J. Del's Pizza — Restaurant in Pigeon Forge

J Dels Pizza – Pigeon Forge, TN ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (9/10)

While driving through Pigeon Forge, I was originally headed to a sub place that ended up being a total no-go—it just didn’t look clean. So I hopped on Google Maps, searched for another option, and that’s how I landed at J Dels Pizza.

The moment I walked in, I was hit with that classic, unmistakable pizzeria smell—the kind that makes you feel right at home, especially if you're from New Jersey and know what a real pizza joint should feel like. That alone gave me hope.

Now, I came in looking for a sub, and that’s where things got a bit bumpy. I asked a few standard questions and was met with a lot of "We don't do that," or "That comes on the side." I’m used to telling a sub place exactly how I want my sandwich made, not having to add oil, vinegar, mustard, etc., myself after the fact. So yeah, that was disappointing.

But once the food arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. Everything looked solid. I had to doctor up my sub with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and Parmesan myself, but once I took a bite—wow. The bread was incredible. Perfect texture, great flavor. The woman working there mentioned it came from New York (or maybe Florida? Honestly, doesn’t matter—it was good).

Pros:

Smells like a legit pizza place when you walk in

Clean, inviting atmosphere

Friendly and knowledgeable staff

Sandwiches came with chips, but they substituted garlic knots instead, which was a nice touch

The sandwich was really good

The bread was excellent—definitely the star of the show

Cons:

A lot of “nos” when asking about sandwich options

No deli mustard

Sandwich wasn’t cut in half (minor, but worth noting)

Garlic knots looked better than they tasted—needed more flavor

Overall: Despite a few hiccups with the ordering experience, the quality of the food won me over. J Dels delivered on taste and value. I’d give it a solid 9 out of 10. If I’m ever back in Pigeon Forge, I’ll definitely stop by again—next time maybe I’ll try...

J. Del's is obviously a local favorite. When we called to place a delivery order we were told the wait would be an hour and a half for delivery. If we did pick up it would only be 40 min. We chose pick up. We placed our order at 8 p.m. we arrived at 8:38 p.m. to pick up our order. Upon arriving in the location there was a line of people trying to order. We waited paitently. While we waited we observed one of the pizza makers talking with 2 customers playing and joking around. Several workers leaving the back area to come out and sit and speak with customers they new while other customers were waiting to order or waiting on their order. At 9:06 p.m. we finally got our order. Needless to say this pizza is nothing to write home about what so ever. We totally thought this pizza we going to be fabulous based on the recommendation from our hotel but also the high demand from the locals in the location. I have to say I have had better pizza from major chain pizza places.

Just to add a note to the employees you may want to watch what topics of conversations you are having with your local favorites as you never know who is listening. To the employee who is tall, skinny and brown hair female you should not bad mouth the other employees or talk about them with customers especially telling the customers how you are having to watch another employee because they are intrust worthy.

Needless to say we were not impressed with this establishment. We hope they will do better for other travelers and not...

Who makes the best pizza? New York or Chicago? Owners of J. Del's Italian Family Pizzeria are in agreement. Joseph comes from Brooklyn. Wife Jodi comes from Chicago. When they met they both made pizza. Jodi reluctantly admits "New York Pizza is the best". Now, when you try their Pizza, you'll see they know how to give you a product worthy of the NY or Chicago styles - and that's hard to find here in good ole Tennessee. Choose 10", 14", or 18" sizes with NY hand-tossed crust or Chicago style thin crust. There's a wide choice of toppings and styles. Meat Lover's, Veggie Lover's, Hawaiian, White Pizza, Pepperoni Lover's, Chicken Ranch or Del's Everything pie. They sell slices also. They are even thinking of bringing back Sicilian Pizza. Appetizers include Mozzarella sticks, Garlic knots, Meatballs, and Wings. Try a real NY style Cheese Calzone or Sausage Roll. Cold cut subs include ham & cheese, turkey & cheese, salami & cheese , and an Italian classic cold or hot sub. Their baked subs come in Meatball and Chicken or Sausage parmesan. Pasta dishes come with garlic knots and a small salad. Choose Linguini, Penne, Ravioli, Baked Ziti or Baked Lasagna. They toss a great salad too. Great tasting deserts include Cannoli, Cinnamon Knots, Cheesecake, and Zeppoles. Son Daniel and friend Justin are so polite and nice. Take it from me, next time you want some really great pizza - stop by and say hi to Jodi & Joe. As they say "You can't spell Delicious...