Chicago's relationship with pizza is unlike any other American city's. This is the birthplace of deep dish, a dish so structurally different from a conventional pizza that longtime residents still argue over whether it should even carry the name. But limiting a Chicago pizza trip to deep dish alone means missing the stuffed pizza that rivals it in height, the tavern-style thin crust cut into squares that many locals actually prefer, and a genuinely serious Neapolitan scene that has nothing to do with any of it.
The rivalry runs deep, literally through family bloodlines. Lou Malnati opened his first restaurant in Lincolnwood in 1971 after learning the craft from his father Rudy at the original Pizzeria Uno, and in 2025 Yelp named Lou Malnati's the top pizza chain in America among restaurants with 60 or more locations. A few miles away, Gino's East has operated since 1966, when three Chicago cab drivers bought a building near the Magnificent Mile and hired a cook named Alice Mae Redmond, whose secret dough recipe still defines the restaurant's crust nearly six decades later.
This guide ranks the 10 best pizzerias in Chicago, spanning deep dish royalty, the city's most caramelized pan pizza, and the Neapolitan and thin-crust styles that round out the picture. Each entry includes an honest verdict and real prices, so you know exactly what to order before you sit down.
Chicago Pizzerias at a Glance
| Pizzeria | Area | Style | Signature Pizza | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lou Malnati's Pizzeria | Multiple locations | Deep Dish, Buttercrust | Cheese Deep Dish, Sausage | $20–40 |
| Pequod's Pizza | Lincoln Park | Pan Pizza, Caramelized Crust | Sausage Pan Pizza | $$ |
| Giordano's | Multiple locations | Stuffed Pizza | Meat Lovers Stuffed | $$ |
| Gino's East | Near Magnificent Mile | Deep Dish since 1966 | Classic Deep Dish, Supreme | $$ |
| Milly's Pizza In The Pan | Andersonville | Modern Pan Pizza | Premium seasonal pies | $$ |
| Spacca Napoli Pizzeria | Ravenswood | Authentic Neapolitan | Margherita, Diavola | $$ |
| Robert's Pizza and Dough Company | Chicago River | Gourmet thin crust | Burrata, Tartufo | $$ |
| Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company | Lincoln Park | Pizza Pot Pie | Pizza Pot Pie | $$ |
| Piece Pizzeria and Brewery | Wicker Park | New Haven-style thin crust | House-brewed beer pairing | $$ |
| Pizzeria Portofino | Chicago River | Elegant riverside dining | Margherita, Pizza al Tartufo | $$$ |
The 10 Best Pizzerias in Chicago: Full Reviews
1. Lou Malnati's Pizzeria — America's Top Pizza Chain
Location: Multiple locations across Chicagoland | Price: $20–40 per person | Best For: The definitive Chicago deep dish experience, both locals and first-time visitors
Lou Malnati opened his first restaurant in Lincolnwood in 1971 after learning the deep dish craft working alongside his father Rudy at the original Pizzeria Uno, and the family-run chain has since grown into what Yelp named America's top pizza chain in 2025, among restaurants with 60 or more locations. The trademarked Buttercrust, a golden, flaky crust that holds up under any topping, remains the restaurant's defining innovation.
The Cheese Deep Dish, built on Wisconsin mozzarella and vine-ripened California tomatoes, and the Sausage Deep Dish, topped with a proprietary pork sausage blend spread in a single layer rather than crumbled, define a menu that has changed remarkably little since Lou and his wife Jean first opened the doors. After Lou's death in 1978, his sons Marc and Rick took over the business, and the family still runs every location directly rather than franchising, a rarity for a chain of its size.
The honest verdict: The best deep dish pizza in Chicago, and by national recognition America's top pizza chain — for guests who want the single most authoritative Chicago deep dish experience, Lou Malnati's is the non-negotiable first recommendation.
2. Pequod's Pizza — The Caramelized Crust Cult Favorite
Location: Lincoln Park | Price: $$ | Best For: Guests who want the city's most distinctive pan pizza crust
Pequod's has built a devoted local following around a single defining feature: a ring of caramelized, deeply browned cheese baked directly against the pan's edge, creating a crust texture unlike anything else in the city's deep dish landscape. Many longtime Chicago residents rank it above the more famous chains specifically for this reason.
The Sausage Pan Pizza, with its signature caramelized rim, and the Pepperoni version define a menu built around getting one specific detail exactly right rather than offering an extensive range of options. What began as a hidden gem tucked into the northwest suburbs has since become one of the most consistently cited culinary staples among both longtime Chicago residents and visiting pizza enthusiasts.
