Joey Buona’s Pizzeria

We got 3 pizzas and a salad for a work function, no one in the restaurant said hello, thank you, or have a nice day. The man who gave us our food was no exception. Awful service. We asked for plates and napkins, and were charged $ 2 on top of our $ 80 of food… The food itself was fine, it’s difficult to mess up pizza, but nothing memorable. I will never come here and will not bring this food to other work functions. We had our police ids, out so they just might not support the police, so non-​police personnel may be more welcomed.

I was here today for lunch at 11:30. We had to wait until one of the servers standing, in the back, noticed us so we could be seated. We ordered pizza & salads. We waited over 30 mins for our food. There was only 1 other table occupied.
We work across the street and it is next to impossible to go here on our lunch hour without being late.
Great food but unfortunately not a place we visit often.

I have been here twice. The first time was extremely memorable and the second time was good, but less than before.
Somewhat shocked to see the low reviews based upon the food alone. The service was not always wonderful, but I really think the food made up for it. I have eaten Italian food all over the Chicago area, at many family-​owned places, and I think they put on a good competition. The food is always good.
The family style Italian has some great selections very similar to Maggiano’s. I think the Italian Nachos are one of the best things I have ever eaten.
Chicago style deep dish pizza gets a 8/10…I have eaten Chicago style deep dishes from probably 20 different places and this one is not the best, but still very good. Corn meal type crust like Lou Malnati’s or Pizzeria Uno. My favorites are Edwardo’s in Munster, IN and Giordano’s. I don’t care too much for Gino’s East… If that gives you a good comparison.
Salads are huge and flavorful… All food was basically really good.
Server was a little inexperienced and a little unfriendly, but rather attentive.
The second time we came, the lights in the whole restaurant were flickering the entire time and they went completely dark three different times because of a VERY loud reception going on upstairs. I believe they were drawing too many amps for the service to handle. The A/​C was also not working very well, and the dining area was hot.
All this being said, I still love the food and would return next time.

Came here before The Rolling Stones concert on June 23^rd 2015. Due to the traffic our party of 7 ran late and the restaurant accommodated us (Though, they did give a time limit of when they would get rid of our table).
breadsticks made to order but not baked… deep fried. Delicious pizza though specially the crust.
Would return and so should you.

I love the look and feel of the place and my husband and I had friendly, attentive service, but there were a few things that could be improved on. The chicken in my chicken parmesan was overcooked and rubbery and our cocktails were way too strong. My lemon drop martini tasted like it was all vodka. I couldn’t taste any lemon. Over pouring drinks like that wastes money. Everything else, like the sausage ravioli and the tiramisu, was excellent. I would just advise not over cooking the chicken and not over pouring the drinks. If it weren’t for those two things, my review would’ve been 5 stars.

I use Joey’s for most of our company lunches and they are fantastic to work with! Klaus is very prompt in returning emails and I can count on them to get our order correct 100% of the time.
I would recommend their boxed lunches for any employee/​client lunch. They never disappoint.

Went there for the first time a few weeks ago for lunch. Service was average, possibly because it wasn’t busy. So the server wasn’t constantly check up on us, or rushing to get our order.
The food was pretty fast, and super fresh. I ordered Spaghetti with Meatballs. Quite delectable! My friend and I split a huge mound of Italian Nachos. Interesting display and coloration. Huge portions so you can take some home to enjoy it even more!

I recommend doing the family style if you have four or more. It’s unlimited refills and you can box what you don’t eat. With the family style you also get unlimited red or white house wine for just a additional $ 5 per person. Be prepared for what you want to order because they put in the whole order at once. I recommend the cheese sticks and joeys nachos ! Even with the portions being enormous, the quality is still great :) They also have a beautiful banquet hall they were happy to show us (for my sisters up coming wedding). They gave us a full tour of the hall and a take home folder of information, which includes other venues as well. They also were able to accommodate our group of 7 with no reservations.

