Wonder Bar — Restaurant in Worcester

#32 on the Worcester Pizza Quest

After work I invited some guys over to plays games and watch sports. I thought what goes better with beer and friends then pizza? I did not visit the next place on my pizza quest list because I wanted to impress friends. I heard of this landmark spot called the Wonder Bar and thought if it is a landmark it must have good pizza. I Found the Wonder Bar's web site and pizza menu and noticed the limited toppings and the pizzas seem to come in one size. But reading the menu did give me a sense of comfort because if the toppings and sizes are limited they must have a perfected the flavor of their pizza.

I called and a very busy and annoyed woman answered the phone and took my order. I thought 4 guys then 4 pizzas should be plenty especially at the prices they were asking. I ordered cheese, sausage, Hawaiian, and pepperoni.

Located on Shrewsbury Street the Wonder Bar is easy to find but parking is difficult. Walked in through this weird curtain contraption type thing (I think I keep out the cold). The atmosphere is an old time sit down pub with an old New England feel. It was run down but homey. A woman greeted me I let her know I ordered a pizza she looked at me strangely like I was a freak for not knowing where to pick up the pizza and pointed to the bar. I walked across the restaurant to the bar and let the bartender know I ordered some pizzas. Waiting 10 minutes (even though called the order in 15 min before arriving) four little pizzas boxes were dropped in front of me with a bill of close to $50. I looked at the boxes and at her and asked is this the only size you have because these are tiny. She informed me this is the only size they make. Most pizza restaurants in the area would considered these pizzas a small and at a much lower price.

Feeling like a fool I drove these four tiny pizzas to my house not having enough time to get any more food because everyone is already at my house. The guys looked at the boxes and laughed at me thinking I was being a cheap fool by buying small pizzas instead of larges. After letting them know it was the only size they provided, they all said these better be the best tasting pizza in Worcester. Before eating I turned on the oven and through in some frozen food because these pizzas were not going to cut it.

This is a thin style pizza which is my preference with a nice aroma. The cheese is sparingly placed on the pizza. The toppings on all the pizzas are put on just as sparingly as the cheese. Just glancing at these pizzas most people would think these were $5 pies at best.

The pizza tasted average, the sauce was not to sweet but held good flavor. Wonder Bar's pizzas are nothing like a Connecticut or New York style thin crust style but it was ok. Here in Worcester thin style is rare so it does deserve some type of uniqueness for that but overall the pizza was average. The bad service, lack of toppings, limited pizza sizes, and extremely over priced for what is offered deserves a very low rating. Out of the five of us no one rated the pizza above 2 stars out of 5 and none would return to the Wonder Bar.

I am glad I did the experience a landmark of Worcester but it falls short of being a landmark. The place might be great for beers and hanging out but the pizzas are not worth the effort, go anyplace else in the area. I see that there are a lot of great 5 star reviews on this place, most of those reviews seemed to lack any real description of why it truly deserved it. But I did notice that many of the lower ratings seem to point to the food. It might be a great place to hang out I was not reviewing for that...

I went to this restaurant tonight with 7 adults and 6 kids. We were a party of 13. We called the place ahead of time and were told that they could seat us and the restaurant was clearing out. We walked 3 minutes to the restaurant. When we arrived there was only 2 tables. They were separate. The kids were starving so we told the nice guy standing at the front that we would take the 2 tables for the kids and the rest of us would wait for tables to open up. The owners daughter and another older women waitress came to the front and yelled at the man trying to seat us. They were incredibly rude and told us that we could not split our party up. When we asked why because it was the only seating they had they could not provide a reason other than it was separate wait staff at each table. We kindly assured them that our money works at all tables and we would happily pay and tip separately. The owners daughter then proceeded to tell my friend with her five month old baby that she needed to stand outside and couldn’t wait at the front door. If that wasn’t bad enough the staff continued to argue with the man at the front talking poorly about us amongst other staff, give us dirty looks and rolling their eyes at us. It was honestly the worst treatment I have ever received at a restaurant! Families in the restaurant were also disgusted by the staff and offered to give up their tables because even they didn’t want to be around it. We ended up paying for the kids sodas and leaving before ordering. I wouldn’t send my dog to this place to be fed!! To add flame to the fire we went to another restaurant nearby who told us that this behavior amongst the staff at Wonder Bar is what they are known for....

Wonderbar was my Friday lunch destination for 15 or so years. Pizza was the best, bar none in the area. Gloria was the best waitress I've ever had and always treated us fantastic. When the family moved and it closed we, me and my work buddies, were crushed, but such is life. 2 years later we learn it's been bought and has reopened. Very hesitantly went to lunch to see how things had changed. Well, the place is cleaned up with a more modern motif, but as it turns out the pizza didn't change a lick. Still that great thin crispy crust we came to love. Apparently the new owners bought not just the restaurant but also the recipes. Could not have been happier. Since then I've moved work out of the area and cant visit as often. However I visited recently after a several year absence and was glad to see the food was still fantastic, as well as the experience. Fantastic food, great atmosphere, and decent prices....