Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana — Restaurant in Danbury

This place don't even deserve 1 star. We were on the road and a friend heard of this chain restaurant. We got there it was a disaster. I mean really a disaster. We went there hungry of course. So a few friends and family order pizza. I ordered a grilled chicken ceaser salad. Now in a normal pizza restaurant grilled chicken comes as a breast with sliced strips and hot. Well this place has no idea how to make grilled chicken ceaser salad. I'm not even kidding. The blonde waitress with a pony tail brings it out within mins. I'm thinking how is the chicken ready so fast. Figuring they microwaved the chicken. Wrong! The girl brings it out with the chicken in pieces frozen . I mean come on who eats frozen chicken on salad. So our waitress was no where to be found. So we told another waitress the chicken needs to be hot it's frozen. She that tells us we don't have anywhere to heat it. Now huh really? So our waitress comes finally as I said this chicken needs to be hot it's frozen. Her answer was rude! She says the chicken isn't frozen but it's cold. They cook the chicken the morning and leave it in the freezer . Yes now I know why it is frozen. Now that is gross their cooking chicken early then keeping it cold instead of making it fresh. She says their is no way of heating the chicken. Saying that we heat the chicken only in the oven on pizza! "So you can heat the chicken in the oven for pizza but not to warm it up" Nor have a microwave I'm told. I told her I can't eat this. I didn't even have 1 bit. She takes the grilled ice cold frozen chicken salad and says she will take it off the bill. I said I can't eat anything else. I'm on a special restriction. Very unaccommodating not offering to heat it in the oven or bringing a manager over to help us. She then brings one friends pizza over then we asked for boxes for other pizza's since no one wanted to stay. Which they could of walked out and not even taken the pizza they ordered after the way we were treated . So one friends pizza got cold because he couldn't eat it fresh at the table enjoying it . We left & got up from our booth and wanted to leave bc we all couldn't enjoy a meal sitting and eating here . TMy family member her pizza and her friends wasn't even cut. The waitress was so rude not to even cut the pizza we noticed after leaving once they opened their box . This disgusting way to treat costumers. Everyone should be able to enjoy a meal sitting not rushing to leave bc not everyone in the party was accommodated with food they wanted. We should of got something or free just on the way we were treated. Plus they should of heated the chicken. Offered to heat it on a plate or on pizza then taken off pizza . What kind of restaurant wants their customers to leave and go to another place. My advice for your business is have someone work the stove to heat food, get a microwave , heat the food in the oven. Have your staff trained to accommodate everyone not just take food back and act like they don't care you can't eat. I would never recommend this place to anyone . Nor recommend anyone looking up this place to go here . Go to stone hill diner they are a better friendly staff. They make food hot !! The corporate headquarters should really know as well how not accommodating this Danbury...

Our family has always loved Pepe's pizza, especially the thin crust with a bit of burn on it. They were always consistent in the past. This was the place we always got our delicious pizza: both in Danbury and New Haven. Well for some reason that all changed yesterday, Feb 5, 2023. We ordered the large cheese pie, half meatball. We waited with great expectations for the order to arrive at our table of three adults and 3 small children, When the pie arrived the first thing I noticed was that their traditional cuts were not the same. In the past they had always cut the pizza in such a way that it offered large, medium and small slices. Not this time. The pizza was cut in uniform slices the same way most pizzeria's cut their pies. Then I noticed that the crust was much larger than ever in the past. Much more dough to each piece. Where in the past I could eat five variously sized slices, yesterday I could barely finish 2 because if the huge crust. We all agreed that the pie itself was much more filling per piece than in times past. The toppings were fine but personally we all came to love the thin crust and unusually sized slices. I also asked the waitress for some vinegar to splash on top of mine but unfortunately she said that they only hade balsamic vinegar. My son mentioned that they must have a new cook in the back and maybe that was the reason for the radical change. I hope they go back to "old school" so that we can go back to Pepe's with mouth's...

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana has quite a history and is easily one of the best-known pizzerias in Connecticut. Known locally as Pepe’s, it still stands in its original location in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, CT, as well as restaurants in various cities across the state.

The Danbury location has a simple, green and white interior with an open kitchen. The centerpiece of the bustling kitchen is an enormous coal-fired oven.

Pies are placed table-side on an oversized tin baking sheet. From there, it’s help yourself as you dig in.

I chowed down on a pizza topped with sausage and mushrooms. While Pepe’s has a rich history, I was unfortunately unimpressed by their pizza. I found the crust to be floppy and the whole pie to be tasteless.

Other detractors are the silverware and plates. Pepe’s skips out on providing anything more than the basics – forks, knives and plastic plates. My biggest complaint is that the plastic plates are so tiny that a slice of pizza falls off the sides. Can’t you invest in some bigger plates?

The Verdict

I was excited to give Pepe’s a try, but unfortunately I left slightly disappointed. The pizza was pretty bland and the tiny plastic plates and lack of anything more than the basics had me thinking Pepe’s is trying to do whatever it can to save money and rein in the profits. Suggestion: buy some plates that at the very least fit a slice of pizza and invest in some silverware other than forks and knives. Maybe a serving utensil...