Here is my detailed review: I went here for my birthday with my wife after reading the great reviews of this place. It was a Friday night, so the place was packed. Be that as it may, the wait was reasonable (20-25 minutes). The place was buzzing and it got me really excited about the food. I waited with bated breath to get a taste of the food that all of these people were getting so hyped up about. The anticipation was mounting heavily, not only because of the buzz, but because I have failed to find a place in the area that makes a half-way decent pizza. Maybe, I thought, just maybe, I've finally found the place. We get seated, waitress comes over, I order a Guinness and me and the wifey order an app which consisted of mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil, bread, pepperoncini peppers, and some oil to dip it all in. It was decent. The bread was extremely heavy on the rosemary. It wasn't out of this world, but I couldn't complain all that much. For entrees, me and my wife both ordered 10" thin crust pizzas. I ended up getting a buffalo chicken pizza and she got a deluxe pizza. The first thing that I noticed when the pizzas came was that, whomever cut it, either had a sense of humor, didn't care, or just didn't know how to cut a pizza. Normally, when you get a pizza, the pizza is cut into 8, triangular sections. However, Nello's fails to provide its customers with this modern convenience, instead opting to cut the thin crust pizza more like a flat bread, but in random, strange angles. What this ends up creating is shear frustration as now, in order to not make a mess, I must dissect my pizza like some sort of stupid jigsaw puzzle. If I wanted to solve a jigsaw puzzle, I would've bought one. But all I wanted was a slice of pizza. And do you think that it was worth all the hassle? Of course not. My wife's pizza was under seasoned. Indeed, upon its creation there was n'er a salt shaker in sight. The buffalo chicken pizza, on the other hand, was the exact opposite and I mean this to the utmost extreme as it tasted as if the "chef" dumped an entire salt shaker on the thing. It tasted horrible. On top of this, the crust was far from crispy. When you order a thin crust pizza, you expect the crust to be crispy. However, in our case, it was not crispy largely because the pizza was under cooked. Normally, you're looking for the pizza to have a golden brown bottom when cooked. The bottom of this pizza was pure white, which says to me that either the "chef" in the back doesn't know what he/she is doing, or doesn't even care. So, I thought that, maybe, they just can't cook a thin crust pizza. Their normal crust appeared, at first glance, to be more along the lines of a "Chicago style" crust. So, out of curiosities sake, I ordered a large, pepperoni pizza to go. I took it home, and of course the box was chock full of packs of crushed red pepper flake, a topping that I've never heard of going on top of a pizza in my entire life until I moved to Arizona. In fact, I've never even heard the two in the same sentence before. Needless to say, I discarded those. Now, in case you've never had a "Chicago style" pizza before, let me inform you of how it is supposed to be. It's a deep dish style pizza with a thick, chewy crust, and is loaded with toppings. A good "Chicago style" pizza can even be eaten with a fork and knife because it's more like a pie then anything else. A beautiful, tomato, cheese, and meat pie. What I got here was far from that. Again, the pizza was underdone. There was hardly any cheese on it, the crust was more like white bread than pizza crust (are they even using pizza dough? There is a difference between pizza dough and bread dough - pizza dough contains more gluten than normal bread dough). It had absolutely no flavor at all as, again, it was under seasoned. I mean, I guess that I can't blame them there - things like garlic, basil, and salt (especially salt!) are pretty dang exotic. I think that what disturbs me even more than my experience with this place is how vehemently people defend this place and how insistent they are that this place serves good pizza. What, are you people paid to write these reviews or something? If you truly think that this place serves a good pizza, then frankly, you have no clue as to what a pizza is. In fact, you don't have any clue as to what something even closely resembling a pizza is. I truly pity you all. And for those of you that are insistent on the fact that the place is good because it makes good salads - come on. How hard is it to make and dress a salad? Their salad dressing is good, you say? Yeah, it's really hard to mix up red wine vinegar with extra virgin olive oil, some salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano, isn't it? Phew, I'm breaking a sweat just thinking about it. read more

