Paterno’s Pizza

Our new favorite «night in» is to go to Paterno’s and hang out in their frequently empty dining area off the bar. We can go and play cards or games or watch something on TV with plenty of room to stretch our legs. The food’s solid and the drinks don’t cost too much.

It’s bar pizza, not a big fan of the thick crust style that they offer. The sauce and cheese were delicious though. I likely will stick to other local pizzerias but this place is defiantly worth a try if you want to go out and drink, THEN eat.
Update:
Dang it, I just read a review that they have extra thin crust. Okay I take it back. Maybe just maybe I’ll try it again but this time it will be with beer!

Best pizza on the NW side! Ask for the extra thin crust. They have great apps, salads and sandwiches too. The bar is a little like that scene from Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars… but carry out is the way to go!

Best beef stroganoff y’all eat in the city great bartenders Jojo is awesome. Lots of tvs.

Would be a lot better if there was not always the same creepy old drunk men hanging around inside and outside the place. Kinda ruins it for me.

Great old school place, with an awesome liquor store next door. Get The Incredible Beef! It’s, um, incredible…

Been going here for years. The food is quality, fresh, tasty and made to order. From the Tuna salad to the pizza and everything in between.
We love our pizza cracker thin, and slighty well done. The pizza chef Romero nails it everytime. The other guy Salso does now too. We do order it that way tho. Otherwise it would be thicker. Not bad, just not our preference.
Angela, the young lady whom tends to be the one at the window taking order, is consistently friendly and very efficient.
When we have forgotten our coupon (you can find the coupon in the TV Facts guide, I pick mine up at the wallgreens there on Milwaukee ave) steps up and providing we met the minimum requirements she applies it for us.
I truly appreciate that, for it is good business and helps keep us coming back!
you can have the best food with the worst service and we will not spend any money with you.
This is not the case here.
There is a woman JoJo whom is one of the family members, she makes all the specialties like the green pepper and egg sandwich on Sundays and the meatloaf and even chop suey! She is a fantastic cook. She also bar tends with her husband.
They are both wonderful, welcoming, and very friendly. Always greets you with pleasantries.
We have also hung out a bit there to have a few night caps. It is a older crowd with many regulars. most are very friendly and accepting .
It tends to be a sports bar and therefore the jukebox is on a limited schedule. Also they will not allow for it to be turned on until 7pm to accomadaite some of the regulars whom do not like the jukebox on.
I have mixed reviews on that pratice. But it isn’t a deal breaker for us.
This isn’t your cookie cutter place. It is family owned and has been around for generations.
It is a safe place with seemingly very little drama. No high spirited, misbehaving, unruly patron’s. We truly enjoy that fact.
There is a pool table and a large back room with tables. A nice spot to have a beer and a family dinner (early hours 3 – 8). Gets packed on weekends!
We have been there while families with children are doing just that. It can get a bit annoying when the parents are not monitoring their children, and the children are attempting to play pool and run into the bar area. Lets face it, this is not Chuckie Cheese! Control your kids people, not everyone thinks they are as cute as you do!
All in all a great place for food, song (after 7 of course) take out and a good meeting spot.
Would recommend it for homecooked food, fun &camaraderie.

When I walked in I felt like Eddie Murphy when he walked into the red-​neck bar in the movie 48hrs. A bunch of good old boys were sitting at the bar and couldn’t have made me feel less welcome. I ordered a burger and it was dry and chewy. They use those cheap, frozen shoe string fries that I detest. I also ordered a slice of sausage pizza and it was so salty that I couldn’t finish it. This place sucks @ss!

My buddy recommended Paterno’s for their Italian beef, explaining how they use garlic bread and melt cheese on top (called an incredible on the menu). I usually request provolone on my beef anyway, so this made ordering easier.
They did not disappoint. I got about 8 of ‘em for around $ 55, which is a good price. Everyone was very pleased.
I can’t speak on the pizza, but if you’re looking for a different take on a traditional Italian beef sandwich, definitely come here. I recommend the Incredible Beef, with hot peppers on it, and au jus on the side for dipping.

Nice inside, the cashier was ok alittle spirited when I was inquisitive about pricing and portion sizes. A little too pricey, but this place is usually bustling with customers. I came here on a recommendation from a friend. Looks like a nice place to hang out. Pool tables inside as well. Private parking shared with Foremost liquors. They are doing construction so be wary about getting into the lot.

