LANDSTUHL, Germany — You can get a decent pizza almost anywhere these days. Even in Germany. But there are few places in Europe where you can get good Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.

Romeo’s Diner in Landstuhl looks and smells like a pizza place from the Windy City. For Chicagoans, it will remind them a little of home.

Where else in Germany can one devour deep-dish pizza with an autographed poster of legendary Bears coach Mike Ditka looking over you?

There are mementos from Chicago and photographs of some of the city’s favorite residents all over the walls. There’s a poster of former Bulls star Michael Jordan soaring through the air, a sign from Wrigley Field and pictures of the city’s skyline.

And, of course, there is a poster of Ditka, who once dined at the place sometime in the 1990s.

The place also offers buffalo wings, fish and chips and baby back ribs. But owner Diana Torz said most people come for the pizza. Or, what Romeo’s calls “pizzaah.”

Rival pizza shops have taken notice. Not too long ago owners from another restaurant came into Romeo’s on a mission to figure out the diner’s pizza recipe. But Torz sniffed them out and told them they would never get the secret recipe.

“The recipe came with it when I bought Romeo’s,” she said, adding that both the sauce and dough are made fresh daily.

For many Americans, Romeo’s has been a favorite stop.

Since 1986, the place has been making the Windy City’s famous pizza. Torz bought the place off of her old boss Hans Paulin, the founder of the diner. As the legend goes, the late Paulin discovered deep-dish pizza when he lived in Chicago.

He and his wife later opened the diner on the eastern edge of downtown Landstuhl. They chose “Romeo’s” because they thought it was a good Italian name for a pizza place.

Since then, various types of pizza have been put on the menu. New Orleans Style Cajun Pizza has jalapenos and is called “The Hottest Pizza in Town” on their menu. There’s also a Gyros Pizza and Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza.

These days, the Chicken Fajita Pizza has become a customer favorite, Torz said.

“I think we make the best pizza and ribs in the area,” Torz said.

See previous After Hours reviews here.

Romeo’s Diner

Prices: Six-inch personal pan pepperoni pizza, 3.40 euros. A 12-inch pizza costs 8.25 euros. A 16-inch “party square” runs 15.20 euros. A dozen wings cost 10.25 euros.

Specialties: Pizza, ribs, buffalo wings

Drinks: An assortment of mostly German and Czech beer for 1.80 to 2.55 euros. Heineken and Corona bottles also offered for a little more. Lambrusco also for the taking. You can get three free refills of iced tea.

English menu: Yes.

Clientele: Americans and Germans.

Directions: From Kaiserslautern, take A6 toward Saarbrücken. Take Exit 13-Ramstein-Miesenbach. Turn right onto L363 toward Landstuhl. Turn left at Saarbrücker Strasse/L395. Stay on L395 until you see Romeo’s Diner on the left side.

Address: Kaiserstrasse, 139, 66839 Landstuhl.

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