I’ve been here a handful of times for various reasons and can never get excited about returning. I’ve tried a few sandwiches, pizza, pasta, salads, dessert, so a pretty good selection. One thing I can say in their favor is that the portions are pretty large — I always take something back home with me. But I honestly can’t think of anything to recommend. Food is always ok. Service is always ok. I’ve not had a bad experience, but I’ve not had a particularly great one either. Sorry to all you JB lovers out there, but I’m just being honest.
I can see how it would be a good place for groups and families. But with all the options in the immediate area, I’d say skip it and try something more interesting.

Incredibly friendly staff, delightful food in «abbondanza» portions (abundant = lots for everybody) and very convenient location. We always go here for family occasions and are even planning it as hosting our wedding reception. From Executive Chef Miguel to their waitstaff, everyone’s incredibly helpful and kind.
Don’t miss out on:
— Chicken limone (their signature chicken dish with capers — mm, mm good)
— Baked ravioli with mushroom filling
— Mozzarella sticks (the best!)
— Joey’s Signature Salad & Panzanella salad
— Chocolate Abbondanza Cake & Tiramisu

I’ve always liked this place! The location is great. Neat décor on the inside. And every item I’ve tried on the menu is good!
I had the small deep dish pizza this time — the crust is a nice buttery deep dish crust. Their sauce is great. Would highly recommend. My friend had the chicken parmesan. Very good!
Good spot for some decent Italian!

The Italian nachos are awesome! Ive been there more than a few times and have always received great service. Even after I moved out of state, I still make a stop every time I’m visiting.

I love the food at this place! Great lasagne, italian nachos, cheese sticks, calamari, and the CHOPPED SALAD!!! The dressing on the salad is amazing! I will go back here many more times!

I am from Chicago and currently living in Milwaukee and often find myself missing deep dish pizza. If you want deep dish in Milwaukee this is the way to go. Gets me over my intense cravings.
Although I have had a few issues with my delivery orders (late delivery, under-​cooked pizza), every time I had a problem they always seemed genuinely concerned about fixing the problem. It is clear that they really care about pleasing their customers because every time an order was late they gave me a free dessert and coupons for my next order. I appreciate the good customer service.
The pizza is really worth going back for. The sauce on their deep dish pizza is delicious and has a fresh tomato taste.
So, if you’re in Milwaukee and want deep dish, Joey Buona’s is the way to go!

Went here for a bridal shower yesterday. Very nice ambiance. Started with two salads (caesar and tuscany) which both were very flavorful. We then had four different entrees bought to our table: chicken lemone, chicken marsala, pasta al fresco, and sausage ravioli. I tried some of all but the marsala, and all were excellent with the exception that the pasta in the al fresco was cooked too al dente.
The only bad thing was there was WAY too much food. I asked my cousin (the hostess) if she got to take it home, and she didn’t think so. I hate to think about how much food was wasted.
I was told the two deserts (the chocolate cake and strawberry shortcake) were both excellent, though I did not partake. The coffee was very good. Service was better than average.
Would definitely go back for dinner next time I am in Milwaukee.

Love this place! The portions are huge, the staff is friendly and the bread is hot.
My husband and I stopped in for a late lunch yesterday and had the pizza party for two (one appetizer, one salad, one pizza and a dessert trio). It did not disappoint. We took half of the meal home and are enjoying it today! The pizza is very good. This was the first time that we’ve had the thin crust pizza and is crispy with a robust sauce which is really good.
The options here are endless between sandwiches, pasta entrees and meaty options. The décor is so beautiful and the old building is amazing. I’ve seen pictures of weddings and special events here and I hope one day someone I know invites me to their event here!
Lastly, you must get the Italian nachos. I’ve never had anything so yummy and creative,

I came here on a very cold winter night, and found the place empty but for a couple on a date night. The maitre d was also my server. It felt nice to have a comfy dinner basically by myself, and I’ll chalk it up to the fact that it was so freaking cold out that nobody wanted to go out. I imagine this place would be pretty busy during the warmer months. They serve you some bread which you can dip into oil as a starter. I ordered a pizza with pepperoni, jalapeño, and onions. The pizza was pretty good for being Milwaukee pizza. The jalapenos were perhaps the most disappointing part, as they were clearly just plucked out of a store bought pickled jalapeño jar that you could pick up at the grocery store. Overall, I did like this place, and appreciated that I had attentive service because da place was a ghost town.

