Gino’s East

I was not surprised that this location did not last very long. We went about a month in. They ran out of plates. Ran out of silverware. When we were finally brought silverware, it was dirty. But worse than all that, the pizza was terrible. Really watery. I’ve never had that experience with deep dish. Not sure what went wrong. We tried the other location when it opened, and it was amazing. Way closer to what I would expect Gino’s in Chicago to be like. You can still try their pizza up in The Woodlands.

So sad. They’ve closed Gino’s East off 249. I loved their pizza, despite the long wait.

I don’t know the first thing about Chicago– style pizza, but I know this cannot be it. And it definitely isn’t worth the prices they charge.
I am not by any means a pizza snob. But, trust me, save yourself the headache and empty wallet and just order 2 $ 5.99 pizzas from Domino’s.
The crust was terrible. The sausage tasted funky. The dessert brownie a’ la mode was brought to the table without the a’ la mode… hello, don’t you realize something is missing? Oh yeah, the ice cream. Duh.
So the waiter runs back to get a tiny scoop at plop it on top of the brownie. Which was delicious.
Verdict: The brownie is the only thing worth paying for at this place. If you’re looking to dine out on pizza, go across the freeway to BJ’s.

My self and a friend went there for a late lunch today. At one stage, I saw eight staff on the floor (not counting the kitchen) and seven customers in the place. Service was bad, the waiter was nice and the food (a large thin crust pizza and a meatball sandwich) was terrible. I love a good pizza and this is not a place you will get one. I can’t see how this place will stay in business. As we left two customers coming in asked how it was, after we told them of our experience they walked next door to The Brick House. This place WILL NEVER see me again. Stay away.

This place is inconsistent at best. I’ve ordered the deep dish Chicago Supreme every time I’ve gone. It’s been missing or barely had sausage more than once. It was undercooked or not cooked at the right temperature. The crust was soft and thin. They did not have enough people in the restaurant and our server who was good was too busy running to opposite ends of the place to keep up on everyone. The Woodlands location which is farther away from my house I would recommend over this place. I’ve been to the Woodlands location twice and it has been consistent in quality and taste with no missing ingredients. I would recommend that location. I can’t recommend the Willowbrook location. This place just isn’t like Gino’s East in Chicago.
I was born in Chicago and lived there for 35+ years before moving to Texas. If only Lou Malnati’s from Chicago came over here, I’d never go to Gino’s East. Period.

Always great food, from the appetizers to the pizza… deep dish is awesome, cheese is great!
We also always get a thincrust, alfredo sauce, cheese, mushrooms and spinach, absolutely amazing.

Great pizza, a tad awkward service. We weren’t seated straight away, it was a weeknight and there were a ton of open tables. I couldn’t understand why we were made to wait in the bar area for so long. It was annoying because we knew the pizza would take such a long time after we ordered it. It was worth the wait though!

I had read the Pizza takes 45 or more minutes. This is usual for deep dish though I take it. I called ahead and asked if they could start my pizza ahead of time. Which they were glad to. I got there. Was seated and pizza came 10 minutes later.
I am not from Chicago. I have no idea how Chicago deep dish is supposed to taste or look or whatever. I did like the Pizza though. I got the meaty legend. A small was $ 22. Maybe an 8″ diameter pie. I am 6’4″ and weigh 265. I was able to eat HALF of a small.
Some on here have described the dough as like biscuit dough or even a cornbread/​biscuit mix. Yeah. I will say it did remind me of a sweet cornbread mix. But not dry and crumbly like cornbread is it was very dense crust but moist and good consistency. Honestly I LIKED THE CRUST. To me was the best part. Maybe growing up on cornbread made me like it I dunno.
I did hear the people next to me order a margareti? anyways. All vegetable. I heard them complain it was watery. Though that is the exact reason I don’t like vegetables on my pizza. They contain too much moisture I find.
The service was good. I had some kinda Italian Cosmo. (think a cosmo with GIn no Vodka) I liked it. Though it seemed skimpy on the booze. I could barely taste the gin. It was a bit pricey at $ 11 as well. So between the pizza and drinks. This ain’t PIzza Hut man it will set you back some money.
As far as the restaurant goes. It is nice inside. I was there at 1:30pm on a Monday though and there was me and one other couple in the entire restaurant. The location is strange I find. I mean it is not in the greatest area of town. Seems like a pizza place that charges this much for pizza should be in a more NICE part of town… Galleria. Heights. Something. This thing was tucked behind a brickhouse tavern behind some very UNKEPT landscaping and weeds

