Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

Best pizza in Chicago, in my personal opinion. Made when you order, absolutely fills you up and makes you wish you could eat here every single day. Our waitress, Linda, was the best! She was so kind and informative and genuinely just the coolest person on the planet. We loved her. Would come back just to hang at one of her tables again, even if the food wasn’t phenomenal.

Great food! The deep dish pizza is delicious, one of the best in Chicago. And we got a meatball appetizer, and it was phenomenal! Service was good as well, and great place overall.

Absolutely! Here's a rewritten version that keeps the excitement while making it sound more objective and polished—almost like a captivating travel or food blog recommendation: --- **While visiting Chicago, I made it a mission to try deep-dish pizza for the very first time—and the experience did not disappoint. From the moment I walked in, I was welcomed with warmth and enthusiasm. The host greeted me with a smile, and when I mentioned it was my first deep-dish experience, he responded confidently, “You’ve come to the right place—we’ve got the best pizza in town.”** **I grabbed a seat at the bar to soak in the atmosphere, and my bartender, Michael, was outstanding—friendly, attentive, and full of great suggestions. When the pizza arrived, it exceeded every expectation: rich, flavorful, and perfectly crafted. I paired it with a drink and a side of their three-cheese bread, which was nothing short of *delicioso.*** **If you're in Chicago and craving the real deal, this spot is a must. Great service, unforgettable food, and a true taste of the Windy City's deep dish pizza**

Stopped in for some Chicago-style pan pizza. Pizza was good. Toppings were great but thought the crust was a lacking in flavor. Appetizers were average and beer was a little pricey. Overall experience was good and worth stopping in.

This location is the absolute best for pizza, wings and service!!! The wings are crispy, pizza is always hot. The service here is better than some 5 star restaurants we have visited! Amazing food, incredible service .

Although pizza is the most distinctive food here, their pasta and children's meal are also very popular dishes for children! And the price of the children's meal is very reasonable! The spaghetti bolognese and mini burgers in the children's meal are delicious! Coupled with great service and unique decoration style, this is worthy of being one of the classic restaurants in Chicago!

Lou Malnati's never disappoints. I've ordered their deep dish pizza for takeout multiple times, and every single experience has been fantastic. The pizza is always hot, fresh, and absolutely delicious—crispy, buttery crust with the perfect balance of cheese, sauce, and toppings. Their service is consistently excellent: friendly staff, smooth pickup process, and orders always ready on time. It’s clear they care about quality and customer satisfaction. I highly recommend Lou Malnati's to anyone craving authentic Chicago-style deep dish. It's become my go-to, and I’ve never had a bad experience.

Amazing food! If you're thinking about it, just go. We made reservations, but they also have a carry out option, so I'm not sure if reservations are required or not.

Lou's is always a classic and nostalgic pizza place for me. I love their butter crust, thin or pan. Maybe some more tang in the sauce is good, but a nice pizza! This visit found the place busy! Most tables full, and the staff completely on top of things. Drinks filled, servers asking how we're doing, and a whole team (at least 4 different people) making sure we had what we wanted and were happy with our meal! The pricing is reasonable, in line with family owned pizzerias. They have a rewards program as well, which means I'll get a perk in my birthday month. Check out their locations! Some are pick-up only, so check on that before driving in. This location is full serve sit down, and they do a great job!

Lunch on Tuesday was good. We called about 25 minutes ahead so that pizza was ready and sounds like this tactic is commonplace. Chicago classic pizza with sausage had great chunky tomato sauce and house sausage. Crust is good but seems like something you could make at home. Buffalo wings were big, fried, dipped in buffalo sauce and tasty. Pretty classic style wing. Ranch was prob house made and I actually prefer the store bought stuff. Spinach bread was like a biscuit filled with cheese, spinach and seasoning. It's good but really messy. Service was quick and friendly. Seems very old fashioned and community oriented. Plenty of parking.

