The Original Gino’s East of Chicago

Our server Cameron was spectacular. Haven’t had that great of restaurant service in a long time. he was so attentive and everything we ordered even though there were special requests was correct and he went out of his way to make sure we were doing okay. The pizza came out hot and delicious. The crust was sweet and crispy and the mushrooms and meat were all so good. I don’t eat pizza much but would definitely come back here. We have had this many times before but normally go to the other location so glad we stopped at this location this time. So convienent if you are shopping on Michigan Avenue or in the area.

COCKROACH AT OUR TABLE
Bus boy took care of it quickly and calmly but still not a good start to dinner. before we even order.
Waitress was not good either, was always rushing away before anything could be asked.

Seriously? A major restaurant no no when they are moving tables and sweeping around you while your group is trying to eat. The food was good but my coworker got something flung on her while the staff was sweeping. Go here but make sure you do before they close their doors or you will get staff that just want to leave and really don’t care. Sad because the food was good. See photo

My wife and I got the Deep Dish Nachos appetizer ($ 11) and Jalapeño Blue deep dish pizza ($ 25). The nachos can only be described as holy cheese! Very cheesy, super tasty. The presentation wasn’t all that fancy, but who cares about that? This isn’t an upscale place, the atmosphere is very laid back and down to earth and the taste of the pizza is MIND BLOWING! My only regret is that I won’t be able to sample the whole menu since I’m only in town a couple of days.
Now I’m not going to lie to you, if you’re looking for some great pizza quick you will not find it here. The deep dish pizzas take 45 minutes to cook and they are well worth the wait time. So grab some friends, grab some drinks and relax and make conversation for a bit. Overall we were there for about an hour and 15 minutes give or take.
And as a side note, the beer is pretty tasty too. Prices are reasonable for draght (20oz for $ 8) and they’ve got a good selection of local brews for anyone from out of town looking to sample the Chicago fare.
And side side note, they also do a military discount. I can’t complain!

Really enjoyed the vibe of this restaurant. Was here on vacay and wanted to get a second round of deep dish (first was Giordano’s). And Gino’s was close by so why not.
The pizza wait time was around 40 mins. It was well worth it. It was totally different than Giordanos (ie. Less of a pie more of a pizza).
Overall, the cheese and sauce were pretty delicious but didn’t feel as unique to me as Giordano’s. Though if you’re on vacay like I was, it’s worth a try.

Very good pizza! Seemed to get prepared a little faster than the location on Lasalle. I always order the Chicago Fire. Thank god for the Groupon that I received. It was nice to only pay half of what I would have paid for the amount of pizza I received.
I wish that the staff here were personable. They were not bad. But they did not really go above and beyond to provide outstanding customer service. This would be fine, except, tourists are aware that this is a Chicago staple. So you’d think that they would want to go all out with their servers’ service delivery. For the location, on a Tuesday night, I walked right in and got a booth at 6:30 in the evening. Score!
The deep dish pie was so much better than I remembered at my first experience with Gino’s on Lasalle. This sausage is absolutely outstanding. The onions were sauteed perfectly! Not too soft but not hard — the perfect amount of crunch. It was the perfect amount of spice to it as well.
All in all a wonderful experience!
One last thing. The mens bathroom here was disgusting. So this paired with the decent customer service is what knocked it down from a 4.5 star experience to a 4 star experience.

Sorry to say, coming in first isn’t always the best thing.
Although Gino’s was the first to create the deep dish, it didn’t perfect it.
Our wait to be seated was around 15 minutes for a party of 2. Once we put in our order, the small supreme deep dish took an hour to come out. Which the server had advised and we had ordered a bowl of chili to preoccupy us during the wait.
When we got the pizza, it wasn’t very hot. Felt like it was sitting out for a while… especially considering that we had ordered in from Lou Malnati’s and even with delay, the pizza was hotter than the pizza at Gino’s.
Pizza, itself, was still edible with lots of cheese, but what it falls short on is the crust. I hate crusts in general, but it’s bearable in Lou Malnati’s because it’s buttery and crispy. Here it was just plain dry. Also the sauce was just too watery. Felt like eating an oven-​baked pizza from a super market. Don’t waste your time waiting here…
Also, all the graffiti around the walls and tables just looked tacky and gross. I understand that they want to look vintage, but it just looks dirty and grimy.

I am from Detroit, and thus gas to be the best Chicago style deep dish pizza. How could it not? You wait 2 hours for a table, 3 minutes to order, and 1 hour for the pizza to bake. Perfect every time. This location is huge, there must serve thousands every day.
The spinach and cheese sticks are great, as is the bacon be Brussel spouts.

