Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
Pizza restaurant · South Loop ·
Iconic deep-dish pizza with buttery crusts & fresh ingredients
Iconic deep-dish pizza with buttery crusts & fresh ingredients
"There are a few important things to remember when discussing deep-dish pizza, no matter where your allegiance lies. First, deep-dish is not for everyone. Second, deep-dish shouldn’t be compared to thin crust, particularly New York style slices - it’s a unique fork and knife experience. And if you’re looking for classic deep dish, Lou Malnati’s is the move. And if you want Lou Mal’s straight from the pan (you do) go to the restaurant in River North. Keep in mind that when the Wells St. location opened in 1986 River North was a neighborhood full of adult video stores, not bottle service. The point is, Lou Mal’s on Wells is from a different era, and looks like it. And we apppreciate the old school feel of a cozy bar and dining room with sports jerseys hanging on the walls. As far as the pizza goes, Lou’s is classic Chicago-style pizza. Meaning the sauce is on top with the cheese and toppings underneath. The crust is buttery and flaky, there’s a ton of cheese, and the whole thing is pretty much a gooey and delicious mess. In other words, after a trip here you might want to make sure your schedule is light the rest of the day. Food Rundown Chicken Wings Throwing a party? Get some chicken wings involved. It’s more so a buffer to keep you from eating entirely too much pizza. Choice of “BuffaLou” or “Bar-B-Lou” are both good. Malnati Salad Salad always pairs well with pizza, and the Malnati salad is the way to go. Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, salami, gorgonzola, romano cheese, and a sweet vinaigrette dressing. The dressing is rather sweet. Deep-Dish Pizza It’s deep. It’s filling. It’s delicious. Go with whatever toppings you like, but we generally like to get sausage or pepperoni. Thin Crust Pizza The thin crust here is actually great, and if you’re not feeling the deep dish but want pizza, then by all means get involved. If you’re ordering a few pizzas for a group of people, it’s always a good idea to get a mix of both thin crust and deep-dish. The Lou A Lou Mal’s favorite with spinach, mushrooms, and sliced roma tomatoes covered in mozzarella, romano, and cheddar cheese. No substitutions allowed with this one, so you either want it as is or you don’t." - Sam Faye
"As an official partner for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, I can find Lou Malnati’s deep-dish slices of cheese, sausage, and pepperoni at the event’s main beer tent and food pavilion in Grant Park; they’ll also run a Lou Malnati’s Fan Zone tent stocked with swag, stickers, and temporary tattoos and offer a chance to win free pizza for a year (redeemable either at Lou’s restaurants or shipped nationwide)." - Naomi Waxman
"In case wandering around in the summer heat wasn’t enough to put you to sleep, there are a couple of Lou Malnati’s near different parts of the Lakefront Trail. For the purposes of this guide, we’re going to alert you to the one near Grant Park, because there are plenty of hotels close by in case you need to take a nap after polishing off a 16” pizza." - adrian kane
"A deep-dish icon known for fresh tomato sauce, a rich, from-scratch crust, and perfectly baked cheese; its decades-old recipe, an exclusive seasoned sausage blend, handpicked vine-ripened tomatoes, and mozzarella from the same small Wisconsin dairy used since opening have fueled expansion to more than 50 Chicagoland locations since the first store opened in 1971." - Nicole Schnitzler
"I watched Roger Federer—perhaps the best tennis player ever—chow down on Chicago deep-dish pizza at Lou Malnati’s in the South Loop earlier this week with John McEnroe, Rod Laver, and Nick Kyrgios; they appeared to love it, Federer and Kyrgios even took pies to go, and a video shows them eating with approval while McEnroe quips to Laver that “you can’t cut pizza...that’s against the rules.” The quartet is in town for the Laver Cup at the United Center." - Daniel Gerzina
