A & A Pagliai’s Pizza

A great old-​fashioned pizzeria just off campus.
I like Pagliai’s pizza and I think you will too. As soon as you enter the restaurant you are greeted by about 7 guys in matching uniforms making dozens of pizza’s in the open kitchen.
The restaurant has a very classic feel to it from the booths to the décor. It really reminds me of the kind of places I’d go with my family as a kid, the only thing missing is an arcade in the back.
They do pizza really well. Sauce and crust are delicious. Their pepperoni is fantastic! The downside is drinks are a little expensive and there aren’t really any non-​pizza options that are going to blow your mind.
One more thing in their favor is that they are off campus, so you can go out without being surrounded by Sophomores.

If in the mood for delicious, thin, crunchy pizza without all the ‘bells and whistles’ of a full restaurant this is Iowa City’s perfect spot. Granted it does not carry the ideal brews that other locales provides. A&A Pagliai’s Pizza excels in the execution of their craft, pizza. Nothing fancy here. Come for the pizza and enjoy the ride!

Though pronouncing this restaurants name correctly may be difficult deciding to eat here is not. This is probably my favorite pizza in Iowa city. They have dine in and carry out options that are sure to please.

Pagliai’s is, by far, my favorite pizza in Iowa City. It has the perfect thin crust and is always baked to perfection. Food doesn’t have to be fancy to be good and Pagliai’s most certainly is not fancy — but it is delicious.

If it’s not the best pizza in town it is certainly in the top 3. It’s great everytime. This is where the locals get their pizza.

Success! I good pizza finally. We went on a cold Friday night ordered a 14 in. mushroom, sausage and onion for carryout. The place was busy but service was fast and polite. The pizza was really very good. We will be returning for sure.

Park across the street if you can’t find a spot next door. You can get frozen pies to go. Thin crust pizza, the sauce was on the sweet side but very good. Tomatoes were a strange flavor so we didn’t finish that pizza but overall it was good. Service was simple and the waitresses seemed to have classic training.

I am very dissatisfied with my experience at this restaurant last night both in service and taste of pizzas. We ordered several pizzas last night for carry out, several of which I tried, tasted very bland. After spending more than $ 100 in pizzas, I called to speak with a manager about how once we had gotten the pizzas home, we realized that the order was wrong. The service I received is not what I would expect of a long time business. There was nothing done to try to either make me a new pizza or refund my money, but rather he argued with me and blamed me that I had confirmed the order was correct. In the future I will be taking my business to establishments that work to provide better service to paying customers.

I’m really confused by all the good reviews, and will not be repeat customers.
We are somewhat new to the area and kept hearing how great Pagliai’s is, so decided to try it tonight. I was first taken back when I ordered water with lemon and I was brought water with a packet of lemon juice. Are you kidding me? We ordered a 14″ pizza, half pepperoni/​half tomato for $ 17. With a beer and tip, $ 24. I was under the impression (silly me) the tomatoes would be freshly sliced tomatoes. Instead they were more like crushed or diced tomatoes straight from the can, complete with stainless steel taste. Or was that the sauce? Not to mention the crust that tasted like Totinos. Thin and bland. The icing on the cake was that when I asked for parmesan cheese the waitress said they didn’t have any! They had oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and garlic salt on the table, but no cheese.
I’ve come to the conclusion this is a restaurant that does not believe in fresh ingredients: lemon juice packets, canned tomatoes, spices that do not require refrigeration. If I wanted that, I would just have a frozen pizza at home, where I can at least have parmesan cheese!

So many people told Hubs and I that we needed to try this place for great pizza. We were very excited and filled with high hopes. Unfortunately, our hopes were dashed and we were left sad and dejected by the cardboard-​y pizza.
The restaurant itself is quaint and lively. The servers are very nice and helpful.
The pizza was the disappointment for us. We had the thin crust. It wasn’t cheap. But it honestly tasted like frozen pizza from a grocery store. And, not even the nostalgic rectangular frozen pizza you remember from being a kid in grade school when you didn’t know what pizza could be, or the high priced gourmet grocery store pizza. This was like generic store brand’s ugly sister. No bueno.
Oh well, this place still get’s three stars for the wait staff and the ambiance. Go have good beer and some bad pizza. Enough beers and you won’t even care.