I made a big mistake here. It would have been okay to have a starter and a main course, but I didn’t realize that the starter was massive. And then the main arrived and it too was massive. Ugh, so much food.
The bruschetta was excellent. Really fresh tomatoes were yummy. I probably could have just had that and been full but there was so much bread for scooping. Plan to share one of these with two or three people at least!
When the chicken limone arrived, I was sunk. Tender grilled chicken breasts with a lemony sauce and topped with capers. With the huge pile of pasta (see the picture), there was again enough for two more people to eat here.
I wish I could have taken it home, but I was headed out for the long weekend and I didn’t think it would keep. Very unfortunate to throw this much food away!
Service was excellent and I’ve already explained the portion sizes. So be aware and be hungry!

Descriptive phrase: a valiant attempt at fancy Italian.
I came to Joey Buona’s with a large group for a dinner event. It’s a neat building from the outside right downtown Milwaukee, across from the Third Ward. Inside it’s huge, with a bar and seating area on the first floor. We were taken up to the second, which had three or four different party areas.
Our area had its own bar where the drink selection was perfectly acceptable, especially for a private group. I was a little taken aback by the prices once I got the bill. Expect beers/​drinks to be around $ 6 apiece.
We had a group of probably 60. Each table ranged between 6 – 10 people, and each small group got to pick 2 items from each of the five courses.
Our table started with Fried Calamari and Mozzarella Cheese Sticks, and Chopped and Caesar with Grilled Chicken salads. The Calamari was good if you could get a large enough piece. Most of the pile was crumbs. The Mozzarella sticks were just okay. I didn’t try the Chopped salad, but I have to say the Caeser with Chicken was delicious. It had enough taste and crunch to not need much dressing, if any.
Next up was Cheese Ravioli and Oven Baked Rigatoni with Sausage, and then Chicken Saltimbocca and Chicken Parmesan. The Cheese Ravioli was not that great, could’ve been out of a can (though it was presented nicely). However, the Rigatoni was superb. It was in a piping-​hot pan with plenty of cheese, sauce, and green peppers. The sausage was perfectly spiced.
While the Chicken Parmesan was good for being a classic, the Chicken Saltimbocca is where this meal shined. The chicken breasts were perfectly cooked, with prosciutto and sage in and on it. It came with a side of mashed potatoes, very creamy.
Our desserts were the «Granda» Ice Cream Sundae and the Tiramisu, both of which were giant. I liked the Tiramisu, and I normally don’t. The Sundae was your standard fare, just larger.
This meal is normally $ 27 a person. They were nice enough to drop it to $ 21 for such a large group. The whole staff was gracious and accommodating.
I’m torn on my review. The portions were ginormous. The service was great. And there were some very good parts of the meal. However, the drink prices were a little high for the quality, and only half the food was noteworthy. In the end, I am a fan and will return. 4 stars it is.

Joey Buona’s is unaccountably popular and for the life of me, I can’t understand why. They seem to appeal to the same demographic that loves Bravo, Carrabas and the like. I can definitely understand the appeal of picking this place for a group — it’s reasonably priced and everyone will eat something from the menu.
Maybe my poor opinion of Joey’s has to do with the «quantity over quality» mentality and the overall crappiness of the food. To be fair, most of my visits here have been at lunch and perhaps they do better at dinner.
Today I had a combo which was ½ of a small pizza and a side salad. The salad was ok but very heavy on the dressing. The pizza had definitely been sitting under a heat lamp. For $ 8, it was exactly the taste and quality I’d expect from Sbarro’s. Even though everything was clearly pre made, it still took a full hour for lunch despite a mostly empty drining room.
Why do my co-​workers love such crappy places?