Ron's Italian Ovens — Restaurant in Round Lake Beach

Really disappointed. Have been going there since my BF introduced me to it. The prices are fairly high but the quality was there. The quality doesn't warrant the pricing, but if you want something fast and good and don't mind paying, it was good. Well, lately the service has been going down. Little things, not thanking you for your purchase, nothing major. Last night I ordered Spaghetti and meatballs. The person I spoke to on the phone was very confused and sounded "disorientated". This probably should have gave me my first clue, but honestly I get the spaghetti and meatballs all the time and it's not that big of a deal. I get there and as usual, service not terrific. She asked me for my order and gave it to me, then went back to her conversation with another employee. I get home and the order is missing one of the meatballs. What's more, the garlic bread which is truly the best and one of the reasons you forgive them for charging you $9.68 for spaghetti & meatballs, is burnt to a crisp. I could not believe it! I call up and I get the same person that took my order. He says, "Well usually people tell us how many meatballs they want". I responded, that's a lie, I need a manager. He puts me on hold and as you can imagine, leaves me there, so I call on another line and get the person that took my money and handed me my order. She says she's the manager. I told her of the experience and how I felt about the service. She said she told me to "have a nice day", which she did but I advised her that typically when people hand you money, the appropriate response is "thank you". The point is, I was charged $9.68 for spaghetti and meatballs and shorted one meatball and the garlic bread is burned. She said she'd credit me and that she would replace the order but, seriously, to get back in the car and go back to restaurant. Not worth it. I'm so disappointed. Spoke to my BF about it this morning and he too said, something has gone really wrong at Ron's. Perhaps it's the expansion. He says that Ron used to always be there and he's not now. Either way. I'm sorry to say, no more...

It's been a long time since Charlie started the original IO's in Grayslake. It quickly became my one and only goto for deep dish. In fact, I didn't even really care for deep dish pizza before trying this particular pie.

When Ron and his crew opened this place (Ron's dad, Yvonne and Pete if I remember correctly), the recipes stayed true to the original and my friends, family and I ate there often.

It seems like Italian Ovens lost its way for awhile and the last few times I ate there, it seemed like the recipes changed and I lost touch with ordering from there.

But last night I decided to have another go round. And all I can say is

W O W

That wasn't exactly the original recipe, but what it was had elements of the older style and it really went somewhere brilliant and unexpected. And offering a carmelized crust?! Who does that?! Apparently some mad scientist food genius, that's who! Was that spinach seasoned before being covered by that luscious sauce? Sure seems that way. It was outstanding.

French fries could use a little more care. Charlie's version was my favorite so far after a couple decades of eating from this brand name. I could tell the oil was fresh, but the fries were on the soggy side and could've used a bit more salt.

I also miss being able to order RC with a meal. Coke is ok. Pepsi is ok. But for me, RC is the best pairing for a Chicago area meal.

Can't wait to try the thin crust. Will be ordering again soon! Thank...

In the past year they have gotten at least three orders wrong. Unfortunately we kept going back because they are conveniently close by. This last time my wife called in an Italian beef sandwiches and an Italian sausage with provolone and marinara sauce. The order taker repeated the order back but did not say marinara, my wife asked if it will have provolone and marinara, she was told yes. We waited 20 minutes, picked up the food, and came home. No marinara. My wife called and complained, she asked for a replacement sandwich and a refund. She waited over 10 minutes for a manager and then they refused a refund. She was told they would make another one for free ( they don’t understand free, we already paid for it) or a store credit. (Again we already paid for it, it would be a credit for money we already spent). We eventually said just make me sandwich and I went to pick it up. I waited close to 10 minutes in the store, during that time the manager never came up instead she was in the back loudly complaining to another employee that we wanted a refund. In fact a refund all together was not even an option they had my money and if I was too displeased with the poor service and wrong food that...