Pizza Man

Great pizza and salads. Beautiful building in a great location. A must stop for dinner or drinks before a movie and the Downer Theater.

Pizza is good. Experience was poor. Warm, mostly sunny evening. Table for two. 6:30p they choose to seat us way in the back in the dark in a booth. I ask for balcony or up stairs where it’s light. I was told all they have is a high top in the bar area as I stand there with my 12 year old daughter. I was not asked my preference and the place was two thirds empty. There’s plenty of great choices. The hostess trudges up the stairs like its a tremendous inconvenience, leads us to the high top table. Doesn’t feel right; high traffic, there’s three two tops on the balcony empty, ready to go but she seats us at a four top in the middle of the inside dining room. The seating is too low for those tables. This brings new meaning to «local food». The table top was at my chest. I’m 6′ tall. These chairs are a poor choice. Throw them off the balcony. I was uncomfortable, as were others around us as I could hear The comments about it. The staff stacked up chairs to accommodate the awkwardly low seating with no back support. The tables were arranged poorly causing staff to have to weave around the tables with food and drink coming And going between the kitchen and balcony (they didn’t seat anyone at the two tops on the balcony while we were there so, why couldn’t they accommodate our preference?). Nothing about the evening compensated for how this began. lots of little things, too easy to get right, I won’t belabor to mention like, how the food was presented at the table, lead me to feel they just don’t give a damn. Just turn the table. I won’t be back, not recommend anyone else go, there’s too many better choices. You can’t get the basics right. The margherita pizza should not have cherry tomatoes on it.

I went to Pizza Man on Monday. My meal and service could not have been better. I ordered the pasta special, tagliatelle (thank goodness that word was in my autocorrect dictionary) anyhow it was seriously one of the best things I have ever eaten. We also shared a Hawaiian pizza. With the cream cheese this is easily the best Hawaiian pizza in town.
My server was great. He directed me to the specials so Pizza Man you owe him for this review! But seriously he was perfect. He wasn’t overbearing but always just happened to show up when we needed something.
Our dinner topped off when Mike the owner came by and actually sat with us. He still cares about every customer! You can tell by the service that’s for sure. He sat with us and asked our opinions he told us about the new Oak Creek location, and then went on to the next table. It was old school classy something you just don’t get everywhere anymore.
I have definitely added Pizza Man to my rotation of regular restaurants.

The services was outstanding. We had the eggplant fires, AMAZING. We also orders the fried cheese curds, didn’t know what to expect, but they were top notch as well! We got the thin crust pizza and it came out pretty fast, and was so good. I ordered the old fashion whiskey, never really was a whiskey drinker, but this drink was really tasty! Over all the Pizza Man was awesome! They have a lot to choose from and I would recommend it to anyone who visits Milwaukee!

All around great experience! We dined on Saturday evening and were promptly seated. Upon being seated I noted that the table was very well prepared. We were waited on eagerly by our waitress Katie who appeared with a smile and a real zest for ensuring we had a good dining experience.
Katie took our order of eggplant fries, cheese curds, a large margarita pizza, two old fashioned cocktails, and a beer. The appetizers arrived quickly and were very fresh. I am not normally a fan of eggplant but the batter and the seasoning made them truly delicious. I have lived in Wisconsin most of my life and the cheese curd were by far the best I have ever had.
The margarita pizza arrived soon after and we quickly dug in. The waitresses suggestion of a large was perfect as it filled our party of three to the brim. I made note of the freshness of the ingredients, especially the tomatoes on the pizza. It was truly a delight seeing such fresh ingredients.
This was an all around amazing dining experience. I would not only recommend Pizza Man, but I would insist on dining here if you want great service, food, and of course a great selection of drinks. I will be back and will be bringing more friends and associates!

Great food, great atmosphere and great drinks. We had the eggplant fries with ranch and marinara sauce. It was amazing. We also had the margherita pizza. Both were delis hints. The whiskey old fashioned was amazing as well.
The service was exceptional and our food was delivered in a timely fashion. I would recommend it to any of my friends

I can’t for the life of me figure out why some people rate this place so low. I have been here probably 20 times and have never had a bad experience. The service is normally very good even when they are busy. And the pizza is always delicious. I love the crispy crust and the thoughtful flavor combinations they offer. My favorite pizzas are those with the wonderful little dollops of cream cheese on them: The White Pizza is hands down the most mouth wateringly delicious pizza I’ve ever put in my mouth– get it with fresh garlic! I also love their garden salad, fried eggplant, and tiramisu. and their wine menu never disappoints! Not to mention, on Wednesdays it’s buy one get one free large pizzas and half off white wine! Great deal. Always wanted to give this place 5 stars!

