The pizza is as good as any Papa Johns... However, they really don't seem to have their act together. Any time I've ordered pizza at peak hours, there is some sort of time-sucking ordeal when I arrive to pick it up... As if it was their first ever dinner rush and they are totally ill-equipped to handle it. I'll still order from this PJs, but only on off hours.
Review Source:Papa John's is always good to my taste buds and this one was speedy on the delivery. Â Since we got a good price on the pizza we were able to give the delivery man a tip. Â Fast delivery is important when it comes to pizza (or any food for that matter). Â Sausage and mushrooms mmm... it makes my mouth water just thinking about it!
Review Source:This corporate chain tries hard to put your local pizzeria out of business. Â You know the one that donates to local sports teams and gives back to the community.
Papa Johns gives NOTHING back to the community except for the litter that they fill the streets with by hiring ex cons to stuff your mailbox and burglarize your home when they see you are not home. Â Since Papa Johns doesn't background check who they hire and they refuse to share profits with the community I won't be ordering from them.
Why does this Papa John's not deliver to my apartment 1.23 miles away? Â 1.23 miles. Â About one mile north and a quarter-mile east. Â Inexplicable.
But why was I ordering Papa John's anyway, with so many better pizza options for either pickup OR delivery? Â Well, because Major League Baseball emailed me a 50% off coupon code for the weekend of 8/24-26. Â And half-price anything is pretty tough to pass up. Â Plus, I used to eat a ton of Papa John's in college and...you know...maybe I actually sort of craved that familiar indulgence. Â I suppose that the phrase "guilty pleasure" applies.
So I used the coupon code via their website, but I had to go pick it up, which was a major pain in the ass in the middle of a heavy rainstorm. Â And then I had to wait in line while the lady ahead of me instigated some kind of dispute about her order. Â Why were there NINE employees working the pizza assembly line, including two who did nothing but fold up spare boxes, when only ONE employee was working the register? Â I waited about five minutes for this lady to give up trying to convince the clerk that she had placed an order, while my pie was sitting on the shelf within sight, cooling by the moment.
Oh, and another thing--spinach is not available as an individual topping.
So I probably wouldn't tolerate all those hardships except for the 50% off deal. Â But it's hard to beat an eight-dollar large two-topping pizza in this day and age, not to mention free garlic butter sauce. Â Now there's a taste that triggers some memories.
I have to agree with others. I've dropped by this location about 3 times now and every time I see a ton of delivery cars/people. So why don't you deliver to my apartment in Edgewater near foster and Broadway. I'm not going to sweat it though. The pizza is amazing and cheap. You can order online and it's ready within minutes and they have a great loyalty program.
The only beef I have with this place is the service. No one I have ever encountered has been nice. I'll give them the benefit of a doubt though. The pizza is so good that they are probably loaded up with orders coming through.
I recently saw that there is a Papa John's opening up on Balmoral and Broadway. Hopefully they won't hire any mean people there.
The choices of pizza are endless in Chicago, and while there are better options, this is an exceptionally well-run chain when you're wanting something dependable with no hassles. Â I've ordered several pizzas from here for carryout and they have been consistently great. Â This store occasionally participates in coupons and promotions that you'll find online, but more often than not it seems they don't. Â Still, great service and nice to have the ease of mind of getting what I expect.
Review Source:Wow! I checked my E-mail today and there was a special deal
from Papa John's Pizza for a pizza and 2 liter of Pepsi Max for
$12.99..
And,, since I had nothing but a jar of pickles in the fridge I thought
I would take advantage of this special offer!
Now.. Papa John's is a chain here in Chicago and this was the first time
I had ordered from them..
So.. I placed my order on-line and I swear my pizza arrived within like
20 minutes..
Now.. I would have loved this but.. I was still in my jammies and I
had to rush into my jeans and Coors light T-Shirt in a hurry..
I hate to rush! I'm a take it slow kind of girl...
But.. the pizza was pretty good.. It was called John's Special..
I had to try this one, it was named after Papa himself!
