Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

I do not agree with the hype about this place. Just seemed like slightly bland and greasy kids pizza. Crust was rich and buttery, but kind of tough and hard to cut. Not enough spinach on the spinach mushroom pie. Still looking for the perfect Chicago deep dish pizza.

Pizza is take out only. I get that. But why is the bread of the pizza always so thick in my opinion? It is around 1 inch high in many places. I always order mine uncut and well done. It doesn’t change the quality much. It’s more like eating cheese bread than pizza.
Whenever I dine at a sit down Lou Malnatis restaurant the pizza tastes much better and the dough bread seems much thinner and has a simple crackly texture at the bottom. Is it the transfer to cardboard boxes that causes this pizza to rise?
I have been eating Lou Malnatis pizza for years and take out has always been sub par to dining in. I just prefer to take it out for the convenience. But every time I do so, I am systematically disappointed.

#TBT «Take me back to Chicago» i am so craving pizza right now. Lou Malnatis VS Giordanos = Lou you in first place
The Lou–
Spinach mix (enhanced with garlic, basil & onion), mushrooms and sliced Roma tomatoes covered with three cheeses, on a garlic Buttercrust
I literally just DIED thinking about it

Lou’s is a staple for Chicago deep dish, but I recently had their lasagna with meat sauce and Lou Malnati salad. It was incredibly delicious! As a word of caution, be careful parking here (N Damen Ave location) if you leave their parking lot for any reason for even the shortest period of time you are likely to get booted by Parking Solutions. Not a very pleasant experience to go with a delicious meal.

This location of Lou Malnati’s serves up consistently delicious deep dish for carry-​out. The price certainly matches the quality, as well as quantity of the pizza. A large pizza can easily feed 3 – 4 people, and you may have a few slices leftover. Take their word for it and order your pie uncut– it stays crispy on the bottom until you cut it at home and makes all the difference! Rated four stars only because their options for toppings are limited.

My review is only low due to the poorly tasting gluten free pizza. It tastes like cardboard!
The other people in my group got a deep dish pizza and said it was amazing! They got tomatoes, pepperoni, and mushrooms. It looked and smelled lovely!
The delivery came before the 2 hour estimated time which was such a great surprise!

This place is carry out only.
I had heard so many great things about Lou’s and upon traveling to Chicago I knew I needed to try it. Disappointing to say the least. Don’t believe the hype, deep dish is not good at all! I may be biased with my love for New York style pizza but do yourself a favor and ditch the deep dish. The crust is too hard/​crunchy and the ratio of cheese to tomato sauce is not balanced.

Lou’s is our favorite deep dish in the Windy City! The Lou — veg with mushrooms, spinach, garlic and tomato is so flavorful and a must try even for meat lovers! We order from this locale when we have friends and family in from out of town — delivery in a little over an hour and you can order ahead! Always a crowd pleaser!

The pizza: Its okay. The crust had little flavor, almost like an oily water cracker. The sauce to cheese ratio was too low. The sausage chucks were quite large and a little on the sweet side. We didn’t finish even a small, partially due to its mediocrity, partially due to rage.
The location: It is only takeout. DO NOT leave the lot, or even your car while you are waiting. It isn’t clearly marked, but they will boot your car the second you step 2 inches off the property. Then it’s $ 140.
The staff: nice, but they didn’t warn us of the aforementioned stupid, unmarked parking rule.
The pizza is certainly not the quality I’d expect for $ 158.

Always friendly service on the phone… and solid delivery time. Pizza rules just like all Lou’s locations. We do pickup pretty often and they are always really nice and attentive when coming in… also, whoever actually goes in usually gets treated with some free Lou’s pizza samples. Cant beat it!

