Aurelio's Pizza of Wheaton / Winfield — Restaurant in Winfield

Great Pizza, Terrible Party Experience

I recently hosted my mother’s 60th birthday party at Aurelio’s because it’s her favorite restaurant, and she loves their pizza. Unfortunately, while the pizza was good, the overall experience was completely unacceptable, and I would never recommend this location for hosting an event.

Booking the Event – Frustrating from the Start I attempted to book the party space a month in advance, calling five times (four during business hours) and leaving voicemails that were never returned. On my sixth attempt, I finally got through to someone who put my name on the calendar. When I went in two days later to sign the contract and provide my credit card, the staff asked almost no questions beyond the start time. I even called a week before the event to provide menu selections, but again, no questions were asked—an early sign that they weren’t invested in making this a smooth experience.

Day of the Event – Unorganized and Unprofessional I arrived an hour early to decorate, as previously discussed, but no staff greeted me or checked in. After 30 minutes, I had to track down an employee to ask who my server was, and she responded dismissively with “Ya, sure.” I explained I was the host and how I wanted alcohol handled, but she did not seem engaged or attentive.

Shortly before the party started, a staff member asked when I wanted food brought out. I specified 4:30 PM to give guests time to settle in.

Food Service – Cold Pasta and Missing Orders The food arrived on time, but the buffet setup was a disaster:

There were no sternos to keep the pasta warm. Instead, it was pre-cooked and had sauce poured over it, leaving the noodles clumped together and cold within minutes. After just a few guests served themselves, the remaining pasta was barely edible. The pizza was the only highlight—everyone enjoyed it. However, when I ordered an additional cheese pizza, it never arrived. Since it wasn’t on the bill, I assume the server never placed the order. Service – Practically Nonexistent Despite having a full staff present, service was abysmal:

No dedicated server for our party of 30; guests had to go to the bar for their own drinks. No one refilled our pitchers of soda—I had to take empty pitchers to the bar myself. Dirty plates were never cleared; we had to stack them at the end of the tables, where they remained for the rest of the event. When it was time for cake, I had to track down an employee who was on their phone in the bussing station just to ask for plates and a knife. After the party ended, my family and I had to bus our own tables, find boxes for leftover food, and clean up—tasks that should have been handled by staff. Final Thoughts – A Huge Letdown Many of our guests have worked in the service industry and immediately recognized the poor service. Despite my cousins and me stepping in to compensate for the restaurant’s shortcomings, our guests still noticed and commented on how bad the service was.

The consensus? Great pizza, but terrible service. I cannot recommend this location for hosting events unless you’re prepared to do the work yourself. The lack of communication, disorganization, and neglect from the staff turned what should have been a stress-free celebration into a frustrating experience.

Aurelio’s might be great for takeout or a casual dine-in experience, but if you're planning a party,...

Aurelio’s Winfield, where to start. I grew up eating at the original Aurelio’s in Homewood and Winfield was not even close! The first time I ordered was to go. I got my pizza home opened it up and thought where the heck are the toppings? It literally had 1 little pizza per square. That is NOT how Aurelio’s typically has toppings. This second time I went in we ate at Winfield we ate there. First off, what am I getting a sheet of specials consisting of BURGERS! This is Aurelio’s not a burger joint, sorry not sorry. Oh my, our server was really nice but not the most attentive, However, he seemed to have more tables than anyone else so of that I was understanding. He did a great job. We ordered 2 pizzas and told him to make sure the toppings were on point. We didn’t want extra but we expect a topping filled pizza when going to Aurelio’s. The pizzas came out and they were on point with the toppings but way over did it on the cheese. I like cheese but this was way too much. It tasted ok but with the amount of cheese it totally threw off the typical Aurelio’s flavor. We also ordered an antipasta salad and asked for creamy garlic and French dressing. They brought us ranch. Ok so with the guy singing and playing guitar literally right next to us maybe the server didn’t hear me correctly. I handed it back and said this is supposed to be French. The girl repeated French and I said yes. She brings us another dressing and it was ranch AGAIN. Ok let’s try this again FRENCH dressing, FRENCH. The worst part of our dinner was the fact that the bartender had her shirt pulled down at the color so far that her entire bra was out. I mean the entire bra, what’s the point of your shirt sweetheart? Real professional attire. Not what I want to see while having dinner. After spending over 40 years of enjoying the original in Homewood I was extremely disappointed in the Winfield location and I will definitely not return to that particular one. As much as I’d like to say nothing beats the original (which of course not they have the brick oven that totally makes the pizza) but the experience should definitely be more like...

First time at this location. Went on a Saturday afternoon. Customer service over the phone and in person was ok. Restaurant was not that busy when I called or arrived to pick up my order. I ordered bone in buffalo wings and a slice of cheese pizza. Buffalo wings were amazing. However pizza slice seemed day old and stale. Portion size was ok, too big to fit in the box, I would not have noticed they provided me pepperoni vs the cheese slice I ordered had the slice fit in the actual container. They immediately replaced my order with the correct slice of cheese, however the cheese slice looked exactly like the pepperoni slice they replaced. Stiff, dry, stale, flat, and day old. Not at all flavorful. I tossed the slice. Sure I could've returned or notified them of my dissatisfaction that very moment, yet the young lady who took my order was the same individual who provided me the pizza and was well aware I was sampling a small order as I was in search of a pizza restaurant for a catering event of 30 plus people in the near future. I notified her of this when placing my order. She even pointed out to me where the catering menu was prior to my departure. This was my impression of what their catering would be. Also upon obtaining both slices, the pepperoni given in error along with the cheese, no gloves were worn. Whether a restaurant is slow or not, ingredients and food should be served FRESH like the buffalo wings. Also from what I could see from behind the counter while waiting, one of the cooks were smoking either a pipe of some sort or a type of hookah device right in the kitchen where orders are made. 1 star for...