This was my very first experience with the new Pizza Man. Living out-​of-​state for a few years had prevented me from getting here any sooner. I was a fan of the original and have fond memories of eating thin-​crust ala mode pizzas inside the old wine cellar on Oakland and North years ago.
I was immediately nostalgic for the old location upon arriving: the heavy door, the tall wooden booths and the dark brick arches were all reminiscent of the original Pizza Man. I was immediately having fun and getting more excited to eat.
The first thing I noticed upon being seated was that the silverware on our table was dirty and the water glasses were all noticeably spotted. The pizza serving spatula eventually brought to our table also had a massive chunk of crud on it.
Let it be known, this is the first I’ve ever been compelled to write about dirty dishes in a review, but it seemed like a legit problem with their dishwasher and/​or staff not giving af. But as I remember it, service was never Pizza Man’s strong point.
Before I could move my eyes from the spotted glasses to the wine list, our server was on-​top of us asking for a drink order. To her credit, she sensed that we weren’t ready and noticed the dirty silverware (not glasses) without being asked, but the pacing of service just felt «off» the whole evening.
We started with the Salami & Prosciutto board, and put in orders for a gluten-​free Artichoke Ala Mode and an original Hawaiian pizza — add giardiniera.
The Salami & Prosciutto board came out with an excellent variety of cured meats and a zesty/​pickled coleslaw-​covered-​in-​oregano type of jive-​salad on the side. Our server didn’t know which meat was which on the board, and that was fine. I was still pleased with the order.
While enjoying the cured meats and trying to decide whether I liked the oregano-​slaw-​salad thing, I realized that the restaurateurs had called this slaw-​stuff «giardiniera» on the menu, and that I had just asked for it added to my pizza — crap.
I quickly called over the server and had her adjust my pizza order. She sprinted to the kitchen and returned catching her breath, asking if it was OK if the cooks just picked the not-​actually-​giardiniera stuff off of my pizza. Whatever. I’m already disappointed, let’s just keep things moving.
Aside — I realize that giardiniera can vary from straight-​up spicy peppers (common) to Pizza Man’s weird non-​spicy pickled slaw thing, but it would’ve been nice if the waitress would’ve verified this — just like she voluntarily asked whether my date wanted crushed garlic on her Artichoke Ala Mode.
The pizza came and nothing seemed off despite my last-​minute switch. But — the crust on the pizza was not like I had remembered. It was thinner. Quite possibly the thinnest thin crust I’d ever seen, but not in a good way. I’m sure some people love a pizza crust so unsubstantial that it may as well be nonexistent other than to hold the cheese and toppings together. I contemplated whether this new incarnation of Pizza Man is intentionally skimping out on the crust to increase profits, or if we simply came in on a bad night, or if my memories of devouring CSMO Ala-​Mode in a poorly-​lit restaurant on the corner of Oakland and North a decade ago was not actually as strong or as positive as I had remembered. But to the point — I preferred the gluten-​free crust over Pizza Man’s original thin crust — and that should not have been the case.
I am not sure whether I’ll return after this experience. Lots of good pizza restaurants popped up around Milwaukee during the time Pizza Man was out-​of-​the-​game and I was living out-​of-​state. And from what I’ve experienced, these new pizza restaurants all have clean dishes.

Great location, atmosphere, and even more important, amazing pizza!
Since moving to Milwaukee two years ago we haven’t found pizza that we really liked, especially since MKE seems to tend toward a thin crust pizza. While pizza man does offer thin crust the pan crust is where it is at!
We used the app No Wait for our party of four, so when we walked in at 6pm on a Saturday night we had enough time to check in and grab a beer before our table was ready in the packed restaurant (that is the only way to go out to eat!).
Service was great from start to finish and the pizza came out hot and delicious! We ordered half Hawaiian, half supreme. The pizza sauce is a little sweet, but they offer four options so it would be an easy switch.
We will be back to try other menu items that also sounded great, but for our first visit we wanted to stick with pizza.