The honest verdict: The best caramelized-crust pan pizza in Chicago — for guests who want the single most talked-about pizza detail in the city, Pequod's is the outstanding choice.
3. Giordano's — Chicago's Most Famous Stuffed Pizza
Location: Multiple locations | Price: $$ | Best For: Guests who want the tallest, most cheese-forward Chicago pizza style
Giordano's remains the city's most recognized name in stuffed pizza, a style built with a double layer of dough sandwiching a thick filling of cheese and toppings before being topped with a final layer of chunky tomato sauce, creating a pie noticeably taller and more layered than standard deep dish.
The Meat Lovers Stuffed and Spinach Stuffed demonstrate the style at its most complete, rewarding guests who come specifically to experience Chicago pizza at its most maximalist. Expect a genuinely long bake time and a knife-and-fork eating experience that bears little resemblance to a foldable New York slice.
The honest verdict: The best stuffed pizza in Chicago — for guests who want the tallest, richest version of Chicago-style pizza, Giordano's is the outstanding choice.
4. Gino's East — A Chicago Institution Since 1966
Location: Near the Magnificent Mile | Price: $$ | Best For: Guests who want genuine Chicago pizza history
Gino's East opened in 1966, founded by three Chicago cab drivers, Sam Levine, Fred Bartoli, and George Loverde, who bought a building near the Magnificent Mile without initially knowing what to put in it. They hired cook Alice Mae Redmond, whose secret dough recipe and dough conditioner, refined over nearly three decades at the restaurant, still define the crust today. The flagship location's walls, covered in customer signatures dating back to the 1970s, remain one of the most distinctive dining rooms in the city.
The Classic Deep Dish and Supreme showcase a corn oil-enriched crust with a texture genuinely distinct from its competitors, giving Gino's a flavor profile longtime fans describe as more biscuit-like than any other deep dish in the city. The restaurant even operates its own in-house brewery, Gino's Brewing Co., adding a beer program that has won multiple medals at national competitions alongside the pizza itself.
The honest verdict: The most historic deep dish pizzeria in Chicago — for guests who want nearly 60 years of genuine Chicago pizza history alongside a distinctively textured crust, Gino's East is the outstanding choice.
5. Milly's Pizza In The Pan — The New Generation of Pan Pizza
Location: Andersonville | Price: $$ | Best For: Guests who want a lighter, more contemporary take on Chicago pan pizza
Milly's has emerged as one of the most celebrated newer names in Chicago's pizza scene, reworking the traditional pan pizza format with a noticeably lighter dough and premium, seasonally rotating ingredients that distinguish it sharply from the city's older, heavier deep dish institutions.
The restaurant's willingness to treat pan pizza as a genuine culinary category worth innovating within, rather than a fixed tradition, has made it a favorite among younger Chicago diners and critics alike. Its Andersonville location, away from the more tourist-heavy Loop and Near North Side, gives it a genuinely neighborhood feel despite its growing national reputation.
The honest verdict: The best modern pan pizza in Chicago — for guests who want a lighter, more contemporary interpretation of the city's classic style, Milly's Pizza In The Pan is the outstanding choice.
6. Spacca Napoli Pizzeria — Chicago's Best Neapolitan Pizza
Location: Ravenswood | Price: $$ | Best For: Guests who want genuine Neapolitan pizza with no connection to deep dish at all
Spacca Napoli offers the clearest departure from Chicago's deep dish identity on this list, built around a long-fermented dough and a certified wood-fired oven that produce a genuinely authentic Neapolitan pizza, a style with roots entirely separate from the city's more famous culinary export.
The Margherita and Diavola, alongside Prosciutto e Rucola, showcase a kitchen committed to traditional Neapolitan technique rather than a Chicago-inflected interpretation of it. Its Ravenswood location, tucked into a quiet residential stretch, gives it a genuine neighborhood character that contrasts sharply with the tourist-facing energy of the city's most famous deep dish addresses.
The honest verdict: The best Neapolitan pizza in Chicago — for guests who want authentic wood-fired Neapolitan pizza untouched by deep dish influence, Spacca Napoli is the outstanding choice.
7. Robert's Pizza and Dough Company — Gourmet Thin Crust by the River
Location: Along the Chicago River | Price: $$ | Best For: Guests who want gourmet thin-crust pizza with a river view
Robert's Pizza and Dough Company has built its reputation on elevated thin-crust pizza, favoring premium ingredients like burrata and truffle over the deep dish format entirely, in a dining room with genuinely striking views of the Chicago River.
