Papa John's Pizza

Approval Rate: 56%

56%Approval ratio

Reviews 50

Sort by:
  • by

    eddy11

    Sun Nov 13 2011

    Better ingredients? Better pizza? Better than what? Little Ceasars? Don't get me wrong, it is better than starving to death but I have had a happy hour pizza from a bar that is better than Papa John's. The crust is so bland and the sauce tastes like bad spaghetti sauce. Pizza sauce should have more of a zesty taste in my opinion. The garlic flavored soybean oil that comes with every pizza is terrible. I think they put that in there so people will dip the terrible crust into it. Wonderful. As if pizza isn't already unhealthy enough. I would love to clog my arteries even more with this fake garlic sauce that doesn't even taste good. The pizza is not the worst in the world, but it is a lot closer to the worst than it is to the best. I just want to know one thing; If they have better ingredients, why don't they use them?

  • by

    gushygushy

    Mon Oct 31 2011

    Papa John's is NASTY. The first time I order there was two months ago and I will not ever order there again...

  • by

    bubba33

    Thu Oct 27 2011

    Papa Johns is a typical chain pizza joint. Nothing special and run of the mill bland pizza. Their food is OK but nothing like the commercials make it out to be.

  • by

    seachaser

    Sun Oct 02 2011

    Very bad.We ate 3 pieces and the rest ended up in the trash except for one piece that my dogs seemed to enjoy, but they lick there butts too.Frozen pizza even gets a chance at being a leftover.No taste lack of topping,overcooked crust,cold,etc.Ill stick with Dominos Or A local

  • by

    rudy_villarreal

    Mon Sep 26 2011

    Had papa john's pizza for the first time today, I paid 25.00 for 2 topping pizzas, it was the most disgusting pizza I have ever tasted. It was so bad we ended up throwing it away. "Better Ingredients" the slogan that got me try it out. I will never order from this pizza place again. It cost me $25.00 to learn this lesson, hope you invest it well John.

  • by

    yanksman151

    Sun Jul 10 2011

    The pizza tasted pretty much like Dominoes or the other "fast-food" pizzas. The cheese wasn't melted, the sauce was mediocre at best. The only good thing about the "Spicy Italian" pie was that they put on a lot of the toppings. Also, the garlic dipping sauce was just margarine and had no garlic taste whatsoever. The pizza was not hot either (both temperature and spice wise). I doubt I will order from them again.

  • by

    pcpeter774

    Fri Jul 01 2011

    Had some pizza from this dump while in Pawtucket RI. Sorry John it just sucked. Update: I am from the northeast where there are a lot of excellent mom and pop pizza joints, if you live in the northeast there is no excuse to eat at a crappy grease-hole like this place.

  • by

    chalky

    Fri Jul 01 2011

    Papa John's is okay for a chain. They have dipping sauce for the crust, and the pizza is decent enough. I don't know if Papa John uses 'better ingredients' but I suppose he doesn't get them from thawed-out Totino's.

  • by

    kurt22

    Mon Jun 13 2011

    Hi, Just had my first and last papa johns pizza today. This was the most nasty tasting pizza I have ever ate in my life. The Sause tasted like someone poured 2 pound of sugar in it and the toppings were shriveled and discusting. I am happy you are making money on this stuff you call pizza but you lost me and everyone I talk to never to buy a papa johns pizza. Ok I am a New York Native but come on feeding this stuff to people here in Arizona is imbarising. I just spent $12.00 for a crap pizza I could have went and had 3 meals at McDonalds. I know I will never hear from you but I just took two bites out of the nastiest pizza I have ever tasted and in the garbage it went. Good luck on your sucsess. People will eat anything. Eddie G. 623-876-2655 (house) 623-694-2718 (cell) Buckeye Arizona

  • by

    joannklinger

    Wed May 18 2011

    I think on you commercials the employees should be shown wearing rubber or plastic gloves.. I would never buy any type of food from people not wearing gloves.... Did anyone else notice "no gloves" being worn on the Papa Johns commercials????????

  • by

    southerngirltn

    Sun May 15 2011

    Ordered Pizza. 1.5 hours later, called to see what the hold up was....was then told by the manager that the delivery guy came, but no one was home. Um.....5 people waiting for dinner, and 2 dogs who go crazy if anyone even gets near our house, let alone drive into the driveway. Then called and complained, and mgr said he would remake the pizza and send them out (still charging me). He pretty much called me a liar when I said there's no way the delivery guy came to our door. He was extremely rude, and I complained to corporate. Ghee, never heard back from them. I will NEVER NEVER NEVER order from papa johns again.