So.. I liked Papa John's and Thank God it saved me from a
meal of Claussen Pickles..
Hey.. I have been in school  alot.. no time to shop!
So.. I am giving Papa John's 4 stars..
Even if I had to rush out of my jammies!
Such is my life..:)
It's a fucking chain so let's get over it. Â After midnight, what are your options, seriously????
In this area it's Papa John's, Sarpino's or Domino's and of the three you'll find more often that Domino's tends to close sooner and sooner. Â Just for the sake of mention, DiGiorno's has been jacking up their pricing, so hitting a grocery store and getting home to bake it.. well, you might as well just go with one of the two I mentioned.
So we're left with Sarpino's or the Papa.  Both have pretty good fast food style pizza and specials.  I tend to like Papa John's a bit more.  This due to the many years I've enjoyed many more of their pizzas, dipping sauces, bread sticks and more.  Also they  do specials quite often and almost never have hiccups concerning their coupons or specials, quite like Sarpino's. Â
On a few occasions with my trek back home I've been able to scoop up decent pies  at a great price.  So far so good and typically they make a standard pie and are able to follow my sometimes necessary pie suggestions.  I mention standard pie because the other night we had a terrible pie made at a newer Papa location in Skokie, where the crusts looked like bread sticks and the pizza so thin, it was the thickness of wall paper.
Since I typically carry out, I haven't any need to deduct stars for silly stuff like, "they don't deliver to my area". Â Next time do yourself a solid and ask them to deliver it as close as possible and walk the rest of the distance.
Cheers to decent fast food pizza.
Papa Johns, I love you. Â But why oh why don't you deliver to my house? Â I live on Lawrence. Â You are on Irving Park. Â It takes me all of 5 minutes to drive to you. Â It makes me very sad, so sad I have to give you two stars. Â
Your delivery area is stupid and does not make sense. Â You won't even let me bribe the drivers to drive the extra two blocks.
I guess my waistline is better off... because if you did deliver, I would order much more often.
Not bad for a delivery Pizza joint. It's not my favorite pizza in Chicago, but when I need to penny pinch if you will, I order Papa John's. They always have great deals, and I always spend half the amount I would spend at my favorite pizza place. Fast delivery, and the garlic sauce is great. i always choose the five cheese blend for the cheese topping... It's the best! I usually order on-line and have no problems. Plus you earn points towards free pizza with every five bucks spent!
Review Source:We attempted to order a pizza and cheese sticks last night online. Right under the check out button was a link that said "Get it now" for a 10inch cheese stick order for $4.00 instead of the 12inch order for $7.00. When we clicked on it, all that showed up was parm sticks or bread sticks. So we just figured it was an error on the website. My boyfriend decided to call in the order and asked about the special. The man taking the order, obviously not understanding what we were asking for said, "Cheese sticks? Okay."
When he went to go pick it up, we were charged the $7.00 for the cheese sticks and when my boyfriend ask about it, he was told by the manager that none of the Chicago locations offer that special. Instead of offering him an apology OR discount for the misunderstanding, he just said, "You don't have to get them".
Seriously, the discount from 7 to 4 is by no means a big deal. But a little customer service goes a long way. And maybe Papa John's should consider adding a disclaimer of some sort (VISIBLY) on that link that states it's only available in certain areas.
Sweet redemption. Â I wrote a complaint on the PJ website, and was called the next day by none other than... you guessed it... can you believe...
The branch manager!
He was apologetic, and said it was his fault that the Groupon did not work and that he was supposed to make the deal for the following week.
In the mail today I got a postcard from him with a handwritten note: "Sorry for the SNAFU-- 1 free large pizza."
That is the type of apology I can stand by. Â They are back in my good graces *uses thumb and forefinger to put out dynamite fuse* Â for now.
Papa John's takes me back...way back...back to undergrad. The good ole days when I couldn't cook anything that involved more effort than the microwave and my $6.60 an hour job left me just above broke as a joke. Papa John's was close and convenient, and I pretty much owe the fact that I didn't starve to death to them.
