Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

Made a beeline here after landing at O'Hare to grab dinner an hour before closing. I have heard so much about the legendary Lou Malnatti's and knew this had to be my first meal in the windy city. The place was pretty quiet for a Sunday night on St. Patrick's Day.

I ordered the Caesar salad with chicken and a personal-sized Malnatti Chicago Classic. The tomatoes in the salad were a non-traditional add but did lighten the salad a bit. Halfway through the salad was missing croutons and the wait staff were kind enough to bring me a small bowl of more than I needed.

The deep-dish was good but a bit over-hyped to be honest. The pizza didn't have a crazy cheese pull but the ingredients tasted fresh and I enjoyed the butter crust. There was a bit too much cheese for me personally. The personal pizza was the perfect size for one.

I got the Lou's gluten free deep dish and it was fun but a bit too thick. Although just appreciate that they have GF, the crust was not very flavorful and was just TOO much. About 1/4" of bottom crust The toppings were ok but overall the pizza wasn't very flavorful and just a bit bland. My husband got the regular and said the same thing bud his crust tasted better. Don't think we will come back again for the deep dish, maybe try the gluten feee thin crust if you want more flavor and less dough.

This downtown location was booming on a Saturday night in the summer, but that did not stop them from providing some fairly quick service on a pizza for us. I actually did the take-out, and was glad we did since it was so crowded and our hotel was just across the river.

The whole family has a mixed reaction to deeper dish Chicago style pizza, and Lou Malnati's seems to be the favorite with my daughter and wife since it comes across as not as thick as competitors in the area, which is fine. We always end up stopping here and at one of the competitors when the whole family comes to town. Solid pizza, good service.

First timer as a tourist in Chicagoland. Had to have a
Deep dish pizza. We already had Pizzeria UNO in DC, so decided to give Lou's a try. So. Much, Cheese! The pulls were insane. The crust wasn't my fave, but the red sauce was bold, flavorful, and rich. Super crowded. But wait was manageable. Give it a try!

When in Chicago, one must have deep dish pizza. While local chain, for good reason, we decided to come to Lou Malnati's Pizzeria. Many in our party had gone here before and knew it was delicious. I always trust a personal recommendation.

As a table of four, to start we got a Malnati salad (Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, Volpi salami bits and gorgonzola cheese with our Sweet Vinaigrette and romano cheese) to share. It's was big, well dressed, and the vegetables nice and fresh.

We also ordered an appetizer of the Stuffed Spinach Bread (housemade crusty loaf stuffed with a blend of cheeses, fresh spinach, garlic, onion and tomato). It was served with side of marinara. While good and hot and very tasty, in hindsight, I don't know why we thought we needed more carbs knowing a big, deep dish pizza was coming soon after.

The Deep Dish Veggie Pizza (Mozzarella cheese, topped with a mixture of mushroom, onion & green pepper and vine-ripened tomato sauce) was yum. The large comes with eight big and thick slices. Their pizza is handmade from scratch. You could tell. Flaky crust, buttery, great cheese pull, sweet and tangy sauce, and plentiful toppings. We each had one slice and were just utterly stuffed. Each piece could (or should) be a meal. But you wanna have room for more. This pizza hit the absolute spot. We took the rest home and committed to eating cold for breakfast the next day. Still delicious!

Decided to check this place out as soon as I landed in Chicago after few hours of flight- I was carsick but could not resist eating one upon arrival as that's the proper way to start Chicago trip. Personally prefer NY style pizza but regardless, that was a good deep dish pizza in my opinion. Def would come back when I am back next time!

The pizza was soooo good!! We got a small cheese deep dish pizza for the 4 of us (which was 4 slices) and the slice was a perfect amount. The crust was super crunchy and good. It didn't taste very cornmeal-ey. The pizza wasn't overly cheesy and the tomatoes on top were so sweet and yummy. I liked how there were chunks of the tomatoes on top. Would come back here again and again, so much better than giordanos (especially the crust and tomatoes)! Did not try the buttercrust. Sooo much better than giordanos in my opinion!

Delicious deep dish options and comparing to other brands the pizzas were definitely so much better!

We had the pasta and salad as well and I recommend the salads with pizza which were great too!
Spacious location plenty room and good food!

Our first deep dish pizza experience was a winner. Our food tour took us here. It was packed on a Friday afternoon by 11:45am! It must be very popular. It's in a basement so has this cool feel. Definitely a good experience and great pizza.

Nearly two weeks ago I sent a message to Lou Malnati's through their website regarding a dining experience at their North Michigan Avenue restaurant. No response. In short, my partner and I were mistreated by the staff at the restaurant. The wait staff and servers were out and out hostile toward us. Did not want to wait on us; the service we got was subpar (e.g., dropped our pizza on the table with no plates and walked away). We had to go to the kitchen to get dishes and silverware. We observed that the service to other diners - straight couples and families - was appropriate. They singled us out and it was an awful experience.

If you do not want LBGTQ diners, put a sign on the door that we are not welcome, so we do not waste time or money at your establishment.