Gino’s East

Pizza was great!!! My favorite Chicago pizza, we will return there anytime we are in Chicago.

I’ve been coming here since it opened 29 years ago, I had my Wedding Rehearsal dinner here 27 years ago, and now it has closed forever, so that another Panera Bread can be built on the site. At least Karma sent me there on the last day (without knowing it was closing) so we had one last experience. It was a place unto itself, with a Pizza unlike any other (the «Disc» sausage), but now you have to search out another location. R.I.P.

I haven’t been to Gino’s East in easily 15yrs, possibly 20.
My son was our motivation for going back. He had a taste for deep dish pizza and we decided to head out to Gino’s rather than do take-​out from Lou Malnati’s.
On a Friday night Gino’s was dead. I used to go to Gino’s frequently and it was always packed. Apparently, no more.
The place looks the same. Graffiti everywhere, kind of a dive vibe. excellent, just as I left it.
On the upside, the deep dish pizza was also just about the same as I recall.
Crunchy crust with a bit of a corn meal flavor versus wheat flour.
I always liked this difference but some might not.
The ingredients seems to be about the same as I remember as well.
Overall, Gino’s is a good place to take a crowd of people. Get a couple large pies and hang out, talk, get loud, write on the walls etc.
Not bad, not bad, not bad at all.
Hopefully it’s able to make it long enough for us to go back.

Revisited here over the holidays. The Vegetarian Pizza sounds good on paper, but the flavor just didn’t live up to it. Shoulda stuck with a tried and true meat one. Regardless, I like Lou Malnati’s and Giordanos more.

Saw a
coupon. It was just the two of us, so to use the coupon, we got an extra pizza to go to meet our ‘quota’. In other words, did not spend less, but got more leftovers.
This used to be better. The flavors seem more bland with each visit. Of course deep dish is the way to get your pie. But it seems less worth the premium price each trip.
The restaurant was chilly. Service was mediocre. When the runner offered to refill our soft drinks he returned with the wrong flavor (reg. vs. diet) that smelled and tasted wrong (like smelly dish towels).
The pizza was not as warm as it could be, with no melty cheese, and crumbled sausage is a LOT less sausage. So little that we both, and the waiter had a hard time telling which half it was on. I think this place needs a new manager to keep an eye on the old recipes and attention to service. Unfortunately, business is so slow at night, that it would be hard to get their reputation back for a long while, especially in the winter (about 3 tables at 7pm during the week).
The dressings (a raspberry vinigrate and a creamy peppercorn) were great. On the side I got the perfect amount. But the pale ice berg was skimpy and flavorless water.
The leftovers still did not inspire, the sharp sauce taste is gone. The pepperoni is limited and flavorless, the cheese not fully baked, the crust not nearly as buttery as Lou Malnatis.
It is a good location — right at Golf and Algonquin, just East of Woodfield/​290/​53/​355, a few minutes from 90/​Arlington Heights RD (North to Algonquin, West to Golf, in front of Mejier in outlot).

I just love this place (meaning the Rolling Meadows location exclusively). The food quality is great, and the pizza, salads, and freshly baked bread are all awesome. The iced tea is always fresh brewed, and they have both Thin Crust and Chicago Deep Dish Style Pizza to satisfy all preferences.
Meanwhile, the service is almost always great with a big smile coming with it. The place is extremely comfortable, a great value, and the owners are nice people.
There is no other Gino’s East Location like this. I applaud this restaurant for doing what they do so well. Please do not change a thing. You are great!!!
For the kind of restaurant you are, I give you five stars without hesitation. :-)

Fantastic. The décor is interesting to say the least but the food is amazing. The pizza is well worth the wait. Make you sure have time to spare because deliciousness takes time to achieve.

As one who is sometimes forced to frequent establishments known for their deep dish pizza, and getting stuck ordering thin crust instead (due to the company one keeps), I have to say that I don’t think I have ever had a deep dish Gino’s.
Having said that, my meal here was, as the star rating states, A-​OK. They were out of garlic rolls, and the fried raviolis were a tad too overdone, and the chopped salad that promised avocado as one of its ingredients was glaringly missing said ingredient… but hey… the thin crust bacon-​and-​mushroom pizza was pretty gosh darn tasty. Had the formers been non-​issues, my rating would have been higher.
Ambiance… meh, I’m over it. I get the intended vibe but some of the graffiti was older than Girlspawn is… just saying. Made me feel a little icky.
Server was nice. And cute. Cute always helps.