I was so excited to go here, but sadly, it was not an experience that blew me away. In fact, upon leaving, me and the other person in my party both expressed mutual disappointment.
It was probably around 2 or 2:30pm on Veteran’s Day that I was here. Wasn’t crowded at all. We were going to partake in the lunch special but it was presented to us as being more of a «carry out» type of thing rather than a sit down, order and eat. The Lou Malnati’s lunch special is awesome and can be ordered as non carry out.
Oh, I tried «Not Your Father’s Root Beer» here for the first time. It was good, but a LOT to drink. I need to start doing more shots. More compact volume of liquid.
So, about the pizza… We ordered a small cheese. Deep dish. It was okay. It wasn’t bad. There was something «off» about the sauce, according to my tastebuds, but I didn’t gag on it or spit it out in disgust. I also didn’t like the crust as much as Lou’s. I definitely ate my full slice and a half. I wouldn’t allow myself a full two pieces.
My personal mainstream deep dish pizza ranking is as follows:
Best: Lou Malnati’s
Then: Giordano’s
Then: Gino’s
I loved the décor and feel of the place, so there’s that.

My first time in Chicago and I’ve has countless amount of friends tell me that I HAVE to try Gino’s Pizza. Being right down the street from my hotel it’s only fitting that I try it.
I came in at around 5:05 and it wasn’t busy. I was scared because I’ve heard of the crazy wait but I guess it just depends when you go.
They walked me upstairs, the place is cool, the walls are tagged and it just has this warm feeling.
My server comes to my table and asks if I want anything, and before anything lets me know that the deep dish pizza will take 46 – 60 to make!
So here I am thinking well if it takes that long, it must be good?!
I get the fried mozzarella. And it came out right away. It was deliciously crispy. I wish it was hotter, the cheese was very chewy and I was hoping for a more «melt in your mouth» experience.
Definitely don’t go alone, or without something to do because the wait for your dish is no joke.
My dish came out and it looks small but it is so filling! I only had two slices out of the 4. I’m stuffed with so much cheese. The thickness of the cheese is greater than the dough. The dough itself wasn’t that great. It tasted wierd and usually I love the crust. Not this one. The sauce was delicious and I got pepperoni as well. It was really really good. I’m glad I tried it because we don’t have Deep-​Dish Pizzas in Los Angeles

For all of us New Yorkers, I will stand by our pizza, and our beliefs… But here’s the deal if you are in chi-​town, a lot of awful deep dish floods the city, and this is truly why New York pizza is [obviously] better.
But when in town, you really must hit Gino’s east. It’s the best I’ve had in town, and it actually is pretty awesome!
Order what I did, the entire bottom layer will be one big, delicious, homemade sausage patty, covered in cheese and sauce and man is it heaven.
This is like pizza soup, so understand that and don’t expect what you’re used to if you’re a New Yorker. Also, don’t even judge if you’re from the carolinas or something, I know you guys just eat Pizza Hut and have wet dreams.
Check Gino’s out now! But keep in mind it’s all fresh cooked and it’s like baking a pie, you will have to wait. I say at the bar and had a blast chatting with the staff and others in the bar.

Good thing that when we stumbled upon The Original Gino’s East of Chicago that we were not hungry. We had just eaten our lunch about 2 hours prior. I told my wife that had to try Chicago style deep dish pizza from here because it was on my wish list! She was all for making me happy!
Wow, we waited almost 2 hours before we finally ate our pizza! The wait starts outside the front entrance. 15 minute wait outside. After letting us in the door, another 15 minute wait at the hostess station. Then have a seat on their long couch and waited another 15 minutes before being led upstairs to our table. After placing our order, it took about 45 minutes for our pizza to arrive. Chicago Deep Style pizza does take awhile to prepare so we were not surprised. So, was it worth the long wait??? Oh yeah, it sure was!
We ordered the smallest size of their Meaty Legend for us to share. It was our very first time trying Chicago Style Deep Dish pizza anywhere. Talk about huge! No wonder you need a fork and knife to eat these pizzas. It was loaded with pepperoni, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, and bacon! Very flavorful pizza. The crust was unlike any other as well.
Even with the very long wait, it was so worth the experience! Would come here again if only to see if my wife’s signature is still there! So cool that anyone can write their name almost anywhere in the restaurant. Part of the charm of the place. Make sure you do not come too hungry cause you are in for a loooong wait!

