Monical’s Pizza

My babe loves Monicals pizza. In my opinion. For the price it isn’t quite worth it. Don’t get me wrong the pizza is delicious and the tiny cracker like crust is good too but cmonnnnn way to expensive. The breadsticks are good. Try the ranch pizza. Good yet pricy

I feel terrible for the youth of Kankakee County that had this to grow up on to eat. All too frequently after reading both location’s reviews, the consensus is this: with no exposure to other pizzas in the area, locals find it delicious; anyone who has dined on pizza closer to Chicago recognizes that Monical’s is a pale excuse for a pizza.
The «Pleaser» meal is one of the chain’s signature entrees, which isn’t saying much; it’s a pitcher of your favorite diabetes-​inducing corn syrup water, a basic salad drizzled with what has frequently been described as «candy-​like», «reddish» and «tarty», and a pizza that can be best summed up as canned, unseasoned tomato sauce on a cracker crust with a little bit of cheese sprinkled on top.
It’s an embarrassing contribution to Chicagoland pizza, one that should honestly be locked up in the attic and forgotten.
Please, good people of Bourbonnais, Bradley and Kankakee, do yourselves a favor: experience what flavorful, rich pizza tastes like and dine with one of the other chains in the area. It is no exaggeration to say that all of them easily put to shame what Monical’s has to offer in their budget-​saving meal. If sweet, unidentifiable salad dressing is required to increase the flavor of the basic pizza, they’re doing pizza wrong.

Can’t beat the lunch buffet. Can get a little busy so bring your patience or stay home.

I grew up eating monical’s and since coming back home, this was my first time getting some. It was just as good as I remember. Just hits the spot for me. Perfect thin/​crispy crust! It’s just as good eating when cold!

Monical’s first location was Tolono, IL, about 10 miles south of Champaign. The current Monical’s pizza is a pale nod to the original. You can still get the original and delicious pizza at Old Orchard Lanes (yes, a bowling house) in Savoy, IL, and at Zelma’s in Champaign. Zelma’s was opened by Ralph Monical and his kids, so they know how to make the pizza. Update: Zelma’s is closed.

Love the pizza. The lunch Buffet is also good. We live in joliet but we always come here for pizza .the onion and bacon the best.

This is reliably delicious pizza and salad… Thin, crispy crust and fresh toppings. My family’s go-​to is a family pleaser (pizza, salad, and a pitcher of pop/​soda, tea, etc.) ALLERGEN FRIENDLY, too!!! My son is allergic to dairy and they were very helpful in accommodating.

We all already know their pizza is the best thin crust in the history of all thin crust, but this review is for the lunch pizza buffet.
Shame on me for never knowing that they even HAD a lunch buffet, but once I saw the sign advertising it at $ 7 and some change, I was in. All of your favorite part of Monicals can be found on the buffet: the pizza, breadsticks and salad. You have to order at the counter and pre-​pay. This also means pre-​paying for tip if you didn’t bring cash. A soda will run you another $ 2 and if you want cheese for your breadsticks, that will run you some extra moolah too. You could be at about $ 10 depending on what you order. They also ask you what kind of salad dressing you want, but rest assured there’s no extra charge for the dressing. They give you a number and you’re on your way.
My friend and I paid separately but they gave us the same ticket #. When they brought me my water, they took our # and then we noticed a server wandering around the dining room with a Pepsi. We had to flag her down to let her know that it belonged to us. This was the way that our service was for the rest of the meal – very scattered and spotty. It took about 10 minutes for us to get refills, then when we did, we ended up with 2 each. We just went with it in case the servers disappeared again.
Everything on the buffet was great. The pizza was extremely hot, as was my corn chowder. I was sad about not having cheese for my breadsticks and the marinara just didn’t suffice. I loved that they have more than just their famous salad-​they also had macaroni salad, fresh veggies and cottage cheese.
This place was PACKED at noon, which is probably why the pizza was constantly rotating. The food was and is always worth the money, but the service was a little off. I’m still a fan of the food, but I think if I came back for the buffet, I’d come back either before or after the noon rush.

We had the buffet. It had a great variety for the price. The white cheese pizza was delicious and the cherry turnover was grey. Servers were friendly.

I absolutely LOVE Monicals pizza! It’s the same at all locations, but they have the best thin crust pizza. I usually do the pizza, salad, and soda and am always satisfied. You should definitely try this place!

This is some of the worse pizza I ever ate. The sauce is just tomato sauce no flavor, the crust is way too thin. They need a serious revamp to their food. It seems like only people who grew up out in this area enjoy this pizza.

I had the cheese pizza from here and it really didn’t have any flavor to it. I tasted the sausage pizza and it was a little better. I would recommend getting the sauce for the pizza to add flavor. I live closer to the city and I might be spoiled by the pizza restaurants out there. Would not go back for the pizza.

