Papa Bear's Italian Restaurant The Pizza Oven

Mike Kerr a month ago

I'm biased. The Pizza Oven was started in 1956 and I've been eating it since the beginning. I can remember going to the small storefront with my dad and waiting for our pizza while he chatted with the owner. There are so many places you can buy pizza, many of them have very good pizza, but none are better than this. It's always cooked perfectly and the crust is the best. The sauce is not overwhelming, the sausage is amazing, and the cheese is melted beautifully. I make sure to stop by whenever I'm back in town and always take some home.

Wendy Brickman 3 months ago

After visiting the outstanding Pro Football Hall of Fame, we stopped for a late lunch at the highly recommended Papa Bear's Italian Restaurant, and we're certainly glad we did. Their extensive menu offered many tempting choices, but we were especially delighted to find one of our favorites—broasted chicken, which has become increasingly difficult to find in restaurants we vist across the country. We shared the broasted chicken dinner with broasted roast potatoes and cole slaw, and absolutely loved every bite. Both the chicken and potatoes were perfectly cooked—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and bursting with flavor. We also enjoyed the delicious meatball and sausage, which were equally satisfying. Our server and the manager were welcoming, friendly, and professional, adding to the warm atmosphere and making our visit even more enjoyable. My husband loved the majestic bear on site, too! We were also impressed to learn that Pizza Oven/Papa Bear's has been family-owned since 1956 and continues to make everything from scratch. We learned that they do a lot of catering, including for the Pro Football of Fame. Even better, we discovered that they have nine Pizza Oven l

Zach 5 months ago

Papa Bear's is an interesting story. The food is decent for the most part, but the service is not great. We'll start with the Papa Bear's Linguine & Lemon Chicken. It was actually quite pleasant. The chicken was cooked very well it was still moist. The sauce had a nice lemon flavor to it and was by no means overpowering. The Broasted Chicken Dinner was a mixed bag however. The broasted chicken was actually well cooked slightly crispy but still moist. It was very enjoyable the broasted potatoes though are really bad. Unseasoned bland and the potatoes have a very unpleasant texture. They're just very pappy and I'd suggest any other side with the chicken over them. The fried mushrooms appetizer is odd because it doesn't come with a sauce to dip them in which is just very odd. So you will have to request something to dip them in. Now the biggest downside of this place is the service. The servers do not seem to visit tables with any frequency. They also seem to forget some tables exist entirely. The table next to us had to physically flag down multiple servers in order to get waited on after being sat for an extended amount of time. But I will say this place is very reasonably priced fo

Nova Terra 7 months ago

The warm, inviting atmosphere and courteous staff make this Italian gem a perfect spot for a relaxed dinner. I especially loved the complimentary warm rolls and butter provided while we waited for our main courses. If it is your first time visiting, I highly recommend ordering one of their signature dishes with "Bear" in the name for a truly unique flavor experience. My only suggestion would be to expand the wine list to include more authentic Italian imports, rather than selections easily found at the Meijer next door.

Cathy Heid a year ago

I recently visited for the first time to this location. The wedding soup was delicious. It surprised me that it did not have any pasta. I have never had wedding soup without the small round pasta. But it really didn't need it. The soup was flavorful with small bits of shredded chicken and just the right amount of spinach. I also had the baked ziti was some of the best I've had. The sauce had just the right amount of garlic and cheese and wasn't overly tomato tasting. I'm picky about tomato sauce and found this to be awesome. The ricotta cheese added an extra flavor and texture that was wonderful. I also had the fried zucchini. I first thought it needed salt but found as I went deeper into the very generous serving, they became more salted. I had declined the ranch dressing but was very delighted they brought it because it went very well with the fried zucchini. The zucchini was my least favorite however that did not stop me from eating all of it. (Some the next day since the portion was large.) The homemade rolls were wonderful. Crusty outside and warm and thick on the inside. I could have made a meal from the rolls. The prices were a little high but typical for an upscale Ita