Penguino's Pizza — Restaurant in Wheeling Township

If you're a fan of Chicago style thin crust pizza (the tourists think we all like deep dish the best, which is false), and you haven't tried Penguino's, it's time to rectify that situation immediately if not sooner.

Everyone who knows anything about pizza knows that the best pizza in the world (all varieties) comes from Chicagoland. There's no shortage of places around here to find great pizza. However, as reporter Steve Dolinsky has noted, Penguino's is a cut above the rest.

What makes Penguino's such a standout? It starts and ends with Ridas. Ridas is the owner of Penguino's. He is very proud of his products and it shows. The ingredients are always fresh and plentiful. The sausage is hearty and flavorful. None of that rabbit pellet-sized or crumbled nonsense. The sauce is delicious. You're never going to get a dry pizza from Penguino's. If you're a sauce guy like me, there's no need to order extra sauce. Same thing goes for the cheese. Everything is balanced and in it's proper proportion, which brings us to the crust. With just a touch of cornmeal, the crust is just right, a bit softer, and chewy, in the center, and crispy on the outside.

As for appetizers, we have had both the bread sticks and the cheesy bread. I have to say, I'm not a crust or bread guy. However, I ate a lot of the bread sticks, and, the cheesy bread is sooo good. The dipping sauce is on point and I have to be careful not to get carried away with the appetizers because Penguino's pizza is just so damn good.

But, what about the service? Well, again, it's all about Ridas. Rarely, if ever, have I met someone as focused on making things right for the customer, so intent on, not merely satisfying the customer, but, pleasing them. Ridas rocks, and, Penguino's is as good as it gets. Again, if you haven't tried them, do yourself a favor and place an order tonight. You'll be glad you did. My beautiful lady LOVES Penguino's and tomorrow is her birthday. Guess what we're having for...

Man, where do I start on my first experience with Penguino's Pizza. This place was suggested to me and I have never heard of it before but pass by every day when I pick up my son from school. I was suggested to try their thin crust pizza as this is what they're known for. when my son and I walked in we were immediately greeted by the owner with a smile and warm welcome. we picked up our pizza and the owner asked if this was our first time. I said yes it was and he was delighted to see us try his pizza out. gave us a couple cans of soda on the house and gave my son a business magnet, which of course he'll be happy to receive it. the owner was extremely polite and super easy to talk to. I told myself his manners and energy alone would make me want to come back, even before trying the pizza (I can appreciate genuine people)...

upon trying the food, it was absolutely delicious. sorry, no pictures; my family and I dove right in! we got a large thin crust sausage pizza (sausage chunks were big and filling), a small thin crust cheese pizza, and their bread sticks. unfortunately the bread sticks left a little to be desired. they were soft and nice to eat, but felt they could maybe use some sort of parmesean/garlic butter flavoring (perhaps they have this and I just wasn't aware). regardless I still think all of the food was delicious, and would absolutely come back again.

I think the most frustrating part for me was that this place was completely empty on an early Friday evening, for no good reason. the food and the owners manners should have this place packed with a line out the door and whether I'm missing something or not, they deserve and earn all the business they can get 100%.

Thank you again to the owner for seeming to be such a great guy, and we look forward to seeing...

We had the pleasure of eating a Penguino’s pizza. I’ve never reviewed a pizza place before but I had to because it was exceptional in every way.

Our 14" thin crust was crispy all the way through, even to the middle. It was like an expensive cracker you would buy at some trendy bodega. The sauce tasted home-made—not too spicy, not too sweet, just right! The sausage was good quality, not greasy, with no bone bits or gristle like other places, and didn’t have that rancid fat taste. Because it wasn’t greasy, I didn’t need to blot a layer of grease off of it, with a paper towel.

The best part was the cheese! How long has it been since we’ve had cheese on a pizza that didn't taste like it was made of dried coffee creamer? One by one the pizza places we ordered from for years turned to this junk, cheap, dry, pre-grated cheese. Not Penguino’s! The cheese on this pizza stretched like vintage commercials, and was soft, melty, rich excellent cheese! WOW! The vegetables were cut so thinly, they were fully cooked, yet retained all their flavor. It was so good I felt compelled to call back and compliment the chef, something I have never done before. Add reasonably priced to all this QUALITY with the pleasant owner actually answering the phone when I called back and you’ll understand why I had to...