On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Merchandise Mart (Purple Express, Brown)
Grand (Red)
Clark/Lake (Pink, Brown, Green, Blue, Purple Express, Orange)
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Loading...
Without a doubt my favorite Chicago pizza. Giordanos is too cheesy for my tastes, but this gets the ratio between tomato sauce and cheese just right for me.
The real standout though, is the sausage pizza. We are not talking about your normal pizza, with rat droppings scattered meagerly around your pie. Nay, this is more like a sausage patty, in which every bite contains a good helping of meat. Doesn't get better than that.
I spent a very pleasant three hours here on a Saturday afternoon, introducing Chicago deep-dish to an out of town friend. Ah, bud, bloody marys, and pizza, seated outdoors on a rare Chicago sunny day....this is the stuff of life.
Only a few complaints that ruined the experience - the sloooow service (I know it's deep dish, but how long does it take to fill a pitcher of bud?), and while the toppings were gooey, it was a bit too greasy for me. Plus, I like the Gino's East cornmeal crust better.
But I'll definitely go back, if there's ever another sunny Chicago day.
Lou Malnati's has its own style of pizza - not really deep-dish or stuffed really. They have their own half-way here half-way there recipe that makes their pizza unique, but also somewhat soggy.
I also dislike the chunkiness of their tomato sauce and we usually order the veggie here, not spinach.
They do have a spinach bread appetizer, which is too cheesy for my liking.
This particular Lou is always loud and crowded and the servers have no time to give you an ear, just throw your pizza on to the table and vanish.
I am not a big fan of Chicago pizza, per se. The deep dish kind. It's not really pizza, it's more like pizza casserole. But I LOVE the crust that Lou puts out. Man, it's good. The last time I was there though we ordered the thin crust pizza with the butter crust. Forget it! Hands down the best pizza in Chicago. Fresh, crispy, so good. The service is always great, the bartenders are always friendly and attentive, the place itself is always clean, fun, has great music and quite lively.
I visit Chicago once a year (after Thanksgiving) for a convention. My tradition is to have some authentic Chicago-style pizza upon arrival. I heard about this place on Throwdown (Bobby Flay) and found the nearest to my hotel (only 0.8 mile walk).
It was a busy Saturday night, but I was fortunate to be a solo party and was given a small booth immediately. I tried the appetizer combo (great fried cheddar balls). I ordered the "Lou" which had no meat and added Sausage. The pizza was exactly what I was expecting...perfectly Chicago style (that is coming from a California guy of course).
The only thing that was disappointing was the lack of a decent scotch to have while I waited 30 minutes for the pizza (nobody said deep dish was quick). I tried a J&B but didn't finish it (no Black label, Glenfiddich, etc).
Overall - extremely satisfying experience.
If you're going to recommend a tourist-friendly pizzeria, Malnati's has got to be at the top of your list.
I think it's the crust that sets Malnati's apart. A thing of beauty; a work of art. Thick but not too bready, crispy but not crumbly, buttery but not overly sweet. In fact, they should make a crust pizza. Little kids would fucking hate it, but I'd be all over it.
Just a couple of slices and you're set. I suggest not ordering a large, because you'll inevitably have leftovers, and I've never found a deep dish pizza that reheats well.
Abuse this place and you won't make 50.
I had one of the best thin crust pizzas I've had in Chicago here. My friend and I ordered the spinach and mushroom pizza and it was delicious. FYI: the spinach is sauteed with basil, garlic and onions. The sauce is sweet and zesty and slightly chunky. The crust is thin and crisp.
We started with the house salad. It is chopped up and I love the small pieces as it holds the dressing well. Too bad the red wine vinaigrette was overly sour. We ended with the hot brownie sundae which is rich and yummy and big enough for 4 people.
Our waiter was very nice and helpful. I'd definitely go back until I find a better thin crust pizzeria.
For years in my youth, I was deeply deprived of quality pizza. I grew up on the likes of Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Little Caesar's. If you like those pizzas, wait until you try deep dish pizza, "it'll knock your socks off!" my friends would say. So I make the trip to BJ's restaurant and brewhouse, and take a huge, doughy bite of their "deep dish" pizza. No, no, and NO.
Over the years that I have tried other renditions of deep dish pizza up and down California, such as Zachary's in Oakland. While they are all very good, there was just something about the crust at Lou Malnati's. There are numerous theories, whether it's the water, the oven, or the ingredients. All I know, I thoroughly enjoyed my deep dish pizza in Chicago.