  • by

    henry_esposito_jr

    Sat Apr 16 2011

    The crust was rubbery and the sauce tasted like it was out of a can.

  • by

    eric90210

    Fri Mar 25 2011

    for food from a chain its not bad, i really love dipping the crust in the garlic sauce they include

  • by

    joannat907

    Mon Mar 21 2011

    I used to be a solid Papa John's fan in my youth (Early 20's). Looking back, I guess I thought any pizza was good pizza! LOL. Now, I usually order from Papa Murphy's, but being a little to lazy to pick up and then bake my own pizza, I decided to order with a Coupon I got in the mail from Papa Murphy's. Delivery time was decent - 30 to 45 minutes, but I'm guessing the reason is the time they shaved off actually preparing and cooking the pizza. The onions were still crunchy and obviously they didn't let it run through the oven long enough. The sauce and crust is super sweet and toppings just weren't impressive. I had my two brothers over, along with my daughter and mom. The five of us didn't finish 2 larges - there was actually still a whole pie left (this is saying a lot considering my brothers can each put away a whole large pizza on most days). I asked them, "Pizza not good, huh?" One responded, "It's not worth the effort to chew." Enough said. There's another $34.00 I'll never get ba... Read more

  • by

    djahuti

    Mon Mar 14 2011

    I do try to be optimistic that food will be good,especially when I'm hungry and someone else is buying.Recently,some friends had me over for dinner,& being saddled with kids,decided to order out.They had a coupon for Pappa Johns.They thought it was "a better deal" than the nearby local family owned joint,since the coupon advertised two "Large" pies for about 1 and a half times the price of a single large pie from the Mom & Pop place (where large actually means large). MISTAKE. It is NOT a value to get two TINY shitty tasting pies that would only look "large" next to a frozen Celeste Pizza for One.(and not even taste as good as that). I don't honestly know how this place and Dominoes stay afloat.Must be an awful lot of folks out there who never even HAD a REAL pizza !!!!

  • by

    jshwaaa

    Mon Mar 14 2011

    Papa Johns use to be good back in the early 90's but now the quality is awful. I ordered this past weekend, 3/14/11, after not ordering from them in a while and after 2 bites the rest went into the trash. Papa Johns YOU SUCK

  • by

    brandonpooh

    Sun Feb 20 2011

    I will never order a pizza from here again because it took us 16 hours to get a pizza that we ordered on a saturday. when i called and asked what happened to the pizza they said we never order a pizza. they told us that they just did not want to bring us a pizza because it was getting late.

  • by

    areugood

    Wed Feb 16 2011

    Guys ur pizza is awesome, way beter than dominos and just as good as pizza hut. keep it up and dont change ur pizza one bit.

  • by

    papajohnslover

    Wed Feb 16 2011

    this is the pizza i've been eating since childhood! i love it and it reminds me of home.

  • by

    cutie45786

    Mon Feb 07 2011

    Will never order from them again after yesterday's experience. I ordered online and got a quote time of about 1-1.5 hours, which I expected as it was Super Bowl Sunday. I live in a college dorm and I saw their car outside around an 1 and 15 mins later. So, I called the store to see if mine was on it's way or if they were really backed up, completely courteous and wondering. They couldn't find my order, yet my debit card was billed. I said, "I know I ordered, my card is billed, and it went through, I got a confirmation email." The incompetent employee had to get a manager who told me that miraculously after 5 minutes of searching they found it even though the employee told me NO ONE had ordered from my hall. The manager said, "It's on it's way, it left 10 mins ago." I waited another half an hour and called back asking if they accidentally switched my hall because that usually happens as they always send my pizza to a hall that I ordered at once in the summer. The employee told me, "Oh, ... Read more

  • by

    tombuchanan

    Sun Jan 30 2011

    I hate Papa John's. The few times they get the order right, it is late. But usually the order is wrong. It is always something. Extra sauce I ordered (and paid for) not included or wrong topping, or wrong size. Tonight, it was the confusion between green peppers and jalapeno peppers. I will never order form them again. I have said that before and after a year or so gave them another chance. Not now. I am in Sumter S.C., where Papa John's is run by incompetent, dull-witted morons.

  • by

    beefer

    Mon Jan 24 2011

    I'd obviously rather eat at an independently owned pizzeria when available, but out of the three national chains, I'm going to have to put Papa John's as the worst. Not that the others are anything special, but Pizza Hut gets the nod for #1 and Domino's gets #2. I mean seriously... PJ's pizza is so bad they have to give you garlic butter dipping sauce to make up for the poor quality!