Excellent food Excellent service Excellent price I even went to the front as I was leaving and asked for the manager and said I had a complaint. Gentleman identified himself as the boss and I said. I have a complaint , he asked what it was and I replied , I came into the restaurant and my pants fit nicely Now I'm leaving and they're to tight Needless to say we had a good laugh I had Malnatis Salad which was amazing and a deep dish mushroom , onions, spinach, sausage Great meal Great service Great price Great atmosphere We shall return This time I'll be wearing my expando pants :)

Outstanding 5 star deep dish chicago experience! Visited Chicago on business and asked friends where to try for an authentic deep-dish pizza experience. They suggested Lou Malnati's and they were correct! My son and I loved everything about it...service was outstanding, their salad was huge and delicious, loved their wings with spicy-honey, and we devoured their meat deep dish pizza. The pizza was outstanding! A couple of slices and and some wings and salad and a cold beer was just what we needed! Will be back...all around 5-star!

I've lived in Chicago from the 1970's thru late 1999. I've tried many pizza establishments throughout my travels to other states as well. Lou Malnati's has always been one of my favorite stops. We had two personal size deep dish pizzas. They were full of flavors from the sauces, sausages, cheese and especially the buttery crust. Even though the personal size was small it still took 30 minutes to cook. You cannot rush perfection and family recipes. Highly recommend Lou Malnati's even the frozen pizza at your grocery store is delicious. Check out their menus on the Italian beef, another crowd favorite. Excellent service, clean and friendly staff.

Ordered a Large Pepperoni, Onion and Jalapeno pepper pizza. It was so delicious. Probably one of the best pizzas I have ever had. Little pricy but didn't matter because how good it was. Plenty of ingredients and that cheese.....so fresh and gooey. Will have to get another one soon.

Love this place and it's our family's fave. I love the Lou's salad and the Bbq salad too. We had a get-together with some former coworkers and they have area for groups. Service was great. They assigned someone to serve the pizza. Whether thick or think crust everything is tasteful and full of meat and cheese and not just dough. My daughter loves their spaghetti and meatballs too.

It has been a long time since we dined in at Lou Malnati's and the deep dish is so much better than their take out. We noticed the restaurant appeared so much brighter, and the waitress shared they usually don't have all the lights on, but it looked so much better than I remembered, but still had the old charm. We had the Malnati salad, one of my favorites. The individual size is enough to feed 2-3 people. The sweet vinaigrette dressing was so good. For pizza, we had the Chicago Classic. Their crust is the best. Just the right amount of cheese and sausage. Service was excellent, our waitress was friendly and super attentive. We dug into the food before I could take pictures.

Visiting Chicago on business, my co-workers and I wanted some deep dish pizza. Luckily for us, Lou Malnati's in Elk Grove was nearby! We got in late on a Tuesday night, but this restaurant was open until 11pm so it wasn't a problem. Since there were 3 of us, we ordered a medium, half pepperoni and half just cheese, with a butter crust. The pizza was outstanding! A couple of slices and a cold beer was just what we were looking for. The ambience here is very cool. Just an old time Chicago classic! Be prepared if you're coming here, the wait is about 30 minutes for a pie. It's well worth it though!

While out here we knew we wanted to try Chicago style pizza. We heard good things about Lou. We ordered the traditional wings and the Malnati classic with chicken sausage. We were seated quickly when we got there. Our pizza took a while to come but our waiter did warn us. The utensils were very dirty with food still on them. We asked for plastic instead. The wings were really good. The pizza on the other hand was alittle disappointing. The problem was the chicken sausage. It had a very gamey taste. Which made the whole pizza not good. We suggested to the waited the sausage should have cooked separately and not raw meat then layered with cheese and sauce. Also it was pretty pricey our total was $75.00 for the pizza and wings. I will try a different place and probably just cheese. But I do recommend trying this place out. My experience shouldn't deter you from trying.

We were eating somewhere close to the airport before our flight and realized we still wanted some Chicago style pizza. Luckily, there was one close to the airport so we put our order in an hour before our desired pickup time. We didn't get to eat it until after we got home. Even when it's cold, the pizza was still amazing. The following day, we heated it up in the air fryer and it was even better! The sausage was amazing! The ratio of sauce, cheese, and sausage is perfect! The crust was just the right thickness. We'd love to eat it fresh the next time we visit Chicago and we'll def get a bigger pizza next time!