Ate here many, many months ago. A favorite pizza place for Mom and me!! She absolutely ADORES the spinach pie, while I enjoy it and many other varieties, including the Margherita and Alaskan (white sauce, seafood). I really appreciate the fact that whole-wheat pizza crusts are available! Wish more establishments would offer alternative options, such as whole-wheat and gluten-free for those w/ food allergies and issues... If thin-crust pizzas rock your boat, like they do mine, then check out Nello's! read more

Wonderful pizza even better staff! Build your own pizza and try the addicting house sauce. I forgot to breath from the time I got my pizza and finished my small. More impressively, my wife, 140lbs, finished a medium. This is a for sure stop every time we're visiting wrinkle ranch. read more

Nello's is the real deal! We checked it out last night after being highly recommended by friends. We had a salad with house dressing, garlic bread, an Italian beef and it was all fantastic! We're from the Chicago area and struggle finding good Italian food. Hey, they even have giardiniera; which every respectful italian beef should be covered in. Our server Kate was super nice too! Our next visit will be all about pizza, can't wait! read more

The Good: Great, friendly service with a smile and laid back atmosphere. The Bad: The crust was not all that I thought it would be. Instead of being dense and buttery, it was really light and fluffy. Not what I was expecting from a deep dish crust. Normally eating 1 or 2 slices of Chicago deep dish is enough to make you throw in the towel but I ate 4 slices and ehh, not so much stuffed. The sauce was awesome however. The Ugly: Spinach on pizza was undercooked and slimy. Probably just a fluke this time but still off-putting. If you are looking to listen to loud tv's and drink, go to Native New Yorker. Several people found this out the hard way that they can't turn the volume up louder after ordering 5 pitchers of beer, only to give it away for free to people sitting behind them so they could leave for Native. read more

This place isn't that good on my first experience. Went in and got a medium pepperoni pizza and the cheese wasn't even melted onto the pizza crust. Got wings with it and the oil soaked the bottom of the box. Paid 27 and some change. Not worth it at all. Don't recommend this place. read more

Patio seating was perfect! Food came out and looked amazing , tasted even better with a glass of wine to complete the meal! Servers were great and right on time with the food. Came in around lunchtime and it was not packed at all. I recommend this place to everyone! read more

Normally, I'd give Nello's a better rating, but with the combination of a bad meal and even worse customer service bia phone, It's not. I ordered a small pizza with a large salad for pickup. Ticket says time of 4:52. I ran to safeway just next to it to grab a pie and then proceeded to pick up my meal. Now the charge came thru on my phone at the time of 5:22 so total time from phone order to pick up was a half hour. By the time I got home (less than 5 minutes from the location) the pizza was so cold we could not eat it nor the bread that came with it. I promptly called and asked for the Manager and was given Jason. I explained our situation and was promptly told that it had been sitting there an hour, when by time proof it was 1/2 hour total time, call in to pick up. I did not call for anything but to give a heads up about our situation. The call ended, no thank you for calling, nothing. He just hung up on me. Uniquely, Jason's name was on the receipt we have with the time stamp. Although we have been going to Nello's since we moved down the road over 2yrs ago, we will be driving farther into chandler to Floridino's due to the poor customer service we received today. If the customer service from the "manager" on duty was better I may have given Nello's another chance, but it won't get my $$$ now. Mark Linkfield Chandler AZ read more

Moved to this neighborhood ten years ago and was so happy to have a local family owned pizza shop and restaurant so close to home. After ten years still the best. read more

Nello's Pizza Mesa - Pizza Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

This place has amazing food. We always come here whenever we crave pizza or Italian food. Their Alaskan King Crab pizza is to die for. They are sooo good. And their appetizers are great as well. The atmosphere around here is nice as well. They have good seating and also a bar too if you'd like to drink. read more