This review is for the neighborhood takeout Lou Malnati’s near Wicker Park. The location is tucked into the back of a small strip mall, but still serves legit deep dish pies for takeout and frozen. There is a small amount of parking, but be careful during peak times.
During the course of one night, I purchased both a frozen pie and had a fresh baked one delivered. Baking the pie in the oven was a new experience. I am used to take and bake pizzas in California, but I tried something new on my Chicago trip. If you follow the directions including oiling the pan, the results are pretty close to the original. Be warned that the frozen pies are small, so you may still have to order another one for delivery if your deep sausage butter crust desires are not met.
Lou’s is always awesome, and having a dedicated take out with frozen take and bake is a good option for everyone.

Went here after going to the shops around wicker because lou Malnatis is a must try.
The guy helping was very helpful and after our order I forgot to order ranch and he even gave us the ranch as a courtesy because we were from out of area.
Ordered the Malnatis Chicago Classic deep dish. It was good! The crust is very destinguishable between the other pizza places we have tried. Definitely had a significant taste. The sauce was good as we’ll.
The only downfall is this place didn’t have a place to eat in, so we had to take it back to our hotel in the south side of Chicago. Definitely lou Malnatis is a must try!

I came all the way from CA to try this pizza so the first thing I did when I checked into my AirBnB was Über my way down to this spot. It’s only a carry out location and it is in a medium sized lot. My über actually dropped me off in front of the Taco Restaurant with the stars. So, know this spot can be tricky to be routed directly into. It is in the 711 parking lot off to the right side. The employees here made me feel so happy and were very receptive when I told them I had come straight there. They helped me choose a pizza size and toppings. I went with the Chicago Classic and I highly recommend it! And then they even helped me figure out the best method of transporting back to CA! I asked if I could eat inside and they nodded a strong approval and even better, they watched my reaction to their pizza and laughed at my joy. These guys were great! Very down to earth, friendly, and attentive. They made sure I had extra of anything I had asked for.
I ordered the small Chicago Classic (sausauge, cheese, and tomatoes) thinking the personal was no match for my stomach. 20 minutes later and only one slice in, I was proven very wrong. That first bite was Christmas in my mouth. From the perfectly roasted tomatoes to the ooey gooey cheese and the flaky crust, I instantly knew my pizza repertoire had changed forever. I recommend this one over others as it seems to have more tomatoes and I am all about having a good bread to cheese to sauce ratio and this one had it done perfectly. This pizza completely floored me and everything they say about the water used for the pizza and all the things that make these pizza’s special are true! I’ve had me plenty Chicago imitation pizza’s and none can compare.
I picked up 5 frozen to go. I purchased an insulated bag from Trader Joe’s and they made it home safe and sound. My flight was only 5 hours so I do not recommend this for longer flights. I also came prepared and brought a bag that could be checked or smushed into my checked bag just so I could use my insulated bag as my second carry on. I flew SouthWest. It was definitely worth it. The frozen pizza’s definitely lack the Lou’s oven taste but they still manage to give you the bang for your buck.

Ugh, so good. You might wonder why you are paying so much money for a small pizza, but let me tell you, that deep dish pizza is not small at all. What it lacks in diameter, it makes up in height. Seriously, it was like one inch thick.
We ordered the Chicago Classic, the one with sausage and tomato sauce. I loved the crushed tomatoes on top. When you take a slice out to eat, you can see an entire line of cheese between the crust and the tomato sauce. And somewhere in that mix are the hidden sausage pieces. The butter crust is amazing too.
Surprisingly, for a Sunday evening, the wait to get a pizza was about 20 minutes. We called to make an order and it was ready when we got there. Great location, right in Wicker Park, but not in the busy part of it. There’s a parking lot there, so it’s pretty convenient to get to.