  • by

    realfoxes

    Fri Jan 21 2011

    Ordered a pizza and it never was delivered. Manager kept promising it was on it's way, but after waiting 1.5 hours, we finally gave up. We complained to corporate and they promised an area manager would call us. Never happened! We're going back to Pizza Hut and Dominoes. At least there we get our pizza!

  • by

    alvef7c7

    Wed Jan 12 2011

    Yesterday was my first time ever!! trying Papa John's. I usally order Domino's or Giovanni's. Everyone made it sound like Papa John's was the best pizza ever, co-workers and all. I figured I was missing out on some great pizza. NOTTTTT!!!! I don't know where to begin. The crust was hard and noo taste what so ever, I actually had to use salt and I never use salt on pizza and talk about the smallest toppings ever! their like hidden under the cheese. Grease was leaking from the box with the bread sticks, those bread sticks were the worse looking bread sticks I've ever seen. Terribly dissappointed. Domino's may have their faults at times but their pizza is still good, crust and all. In my opinion, Domino's is way better then Papa John's. Some will agree, some won't. The next is to try PizzaHut, how much more can I be dissappointed, right??

  • by

    isupportsmallb_usiness

    Sun Jan 02 2011

    Papa John's sucks everywhere! All of their food: pizza, wings, cheesesticks, do not taste good! Most all of their employees are rude and unprofessional. Never, ever order from Papa John's unless you like bad food and terrible service.

  • by

    tonyy1919

    Sat Jan 01 2011

    Best I've had In a long time. Ive tried other places and none can match yours, Since Atlanta Ga. in the 70's. Everyone advertises Quality and they are OK, but for a really good Pizza Papa Johns. Your wings are good but could be a little better at least the ones I got. Also could add more variety like spicy barbecue, and , mixwed orders. You cann't get evrything though. 5 stars + for you

  • by

    guazapa

    Wed Oct 20 2010

    I had a bad experience with this pizza place , me and my friends were hungry and we were on a side walk , so we decided to order pizza not only they got an hour after i call , but they did not send napkin and condiments so there we were cleaning ourselves with our sleeves , so i call back and this hot shot MR NERY DE LEON he said was the manager at 8823 PICO BLVD in los angeles , you know fuck the napkins he should be nicer to us , he had an attitude not from a manager , what it get me more upsset is that place is two blocks away . one thing i know bussiness doors are open because us the public , i promise this i will tell my friends and family and anybody i know , do not buy from papa johns even if i have to pay from my wallet , we`ll call somebody else .

  • by

    matafix

    Sun Oct 17 2010

    The crust was ok. Actually not very good... I'm not picky at all and (unfortunately) can eat pretty much everything, but one bite of that pizza (Garden something with sausage and chicken) and I was done. It tasted like they put ketchup (and not a good one! it was way too sweet with a hint of bbq sauce, which I hate) in it instead of tomato sauce plus some weird spices that I couldn't identify. I've had way better frozen pizzas to be honest. So, my verdict - never again. In fact - no chain pizzas period

  • by

    badhat

    Sun Sep 19 2010

    Not bad! I live in a predominately Italian American neighborhood and tried PJ once. Their pepperoni and sausage pizza was fresh and tasty.I called the order in and picked it up aout 10 minutes later. Got it home hot and none of it stuck to the box. Also liked the little green vinegar pepper that came with the pizza. There are a few decent pizza places here, but when I want it fast, I go to PJ. And, unlike Dominoes-it DOESN`T taste like cardboard!

  • by

    trebon1038

    Mon Sep 06 2010

    I like Papa Johns ok but the main reason I like them is that they are the only ones that deliver to my house in the boonies. However....even though the pizza isn't bad...they have gotten my order wrong a number of times. So much for glad they deliver.

  • by

    sunnyzimm

    Sat Aug 28 2010

    Last week I saw an ad in the paper showing off a delicious looking pizza, it immediately caught my eye. Reading the ad further I discovered they have a hot-line number people can use to call for reservations. I immediately called up their toll-free number, their staff answered and instructed me about their reservation procedure, deposit etc etc and told me to wait for an outlet manager to call me back. I waited, and waited, repeating the same process above a couple of times. Finally I got fed up, I just walked into one of their outlets, placed an order PAID for it and told them to have it ready an HOUR later. One HOUR later...Its time for my wife & me to break our fast. We have not had anything to drink or eat for over 12 hours now. The food was served late, hence they gave us a complimentary onion rings on the house but still! The soup comes first without the garlic bread, then comes the garlic bread and by this time we finished our soup. We have to request the waiter for simple thi... Read more

  • by

    tosober

    Wed Aug 25 2010

    I order online from the Puyallup, WA location: 2 x pizza's arrived with wrong toppings. (mistakes happen) I called immediatly and was offered a credit towards a future order and was then placed on hold because it needed to be authorized by a manager. After FIFTEEN MINUTES on hold and tasting the pizza previously delivered I came to the conclusion it wasn't worth holding any longer for credit because I realized Papa Johns offers dipping sauce with their pizzas only because the pie on its own isn't much more flavorfull then the cardboard box it was delivered in. On a side note: I did email Papa John's customer service with my order number plus a brief discription of being on hold for so long before giving up but never recieved an email back.