The wife and I took the kids here for Valentine's day. Coming from Chicago, I'm a bit of a pizza snob. Chicago deep dish pizza is THE only way to go. It's a meal, you eat pizza with a fork and a knife. Not that paper plate crap. It's about the crust. That buttery flaky tasty goodness... mmm... I can feel my arteries clogging as I write. The reviews that I read, led me to believe that Nello's would be the place I've been searching for, since moving to AZ over 6 years ago. As their motto states, "In crust, we trust", so I took it as gold and I trusted their crust. Boy, was I disappointed. We got the heart shaped "Valentines Special", with their signature crust, half cheese and half pepperoni. Let me reiterate, I am a pizza snob and I have high expectations for great pizza. Sadly, this was just mediocre. It was pizza that I would get if I only had $5, was pulling an all nighter and needed a quick pizza. The crust was dried out. Not buttery. Not flakey. Not tasty. In fact, my kids and I didn't even finish the crust; which is my favorite part of a pizza. The ambiance was great. The decor, lighting, bar and even the seating was comfy and inviting. The staff was excellent as well. So, as for what might bring me back, it's the staff. In the end, it's an okay place. I'll probably come back sometime to give it another try. It really has potential and has received a ton of awards, so maybe I just caught an off night. read more

As usual, my experience at Nello's was a great one! If your a fan of deep dish, this is the place to go in AZ. I've been a frequent visitor over the last 20 years, and as usual, they did not disappoint. First, Its great to see that they have Four Peaks on tap, I had a Hop Knot IPA. My wife and I then ordered the 1/2 Spring Salad with the both the House Balsamic Vinaigrette AND the regular House, since they are both some of our favorite dressings from anywhere. Then we ordered the Eggplant Brochette for an appetizer, the first time trying that item. The Brochette had plenty of cheese and eggplant, but it had a soggy feel to it, almost as if the bread hadn't been toasted enough, and gave it more of a cheese bread taste and texture. Then I had the 10in Skinny, which was the shinning star of the night. It had every meat on the menu, and the cheese was piled on heavy. The bacon was thick and cut into quarter strips, sausage had a great flavor, and their sauce and always thick and soft deep dish crust was excellent. Truly one of the best deep dish pizza's i've had. Our waiter Zach was extremity efficient and nice, The place was packed, but he didn't seem fazed by it at all and he gave us great service the whole night. We will defiantly be back soon. read more

I would just like to thank Jennifer from the Hotel for telling me about Arizona's take on Chicago style deep dish... This place was very good and I left full and thinking I should not have this pizza memory when it is so hot out... ;) It's 32 degrees in Chicago not a balmy 78.... Ehhh Whatever the pizza still rocked. "The Good" - The staff... our waiter played to the table and was able to feel comfortable and crack a few jokes and recommend a few beers... all of which were great calls. The best was when the meat laden pizza arrived and was introduced as the veggie pizza... our side of the table immediately object and told him it was the guys at the other end but when it landed on the table it was a beautiful sight :). - Great beers on draft including a few local favorites that escape me at the moment... ask the wait staff, they know which ones move. -Service was great for a busy Saturday night speed-wise as well. We were not waiting that long and the pizza arrived in two beers time. - The pizza... Its really good. The kind of good that as I am writing this my mouth is watering remembering how delicious it was. I'm a fan... "The Meh" - Nothing really meh to comment on... "The Bad" - The fact I did not get a chance to try the Italian Beef ... but man did that look good as well. read more

Freshest Pizza in the Valley! Never Change your quality and service. We visit weekly and it's always a treat -Medrano's read more

Top notch pizza!! Need good pizza and beer, stop here. Stopped by on a recommendation of a friend, on national pizza day. Surprise got seated right away. Atmosphere is kinda barish but not overly. I like they have several craft local beers!! Had Italian bread as an appetizer came with an olive oil dip, very good. Went with a thin skinny, which is loaded with meat and strips server recommend extra crispy for doneness and he made the perfect call!. Will be a good go to for here on. You need this pizza in your life!! read more