My coworker said «You can’t not get pizza at the Pizza Man»… and I probably should have listened to her. I was feeling kind of pizza’d out (if that’s even possible) so I went with the Mozzarella in carroza aka the italian-​style grilled cheese and the eggplant fries. Upon the first bite I was grossed out. The bread was completely soggy which I feel is due to mozzarella being too liquidy of a cheese. The cheese congealed so when you tried to bite it the whole chunk separated from the bread. Just bad.
Thankfully the meal was redeemed by the eggplant fries. They are longer than french fries and taste randomly similar to calamari which I love. I’m not normally a marinara sauce user but Pizza Man’s is delish. Couldn’t stop dippin’! Also tried some of my coworker’s apugliese pizza which was tasty.
You need to get the Pizza Manabanana cocktail. Top 5 cocktails I’ve had, and I’ve thrown back quite a few. It has banana purée, rum, cream, lemon juice and a few other ingredients. Went down so easy. Thought it proper to stop at 2 but could have probably drank 4 more!
Go with my coworker’s advice and order pizza if you come here!

There’s something about having cream cheese on my pizza and drinking local beer. It screams Milwaukee, and it makes my heart happy. Pizza Man is known for its thin crust pizza, not its deep dish. After all, this is Milwaukee, not Chicago.
Not in the mood for pizza? Have some pasta or a salad. Or, just order a whole bottle of Syrah, and call it a night. Great pizza and good drinks are worth the splurge, once in a while. This company is owned by six Milwaukee residents! Support Milwaukee owned businesses and pizza!

I have lived on the eastside most of my life. Pizza man has been a staple in the heart of our neighborhood… I have always been a huge fan and supporter of pizza man so you can imagine my disappointment when I made reservations for a group of 11 and our experience was less than good. I’m sad to say that we all were let down and some irritated by our hour and fifteen minute wait for our food. Actually, it took our waiter some time just to get our drink orders. And waited far longer to receive them as we watched another table, a group of 7 not only get their drinks but food before us (they were seated after us)
When I called to add three more to our group, the woman on the other end was very helpful and even told us they would have crayons and coloring «books» for our younger party members. Which I thought was very thoughtful… Getting those half menu– half coloring books came with another long wait.
As an ex waitress the first thing I would of asked the table is how we would like to have our checks, our waiter never asked. When we Finally got the check, after some confusion within our party and with the waiter, my boyfriend’s father paid for us all just to get out and get the kids home.
I will be back but with a much smaller party. This is the only time I have had such an experience with pizza man and haven’t loss to much faith in the restaurant. I think it was an off night for our waiter and staff. Although everyone one else was very helpful, even after several of us complained (we were never come offered any discount for our long wait and you can imagine the bill for 11 people)
I still give Pizza Man 4 stars. They will always be a great place for awesome pizza and deals!

Pizza Man. What wrong can I say about you? Absolutely nothing! Pizza Man is a solid pizza joint. They make a great pie. The deep dish is phenomenal and the thin crust works. I’ve tried a few of the other entrees and they are all on board. The cheese curds in particular, are some of the best around. Wednesdays I believe are ½ off bottles of wine. That’s a particularly good night to go. The atmosphere is inviting and with the recently remodeled upstairs, that includes a great balcony overlooking Downers Grove, it makes for good times and an excellent view. Since I’m a pizza pie whore you can find this on my list of great za hands down.

Two words… cream. cheese. Seriously, the addition of cream cheese to Hawaiian pizza is brilliant. My other favorite pizza is the Artichoke a la mode, definitely add the garlic that they offer to it. Oh, also, they are real cool about doing half and half pizzas! They have a really great wine list with 50% bottles on Mondays. I have not had any of their non-​pizza entrée options, but I have very much enjoyed the cheese plate. All-​in-​all, Pizza Man is a Milwaukee must!

I think that maybe this experience was three stars since I did take the pizza to go rather than staying in to eat.
I have been craving deep dish pizza, as I am a Chicago native and haven’t had it in almost a year. Pizza Man has a special on Monday nights — deep dish pizza, and I was super excited to try it.
Deep dish pizza is often recognized by its thick, flakey & buttery crust, as well as the ridiculous amounts of cheese that ooze from it’s inner layers.
I opted to order a deep stuffed spinach & sausage to go. When I got the pizza at the restaurant, I did make a comment about how thin (in height) it was. The bartender said it was the correct size. So, I moved on.
Fast forward to me standing in my kitchen, unwrapping the pizza like a mad woman because I’ve been craving deep dish so long. There wasn’t much sauce on top of the pizza. I cut one slice and could immediately tell that there was more crust than cheese. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.
We didn’t realize until we had already cut up the pizza that there was no sausage in it (womp, womp).
While the pizzas here are phenomenal — I would advise greatly AGAINST the deep stuffed special on Mondays, because they aren’t deep stuffed, just thick crust.
*SAD FACE*

