Caruso's Pizza — Restaurant in Maine Township

First time trying this place. If I could leave a zero, I would. Absolutely, one of the THE worst pizzas I have had. I could have made a better pizza blind folded with both arms and both legs tied behind my back. Where shall I start? Firstly, when I called, the female that answered the phone spoke a mile a minute. She asked me if I lived in Des Plains, but she spoke so quickly, while slurring her words, it took six times before she could make herself understood [so much for public education]. On top of that she was unpleasant. We ordered two large pizzas to be delivered. We waited an hour. Once the delivery man came he had one of our pizzas and a bottle of pepsi [which we did not order]. He told us to call Carusos back, explain the problem and he would come back with the second pizza. I tried calling, I was asked if I would hold. The FIRST hold, I was on hold for ten minutes, hung up, called back, put on hold again, being ASKED AGAIN, but the same girl put me on hold before I could even answer her. They called us back, tried to put the blame on us. She asked if we wanted the second pizza, I said no. She did not say thank you, she did not apologize. She just said "ok" and hung up. Now, on to the pizza. As quickly as possible, I will tell you, the cheese was dry, hard, and tasteless. The crust was dry and hard as well. The one pizza they delivered was a pepperoni and cheese. The pepperoni along with the cheese, would slide off every time we picked up a slice. It was greasy, the cheese was tasteless, as was the pepperoni. The sauce was tasteless too. Do not misunderstand, the pizza had flavor, average flavor, but flavor, but the sauce itself had NONE. You could not taste the tomatoes. All that you could taste were the spices. Finely, some man, either a manager or owner called us back and asked if we wanted the second pizza, I told him no. He said, "I am sending the delivery guy over to get the money from the first pizza". I said, fine. He, of course, had no thank you to give us, nor an apology to offer. Just hung up. Do you think I...

Stopped in during May of 2025. Noticed that Caruso's is now open on Mondays and has their lunch slices 7 days a week.

Definitely a more modern look to the restaurant than it had in years past. The door leading to the kitchen was shut and the guy was also not what I would call outgoing or personable, basically here's your order, pay and leave. I guess I'm just used to being able to chit-chat with the people here.

The slices tasted pretty much the same though. So that was good.

I've adjusted my review score for Carusos.

Hope you're enjoying your retirement Jack, I'm sure the neighnorhood misses you. I've been coming here for almost 20 years. The place is on the smaller side with limited seating options. The menu is standard hole in the wall, but very tasty. The slices during the week are the highlight and you have to have an RC soda with it, but I do enjoy their wings, fish fillets and variety of cheezy sandwiches as well. For well over the 15 years I've been dining here Jack and his family have been the main reason I keep coming back. The hospitality and friendly chit chat will never be lost on me.

But things change, Jack recently retired and each of my past 4 visits since then have been wildly inconsistent ranging from a good visit to 3 subpar visits including one where my pizza wasnt ready when they said it would be even though I was late to pick it up to begin with. I've seen a very comfortable and friendly environment change pretty much right before my eyes.

The old Carusos gets all 5 stars (and some) from me. This new Carusos with the influx of new employees who really don't give a rats ass about you gets between a 2 and 3 at best. I did lower my overall score to 4, but only because what Carusos has built up over the years shouldnt be revoked by a few bad visits so quickly. But I'll revisit the review again...

Absolutely one of the best pizza spots here in this area of Des Plaines. The pizza here is really amazing and incredibly delicious. It is so tasty, crispy, cheesy, saucy, and unique. You will absolutely love the texture of it. It is really enjoyable and worth a penny. They have so many quality flavors, some of them are unique, and all of them are worth trying. I have never been disappointed with the food here. This place is family-owned, that is why their pizza is really handmade, and all of the food on their menu is made to perfection. Their menu is so huge and they have lots of selections to choose from. They have amazing pizza, pasta, fries, sandwiches, desserts, and beverages that are so refreshing. Everything at this place is really enjoyable and worth it. You all must visit this place if you are nearby or you are here in this city. This Caruso’s Pizza is very accessible. Their location is so great, they are very easy to find, and also they are so near to many different popular places around the area. You will be amazed by their location. This is really a gem in this area. Caruso’s Pizza is everything! But the only problem is their dining areas and spots. Some of their customers needed to wait for 5-10 minutes before getting a vacant spot. Their tables and chairs are limited because of the pandemic protocols. But this place is still worth visiting. I also recommend visiting and going to this place as early as you can for you to occupy the best spot you want inside the place. I am extremely satisfied with this place. I really love their pizza. I will definitely come back here again. Thank you Caruso’s Pizza! All of your staff did a really great job! Thank you and...