See all

Came in on a busy day, and thought to sit at the 2 Tables between the bar and the order pick up window... I did not realize this means no service area, as all waiters n even the hostess didnt look at us, or ask us if we could be helped,,, Maybe they assumed we were waiting for a pickup order... Well thats about 60 buck that walked out the door.. Hope that gets communicated so someone is responsible for those 2 tables.. I went for lunch one day with my friend and we had to kind of be rude to get service there,, thought it would be addressed after that, but i guess not... read more

Dear Nello's, I love you. You may think I am moving too fast as I just met you last week, but I have never been so sure of my emotions. Every bite filled me with happiness. Each slice of your pizza was a flavorful perfection. I love how you give me the choice of getting a wheat crust. There are so many flavors I want to try. The spinach pie will always remind me of our first encounter though. Your pizzas are affordable and amazing. One of the best I have ever had in my life. You beat pizza in Italy. Sorry Italy. read more

Nello's Pizza is fab. Just mother-loving fabulous. My mom and I came here on a whim on a weekend night because we suddenly were hungry for pizza. The wait was not bad as expected. We split a small [biiiiig small] salad and a small thin-crust pizza with enough leftovers of both for my brother. Our server was super nice, but kind of spacy. I don't want to deduct anything from my review about him - maybe he had too many tables or was new, I'm not sure. Our salad came out quite quickly, but then it took forever for the pizza, so it was hard to maintain self-control over the salad while waiting. Hands down some of the best food I've had during my Valley visits over the years! read more

Went tonight with friends and family. Great pizza and nice big salads. House dressing was really tasty. Plenty of leftovers for the midnight snack. Go with the deep dish. Crispy crust and plenty of toppings. Thanks Nellos! read more

I love Nello's pizza. I have been a fan of Nello's since the 90's. The pizza is always hot and cooked, ingredients are fresh and the options are plentiul. They have local beers on tap, including my favor - 4 peaks peach ale!! I would recommend trying out their deluxe combo or the pizza bianca with sun dried tomato, mushroom and sausage with a side of marinara. You will always get quality when you go to Nello's and you can expect that get great pizza everytime. Top food recommendations: Pizza Crust with Cheese Garlic bread with tomatoes and cheese Old world classic salad Deluxe combo Pizza Bianca Pesto Bianca Skinny And a cold beer from the draft to go with it, you can't ask for anything more! read more

I hadn't eaten here for quite a while, but I'm glad I did! The environment is louder but that's because it's mixed with restaurant and bar. The service is great and friendly. The portion sizes were large & plenty. Choices, choices, choices too....salad, pasta, pizza....so many choices in each type of food. To top it off...awesome pizza!!! Why did I stay away so long???? Be back very soon! read more

Nello's Pizza Mesa - Yummmmm - Pizza Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Sucks wanted to try them again. Called up 2hrs before they closed. Lady said we are not currently taking phone orders. So only option to eat there was dine in. Shame hopefully they get more people so they can fulfill phone orders since can't order online and don't have the time to sit down and eat. read more

Delicious pizza with generous toppins and great service by Olivia. Appreciate laid back, dog friendly outdoor atmosphere.

Nellos has slowly turned into my favorite neighborhood pizza place. Both their thick and thin crust pizza is always delicious. I tend to switch off depending on what I am in the mood for, or how hungry I am! We usually always get the deluxe pizza, but recently have been more adventurous, trying the enchilada pizza and the Santa Fe pizza. Both were really good and a great change of pace if you are in the mood for pizza but want to mix it up a bit. Our service is always fabulous whether you are eating in or taking out. Everyone is so friendly and it really feels like a restaurant where everyone knows each other and wants to make your dining experience a great one. Also, the house salad dressing is my favorite restaurant dressing of all time. I always buy a bottle for home! read more

My recent trip to this nello's was great! I ordered a medium pizza and a garden salad both of which were tasty and fresh! Our server Kyle was extremely nice and attentive. Will definitely be back :) read more

It's a really good pizza place. I don't have anything to compare it too, cause this place is close to home, has the best reviews, and fulfills all my expectations - so it's the only pizzeria I've been to since coming to AZ (way to retain your customers Nello's :) I can't comment on service, because I always pick up, but the person by the counter is always very respectful and nice. I really like their original thick crust pizzas - I had spinach pie pizza (EXCELLENT), BBQ chicken pizza (it was OK) and the margarita pizza (simple but tasty). Overall, this is definately a place to try if you haven't been :) read more

AMAZING service and pizza! ordered the large thin crust and i was blown away! definitely coming back!!!!!!!

