(366 votes, average: 2.94 out of 5)
Loading …
Location: 1101 South 119th St Omaha, NE 68114
Phone Number: 402-333-4414
The Good:
The Bad:
The Outcome:
If you show up at the wrong time, you will be waiting outside at this hot spot.
Let us know what you think about Big Fred’s Pizza Garden.
Pep-C
Big Fred’s - an Omaha original. You gotta try it… and make sure to wear your RED!
I like Big Fred’s and if you go, get the onion rings. Nothing like ‘em with a big slice of cheese pizza!
Thanks for the tip K Slice! I will give them a go. Are you a believer in their Prime Rib?
The best pizza in four states, prime rib is the best, if it got any better I would have to hire someone to help me enjoy it.
At Big Fred’s you’ll find great pizza and great fans…Hawkeye fans!
There pizza is better than a 5-7 season!!!
Big Fred’s!
yuck
Big Red and Big Fred’s pizza
I like the way they crumble their beef. My favorite is their beef “combo.” Their pizza is very flavorful and juicy!
Big Fred’s had the worst pizza I have ever eaten. It was just absolutely awful. I can’t understand how on earth people profess to like this place. Tasteless crust, sauce almost non-existent (although with the awful way what was there tasted - like ketchup! - maybe that is a blessing) and their “combo” seemed to consist almost entirely of hamburger! Just horrid, horrid pizza.
Did you know Eric Crouch used to bus tables there?
so….he sucks and so does Big Freds pizza. does that make the pizza taste any better/worse?
Good Lord, this has gone from rating a pizza to rating a former college football player. Give the guy a break, let him lead his life, stick with the subject (which is why we are here) and rate the pizza.
My rating? The pizza is awesome. Even when I went to school in Lincoln, my friends and I would drive to Omaha, and a stop a Big Fred’s was always planned. Enough was bought to eat there and leftovers to take back to Lincoln for all. Keep the pizza’s comin’.
i rate the pizza as not good to me…srry if i offended anyone, but does it make difference? me coming from the east coast, i dont care about Big Freds or Husker football, just good pizza and Freds is pretty bad stuff…i like Sortinos on L st better when it comes to omaha pizza..why dont anybody rate them here?
The double-crust is a family tradition: sausage, sauce and tons of cheese. Leftovers are awesome. Great salads, too. Crappy beer selection, but since my days at Big Fred’s pre-date my days at the tap, they are entirely forgiven.
Aparantly some folks have a great deal of time on their hands… The Pizza is Great… and it is in Omaha so no mystery about being in “Big Red Country”. Several Einsteins posted negative comments, Disreguard and try for yourself… Jen probably loves the “all you can eat” at wherever”…
First, Big Fred’s isn’t my favorite in Omaha, but it is good pizza. Second, why does everyone from the East coast think that somehow qualifies them to judge pizza. NY Style is a type of pizza, not the only type. I’ve been to both coasts and everywhere in between and there is good and bad pizza everywhere. Being from NY does not automatically give you a more discerning pallet.
hey Brad, read my prior post on may 11th…im from ny and very proud of it..i was just stating my opinion about Big Freds terrible pizza …i prefer Sortinos and yes, its Omaha STYLE pizza and yes, me a NYER, likes them -NOT FREDS!!!…i dont understand why people here get bent out of shape when someone dislikes certain nebraska pizza-joints, are you communists?are people from out of town supposed to like everything husker?please, bow to NY.
Husker fans and NY fans have something to agree on - let’s go Joba and the Yankees!
thank you veg-e….i agree
Duke,
I really don’t care if you like Big Fred’s, Sortino’s, La Casa’s, or any of the pizza available here. I’m not trying to tell you what you should and should not enjoy. I just think it’s funny that you (and others) preface your comments with, “well I’m from NY…” It’s okay, though, many people from Memphis, KC, NC, Texas, etc do the same thing with BBQ. I guess I will do the same thing if I ever write a comment about corn 
Should we start CornOmaha.com? Just kidding…credit to both of you for your pizza pride. Brad, sounds like you know your bbq too. Which is your favorite in town?