I have been having their family pleasers since I was 13. I have enjoyed taking my kids there. They even «taught» me to use the French dressing on the pizza! It is a relaxed atmosphere and they do have a great lunch buffet!

I always make at least one stop here when passing through. It is a clean, fun, tasty place to take the family at lunch time. The buffet is a great bargain. You will get the choice of two fresh soups, salad, various pizzas, and desserts. The cherry dessert pizza was my favorite today. The pepperoni is always a winner. There were no less than six different pizzas. You will notice a distinct difference in the pizza crust. it is thin and crispy. it has a cornmeal type of texture on the underside. I don’t know how they make it. I just know they have something good going and must continue. The staff is attentive and the food is always hot. It is a great value, so the lunch buffet is an excellent choice for large groups. It has a 70’s kind of flashback décor with associated music. I would recommend this as a viable food choice when the area. It won’t break your pocketbook either!

I can see why people from these parts think Monical’s is the goods. It’s better than Dominoes, Papa Johns, and Pizza Hut. I’m not going to say Little Caesars. I actually like Little Caesars, because screw you.
A friend took me here because she has some silly fascination with their pizza. Mostly because the crust is super thin, and it didn’t disappoint in that aspect. Much like the people in this town, the crust is very cracker like. Our pizza had sausage and pepperoncinis on it. I guess it’s too far away from Chicago for them to have giardiniera. I was not a fan of the sausage, because it was that typical pizza chain sausage. I know. Pizza from the big city has spoiled me. The service was good, not great. The waiter seemed like he didn’t care about anything, but I think that was just his face. He was kind of nice.
Overall, an okay pizza. But lacking in flavor just a bit.

Tried the lunch buffet today. I’m an out-​of-​towner and was treated by my local colleagues. Color me impressed! You order at the front counter (a little slow service, but much worth it!) and take a seat in the dining room. From there you can dine on a good looking salad bar, pasta and breadstick bar and of course the pizza bar with many different styles and toppings, including dessert pizzas like apple-​stussel and cinnamon-​sugar.
Each pizza slice I tried is delicious. As the buffet empties, staff quickly brings more and more, and endless varieties. If you’ve ever tried Ci-ci’s (chain)pizza buffet, it’s very similar, but far tastier.
TIP: salad dressings are not at the bar, you have to ask for them. They’re kept in a fridge somewhere in squirt bottles. My colleagues informed me that the «French» dressing is famous here and people even put it on their pizza. Skeptical, but not to snub the local tradition, I gave it a shot… And you know what? I spent the rest of the afternoon daydreaming about it. Mmm…
First visit here, but I’m a fast fan!

I strongly recommend the lunch buffet for its value and quality. The best in town in my opinion. The service is a little spotty, except for one person who has been there forever and has amazing work ethic. If I ever opened a restaurant I would do whatever it takes to hire this particular person. My experiences with the a la carte menu and dinner have been mediocre. It almost seems that the pizza, on more than one occasion, was devoid of sauce.
Anyway, try the lunch on a weekday. You won’t be disappointed.

My wife and her friend went to Monical’s all the time when they went to ISU a few years back.
Apparently the closest Monical’s to Clarendon Hills was in Bourbonnais. Yes. We drove to Bourbonnais from the west suburbs for the sole purpose of going to Monical’s. Oh… and we took LaGrange… the entire way! 57 on the way home though of course!
I opened the menu and felt terrified as I couldn’t find any beer on the menu. Luckily they did have bottles and my terror subsided.
The service was great. The salad and breadsteaks weren’t bad. The breadsticks reminded me of those big pretzels you can get at the concession stands at pools and baseball games. Dipped those bad boys in some cheese.
The pizza was decent. Thin and crispy. Scarfed down about half a large while my wife and her friend shared the other half (plain cheese… lamers).
The price was right. 3 beers…2 soft drinks… a salad…5 bread sticks and a large pizza for under 50 bucks with tip. Not bad.
Don’t remember her name but our waitress was very nice.

It’s true… this is a local favorite. I am the local exception to that rule however. I never developed a taste for their pizza. My kiddos and wife are nuts over it however I compare it to crackers with a ketchupy sauce. If they force me to eat it, I highly suggest extra cheese. Make sure you saturate it in the red dressing as well. I could go there just for the salad.
On a side note, the wait staff is great and the time from when you sit down to when you are served couldn’t be shorter.

3.5 is more accurate.
I ate here recently when I was in town visiting my mum. You can’t get anything like Monical’s anywhere else… I grew up eating this stuff (Family Pleaser anyone?!) and so on the rare occasion I’m near one, I stop in.
The pizza has a great THIN and crispy crust. The best way to eat it (IMHO) is with the french dressing on top. Man, that stuff must have crack in it!
The service was «meh», but the pizza and dressing will always have me craving a piece of this nostalgia when I’m in town.