But that was about 8 years ago. 8 years ago, I could eat ramen noodles every single day. 2012 me gets queasy just looking at 'em. So needless to say, I may not have had the best taste back then. Still, for the sake of nostalgia, I ordered a Papa John's pizza some nights ago.
No ma'am. Nooooo ma'am.
I wish I could say that maybe the numerous pizza options in Chicago have spoiled me and it wasn't as bad as I'm making it seem, but this pizza wasn't even hot when it got to me. It was just kinda sorta warm. Where they do that at? At Papa John's, that's where.
Still, I give the place three stars. One for the nostalgia. Two because it's reasonably priced. The third because I didn't get sick, and that's always appreciated.
I created a count just to write this.
The service here is atrocious. Â Granted, I live in Chicago and I expect a certain level of pizza when I order it, but not when I order Papa Johns. Â When I order here, I think of good pizza but with quick and courteous service. Â If you are trying to get pizza here during a peak time, go to a different place. Â I was blown off several times by the representatives (despite being a repeat customer). Â I was told they were closed and hung up on when I called, even though I called back and was put on hold. Â I understand that this is not the best place in the world, but if they tote on good delivery and good prices they should at least staff people who know how to handle an influx of calls. Â I will never order here again because I know there are more places close by of similar quality, who can handle more than one customer at once.
As much as I hate to plug "Big" pizza - as opposed to supporting local businesses - Papa John's gets pizza right. Carried out a small 6 slice with 5 toppings for $5, complete with a green pepper and garlic dipping sauce - it's hard to beat that. Toppings are very flavorful, but crust is relatively bland - serving as a neutral backdrop to the wonderful overflow of toppings.The service at this location is very friendly, and the store is clean.
Review Source:You sonsabitches.
I am hungover today. I wanted pizza. Since I moved up here from the South Side, I have yet to find a local joint that matches the glories of Falco's or Palermo's. Yet I keep trying.
I knew Papa John's is a chain, and should've known better. But I just couldn't stomach the thought of another middling pie from Pete's or D'Agostino's. So I Yelped Papa John's, having overhead some folks talk it up the other night as well.
"Hmmm. The Yelpers give it four stars. That's pretty high praise. Read the reviews... okay, it's a solid, regular, nothing fancy pizza according to these folks. I'll give it a shot".
Ordered up a large sausage pizza with, mindful of some reviews complaining about skimpy sauce or cheese, extra both. Some chicken tenders on the side. Let's roll.
To their credit, ordering online was painless and the college kid showed up about 40 minutes later with my order. Kid was friendly enough. I like the packaging, too, no messing around with greasy paper stuck to a pie or cardboard/foil weirdness holding the chicken... solid boxes. I like that.
Unfortunately, the food itself can only be classified as a hate crime.
Let's start with the chicken. Yeah, ordering chicken tenders/fingers/strips delivery isn't usually a recipe for awesome, since fried batter don't hold up to travel well, but a lot of places around here are able to at least make 'em palatable. What's with the weird, gritty batter on these things? And they're very small and thin. There were two decent-sized ones, and the rest looked like fingers after the hand they were attached to went through a bad house fire.
The dipping sauces... BBQ was alright, whatevs, don't have much expectations for chain delivery Q sauce. The honey mustard was weird. It should cling and be somewhat thick. This was basically sweetened mustard juice.
As for the pie... I'm not sure how it's possible to make pizza this bad. If that's double cheese, double sauce, then the regular must look like a parched pizza desert of endless, untopped dough.
Then again... do I really _WANT_ a double order of bland, unseasoned cheese and straight-up sugary ketchup?
I guess I'm supposed to dip my pizza in the little thing of garlic sauce that came with. Um... no. One doesn't "dip" pizza. What the hell are you people thinking, claiming this is a good and righteous idea? You want to provide a nice garlic seasoning to your pizza, figure out how to cook it the f*ck into the damned pie itself. Jesus.
