PizzaPapalis

Beautiful pan — not so beautiful cheese!
While stammering through Greek town company and I barged into pizza papalis. As a lover of crust we right away ordered the pan pizza. As an appetizer we ate a basket of fries which came with decent speed. The wait was not so bad — for the food that is. We waited an extended amount of time for our check. No Bueno. When the pan arrived half of the pizza was fantastic! Beautiful crust — thick and crispy! The cheese on our pan was falling off and one half of the pizza’s cheese was crispy and delicious, while the other’s was just melted. Overall I would say it was a good meal in a pinch.

A great pizzeria located in the middle of Greek town.
The service was wonderful. Our server came by several times to Check on our group, offered us refills and cleared our plates and brought us clean ones when our pizza came out.
The Chicago style deep dish pizza was amazing! It takes a little time, 40 mins or so, make sure you bring your patience. I promise you will be rewarded. It was oozing cheese and the crust was flaky and not too thick. The tomato sauce on top was spot on. Great flavor!
They have some pretty good deals on Detroit beer…2.75 a bottle. Total Steal!
The price for the pizza was more than reasonable and when you factor in the great service, this little pizza shop is a GEM!
Check this place out!

Great service and food. The red sauce with the meat balls are perfection! Calzone was on point. The fresh baked cookies pizza with ice cream on top was the only way to finish a yummy wholesome meal. I am glad I had two coworkers recommend this place to me.

Great place to stop for pizza before the hockey game. We were there 2 hours before game time and didn’t have a wait but noticed it was getting busier as we left.
We had the mozzarella sticks for an appetizer and they were good. 6 to share between the two of us. We had a small pan pizza (6 pieces) and it was delicious. We chose the bacon cheeseburger speciality and were more than happy. The crust was amazing. Not too filling.
We ended up taking two pieces home with us. Looking forward to those leftovers!

Terrible chicken wings. They are almost cold. Very badly cooked. Sauces are too bad.
Service wasn’t good either. Totally bad experience. Waste of time and money.

Deep dish VIP with added Italian sausage — wow! Will have to try other locations to see if they are as good as this one. Really, really great deep dish pizza.

Looking to enjoy Chicago style deep dish pizza but stuck in Detroit? Then stop by Pizza Papalis for probably the closest (if not on par) thing to Giordano’s/Lou Mal’s. Located in Greektown, this location usually has large crowds from the casino — as a plus, they do accept comp vouchers for payment.
Be aware that ordering deep dish pizzas will usually have a 45 — 65 minute wait time. The wait is worth it though as the portions and taste are something that usually is only found in Chicago. Expect to spend $ 10 — $ 15 a head whether it be on pizza or their variety of baked sandwiches and pastas. The Antipasto Salad is also a delicious appetizer!
Overall, a great location and great restaurant with very friendly staff. Call ahead if you are in a hurry!

If you love Chicago style pizza this is the place to go. I live in the Chicago area but still come to this place whenever we are in town. We were just there a couple weeks ago on a very busy day. We had my Mom with us who is in a wheelchair and were seated immediately. For the first time we tried the deep dish pizza. It was great. Next time we are in Detroit we will be there again.

Im from Cali I’ve been to lots of pizza places.
But this joint right here! I believe I had a slice of heaven and God himself Hi-​fived me from downtown.
I mean its probably the first time I had a real «Pizza Pie» *in my italian voice*
It was like a pizza sanctuary where all the pizzas roam wild. Lol
Service was great even tho it was a 30 minute wait. It was completely worth it. Take a group of friends. Want to watch the game, no problem! Want to team meetings in good environment, Go check this place out.

This is my favorite restaurant for Chicago style pizza. Yes, I like it even more than Giordano’s and Lou Malnati’s in Chicago. Yes, it’s in Detroit, haha.
The seafood pizza is spectacular. The crust is crispy and flaky. (It’s also nice and soft if you heat it up the leftovers). The filling is full of cheese that wants to stretch for miles. Seriously, it’s a delicious mess. The seafood is generous. I need one slice to be full, but I usually end up eating two because I can’t stop eating this til I regret.
My only complaint is that it takes a long time to get to this deliciousness. They prepare the pizzas when you order, which makes it very fresh. However, expect to wait about 40 minutes for a large pizza. I guess you can enjoy an order of wings in the meantime. Those are good too!