This is one of my favorite lunch spots. Their pizza is great! Their salads are packed full of the good stuff, with the best house dressing around. The staff are very friendly and my favorite part is you are asked what you want to drink right away and don't forget the glasses are HUGE! There is nothing worse in restaurants than small glasses and the impossibility of getting a refill! I have ordered many different kinds of pizza from this Nellos and have yet to be disappointed. The buffalo chicken pizza is so tasty and they will give you extra buffalo sauce and ranch all you have to do is ask. They will make you pizza any way you like it and the wait is never that long. I am always able to keep my lunch at an hour, which of course makes my boss happy! Don't forget the salads that come piled high with meat, cheese and tons of veggies, you never feel you paid too much for a salad once you dig in! Their dressing is pinkish orange and just superb! In a part of town that is lacking great places to eat lunch, I am glad Nello's is in my neighborhood! read more

We just moved from Washington State . Their pizza is wonderful we have ordered twice now to go and have not been disappointed. Their salads are great also big portions and loaded . We have yet to dine in but will when we get sett read more

My husband and I love Nello's pizza! Not only is the pizza wonderful but well, I'm a big salad person. I love the fact that you can actually take home the salad dressing you had eatten that night on your salad. Everytime we go there I always pick up a bottle of their house salad dressing- it's so good! I just wish they would deliever- if they did deliever all the other pizza places we use would go to waysid and mind you, in this house we are very picky about pizza. read more

This is the best Chicago style pizza in Phoenix! My family has been going to Nello's for the past 30 years! The original style crust is wonderfully golden and crisp! Our favorite pizza is pepperoni and sausage! The sausage is delicious and made every day! Our favorite salad is the Old World Classic with the delicious House Dressing! The dressing is a spicy Italian style, but it is so good I buy some bottles to go. It's also great for dipping the pizza in! The place is the BEST! You won't be disappointed! read more

As always, Nello's is consistent. Went here and ordered from here on many occasions. The more you come in the better the service gets, only had one kind of terrible experience and the manager made up for it. All the ingredients taste fresh - extra toppings, you get what you pay for - hard to say that about anyone else that is close. Bartender's and server's are friendly and speedy. Don't wait if something is incorrect, they are usually 'moving' and you might not get one right away. read more

Amazing pizza and customer service. We had a huge order and I was able to schedule ahead of time for a pick up. Everyone enjoyed the food and I would highly recommend checking out this place! read more

Nellos is a decent neighborhood pizza joint attempting to recreate a Chicago pizza parlor. This location is rather large and tucked into a strip mall. It has lots of TVs and memorabilia around to add to the flavor. We had beer, wings, and deep dish pizza - standard fare. The wings seemed really fatty, but the honey hot sauce was really good. I was not impressed with the pizza. I had a deep dish with sausage and meatballs. The dough was good, but the sauce was too sweet and the meats lacked flavor. Fortunately, the service was great, and the prices were very reasonable. There are probably better options in the area, but it's hard to beat a good neighborhood pizzeria. read more

They accommodated our big group in the separate dining area to the right of the arcade once you first enter. My friends have raved bout this joint and wanted to try it out. Upon entering the place, you would think it's one of the smaller chain restaurants with greasy pizza (barros). But the food actually surprised me here. Got the old world salad which was filled with all kinds of goodies like feta cheese, olives, red onioin, peppercinis, roasted peppers, cucumber, etc. I think the best part of the salad was their tomato house dressing which is phenomenal. It has a tangy balsamic taste to it which is awesome with any salad I would imagine. Maybe even dip ur pizza in it. Next time I gotta try some of their pizzas though and I will report back! read more

