Betty's Pizza & Pasta — Restaurant in Oak Park

I always give establishments multiple opportunities and I am not somebody who only does “fine dining” so I feel like this review will be pretty raw and honest.

This is my third time getting Betty’s and the main appeal to it is the large New York style slices, which are reminiscent of when I lived in Brooklyn before moving to Chicago. It’s a nice change from the Tavern cut square slices that every pizza place here serves, and I get it every now and then when I feel like folding.

The place is always slammed which I’m sure is great for the owner, but they always seem to have limited support on the front end. The two times I’ve picked up my order, there’s only been one person actually helping customers (both in the dining area and pick up orders) and tonight there were two people, but one was basically glued to the phone taking orders. I came in at 6 PM and I had pre-ordered the pizza a couple hours before and confirmed that I could do that - they said “yes that is no problem.”

When I came in, I wasn’t acknowledged for the first three or four minutes, and I made eye contact with both the woman on the phone and the woman that was running the dining area and it wasn’t until a family of four walked in behind me that the woman running the dining area acknowledged them and asked if they would be dining in and if she could get them a table.

I started to feel like maybe I was wearing an invisible cloak because I was just there to pay for my pizza and leave. Understandably, I wouldn’t be adding to the server’s tips for the night, but I’m a patron and I am supporting the establishment with my money.

After she sat this family, I had to track her down and ask her if she was the best person to talk to for a pick up order. She kind of huffed at me (maybe because the girl on the phone was the one supposed to be handling pick up orders?) And asked me what my name was and got my pizza. There wasn’t a “hello how are you“ “Are you here to pick up an order?” “So sorry - we’re really busy right now and we are understaffed”. Again, I’m not expecting a five star white glove experience picking up a pizza, but I feel like this is one of the simplest things that goes a really long way with keeping customers coming back to your establishment.

I paid for my pizza and left. I think the only thing she said to me was “what is your name“ and that’s whatever…

Upon getting home, the ingredients were fine but the pizza was stale and lukewarm, and I would imagine had been probably sitting for quite some time... They use a really strange dough mixture that if you actually went to New York today would not be indicative of what a true New York style slice tastes like, but it’s “good enough” for Chicago. It’s really grainy and brittle…

Anyway, at this point, I’m just kind of rambling on but you get the idea. I’m sure this is a fine place If you have a family and you want to dine in, but if you’re just a guy picking up a pizza, you might not have a...

Beautiful, clean, and welcoming environment. The pizza was perfectly made. Crust was baked to perfection. Toppings were fresh and abundant. Service was impeccable. A young man named Harrison tended to us and he was a gentleman, well spoken, and treated us better than we have been treated in some time in MANY establishments. He was funny, kind, and knowledgeable. I asked him about the name of the place and its origin, and he gave a detailed overview of its history. I frequent restaurants, and at my age I want impeccable service, food that makes you want to eat your fingers off, and a reasonable price all nestled in a beautiful and clean place. Bettys is exactly that and more. I loved it. Do not let this place slip you by. If you want pizza that is FRESH, made fast, and made well, Bettys has to be your go to. Final mention - I am from New York and the look of the pizza, the taste, and the way it was cut took me back to when I was a kid, over 40 years ago, when my brother and I, and our cousins, would stop at the end of a weekend of spending time together and before we would part ways we would stop at a pizza place in Queens that we all loved. Bettys literally reminded me of that time in my life. Thank you, Harrison, and thank you Bettys. And God bless the parents of young Harrison. You did an impeccable job having raised a...

You won’t get the super thin undercarriage NY slice here, but it’s still tasty and is a solid pizza.

I really want to support this local business 100% but can’t get myself to fully. They’ve gotten my order wrong the last two times (both phone orders for takeout) and this past time the order was taken by a very not-friendly lady.

The first time this happened, I notified them and they said they would refund me. Well, I never ended up getting the refund to my credit card. I let it slide because they are a small local business and I understand mistakes can be made. However, this past time it happened again but I didn’t even bother to let them know solely because the lady who took my order and who also was there when I picked up my order, was so curt and rude. I did not want to deal with her again.

Overall, I want this business to do well and I want to be a frequent customer. However when your order is wrong twice, and the first time the promised refund never gets followed through and the second time there’s an unfriendly employee, it isn’t a great feeling as a customer. Betty’s, please work on getting your orders processed and executed correctly. It would be nice too if your workers AT THE VERY LEAST have...