The sausage... why bother? Same texture as the cheese, no discernible snap to the bite or seasoning to the taste. Little crumbly soft bits. Meh.
I will say that the crust wasn't terrible. Nice puffy edging, not stale, a little absorbent on the bottom but not too bad. Too much of it around the edges though.
Oh, and it's DAMNED greasy. Bleh.
Maybe I'm just spoiled, having been raised in the city on awesome, non-chain local pies (I've had Pizza Hut twice and Domino's once ever, neither time being my choice, and I weep for the realization that that's as good as it gets for most of the country) but this is just unsatisfactory. Given that the price was barely three bucks cheaper than what I would normally get from Pete's or Pizzaco, I see no godly reason why anyone should ever order from this place, ever.
Their customer service does seem great, the manager sounds excellent from others' interactions as posted here but, man... it's just not good eating.
I can only guess that the good reviews here are coming from current or recently-graduated college students, still young and inexperienced enough to fondly recall the flavors that got them through the hangovers that followed Delta Chi's "Rohypnol and Dreams" mixer, but come on. This is terrible food.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to nap the bad taste and sense of betrayal I'm feeling from my fellow Yelpers on this one away.
I checked my mailbox last night and saw a coupon from Papa John's.
It said something along the lines of "your last delivery wasn't fast enough, so let us make it up to you by offering you a FREE MEDIUM CHEESE PIZZA!"
Whaaaaat? Â I mean, the last time Papa John's delivered to me, they were a little bit late but not enough for me to swear them off forever. Â I cannot believe the gesture of kindness sitting there in my mailbox. Â I should check my mail more often!
I called them right away last night and got my cheese pizza delivered...they didn't even tack on a delivery charge. Â All I paid for was the tip.
Wow, Papa John's...your pizza rocks and so does your service!
Karen C. said that Papa John's "tastes like college." Â Any Urbana-Champaign alumni will know exactly what that means. Sometimes you just wanna kick back and gorge on cheese sticks and cheap beer.
This place gets an honorable mention for being one of the few places in the area that stays open past 10 pm. Not a bad last resort.
A Papa John's. In Chicago. That delivers to my apartment.
I am doing my best to refrain from ordering more than once a month, but it's so damn hard. Everyone knows what Papa John's tastes like... it's not the best pizza, but those cheese sticks with garlic butter sauce ARE the best appetizer in the entire world. Oh good God, thinking about them now is making me drool. This location so far has speedy & hot delivery, and I'm a fan.
Papa John's... Tastes like college.
Was excited to hear that Papa John's was finally making its way into the city and was even more excited to find out that this location at Lincoln and Irving Park was opening up. Â Seeing as how I live just over a mile south of the location. Â Then to my shock and dismay they tell me they won't deliver to my place? Â I live a MILE away, they told me to come pick up, no thanks!
Won't be ordering from here till they get a realistic delivery zone, what a joke
Sometimes, even living in Pizza Heaven, you need some Papa John's garlic sauce. Having a Papa John's here in the city is, therefore, a godsend. Unfortunately, their delivery system leaves a lot to desired--namely, your actual pizza.
I ordered online on Super Bowl Sunday, fully expecting to have to wait longer than average for my food. Â After two hours, I called to make sure that my order hadn't been lost or, you know, stolen by coyotes. (Fact: Coyotes love pepperoncini peppers.) Â The guy I spoke to said that my pizza was just about to go in the oven, so it would be at my place in about 45 minutes. Â As ridiculous as that seemed--2 hours and the order hadn't even been started?--I said "Fine."
Two more hours passed. I called again. I spoke to a woman who told me that my order had just been completed, was about to leave with a driver, and should arrive soon. She apologized for the previous employee lying to me, and said she wasn't sure why he'd done that. Yeah, neither was I. Â It's pizza and chicken strips, not blood diamonds.