Perfect combination of the freshest mozzarella and toppings with a sauce and thin crust that has been pleasing Iowa Citians for decades! Third and fourth generation Pagliai family members insure that the quality is the same as when Grandpa was turning out killer pies back in the 60’s. Dine in and worry about the mouth burns tomorrow, its the badge of honor for not letting it cool! Iowa Ciy classic…

The pizza is fine, but not outstanding. The menu is meager to the point of absurdity. Literally ALL they make is pizza; you’d think they could make it better. And the pizza is pricey for what it is, as are the sodas and tiny glasses of beer.
The restaurant is a bit of a dump – not dirty, but simply stuck in the way it looked probably 30 years ago. Not in a calculated nostalgic manner, but rather in that it looks like literally no money has gone into updating the place for decades. The wide open floor plan – which includes the «kitchen» area where at least ten people are crammed together making and retrieving pizzas – means good luck trying to have a conversation with your dining companions.
I simply don’t understand the inflated rating this place seems to have on Unilocal.To each their own, but there are so many better places to eat in Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty.

The absolute best pizza in Iowa City!!! They keep it simple and traditional and they do it well! We order carry out at least once a month and our order is always ready when we arrive and the staff is always polite. This may be the cleanest place in town, even when they are busy, the staff keeps the kitchen area very clean. I HIGHLY recommend you go for the double crust, it takes the pizza to a whole new level!

It’s the best pizza I’ve had in Iowa City so far. However, compared to say, the selection in Chicago it’s probably closer to a 3 than a 5. But it was good. (And actually the cold leftovers at midnight were even better somehow? I think the crust was maybe a little dry when it came out hot, but tasted better after being in the fridge a few hours.) And I loved the simple menu. And our service was excellent. And the the place was clean, well staffed, a good value, etc. so I have to go 4 stars. And I would go back for sure.

This old-​school pizza parlor has the best pie in town and tons of ambiance. I like that it’s on the outskirts of the downtown area, so it’s easier to find and has decent parking. The staff is friendly and the service is usually relatively fast. There aren’t any fancy, trendy combinations or options on the menu, but it doesn’t matter because their pizza is perfection. I can see why locals swear by this place!

Best pizza in the state! Traditional style thin pizza. Been around for ever! I grew up with this pizza. Great sausage, great sauce!

The toppings were not very abundant and it was ok pizza altogether. I feel we have quite a few better options in the area.

This is the best pizza I’ve had in a crazy long time!
It seems like I’ve had a pizza craving for the last two years and although I’ve had a lot of good pizza in that time, I haven’t had anything that qualifies as just plain good pizza. Well finally, Pagliai’s is that. I’m going to get all introspective here and say, «the secret’s in the sauce,» because their sauce is absolutely perfect of what you want in your pizza’s tomato sauce — sweet and tomato-​y without the acidic preservative aftertaste. They use generous amounts of cheese and the crust is soft and stretchy.
Also, how awesome that they make it in front of you and in such an awesome setting!
Oh my goodness, it’s just too delicious.

Best pizza in the world. smells awesome… a must taste… pizza. Iowa city is so lucky…

Picture this, Eastern Iowa 2014.
A weary Californian braves two flights to end up in Cedar Rapids. Dehydrated he is told by his tour guide that he must experience a local favorite while they coast at a respectable speed down I-​380 toward Iowa City.
It’s not long after that the tour guide calls in an order of three large pizzas: Sausage & Cheese, Cheese and Palace Special (Sausage, Beef, Pepperoni, Mushroom & Onion) for pick up. The Californian begins to wonder if he’ll be the one to run in as he’d never experienced an Iowa City favorite. Sure enough he does and is met by boisterous college kids, families and their somewhat hellish children. Surely there was something that could calm his nerves and like the sun coming out of a dark storm cloud he saw a smiling employee beckoning him to pay and go with the pizzas ordered.
In a flash, the nice young lady had the pizzas at the ready, ran the Californian’s card and cheerfully sent him on his way. And in like any other story, the Californian and pizzas drove off into the sunset aka a house in the Court Hill neighborhood…
The pizzas were unlike any other I’d tasted, the ingredients played well with each other and I could taste hometown pride in every bite. I know what I’m getting each time I come back to Iowa for sure!