vito & nick's pizzeria

awful, just awful. the entire experience was horrendous. will never return and am upset that i lost time out of my life going here.

location: d
ambiance: d
menu selection: d
drink selection: f
service: f--- (worst i've ever had!)
food: f

overall: f

melted cheese, green giardineer, toasted sausage and beef, crust charred perfectly on the edges.

i picked up the first piece.

the traffic light turned green. my fellow suit hit the accelerator.

i tumbled into the backseat spilling italian beef and giardineer all over his floor boards -- and his suit coat hanging precariously just above the pizza box.

they say vito and nick's is the king of thin crust pizza done chicago-style. that certainly sounds intriguing. so, when i found myself on the south side with some friends this week, we decided to hit it up. the bar has been around for years, and that they

with roots in sicily, the story of vito & nick’s pizzeria starts around 1923, first a tavern and then another from vito barraco before the addition of pizza when son nick joined the business after being discharged from the us air force.

starting as thick squares, but eventually developing the thin dough that typifies chicago’s signature “tavern style,” it is currently at 84th and pulaski that guests can experience what many consider to be one of chi-town’s best pies – a rumor undoubtedly benefited from guy fieri’s diners, drive-ins, & dives.

at this point a south side institution, and still operating at limited capacity amidst covid-19, guests visiting vito & nick’s can expect brusque greetings and cash-only sales, nick barraco’s 1965 quote that "we will never deliver, if they want a truly great pizza, they will come in for it" still standing today.

known for using housemade italian sausage and giardiniera, the latter with italian beef something of a signature, it was instead from a middle-age waitress who smelled of cigarettes that an $18.25 “half sausage/half cheese” was served, a slightly charred edge and plenty of herbs enjoyable though the crust was neither as thin or crackling as that of pat’s on north lincoln.

arguably the oldest pizzeria in chicago, vito and nicks started as a tavern only in the 30s, before adding pizza a few years later. while most people in america associate “deep dish” pizza with chicago, it didn’t really come along til a decade or more later. til then, and even today, what we all “tavern style” pizza is the city’s favorite.

vito and nick's is a legend in chicago, the place claiming to have the best tavern style pizza in the land.  this is a local spot, where everyone comes in for a drink or pizza throughout the day.  it's cash only, so be aware in advance.  we decided to try it one day, getting the garlic bread with cheese to start before the sausage pizza came.  the garlic bread with cheese was filling and good.  the pizza itself was flavorful with the cheese and cracker crust.  however, my family thought that the cheese should be more greasy, hence filled with flavor.  this was in part due to the sausage they used.  the sausage wasn't anything special, though it was lean, not having much grease to soak into the pizza.

this was a fun exit the dock for lunch. ruby's resembles an old style coffee shop with new nourishment and old style sustenance. we had a patty soften that was done well. call for reservations or get ready to hold up 20-30 minutes. on the off chance that they had more staff, the hold up wouldn't be so long, as there were vacant tables. the perspectives are astounding and we got the chance to see a few sailboats as they passed by.

best damn pizza in chicago!

walked in and didn't know what to expect. i was greeted by mary who is a bartender. she took my order and i waited patiently. you may have to wait for a while if it's on a saturday during a cubs game. but totally worth the wait. i ordered a small sausage, pepperoni, black olives, and mushroom pizza. it was so good!!! i would come back!

delicious typical chicago food. great ribs and burgers and wonderful atmosphere. a must when in chicago, highly recommend.delicious typical chicago food. great ribs and burgers and wonderful atmosphere. a must when in chicago, highly recommend.

amazing! ask for the jam to add to your bread! the sweet potato fries with tomato aioli are a good side with your lager. the food is delicious. we've been for brunch, lunch, and dinner, and have never left disappointed. a nice beer selection is a plus. service was pretty good.

vito & nick’s deserves a lot of the praise it gets from national outlets. it’s a fantastic neighborhood pizzeria and unlike anything you will find in the strip malls and downtowns throughout the chicago suburbs chicago has such a reputation for the deep dish pizza but it’s this neighborhood pizza style that chicagoans really identify with.

possibly my favorite place in the world. grew up eating pizza here and in my 47 years on earth i've never had better pizza. the place looks exactly the same as i remember it and that only adds to the experience. from the tinkle lights over the bar, the dirty cracked tile floor, the guys tossing the paddle back and forth in the kitchen, to the black oven dust on your perfectly juicy yet crispy squares of heaven...i adore everything about this place. see you thursday!

tastefully thin. if your a thin crust fan, this is your place. it was not a cracker crisp crust like i was hoping for but tasty. the sliced beef they do is out of this world.
i tasted a typical pep pizza. their homemade sausage pizza. yes their sausage is amazing.
then of course their sliced beef with the gardineieres! all washed down with some tasty pbr!

our service was awesome. i suspected it not to be, happy to be wrong. our waitress provideded us with some laughs and kept our beverages full. as busy as this place was, i was impressed.

my only annoyance was a guy whom kept bumping into my chair while i was eating. its tight quarters! atmosphere was positive. seemed to be a good mom and pop place.

this place has been on the bucket list for several years. it was a long arduous drive to the south side for me today taking the back way in -- but so worth it. the pizza is perfect. some of the best i've ever had - and i've swallowed a lot of pizzas. far exceeds any hype. so glad i went and i will be back anytime i'm in chicago.

after taking an hour and a half trying to figure out which pizzeria tyjo, his girl, and i could conveniently meet at, we decided to just go with our original first pick from the hat and drive to vito and nick"s. one of the further pizzerias on our list, vito and nick's is known for being one of the best pizzas on the south-side. we're still new to chicago, but apparently south-side can mean "a little south and way west of downtown" side.. but hey, it didn't disappoint. vito and nick's sorta looked like an 80s bar combined with a diner. and the fact that it was cash only really helped make that seem like a reality.

tyjo: this was almost a new genre of pizza for us. for a while it had been either the fancy fluffy flat breads or deep dish and this was one of our first genuine flat