Hmm…good question. I just moved back here after living all over for 8 years. When I lived here last, there was a place on about 38th and Ames called Jim’s Rib Haven. It was the best around at that time IMO.
Brad,
You really do know your bbq! Great call on Jim’s. I would suggest everyone also goes a little further down Ames to Bill’s. I like to go get rib’s from both places and let people taste test. It is usually a draw. Veg-e was skeptical of my bbq talk on PO, so I better leave it at that.
I have being dining at Big Fred’s Pizza for over 25 years…where the waitresses have turned over many times…but the crew they had as late as a couple of years ago was the best…when they had Brandi- Allison- Shauna & Angie…with Mary at the front counter..those were the days….just of late there are NEW people in management & hostesses that are not nearly as friendly as the waitresses I mentioned earlier…I just mentioned to a friend of mine after we were just in there the other evening “that if it weren’t for ‘that salad’ which is the best in town without question I probably would not go in there anymore!!!!” A friendly smiling group of hostesses is really what draws the crowd…Sorry….just being real!!!
I had Big Freds 10 years age and thought it was ok nothing to brag about i plan on trying it again because my wife keeps hearing it good. The funny thing is every body has a different taste some will love it some won’t and you won’t know till you try.My favorite food happens to be pizza and my favorite is La Casa’s i’ve been eating it since i was just a kid they have been around for over 50 years but some people have never herd of them or have herd of them but have never tried it.
Thanks for the Big Fred feedback Steve and Brian! The lines at BF speak for themselves…if not the salad.
Let us know your updated thoughts after so long Brian. There are some quality order recommendations in this thread.
pep-c
I used to work at Big Fred many years ago as a bartender. I didn’t like their pizza then. I tried it once again about 15 years ago and still YUCK.
Tonight (10/27/2008), my 17 year old son wanted to try something different. I thought well maybe Big Fred’s has changed or maybe my memory is faulty in exaggerating how bad their pizza tastes to me.
My son, who has an appetite to match a horse actually had fun …. making fun of how bad this pizza is. The thing that always gets me is how can a crust be so bad.
Our opinion. No stars for big Freds. It isn’t fit for the dumpster. However a slogan might be: Big Fred’s, Where the Pizza Tastes the Same as the Box.
I remember Big Freds,when it would take you 40min
Pros: Lots of real “home Made” Italian food with super service
This place is awesome! Home made chicken noodle soup with home made
noodles. Excellent! The pizza is absolutely the best there is. I just
can’t do them justice on here. Go and try for yourself. Home made
everything! A family run business by real Itallian people that know what
they are in the kitchen! SOOOOOOOO GOOD! Definitly my favorite
restaurant
The pizza is mediocre at best. I have tried it several times over the years visiting Omaha. Pizza crust is flavorless and lacks integrity. Sauce is slightly sweet and lacking depth. They use liberally dreaded yellow waxy cheese made popular, unfortunately, by Shakey’s Pizza in the 70’s. Staff is indifferent and sometimes condisending. Big Fred’s son who owns the place now seems to be trading in on past success and nastalgia which are the only reasons I see why people keep coming back.
Last time I went there, I just ordered a big salad with grilled chicken. It was really good. Next time, I will probably get a cheeseburger and onion rings. I know their onion rings are wonderful, and I’ve heard good things about their hamburgers. However, I’ve also heard many good things about their pizza, and found them to be false. The crust tastes like it is from a mix one buys at the grocery store. For the price they are charging, this is really unacceptable.
I ate at Big Freds recently and I really enjoyed the pizza and the atmosphere. The one thing that I didnt like was the long wait for the food. It was around lunch time so I guess that is too be expected. I have had better pizza thats for sure but Big Fred’s is certainly a nice place to do lunch.
I’m not from NY but I have had my share of pizza, good and bad. I visited Big Fred’s for the first time and cannot believe this place has such a great reputation. From first viewing the menu to see refills come with a charge to eating cheese bread and pizza where seasoning/flavor was completely omitted. Instead of seeing and tasting pizza sauce there was only a layer of grease between the very nice layer of cheese and the, seemingly, straight from a box crust. So many places have quirks often causing people to embrace the establishment. Big Fred’s simply frustrated me and caused the urge to pull a dine and dash. I have no other words to express my displeasure.
