The Pizza is the by far the best in the Chicago area. Bar none. Seriously unique among all the mass produced BS pizza places. And the other dishes are top notch - had great meals every time. Staff is amazing and attentive. read more

After BHS open House we needed a quick bite. We went to PJs and had salad and pizza, calamari and a pasta dish. All were great. We ordered thin pizza with pepperoni and veggies and it was good. Lindsay our waitress was awesome, we had to have been her last table and she stayed late to take great care of us and we never felt rushed. Great job Pal Joey's! read more

This is the best Italian Restruant I've ever been to. The quality and friendly staff is just fantastic. I highly recommend this restruant to everyone. You won't find a better restruant you get a great value here and the prices are really great also. read more

Food was fantastic. Came at lunchtime and we had their lunch buffet. We called ahead to find out $$. Was told it was $7.00. Actually, it was $8.95. Person that answered the phone should know what cost of buffet . Marinara was great. Soup was great. Our waiter told us to wave him down if we needed anything. Very poor service. Came to our table once. Waited 20 minutes for our check. One person even left the building and still we didn't have the check. Then when we had the check had to have same front employee get the waiter to put it in. 3 Servers waiting tables and only 10 tables with with customers. Most having the buffet. Will not drive an hour for poor service. read more

I stopped in for a to go order. I ordered. Joey's chopped salad and baked mostaccioli . The restaurant seemed very short staffed, and a lot of confusion going on. The food came out fairly fast. The salad was wilted and barely edible. Dry grilled chicken and other not fresh ingredients tossed in. The only good thing was the dressing , flavorful Italian with balsamic. The pasta sauce was very watery ( I could make better at home) not really baked, just cheese thrown on and stuck under broiler. I haven't tasted the minestrone soup which was included with the dinner. Cold bread and butter also included. Paid about thirty-two dollars for this awful dinner. Will never go back. read more

I love the food here.. it's so good! However, I'm giving a rating of 3 stars, because I am not a fan of their new location compared to their previous location. Where Pal Joey's used to have a very laid back, cozy, warm environment with a view of the river, it now feels exactly like what it is--a restaurant in a previous Golden Corral building. The building is big, and the tables are out in the open in front of everyone. I miss the old building! read more

The food was awesome and prepared very well. The cooks really do a great job! But the service was less to be desired. Our server didn't check to see how we were. Poor service for the most part. I nowadays give good tips regardless, including this time. BUT, the service was on the poor side. Our experience had room to improve, but my pizza is among the best I've ever had! All the food is top notch! read more

I was here a week ago and really enjoyed the pizza. Then I went back last Saturday, got the same pizza, it was not at all good. Tasted like thick dough with a little cheese and sausage on it. Looked like just a little sauce on 1/2 and none on the other 1/2. Really. Told waitress, she said the kitchen was really busy and may have messed up, like it was no big deal. She offered to bring some marinara sauce, she did, room temperature sauce helped but, how does this happen. Pretty poor for a place that has been around so long. read more

Not enough can be said about Pal Joey's. They have been a favorite of ours for years. Pizza is always good. Salads are always cold and crisp. Margarita's are always good. Their new location in Batavia is easy to get into and very big. They have handled the transition very well. Family friendly and all the staff is very friendly as well. read more

The manager is at least understanding about dissatisfaction. I hope they can take the criticism received and make amends to their product. I gave one star for the waitress doing well and another star for cleanliness of restaurant. Right now Joey is my acquaintance, and hope he can be my Pal next time I visit with some new FRESH recipes. read more

We catered 3 main courses for a crowd this weekend and everyone loved it! Chicken Marsala, Pasta Rotolo (rolled pasta filled with vegetables and cheeses) and mostaccioli with meatballs in an attempt to have a variety. It was piping hot, delicious and met with rave reviews! Thanks so much! read more