We ordered a small pizza, and it was already plenty for two people. Good thing we ordered the spinach stuffed bread appetizer, the 30 minute wait can be most excruciating when you're stomach is about to tear itself apart out of pure hunger. The bread was moist, and the spinach inside wasn't overpowering at all.
When the pizza arrived and we took our first bite, I could immediately tell that the "butter crust" was worth every calorie. It gave the crust a nice sheen, a buttery aroma, and a light and crispy crunch when my teeth dug right in. Inside, the smooth and velvety cheese just melted and ooozed through, giving the pepperoni and mushrooms just that extra burst in flavor. I was happy that there were no signs of uncooked or squishy "dough," so common in many flawed deep dish pizzas.
Three big slices and a couple refills of diet Cokes later, I was done. DONE. Each slice practically weighed a pound each. I needed a siesta big time, to lay my head down on something, anything. Back to the hotel, we go. Food coma had taken me by the huevos, and I was at its mercy. Lou Malnati's, you knocked my socks off. Literally.
As a tourist in Chicago we hit up Yelp to try and find great deep dish pizza. This was a top rating, so we stopped here. Next time, I'll try someplace different.
First, out plates and forks weren't completely clean. The waiter noticed right away and took them off our table, but didn't seem overly surprised or apologetic about it. I find that concerning.
I wasn't a fan of the pizza either. The crust was not good at all. It was very bland, and lacking in flavor. It was also extremely hard, and seemed to be sopping in butter. The waiter told me he accidentally gave me a butter crust even though I didn't order that, but either way it would not have been good.
The sauce was pretty bland as well. There was nothing special about this sauce and tasted as though it may have come out of a can. I'm sure it didn't, but I expect more from such a famous establishment.
As a whole, the pizza was incredibly salty. Between the filling and the crust, it tasted like I was eating a bar of buttered salt.
I guess it is true when people say, " It is all about the deep dish in Chicago". The deep dish pizza was one of many reasons why we decided to visit the Windy City. Once again, because of Yelp and the Food Network; hubby did some research and decided Lou Malnati's is the place to go for deep dish. He compared several main ones around the Chicago area and decided Lou Malnati's was the one we needed to eat at.
On Thursday night, we arrived at Lou Malnati's around 6 PM with many available seating opened and were seated right away. We glanced through the menu for a bit and decided to start with their Spinach stuffed bread. It sounded good and something I had not had before. For our entree, we decided on a small peperoni and mushroom deep dish. Yes, even though we are big eaters and love food, a small deep dish was all we needed.
When the spinach stuffed bread arrived, it just looked like a mini loaf of bread but once we sliced it as we do with bread, it was filled with gooey cheese and spinach. It was so delicious and comforting that it was gone within two minutes.
I suggest ordering an appetizer while waiting for your deep dish because it takes about 30-40 mins until the pizza is ready. It was fine with us since we had time to digest the stuffed bread. The pizza was cheesy, and filled with fresh ingredients you can taste. It was the most wonderful deep dish I had. If I remember correctly, the small came with six slices, I had two and I was stuffed. I made hubby ate the rest. We couldn't even fit dessert. If you know us, you know we always have room for dessert but not after the great tasting pizza.
The service was excellent.
I love deep dish so much that I changed the route of my road trip to stop in Chicago to try a real deep dish pizza. After much research I came here for lunch 20 minutes before 2pm. The hostess kept asking if anyone was working in the back. No one answered her.
I ordered the personal pizza, cheese and sausage (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). I really wasn't impressed. The crust was not crispy or flavorful. In fact, the pizza did not taste like it was cooked long enough. There was way too much sauce and hardly any cheese or sausage. I can devour a small pizza on my own and after eating barely half I gave the rest to my boyfriend.
Service was also very slow. I think the mistake was coming so close to closing and having one waitress trying to do everything.
We went on a recommendation from our friends and it was worth it. They have individual pizzas that are perfect size. Not too much, not too little. We had a sausage pizza and the Lou, both with the butter crust for an extra 75 cents. TASTY. Crust is not super thick and crispy. The flavors are fantastic.
Pretty damn good deep dish pizza. The cheese was stringy but still workable, the tomato sauce tasted excellent. Topped with peperoni sealed the deal for me!
