Chicago Pizza Kitchen — Restaurant in Albuquerque

If you’re looking for a restaurant that specializes in confusion, indifference, and cold pizza, look no further. This place delivers — just not in any of the ways you’d hope. We arrived around 7:45 PM on a Friday night, hoping to support a new local spot. The dining room was nearly empty, save for one other unfortunate family, and yet it took 5 to 10 minutes just to be acknowledged. No greeting, no urgency — just a slow-motion shuffle toward the counter. After finally being seated, we ordered a large pizza and three waters around 8:00 PM. We were told to sit and wait. So we did. And waited. And waited. 15 minutes later, a staff member casually informed us that the dining room had closed at 6:00 PM — a detail no one had mentioned when we arrived or placed our order. No apology. No explanation. Just a shrug and a cardboard box. The kicker? We were three people from separate households, so we had to haul the pizza across town to regroup and eat — by which time, of course, it was stone cold. And let’s talk about that “large” pizza. If by “large” they mean Domino’s small, then sure. But for anyone with a normal appetite or expectations, this was a joke. A sad, overpriced joke. To add insult to injury: We were charged for water — which we couldn’t even take with us. We prepaid and tipped, thinking we’d be dining in. Once they pulled the rug out from under us, there was no option to adjust or reclaim anything. The staff greeted us with frowns and frustration, as if our presence was an inconvenience. No smiles. No hospitality. Just the vibe of people who wanted to clock out early and were annoyed they had to cook again. And then — just when we thought we’d seen it all — we noticed a small child, maybe 6 or 8 years old, bussing tables. I’m all for family-run businesses, but this felt more like a scene from a labor law violation than a charming local operation. This was our first and last visit. I genuinely wanted to support a new restaurant in the area, but this experience was a masterclass in how to drive customers away. If you value your time, money, or taste buds, do yourself a favor and walk out — preferably before...

Oh, how we looked forward to eating at this place. But it turned out to be a disappointment. They just seemed overwhelmed and didn’t have it all together. We ordered large a deep dish Chicago style pizza with the toppings for a deluxe specialty pizza. The call ahead for takeout option involves speaking only with an automated “attendant.” No hunan interaction (or option for talking to a real person as far as I could discern). The automated attendant said the pizza would be ready in 15 minutes and I received a text that also said “about ~15 minutes.” When I arrived there were many folks waiting. I paid at the counter and the fellow told me my pizza would be ready ”be right out.” In actuality I waited 30 minutes beyond the promised time before my pizza came out for a total of 45 minutes, not 15. I spoke with several others on the restaurant and they likewise said the automated attendant told them 15 minutes but the wait was much longer. My wife and I drove home (10 minutes away) and when we ate the pizza immediately upon arrival it wasn’t piping hot. I believe this is because the added marinara on the top of the pizzamay not have been entirely warmed before it was ladled on the pizza. The reason I suspect this is that I saw one of the workers add marinara to the kettle from a plastic container shortly before the finishing touches were placed on my pizza. Two other concerns: one, the pepperoni was missing from the “deluxe” toppings and two, the crust was not at all crispy, but rather soft and undercooked, especially on the bottom of the crust. There were only two guys there working and I think they were working their tails off, but were just impossibly behind. I hope the people running the other stores can get them some help. The idea and concept for the restaurant seems like a good one but the West Side store just seemed like it was struggling more than the workers or or the...

Edit: I was hoping the owner would read this, tried this place the next night. Online menu was fixed, was able to order online and prices were updated. Pizza was pretty great. Wing were awful, chewy and soft. We threw them away. I ordered cheese bread and got garlic bread instead which was good but I wanted cheesy bread. I'd still try one more time since they just opened and are hopefully working out the kinks.

I have heard this place is awesome so I tried to order carryout at the golf course location. I ordered a large lobo and asked to substitute jalapeños for Green Chile, they said no. I asked him how much the pizza will be if I add jalapeños and he told me $21. I also had wings, website said $11. My total with tax came out to $40.50 which didn't add up. I asked about the pricing and wings were $13 and pizza was $24. Pricing was frustrating because website and the guy on the phone kept changing pricing, I just ended up cancelling the order. It's not about the money, it's more about the transparency and ease...