The host was friendly & seated us quickly. The waiter was very nice and gave us wonderful service. He explained that deep dish took 45 minutes, which I knew but it’s good to tell people who may not know.
We ordered the sampler appetizer and calamari was acceptable, mozzarella sticks were good, the spinach artichoke dip was runny and flavorless and the bruschetta needed seasoning (tasted like just tomatoes & basil, needed garlic, salt & pepper). The bread that came with it was old. It had the texture of toast made yesterday and left to sit out.
The deep dish was disappointing. The crust was strange. It did not taste like a yeast dough and was yellow. It was like a cornbread & biscuit hybrid. Both the flavor and texture were not what I expected. The sauce was ok but could have used more flavor. It was also a little too liquidy. It was WAY too expensive for what we got.

I grew up in northern Illinois and have had Gino’s many times. We decided to order pizzas and see if it was the same as at home. DONT DO IT. The pizza crust is yellow. Why? Who knows. It has no flavor and was extra extra extra saucy. We also ordered a GF pizza which had no sauce, wasn’t cooked all the way, and once again had no flavor. When we got home one of the pizzas was wrong and they wouldn’t deliver us a new pizza. The price was $ 116 for 4 pizzas and was NOT worth the money.
Stick to the original place in chicago.

So I think I understand why this place is getting so many bad reviews. The pizza is actually not as bad as it seems. It is everything else that you order around the pizza that is pretty lackluster.
I have been to the original Gino’s East in Chicago, and while I don’t think it is fair to try and compare tit for tat, there are some BIG differences.
The deep dish (which is what this chain is known for) is decent. I ordered the large meaty legend this past weekend for takeout. The crust was buttery and flakey, the sauce was seasoned correctly, and the toppings were plentiful. That is about the only thing that was good.
The price is pretty ridiculous for what you are actually getting. You can get an amazing deep dish of comparable size in half the time (it still took over an 90 minutes for a take out) for $ 10 – 15 less.
I also ordered the cheesy pizza bead. For $ 9 dollars we got 4 small pieces of French bread with left over sauce and cheese in them. I don’t know what I was expecting, but that was silly:
Overall, the pizza was good, but the wait, appetizer, and price are not worth it. Probably won’t be back since there are so many cheaper, faster, and tastier alternatives.

Great people. I love deep dish pizza and sausage. Got the Legendary Deep Dish with a layer of sausage. The crust was great and pizza was good overall. Crust pepperoni was great! However, the patty layer of sausage was a bit much for me. I am afraid I am still loyal to another pizza company. Not their fault… just different tastes for different taste buds.
The people were nice. Great service from Edward!

This has been a long wait to finally get Chicago Deep Dish pizza in Houston. The wait was worth it to see Gino’s East open!
I remember the first time I had Chicago Deep Dish pizza at Gino’s in Chicago. What a great thick hearty dish! Walked in sat at the bar kicked back with some beer waiting the 45 minutes for my pie… This will guarantee a food coma!

Well, this was a very unsatisfactory pizza experience.
First be aware you have to wait 45 minutes to an hour for them to cook the thing. Okay, I can do that. We’ll order and app and sit and visit a while.
But if you are in any type of hurry at all… this should not be your stop before a ballgame or concert.
Second, the pizza is ordinary. Sure, it’s got a novelty appeal because it’s «deep dish» authentic. It’s also kinda bland… stuffed with cheese and unextraordinary sauce. At least the deep dish wasn’t just extra thick crust like it can be at some places. Their sausage wasn’t bad but the rest of the meats in the big meat lovers specialty pie was pretty basic Kroger deli stuff. Sure it was filling and edible. But there is much better pizza that you can get much quicker — and CHEAPER — at a ton of other places. Think Barry’s, Franks, Johnny’s.
We ordered the sauteed Brussels Sprouts for the app. They were burnt. Charred so badly we sent them back and asked them to prepare them again. They came back out cooked better… but they were tough and tasteless. Does any place know how to blanch these things before they cook them? Does any place know how to clean them properly before they cook them? No. I don’t think any place does.
The wife ordered some of their buffalo and bbq wings. Eh… unremarkable. Your basic previously frozen bar food.
We did have the most amazing service. In fact it seems their service is their best thing. She was quick witted and friendly and fast and checked on us regularly. She called us «ladies» instead of «guys» and didn’t blink when we sent the app back. I tipped her well over 20% on our below average meal.
They had mostly domestic beers and some inexpensive wines. They had a few pasta dishes on the menu and some nice looking subs.
We tried it and didn’t hate it. But it wasn’t good enough to try again.