For those who love the place, more power to you. I cannot justify returning for another bland pie made out to be something that it certainly isn’t.
In all my years in Omaha, this place still hasnt got what it takes to serve a descent pizza….ive given it many tries w/”the wait awhile approach” and still it doesnt appeal to me. I guess Husker football on the bigscreen and Brews is what is more appealing to most @BIGFREDS, not its cuizine.
A large romano cheese with anchovies…..mmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Big Freds has excellent pizza.
Back in the glory days Fred used to sit at the bar all day and all night to make sure the quality of service and food remained high. Now that he has gone to that great pizza oven in the ether the Big Fred quality is bound to suffer.
For me, I didn’t care for their pizza. It didn’t taste bad, it just was lacking in too many ways. The crust was sparse and without any flavor. The sauce was watery and sweet like ketchup. The toppings were undercooked and underneath a generous layer of cheese. It was difficult to eat without a fork. The toppings slid off the paper thin crust. When we tried to put the leftovers in a box, It reminded me of Steve Martin in the movie “The Jerk” where they had pizza in a cup at the carnival. It was crowded, but the staff was attentive. I like to try new pizza places for comparison. As far as someone stating where they grew up have lived, I find that information useful. Sure, everyone has their personal preferences. Their are regional preferences as well. Maybe if you have never left Nebraska, you may think it is the same all over. Far from it. There are regional styles. Some, even you might enjoy.
Stopped at Freds Saturday Sept 19th because the sign out front said “Voted Omaha’s best pizza” If this is the best Omaha has for pizza their in trouble. Ordered a large hamburger pizza and mozzerella sticks with sauce. Sauce tasted like Campbells tomato soup and think the same sauce was on the pizza. Pizza came and cheese wasn’t even browned so sent back to cook some more. When they brought it back crust was like cardboard and with the tomato soup sauce couldn’t put enough crushed red peppers and parmesian to make it taste good. You can be sure won’t stop there again. Only good thing about the experience was that we got to see the Huskers get beat in the last seconds of the game by Virginia Tech.
The quality is not what is used to be many years ago. The last time I went, I’d classify it as **it on a shingle.
Well, I’ve read through these comments & I figure most of the people who do not like Big Fred’s grew up eating frozen Tortino’s or another type from another pizza joint that serves it on a metal army plate. Their pizza crust is so tough you can hardly chew it. And talk about grease, have you had Godfathers where after it sits on the table 5 minutes it leaches grease to the surface where you can blot it off with several napkins?
Give me Big Fred’s any day of the week, with real hamburger on it, not some turd like mixture of soy etc., passing off as hamburger, as in Pizza Hut.
The half baked sucked
Pat, basicaly throughtout your post about BFREDS, you never mentioned anything good about it…(except the hamburger) but you fail to tell us readers about how good you think Freds is above the rest..Maybe there isnt anything good about Big Freds, but the toppings. Ill pass on Big Freds, they suck.
Actually Big Freds reminds me of a crappy pizza joint in Hot Springs, Arkansas called “RODS PIZZA CELLER”
I wonder how many people that have posted negative comments have actually grown up in Omaha? Is Big Fred’s the best, end all, be all of pizzas? I don’t know; but I do know that I did grow up in Omaha and used to eat at Big Fred’s ever Saturday night, as well as Godfathers before it became franchised and the mess that it is today.
Having lived all over the world, I have had pizza from every region and possible style imaginable. Whether you like it or not will depend on what you were raised on. Big Fred’s has always been awesome. Is it different from Chicago or New York-styles? Of course, just like Chicago and New York-styles are also different from Sicilian and Roma (yes, the Italian regions). Ever had a California-style pizza? The people who don’t like Big Fred’s probably wouldn’t like California-style either, since putting grilled chicken and artichokes hearts on a pesto-based pizza sauce sounded odd the first time I had it as well. It was good, just not what I was used to.
