Gino’s North Pizzeria

Had an awful experience at Ginos on Saturday — lots of people in the hood for the street fair — but as a regular — John — not the tall one was rude and ignored our party of 6 people drinking at the bar.
I don’t understand when they know it will be busy why 2 bartenders or a bartender and a server can’t work together — quite frankly they would make more money with better service because I did not leave a good tip — and I am kinda done with being here at peak times
Had a great experience tonight with the relieving bartender Duane so we could celebrate our marriage — he is awesome

So cool! Love everything about this place, from the cozy neighborhood vibe to the PIZZA! I was expecting something entirely different and not a fraction of how cool this place actually is. Love everything. The great bar, cozy booths and over the top décor. I will be back again and again.

I love this place. The thin crust pizza was amazing. Also the atmosphere is great. There is a full bar and it was very romantic. Small place with nice comfy booths And candlelight. Great for date night!

Amazing pizza! I couldn’t eat more than 2! I was stuffed! The crust was buttery! Loved it.

Reviewers, please take a deep breath. This place is wonderful. One of the reviews shared second hand gossip about the CTA (not the city) putting the property’s lease out to bid. Meaningless. Another lengthy 1 star must be from a jealous competitor, very bitchy. Don’t believe it. I’m afraid that society has been reduced to expecting instant McGratification by the fast food industry.
Gino’s North has been a magnet in Edgewater for several decades. Current ownership purchased it a number of years ago from the estate of the original owners, Paul and Georgiana. Peggy (who is less than 90 years old), has been serving wonderful food for several decades at Gino’s North. Previously Peggy and her late husband owned an Italian restaurant for many years. Her homemade pizza crust is legendary and a closely guarded secret. If you want to have drinks and good food in a throwback 1940s mahogany appointed restaurant/​bar, this is your place. Customers are an eclectic mix of locals, Chicagoans, college students, and tourists (several foreign guides recommend Gino’s North). Please go there, eat, drink, relax, and enjoy the experience.

A fun throwback to visit, but the pizza was just OK to me. It tasted like store-​bought pizza crust mix. And they had one bartender who was a little grumpy doing all of the mixing and serving. I was surprised that there weren’t more appetizers or salads either. I have had several friends swear to me that this pace is awesome, but I don’t know that it even gets a second shot to prove that to me! It is a fun old-​school setting, and worth a visit if you want to hole up in a dark bar/​pizzeria and hide out.

Hole-​in-​the-​wall dive with bland pizza. Jim (John) the bartender lacks personality. Would NOT eat there again! Would give ZERO stars if possible … YUCK!

Good place — wonderful ambience. Pizza is good but the menu is limited, however quality of food is good for the most part. The salads are especially fresh. Service is hot and cold. Sometimes it’s horrible but I think it depends on who’s working and how crowded it is. The owner should look into maybe adding to staff. They have a full bar. A couple of bartenders don’t want to do more than open a beer or bottle of wine or mix a drink but most of them really try to accommodate requests for «specialty drinks.» The Sunday bloody Marys are the best!
I read the review regarding the outside bidder that said when he went in to bid on the place the current lessee went ballistic and said that if anyone else won the bid he’d go crazy and rip out all of the fixtures — I’m surprised the bidder even found the guy at the place. It’s pretty laughable the guy went that nuts considering he’s NEVER there and doesn’t seem to care about it.

The interior of the place is very cozy and inviting. (and that has nothing to do with the people running it; the place is an antique inside)
But beyond the atmosphere, there’s not much value. The people giving the pizza high ratings must like crust that is made from Bisquick and generally low quality ingredients. I could go on, but there’s not much good to eat or drink there, just atmosphere.
Now speaking of the interior, it is all vintage original stuff. The space is actually owned by the CITY and when new lessees have come in, like the most recent one of a few years ago, they got to have all of the original interior which likely dates back to the 1930’s.
As a matter of course, the city regularly puts their rental properties up for bid and allows the public to come in to view, make a bid, etc… (all via an outside agent) Recently that was the case again with this space. I was told by a direct outside bidder (a close friend) that when he went in to bid on the place, the current lessee actually had a FIT and said that if anyone else won the bid that he’d go nuts are rip out all of the antique interior, the bar, the booths, etc…
Keep in mind, the CITY owns that interior and «new» lessees have had the privilege of operating their business within that cozy antiquity. It is disgusting to think that legitimate bidders would have to put up with the threats of a psychopath, one that would destroy a little piece of history all for their own greed.

Had the best deep dish pizza tonight! Incredible!!!

Big fan of the cozy, old-​school décor! The bartenders are always nice and you can tell this place has a crowd of regulars who act like a family. The food is made by a sweet lady who seems to always have a smile. The pizza is okay. I’ve had better. The last visit was disappointing because the pizza came out with a wrong topping. When they brought it back out you could tell they just removed the topping and threw the correct one on the same pie. No apology and no acknowledgement at all. The whole olives on one pizza was a little odd too. I still like this place though. It’s unique and it just feels like part of the neighborhood.