The place is pretty nice, not like a typical pizzeria, but the price wasn't too shabby either. Oh man I'll be craving this place in the future...wait...I'm still craving more!!!
Humala, humala!!! I have heard of this famous Chicago deep dish pizza. But what is it, exactly? I mean, I've had something advertised as Chicago deep dish here in CA, but it was from *whispers* Pizza Hut. Yes. I know how sad that is. So imagine how excited I was to try out REAL Chicago deep dish pizza! Eeeee!
After our drinking excursion the night before, which included karaoking at the Blue Frog, my gf and I knew we needed some heavy duty food and carbs to soak up the remaining alcohol in our tummies. One of my foodie gfs told me I absofreakinglutely had to have pizza here so I knew this was serious stuff.
We had the "Lou" pizza, with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and a trio of cheeses oozing all over the top. We ordered the small and it was waaaaaaaaaay too much for the two of us. I think you can have a party of 3 or possibly 4 (if you're only going to have one slice each) and get filled up. These slices are 2 inches thick (at least)! When I plopped it down on my plate, the cheese was oozing out and the top was bubbly and I think I might have drooled a little bit. It was the bizzy bizomb! The crust was different, maybe a bit of cornmeal mixed in? I couldn't tell, I just know that it wasn't competing with all of the toppings, which was great.
I think this is one of the best pizzas I've ever had, even considering NYC and CA thin crust pizzas. I haven't tried other pizza joints in Chicago so I can't compare but it is a definite must go back for me.
Humala, humala.
Just came home from supper at Lou Malnati's on Wells.....
Not so bad!
Now, you have to understand that I'm from The East Coast....we have pizza there....I don't know what you have here....
But we did order pizza; the deep dish one with sausage and my companions were so pleased. All of us are from The East Coast and the boys were happy to try this dish and they were happy that they did. From what I understand, the pizza was hot, filling and delicious.
I have been to Malnati's before, and eaten pizza there. The oddest ingredient was added at my sweetheart's request....gardinaire....it was actually excellent! I ate two pieces!
We also ordered a Malnati's salad...(I'm saving room for Pumpkin Pie later this month) and that's what I had for supper. I have to say, the large salad was full of flavorful tomatoes, salami, cheese, and the dressing was light and a bit sweet. The three of us each had two helpings from that bowl, and there were left-overs to take home. Wow!
1 glass of chianti...$4.75. 'Nuff said....
Ambience? Casual and on the loud side. TV's in each room...watch the game, eat some "pizza" and enjoy!
Even with numerous locations, it does not cheapen the authenticity and perfection of a Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. It's still the best deep dish pizza in Chicago. The texture and the distinct flavor of the crust make it one of the best pizzas for the money.
A great deep dish pizza! Fun, casual dining spot in River North.
I want to give a shout out to our "regular" server, Martha! She is super friendly, super attentive, and simply super!!! I love this Lou Malnati's location. The service is great, quick, and the pizza TRUMPS EVERY OTHER CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA THERE IS OUT THERE! My boyfriend and I have been eating here for 2 years and will keep eating here! Keep up the great work guys!! Long live the pepperoni deep dish pizza from Lou's!
I have dreams about Lou Malnati's. Their sauce, their cheese, their buttercrust...
Lou's is quite possibly some of the best pizza I have ever had. In my opinion, it is the best pizza in Chicago. Better than Uno's, Giordano's, and Gino's etc. They do deep dish the right way.
No, not Pizzeria Uno/Due, No not Girodianos, no not Gino's East.
This is Lou Malnatti, the home of the true Chicagoan pizza. It blows the rest out the water. By far , the most outstanding pizza in chi-town!!
none betta, forgetaboutit!
Full disclosure: I worked for Lou's on Wells from '92 - '96 as a waiter and later a delivery driver. That was a long time ago though and now I just get a Malnati's pizza whenever I'm in Chicago, as a customer.
What this means, is that I know my Lou's pizza. I'm only going to talk about the pan pizza though there are some other worthwhile things on the menu.
I'll also have to admit that Lou's wasn't always my favorite pan pizza. The thing about Lou's pizza is that the crust is very crispy. It took a while for me to warm up to it... hundreds of pizzas later :-) I actually liked Due's pizza a little better for a while because of the crust. Though many know that Uno's, Due's and Malnati's have the same bloodline. Strange that someone might say that this isn't real pan pizza when this is actually the original Chicago pan pizza. Thick dough never has and never will have anything to do with authentic Chicago-style pan pizza. In fact, if you call it "dough," whether you're talking about thin crust or pan, you're not talking about Chicago pizza. In Chicago, it's called a "crust;" for good reason.
