Chicago Pizza And Oven Grinder Company

The here is pretty challenging, in fact not all the people are from Chicago. So of them are from different places. I have no issue waiting or paying cash if the food is good. we ordered the antipasto which came with 5 different meats that tasted all the same which was tasteless as was the cheese. think packaged meats at Costco. AWFUL. The upside down pizza while interesting was also ruined by cheap/​processed ingredients. this place is nothing more then a glorified pizza hut or dominoes pizza.

There’s a good reason why they’re on an hour wait at 3:45pm on a Sunday. this place is flat out awesome! I remember my Dad taking us here back in the day and the inside hasn’t changed a bit. Cozy & Cramped space with great wood booths and a decent sized bar; kids everywhere! Straight to the point bar with just 2 drafts available as well as red or white wine; saw some microbrew offerings but it’s best to just stick with Miller Lite draft here. We had an amazing server that explained everything as the two I was with had never been to the joint; great great server. a rare commodity these days! They do amazing salads here with like 6 different choices. All the ingredients were so fresh and good it was a crime! We got the Greek Salad and it had this fluffy almost «Whipped» Feta as well as fresh anchovies. The salad dressings are all homemade and exactly like I remember in 1985; Poppy Seed & Sour Cream dressing as well as Homemade Italian dressing. Obviously you pair it up with a Mediterranean flatbread that’s just outta the oven and it’s almost a meal right there! SO good… just don’t fill up too much as the best is yet to come; The Pizza Pot Pie! Can’t even explain how good this is but I ate the whole damn thing. the ingredients were super fresh and the mushrooms are a must try, trust me here. Finished it off with some homemade gelato dessert that was amazing as well! Keep in mind they are always on a wait… hour, 2 hours, sometimes 3 hours. now you know why. CASH ONLY! PS– The chocolates they bring with the check are not to be missed. Get Dat Did!

A unique take on deep dish pizza! The pizza pot pie was wonderful, the dough and sauce are made in house daily and everything was fresh. The half pound was just enough for 1 person. This little hole in the wall is a gem and worth a visit, but expect at least a 15 – 20 minute wait.

Only in ChiTown for 24 hours and we caught wind that this place is worth our time and the potential wait. They did not disappoint! The gentleman who greets you has an amazing knack for estimating the wait time, (for us 45 minutes on a Friday night around 6pm), and remembering who is next on his mental list based on your faces alone!
We had a drink at the bar and were seated in exactly 45 minutes without having to ask for an update. Our server was super attentive and his bus boy friend must’ve come around 15 times to tend to our water glasses and clear plates. We had a small salad between myself and my boyfriend, with phenomenal house made dressings and delicious Mediterranean bread. The pizzas came shortly after and that’s when we declared this meal in the top 5 of all time.

super underwhelming.
the waitress insisted my friends and i get the mediterranean bread. the flavor of it was fine but i seriously can’t understand why they serve it on a tiny plate. as another reviewer mentioned, it left quite a mess on the table (and also, i don’t normally get paranoid about the cleanliness of restaurant tables, but i kept thinking about the rag of the busboy who’d wiped our table last, and what kind of germs might now be on our bread «skirt» because of it). and i love my friends and i’m sure their hands were clean, but it seemed weird to me that we were meant to tear apart this communal bread with our hands. and finally, i would have liked some sort of sauce or butter or something to accompany the bread.
the pizza was really meh too. seems to me to be purchased for its novelty, not its quality or flavor. the first thing i noticed was the cheese. because of the way the pizza is made, the cheese ends up being baked in the bottom of the bowl, and then on top when the bowl is flipped. the result is that the cheese gets no exposure to the oven’s heating elements like it would on a new york-​style pizza, so no bubbly brown cheese. and since the cheese is also not covered up by sauce as it would be on a chicago-​style pizza, it just looks like a greasy, unappealing blob.
i opted for the pizza with meat and with mushrooms (also, hello, why the super-​limited topping options? one of the best things about pizza is being able to customize your toppings!) and really wasn’t impressed with the execution. the meat was basically just ground beef mixed into the sauce and the mushrooms were WHOLE. what in the world? so i ended up with exactly four whole mushrooms in my ½-​pound pizza and no other vegetables of any kind. the overall flavor of my pizza wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t great, and i really didn’t enjoy having some bites with no mushroom and some that were nothing BUT mushroom.
i don’t think i’ll be back. i saw a few of the salads and grinders at other tables and they looked large and unwieldy – again, novel to look at, but not great to eat. and the cash-​only thing is pretty ridiculous too.

