Leo's Pizza — Restaurant in Jacksonville

I'm going to write this review a little differently than the good the bad and the ugly. Let's start with the bad. The crust has little life in it. Like a cracker. It's bland but thin so it's not exactly the highlight. It's more like an eatable charcuterie board. If I had any recommendation, it would be to simmer whole cloves of garlic in olive oil for a few hours and paint the crust before you top it. Now that this is out of the way, let me tell you a story of the super nice man who's family owns this place. I walked up at 2 pm. Which... this town is a bit strange. One would think a restaurant would be open for lunch, but it's just a different kind of town. So I'm a little early and they don't open for another 10 minutes or more, and I meet the chef. His family has owned the place for a long time and I bumble my way to the wrong door and he waves me on. I try the correct door and it's locked and I see they aren't open. So this man opens the window and asks me what I'm trying to do. I inform him that I'm new here and how the amazing smells drew me like a cartoon character floating toward the aroma. And get this... he says He doesn't need the waitress. He'll take care of me. A little embarrassed, I agreed and was not disappointed. He told me a little about himself and the place and I returned about why I was in town. And he took my order. The picture attached is the utter monstrosity that came out. Amazing! Grace finally arrived... jk... I was so early... and she was amazing. Grace took amazing care of me and joked around a bit. Everyone had a spectacular attitude and at this point, even if the pizza had been awful, I was still having a great day, but don't you worry. The toppings were glorious!!! They were fresh. Quality! That's what really kills a pizza. Low quality toppings. Not here. I do always try to think of small things that could improve, but really, I can only think of the crust. Could be painted but maybe it's an Illinois thing? Do not miss this gem! Highly recommended. And the price is reasonable for the size you order. Will be eating here again! Maybe while it's...

I cannot score this high enough. I was pointed in this direction by my friend whom grew up here, as we were going to be visiting Jacksonville for some baseball games. After multiple attempts trying to get through to order pizzas for my son's baseball team unsuccessfully, I DM'd them through facebook (not knowing if this medium would work); I was finally able to get through to find out the price was out of our budget so I had to rely on a "big box store." However, within 10 minutes the owner of the restaurant calls me and asks if I still needed the order fulfilled. He was able not only to match the price but BEAT the price of the cardboard pizza store, and get us 22 pizzas ready within 45 minutes!!!!!! He was so kind and stated how excited he is to serve teams visiting, and he always tries to give a break to softball and baseball teams. The pizza was everything I hoped for (crust fresh, warm and soft for the deep dish and the thin crust was the right amount of crunch to complement the generous, chewy cheese!) We did carryout but while I was waiting I couldn't help but marvel at the pictures of employees with celebrities adorning the hallways. You could sense the pride the family has in this establishment and its evidence in the quality of the pizza. Looked like a great atmosphere if sit down is what you wanted to have the pizza come fresh to your table. Thank you so much for your willingness to go out of your way to may a memorable meal for a fun weekend of baseball! I don't offer up reviews a whole lot, but when I do it is for...

Having to be in Jacksonville on family business, never fun, Leos helped make the stay bearable. On our 1st visit of 2, I got the Rustica pizza and son got the meatball calzone. The calzone was full of melty cheesy goodness. It took him 3 tries to wind up the cheese to share a bite with me. That tells me the cheese was freshly shredded that day. How do I know? I worked as a pizza cook for an Italian restaurant in high school. As for my pizza, it was crispy and all the ingredients were fresh. I have never had a better pizza. And we went back on the 2nd visit, we split a large sausage and pepperoni with 1/2 mushroom. Most places just wave the word mushroom over a pizza(looking at you Dominos) but not here! The crust was then but it was not a cracker. It was a thicker crust than the above mentioned place and still crunchy. I will probably be having them ship me a few pies in the future because they will do that. I got a visit by the owner and she made sure to give me the number to the restaurant with her name. This is great service and a great meal. ANY time I have to be in the area, I will be delighting on this little slice of heaven! See what I...