With my love for pizza, I don’t know how this was my first time here!
The atmosphere is cute — dim lighting, great light fixtures, neat/​dainty décor. I knew it would be like this because I hopped on here before I went. But I feel like the name and logo don’t really tie with the experience. In a good way. It’s a nice spot for a date, catching up with a friend, grabbing a bite to eat.
Lots of good beers on tap and a nice little beer bottle menu. I didn’t get a chance to look at the wine portion of things.
The pizza was great! What’s even better? Wednesday nights they have buy-​one-​get-​one-​free large pizzas. How can you go wrong? We stuck with traditional toppings — pepperoni, sausage, onion, mushroom, peppers, etc. It was great! Thin and crispy crust. Next time I would for sure like to try something a little more unique.
Highly recommend! Looking forward to going back.

First of all, I have always loved Pizza Man. When they were located in the old building I would pick up a deep dish pizza after work, and when I arrived home 30 minutes later, it was still hot and delicious. I never ate in the restaurant because it was so insanely busy all the time. Who could blame them, the food rocks!
This location is not much different. For a Wednesday night it was packed. Even the bar. You know a restaurant is worth it when it’s hopping mid-​week. My party didn’t have to wait too long for a table so that was awesome. We were having a business meeting so the less time spent at the bar, the better.
Our waitress was on the ball, save for one missed op when she forgot to bring a soda, but it’s forgivable. We ordered pizzas naturally and thanks to the rocking kitchen staff the wait for food wasn’t terribly long either — 15 minutes tops. The pizza is just as great as i remembered it being. Fresh delicious ingredients, especially the cheese! Oh the cheese…
I take a single star away for the noise level. Seriously loud in here on both levels. It was not the greatest of environments for a meeting, but even eating dinner with family would be difficult here unless you enjoy not hearing what they have to say. In which case, maybe it’s going on my list of family gathering spots! Noise level aside, it’s an absolute must. I love pizza anyway, but Pizza Man pizza’s hold a special place in my heart. Especially the Artichoke a’la mode. Deep dish. With triple garlic. For real.

What? Give Pizza Man just 2 stars?
«Prepare for negative feedback!» «Blasphemy!» came the shouts from fellow Unilocalers at a recent non-​Yelp social gathering.
Sorry, folks. Just can’t justify rating this place more than 2 stars. Especially with so many other top-​notch pizza places in this fair city.
I have dined here about once a month since May and only one time have I left saying «now that was a solid meal.» I didn’t know how to properly address my issues with PM and have tried starting a review several times. My most recent experience insured I will never return. But first…
The décor (4 – 5 stars easy) is incredible. Lots of dark wood and high-​backed booths in the downstairs area, plus an incredible wine room. Upstairs is airy and allows for a lot of natural light if sitting near the balcony. It is too bad the precision and care that went into the design did not translate to the staff selection.
The service here (1 star) is awful, bordering on just downright terrible. Seriously: no smiles, no ‘hello how are you?’, no recommendations other than ‘other people seem to like this.’ There is virtually no follow-​up once your order has arrived! When I asked what had happened to the brunch menu, I took it as a bad sign that our server’s response was «We don’t have brunch.» Oh, excuse me. Well… I must have been under the influence of some incredibly awesome hallucinogenics my previous two visits then. I’m 99.9% certain there was a brunch menu unless I mistakenly time-​traveled back to when Via on Downer was open…
Am I on Candid Camera? Is this one of those «restaurant rescue» shows? I cannot think of any possible reasons other than those two as to why the service has been continuously sub-​par. I have even tried different times: Sunday brunch, weekend lunch, weeknight dinner. Are the servers all poorly programmed robots? Do you know someone who works here who might have been able to prove these statements incorrect?
The pizza (3.5 stars) has been delightful at times and lacking any ‘punch’ at others. The crust has ranged from perfectly crispy to wet (?) and overly chewy. I love the different varieties available for carnivores and vegetarians alike, but the price has always struck me as just a tad bit high. I want to like all of these expertly-​crafted concoctions of pizza goodness, but I cannot imagine it costs as much as they are charging to present these pies. I am certainly not an expert chef, but I can put some of these cool toppings together at home for way less than $ 17 – 19 for a small pie.
On our most recent visit — with several out-​of-​town friends — we experienced quite possibly the worst service yet. Our server seemed to be more interested in his fashion — a brand new Darrelle Revis jersey and super skinny jeans — than taking care of one of what appeared to be two tables. Upstairs there were three other tables and yet it took upwards of 5 minutes to be greeted and another 10 to receive glasses of water and hot tea. Our server explained the table-​side tea kettle was broken and he’d have to find another. The replacement? Cracked, leaking water all over the table. On his third (and last until the pizza was snatched away — read below) visit, we brought this to his attention. His response «well I already looked and we don’t have any more.» OK.
There was zero attention paid to refills. The server did not bother to check in with us after another employee brought two large pizzas to feed our hungry mouths. Until near the end of our meal, when he took away plates AS PEOPLE WERE STILL EATING PIZZA ON SAID PLATES. No. Just no. For Pizza Man’s sake, just ASK if you can take the plates. He seemed in a rush to get us out of there, after not rushing to provide the most basic of service.
On the way out, one of our out-​of-​town guests stopped at the host stand and attempted to tell the hostess about the issues by starting with «so, funny story…» The hostess simply stood there, listened while blankly smiling, and made no attempt to apologize or offer to get a manager after about a minute of our guest explaining the issue. By this point, I was more than glad to walk out of the doors of Pizza Man forever. Sorry; I won’t be back and will be glad to spend my dough on pizza elsewhere in the 414.

