Papa Dino's Pizza

Papa Dino’s is a family owned and run business, passed from father to son. It’s not a Pizza Hut or McDonalds. Don’t expect to get the corporate “trained” plastic service when you show up. Expect real people working ha ... more

Papa Dino’s is a family owned and run business, passed from father to son. It’s not a Pizza Hut or McDonalds. Don’t expect to get the corporate “trained” plastic service when you show up. Expect real people working hard to put out a great product. The cook may be covered with tattoos and the dish washer may wear combat boots, have purple hair, and may play in a local band. It’s the kind of place that should be a reality show. Besides the family working there, there are students and Cliftonites working there. It is a Clifton experience that should not be missed. Ok, maybe there are times when a freak doesn’t make it to work and somehow a bad pizza gets made. Trust me, if you don’t act the fool the management is more than willing to work it out. But if you are a drunken fool throwing a fit about a bad order, you will probably get tossed out. These people deal with some real losers and don’t have the time to deal with that kind of stuff. And if you think about dining and dashing, you had better be fast and know the streets of Clifton very well. The ingredients are fresh and the dough and pizza sauce are made from the old recipes not frozen and shipped out on a big truck. I don’t know if they still get the same Peperoncini peppers but they use to be the best peppers you could find in any restaurant in town. In the early 90’s the Greek pizza was added to the menu. That is my recommendation. And the salads are large, fresh, and go well with the Peperoncinis. I no longer live in Cincinnati but I try to get to Papa Dino’s whenever I can. The price is right and it is a chance to support a local family business that has been a Clifton tradition for years. less

I started eating at Papa Dino's back in the early 1970s. I didn't know how much I liked their hoagies until I moved to Florida. No other restaurant can make a fish or steak hoagie like Papa Dino's. I never ate their pizza so I can' ... more

I started eating at Papa Dino's back in the early 1970s. I didn't know how much I liked their hoagies until I moved to Florida. No other restaurant can make a fish or steak hoagie like Papa Dino's. I never ate their pizza so I can't comment on that, but their hoagies are super fantastic. Everytime I'm in Cincinnati, I always make an effort to eat here at least twice - yelp, I always order one of their hoagies. less

I don't know how this place stays in business. Maybe it's because they deliver on weekends until 4 AM. Maybe it's because their primary clientele is University of Cincinnati students. Maybe they don't know the difference between ... more

I don't know how this place stays in business. Maybe it's because they deliver on weekends until 4 AM. Maybe it's because their primary clientele is University of Cincinnati students. Maybe they don't know the difference between good pizza and bad. This is some of the worst pizza I've ever had. You're better off buying frozen pizza from your local grocery store. Don't expect the quality to be very good late nights, because I'm sure they're slinging as many pizzas as they can to keep up with the demand from UC students who have been partying too much. less

I like this restaurant a lot! It's the kind of place, though, that you have to take in spurts. I go through periods where it's the pizza I crave, and then I can go for months without having any desire for it at all. The service is excellent if you ... more

I like this restaurant a lot! It's the kind of place, though, that you have to take in spurts. I go through periods where it's the pizza I crave, and then I can go for months without having any desire for it at all. The service is excellent if you get to know the server, which in my case, I have. I think that it is awesome that they make their pizza dough and sauce themselves, daily! It can be a bit greasy at times though. I don't recommend you go after 2 a.m., due to the bar rush they get. Overall, great place to eat and hang out! less

I really like this place and I eat there often, but there really is nothing special about it. Well, the fact that you can't get a chicken gyro with tzatziki anywhere else (that I know of) is pretty enticing. I would recommend the chicken gyro to ... more

I really like this place and I eat there often, but there really is nothing special about it. Well, the fact that you can't get a chicken gyro with tzatziki anywhere else (that I know of) is pretty enticing. I would recommend the chicken gyro to anyone, but the I find the rest of the place average. less