I have a lot of childhood memories of P&J Pizza in Womelsdorf. Playing baseball for teams in town, we often had post-game pizza. And my church was less than a block away so P&J was an easy stop to feed us for youth group nights and other activities.Â
But P&J was just a takeout place then. Sure, there were a couple booths, but the majority of the customers came in, got their orders, and left.
It’s a little bit different now. Sure, customers still stream through the storefront to pick up pies and sandwiches to-go, but since P&J opened their Tavern in 2023, there are a lot more dine-in meals.
The Tavern is located in the adjacent building. Unassuming from the outside, a step through the front door reveals the historic log cabin frame that was hidden long ago by vinyl siding. A brick side wall separates the Tavern from the neighboring property, but the remaining walls are wood and mortar. The wood floor is new, but fits with the rustic style. The walls are painted a yellow-brown to complement the exposed slats of the original log building. Only the red and white tablecloths provide a pop of color, a reminder that this is still a family restaurant.
On the left side of the room is the bar. In addition to the six-packs that were always available for carryout, guests can now sit down and enjoy a draft beer or cocktail while they catch a game on the TVs. (We watched the Phillies lose a heartbreaker in extra innings as only the Phillies can do).
The Tavern has the same food menu as the takeout side but with full table service. On our most recent visit, our server doubled as hostess, seating us by the window where menus were already sitting at each seat.
We ordered and in short order, our food had arrived. For me, that meant a meatball sandwich and a side order of fries.
I have always loved P&J’s rolls. They are like small loaves of Italian bread cut into pockets, rather than the standard hard or soft rolls. They also use a sweet sauce on their meatball subs – a perfect combination with those delicious rolls.
The fries were good, too – a large portion of crinkle fries. I threw a little salt and a little garlic powder on them for a perfectly snackable side.
Julie got herself an Italian wrap (and a side of fries, as well). There is nothing spectacular about the wrap, but it was a solid and filling meal with plenty of meat and cheese inside.
Next to her, Jakob quickly downed his large slice of pepperoni pizza. Their pizza is always on-point. It was cooked well and loaded with pepperoni.
We also ordered a kid’s order of meatballs for Lukas, who at 22 months old has decided that meatballs are his favorite food. We couldn’t cut it fast enough for him, but the first one (there were three in the order) filled him up.
Our total was just over $40 for the four of us – that included a lemonade for Jakob and an unsweet tea for me. Anytime we can get out of a restaurant for about $10 per person, especially when the food is as good as it is at P&J, I consider it a win.
This was our second time dining in at the Tavern, and it is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to enjoy a meal – quick service, good food, and great prices are a hard combination to beat.
BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Very Good
Price: $
P&J Pizza
133 W. High Street
Womelsdorf, PA 19567
Original Review: October 11, 2015
October is National Pizza Month, and Berks County Eats is celebrating by visiting some of our area’s best pizzerias all month long.
Most weeks on Berks County Eats, I take you — my readers — with me as a visit a new place and try something different.
Discovering new places and foods is one of my favorite parts about doing this blog.
But I would be doing a disservice to everyone if I didn’t also throw in some old favorites, places that I have enjoyed since childhood. Places that I frequented before the blog began. Places like P&J’s Pizza.
Opening on High St. in Womelsdorf in 1989, Pete and John (the P and J in P&J’s) have been serving western Berks County for more than 25 years.
Growing up in nearby Robesonia in the 90s, I can’t remember a time without P&J’s. They were always there in the store, and their pizza was at every party and every post-game meal throughout my childhood.
Through the years, the restaurant has remained much the same. The seven booths are surrounded by wood paneled walls. If not for the brand new TV in the corner, you would never know it wasn’t still 1989.
I have had more meals than I can count at P&J’s, trying much of the menu. Their subs are incredible, served in rolls that are more like hollowed-out loaves of Italian bread. The strombolis are also very good.
But what I love more than anything else on the menu is the Sicilian pizza.
Sicilian pizza, for those who have never tried it, is a little bit different from your traditional pie. The most obvious difference is that it’s square. Sicilians fit much more snugly into the carry-out boxes.
It’s also a thicker crust, more like a Chicago-style pizza that rises in the oven instead of remaining flat.
P&J’s does Sicilians as well as anyone. It’s baked until the edges are crispy and the cheese is perfectly melted. The sauce is sweet and the pepperoni is just a little spicier than other restaurants.
The slices are hearty, but I still managed to put down three of them before my stomach threw up the white flag.
In addition, Sicilian pies are a great value if you have a lot of mouths to feed. The large pie, which measures 16-inches square, is sliced in 12 pieces for $12.50 (toppings are $2.25 each so ours was $15.00).
Julie and I shared our pie with my parents, and between the four of us we still had three slices left at the end of the meal. If you do the math, it comes to about $3 per meal, a value no matter how you look at it.
Every small town has a place like P&J’s — a little pizza shop that locals come back to over and over again.
For me, as much as I love new and different, I will always keep going back to P&J’s as long as they keep putting out the same great pizzas I remember from my childhood.
BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Fair
Price: Very Reasonable