Other reviewers are right… wait time is to be expected — with a caveat… Initially being patient & trusting that the older gentleman would get us seated in the promised 35 minutes, but when it approached an hour and seeing others complain & get seated before us I finally spoke up & we were seated. While I didn’t take any stars off my review for this, I did find it pretty annoying.
As for the food:
Mediterranean Bread was delicious! Highly Recommended!
Pizza Pie was delicious! Hot & flavorful! Definitely an pizza experience worth trying in the Lincoln Park area.
I’d like to go back at a less busy time to try a couple Grinders as well.

My wife and I have been going to this amazing and uniques restaurant for more than 30 years. We love the salads, the mediterranean bread, and the most unique of all is the pizza that look like a pizza pot pie. Everything is so full of flavor The service is outstanding and the staff makes you feel like you come home every single time. The food comes out fast! The general manager Shabeer is the most amazing and gracious host. I highly recommend this Chicago jewel of a place.

Amazing, everything was so fresh. Go hungry! If you’ve never been, you have to experience the pizza pot pie.
We went at an off time so we didn’t have to wait long. They have affordable valet parking which is very helpful in that area. Just be sure you have cash — that’s all they take.

Chicago Pizza Oven and Grinder Co. Has been on my pizza bucket list for years after seeing its pizza pot pie glory on Check Please. On a weekend you can expect over an hour wait (check it out on a weekday, if you’re not the patient type) but it is definitely worth it. The atmosphere is romantic and rustic and the staff is friendly. There is no room for customization for the pizza pot pie, but this is not an issue. You will leave satisfied. The Mediterranean bread is a punch of flavor, but the pot pie is every pizza lovers dream come true. Go very hungry. The portions are generous.

Tried to go on Saturday evening but the wait was 2 hours, went back Sunday for lunch and we were seated in 10 mins.
The Mediterranean bread was delicious, and the pizza pot pie was even better. My brother in law got a grinder, it was huge and he said it was good.
Would definitely come back, but I wouldn’t bother trying for dinner, just go for lunch… and they only accept cash, and they charge per glass of pop which is ridiculous

First things first. Be ready to wait and then be ready to wait more. And just for good measure hide a pinch of wait in your back pocket. Once you’re in you’ll find the wait worth it; even if you’re told the wait is half as long as it turns out to be. But hey, everybody is waiting for a reason… a good one. The uniqueness of the pizza makes up for its average taste. You’ll not find its equal any time soon. The crust is an excellent dough with the perfect amount of chewiness and perfect saltiness for its heft. The sauce is slightly above average though not quite up to par compared to some of Chicago’s high end pizza places. Years ago the doorknob sized mushrooms were just that. Today, while of equal quality they are smaller than the originals. Today you will get two or even three shrooms in your pie. Back in the day one giant mushroom would almost fill the pie. The cheese is thick and ropey with the perfect stretch and chew you’d expect in a Chicago pizza. Be sure not to pass on the Mediterranean bread. An awesome thing of culinary simplistic beauty it is only made better when sprinkled heavily with the proprietary blend of spices in a shaker on each table. If you want a unique restaurant to take out of towers or unfamiliar South siders to you can’t go wrong with Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder

When my Fiancée brought me here for the First time I fell… in love with the pizza salad and bread. We love the poppyseed dressing Great place to eat.

Insane pizza goodness! Great flavor, not too salty, tons of cheese! Nothing artificial! Total goodness!

Waited an hour and a half on a weeknight. This place is not worth waiting for. I thoroughly enjoyed the pizza pot pie because who doesn’t love eating tons of cheese and sauce and sausage… But at the end of the day it’s not worth waiting for. Overhyped.

Tengo una palabra para este lugar: INCREÍBLE, es un lugar al que querrás volver y la espera para tu comida habrá valido la pena, esa pizza-​sopa-​pan esta deliciosa, vegetariana o con carne no tiene igual, repleta de delicioso queso y con unos champiñones enormes, acompáñala con un buen vino y tal vez para no sentir culpa por las calorías, una ensalada, que tiene varias. Fue una gran experiencia, los meseros súper amables, un ambiente entre familiar y bohemio jaja. Volvería mil veces. No es un lugar de turistas y fui a dar ahí de casualidad, gracias a Unilocal jaja.