Visited with colleagues on a Thursday, late afternoon. Since the pizzas we’re going to take a long time we ordered fried artichoke hearts and artichoke dips. Both delicious.
Once the pizzas arrived – be prepared to wait – they proved to be well worth the wait. Had my favorite pizza with pineapples and hamburgers. Too die for!
The graffiti on the walls and chairs are fascinating. The music can stand to be turned down some. But overall a great experience.

While doing my research for good deep dish pizza in Chicago, I kept reading about Lou Malnati’s and Giordano’s (and Pequod’s, which I didn’t get to try). I didn’t even hear about Gino’s East until my boyfriend found it while looking for deep dish places. Well, I’m glad he found it because we both really liked it. (this was my second fave after Giordano’s and before Lou’s, but it was his fave overall).
What makes Gino’s different than the ones we tried is that they have unique toppings. It seems that a lot of places like to stick to the «classics», like sausage, peppers, onions, pepperoni, etc., you know the drill. But Gino’s is not afraid to step outside the box. They’ve got pizzas like the Jalapeño blue (bacon, blue cheese, Italian sausage, blue cheese & bacon stuffed jalapeños) and the Chi-​talian Stallion (Italian beef, roasted sweet peppers, giardiniera).
We did half and half of the aforementioned pizzas. I didn’t really taste much sausage in the jalapeño blue, but I did taste the blue cheese and jalapeños. I liked the Chi-​talian Stallion better (which was the one I picked) because I just really like giardiniera. Plus, chopped beef??? What’s not to like?!
If you want something other than a boring classic deep dish, you should definitely try out Gino’s East.

Otro de los lugares que nos recomendaron para poder comer y probar lo típico de Chicago fue esta pizzería.
Nos tocó hacer con la para la entrada, Sin embargo fue una espera breve si vas en un grupo grande te pasan antes. El menú tiene pizzas, pastas, ensaladas, entradas.
Probamos el dip de espinacas con pan de ajo muy rico. También probamos los dos tipos de pizza la deep dish y la delgada… Ambas estuvieron excelentes.
La atención de los meseros fue rápida y te informan que si quieres la pizza se tarda aproximadamente 45 minutos en cocinarse pero vale la pena.
Las porciones son grandes las pastas son de un tamaño perfecto para compartir entre dos personas.

I decided to eat at Gino’s East for my last meal in Chicago before going back to the airport. We hailed a cab to the original Gino’s. We got there when they were just opening so there were no huge lines. There is like graffiti everywhere it reminded me of the inside of a Chronic Tacos minus the skate stickers.
We decided to split a pepperoni and sausage deep dish with some mozzarella sticks to start. We didn’t mind eating heavy because we had a long trip ahead of us. I didn’t believe it when someone told me that the pizza at Gino’s is light compared to their competitors. It was much lighter than Lou Malnatis. The crust was light even though it was thick… delicious ! I didn’t feel like falling asleep after the meal so that is another plus!
There are a lot of celebrity pictures up but a lot of them have graffiti on them. Management should make a rule not to write on the photos because there were some I couldn’t even make out. It was a shame because I like looking at that type of stuff just to see who else ate at Ginos. It was a good experience at least when I’m writing reviews of deep dish pizzas in other cities I will know what an authentic deep dish tastes like!

Was in Chicago for a staff meeting and one of my coworkers was born and raised in Chicago. For our first dinner, she recommended Gino’s. When we got there, it was a Tuesday night around 6:00pm so it wasn’t too crowded and there was no wait. I started with the refreshing Ace Perry Hard Cider — It was so good. Not too sweet, cool and refreshing with a nice hint of pear.
Harvest Salad (Spinach, Field Greens, Dried Cranberries, Candied Walnuts, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Rasberry Vinaigrette) — I’m not a big salad fan but all the ingredients went well together.
Gino’s Family Platter (Spinach Sticks, Mozzarella Sticks, Fried Calamari, Spinach artichoke Dip, toasted crostini). — It was OK, too much grease.
Large Gino’s supreme — It was yummy. I loved everything with all the gooey cheese and the big chunks of juicy tomatoes.
Don’t know if I will ever go back to Chicago but I will go to Gino’s again.