Nothing I have tried has let me down here, ppl are really nice, most local gents after a work day come here. Everyone seems to know one another, the fries are good the BLT is my fav (light on the lettuce) the pizza is the best! Cold beers on tap, a pool table, room for darts and lots of room for groups with TV’s.
Mostly see folks @ the bar stools but there is plenty of table seating. It’s really affordable so make this your chill spot to decompress after work… ;-)

Used to go here at least once a week with my coworkers but after realizing that they charged for every little thing like extra sauce or extra salad dressing etc we stopped going and there not really that reasonable priced at all mixed in with the workers additudes we just avoid it now

Delicious soups, decent sandwiches, plenty of choices. They also make their own pizza but I haven’t tried it yet. They bake their own bread, too. Very nice people work here, and apparently there are lots of regulars. There’s a large dimly lit bar area as well as another adjacent, better-​lit but dingy dining area. (I think the food and the prices make up for it.) Lots of TV screens in both areas to keep from getting too bored with your tablemates, although it’s mostly if not always sports events. I like the place but it’s not the kind of place that will impress anyone for its ambiance. I think the soups are probably the most impressive. They had a sign outside (maybe it’s still there) touting 14 soups… but that really means they have 14 recipes which they rotate. Usually there are 2 – 4 varieties on a given day. That being said, I’ve never had a soup there that wasn’t fabulous.

i used to think the homogenization of america would succeed. after all, how could one place be different from another in a land populated by identical stores in identical strip malls? but over time, i realized there was no worry about that. for what makes one place different from the next is something intrinsically deeper, something that bubbles up from the soil, and will remain despite all attempts to eradicate geographical differences.
what does this have to do with anything? well, as i sat waiting for my sandwich on the NW side of chicago, this was my revelation. no matter how trendy, hip, gentrified and generic a city or neighborhood may become, you can find little gems from times past sprouting up like weeds through the crack.
paternos is just that place. in business since the late ‘30’ it is what it is, it is not trying to be anything else. the horseshoe bar one sees upon entering is usually full of older neighborhood folks, nursing their cheap lagers, watching sports and making small talk. with the cop station down the road, i imagine officer friendly has a chaser after work at paternos. no tattooed hipsters here.
the food? their eggplant parmesan sandwich was quite delicious, their pizza nothing spectacular but no skimping on portions here. this is not the place for local, organic dishes. but you will get alot of food at a decent price, for this is not wicker park. they have revolution IPA on tap along with the same macrobrews you would find at any local watering hole.
in an era of trendiness taken to the nth degree, in an era where food and alcohol have to be themed and entertaining, its nice to see places like paternos around, culinary archeological sites evoking earlier, simpler times. i like it

Burgers are great, chicken Parmesan sandwich is very good too. Pizza is not the best though. I recommend highly!

Great family dining, their menu has a variety of selections. I would recommend trying out their Italian beef with extra juice and the pizza is fantastic. For catering definitely the lasagna. Great customer service. The people are very friendly and welcoming.

I hate to have to drop a star, almost two.
Let me explain the updated review. I went here for dinner and ordered the Incredible Beef with fries. I’ll say the beef was great. The problem is Paterno’s changed their fries.
Oh Paterno’s, why did you change the fries? The new fries are the crispy coated fries, which I can’t stand. I don’t like them enough, that I will limit my orders and go elsewhere.
I really like the other food I’ve had here at Paterno’s. I will not be ordering something with fries, which is unfortunate, I really like the Incredible Beef!

There is a dining room, but I’ve rarely seen anyone in there.
Food is average 1970’s take-​out fare. Grease city.
Characters galore after 10 pm. As in automatically harassing you at the jukebox.
There could be 3 people in there, and two of them will have no qualms coming up to you if you dare put in $ 2 to override Deep Purple.
If you’re ok with cheap beer, people passed out on the bar at 12 am, and getting harassed by socially-​awkward, bored regulars, then you may be comfortable here.

I’m kind of torn…
On the one hand: they have a huge menu (I love love love variety), great pizza, ah-​mazing Italian beef, and for the most part all around good food! Most of the people there are really nice, the food is out fast and you get to watch a bit of tv while waiting.
But on the other: They don’t deliver which can be a bummer and it seems every time I order over the phone my food gets screwed up. They will honor and try to fix the screw up but I don’t want to have to drive back and forth after working all day. (and one time I heard one of the (cooks?) talking S#!T in the back ground when I called.
So I’m starting to wonder if the good food out weighs the crappy service…

When I am in the mood for an Italian Beef, in old Chicago style, I head to Paterno’s Pizza, an old, family-​owned and operated restaurant and bar in Jefferson Park. They do it right!
Their Italian beef is served on a toasted garlic hoagie roll, stuffed with thin slice Italian beef with melted provolone (or mozzarella, your choice) cheese on the top. I like to ask for the au jus sauce on the side because then my bread doesn’t get soggy as I eat. I treat it as a French dip and dip my sandwich in the sauce as I eat. Yum!
Anyways, this place is always filled with the regulars. A bunch of crusty, funny, old guys, just sitting around shooting the sh*t. Always good for a laugh. Really, this place has character!
The pizza is pretty good, too. But that Italian beef just calls my name!