Arrived hungry around 915pm after a long day of driving! Ordered the garlic bread– amazing! Very buttery and has a real garlic taste. Ordered the Chicago style Ginos special with pepperoni, very yummy as well! Def rec’d getting an app cause the pizza takes about 50 – 55 min to bake. Two tvs to watch while you wait. Ordered a ten inch pizza for two people… And had a slice leftover to bring home.

Worsed food place to order from. My spagetti dinner was packed w out sauce. They use ready made pizza crust and top with your ingredient. They told me 45min and i picked up. It was cold. This place is a tavern… Not a restaurant.

I really like this place. Service can be iffy. We have never had delivery, we have dined in only. Their pizza is awesome but a bit hard to explain if you are a diehard Chicago deep dish pizza fan. Gino’s North is deep dish but not like Giordano’s or UNO (I don’t like either), it’s fresh with a ton of cheese and fresh toppings. Ambience is cool like a supper club in NY maybe. Friendly folks and super fresh pies. I also got drunk here afer several cocktails and made-​out with my hubs on the cab ride home so 4 stars for sure. LOL!

A super tiny lounge with the feel of an Italian supper club. Once you make it past their double doors, you’re invited into a warm atmosphere where you’ll find nice smiles and often conversation.
They say the owner still makes pizzas by hand, kneading the dough. If so, I think she’s doing a pretty neat job. My Ma makes pretty fantastic «za» as well, but she’s now well into her seventies and finds the activity hard to manage. So, kudos to the owner.
Thin crust is pretty good. The sauce is slightly sweet and the pizza had a satisfying taste. Fresh is best, so don’t allow the pizza to travel too far.

I ordered a pizza for take out & was told it would take 45 min. I get there 45 min later and one of the bartenders proceedsto tell me it will be another 10 minutes– perfectly fine & understandably. Unfortunately it took an additional 30 minutes and both bartenders went out of their way to avoid me during this delay and only apologized after I got my pizza.
The food/​pizza is great. Dine-​in experience is usually good but I, obviously, would save your time and money if you plan on doing takeout.

This is my first Unilocal review, and my oh my oh MY!!! This place is literally the best kept hidden secret of Chicago. My first experience with deep dish pizza was at Giordanos. I have to say I wasn’t really feeling it. My roommate suggest this place because we live around the corner. We should have called ahead, Cuz it took about an hour to get our pizza, NOT a problem. Id rather you take your time than give me some previously frozen mess **coughGiordanoscough**. We ordered a Italian sausage/​pepperoni deep dish style pizza and were magically amazed. The sauce is under the cheese (which we all preferred). Oh man the cheese. There had to have been a pound of freeeessshhh amazing cheese on that pie. Trust me when I tell you, this place is a must to add to your list.

Gino’s North is the kind of place that I would have never visited without my friend who was born and raised in Chicago recommending it. The exterior is nothing special, a long narrow building next to Campus Police, under the red line tracks. Inside, however, is one of the most beautiful pizza parlours in the city.
The tables are all circular booths, comfy and intimate. The bar is a historic gem, with a sculpture of a woman in a fountain as its centerpiece. The woodwork and sculpt of the place is top notch. Gino’s North is the kind of place where you want to linger at the bar or booth and take in the ambience. It ranks amongst the classiest old school pizza joints, ever.
And that’s where Gino’s North really excels: in the old school pizza. It is no longer common knowledge that there are 2 varieties of Chicago-​style pizza, but it’s true. There is deep dish, which Gino’s North offers and I haven’t tried: then there is Chicago-​style thin crust, which is where Gino’s North shines.
The crust is cornmeal dusted cracker style, super crispy, the crispiest for this style i have yet experienced. The perfect foil for juicy, cheesy toppings. Gino’s North uses real pepperoni, the kind that curls in the pizza oven. That and the Gino’s Special (sausage, onion, chile, mushroom) should not be missed.
Gino’s North operates with a lot of care, from the food to the service. Afterwards we went to Lickety Split for a concrete, dessert Jimmy Hoffa-​style.

A colleague and I have been coming here for roughly two years for pizza and margaritas.
Unfortunately during our last visit a few weeks ago we learned that the margarita special is no more. The pizza, of which we would usually get the thin crust with Gino’s special or spinach toppings, has always been fairly average — the toppings seemed to be fresh and good quality but the crust never really grew on me.
That said, I’m not sure if we’ll return but the margarita special would definitely make that decision a lot easier!

My opinion may be skewed because I’m an out-​of-​towner who craved deep dish.
Everyone is right about seating and the atmosphere of the place. The bartenders and waiters were sort of friendly and attentive. We ordered a sausage and mushroom deep dish pizza, but what came out was a thin crust pizza with a really high crust? It really wasn’t deep dish. I don’t want to say anything awful about it because the flavor of the pizza was great! Just… wasn’t deep dish (see photo). We want to believe that our understanding of «deep dish» isn’t wrong but that the 90 year old granny cooking in the back made a mistake.
If that’s what their deep dish pizzas are, then I don’t think we’ll be visiting them again :/