Gino’s East South Loop

Everytime we are in Chicago, my husband has to get deepdish pizza. So he had it delivered to our hotel room, this time it was Gino’s. His choice is a cheese only deepdish.
I have tried to like chicago deepdish, and I fail each time. This time was no better.
For one, the sauce was akin to tomato paste. IT didn’t even taste like it had seasonings on it… just tomatos paste spread about.
Below this, was a huge slab of molten greasy mozzarella. The crust was too thick and dry, but greasy where the cheese soaked it.
It looks like a mess too. It doesn’t cut well, and just ends up looking like afterbirth on a plate.

We got there promptly at 11:00AM on a Saturday, knowing we had a little over an hour and the deep dish reportedly takes 45 min (normal for a well prepped deep dish). I got the small Meaty Legend. It was very good, and I could only eat two slices. Crust was crunchy with a touch of corn meal. Sauce, cheese and meat were all very good. My son opted for the spaghetti with meatballs (I know. I know… spaghetti at Ginos). Spaghetti was solid, nothing spectacular — but again, don’t come here for spaghetti. Will definitely repeat when we are in Chicago again.

it not good. The crispy squid is not crispy, not fully cooked. The deep dish pizza… Just so so.

The location is so cozy and warm with the retro Edison lights and dark wood furnishings. We got a supreme deep dish which takes 45 min to cook, but in the meantime started off with the mozzarella sticks and Caesar salad. The beer selection was quite nice and it was an excellent stop to warm our frozen toes and fingers. I liked the fact that this place has less of that big chain feel such as Lou malnettis and Giordano’s and enjoyed my meal there. The pizza was excellent and the star of the meal with a rich deep hearty sauce that was excellent. I ordered a thin crust to go for a friend which took significantly less time and he loved it. Great spot to go if you’re in the area and looking for a smaller city spot.

I remember loving Gino’s but alas it was the other location and long ago. Look — compared to WI pizza it’s awesome but compared to Giordono’s or Lou’s — it’s just ordinary.
I want to Gino’s I remember from my childhood…

Seeking the quintessential deep dish Chicago experience, Gino’s East does not disappoint. Really enjoyed the Supreme deep dish, Caesar salad, and Mozzarella sticks. Some things to note for deep dish newbies– even for a guy, generally 2 pieces is all you can muster. Also — plan for about 45 minutes for the pizza to cook after ordering.
Pretty good selection of local beers. This location was not very busy on a Saturday at 5pm, albeit it was snowing and not many people were out.

I heard great things about this place… Not everything that people tell you is true. It is an OK place. We were ignored a bit from our wait staff, all the beers they have are the hoppy craft beers, of which I am not a fan of. Give your self some time if you order the deep dish pizza, a small took 45 min, my fault, because I should have called ahead to order. The staff was nice, and it was a bit noisy.

We had a great experience at Gino’s East. We already knew that the deep dish pizza would take an hour to cook, so we showed up at 4:45pm to put in our order. This seems early, but we settled in, ordered some beers from their wonderful draft beer list and were nice an hungry by the time the food was out at 5:45pm. We actually ordered at 5:00ish, so it was more of a 40 minute wait than an hour. The flavors of Gino’s pizza are unrivaled. It is definitely one of my favorite deep dish pizzas in Chicago. We go the spicy sausage special and it was very good. It wasn’t really that spicy but had excellent flavors. The wait staff were very friendly and the location was clean. Will go back next time we have the chance!

Tried their 6inches pizza for one– but it was not that attractive as others described. I was a little disappointed but I guess maybe that’s because I didn’t try the specialties.

It was decent, but no rave reviews. We got the Chicago Fire and the Gino’s Supreme.
Chicago Fire was fairly flavorful (not as spicy as menu implied but still pretty decent)… there was a token jalapeño atop the pizza, so can’t complain too much. This pizza was a little heavy on the slabs of meat, which did a disservice to the crust (the meat slabs shielded the unfortunate crust from the other toppings so crust seemed quite brittle).
The Supreme was remarkably better because of the less cumbersome distribution of meat. Overall, the crust seemed less brittle on this pizza so it was much less burdensome on the cutlery (and one’s dentition).
Big picture: other than the touch of flavor in the «hot and spicy» sausage of the Chicago Fire, honestly couldn’t find much to distinguish these two pizzas in the pool of sauce and cheese.

Let me start right off the bat by saying that I much prefer New York style thin crust pizza over Chicago style open-​faced calzones (oops, I mean pizzas), but for what it was, Gino’s East has the best deep dish I’ve ever had.
I think the Chicago Man Vs Food episode said it best — New York style is for people on the go, while Chicago style is more of a sit-​down experience. And while visiting Chicago, we had quite the sit-​down experience as we got to eat their signature food while watching a Black Hawks playoff game on TV (which they lost, by the way).
It was a nice taste of Chicago and a really good deep dish pizza, but it wasn’t quite enough to convert me over from my beloved New York thin crust.

Best pizza in Chicago! This was our first Chicago pizza on the trip. We loved it. However, after visiting some of the competition we realized how much we REALLY loved it. The crust is made with cornmeal, which makes it yellowish and slightly sweet. Since my hubby and I have different tastes in pizza, we had Chicago Fire and Spinach Margharitta. Both were delicious. Down side is they don’t have a personal portion. If you are staying in a hotel where you don’t have an in-​room fridge and microwave, like us, it will kill you to see all the pizza you can’t eat go to waste.