My friends and I were in town for a concert downtown and were so happy to find this place! It was open late, the deep dish pizza was delicious and everyone was friendly. We also didn’t have to wait long for a table even though there was a rush.
We each had the Antipasto side salad and it was awesome! We really enjoyed the house dressing that came with it and the pizza tasted like we were in Chicago… Make sure to pre-​order your deep dish pizza as soon as you arrive so you don’t have too long to wait for food once you get a table. My sister had the spaghetti and meatballs and while it tasted good, there wasn’t much sauce and it looked dry to me. If you like sauce, ask for extra.
I’d definitely recommend!

The pizza, breadsticks, salads, and atmosphere cannot be beat. While the deep dish pizza was excellent (and rivals anything I have had in Chicago), the regular crust was more flavorful. I would go with the regular crust all day every day.
We visited Detroit for a wedding and enjoyed our trip to PizzaPapalis in Greektown for the rehearsal dinner. The restaurant is divided between a dining section and a bar. The bar serves as a gathering hall and traditional bar. Location can’t be beat right across the street from the Greektown Casino, in the middle of a bunch of bars, restaurants, street performers and other nightlife. If we ever make it back to Detroit, I will be sure to stop in.

Tip: call and order ahead so you don’t have to wait long for your pizza!
It’s just as good as it has always been… any pizza with pepperoni on it here is amazing, the papalis gourmet is also a plus. Keep in mind you really can’t do more than two slices, so unless you’re with more than 3 people, just order a small ;)

We were in Detroit for an overnight layover and Unilocaled a local joint for dinner, and this place came up. It did not disappoint.
Got a thin crust pizza, and it was amazing. Beer was cheap and the service was great. No complaints…

Ok. I’ve eaten at pretty well all the deep dish pizza places in Chicago — Gino’s East, Lou Malnati’s, Giordano’s, Uno. So I could not fathom a deep dish pizza place in Detroit being decent.
Was I wrong! Pizza papalis was delicious! It’s not as heavy as the places in Chicago. Probably the closest comparator is Lou Malnati’s. The crust is what makes the difference. It’s extremely tasty and light. And you are not overwhelmed with as many toppings as the Chi-​town places. Sometimes the pizza sits like a brick when u get deep dish.
Ate at the Greektown location. Two levels.
45 minutes for the pizza. Piping hot. Medium pizza was way more than three people could eat.
Price reasonable.
Go!!!

I have tried my fare-​share of deep dish pizzas in downtown Chicago, so my bar was set pretty high coming into this pizza joint. Not going to lie, I was really setting myself up for disappointment. However, I am pleased to announce that disappointment is too strong of a word. In fact, this word does not apply to this place at all. Because this place is anything but disappointment.
My co-​workers and I made the mistake of each of us ordering our individual small deep dish pizzas. There were 5 of us, but honestly if we share two small deep dish that prob woulda been enough, since each of us only consumed about 2 – 3 pieces of our pizza. But that left plenty of room for leftovers!
I got the vegetarian deep dish pizza because I have ribs leftover in the fridge for me. The wait was a bit long, it was around 40 – 45 minutes wait because they make everything FRESH and ON THE SPOT. And besides, after a long day of work with co-​workers, killing 40 – 45 minutes is a piece of cake~
The place claimed to be Chicago style, and hell ya it was! I was beyond pleased to have a taste of home because I haven’t tasted a deep dish pizza in months! And everything just taste so phenomenal! Be it chewy crust, melted cheese, or the complimentary topping of your choice, this place definitely lives up to its name! Would come back if I am ever in the Detroit area!