Awesome memories of my first trip to Chicago 9 yrs ago ushered me back to this first place I experienced Chicago deep dish. Hello again Gino’s. S’been a while. Why, thank you; you haven’t aged either.
I remember being blown away by the pizza and calamari, so to validate the high regard I’ve held for this place ever since, ordered the same.
The calamari was incredible. The crispy seasoned coating was so perfect I just stopped & stared after every bite, which worked out convenient since it takes nearly 30min for them to make your pizza. I’m a slow eater –which infuriates everyone I dine with– but this time, the wait granted me a pass.
Then, it arrived. My awesome waitress plated the first slice and then insisted on awaiting my approbation. She stood there beaming but silent, as if a sacred rite had begun. I took a bite. My soul cried out in ecstacy. Seeing my face, my waitress smiled and departed.
I had forgotten how much darn cheese they stuff them with, so after the 3^rd slice found myself overwhelmed. Everything else was as fresh and remarkable as I remember. Way to hold the crown Gino’s.

At the recommendation of two friends I went here for their infamous deep dish pizza. I was warned by the hotel manager that there is always a 60 minutes wait and recommended a sushi place but not having slept two nights and having only had a breakfast for the last 18 hours my body wanted something substantial.
So off I went on my walk down Michigan mile. Ordered a take out small veggie pizza that came to a whopping 27 dollars plus tax. Walked out and spent an hour at the pharmact buying lots of makeup hehe. .
Went back so ready to sink in my teeth in this .
So much cheese and tomato sauce. The mushrooms and th added chicken barely visible. Taste was below average. It’s 79 cents for a refillable soda but I tried to down it with their fresh home brewed iced tea which was also below average.
Now I feel like I should have gone to lou almanatis.
Oh and I tried to give leftovers to three homeless people but they had already overdosed on pizza for the day. Walked a few blocks further and lucked out with the fourth homeless person. Also ended up giving him all my change which turned out to be around 5 bucks. Karma please hurry up.

For being one of the most famous pizza joints in Chicago, I have to say I was slightly disappointed. The best part of the pizza I would say is the crust. It was golden brown, light, and flaky. We ordered the Gino’s Supreme and it was a decent pizza. The ingredients and sauce definitely tasted fresh. The reason I say I was disappointed is because the pizza wasn’t «blow your mind» amazing. It was just a decent pie. Also, it was a very pricey pizza. The service and ambiance were great. Our server was attentive, kind, and catered to every need we had. I did enjoy the ambiance a lot, the graffiti on the walls accompanied by the large TVs gave it a modern and fun feel while the candlelights mimicked a date like experience.
Personally, I would rank this in third behind Lous and Pequods and followed by Giordanos. If you haven’t tried Gino’s, I would suggest it so you can formulate your own opinion, just don’t expect a life changing experience!

To each their own. The pizza tastes just fine, but I would go with Pequod’s or Giordano’s over Gino’s. Their pizza cost slightly more, but doesn’t taste as good.
The ambiance is very inviting and laid back. Graffiti all over the walls, TVs everywhere (huge projector), and a full bar for those who drink. Their were families their, couples, college students etc etc.
The service is outstanding. We requested our checks and boxes as soon as we got our pizza because we didn’t want to wait around. When we got our check, they accidentally charged us for an extra topping and the waiter fixed it right away. Nice attentive waiters.
This is located near magnificent mile, so parking is tough and expensive. We walked from North Ave Beach which took about 22 minutes at a slow pace. You get to enjoy the lake and it feels awesome on a nice night.

Rica deep dish pizza by Gino’s recomiendo la de salchicha mas que la de peperoni. Fácil comen cuatro con una sola. La bebida es refill. Siempre sobra pizza, lo bueno es que dan una caja para llevar.

El ambiente es muy ruidoso. La atención es buena pero una pizza tardo más de 30 minutos. Para mi no es lo que esperaba de un lugar con tanta reputación. De todas maneras creo que volveré a probar otros platos y darle una segunda oportunidad.

Déjeuner en famille un Dimanche. Les Deep Dish Pizzas, spécialitées de Chicago et de la maison sont généreusement garnies. Et heureusement! car il faudra être armé de patience pour commencer à apercevoir l’ombré d’une pâte à Pizza. Pas moins de 50 minutes après la commande pour être enfin livrés. Il est vrai que nous avions commandé des Pizzas un peu spéciales: La Gino et La Cheese Peperoni…
A part ça les Pizzas né sont pas mauvaises, sans être transcendantes. Elles font la part belle à la tomate et la pâte sablée apporte un croquant très agréable et surtout très différent de la pâte à Pizza classique. Question quantité, 2 medium size pour 6 c’est suffisant, à moins que vous né souhaitiez en rapporter chez vous, ce qui vous permettrait de rentabiliser le temps d’attente!