The Burrata and Tartufo pizzas define a menu built for guests who want their pizza treated as a serious culinary category alongside a proper wine list, rather than the more casual format found at the city's deep dish institutions. The riverside patio seating, available in warmer months, adds a genuine sense of occasion rarely found at Chicago's more traditional pizza destinations.
The honest verdict: The best gourmet thin-crust pizza in Chicago — for guests who want elevated ingredients and a genuine river view, Robert's Pizza and Dough Company is the outstanding choice.
8. Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company — The Original Pizza Pot Pie
Location: Lincoln Park | Price: $$ | Best For: Guests who want a genuinely different pizza experience
This Lincoln Park institution built its reputation on a single, genuinely original dish: the Pizza Pot Pie, a pizza served upside-down in a bowl, baked so the crust forms a dome over the filling that guests flip onto their plate at the table.
The format is unlike anything else on this list, and the restaurant's decades of consistency have made it a genuine Chicago pizza landmark independent of the deep dish and stuffed traditions that dominate most of the city's rankings. Guests unfamiliar with the format should come prepared for a genuinely theatrical presentation, since the tableside flip is as much a part of the experience as the taste itself.
The honest verdict: The most original pizza experience in Chicago — for guests who want something genuinely different from every other style on this list, Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company is the outstanding choice.
9. Piece Pizzeria and Brewery — New Haven Style Meets House-Brewed Beer
Location: Wicker Park | Price: $$ | Best For: Guests who want thin-crust pizza paired with house-brewed beer
Piece has carved out a distinct identity in Wicker Park by favoring New Haven-style thin crust, a style built on a coal-fired oven tradition entirely separate from Chicago's own pizza history, paired with an in-house brewery that has become as much a draw as the pizza itself.
The combination of a genuinely different pizza style and a lively brewpub atmosphere makes Piece one of the more socially oriented pizza destinations on this list, well suited to a casual group night out. The brewery's rotating seasonal beers give regulars a reason to return even when the pizza menu itself stays largely consistent.
The honest verdict: The best New Haven-style pizza and brewery combination in Chicago — for guests who want thin-crust pizza alongside house-brewed beer, Piece Pizzeria and Brewery is the outstanding choice.
10. Pizzeria Portofino — Elegant Riverside Dining
Location: Along the Chicago River | Price: $$$ | Best For: Romantic dinners, a genuinely upscale pizza setting
Pizzeria Portofino brings a level of elegance rarely associated with Chicago pizza, favoring a refined riverside dining room, a genuine cocktail program, and a menu that treats pizza as one part of a complete Italian dinner rather than the entire meal.
The Margherita and Pizza al Tartufo, alongside a strong burrata starter, make it the natural choice for guests who want a proper date-night dinner built around pizza rather than a casual, come-as-you-are deep dish stop. The full Italian menu beyond pizza itself also makes it a reasonable choice for guests dining with someone who isn't in the mood for pizza specifically.
The honest verdict: The most romantic pizza restaurant in Chicago — for guests who want an elegant riverside dinner built around genuinely good pizza, Pizzeria Portofino is the outstanding choice.
How to Choose the Right Pizza in Chicago
Choose by Style
- Classic deep dish: Lou Malnati's — America's top-rated pizza chain, built on the trademarked Buttercrust.
- Caramelized pan pizza: Pequod's — the city's most distinctive crust detail.
- Stuffed pizza: Giordano's — the tallest, most maximalist Chicago style.
- Authentic Neapolitan: Spacca Napoli — long-fermented dough, certified wood-fired oven.
- Something completely different: Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company — the original Pizza Pot Pie.
Best Pizza Neighborhoods
- Lincoln Park: Pequod's and Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company — two completely different Chicago pizza traditions minutes apart.
- Near the Magnificent Mile: Gino's East — the city's most historic deep dish flagship.
- Wicker Park: Piece Pizzeria and Brewery — thin crust and house-brewed beer.
- Along the Chicago River: Robert's Pizza and Dough Company and Pizzeria Portofino — gourmet pizza with a view.
Essential Chicago Pizza Styles to Know
- Deep dish: A thick, pan-baked pizza with cheese layered beneath the toppings and sauce on top, pioneered at Pizzeria Uno in the 1940s and perfected by Lou Malnati's and Gino's East.
- Stuffed pizza: An even taller variation with a double layer of dough sandwiching the filling, best represented at Giordano's.
- Tavern-style / thin crust: A cracker-thin, cut-into-squares style many Chicago residents actually eat more often than deep dish.
- Pan pizza: A lighter, crispier relative of deep dish, defined by Pequod's caramelized crust and reimagined by Milly's Pizza In The Pan.