What we're really talking about is crust that lines the bottom of and comes up the sides of a pan, filled with delicious toppings.
One thing's for sure, whether this is your style of pizza or not, Malnati's is concerned about good pizza. It's a heritage.
TIP:
Here's a tip that I know from serving hundreds of these pies. If you call ahead, Lou's will pre-cook your pizza for you and take it out of the oven with 10 minutes to go so that it can be finished when you arrive. The only way that this makes sense is if you call in 20 minutes before you get there. That way, the pizza is already cooking but doesn't get pulled or if it does, doesn't get pulled for too long. Otherwise, the pizza's just not the same. DON'T DO IT! (sorry Lou's)
Having visited Art of Pizza when my family was too full to enjoy it, we opted for another go around with the windy city's pizza after spending a few hours in Millennium Park and wandering about Michigan Avenue. Parking all the way back at the park and hiking the three quarters of a mile was not my mother's idea of fun given the city's street/sidewalk quality, but the weather was beautiful and a walk was in order after the gluttony of previous days. While Chicago foodies will argue back and forth until the end of time about whether Uno's founder Ike Sewell or employee Rudy Malnati (whose sons own both Lou Malnati's and Pizano's) originally invented the deep-dish, all I wanted was an excellent pie. As my sister had been to Uno and we'd all tried Giordano's in the past, the choice was Lou Malnati's or Gino's East - we opted for Lou's.
Arriving just after 1:00pm the patio was open but we opted to eat indoors at the River North location on Wells Street. Greeted promptly by a friendly young waitress who I honestly couldn't believe was old enough to serve a beer, our waters were filled quickly and my sister opted for a local Goose Island 312 while my aunt and mother chose their standard iced tea. Orders placed we sat and waited while examining the kitschy bar interior and laughing as the crowd burst into boos while watching the Yankees put up a few runs on the White Sox.
Waiting for about 10 minutes we were brought our first item, Lou's Bruschetta with fresh chopped tomato and basil tossed with olive oil and served with homemade garlic toast. Excellent and crisp Italian toast with a mild although notably clean tasting olive oil and subtle use of garlic was matched well by the impressively fresh tomatoes and aromatic basil. While it wasn't listed, I detected a bit of rosemary in the dish that added additional complexity. At less than $5 the portion was generous and the quality excellent.
Finishing our bruschetta it was another 20 minutes before the young lady arrived to tell us our pizza would be out soon. Interestingly, my mother began sorting plates from the center of the table at this time and noted one to be quite dirty. Showing this to the server the server stated "hmm, well, all our plates are in the washer now but I'll see if I can find one." With nearly twenty Lou's operating in Illinois, I'd like to think their flagship would have a bit more tableware - or that someone in the place could hand wash a dish.
Arriving in about 10 minutes, along with a fresh plate, was our main event - a medium Lou with Buttercrust, Fresh spinach, mushrooms and sliced tomatoes covered with a blend of mozzarella, romano and cheddar cheese. Served in prototypical deep-dish glory the pie came steaming hot with cheese still bubbling and the thick buttery crust layered all the way to the top of the pan. An intoxicating aroma I had to bear in mind the temperature to make sure I didn't burn my mouth digging in. Slicing the pizza with an enormous pizza cutter we were each plated a hefty slice and waters and teas were refilled.
Not quite as traditional as the standard sausage/cheese variety of deep dish, this glorious pile of cheese and veggies topped with a hearty tomato sauce was quite excellent with a great juxtaposition of buttery, creamy, savory, sweet, and crunchy. While the sauce wasn't quite as impressive as Art's, the use of multiple cheeses added a lot of nuance to the dish and really set it apart from "other" Chicago Pizzas - the whole tomatoes and garlicky mushrooms were also excellent and I particularly loved the butter crust as it was crisp on bite but gave way to the teeth and nearly melted in the mouth. While the menu stated a "medium" would be enough for 3, the heft of this pie made that a challenge that took some time to complete - with myself doing most of the legwork.
