Pauly's NY Pizza & Ice Cream — Restaurant in Maryland

TLDR: Creative, well executed pizza combinations as well as delicious sub, taco/burrito and dessert offerings. Come for the Philly cheesesteaks and any of their specialty pizzas.

Vibe: 4/5. Located in the old Pat's Pizzeria location right off Harford Road, Pauly's has done a great job making the space their own. The restaurant stands out from other businesses due to the floor to ceiling glass making up most of the building. There is a small parking lot on the left side of the restaurant, making it easily accessible for quick pickup. Inside, Pauly's l has a simple layout that is conducive to both dine in and takeout. The main counter, where you place your order, is located directly in front of the main entrance. To the left is the dining room, which includes several 4 top booths that are first come first serve. During summer months, they have a nice outdoor patio available. Note, the bathroom is a shared gender bathroom that is only accessible with a key code (located on the bottom of your receipt).

Service: 5/5. Though our interactions with Pauly's staff were limited, they were extremely friendly and efficient during our lunch visit. When ordering at the counter, they were helpful in navigating their ginormous menu. Because we were dining in, the staff also brought our food out to our table and checked in on us several times which was a thoughtful touch.

Food: 4/5. In a sea of pizza and sub takeout joints, Pauly's manages to shine with its unique menu of well executed pizzas, subs, tacos/burritos and dessert. During our visit for lunch, we ordered the sweet pickle pizza w/ bacon, the signature cheesesteak wiz wit, 2 squares of grandma pie w/ meatball and their Jersey beach fries. The pickle pie was baked nicely, with the sweet dill pickles pairing nicely with the white pizza's cheese and evoo sauce base. The addition of bacon added the salty smokiness we needed to elevate the already great pizza. The cheesesteak was a shining example of what they should all strive for. Thin, perfectly griddled ribeye was generous in portion size and achieved a great balance with the golden whiz. The bread was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside making it the perfect vessel. The jersey fries were definitely an interesting take on beach fries. Pauly's dusts the fries in a seasoning mixture that contains sugar, which plays on the sweet and savory combination with every fry. It may not be for everyone, but we thought it was a nice addition to our meal. Finally, the grandma pie was probably our least favorite item. Having had several grandma style pies in NYC and Long Island, Pauly's rendition is not what you would classify as Grandma pie and more reminiscent of Sicilian pizza. From my experiences, Grandma pie should be square, with a dense olive oil predominant crust and bottom. Pauly's version, while tasty, was super fluffy and reminiscent to French bread pizza. Again, tasty in its own right, but not what I was expecting when ordered. The meatballs and sauce that topped the pizza definitely saved the day for the pie. Overall, the food was very good, however expect to pay a slight premium at Pauly's for your takeout favorites. Specialty pizzas can range from $13 all the way to $30 depending on size...

See Addendum Below If you need to know one thing about Pauly's it's that the fries are amazing and you need to try them. I recommend pick up if you can so they're as fresh as possible. My family loves the cheesesteak as well, but I can't give first hand feedback on it. I definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a good meal. The portions are generous. I can usually get 2-3 meals out of the platters. Everyone is very friendly and I've barely ever waited long for my food.

The only reason I'm taking a star off is because they sometimes forget the little things (especially with delivery orders). I've only got the cole slaw that's supposed to come with the chicken strip platter once. They also sometimes forget stuff like sauces or give the wrong one. So maybe just keep that in mind if you really want those things.

All in all I highly recommend this place.

EDIT: Changing my review from 4/5 stars to 3/5 stars due to the experience I just had. I had just gotten home from the hospital and was excited to order from my favorite place. I got the Hangover fries (which I had gotten before and had plenty of sauce). This time they seemingly had no sauce at all. I called hoping to get them replaced and was told that they were prepared with the normal amount of sauce prior to cooking, that there was nothing they could do, and that I should order extra sauce next time. The staff were professional, but I did not feel very listened too.

I do not doubt that they were prepared correctly, but either way I ended up with a dish with no sauce. Seems like grounds for a replacement to me, and perhaps a test of their cooking method if this is what is being produced.

So I put this out there as just a warning to anyone who may want to make this their every day place. The food is good, and up until this point I've had little trouble with Pauly's but I'm not sure I'll...

Update 11/21/2024 After the owner Paul seen my review he reached out on 11/8 about my concerns and wanted to resolve the issue, and make things right. Paul's diligence to ensure issues were addressed, communicated, and resolved, shows the world to me about his business and his word. We gave them another chance tonight, and everything was excellent! Food was perfect; hot, fresh, great taste and appearance. Thank you again! Appreciate you very much.

Tonight 11/3/2024 was the last straw with this restaurant. Sad to say, because my family and I did enjoy some of the menu items. However the last 4 times we've ordered there's been issues. Customer service is practically non existent now from how it used to be. Last weekend (oct 25-26) we ordered take out, told 25-35 mins. Upon arriving 30 mins after ordering, was told it was still going to be another 10-15 mins. Another customer walked in with his child 2 mins after I did. He waited 12 mins to finally be acknowledged by staff if they've been helped. (I timed it while I was waiting). Food was not up to quality like it normally is. To pay $25 for 10 wings is outrageous! 3 of the pieces were broken bits, 2 of which you could fit back together from a flat piece, but they were each counted as a separate piece. Totally disappointed, and a rip off. We wanted to try the wings because of other people saying how good and big they were, they were NOT! Tonight's order (11/3).... again delivery over 15 mins late. No call. Tracked on the app, and see they didn't even leave until 4 mins prior to the promised delivery time, did not follow delivery instructions, and food was barely warm. I've called for orders in the past being late, and was advised "they're busier than normal" well sadly that seems to be their new "normal" of being late, subpar food, and rude customer service. I would no longer recommend, take...