«deep dish in the heart of Texas» What a nice jingle. You’ll see this on the back of each server’s shirts which they do not lie about it. Each ¾″ deep dish that takes an average of 45 minutes from start to table will have you convinced that you’ve found something not new, not unique, but very enjoyable in the Willowbrook Area.
Hello, welcome to the review of the guy who usually goes against the grain. As I check and tried entrusting my fellow Unilocalers of about 17 years and an average of 3 stars I beg to wonder… why so harsh? I questioned my son to see if he wanted to try here (He usually pays attention to the Unilocaler’s average as well) or a Chinese buffet down the road which we didn’t try yet, well I can say we both were glad to give it at least one shot.
Parking is tight up front and there is parking out back but there is lot of potential to get your vehicle broken into, in fact, this happened a day before we visited here but this area is pretty much a heaven for car thieves.
Surprisingly there was a small wait and there is a 20 foot bench to wait while they call your name. I saw before where they asked for your phone number but I think they wisely changed that.
The bar has about a dozen taps on view with numerous bottled beers as well. There are about 15 stools if you would like to sit there and you also have a choice of spirits as well.
*subliminal message* 45 minutes…
The server we had «Slim» was very punctual as well as her team mates that help clear anything on the table that doesn’t belong. Team work works best in these places and I can sense they are versed well.
*subliminal message* 45 minutes…
The servers are trained to explain to you that the average pies take around 45 minutes and that is the best thing to do, let your customer know why it would take that long and about when it will arrive. You will hear a few people once in a while blare out «hot pie» whenever someone’s deep dish is ready in which you can guarantee within a minute or two it will arrived to the designed table.
*subliminal message* 45 minutes…
Verdict of the medium ($ 29 yikes) Chicago deep dish pizza, great! It’s pretty steep but for the product that you get it is worth the wait. Fresh, ingredient vibrant ingredients and the mozzarella cheese runs rings around your local Pizza hut or equal. The mozzarella is the type that you can chew for a minimum of a minute as far as the flavor and texture of it. The only whine I have about this is… how the hell do you run out of mozzarella sticks in a pizza place? Which leads too…
*subliminal message* 45 minutes…
Warning, you MUST remember that this is deep dish pizza, not only is it time consuming to make but filling as well. For two people that usually can scrunch down a large pizza anywhere in 20 minutes we were begging for an end to the 6 pieces entrusted upon us to finish, my advice for two people, get an appetizer and a small deep dish, you have been fairly warned.
*subliminal message* 45 minutes…
The appetizer wings! This should be called a little bucket of wings. $ 9, you get about 6 good sized wings and if you’ll look at the picture I’ve provided you can see the well thought of presentation. Fresh, not dry, perfect zing of hot sauce rolled into a great starter and conversation piece. It comes with an ounce size of ranch dressing and celery stick slithers.
*subliminal message* 45 minutes…
The price is a little steep here ($ 50 for a medium deep dish, soft drink, wings and a draft beer plus tax) but you are getting quality ingredients, nice interior without being over tacky with nostalgics on the wall and great service. Gino and crew, you’ve earned two fans today.
*subliminal message* 45 minutes…

Even though this place deserves 3 to 4 stars I will get it 5 because of the exceptional customer service. The pizza is pretty good. Not the best and for sure not the worst. I was expecting more. OK I’ll be honest I am really biased when it comes to deep pan pizza as we all know star pizza is the best hands down. I was really expecting this Chicago pie to be better than star. I was wrong. Star pizza is just the best!!! Gino’s was really good. Great service. Great sauce and cheese. The crust however is yellow and I don’t think they make the dough fresh like star. I think if they revamp the dough they will give star a run for the money. Speaking of money I got a regular size pizza with pepperoni and it was 20 dollars. Also their regular size is a small at star. I can get a large at star for about 15 bucks… I wish there was a star pizza in champions. I love you star pizza. Also I will be in Chicago next week so I want to try out lous and see if it is up to stars level of pizza.
Good job the Gino’s east.
After eating another slice I have to say they did such a great job with the cheese and sauce. Very good pizza! The best in the nw for sure when it comes to deep dish. just that yellow crust. It’s good but just tastes a little funny. Not bad at all. Just different. Will definitely go back.