When the meal ended we were asked if we'd like dessert - and while I still do regret not experiencing the deep dish chocolate chip cookie, I had dinner plans with an old friend at North Pond later in the evening and didn't want to chance it. All told really enjoyed Lou's and the price can't be beat - were it not for the beverages we'd have likely been out of there under $25 all inclusive. While I must say I liked Art's Pizza better, the service and style at Malnati's was excellent and it'd be a great place to catch a game with friends. A long walk back to Millennium Park interrupted by more shopping was a great way to close out the trip with my family and I'm glad we had a chance to try Lou's. Gino's East or Uno is next.
Lou Malnati's is my family's favorite Chicago deep dish. I don't think it's my favorite, but it is a quality pie! The cornmeal/butter crust isn't my favorite, but other people LOVE it. The sauce/cheese/toppings are awesome, though, and of course they are cooked to order, delivered in a cast-iron pan and served to the plate by your friendly server.
I eat two pieces but I've seen college boys pack away five (which is definitely unhealthy. As a dessert lover I have to say that probably the highlight of Lou's for me is the chocolate chip pizza, which is really a chocolate chip cookie baked in a little cast iron pan so that the edges are delightfully crispy and the inside is melty/gooey, and topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. It is AMAZING.
On the other hand, you will always wait forever for your order. Seriously, forever. Be prepared. Order before you're seated. Do anything you can to speed up the process!
The 4th star in my review is because of drool. Let me explain.
I arrived here around 6pm with my mother, and we took a seat at a sidewalk table. We placed an order for a bottle of wine and a medium deep dish 'Lou' pizza with butter crust. This specialty pizza has spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms, with a blend of cheeses.
The wine was brought to our table already open, which was highly unusual. The waiter later explained, after we brought it up, that the bartenders inside always do this. Not a great policy for $20+ bottle of wine, in my opinion. On that note, there wasn't really much ambiance to speak of at Lou Malnati's; they seem to be primarily focused on their pizzas, which actually is not a bad thing.
The pizza itself was quite good. The toppings were fresh and flavorful, the crust was flaky and delicious, and the tomato sauce was just right. The price was reasonable, too, especially compared with other deep dish joints around town (see my other pizza reviews). We were content after eating 4 of the 6 slices, and I happily took the leftovers home with me.
The next morning I topped my leftover slices with some fresh chopped spinach and popped them in the toaster oven for a few minutes. I sat myself down with the pizza in front of me, and as I brought the first forkful to my mouth I experienced again the pleasantly complex aromas of the sauce, the cheese, the toppings, and the crust, and I drooled just a little.
Any pizza that does that to me deserves 4 stars.
The deep dish pan pizza was the BEST that I've ever had. I love pizza. I can live on it. Yum-yum. I got to Lou's at 7 pm and the place was packed! I should have called-in my order, so ended up waiting 45 mins. I took the 15 min ride on the EL brown line, followed by another 10 mins walking with a quick stop to purchase a drink, and by that time my pizza was soggy. Soggy pizza, that's a new one for me. Oh well, it was still delicious with a glass of chilled white wine. I heard that they'll delivery a frozen pizza anywhere in the US. Hmmmm.....
The staff does leave much to be desired. The hostess was sweet, but, damn, the seater was actually hollering out people's name, "NICK! NICK! Party for 4, NICKKKKKK!!!" Serious, folks. LMAO.
I really like Lou's pizza. It is not my most favorite by far but i really enjoy the butter crust, because crust is important to me. The pizza here is just as good as any other Lou's in the city. We also started off with some stuffed spinach bread which was also very good.
The service was fine. The place was packed and our server did a decent job of taking care of us. She was friendly and did an adequate job.
I am giving this place three stars. If I crave Lou's again, I will most likely not go back to this location. The seating is just too cramped for my liking. I mean just look at the address of this place. You know it is going to be packed almost any night of the week. i would rather pick another location and enjoy my pizza in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Came here from a recommendation from a person I asked on the street because I was in search for some authentic Chicago deep dish pizza. I wanted to see what was so great about this pizza! The place was pretty packed for a Tuesday night. We had to wait about 35 mins for our table. We finally got seated and ordered our food.
We ordered the large deep dish deluxe pizza for the 5 of us, and another coworker ordered a sandwich with fries. We also ordered a salad which came pretty quickly. However the pizza and the sandwich took over and hour and 15 mins to come. I know that usually the pizza takes about 30 mins to cook - but over an hour was ridiculous! I was trying to find our waitress to ask about our food, but she was no where to be found. I finally asked another waitress about our food, and about 10 mins later our food finally came. The pizza was unimpressive. It tasted a little undercooked, and it was just basically a big slab of dough, piled with lots of toppings. On top of that - my coworkers fries came out cold. I had to ask another waitress to get hot fries - which the manager actually brought us a new basket of hot fries.