Visiting Lou Malnati's Pizzeria felt like a nostalgic journey back in time, reminiscent of the good old days when I used to enjoy hometown classics like Godfather's pizza. The delightful twist here, of course, was the deep-dish pizza, which was the star of the show. Lou Malnati's managed to capture that comforting, familiar essence of a hometown pizzeria, but with a unique spin. While the deep-dish pizza stole the spotlight, I couldn't help but notice that the service was efficient but somewhat lacking in warmth. It felt a bit cold and impersonal, which contrasted with the cozy ambiance. However, the quick service did ensure that I didn't have to wait too long for that delicious deep-dish pizza. A pleasant surprise was the ease of parking, which can be a rarity in some city eateries. This convenience made my visit all the more enjoyable. In the end, Lou Malnati's Pizzeria offered a taste of the past with their deep-dish delight, even if the service was a bit detached. It's the kind of place that reminds you of the good old days, but with a unique twist that leaves a lasting impression.

Visiting from Cleveland. This place was so good it ruined other wing and pizza places for me. The wings were so good. Fried to the exact perfect point. Garlic Parmesan sauce just the right amount. Chicken was perfectly juicy. It was so good there is only one word to describe it. Perfect. The celery that came with it. Perfect. Not to stringy, crisp and fresh. Great snap. The Burrata Crostini. Perfect plop of mozzarella with fresh pesto and super fresh grape tomatoes. Balsamic drizzle. The garlic toast pieces were soft and crunchy. All of it combined for a perfect symphony of flavor in your mouth. And then, Then, the Deep Dish Pizza Pie arrived. Piping hot, with so much sausage on top of the tastiest freshest cheese topped off with fresh vine ripened tomato sauce. All on a buttery crust. It was hearty. It was delicious. It was perfect. Everything else is just less after this. Yes, it was all that good!

The food was amazing! THE freshest mozzarella sticks I've had in the LONGEST!!! I got the thin crust pizza which was good, although I didn't enjoy the way it was cut, but small details. I will definitely try the Chicago style deep dish pizza next time but will definitely get the mozz sticks again! Every time. I also tried the chocolate mousse cake and it was good, however would not get again. The order was up faster than the time suggested on the app. The inside was nice and quite yet have a very family oriented vibe! Large tables to sit large parties for sure!

Yet another Lou's. We stopped by @ the Lou's in Elk Grove on the way to back to Chicago. While there a lot of good pizza places in Chicago I have found no matter which Lou's I eat at the food is always & I mean always perfect. Lou's has their pizza to a science so no matter which one you go to you know that you will get an excellent pizza. I even have the Lou Malnati's AP on my phone. So for youse guys that don't know Lou's has an AP and whenever you buy anything at Lou's you score points. Tonight I redeemed my points & got a free medium deep dish pizza w/butter crust, sausage, mushrooms, black olives & garlic. A great pizza was made even better by scoring it for free. The service was very good. In case you can't tell I'm a huge fan & believer in Lou Malnati's

Love,love, love Lou's and get great pizza every time I go. Took my son for his first Lou's pizza and he is now hooked.

Pizza is all time - can't be beat. Very traditional Chicago deep dish pizza. Service was a bit of a miss -- it took WAY too long for the pizza to show up (over one hour). Everything that needs to be said has already been said about Lou Malnati's pizza house as it's the standard here in Chicago. The dough is unlike any dough you can get in California -- something about that dough is what makes Chicago deep dish pizza so iconic! If I lived in Chicago, I'd be here regularly. Fun place and iconic stop for lunch/dinner in Chicago. Lots of families at this one and well above average noise level. Still, a must if you're in Chicago and looking for authentic deep dish. Big thumbs up.

I take large groups here regularly and it's about the most consistent restaurant I've ever stepped foot in. I ordered the same thing because typically these are groups out of the southern United States and they've never experienced the true Chicago pizza. I always order their signature pizza, salad, and some Italian beef sandwiches and every time everything taste the same, atmosphere feels the same, and the waiter or waitress provides the same level of service. I think the value is great and I think this restaurant should be where they train the other restaurants on best practices. Whoever this manager is must be amazing, if you don't believe me you should go try this place out yourself. Happy Fooding!!

Loved it! It's been a couple years since we've had The Malnati Chicago Classic Pizza so on our last night in the Chicago, we had to have some. We started out by sharing an individual dinner salad with house dressing. It was nice. We ordered The Malnati Chicago Classic Pizza. This is deep dish with cheese, sausage and tomatoes. We also added mushrooms. So good!