I’ve been to the OG in Chi-​town and this one was good but still not quite the same. If you do go be aware it takes 45 – 60 mins for a deep dish pizza to be made. I think we were there around 2 hours total. FYI– the deep dish is extremely filling so 2 pieces each was more than enough for my crew.
I would recommend trying it though, it’s something new and different on this side of town!

Meh… does not live up to the hype. Deep dish was lacking, tasted more like canned biscuits. We really expected a deep dish, but the biscuit dough barely came halfway up the side of the pan.
You would think that bringing the pizza to the table right after cooking for an hour that it would be bubbling hot, however it was lukewarm at best.
Had to try it once, but would not make the list of restaurants to return to.

They just opened so maybe my review will change in the future.
Service: server touched a piece of our bruschetta bread and took it saying, «oops! I touched that piece» never to bring another back. She was hovering around our table weirdly when we didn’t need anything, but when we needed a refill she was no where to be found.
Pizza: I’ve had the deep dish in Chicago at the original Gino’s East. I had something to compare the pie to. Too thick of crust. Wayyyyyyyyy too much cheese. The cheese was not consistent either. The piece I had at the restaurant was super cheesy and that made it chewy. My husband hardly had any cheese on his. We took 3 pieces home and my husband ate one today and that piece was too cheesy as well. We love cheese but when you have a ball of mozzarella in your mouth and can’t taste any other part of the pizza that’s overboard. When the piece was sat on my plate the toppings just oozed off the crust. Maybe because of the cheese. Idk. Ours didn’t have that much sauce. I wasn’t happy. However, I will try again in a few months.
Price: the pricing was ridiculous!!! Ridiculous. Two apps and a medium deep dish was well over 60.00. It’s hard to want to go back. You have to get apps because the pizza takes so long. If you rather not spend money on apps don’t head in hungry!
I hope they listen to the customers about the pizza because that needs to be the star there!

Since it was opening weekend I will give a little slack. I will start with the service: it was excellent. I already knew there would be a wait to get seated since it takes about 40 minutes to cook a pizza, and with a full house there were many pies cooking and being eaten. Once seated, our server was VERY attentive and courteous. It was more than obvious it was his first server position and he had yet to deal with pissy customers, bad tippers and all of the rest of the soul-​crushing encounters he will have to deal with in the restaurant industry. The manager we spoke with was also incredibly nice and helpful.
The first thing we had an issue with was the soda. It was very chemically and we brought it to the attention of the server. After 5 refills to test it out we all figured out it was the front soda fountain. It needs a flushing and the Coke guy needs to come out and work on it. The soda fountain in the back of the house was significantly better. If you order soda, make sure you taste it before the server leaves the table in case the problem persists.
To try a little of everything we had the family appetizer platter. It was very good. the Calamari was cooked just right, though I feel it was missing something. Maybe the batter needs more seasoning. I just couldnt pinpoint it. The mozz sticks and the artichoke dip were good, also. My favorite was the bruschetta. VERY garlicky — tongue burning garlicky. It was awesome! My breath was quite the aphrodisiac after eating that.
My girlfriend and I had real deep dish before so we have a very good basis for comparison. The flavors were perfect. Good cheese, very good sauce, and the toppings came through. Our qualms: it wasnt thick enough nor was the crust as buttery as it should have been. I dont think olive oil was brushed on the crust before baking since it didnt have the shine or moistness it should have. I also dont think the interior was layered as much as it should have been. I will keep trying this place, however, because it was still good pizza and they will have take-​out and delivery in the coming months so I wont have to deal with the long waits.
There are very few really good pizza places in Houston. Sadly, most people in Texas wouldnt know a good pizza if it bit them in the ass, and probably thought this was a stellar pie. I also saw many tables ordering thin crust. Really?! Go home and order Dominoes if you dont want the type of pizza this restaurant has brought to H-​town. We lost the Unos that was on Kirby years ago and desperately needed another deep dish in town. I think this branch of Ginos will get better as they fine-​tune their craft, and the crust will taste better as the pans get seasoned from cooking tons of pies. If you like pizza give them a try. If you dont like it, it’s not like you cant go back to your regular places afterwards.