After we finished eating we waited around 30 mins- we just wanted to pay the bill but no one was around to help. I literally walked around the restaurant hoping to get anyone's attention. Finally we got our bill - with gratuity tacked on the bill. I doubled checked the menu and gratuity is only automatically added on for parties 8 or more - there was only 6 of us. Now after all this, I was pretty upset - never had I had this poor service before and now they messed up on our bill? I asked to speak to a manager. The manager was extremely apologetic after I told him everything that had happened - and he offered to comp our bill.
I would only give the food 1 star - because it just was not very good pizza - perhaps we ordered the wrong thing? Maybe there was something that tasted better. I don't think I would want to try "deep dish" pizza again though. But I gave this place an extra star because the manager's service - he acknowledged the poor service from our waitress, apologized, and took care of our bill. Overall, my experience was less than perfect, but at least it had a good ending.
When my wife and I planned our trip to Chicago, I asked everybody where to go for authentic Chicago style Pizza. 80% said Lou's. 10% said Giordano's, 10% said others. So off to Lou's.
I am the converted.
A NYC guy who if given the option of either Chicago style or NY Style for the rest of my life, I'd actually have to seriously think about Chicago style. Even though I'm a firm believer that you can't compare the two as they are completely different foods altogether.
I mean, what can you say. It's amazing, it's fattening, it's chicago on a round plate. My ONLY problem is that I understand the need to make a lot of money, and go national with this, but Lou's lost points in my book when I came home, found I can order Lou's online and have it shipped to my door in NJ. So I did, heated it up, and it tasted identical to the pizza we had on Wells St. That's a problem for me since I'm a huge fan of keeping regional cuisine treasures, regional.
That's more of a qualm with the corporate aspect and not the actual food. You want chicago style pizza, go to Lou's. Case closed.
My husband and I enjoyed the pizza, but we wish it had a little bit more cheese to it. The place was a bit crowded and at one point I wanted to scold a little girl who you could tell would be "high maintenance" when puberty hit. I would definitely eat here again, but I prefer Giordano's.
We went looking for good authentic deep-dish pizza and we're glad we found it at Lou Malnati's. We went there on a Saturday night and early (5:30) -- there was still a 45 minute wait then. But you can order your pizza ahead of time (it takes 35 minutes to cook) so by the time we sat down, our pizza was nearly ready. Don't miss the Malnati salad as an app though - very good choice.
I still love NY-style pizza better but that's not fair to criticize a restaurant for serving what it does well. So, ignore the naysayers who lament it's not as good as other pizza. For deep-dish, this was a good choice. Just be prepared to wait.
OH MY GOD
Simply put some of the best pizza I have ever had in my entire life. Im thrilled because the last pizza I had which had an equally buttery and rich crust was at this tiny place in French Polynesia (Le Bounty if you can make it), and I have been terrified that the only way to recapture that taste was a 13 hour plane ride. Well, thank god for Lou's. And while it's sport theme and faux wood decor comes nowhere close to replicating the charm of an outdoor bistro on a tropical island, the pizza at least is just as good.
My friend and I shared a medium pizza on a lovely (shocking!) Saturday morning ; however, her being asian and I being manorexic, we barely put a dent in it despite our best efforts. For toppings, we chose pepperoni, spicy mix (ghiardani maybe?) and spinach. WOW. It came out after I had already washed down two delicious bloody marys and was ready to devour.
The place would get 5 stars, but the service really really sucked and the decor is lame. We had to ask over and over for menus; get ourselves drinks at the bar; ask over and over for water; hunt down our waitress. It was annoying. But not enough to significantly denigrate a sublime culinary outing.
Traveled through Chicago from Los Angeles on a cross country road trip. My friends and I were dying to get some deep dish, authentic Chicago pizza. We asked around and found a lot of people telling us to go to various places. We ended up going here (cause I remembered my old teacher, a Chicago native, recommended this place) and I was pretty happy about it. The pizza was pretty dang good. I am not sure if it was authentic Chicago--but I do know it tasted pretty dang awesome.
Yikes, I hope Chicago has better deep dish than this, because in the SF Bay Area alone there are three places (Zachary's, Little Star, Paxti's) that absolutely kill this place.