Love the pizza, hate the restaurant.
This location is like the downtown location where people write on the walls, chairs, doors and pretty much everything– the complete opposite from the Rosemont location which is unautographed (which I much rather prefer). Nothing better than going to a restaurant which promotes their patrons to intentionally make this place look dumpier and dirtier every year. Yes, I get it, the gimmick is «different» but in this case «different» is kinda grody.
Anyway, onto the pizza. I think this is one of the best deep dish pizzas in Chicago. After recently being reintroduced (it had been at least 6 or 7 years since I last had Ginos), I forget how good this pizza is. We got a medium sausage pan supreme for the two of us, and there was more than enough for leftover lunch the next day. The crust is flaky and crispy throughout the pie much like Edwardo’s, however the crust, unlike Edwardo’s, is not tasteless. The layered sausage is very much like Lou’s, and it is an ample amount as it covers the entire pizza. The veggies were not too soggy and there was just enough (not too much) sauce on the pie. The cheese to other ingredient ratio is just right, not too much like Giordano’s.
For one of my fave deep dish pizzas in the city, why only 4 stars and not 5? 2 things:
1) The medium pan supreme pizza cost $ 24.25 here, whereas at Lou Malnati’s they charge $ 16.75 for the exact same thing. What the heck justifies the extra $ 7.50 here??? I dunno! I found it odd that the medium here is even more expensive than even a large at Lou’s for if not the same thing, then something extremely similar.
2) The environment makes me consciously think about the movie «Contagion». Obviously, it’s not stopped me from dining here cuz I’m not a total germophobe. The pizza is def worth overlooking this point. Or, there is always takeout!

I ordered there lunch special. Drink, Large Salad, and a personal deep dish pizza.
My caesar salad was delicious. I thought the pizza was just Okay. I think my expectations were over the top, and I honestly I am a thin crust pizza guy. I will leave it at that. My son and friend were happy with their pizzas, and give it a thumbs up.

The Best Deep Dish pizza is a tough call, there are a lot of fantastic deep dish pizza joints around Chicago, but Geno’s East is MY favorite. Always and forever. I love you.
Crisp crust, not wallowing in a sea of oil like another place — not sayin’ I don’t appreciate a sea of oil! I just prefer Geno’s drier, crisper crust. And it’s yellow … not bready like another place. I like bread! Who doesn’t? But I like Geno’s crust better. Relatively thin and crispy, not thick like another place. Again, I like bread, but if I wanted pizza bread that’s what I’d order. I want lots of fillings! Like; Lots of crushed tomatos in the sauce, lots of cheese, a layer of pepperoni (ordering double is too much, but … dang it’s good pepperoni!). And, not noticeably over-​salted, like another place.
We split salads, plenty to go around, and for some reason instead of my usual order of French dressing (yeah, I’m a Troglodite) I ordered Italian and … danged if it wasn’t the best Italian dressing I’d ever tried! Now I know they probably got it out of a bottle somewhere, but it was MUCH better than I expected.
The appetizers were awesome; mozzerella sticks (crisp crust, creamy interior), mushrooms (again that crisp crust, buttery mushrooms that didn’t squirt hot water all over the place — cooked right!), we also had hot wings which I didn’t try but others in the party described them as awesome.
I had iced tea, nothing noteable there.
The wait-​staff was attentive and friendly without being intrusive.
I appreciate the historic nature of the graffiti-​covered walls. Never felt compelled to add to it, but it’s an interesting distraction.
Friends have their own idea of the perfect deep dish pizza and I don’t mind any of their selections, I’ve never had a bad deep dish pizza anywhere near Chicago-​land (St. Louis, I’m pointing a finger of disdain toward you), but if it were up to ME? It’d ALWAYS be Geno’s.

This was my first night here on a business trip in Chicago and my colleague was raving about Gino’s. I was excited to try this place out but it wasn’t anything how my colleague has described it…
First off, the service was not good at all. Asked the waiter if they had a wine list? From her guest check, she shows me a handwritten list of beer and wine… Are you kidding me?! She could have read it out loud which i don’t mind if she hasn’t memorized the list but instead she straight up passes her list to me… owners of Gino’s, please have a small menu with the list of adult beverages or make sure your server is fully trained.
After I ordered a glass of Cabernet, the wine is served in smallest glass i have ever been served. There was probably 3 to maybe 4 oz of wine… this is fine if the wine is about 3 to 4 bucks. I asked my server out of curiosity and she said $ 6.22 after Tax… Are you kidding me! What a rip off.
The food took about an hour after we ordered. I’m not familiar with deep dish pizzas but does it usually take this long for a small? I had the healthy deep dish pizza scared about how heavy this pie can be. The pie had tomatoes, spinach, eggplant, red onions, cheese and tomato sauce. Unfortunately, the pizza didn’t have any flavor and the dough was really dry. I had one slice and didn’t take any more.
My colleague had the bbq baby back ribs. Huge portion and it looked really good. The ribs had good flavor but they were not tender at all. You can tell by the texture that these ribs were not slow and low. They were so tough to cut that my hand was sore in the end.
Maybe they had an off night and got stuck with a waiter that’s new and inexperienced. Perhaps, but I don’t I’ll be coming back here again.