This place is horrible that's all I have to say, the food wasn't good , the service was bad and not even willing to help solve the issue with the bill and it was way overpriced. I should of known when we got there and someone was asking for a manager. read more

Joey is NOT your pal. This place SUCKS! I hope they follow in the footsteps of Golden Corral. Seriously...how in the hell do some people actually consider this good food? And not only that, but they actually pay for it! Here's a tip: You can eat cardboard for free in the comfort of your own home. You'll thank me later! read more

I've been a regular customer to the West Chicago location for years & absolutely love that place. I was recently in the neighborhood & decided to try the newer location in Batavia. No need to worry everyone...It's just as good as the original! Big, spacious location, the staff is friendly & prompt & most importantly, the pizza was fantastic!!! I will definitely be back! read more

Tried to give them a 3rd try but now we are done. Ordered Minestrone soup that actually came out aa French onion with pasta - no veggies, tomatoes, bean etc. seriously it was bad French onion with pasta. Also ordered fettuccini Alfredo - not even sure what the sauce was - tasted like milk over noodles - no taste what so ever. So wanted to support a local restaurant but if they don't care to be a restaurant that serves even decent food, we are done. read more

At least the pickle was good. After a super long wait for our food we were extremely disappointed. We didn't order appetizers since we were here for a quick lunch and waited 40 + minutes for our food. Most places with this long a wait bring out a bread basket or at least an apology for the long wait .When the soup and coleslaw are similar temperatures and simple requests of how you want your food prepared are ignored the cold crisp pickle becomes the best part of the meal. We had a over cooked burger "medium requested " a subpar Ruben that was supposed to have extra sauerkraut but had very little and Rigatoni Abruzzo that looked great but was ok but not great. read more

This place has poor quality, no flavor and service was slow. Waiter was nice, but kitchen was so slow and then when the food came despite being VERY hungry, it was completely lacking authentic taste and seasoning, and made for extremely dissatisfied feeling. It tasted like bread with cheese thrown on it, and tomato paste right out the can. Save your money and go elsewhere. I would give zero stars if I could. read more

Used to love Pal Joeys for many many years when it was in downtown Batavia, IL. Called in an order for carry out. Went in and had to wait for them to assemble it. No one there except one other couple. I had to ask for bread (it was supposed to be included). No silverware for carryout? I got back to the office and there was little to no alfredo sauce and the soup was so-so. Everything was overwhelmed by the taste of garlic and it was so much so that I ate a few bites and threw it out. Disappointed with the food flavor and the amount paid for it. I hope they improve as I was hoping to support the local business. I won't be coming back...sad. read more

All the meh of the old location but all the views of oil & tire change shops. And no, the pizza is at best run of the mill average.

Pal Joey's has always been delicious! We always order extra sauce out our pizza's which takes it to a whole new level! Their fried zucchini is extra yummy too! read more

Atmosphere isn't there yet, all tables, could use booths and or some sort of room diver to give it less warehouse feel. Very few decorations of any kind. Still looks like the old restaurant. Table clause are vinyl and they have marks on them where the pizza pans of been set down. As far as the food goes the Italian beef sausage sandwich was delicious, as was the French onion soup. The ravioli in the coleslaw were a little bit too sweet. Service was lacking, there were no refills of sodas and we waited a long time for our check. read more

My wife had been craving fried calamari for a few weeks and we decided to check out Pal Joey's. It is close to our business and very convenient. We arrived about 30 minutes prior to closing and we told the hostess we were there for just fried calamari and a couple of beers. We got waited on right away by Karen and what was supposed to be just a very short evening turned out to be a wonderful experience! The calamari was cooked perfectly, the beer was extremely cold and the service was outstanding! We cannot wait to go back with our family to try the pasta and pizza in the near future! And of course, some cold beers too! read more

I don't usually leave Yelp reviews, but was compelled to after noticing their score is so low. This was our first time eating at Pal Joey's. The parking lot always seems to have a crowd, so we decided to give it a try. I'm so glad we did. The food was great! The fresh made mozzarella sticks were the best I've ever had. The Pan pizza was fantastic! My husband had a beef and sausage combo and said it was really good. Give them a try! read more

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Amazing prices the staff is very friendly and food was amazing. A lot of booking opportunities and very helpful for planning my party.