I’ve dined at Pizza Man a few times now and have been pleased with the food and service on each visit. Some of the pizzas are quite pricey. Some are worth it and some are not.
The pizzas I’ve tried have been thin crust, although I’d like to try their pan style and deep dish pizzas on Wednesdays and Mondays.
The ribs were good, but not as good as the ribs I remember from their original location on Oakland. Back then Pizza Man had a rep for the best ribs in town.
Recently I ordered the Pizza Man Panino ($ 11) with prosciutto, salami, mortadella, a spicy olive tapenade and smoked provolone. If that sounds good to you, then know that it was as good as it sounds. It was amazing, actually!
Instead of the regular fries, I paid another $ 1 for the eggplant fries and that was another good call!
I was disappointed that they stopped the Sunday brunch, but the lunch menu had plenty of solid options, and I was pleased with my choice.
Maybe next summer, I’ll try dining on the patio.

I came to Pizza Man on a Sunday in the summer. It was surprisingly crowded for a Sunday night. The outdoor patio is very nice to dine on and enjoy the weather.
I’m not sure if it was because we were sharing a pizza and not drinking (not a big bill not a big tip) but our service was poor. We felt neglected throughout the time we were there.
The prices for drinks are very high for Milwaukee. The pizza isn’t cheap as well.
The pizza is still great (as it’s always been). This made up for the service and made our experience almost worth it.
I’m not sure if they do it at the Downer location but at the Tosa location on Wednesdays if you buy a pizza you get one free which is an incredible deal.
It may be some time before I return to Pizza Man given the prices, the wait and the service.

I’ve had a couple of experience at Pizza Man now and I’ve been very satisfied!
First trip was for pizza an half price wine bottles. We couldn’t try all the ones we wanted because not all had glass pour, but we tried a few and the one we ended up with tasted get and of course was a great value.
The pizza was the lamb sausage and I want to say with arugula. It was very delicious and I recommend that flavor! The crust was super thin. I’m a fan of thinner crust but just remember to get a salad or something if super starved!
The next time was the Easter brunch with my granny. We had asparagus soup, prosciutto eggs Benedict ON GARLIC BREAD. Yea, believe that! And I choose a dessert of berries with zabaglione. It also came with a mimosa– all of this for about $ 24! Great deal, great food, great service.
And it had plenty of room so if anyone is looking or a Mother’s Day spot… hint hint…
OR a spot that isn’t dreaming crazy jam packed for brunch, try out Pizza Man!

My husband & I can here for dinner because he hasn’t gone to Pizza Man when they were at the last location.
We were seated right away on the second floor. We were given water & a beverage right away. We ordered the garlic bread and CMO pizza. The food came quickly and the food was very good.
The service was also great — our waiter was very attentive.
I would definitely go back and try the other pizzas on the menu.