The 'butter crust' was disappointingly not at all pastry-like, as I was expecting, and the cheese to topping ratio was way too high. The saving grace of this place is the killer side walk patio, which is perfect for drinking beer on a warm summer evening.
First Pizza in Chicago and the meat pie was just good but the veggie was tasteless and didnt care for the butter crust. The great thing was the Dodgers were playing the Diamondbacks on the tube. Dodgers Won baby...............
I have had it again a few times, and today tried the deep dish.
all the times have been delivery to work, and never been my choice, nor will it ever be.
feh.
My co-workers decided to get delivery from here when we were working late on Friday. The thin crust… Read more »
ARE YOU KIDDING? I haven't reviewed Zachary's yet?! OK... well that's next... I'll do this one first because it's fresh on my mind...
...So being a Cal alumn I grew up on Zachary's. But I had never had a true Chicago style deep dish pizza to compare it to... so I felt rather biased in saying that Zachary's pizza was the best thing EVER... So I resolved that the next time I was in Chicago, I would go and get true Chicago style deep dish pizza... and I would settle that question once and for all...
...So for the past couple of weeks (OK maybe a month) every time we had meetings preparing for this meeting I would say, "OK, team, the most important thing for this upcoming meeting is for us to go get Chicago style deep dish pizza..." I wonder if my colleagues got annoyed of me saying that... Hehehe... Anyway so... We got here to Chicago and all of us that were on the SFO to ORD flight were starving... So I said, "Deep dish pizza?" (Borderline obnoxious, I know.) Within 20 minutes (after saying hellos to a bunch of other folks we ran into in the lobby) we were on our way to Lou Malnati's (which was recommended by the kind concierge at the Westin River North lobby)...
...And the verdict? Zachary's wins. At least for me. The pizza at Lou's was OOOOOOKAY. For someone who's used to getting tomato filled deep dish pizzas... These cheese filled ones were a bit bland... But I wonder if something was wrong with my taste buds? Because I couldn't really taste the heaps of red pepper flakes I put on top... Maybe it was the FANTASTIC salad that masked the pizza... Man was that salad good... Mushrooms, olives, baaaaacccoooon, tomatos... YUMMY YUMMY dressing... WOW...
...So, if it was just the pizza, I would have given this place 3 stars. But since the salad was so freakin' good... I'll give it 4. Oh and the soda was freakin' big too... I guess that's a plus. Oh and the company was great. :) Overall, I am not impressed with THIS Chicago style deep dish pizza... Who wants to recommend another one that might beat Zachary's? ;) Coz it's still the best thing ever!
Really nostalgic pizzaria with an authentic Chicagoean allure... And AWESOME deep dish! I didn't know what quite to expect coming into this local joint, but the rumors, reviews, and legend were all true. I had the house fav, "Lou" and to much fanfare, it did not disappoint. I am no expert on deep dish pizza, but the Lou was probably the best I've ever had. Only complaint I have is the weak beer selection.... But the food and culture more than made up for it's beer-related short-comings.
I make no bones about it, Lou's is my favorite pizza in the world. But it pains me that this location could deliver soggy pizza. Come on Lou! You should know better.
Gather round folks, as I have a story to tell. I have solved this problem, and care to share my secret with the masses.... order your pizza well-done and uncut. There it is folks, you'll never get a soggy 'za from this location again.
You are welcome and enjoy .
I love Lou Malnati's pizza. It's got it all - the crust, the sauce, the toppings, a relaxed but still nice atmosphere. It's slow (all good deep dish pizza is) so order appetizers. I'll be back again and again.
Everything here was great, even though I didnt partake of the pizza (I was pizza'd out but I really wanted to try it!) the italian beef was excellent and very cheesy! Curly fries were great and I'm coming here again the next time I come to Chicago!
The only thing that was a bit "off" was our waitress was vegetarian, so asking her if the italian beef was good was rather pointless.
This pizza is like a birthday cake with catchup on it.
Pauly's Slice Special.
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Yelp Special for new…
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Neighborhood: Near North Side
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: Lawndale
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: The Loop
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: Near North Side
Category: Delis
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Not just plain cheese and flaky crust --- I take…
I miss my beautiful condo in the heart of downtown…
No it's not that cardboard game with the cute…
If you work in the loop or if you are there to get…
My favorite restaurants in Chicago where I know…
I visit Chicago on a frequent basis. Why not…
