Big Al’s Chicago Style Pizza

I work nearby at the WTC and the last three times I’ve went there for lunch, the pizza and chicken roll have been absolutely disgusting. I’m assuming they don’t clean the oven during the day and the pizza taste like your eating a piece of charcoal out of the oven. So last time I told them to warm it up on foil and they did, but It made no difference, probably because the pie was already cooked in a dirty oven. I went in Friday after ordering a slice, told the manager to grab a piece of charcoal out of the oven and eat it, because that’s exactly what the pizza taste like. I will no longer eat here. Also it takes about 15 minutes to get a slice, they have no system and it’s chaos and confusion.

Good place for a quick slice while downtown.

This for their location on Staten Island NY at 4069 hyland blvd. It took an hour and 15 mins for it to come, when I called an hour after I ordered the girl that answers the phone said she was waiting for her driver. When we finally got our order it was cold and was missing the sauce we ordered. When we called back to ask for the sauce she gave attitude and said that the driver wasn’t going to be happy to bring it back to us like it was our fault they forgot the sauce. This was the first and last time we get anything from them.

I enjoyed the meatball calzone. Friendly staff and reasonable prices. Pizza is New York style not Chicago.

Have to say this rating is based upon how I was treated as opposed to the food itself. The pizza is very good which makes me sad that I will no longer do business here. I am transgender, and the last time I was here (7÷30÷15) I was intentionally misgendered by the cashier. I have been coming here for years and this has never happened by others. No apology was offered so it’s time to move on. I would suggest that any ally of the community do the same.

The garlic knots here are great !! I went to New York last April and it was better than expected can’t wait to go again !!!

It’s definitely not cheap, but it’s great pizza. The slices are big enough that you can get away with just buying one.

Great pizza good prices much better than pronto pizza. The employees are good nice guys!

Foodie foul! FOODIE FOUL! ***throws the yellow flag at Al***
Chicago style pizza?! A big ol’ NUH-​UH! I call bullshit. I call a big round pile of hot steamy bullshit!
First, what part of Chicago you from, Mister Al? Hmm? I mean, I’m from Chicago and can tell you this pizza is by no means a mere comparison to Chicago pizza. Let’s break this down.
Deep dish pizza. That’s the stuff that we feed tourists, celebrities, and super models. And it doesn’t matter because most celebrities and supermodels are going to throw it up anyway.
You have to go downtown to find many places that make deep dish pizza. It is a very specific style that isn’t just a thicker crust made by adding more yeast and stuffing a big ball of dough in a deep pizza pan, while foregoing the pulling and stretching phase in normal pizza dough preparation. The crust is a mix of an Italian style dough that is enriched with butter and has CORNMEAL. Yes folks, must have cornmeal in the dough and on the bottom to keep it from sticking.
Then, the cheese goes on the crust first, followed by the toppings, then the sauce. It is not like any other pizza.
By the way, deep dish pizza was created by a Jewish guy named Ike Sewell. He hired Italian cooks, so it’s not a genuine Italian thing.
Al’s has one pizza sitting there looking at you with the yeast belching out of the crust. That must be the almighty alleged deep dish. Ahem.
Next. Thin crust. Chicago’s pizza is primarily thin crust. A crispy thin crust, cut in squares. Made like most pizzas with the sauce on the bottom, followed by toppings and cheese, blah-​de-​blah-​de-​blah. I didn’t see no thin crust crispy square things here. No. It was the traditional New York floppy, soggy, fold it like an envelope before you take a bite pizza being sold by the slice.
You get 2 stars because the pizza you sell isn’t bad. It’s just severely mislabeled. But the yeast belching dough frisbee you are trying to pass as Chicago style has got to go!

If you are in a mood for greasy pizza, this would be the place. It’s not as greasy as people say it is, but it’s pretty good, slices are big, crispy crust, bountiful of cheese and tomatoes. They have their own orange cream soda. Garlic knots are decent, comes with a tomato type sauce for dipping. The prices are decent, not too expensive and affordable in the financial district. They were closed down once for not satisfying departmental health codes, it’s NYC, have you had a chance to see the rat map? Every place has them.

One of my favorite pizza places downtown. I use to visit the place all the time during my young intern days. They have great specialty pizza slices, my favorite being the buffalo chicken. Also they are very quick with your order and very friendly.

Not Chicago Style at all. Pretty thin, bland, uninspired pizza. You’ll need a mop for all the grease, so come prepared. Once was more than enough as far as visiting this place.

Not bad. Thin crunchy crust. Slices are big. it is worth the money for a cheap good eat.