  • by

    ad136754

    Sat Aug 07 2010

    I LOVE Papa John's Pizza. It is my favorite of all the chains. I especially like that they're selling their pizzas for $10 now! The only thing that kept me from giving them 5 stars was an experience I had with a delivery driver a few months back. I called to order a pizza for delivery and was told that they were now charging a delivery fee. I could have just gone and picked it up since it was only a couple of blocks away but was busy with a project. When the delivery driver arrived, I wrote out a check for the pizza and the delivery fee. Since they only have to deliver it about 2 blocks, I have never given a very big tip when I ordered from there and with the delivery fee, that was what I would usually pay as a tip (it was over $1 to drive the pizza the equivalent of two blocks!) The delivery guy (some college aged kid) took the check, looked at it and said "Thanks for nothing" and walked off. Very rude. I understand that he was upset for not getting a tip, but I'm on a ver... Read more

  • by

    misterjudo3

    Thu Jul 15 2010

    The delivery was a joke, and the prices were bad compared to some places that sell decent pizza. The sauce was sweet, tasted like red colored corn syrup. The rest of the pizza had no flavor, except for that lovely cardboard crust.

  • by

    shelly43

    Sun Jul 11 2010

    Nearly two weeks ago I bought a $10 pizza upgraded for an x-tra $2 and it was horrific to say the least. The toppings were sliced so thin you could barely taste it not to mention see it. I will never go on 33rd st. in Baltimore for pizza again. They need to close their doors serving that kind of pizza. What's the point of having a sale if your NOT delivering value to a customer. Isn't it the idea of having repeat customers (to stay in business) well they failed the Marketing 101 because I will not be returning to PJ's.

  • by

    mitcheln

    Sat Jun 05 2010

    ok since i trashed domino's, now it's time for this place. i ordered a large pizza a couple weeks ago. it has no taste!!! none. it actually looks ok, no taste. better ingredients no taste!!!!

  • by

    trasixes

    Fri May 28 2010

    Papa John's #2039 5722 TELEPHONE RD VENTURA, CA IDIOTS! Pure and simple! I ordered online, and the total was $13.54. I used a $10 papa johns card code and selected to pay the remaining balance in cash upon delivery. I always call to confirm my order, and upon doing so this time, the owner refused to complete the order. He claimed the order was $13.54 AFTER my $10 papa code. This is BS because ALL of their pizzas are $10 (any size, any toppings). $10 for the pizza (I ordered one large), $2.50 delivery charge, and $1.04 for tax. I tried to explain this to 3 different morons at this location, but apparently they only hire the mentally handicapped. I spent one hour arguing with them, and trying to explain before giving up and trying the useless toll-free number for online orders. As you can guess, the number was either permanently busy, or there was no answer for the 20 minutes I tried to get through. Avoid this place like the plague - go with Pizza Hut or Dominos.

  • by

    bird808

    Thu May 20 2010

    Definitely one of the better Pizza chains in comparison to Domino's and Pizza Hut. I find the pizza's at the other chains really stodgy and the taste is not as good as PJ. PJ's is a lot more tasty, the cheese is good, the toppings are creative and I love their buffallo sauce.

  • by

    7y8gyu

    Thu May 20 2010

    Worst customer service and food: Papa John's #831 500 W BROAD ST FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046-3215

  • by

    sweeetp

    Wed May 19 2010

    it's edible, but way better options out there

  • by

    imdavid

    Wed May 12 2010

    i work for papa johns as a driver and have been a manager, the reason you see so many bad reviews is because papa only pays their drivers 4 dollars an hour expecting tips to make up the rest and they charge a delivery charge which cuts into our tips. They pay crap wages to their managers and inside workers so they can only get young kids with no work ethic or customer service skills. Most of the veteran drivers have left that could ensure good delivery service. So you, the customer, is paying the price of their greed and willingness to screw over their employees for more profit. And things i have seen in the stores would shock you, such as a pizza dropped on the floor scooped up and put into a box and delivered. Enjoy your pizza! LOL their employees just dont care anymore.