Well, I ordered a cheese-less pizza, and I didn't get cheese. I also didn't get any sauce. What I got was bread, with pepperoni and black olives. The bread was crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, which awarded the second star. The toppings simply slid off the pizza. At least the pepperonis were crispy. I wouldn't be so critical, but I said I wanted a pizza, no cheese, with pepperoni and black olive and pizza sauce, to which the employee replied that sauce is a given. Apparently, it's not a given. The other pizza ordered, with cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and green bell peppers, also had very little sauce. Double bummer. Don't think I'll be ordering here again. read more

Nello's Pizza Mesa - Cheese-less and sauce-less pizza. I ordered no cheese, but no sauce was an unexpected (and unwanted) surprise. - Pizza Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

See all

BEST PIZZA: 5 Stars all the way! Nello's famous motto; " In Crust We Trust!" forever holds true! This is the BEST deep dish Chicago pizza in the Valley of the Sun bar none! My sister originally found Nello's over 28 years ago (some of their original customers) when it was a one or two table small outfit located in a single wide strip mall store front at McClintock and Southern. We loved the Numero - Uno with gourmet sausage and mushrooms ever since! Telling hundreds of people over the years how good the place was has caused them to grow into a doublewide store then triplewide and now currently four or five valley locations! We make it a point to bring every one of our guests here and they never leave dissappointed. What makes Nello's soooooo good has to be the crust and sauce! We make it a point to ask for a side of the pizza sauce to dip our crusts in total enjoyment. Make sure to start with a Mozzarella Platter for an appetizer while waiting for the pie to arrive! My favorite after the #1 is the Alaskan King seafood pizza with white sauce w/ mushies, green peppers and fresh tomatoes. Sometimes I special order the Numero Uno with the Alaskan Crab extra if you enjoy the red sauce more - Delicious! Our kids love the Hawaiian topped with loads of mozz, ham and a generous portion of pineapple chunks. Where else can you order up an Enchilada Pizza?? Southwestern red sauce topped with tender grilled chicken, black olives, onions and green chiles sour cream and guacamole. Mmmm SPICEY! Deluxe Combo can't be beat fully loaded, or try the Skinny: Homemade sausage, pepperoni, salami, meatballs, and bacon! That is the Pie of all Pies! For side drinks, my wife from South Africa loves to get a picher of Guava Juice to soak in a flavor from home and this is a great place to take kids or buddies for a game on the many TVs. The Murphy with bacon and onions or what used to be known as the Popeye: Fresh Spinach, garlic, mushies, tomatoes, olive oil, mozz and feta cheese. The list goes on from BBQ Chicken to the Buffalo Wing Pizza that packs a punch!! What more can I say?? I'm gettin' hungry writing this FIVE star review! Go and see why they have won the New Times Best of Phoenix some 10 or 15 years! PS: A little tip if you order 4 pizzas ya get da 5th one FREE :)) Stock up and put 'em in your fridge. Also check out my review for the Aloha Kitchen next door to Nello's as it is the best Hawaiian food in PHX....Cheers!! read more

PIZZA HEAVEN My favorite is to get a pepperoni and sausage. They make their sausage there, and it's delicately seasoned. The sauce has a good amount of garlic in it, and herbs, and it is wonderful beyond words. Best deep dish pizza I've ever had. read more

We had a large group..20!! And on a Friday night! The manager was very gracious when I asked if we could have separate tickets! Thank you for that! The waitress was efficient, kind and outgoing! Then the food...YUMMY! I was so impressed with the fact that even though we were a large group, she managed to give us individual attention! read more

Customer service was absolutely terrible today, was seated and for 15 minutes my presence was was absolutely ignored after being seated. I did complain before read more