Great pizza! Great atmosphere! The smaller the place is, the better the food! Really good!

The best pizza in NY. I live in the Bronx — and it’s hard to get a good pizza nowadays. They use the best quality cheese and tomato sauce — yum yum…
I used to eat here everyday when I was pregnant (i know that’s bad).

I usually avoid any pizza place that thinks affiliating itself with another state is a selling point, but I honestly didn’t notice Chicago on the signage.
This pizza isn’t the worst pizza I’ve ever had, but it might be the most boring. I wanted to identify why I didn’t like it. the sauce was bland, sure, but it goes beyond that. At least it was thin crust, none of this deep dish nonsense. But I wouldn’t come back even if I was desperate.
The guys behind the counter were friendly, the place has a mafia theme (pictures of the Godfather, Frank Sinatra, a bloody handprinted «mafia application»), and a perplexing choice of spices– I’ve never seen Cajun spices, pimenton, or parsley offered at a pizzeria before– whose using this stuff?! I had to hunt around for the lone oregano shaker.

Alrighty, I’m from Chicago and there is NOTHING Chicago style about this place, but I’ll let that slide. The only pizza that came close to being «Chicago Style» was a pizza that had crust that ranged between hand tossed and true deep dish. If you can eat it with your hands, it’s not Chicago style pizza. But I digress, as this is not the point of my review.
My boyfriend and I stumbled across Al’s shortly after the lunch rush and decided to get a slice of their buffalo chicken pizza. The pizza was delicious, and exactly what you’d expect with a piece of buffalo chicken pizza. The crust was crispy, but not overdone, which was fantastic. The chicken was bountiful, and they definitely didn’t skimp on any of the toppings. The cheese was gooey and it had a few spots of a more soft cheese, not quite sure what it was, but it really added a unique and tasty flavor to the pizza. This wasn’t as spicy as I thought, but I still enjoyed it.
The atmosphere was busy, filled with a lot of workers and tourists alike. It was relatively clean, and the staff was friendly. They don’t have a bathroom on site, but if you ask, they’ll give you a key to a pretty disgusting bathroom down the hall.
If you’re ever in the Financial District and seeking pizza, this is the place to go.

Now that’s some pizza! Well I guess the tiniest things can pack the biggest punches! This tiny petite restaurant cut out of Thames Street is a great place to grab a real piece of ‘za.
The pizza was very fresh and the portions were a nice large size. I have to give compliments on the spice rack. Very good … Garlic, oregano, parmesan, basil, chillie peper and many more! I recomend getting the Penne Slice. It’s penne in a delicious Whit sause on the pizza crust.
I hope to return soon.

My office often order delivery from here.
Their Meat Lovers Pizza is good. One slice can pretty much fill you up.
Reminiscing their meat lovers, I called to order a delivery of a Meat Lovers Pie and a regular pie. Both pizzas tastes just as pizzas.
But I am not happy that I got charged an extra $ 1.50 for grated cheese on the side, which I ordered because the guy asked me if I wanted it, without informing me of the extra charge. I do not mind paying Extra if I am informed about it.
Then, opened up the boxes to find that they did not send me my Meat Lovers, it was Meatloaf. I do not even see Meatloaf on their menu. It neither look or taste like the Meat Lovers I have had from there in the past.
Pretty disappointed.

You ever eat something and it instantly changes your life? Thats what will happen to you when you eat Big Als Buffalo Chicken Pizza. I brought a pie home to my friends in New Jersey, and even after having to reheat it, they were all losing their damn minds. Their buffalo chicken pizza is something I would commit felonies for. And, fortunately, it doesn’t stop there. Although nothing they have even comes CLOSE to being as magically delicious as the buffalo chicken pizza, all their other flavors are delicious as well. And I don’t know why the hell its «Big Al’s CHICAGO STYLE Pizza,» as most of the pies are thin crust.
The store itself is in a tricky spot; kinda like one of those places that you have to know about to know about. (Luckily for me its in the lower lobby of my building! whoo hoo!) Its like halfway underground, on a tiny little side street (Thames) next to a shoe shop. When you walk past you have to actually look down to see it. You will miss it if youre not careful, and you will be sorry you missed out.
By financial district standards, its a pretty good deal too. Slices are a couple of bucks and a whole pie is between $ 15 – 20. There is a $ 10 minimum for credit cards, so bring cash unless youre getting a whole pie. They also have subs, heros, garlic knots and calzones if you want to switch it up. Seating is cramped and it fills up pretty fast so I’d suggest getting it to go.
Just MAKE SURE you get the buffalo chicken pizza. You will NOT regret it.