I have wanted to try this place for a while and since I was in Chicago for work I finally got my chance. I ate at the bar on a busy Thursday night. I ordered the small (not the personal size) with sausage. The pizza came to me cold. Well, warm ish. Also, the sausge didn't have any flavor. Maybe if it was hot it would have tasted better. Maybe I caught the bat on a bad night so I will probably try again but my fist visit sucked.

**Let me preface this for all out-of-towners with a disclaimer. It isn't NY pizza, it isn't Boston pizza, it isn't ANY other. Think of Deep Dish as its own thing and put the word pizza out of your brain to truly enjoy this** Like many, I have a long history with Lou's. When we lived in Chicago it was always our favorite. When we moved to Miami in the late 90s and would come back to visit family Lou's was ALWAYS a must. Now we order them frozen... YAS! PLUS - they offer GLUTEN FREE DEEP DISH. Need I say more? So this review is for Lou's pizza and pasta for two days in a row. Let me explain, we were in town from Friday to Monday for the Chicago Marathon. We had a hotel in Rosemont and had been planning a Lou's visit on Sunday AFTER the race. However, on Saturday we figured my hubby wanted a huge plate of pasta and why not Lou's right? So on Saturday, we headed to this location before a quick Woodfield shopping trip. I ordered the GF Deep Dish (always!) and my hubby got Spaghetti. This is literally the first time either of us had anything besides the Deep Dish pizza. He gave me some of the Marinara off the side of his plate to taste and OMG it was delicious! Wow - out of this world! My GF pizza was, as always delish. I love that they have perfected a GF crust for the Deep Dish. And, although I don't need more cheese wished that it had just a little more - it was about the same amount as a regular pie. On Sunday, after my hubby ran the Marathon we came back because it was HIS turn to get a Deep Dish. I had asked what other Gluten Free options they had, and unfortunately no pasta (I REALLY wanted that marinara) but yes a thin-crust GF pizza was available, so I ordered that with a side of Marinara. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the GF thin crust was not a commercial pre-made one, but the same recipe they used for the Deep Dish. I actually liked it better on the thin option. That pizza with the marinara dumped on top? **Chef's Kiss** They were also great about sending a birthday dessert to my Marathon man because it was also his birthday the next day and I wanted to celebrate both. EXCELLENT Service, excellent food.

Pizza was pretty good not like Chicago's but the Schaumburg location was acceptable. The service was good. Nothing out of the way to be great though.

An absolutely amazing experience. The server was extremely kind, walked us through the popular items when he knew we were first timers. Took a fair amount of time to cook the pizzas, but they let you know that ahead of time. Once the food finally did arrive, it was incredible. The 3 of us each got our own deep dish pizzas and they were perfectly sized to keep us well fed. If I ever have an opportunity to visit the area again, this place will certainly be the first on my list for dinner that night!!

Things started out rough. As it took 16 mins after we sat before we got greeted. Once we did get a server he was very apologetic, very nice, and very attentive. The restaurant wasn't busy in a Sunday night. And our food was out within 20 mins after placing the order. Pizza was really good. The sauce was very flavorful.

I have never been disappointed in Lou Malnati's. Ever. Their pizzas are delicious. So hearty and flavorful. Their crust is always so perfectly buttery and crunchy. Never soggy. I took my friend who visited from New York to Lou, and he loved it. I also tried their chicken wings which were meaty and flavorful. The Malnati Chicago Classic is my go-to. I've only been to this location twice. Once for dine-in and once for pick-up. Their interior is spacious with lots of seating. The service was slow, considering there weren't many people on a weekday afternoon. Regardless, their food is always on point. I am definitely going back to satisfy my pizza cravings.

Excellent deep dish. Takes 45 minutes so be prepared. Very good-loaded with toppings. Excellent Chicago Style. I'm a pizza snob! Excellent service as well.

Three stars perhaps because I ordered my own personal pie deep dish - it wasn't that delicious. I know as a NY/NJ person I am biased but I was mentally ready for a rich, delicious tomato sauce with thick pie but was sadly disappointed by what I got. I think if we had got one big pie it would've been better(?) Unsure, but my favorite in Chicago still is Giordano. In terms of location, plentiful parking and friendly staff. The interior is clean and family friendly. The bruschetta was very yummy, served on warm bread. Of course this name world famous for its deep dish so worth a try or two!! Make sure you order your deep dish right upon being seated - it takes a little while to make ofcourse!