- Neapolitan: The traditional Italian style, unrelated to Chicago's deep dish heritage, best represented by Spacca Napoli.
Chicago Pizza Price Guide
- Traditional pizzeria: $15–30 per person
- Premium deep dish: $25–45 per person
- Gourmet pizza: $30–60 per person
Insider Tips for Pizza in Chicago
- Order deep dish the moment you sit down. Deep dish pizza typically takes 30 to 45 minutes to bake properly, and ordering immediately upon arrival avoids a long wait once you're actually hungry.
- Try tavern-style thin crust alongside deep dish if you have time. Many Chicago residents actually prefer the cracker-thin, square-cut tavern style for everyday eating, and skipping it means missing what locals eat most often.
- Book ahead on weekends, especially at Pequod's, Lou Malnati's, and Milly's. All three see significant weekend demand, and walk-in waits can stretch well beyond an hour during peak dinner hours.
- Visit the original Gino's East on Superior Street specifically for the wall-signing tradition. Newer Gino's East locations and franchises don't allow it, making the flagship the only place to add your own signature to nearly six decades of history.
- Pair Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company with a genuinely open mind. The Pizza Pot Pie format looks nothing like a conventional pizza, and guests expecting deep dish should adjust expectations before ordering.
- Choose Pizzeria Portofino for a date night rather than a casual pizza craving. Its elegant, riverside setting and full Italian menu make it a better fit for a proper dinner than a quick deep dish stop.
Frequently Asked Questions: Best Pizza in Chicago
What is the best pizza in Chicago?
Lou Malnati's is widely considered the best deep dish pizza in Chicago, named America's top pizza chain by Yelp in 2025 among restaurants with 60 or more locations. Gino's East is the strongest alternative for guests who want nearly 60 years of genuine Chicago pizza history.
What is the difference between deep dish and stuffed pizza in Chicago?
Deep dish, pioneered at Pizzeria Uno and perfected by Lou Malnati's and Gino's East, features a single layer of dough with cheese beneath the toppings and sauce on top. Stuffed pizza, Giordano's specialty, uses two layers of dough sandwiching the filling, creating an even taller, more layered pie.
Where can I find authentic Neapolitan pizza in Chicago?
Spacca Napoli in Ravenswood is the definitive choice, built around a long-fermented dough and a certified wood-fired oven with no connection to Chicago's deep dish tradition.
What is the most unique pizza experience in Chicago?
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company's Pizza Pot Pie, served upside-down in a bowl and flipped onto the plate at the table, offers the most genuinely original pizza format in the city.
How long does deep dish pizza take to prepare in Chicago?
Deep dish pizza typically takes 30 to 45 minutes to bake, so ordering immediately upon being seated is recommended at Lou Malnati's, Gino's East, and similar restaurants.
What is the oldest deep dish pizzeria in Chicago?
Gino's East, opened in 1966 by three Chicago cab drivers, is the second-oldest deep dish pizzeria still operating in the city, after the original Pizzeria Uno.
What is the best pizza in Chicago for a large group?
Giordano's stuffed pizza and Piece Pizzeria and Brewery's lively brewpub setting both work well for larger groups, though for a genuinely social evening with beer pairings, Piece is the stronger choice given its house-brewed options and casual, group-friendly atmosphere.
Should I order deep dish or thin crust on a first visit to Chicago?
Deep dish is the essential first-visit order, since it's the style most closely associated with the city, but pairing it with a tavern-style thin crust pizza at a second meal gives a more complete picture of how Chicago residents actually eat day to day, since thin crust remains the more common everyday choice.
Final Verdict: The Best Pizza in Chicago
Chicago's pizza identity is genuinely more layered than its deep dish reputation suggests, spanning Lou Malnati's nationally recognized Buttercrust, Gino's East's nearly 60 years of history, and a genuine Neapolitan scene that owes nothing to any of it. For the single most authoritative deep dish experience, Lou Malnati's is the definitive choice. For genuine Chicago pizza history, Gino's East stands alone. And for something no other American city can replicate, Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company's Pizza Pot Pie remains the most original pizza experience in the city.
A final practical note worth building into any Chicago pizza itinerary: deep dish is genuinely filling, and most visitors find one full pizza easily satisfies two to three people rather than a single diner. Pacing a multi-stop pizza crawl across a single trip, rather than attempting several full deep dish meals in one day, tends to produce a far more enjoyable experience than an ambitious but ultimately uncomfortable pizza marathon.
Explore More: Continue exploring Chicago with our guides to the Best Restaurants in Chicago, the Best Hotels in Chicago, and the Best Steakhouses in Chicago.