Big Fred’s is Omaha-style, they don’t claim to be Chicago, New York or any other ‘style’, they do it how they like it and their customers like it. I think it’s great, ground beef, sausage, onions, cheese, tomato sauce, oregano, salt and pepper; all melted together so that each bite is ooey-gooey-cheesy and meaty - sounds pretty good to me. Whenever my travels take me through the area, Big Fred’s is usually my first stop. Go there without any preconceived ideas of what you think pizza is supposed to be, you won’t be disappointed. I still haven’t been able to convince them to freeze their pizza’s and the FedEx one to me - maybe someday.
Big Fred’s is just a pile of cheese on mushy crust. I can get the same thing at Pizza Hut. There are way better pizza places in Omaha. My Italian grandmother thinks Big Fred’s is boring American pizza.
When I go to a pizzeria, I go for the pizza, and I don’t order anything else until I’ve eaten there many, many times. A few of the comments here mention Fred’s other foods, and maybe they are good at cooking things that aren’t pizza. But for pizza, Fred’s is to be avoided at absolutely ALL COSTS. I have tried it a total of three times in the 14 years I have lived in Omaha, to give it the opportunity to change and impress me, but none of those three times have I actually been able to finish my meal. This is absolutely the worst pizza I have ever tasted. They make the big pizza chains taste like gourmet. The experience of eating at Big Fred’s was emotionally scarring, to the point where I get nauseous just driving by their building.
big freds pizza is unoriginal, lackluster and generic.
The only thing at big freds with ordering is there soft drinks and hot wings, which are very good.
The pizza and pasta at big freds is very below avarage and not worth the price or the wait.
Midtown for life.
This used to be the BEST pizza. Of course, I grew up on the stuff so like a few others have said it really does depend on what you get used to. to the person that said you could get the same thing at Pizza Hut? C’mon, I can see how one might not like Fred’s but Pizza Hut should be banned from calling that s— “pizza”.
Anyway, Fred’s has really gone downhill since Fred died. The service sucks about half the time. And the one thing you could ALWAYS count on was consistency. The pizza was the same no matter what - every time. Now you might get the pizza you remember from 10 years ago or you might get an undercooked pile of dung. Heartbreaking.
big fred always took checks! now with modern tech these kids dont take checks. ha. great pizza but overpriced and no free pop refills ha ha ha.
This place has gone downhill slowly the past ten years. I remember when this place was one of the best in town. But now it is tasteless and boring, and the pasta dishes are dowsed in ketchup - I almost threw up all over it. How about the shag carpet the place dons on the walls? WTF where they smoking?
I went here recently with my great aunt and mom… we haven’t eaten here in 30 years, we I moved to California when I was 10. I have had Valentino’s a couple years ago upon my last visit to Omaha.
We arrived and the place had a nice retro cheesy vibe to it. We ordered our pizza and when it arrived, it just looked terrible. Oh well, here goes…
This pizza is absolute trash. Middle schoolers can bake a pizza this good in class. While most food outside of steaks is better in California, can it really be this bad? You are much better off buying a frozen pizza at a supermarket than eating this cardboard. A truly disappointing experience.
I were blindfolded, and ate the Big Fred’s of toady vs. the Big Fred’s of 20 years ago, I’d swear I was eating 2 different pizzas. This place has gown downhill for the last 4-5 years. My last several visits have been a real disappointment.
I am curious to find out what blog system you’re utilizing? I’m
experiencing some small security issues with my latest blog and I
would like to find something more safe. Do you have any suggestions?
Very great post. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and wished
to say that I’ve really loved browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing on your feed and
I hope you write again very soon!
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very
easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for
me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme?
Fantastic work!
Welcome to Pizza Omaha!
We are dedicated to finding, promoting, and reporting on the best pizza you can buy in the big O. All entries are certified and approved by Pep-C and Veg-E. User voting, rankings, and special guest reviews are just part of the fun you can expect on Pizza Omaha. So grab a slice and read on!
58 Comments
Jump to comment form | comments rss [?] | trackback uri [?]