A fun, very old school Chicago experience, although not one I think I’ll be returning to for a while. Perhaps the best thing I tasted was actually the seasonal cocktail — the Adam’s Apple (a confection of red wine, brandy, cider, cinnamon, and raisins) which essentially tastes like a liquid cinnamon roll. It was beautiful on a cold winter night.
The pizza pot pie is rightly famous and it’s a somewhat unique, fun dish. The oven grinders (aka sandwiches) were a bit more run of the mill. We had the sausage, which had very nice meats but was a little overwhelming. As one might expect, portions run large.
Go just after the holidays or in bad weather for better luck getting a table — apparently the wait can be hours, but we walked in on a Thursday in January and were seated immediately.

We ordered take-​out only to avoid waiting in line.
I thought I could finish the whole pound of pizza on my own and I was wrong! The bread dough on the pizza is very good. The pizza sauce is definitely the best and you know it’s a home made sauce. The mushrooms inside the pizza have so much texture and flavor. I say this pot pie pizza should be as famous as the Chicago Deep Dish!

I am a huge fan of deep dish pizza, and they put a new twist on an old favorite. You definiely have to get it and you can choose to have your pizza as a ½ lb or 1 lb. The mediterranean bread is a good app choice, whie you wait. Expect a longish wait depending on when you go, this is a smaller sized resturant and is popular so it is almost always busy. But it is worth the wait, so just grab a beer from the bar, relax and take in the smells as you wait.

One of my favorite pizza places in town. Always a long wait but well worth it. Wish this place was larger. The pizza pot pies are unbelievable.

Order the Mediterranean bread and DEFINITELY the salad with poppy dressing. Best salad I’ve ever had. One of the better pizzas in Chicago too. Always hard to get a table though — would recommend going at an off-​time or right when it opens. They only take cash too.

Wow. Just wow. This place isn’t all that large so it gets packed pretty quick, especially during the holiday season. Get here early and avoid the long long wait time. Tried both the meat and veggie pot pie (add mushrooms to either!) and both were unbelievably mouth watering. I give a slight edge to the veggie pot pie, the cheese is gooey goodness. Seriously, I wish pizza pot pies were more popular because this place is life changing. The Mediterranean bread is damn tasty, but can be pretty filling. The seasonings on this bread are full of flavor and you can buy the seasoning in the restaurant to take home so hello do it. I even add it to the pot pie. Will def be back! I want to go back like right now. Chicagoans are a lucky bunch

I am in LOVE with this place! The only reason I’m giving it only 4 stars is because of the long wait and no reservations. It is a tight squeeze in there, but the food makes it worth it! Can’t leave without the getting the Mediterranean bread and a pizza pot pie, even their bottles of wine are decently priced. There are always leftovers and you leave feeling stuffed and satisfied. Anyone that is visiting Chicago or around Lincoln Park… this place is a MUST. A Chicago staple:).

Let me start off by saying that pizza here is different than your traditional pizza from other joints. The wait time was a little crazy for a weekday (waited almost an hr for a table for 4) however they have a small bar where we waited and had a few drinks. The bartender (Cesar) was awesome! He def knows how to make good drinks and interact with the customers. The wait honestly didn’t feel bad since we had a drink in our hand and a stool to sit!
We started off with the Mediterranean bread (since everyone recommends it) and we were glad we tried it! Its so good! Then the pizza is individual size so everyone got their own. I really loved the sauce and the cheese of this pie style pizza! The sauce and the ingredients definitely feel fresh and made there and not something from a can! After we ate our pizza we were all content and wanting to come back. One of my friends did not like it but it seems that it was more of the presentation or the «non-​traditional» style of the pizza more than the taste.
I would definitely come back for more when I am in the area however I recommend going there during the week when its less crowded.

The pizza pot pie was soo good. The garlic bread or whatever everyone kept posting about, in my opinion was just okay. Not something I’d go back for again. It was good, but it was missing something so I had to ask for extra sauce of some sort. They’re not allowed to bring out extra marinara sauce, so our waiter brought us some olive oil. I’m for sure going back for that pot pie! Not a lot of walking area… very crowded when busy.