The food was delicious and fresh. Our server was attentive and helpful, great customer service. Great ambiance, super clean.

If you love Chicago pizza...deep dish look no further! Always a great meal You can even order ahead so that when you get to the restaurant your pizza will be coming out shortly It does take about 40 minutes for deep dish so call ahead pre-order and when you get there just add whatever else you're eating Been going there for over 30 years

Went elk grove waited 25 minutes waitress come. Had go ask 2xs if waitress would come table. We ordered large cheese deep dish pizza. What we received was no cheese very little smothers half inch thick tomatoes. Didn't taste see any cheese. Lake zurich carry out same. U can't see or taste cheese. Wanted cheese pizza not tomato pizza. Told waitress she said they have put slice on Each piece. Just taste tonati

Went Lou Malnati for Pizza as we always do when in the Chicago area. It is my favorite! We had the Lou salad which was delicious. The pizza with butter crust so very good. We had deep dish 1 sausage and 1 veggie as well as a pepperoni thin crust. All were mouthwatering. The service was unbelievable our waitress Margaret was right on time with everything. Her Bus boy do not know name was so helpful. We were seated right away. A perfect night out

I normally go to the Lou Malnati's in Lincolnwood, which is a consistent 5-star experience - I'm talking about food here, mainly. But my friend and I wanted to try somewhere different and went to the Lou Malnati's in Elk Grove Village on a Friday night. It was busy, but we got a seat at one of the tables by the bar (I had pre-ordered). Bartender/waitress was very busy, running around- she was nice and timely, so no complaints as it was evident that she was working hard. Service, was overall fine. My main complaint is that BOTH our soup AND pizzas were cold/luke-warmish (We ordered a thin crust, extra large Lou and a thin crust, medium spinach.). Maybe it's more understandable if we were doing take-out, but if people are going to take the time to dine-in and the food that is supposed to be piping hot is coldish- it really kind of ruins the whole dine-in experience. I will not be returning to this Lou Malnati's and will stick with my reliable Lou's in Lincolnwood.

My bf and I were planning on trying Pequod's pizza, but after a long day of being in the city we did not want to drive an extra 30 mins just to try a new place. Lou Malnati's happened to be just 5 minutes away from our hotel, so we opted to go there. I am soooo glad we did! I believe we have been to this location once before but it has been at least 5 years or so. It looked busy when we walked in around 8pm last night, but there was no wait. We were seated immediately! It took a little while for our waiter/waitress to come see us and I was honestly becoming a bit worried (we were sat in a poorly lit corner so I wasn't sure if anyone could even see us back there), but they did eventually come greet us. Their name was Matt and they explained to us that they were new and apologized for the wait. Matt was a super sweet person and was honest about what they did and didn't know, which I always appreciate in a person. They also tried to save us some money on our pizza, which was so sweet! 10/10, Matt. We loved you! Thank you for giving us such a lovely experience. As for the food, we ordered a combination platter (we knew we would be ordering deep dish which takes about 30 mins to bake) which consists of fried mushrooms, zucchini, mozzarella sticks, and cheddar cheese cubes. It was served with what I am assuming was house made marinara and ranch- so good! My bf even liked the fried cheese cubes instead of the mozzarella sticks, which is virtually unheard of for him. For our pizza we got sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, extra cheese, and garlic. It was well worth the wait. We could each only eat one piece because it was so filling! We will definitely be back. The service was great and the food was fantastic!

This place was highly recommended so my classmates and I ordered a large deep dish pizza with pepperoni and cheese.. OMG!! I know why it was highly recommended now.. the pizza is absolutely delicious! The sauce has crushed tomatoes and the mozzarella is fresh- absolutely delicious! I will definitely be back to try the other pizzas.

First experience with deep dish pizza in Chicago and we Loved Lou Malnati's Elk Grove Village Location. Ordered the large Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Classic (sausage and pepperoni) without a clue as to how big it was! It was also delicious. Slightly sweet sauce with thick bites of sausage, pepperoni and cheese layered under the sauce. Great service for our large party of eight who all ordered a variety of menu items in addition to the pizza. Wings, salad, pasta and drinks (beer, frozen daiquiri and soft drinks) were all great. It was a nice ambiance in the restaurant with plenty of seating space between tables and just beginning to get busy around 6 p.m. This was a fun evening and Susie took great care of us! We will be back.