  • by

    meana81

    Thu Apr 29 2010

    I moved on from Dominos to them, but I dont think I'll be returning to them again either, although they ARE better than Dominos. I ordered today a small pie and it cost me $8.84. I go to pick it up and I see a sign on the window medium pizza $5.00 and a large $7.99. I said how did I pay more for a small pizza than a medium? They said you only get that price if they deliver. I wish I would have known that. I didnt see that on the web site. They need to offer more types of pizza too. Why is the thin crust only available in a large? I like thin crust but theres no way I can eat a large. The pizza is too doughy and I dont like the crust. It doesnt taste like pizza crust. Wont be back to them either, but then again if I had to chose between them and Dominos, I would so go with PJ's.

  • by

    amcoffee

    Sun Apr 25 2010

    Terrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! This is by far the worst pizza I have ever had. It's tastes like Pizza Hut but with a horrible sauce. The crust is like cardboard yet the cheese and other toppings are hardly cooked. How does this place stay in business? Anyone who likes this pizza, doesn't ask much from life. If you want the best pizza around, go to Jack Straws in Wheaton. There pizza is awsome. The only reason I ordered from Papa Johns is because of there commercials, I thought I'd give them a try. I will not make that mistake again. If you are reading all the bad reviews about Papa Johns, beleave them, there are many.

  • by

    gobluedevils

    Sat Apr 17 2010

    I'm giving Papa John's four stars based on how it stacks up to the other fast-food pizza chains (Pizza Hut, Domino's, Hungry Howie's, Little Caesars, etc etc). I'm also not rating based on service. Service will vary WILDLY between locations, as PJ's is an international chain. I'm rating based on the actual quality of the food and other company-wide stuff. No, PJ's is not an "authentic" pizza from NYC or Chicago or Naples or whichever locale you think manufactures "true" pizza. But, for a generic American-style delivery pizza, they're tough to beat. PJ's does a great job with their dough. It's nice to see that a national chain knows of the value of proofing their dough for a few days, which really affects the flavor and texture. The crust itself has a lot of flavor and a soft yet satisfying texture, unlike that tasteless crap Domino's hawks. The sauce is a little sweet, but very robust and fits in with the crust well. PJ's also offers a "Robusto" sauce on their pan pizzas that is a ... Read more

  • by

    drrickyprice

    Thu Apr 08 2010

    Papa John's is the worst pizza chain of all time. I called in and got a guy who could not speak English. I asked to speak to the manager. He was very rude and hung up on me!! I complained through the Papa John's website. No response. I also wrote separate formal letters to the President and the CEO. Still no response. These people are completely evil. They have absolutely no regard for their customers, and are all too willing to dismiss a customer they happen to find inconvenient. They messed with the wrong person. Not only will I never, ever buy a Papa John's pizza so long as I live, but if there is anything I can possibly do to disparage their name or hurt their sales, I will not hesitate to do it. Papa John's is my sworn enemy. I will do anything I can to destroy them. NEVER, EVER BUY A PIZZA FROM PAPA JOHN'S!! YOU WILL BE SORRY!!

  • by

    chesterallen19_40

    Sat Apr 03 2010

    Two orders with very late delivery (55 min., 1hour 10 min)= cold pizza, no apologies. Take it or leave it, rude on the phone and at the door.

  • by

    canadasucks

    Wed Mar 31 2010

    Pretty much the gold standard as far as take-out or delivery goes. . .it was a mainstay in college. . . Solid go-to but the sauce is a tad sweet for my tastes. . .

  • by

    barbles

    Sun Mar 21 2010

    In King of Prussia, PA, I ordered a large 3 topping for $10.00 (a special, recommended by the order taker) & an order of honey chipolte wings for $6.99. The wings were just OK. The pizza looked and tasted fresh, but the pie was not large--the size of a medium or small at most other places. The toppings were VERY SKIMPY & in my opinion the 3 toppings did not add up to the amount normally seen on a 1 topping pizza. The sauce was better than most chains and the shell & crust tasted OK but was soft & doughy. My order came to $19.32 ($22.00 with tip). Do yourself a favor and buy a frozen self-rising crust pizza and microwavable wings that would total $12.00. Suggestion: give your mate the tip and you won't have to put your clothes back on & answer the door.

  • by

    isaackrohn

    Thu Mar 04 2010

    Hi, my name is Isaac Krohn and i tried getting a job at papa johns before and they didn't even respond to my application. I wasn't very happy, so i called the manager and she was not helpful at all. I am never going to support papa johns and refuse to purchase pizza through them.

  • by

    ryan2248

    Mon Feb 15 2010

    Papa johns is much better than the other two big chains.