True authentic Chicago deep dish was the only reason why I came to Chicago. Just kidding… kinda. I heard/​read the amazing reviews of Lou Malnati’s pizza and I couldn’t wait to try it for myself. Being my first meal in Chicago, the pizzeria really set the tone for the great food I would eat during the rest of my visit.
We ordered 2 large pizzas for 6 people, which was wayyyy too much food. I think we would have been fine with 2 medium pizzas. We ordered The «Lou» and The Malnati Chicago Classic. The «Lou» was good, but was nothing compared to The Malnati Chicago Classic. The Lou is vegetarian, but every bite I took I wish there was meat. The Malnati Chicago Classic was absolutely delicious. Every bite of pizza was filled with delicious cheesiness and sausage. The sausage on this pizza wasn’t just clumps of sausage, Lou Malnati uses sausage patties! I wish every pizza joint did this.
The only downside that we didn’t figure out until we got there was that this location is carry-​out/​delivery only. Regardless, my friends and I took our pizzas and ate at Wicker Park. My only regret is that we only had Lou Malnati’s pizza once while in Chicago.

Lives up to it’s name! Great, classic deep dish pizza. The wings are also very good. Served piping hot. Good sizes, prices and flavour.

yes! Yes! YES! I finally got the opportunity to eat some authentic Chicago Deep Dish pizza. This location was a take out only, so I can skip a lot about the restaurant environment and get straight to the food.
I am quite the pizza enthusiast, so I was curious about what actually made a Chicago deep-​dish pizza so unique. Well, I purchased a Malnati Chicago Classic with «Lou’s lean sausage, some extra cheese and vine-​ripened tomato sauce on Buttercrust,»
After the first bite, my taste buds were quite confused with how amazing this pizza was. Cheese upon cheese upon cheese upon cheese. I had a slice that ends up being filling due to the amount of cheese it has.
The crust sold me. To begin with, I am not a fan of crusts unless they are filled with cheese/​pepperoni/​gold. I am that guy that leaves crusts in the pizza box. However, this crust is like none other. It’s crispy and flakey and garlic and butter and and and. you get the point.
Also, if you are dying to try this pizza, they do ship to their pizza in the U.S. ;)

I really don’t order pizza from Lou Malnati’s often. I live in the Western Suburbs. But we did one last week end as I was with friend’s in Bucktown and I wanted Pizza and they wanted gluten free. So we ordered a Gluten Free Pizza. There were three of us. We ordered two small pizzas as gluten free only comes in small and we ordered some wings to go with it. Mainly because I was concerned that three people may want more than two small pizzas.
I want to start by saying the gluten free crust was good. Surprisingly so. In fact I am sort of surprised it is only on the small. In fact it is better than some pizza crusts I have had at other establishments.
The wing are great. Not over cooked and a generous portion!
We ordered for delivery and I think it showed up 15 – 20 minutes earlier than predicted.

Saturday, 10:30PM.
Took one hour after ordering via phone.
Quickie:
*Good food
*Friendly service
And then???
Clutch, especially for late night grub.
*********
Stuffed my face in:
1. The Chicago + spinach
+Generous with ingredients, sausage avoided too much salt
+Limited sauce

Oh Lou’s, how I dream about you often. Being Born and bred in Chicago, I know this is the only deep dish pizza to eat. We were a large group staying a few blocks away in a nearby hotel. Thankfully, my group left it up to me on where we would be eating lunch.
We walked over to your restaurant and were greeted ever so warmly by a very nice guy. How many? 12 – 14, no problem he stated. He said give them a few minutes to set up a large table and within three minutes we were seated and our friendly server took our drink order.
All of my work colleagues were so excited to finally try this awesome pie. We ordered a few different pies and oh my I was in food heaven. Although I order online often and have them shipped to me it’s just not the same as fresh out of your oven. Between the most unique crust, such fresh ingredients, excellent sauce and the fabulous good quality cheese, you delivered!!!
Our entire group just kept raving about how delicious it was. I was so happy that they all loved it because I rave about it all the time. Oh how I wish you were in South Florida.
Service was outstanding! Food always five stars! Prices are fabulous. 12 people with tip $ 120 heck yeah!
Love you so so much!!!