The best pizza chicago style in the city. A true gem. You can eat this anytime of the day.

This was our first time trying authentic Chicago pizza and it did not disappoint!! The service was amazing! Not only did she give us recommendations but also made sure we knew that the pizza would take 30 minutes to make. She managed our experience and made sure we left happy and full!!

I still like this location the best!! The food is alway great. The service is ok. For some reason every time we start with a waitress then it changes to a different one. And the place is always clean. Come here for the best deep dish. The thin crust is not so good. Highly recommend for the best Chicago deep dish pizza!!!

Ordered the large sausage pizza. Delicious Chicago style pizza from an iconic landmark. The crust was perfect texture and great flavor. Overall the best pizza I've had in Chicago.

Came here the other day with my family, and I was expecting to not be satisfied because I am not a big pizza person in general, but I was pleasantly surprised because of their pasta. I have had Lou Malnati's before, but I have never been a huge pizza fan, so I haven't eaten at a Lou's for a very long time, but I am glad we came here. I ordered the bowtie pasta with Lou's sausage. It was amazing and honestly, they give such large portions for cheap prices, which is so nice because so many Italian restaurants are pretty expensive for quality pasta. The pasta itself is described on their menu as "crumbled sausage and bowtie pasta tossed in a creamy yet slightly spicy vodka sauce." The flavor of the pasta was great and it wasn't too spicy and had much flavor. The rest of my family shared a pizza and bbq chicken salad, and they really enjoyed both. The place itself is pretty huge and there are multiple rooms. We sat in the dining room closest to the entrance, and there are large chandelier lights hanging from the ceiling and the dining room was all wooden. Our waitress was friendly and constantly checked on us, and it was funny because I am 26 but look super young so she had to check my ID for the beer I ordered. She also said she had to check my parents' IDs as well because they are with someone (me) that had to have the ID checked, so my parents laughed a lot with that, but she went along with laughing. I would come back here again!

I've been to this Lou's location over the years and we can always count on good food and service, but I have to comment that I noticed during my last two visits it was noticeably cold in the restaurant. I won't give Lou's only three stars for the indoor temperature, but it was c-c-c-COLD last night and the last thing I want to do is keep my coat on in the restaurant. As it turned out I didn't HAVE to, but when I first walked in I thought I would, which made me consider leaving. Just a thought for the management to consider.

Food is always consistent at this location (my company used to cater from here all the time.) Recently we carried out, and everything was great. Bonus points to the manager, Peter! He is wonderful - friendly, professional, and took care of a minor billing snafu right away. Well run and highly recommended.

First started loving Lou's when i lived in Lincolnwood, when the first 1 opened. When I moved to EGV my husband went insane when a Lou's opened here. We've been going here since then & never disappointed. Lou & Jean made sure your not gonna leave hungry or disappointed. If your in Chicago, just go!!

The pizza was delicious and the service was great my son and I really enjoyed our pizza

If your looking for some outstanding deep dish pizza you are looking at the best place. This location has amazing staff, and it's very clean and modern. The pizza is always great and made fresh I recommend The Lou, lots of toppings and is meat free ! They also have amazing appetizers. This is my go to place to get deep dish and to take my friends that ain't local.

Best pizza in town and food but on the pricey side, fast service with nice ambiance!!

OMG there is no better Chicago Deep Dish pizza. We prefer the Chicago classic, and usually take home half. It re-heats beautifully ... arguably even better than when first served.

Ordered 2 personal deep dish pizza pies. They arrived 25 minutes early. Sorry there is no photos. It was too good and disappeared in no time. Brilliant food and excellent service. He came to our hotel room, I was going to meet him but he was early. Would recommend to anyone.

I prefer Giordanos or the Rosalia by my house (since each one is different in my experience) but this is good pizza too. The deep dish is better than the thin here.

Best pizza I've ever had and I can't stress that enough. Chicago pizza is #1 and you can't teach that! Only negative was it took a while to get the check and leave. But I would definitely go again. If I lived in Chicago I'd go here often.