PaPPo's Pizzeria & Pub Fairview Hts, IL — Restaurant in Fairview Heights

We’ve never written a review like this, but what we witnessed at PaPPo’s Pizza was so disturbing, we felt obligated to share.

It was pouring rain that day, and the floors inside were dangerously slippery. We watched a woman—clearly older, sweet, and visiting for the first time—walk in and slip hard just inside the door. She was visibly shaken but calm, seated right next to us. What happened next was shocking.

A man who claimed to be the owner came over—not to check on her, not to offer help or even a simple apology—but to blame her. He told her the fall was her fault because of her shoes and insisted, repeatedly, that there had been a rug at the entrance. There wasn’t—we had watched her walk in right before us, and the floor was bare. Multiple people and even staff members were sliding around. It was clearly unsafe.

We couldn’t stay silent. We politely said, “Sir, we saw her fall, and there wasn’t a rug there.” That’s when things escalated. Instead of acknowledging the truth or showing concern, he turned on us—angry, defensive, and irrational. We kept repeating, “You don’t need to argue—just check on her and offer to buy her lunch.” But he kept doubling down, saying things like “We have to protect ourselves,” as if she were doing something wrong. The woman, for her part, remained gracious and calm the entire time, repeating that she had no intention of suing.

We ended up giving her our contact information in case she needed witnesses, then left without eating.

This wasn’t just bad service—it was the worst restaurant experience we’ve ever had in our life. The owner’s behavior was hostile, dismissive, and completely inappropriate. No one with that attitude should be running a business. We will never go back, and we genuinely hope no one else has to witness...

What a 180 from the last time we were here! Service was barely there, as it looked like there was one server for the entire place! He was doing his best, it seemed, but waiting tables out of order of arrival is not the best way to take care of your customers. Also, we had to ask for silverware and napkins, as food was delivered with no way to eat it. The orders, once they did start to arrive, came out 10-15 minutes apart, so we weren't able to eat together as a small group. I noticed the girl bussing tables dropped her cleaning towel on the floor, picked it up, looked around, shook it off, and continued wiping tables with the same towel! A few of us had ticket order discrepancies, but the server was able to remedy them quickly. One in our party never got her order until we were all finalizing our bills, so she sent it back without even eating. She asked to speak to the manager, but was told by the bar manger that the restaurant manager was in the back repairing some equipment. She was able to sit for over an hour and chat with friends, but not dine with them as we had planned. Even as we were finishing up, the kitchen kept sending out random orders to our table, even though none of the orders were ours. Not sure what type of ordering system they have in place, but it didn't seem to be working today. That said, we definitely will not return here anytime soon, sadly. Our previous experiences had been enjoyable; this time,...

I was truly disappointed with my visit to Pappo's. We were taken to an area of the restaurant where there were no working fans and in complete heat of the sun. Our waitress took over 20 minutes to check on us and to take our orders. The waitress was unfamiliar with the lunch menu and told me I couldn't order an item I was told was part of the lunch menu. I contacted the establishment prior to our visit. My daughter happened to order an Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork pizza along with a Caesar salad. Her salad was missing all of its normal components. Her salad was served with iceberg lettuce and that was it. Her dressing tasted just like Toom garlic spread and not one crouton. The Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork pizza looked like soup was thrown on top of the pizza. I ordered hot wings which were alright and lacked all spiciness. My daughter ended up switching her pizza out for a Philly Cheesesteak and it was the driest one I’ve ever seen. They provide a cup of what was supposed to be au jus and seemed more like salty gravy mix. On top of all that we had purchased multiple vouchers from Fox2Now and was told they could not be used on promotional items. These were items on the menu and not a specials menu. Luckily I was able to use my military discount and get something out of this...