Nice new-​ish location in the South Loop. The space is relatively classy, and I love the high ceilings, and the booths are comfy.
On a Sunday PM, my friend and I waited about 15 minutes to be seated. Our waitress was a-​ok with our taking our time to order.
I suggest making our own deep dish, as their signature options all seemed pretty heavy. (I think spinach makes the crust too soggy, too.) We got patty sausage and mushroom — a winning combination. A small deep dish was definitely enough for us two.
Definitely did the trick and satisfied my deep dish pizza urge. Our waitress reminded us when we ordered it, but it takes ~45 minutes for a deep dish pizza, so be sure to budget for your hunger levels.

I came here on a Thursday night. It was pretty crowded because there was a game later that night, but we were seated right away. We ordered a build your own deep dish pizza with fresh garlic, artichoke hearts, black olives, pineapple, and spinach. Our waitress informed us that the pizzas take a while to bake, so we decided to get the spinach and artichoke dip too.
The spinach and artichoke dip comes with toasted crostini which came with some parmesan on top. Seriously, this stuff was SO good. I definitely recommend it. Our deep dish pizza came out a while later, and we were excited to try it for the first time! We weren’t disappointed. The crust was light and there was a generous amount of ingredients. Yum!

I was originally going to give this place 3 stars but upon more reflection I feel like it was a 2. For an appetizer we had calamari which extremely rubbery stay away from the calamari here! The entire reason we came here was for the deep dish pizza. We ordered the bbq brisket which I was really looking forward to, but the meat wasn’t evenly distributed. Some pieces had so little I first questioned whether it was even there. Other slices had big gobs of it.
The service was ok. Nothing to either complain about or give a positive recommendation for.
All in all I wish the food was better, especially for the price.

Nope. In the past year I’ve given Gino’s East two shots, and boy how I pine for the Gino’s of the 80’s and early 90’s. This is a pale, wan imitation of what was once a great Chicago pie. An extra star for the bartender who was very nice and didn’t frown upon my iced tea ordering.
Both the deep dish and the thin crust are just lame. Last visit I decided on the thin supreme, and ordered it well done, asking for char and a crispy crust. Apparently this is not possible here, as the pie clearly had no contact with the oven surface, but came out on an aerated metal pan of sorts. Crust was white, it was so devoid of evidence of a hot oven, or even baking. Please deliver a charred crust if that’s what the customer wants.
Will not return, but word to the wise if you go, take your pie to go and scorch it in a cast iron pan at home, then give it a few minutes under the broiler. It will be better than at your table, I promise.

This place is very yummy and I really like the atmosphere. I came here with a friend from out of town and was introducing her to the iconic Chicago deep dish pizza. We got the spinach marghertia deep dish and I highly recommend it. Deep dish pizza is very heavy on its own without the sausage or pepperoni, so the spinach marghertia pizza (fresh mozzarella, spinach, basil, tomatoes, and garlic) is perfect if you want something a little lighter (at least as light as deep dish pizza can be). It also lets you taste the sauce a little more since it isn’t so heavy on the cheese which is a real treat.
Our waitress was really nice, but not very helpful when it came to beers. They had a nice list of local beers they serve on tap and I told her my preference. I prefer lighter beers that aren’t very hoppy and she said she had the perfect beer for me. However, the beer she served me was dark and very hoppy. It wasn’t that bad, though, so I drank my glass, but I feel the staff should be more knowledgeable about the beer since it is a sports bar.
I enjoyed my experience and will come again!

Everyone has their thing to do when they hit Chicago… Mine is Geno’s!
With over 200 reviews… there’s not much to say… so I’ll say the other stuff.
1. Get an appetizer; it will take some time to cook!
2. Skip right over the deep dish, and really enjoy the menu!
I think the thin crust here is stellar, especially on the veggie pizza. 2 employees mentioned it is their favorite!
Also, the cheese and charcuterie board… delicious!
The mozzarella sticks are homemade, on the premises. Some of the best I’ve had.
While I would never hold it against the Texas boys (Uno, Due’), I can get that in Fort Worth. Although it’s a chain, it’s a local chain. Geno’s gets my vote as the best!
5 STARS (because I know how to order right!)

This was my first time ever having Gino’s East, and I had a nice experience at this location.
Interesting side note: It was a bit odd that the doors were locked at 11am on a Saturday when it was supposed to be open. I called, and they weren’t aware that the doors were locked. Thankfully they quickly let me in.
LPT: Order an appetizer, salad, and some drinks while you wait for your order of deep dish. It takes 45 minutes!
I had the asian sesame wings buffalo wings, and they were certainly bigger than normal sized wings, but not sure about the «giant» label. :) This order was large in quantity… I think somewhere between 8 – 10 wings?
The service was nice and attentive at this location. When the pizza came, it’s a nice experience to be served table-​side by our waiter! Gino’s East deep dish pizza has become one of my favorites in Chicago right behind Lou’s. Get the patty sausage!

Came to visit Chi town from SF, CA. Wasn’t sure which restaurant is famous for deep dish pizza in Chicago so I just Unilocaled something near my hotel.
I got a groupon $ 16 for $ 30. We got spinach mozarella sticks and chicago fire 9″. Im deducting 2 stars because the wait was really long for the pizza to come out like almost 1 hour. And the pizza itself was aight not alot of meat… and I’m not a big fan of the crust. 9″ was a good size for 2 people.
Service was ⁵⁄₅. The waitress suggested the 9″ for us and explained the menu. Thank you! :)