Pal Joey's is a wonderful family friendly restaurant! Warm service and delicious Italian food!

This is my first time leaving a review, however, I feel I need to say this to prevent people from getting sick from the food. I ordered what looked to be a perfectly good and hearty serving of chicken from the outside, but upon cutting into the chicken it was so raw that a pocket of blood squirted out and onto the plate. I was absolutely mortified and planned to tell my waitress. As I sat in disbelief of what happened, I took note of how dirty the restaurant was. The floor was unbelievably sticky, my table was covered in grease, and from what i could see of the kitchen when I peered into the kitchen window, the back of the restaurant was even more horrifying. At this point, I decided I should just leave instead of complaining as I realized there was no option of taking the chicken back and cooking it again (cooked or uncooked that chicken will kill me). At one point I heard a couple of staff members declare their wish to die because of their understandable hatred for this hellhole. I know this sounds farfetched. I can't believe this night even happened. When I returned to my seat, An old lady sitting at a table across from me started laughing and vomiting at the same time. it was terrifying and disgusting, and I left before I could be further traumatized by this utter nightmare. I ran away and never looked back. I fear for whoever orders food from this god-forsaken place. read more

8pm on a Saturday night and were sat relatively quickly. Large clinical and uninviting dining room. Speaking on uninviting the waitress, who needed to be retrieved from the back after the other waitress in our area realized she had no intention of coming back out so she had the hostess force her out, obviously regretted working at Pal Joey's as much as I regretted being there. She brought waters and some cheese sticks out begrudgingly. I took a sip of water infused chlorine and cringed. I explained to the wife that the water was horrible. She scolded me for being melodramatic and like a good husband curbed my complaint. I took a second sip and exclaimed "I think they are trying to poison me" she told me to stop being ridiculous as I handed her my glass. She took a sip and her eyes met mine. She set my water out of my reach and confirmed they were trying to poison me. The cheese sticks were fine. The soup was cream of mushroom and was the opposite of the definition of soup but was still fork tender. The did manage to put lettuce on a plate and open a bottle of dressing. The Scampi and the Shrimp and asparagus took so long I wanted to just leave. The waitress was off hiding and quiet possibly re-evaluating her life decisions that brought her on a path to Pal Joey's. As I went to put on my jacket, in my head I thought McDonalds would be a better option at this time and McDs gives me violent diarrhea, the food arrived with a scowl. Undercooked asparagus, unpeeled shrimp under an unlovingly plopped on top portion of angel hair noodles and slathered in what was advertised as lobster sauce. After peeling the first shrimp I tasted it. The single most confusing tasting meal I have tried. I gave up. I told my wife I couldn't eat this and certainly didn't feel like I should have to pay for it. Despite her not liking her meal either she sent me to the car and told me she would be right out. I watched the stars in the sky slowly move across the darkness. As I got out to see if she was being held hostage she appeared. The look on her face was defeat as I think she ran out of excuses to defend PJs. I put the car in drive and just shook my head as we pulled away from Pal Joey's, where culinary dreams and servers aspirations go to die. I can still taste the chlorine clearly as I write this. Please head my warning. I would rather have eaten at Chuck E Cheese. read more

They put anchovies on my carry out order rather than artichokes! One bite and I became instantly ill! Won't go back.