Amazing pot pie pizzas that will change your life. Tasty Mediterranean bread and oven grinders. This place is always packed because it is so good. Def one of the best restaurants in Chicago.
If you come on a Saturday, get ready to wait a million years. Just kidding, but you will probably have to wait about an hour; especially during the dinner rush on a weekend. I have heard the wait is a lot shorter on week nights.
I have eaten here several times in groups of 2 – 6. Although it gets pretty busy, the servers have positive attitudes and do their best to promptly get you seated. The environment is face paced and fun, which is great for hanging out with friends and celebrations.
Pot pie pizza: An innovative pizza and the star of the show. They come in individual «small» sizes, but still is a generous portion and a lot of food. The dough is baked to a soft and hot heavenly perfection, filled with savory pizza toppings.
Mediterranean bread: Comes out as a giant mass of bread that takes over the plate. Delicious and freshly baked with fresh herbs. Perfect for sharing with your table.
Oven grinders: Huge style sub sandwiches filled with an abundance of meat and veggies and melted into a cheesy amazing concoction. Life is not complete without an Italian sandwich like this in your life.
Chef’s Salad: Generous portion, amazing and perfect toppings and dressing. A perfect and refreshing addition for everyone to share, and balances out the meal well with the pizza and bread.
Fun and casual atmosphere, friendly waiters, Cash only.
Overall, amazingness. I can’t wait until the next time we are in the big city so I can get my fill of this amazing pizza!

I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot, but BE PREPARED TO WAIT. We were told by the old-​school Italian grandpa (who takes your reservation by remembering what you’re wearing) that it will only be an hour. Two hours, a couple rounds of Gin Rummy and a few glasses of wine later we sat. The décor is reminiscent of your Italian grandmas basement if she lived in a cabin in Squaw Valley. The service makes up for the long wait and the food is well worth it.
Must order: House salad, Garlic Bread and of course the Pizza.

I love this pizza place! The pizza pot pie is the best. Not quite like deep dish, but similar. The dough is a lot different than deep dish though. The Mediterranean flat bread was also really tasty. I hear there can be up to a 2.5 hour wait-​but I went today (a Tuesday) at 5pm and we were immediately seated. I think the restaurant ambiance is nice, although finding parking can be a challenge. The service is good — your glass of water never gets less than half full. The prices are ok… but I didn’t particularly like that you have to pay for each beverage (so I had two Sprites and had to pay for each). They also only have one dessert and it would be nice to have a few options. And, you have to pay in cash — which is definitely a bummer since I prefer to pay via credit card. Overall though, the flatbread and pizza pot pie is definitely worth the trip.

I finally came to check this place out, after having it on my list of raved restaurants for a while.
I stopped in on a Tuesday night and was seated immediately. The waitstaff was very friendly, they always made sure we had water in our cups and asked if we needed anything. (I strongly dislike restaurants that forget you after you’ve been seated.)
Now on the the food, I ordered the vegetarian pizza pot pie with white dough. (They do have the option for wheat as well.)
The pizza was delicious, the sauce had just enough flavor and the cheese was so gooey and delicious. My only complaint was there weren’t enough mushrooms inside, but I’m sure I can request more on my next visit.
Overall I had a pleasant dining experience and will be back.

Came here with some friends on a Sunday night, and we were seated within 20 minutes, which I hear is a great wait time for this restaurant. Now, mind you, I’ve probably had like 4 different pizza places before coming here, hahah.
[+1] The pot pie was very interesting and different from all the pizzas I’ve eaten so far. I thought the veggie pot pie had more flavor than the meat one (had a half of both) for some reason, and the cheese was amazing. It was very very good and was like a comforting chicken pie, but with pizza instead. The crust on the outside was just right.
[-1] I wasn’t a huge fan of how they did the Mediterranean bread… disliked that the sides came off the plate and onto the table. It’s like someone just threw a huge slab of rolling fat onto a plate. I have issues with this. It also made the table extremely flaky and there was parmesan everywhere. There were cheese circles on the table when they lifted the plates away.
[-1] They was an issue with dishware that was maybe grating on me near the end of the day.
[+1] Their salad, on the other hand, was amazing. I normally dislike greens and usually don’t touch them, but I had 4 helpings of the chef’s salad. Huh. Who knew?
Tip: They have a hard time seating large parties.

Wow. Stumbled across this place because it was mentioned by someone attending the same conference as I. We wanted to try Chicago pizza while visiting and this was the right place to go. We ordered a pizza pot pie, Mediterranean bread, salad, and Italian Salami Grinder. Everything was amazing from the experience, service, and food. The pizza pot pie and Mediterranean bread are unique and have a perfect blend of ingredients that really make for an amazing meal. The pizza pot pie is cooked with the crust up, the server turns it for you, cuts and serves it — so efficiently. We were visited by a few employees who asked how we were doing asked about our experience very welcoming.
A must try when in Chicago. The pizza pot pie takes 20 minutes to make so make sure you have plenty of time because this is a popular spot and will have to wait a bit. Definitely worth it!