Another hour passed. (For those of you keeping score at home, this was now FIVE hours after I ordered my food.) I called and spoke to another guy who informed me that my order was marked "Bad" (WTF?) in the computer, meaning "somebody had called to cancel it." I laughed--in part because I couldn't believe how unbelievably bad both their customer service and organization were, in part because I'm the idiot that kept believing them.
But wait--I get stupider. I asked the guy if they were still dealing with increased Super Bowl ordering. He said no, it had calmed down. So I said, what the hell... I still haven't eaten, let me make a "new order", and I attempted to order the same food I'd ordered five hours before.
"...And then I need an order of chicken strips."
"Uh, yeah, we're all out of chicken strips."
"Of course you are."
I guess that's what you get when you live in Chicago and are lame enough to order national chain pizza. I won't make the same mistake again... especially when the recipe for that garlic sauce I was lusting after is easily available online. (Hell, in the 5 1/2 hours it took to get my food, I could've made enough sauce to fill the bathtub.)
Ohhhh yea, Papa John's yeaaaa *Jersey accent* Â
This might be the best hangover food. EVER. Â And the best drunk food. Â Pretty much if you're drinking an alcoholic beverage (or ten, or you had one the night before, or a few weeks ago), you will love PJ's pizza. Â
I wish I could try to explain just how much I love this pizza and the parmesan breadsticks... but I can't. Â Talking about it doesn't do it justice. Â If only you could see the drool beginning to fall from my mouth now that I'm thinking about this deliciously unhealthy pizza. Â
Although I'm quite furious with the fact that this location doesn't deliver to my apartment (which is only 2 miles away), it does deliver to my boyfriend's place... which is a large reason why I'm still with him...
...only kidding.
Okay, one more update... Tonight I used my "oops card" as they called it, and called in two FREE large pizzas. Â This time, they delivered in under half an hour, brought me two piping hot pizzas with exactly the right toppings (including my request to go light on the sauce), and I was pleased as punch, I really was. Â Yay Papa Johns, you saved the day! Â :)
Review Source:We gave the new Papa John's Pizza in North Center a try a couple of nights ago. Â We typically have ordered from Rosati's or Leona's for pizza but we figured we'd give Papa John's a go the other night.
We ordered the works pizza minus a couple of ingredients and the delivery man showed up in the estimated time period. Â The pizza was made according to our order and was pretty darn good. Â For a chain pizza place, the pizza is well done and also with the online coupons and offers - they are pretty darn cheap.
Oh yeah - the online ordering is a very nice option! Â I think we'll be ordering from here more often.
Since the day I heard that Papa John's opened up a few blocks away from my yarn store, I wanted the pizza of undergrad years in Cincinnati. Yesterday, I had the perfect opportunity when I arrived early to open knit night. Lucky for me, my LYS store was starving too. I ordered pizza online and picked it up down the street. I had to sway my yarn store owner from delivery since it was a two block walk. I walked over to get the pizzas and was greeted by about 20 employees. There seriously were 20 twenty people when I walked up to counter. Since I paid for the pizza online, I just had to sign the sheet. Kind of awesome considering I've never ordered it that way.
We ordered two pizzas: spinach alfredo and veggie with the original crust. The pizzas were the ones bringing me back to my undergrad days with the delectable garlic sauce. I, too, missed the parmesan and chili flake packages. I had to restrain myself from eating all of the pizza because I very well could. Also, we're a sweet bunch on Open Knit night, so I needed to save space for biscotti, blondies, and chocolates. So, I broke my Chicago Papa John's cherry. Since it's so close to my yarn store, I can get my husband to pick me up if he wants his Papa John's fix!! Yarn + Papa John's pizza=happy me!
While I'd like to give Papa John's 5 stars, the fact that they don't deliver to me (less than a mile and a half away from the store) really sucks. Â The husby and I live 2 blocks outside of their very small delivery area (which all I know is north of Belmont). Â And even though we spoke with the manager and offered to pay extra for the driver to come down the street, he wouldn't budge.
Even while living in the land of delicious Chicago deep dish, sometimes all you want is a crappy pizza to remind you of your college days, and that's what Papa John's does best.