The food quality has declined at the new location, the pizza crust is bland, the toppings are fresh and good but all in all its average. They are dramatically under staffed in both the kitchen and the wait staff. We have tried the lunch buffet two different times now, and both times the 4 pizza warmer (too small for the size of the restuarant) was empty for 20 minutes. The poor guy's behind us ordered sandwiches and after 40 minutes, they just got up to leave, the waitress begged them to stay and their food came out and was wrong. read more

This place doesn't even deserve one star. The service was extremely slow. In order to be fair though, I believe that the management is probably having trouble finding help because it seemed that our waitress just had too many tables to manage. Despite the slow service, I still tipped her very well (it wasn't her fault). We will not be going back. read more

The worst ,food was average, the service was terrible, atmosphere was dull. I'll never go back!

The food was good, but the service was rushed. 5 tables used, yet rushing to get us out. Food was a little cold.

Only reason I gave a one is because there is no option for less. I'm never a complainer ever and almost every single review I try to find the positives in all. The only positive I can find about this place was the pizza being ordered by other tables around us. my wife and I both ordered meals. She ordered the manicotti I ordered beef brisket with mashed potatoes. Both meals looked and tasted exactly as moms leftovers placed in the fridge and heated up two days later. everything on my very large plate was hot only around the outside of the plate. All the food an inch or more in from the sides was straight cold. Not luke warm but cold! The brisket I ordered was one Sysco step up from Salisbury Steak....I only paid to support the workers and would never complain to waitstaff because they are just doing the job. Advice to management pretend covid started up again and shut it down until you figure a new plan, chef or back of the house probs. read more

I've eaten a ton of Chicagoland pizza's from all the pizza legends, so I feel I have a great pizza pallet. I tried a little something different. Being a Friday during Lent went meatless opting for giardiniera and mushroom.We tried the thin crust instead of their signature pan. Holy sh#$! Just awesome! One of the top three za's I've eaten. read more

If you enjoy a blah repainted Golden Coral waiting for an hour for food and lousy service this is your place. Waited almost 40 minutes to sit. 30 minutes for my burnt appetizer and stale chips. And who knows when my pizza was coming....heck they might still be making it. I pulled the plug after an hour. No joke totally pathetic. The nasty waitress told me pizzas can take 30 minutes to cook. Well thry must cook them consecutively. Do yourself a favor and stay away. One star is too much for this turd but I had too. read more

Great food and service that is on top of it. Great family feel. The owner is kind and friendly. They definitely make sure you are more than satisfied. read more

Oh, I am so sad. I was hoping when Pal Joey's moved from the river location in Batavia to the new location on Randall and Main, the quality of the food would improve, but unfortunately it did not. You see my wife and I love the the original location in West Chicago. We have been going to Pal Joey's in West Chicago for over 40 years. When they opened a 2nd location in Batavia, we were very happy since it was much closer to our home, but after several visits we gave up and returned to the original. Now we have been to their new Batavia location several times and it still sucks. Service is okay and we can live with the atmosphere, but the food that we go there for is not worth it. We aren't sure why it does not even compare if it is the same owners. Instead of a 10 minute drive to Batavia, we will make the 30+ minute drive back to West Chicago so we are not disappointed with our meals. We suggest that you do the same. You will not be disappointed. You will be disappointed at the Batavia location I'm sorry to say. When we go there and order off the menu, we always order a pizza to go since it is the pizza that we love and what turned us into big fans of Pal Joey's. This latest time we did the same. And when I went for a piece at home, it was the worst pizza I ever had. If it was my first slice of Pal Joey's, it would have definitely been my last. Oh, I am so sad. read more

After turning customers away on Mothers Day with a 1/2 full parking lot at noon, Pal Joey's will never get a second chance to make a first impression. From reading the lengthy list of horrible reviews here, looks like they did my Wife & I a favor. That's no way to run a business! read more

Terrible pizza way too much sauce. Service extremely slow. Don't know why they add all that sauce. Too bad great location terrible Italian Food. read more

Joey is definitely not a pal of yours if you like good food, good atmosphere or timely service! This place might as well still be called Golden Corral by its looks but wait, at Golden Corral you probably got your food quicker than 40 minutes at 1:30 in the afternoon. read more