My experience here is a clear example of wanting to love something, hoping you’ll love something, and it all falls into place. For years friends would tell me I MUST make it out to Pizza Papalis, and they were right.
Just walking into the joint I wanted to leave. The line looked like it would be at least 40 minutes long, and I usually refuse to wait anywhere more than 10 – 15. If my girlfriend wasn’t with me I would have bounced out, but she was content and I didn’t want to be a dick, so we stayed. Let me tell you that I completely understand that many restaurants are busy, and my ratings are rarely influenced by wait time, I just didn’t want to lie and say we were sat quickly when we were not. We were sat almost IMMEDIATELY! About 10 minutes. On. A. Saturday. Night. Lovely.
Next, was a server touched by an angel. Cheyanne, our waitress, was near perfect. Pleasant without being in our faces too much, knowledgeable about the food and menu, and fast with our order, without making us feel rushed. I highly suggest requesting her if you decide to eat here, and you should decide to eat here.
Starting with the soup, I am use to a thicker Minestrone, but it was well seasoned and came with plenty of veggies. It also came with warm bread sticks, so I was more than happy.
The Fettuccine with Meat Sauce was a PERFECT al dente; something not easily found in most restaurants. I’ll admit I was surprised by that. Many places cook the shit out of pasta, especially fettuccine, making it mushy. This one was out of sight Jack!
The pizza was good as well. I’ve definitely had better, but it would destroy nearly every «fast food pizza» in a competition.
So, why didn’t I give this place 5 Stars. A few reason really. The wine menu is somewhat limited, but that’s kind of expected for the kind of place it is. Still, being downtown, I’d think I would have a few higher end choices. And alas, the bathroom the bathroom was the only real disappointment of the evening. It was tore to shit. A place like that needs an employee in there every 15 – 20 minutes, and it looked like no one had serviced the restroom in ages. Not everything can be a winner, but I’ll tell you what. If you can hold your blather for an hour or two, make your way down to this place and have yourself a nice time.

My coworker who lived in Chicago said this place was as good or better than any he had there. And so lay down the challenge. After eating there I have to say I agree with him. Some of our misguided colleagues thought we should try all their styles of pizza (thin, pan, deep dish) and so we ended up ordering a bacon-​cheeseburger thin crust, a papalis pan, and a spinach w/​sausage deep dish. To be fair, all were better than average pizzas, but only the deep dish is worth driving across town or flying across the country for. I sampled one slice of each and was full but not exploding.
The deep dish was certainly as good as any I’ve had. I’d have to sit them back to back to really be able to say which was the best. The sauce was perfect, very tangy and with perfect use of herbs. The crust was hefty enough to stand up to the weight of the cheese/​sauce/​topping monstrosity but still buttery and not at all brick like as some places are. The cheese was gooey, light and delicious. The only way this pizza would have been better (for me) would have been if it had pepperoni and black olives in it instead of the spinach :)
Their «pan» is simply the deep dish base but set up like a normal pizza with sauce under cheese and toppings on top. Their thin crust was just that, thin. All were good, but there is no way I would come here and not order a deep dish in future. That would be like reading Consumer Reports to see which cars were best rated and skippiing the car that is #1 in its class to buy the #4. Why would you do that?
Service was excellent, and my strawberry colada was just ok. I’d probably skip it next time and go straight for a regular piña colada or something else. But, this was deep dish nirvana.

Love this place. The restaurant is huge, clean, rustic. The pizza is delicious always. So rich and cheesy, perfectly flaky crust. A slice or two can fill you up. Deep dish pizza can take up to 45 minutes to make. For 2 people a small is probably enough. Entertain yourself with their Greek salad is soo good and light, and huge it can be shared with 3 people.
This is one of my fave pizza places in the city.
Once you get out, go have dessert somewhere in greektown. Or just walk around, the area is awesome.

I was staying in downtown Detroit during my last visit, and I really wanted to try some Detroit-​style pizza. Since I didn’t have a car I was pretty much limited to the downtown area for food options. While I didn’t get to have Detroit-​style pizza (Pizza Papalis is Chicago style), I still had a pretty decent pie.
Pizza Papalis, which is a smallish chain in the Michigan/​Ohio area, does not serve pizza by the slice but they do serve a 6″ personal-​sized pizza as a lunch special, with limited toppings/​fillings: cheese, pepperoni, and spinach. Anything fancier with more fancy toppings would require purchasing a bigger pizza, which for one person would be too much. Since I was by myself, I ordered a 6″ spinach pie for myself, which was finger licking good: flaky crust, gooey cheese, and plenty of spinach filling. Even though this 6″ pizza pie was somewhat on the smaller size, it definitely made me full pretty fast (I couldn’t finish it… It was too rich).
Pizza Papalis definitely did the job of providing me with some good pizza during my trip to Detroit. If I come here again in the future, I probably will skip on the lunch special and try one of the larger fancier pizza pies (granted I have others to share them with)!