EDIT: I received this reply from Chip, the owner, regarding the delivery area. Â Props to you Chip for the followup and trying to resolve this. We desperately want to give your business our patronage!
Hi Jessica -
I totally understand your frustration. We are hearing a lot about how our delivery area is too small. I'm trying to work with Papa John's headquarters to get it expanded. However, please also know we are quickly expanding. We open another store in about a week in Logan Square/Bucktown and hopefully in Lincoln Park around late April (if everything goes as planned). I take it you are just south of Belmont? If so the Lincoln Park store will deliver to you if we can't get the delivery area expanded by then.
Thanks for your review!
Oh PapaJ's. Â Sometimes Mama just wants some greasy, garlic saucy dipped goodness. Â And my do you deliver.
Except for the fact that you DON'T deliver. Â To me. Â I'M NOT THAT FAR PAPA, JUST AT LAWRENCE AND WESTERN. Â WHAT GIVES? Â WHY SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR?
Please expand thy delivery radius, PapaJ. Â Or, if you deliver that far, update your website that would allow me to order online.
xoxo,
A lazy pregnant lady
Seriously long overdue that Papa John's opened shop in downtown... as somebody who grew up in Louisville KY (home of the original PJ's and Papa John Schnatter) the pizza here is total comfort food. Â You can take your 100-year-old brick oven, your organic whole wheat crust, your heirloom tomatoes, your Old World artisan charcuterie, your hand-pulled mozzarella and shove it for all I care... nothing, and I mean nothing, is more divine to me than a pepperoni/mushroom or 'works' from Papa Johns dipped in garlic butter and/or cheese sauce. Â All food snobbishness goes out the window with this stuff... it's just ridiculously satisfying.
Review Source:FINALLY, FINALLY.
Having lived in Indiana for the better part of my life, often the best pizza available in any given town was Papa John's. Â Sorry fellow expatriates, I'm not crazy about Pizza King's weirdo square-cut, super-thin crust. Â I don't know how much Papa John's I ate in college, but it's certainly embarrassing.
And so naturally, I occasionally have a demonic lust for Papa John's. Â And now I can satisfy this sinister urge any time! Â Although I have to pick it up since I'm out of their delivery range. Â Oh well.
Prices are the same here as they are in any other Papa John's store-- the trick is to always ask about or look for the special offers. Â There's almost always a deal where a 3-topping runs $10 or a specialty pizza (The Meats, BBQ Chicken Bacon, etc. etc.) goes for a heavy discount ($11 as of this writing vs. $16.99 on the board). Â Plus every order you get gives you coupons for future orders, which I guess is how the whole durned human comedy keeps perpetuatin' itself. Â
Sorry, I'm ramblin' again.
It feels wrong to order from a chain in the middle of the foodie mecca that is Chicago. Â But sometimes, when you use to live in the equivalent of the 'burbs, and in Texas, you just want a little piece of home. Â
Papa John's was "the best" pizza where we use to live and we gobbled that stuff up like crazy! Â I think I still have some seasoning packets I've been hoarding. Â So when I heard that one was opening up by us I was excited, though apprehensive since 5 years can change alotta things!
They just got online ordering last night (which did NOT want to work in Firefox for some reason) and the pizza arrived piping hot, on time, and just as I can remember.
The garlic butter YUM. Â The delicious original crust. Â I just got thrown back 5 years to Friday nights in a tiny apartment! Â
Only complaint I have is that when we use to get it we got tons of garlic sauce and packets of cheese, red pepper flakes and seasonings.  This time we got one garlic butter and a tiny lil' pepper.  Not packets.  I know you can specify you want them on the website but I'm not paying .59¢ for something they use to throw in for free by the hand full!  I guess it's a sign that times have changed.
I'm not sure if Papa John's will become our 'go to' pizza place once more. Â We ended up spending $5 more than we usually do at La Gondola on the same thing - and let's face it - La Gondola is always king. Â But it was great to reminisce our Texas years where we only had choices of chain restaurants.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