This rating is more based on a personal feeling toward deep dish pizza. This restaurant makes a good deep dish (we got the supreme) with buttery edges and good tasting ingredients, but it never taste as awesome as i expect it to… its good, but pizza casserole just isn’t something i crave for. We also ordered sampler with fried kalamari, fried mushrooms, and wings… it was ok…
I did like how they had the place… pretty dark, and divey with writing all over the wall and booths… gave place a little character. I would come back and try the thin crust…

«Music is my drug and Eminem is my dealer.» — Anonymous
You can expect beautifully out of place quotes, sayings and expressions such as this plastered on every inch of this place. It’s their thing and yes, it’s fun. I suppose you have to bring your own marker though because we were never given any writing utensils.
Beyond the graffiti is the pizza and the service, one delicious and one so-​so. We were there for my girlfriend’s birthday and they couldn’t find our reservation, which would have been much more devastating if the place had been fuller. As it was it was just an annoyance, as they placed us upstairs, alone, with a waitress who seemed to keep forgetting to come up and check on us. It didn’ t really matter, as long as we got our food, and we did — exceptional thin crust pizza and fantastic appetizers. Just writing these words makes me crave the hot baked cheese melted over the seductively saucy dough.
I need some pizza.

WTF Gino’s. I went here for lunch the other day, excited for a deep dish personal pizza. Going to lunch is a rare treat for me, so if I actually break out of here to go – I want good food.
I left pissed off because I was served a pizza that was unable to be cut and ended up as a mound of pizza goo on my plate. Not to mention the server was completely oblivious.
Disappointing.

My first visit to a Gino’s East. Have always heard how great the pizza is, but as I’ve mentioned in other Chicago style pizza reviews, I’m just not a fan of the thickness, red sauce or disc of sausage dough fest.
Their pizza was ok. J really likes Chicago style so I gave it a whirl.
Staff very friendly. Our server Eddie was great and very attentive.
I enjoyed their buffalo wings although super messy and the actual wings were awkward sized, but good.
Interior is whimsical with all the writing on the wall. As we were waiting for our pizza J mentioned that it had a feel of a place that Uncle Buck would patronize in which I agree.
Pop and water glasses are huge. They seem quite bigger than other places.
More of a 3.5. Not quite a fan, but the place is fun and I can see why people like it.

I was a devout Lou’s fan all my life but now I have converted to a Gino’s East girl.
Yes, Lou’s toppings are definitely fresher but the flavor of the sauce on Gino’s pizza is so robust and flavorful that it just overwhelmed me.
Key note: you can call in ahead of time and order your pizza so you don’t have to wait 45 minutes after you order!

Before I was introduced to the «other» Chicago Style Pizza, our Friday nights were reserved for Gino’s East.
A place to have fantastic meal and make great memories.
We had quite a momentous return, and to find that the pizza is every bit as good as when we first had it over a decade ago, our evening went without a hitch.
Can’t wait to return.

The Unilocal photo of this place (2005) was just a tad out of date (just took care of that!) as the Cousins Subs is gone and it’s now a Jimmy John’s, this is a great one stop shopping center for the best Chicago pizza (and subs) in the suburb of Rolling Meadows.
Simply can not get into the «which ones is best» pizza war over Uno’s, Duo’s (the originals), Lou’s, Edwaros of Hyde Park, etc. as we have tried all of them and ya simply ain’t going to go wrong here. See, we don’t have the real thing like this down here in Texas. Just go and love it! :) Each pizza just mentioned is a masterpiece on it’s own. We fly from Texas no less than once a year to eat real pizza and love this place.

It’s March Madness at Gino’s East! Every Monday in March they have a special: One medium, one topping pizza for $ 9.99 (you can pay extra for additional toppings). I’m not sure if all the locations are doing it, but this one sure is. Now did I know that last night, when we spontaneously decided to go here? Absolutely not, but I’m sure glad I found out. I used to frequent this location when I worked in Schaumburg, they have good lunch specials. This was my first time back, in a couple of years.
It’s the same Gino’s East as all the others, with writing all over the walls, and ceiling. I had a pen handy so I scribbled something on the wall. We went with the aforementioned pizza special, and ordered a medium, deep dish, sausage & pepperoni. We also ordered a bowl of chicken noodle soup, and Buffalo chicken wings for appetizers. The wings came with a side of bleu cheese, and they weren’t that spicy to me, but they had enough zing to make it tasty. Our waiter told us the pizza would take 30 minutes, but it was ready in about 20.
The server came by and broke us off a slice, and it was on like Donkey Kong. It was a sausage, pepperoni, cheese, and golden crust dance party on my taste buds. I suddenly remembered why we used to go here for lunch several times a month… it’s because the pizza is damn delicious!!! Its amazing how memories can come flooding back, once you get a reminder. We were actually on our way to Lou Malnatis, but I’m glad we came here instead. I eat enough at Malnati’s, its good to be reminded how good Gino’ East is as well. We live in deep dish pizza heaven my friends, and if a New Yorker ever tells you that their pizza is better… please feel free to slap them.