lunches downtown. My husband enjoyed his specialty ordered sandwich ~which was made with a smile. Can’t wait for my next visit.
Mike and Brittney could not have been welcoming.

After visiting the reopened Pompei, I can honestly say that the service and food quality are considerably improved. There is still room for improvement as the Caesar salad was a bit watery but the food as a whole is much better than under the previous ownership.

I was impressed with the new ownership very kind and polite the sandwich that I had was rolled up bread with ham and some other things in it delicious I will definitely recommended. Will definitely go back quite a change from the old ownership

Such a disappointment! We recently moved back to the area and Pompei in Oakbrook used to be a favorite for a quick meal. This location just isn’t the same. Our chopped chicken salad was not tossed as ordered and had black olives even though we requested they be left off. Our chicken ravioli was way undercooked, basically raw pasta dough! They remade it but it still wasn’t the al dente deliciousness that Pompei used to serve. Undercooked and chewy. Oh, no bread served with your meal anymore either. Just not the same!

It has finally reopened and the food is great. When it closed the food was terrible and ordering food required a degree. Not this time… The new owner has this running the right was and making great food

I’ve been here twice in the last few months. Food is pretty good aside from the Caesar salad. A little bit pricey for what you get, but not ridiculous. The owner seems to be the issue… here are a few examples:
–yelled at his staff (wife?) that the add in the clipper magazine didn’t have pictures of his actual food
–told a customer who order one slice of pizza that they needed to order another one if they wanted the slice in a box, he went on to detail the cost of the box and why it wouldn’t be profitable to allow just one slice in it
–told a customer he mortgaged his house for the place and people who do work (such as cutting the grass) for his location should not expect free food
This place has some potential, but it looks like the owner can’t get out of his own way. Maybe it will end up on one of those restaurant rehab shows with Robert Irvine.

I want to give this place 5 stars. I used to frequent the Pompei on Sheffield in Chicago. It was my favorite place to have lunch. The food was delicious and the service was quick. The Margarita Pizza was my favorite and the soup was amazing! When I saw a Pompei was coming to Westmont, I was over the moon! And then I visited…
My first visit was good. The place was semi-​empty but it WAS brand new. My husband was not impressed with his chicken parmesan, but I loved my pizza and so did my kids. My daughter also loved the soup. Service was quick. Someone cleared our table for us and we even enjoyed dessert.
The second visit was gross. The food was ok but my husband was disappointed again in his meal (he can sometimes be hard to please so I don’t expect that to mean much to you). The gross part was that when I went to get my drink, I crossed paths with a cockroach! I went to the staff and whispered so as not to scare other customers and a worker immediately went over and squashed the little bugger. He gave me a face like he was embarrassed. I don’t even know my reaction because I don’t ever expect to see these things when I visit a restaurant. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and convinced myself it was because they were still somewhat NEW and that maybe they were handling the situation. So…
The third visit. No cockroaches this time, but the food was HORRIBLE. There were BARELY ANY choices available as compared to all my other visits– maybe a dozen slices on the trays. Every pizza available was super dry and looked as though it had been there for days. I was charged incorrectly for my order and had to get back in line for them to correct it. We waited forever for our food and the whole time we listened to them yell at one another. They were clearly understaffed and just continued to yell at one employee to help. The owner brought out the food with a smile, but that could not hide the blandness and dryness of our food. My daughter still enjoyed the soup and my son still enjoyed the cheese pizza but my slice of veggie pizza was just a disappointment with how dry everything was. Again, my husband was not impressed and seeing as how this was 3 strikes for us, we won’t be back.

We had our sons second birthday at Pompei in Westmont just this past Sunday. The only reason why I’m giving this place 3 stars not 1 is because of Mike and his kids and Brittany. Tommy the actually owner was extremely rude, aggressive, lack of customer experience skills, and brash. If it wasn’t for Mike and family and Brittany we would not of held our party here.
The business itself is hurting badly. Tommy yells at his workers making it for a bad experience and extremely uncomfortable for us who are looking for a family dinner out. We used to come to pompei frequently we will reconsider it.
Mike and Brittany. Thank you for all you do. You are the reasons we will consider coming back.

We went to Pompei with a group of people. We had been there a few other times but after this visit, we will not be back.
So let’s begin by charging us $.25 for a small plastic cup for water. I don’t think it was just the charging for water. He didn’t tell us that he was charging us for cup of water. I think a little transparency would go along way. No one realized that he charged us for the cup of water until I looked on the receipt after the fact. It was just one thing on top of many.
We ordered sandwiches that were over $ 8.50 — $ 10.00 plus and they did not include fries. When we placed our orders, we were not informed that they were add on for an additional cost. We thought for the price, fries were included. Again, it would have been nice to have been told and offered to have them added. Spent over $ 55 on sandwiches with no fries and then being charged for a cup of water. No steak sandwich meal with fries and a soft drink is worth $ 15, when all is said and done. At Wildfire perhaps, but not here.
Poor customer service — staff being belittled by the owner for not getting the items correct. It actually made our friends little girl upset, listening to then yell behind the counter. If they know they were having two parties for 30+ people each, they should have been more prepared.

Meh… is all I can say about the food. My Cesar salad was WAY over dressed.
My chicken fajita strudel had the potential to be good but fell short. First it wasn’t that warm when they brought it out to me. Second it was incredibly dry. There is so much breading/​crust on it that it screams out for some sauce. But there was barely any in it. With each bite I immediately had to drink a bunch of water it was that dry.

I had a weird experience at Pompei this week and felt like I needed to update my review. Again, the food is good but something is just off. The employees just don’t seem to know what’s going on and as a customer, I can feel the chaos.
So I ordered my food. Once again, they did not have any olive pizza. This is like the fifth time they did not have any ready, even though it’s on the menu. The young lady offered to put some on the pizza for me. Not the same as having them baked into the cheese. So i ordered the chopped chicken salad, i go to pay. Oooo sorry. Our credit card machine is broken. Ok. I don’t have any cash. She’s shrugs and says sorry. And walks away. Such a weird interaction. I left hungry and sad. This just adds to the oddness of my experiences at Pompei. I order takeout, it’s not ready. I order food to go and my food just sits on the counter. No one seems to get it. I will be using my credit card somewhere else. Too bad. Food’s good.