Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

Visited this location while in Chicago with a lot of anticipation. My husband and I had seen the Lou Malnati restaurant chain on TV and were eager to gain the experience. We'd also just went on a helicopter ride so we were hype! Once we pulled up and went inside our anticipation quickly turned to disappointment. The hostess was short, crass and borderline rude. She didn't smile or welcome us in even after we told her it was our first visit. The restaurant wasn't busy at all but we sat for a lengthy amount of time waiting to be seated, without explanation. Once seated our waitress came to greet us and she was a HUGE contrast to the hostess - thankfully! This review is long overdue so I don't remember her name. I believe it began with an "L". I'd also went and spoke to a gentleman about our initial experience and impression and he "tag teamed" with our waitress to make sure the rest of our visit was the best it could possibly be. They turned the experience around for us and we were very grateful. My husband and I were starving so we jumped in for an appetizer. We ordered the chicken wings plain and got the sauces on the side. We chose ranch, blue cheese, gorgonzola, garlic parmesan and buffalo. Hey I love my sauces and dipping. Y'all know that and we wanted to try a variety of them. Let me tell you what that garlic parmesan sauce was so DANG good that you could put that on a leather shoe and eat it - do you hear me?!? Straight . To say we enjoyed ourselves with this appetizer is an understatement. Next we ordered our pizza. I'd never really had deep dish and this place is known for it so I was excited. We both ordered the personal size Deep Dish Malnati Chicago Classic and added pepperoni, basil and garlic as extra toppings. You talkin bout good - that thing was AMAZING! The "buttercrust" which is their trademark was EVERYTHING!!!! We also got Long Island Teas and they "slayed". There's nothing worse in a Long Island Tea then for one liquor to overpower another. That didn't happen here - everything was perfectly balanced. Shout out to the bartender! The decor is beautiful and full of old world class and charm. The restaurant was clean and well maintained. Bathrooms were spotless. The prices are, well let's just say they think a lot of their product. However, it was quality ingredients and not your "fast food" pizza experience - so there's that. Although our initial first impression wasn't very good our wait staff saved the day and the experience. I'd return because of that and the fact that the food was very good. Next time you're in Chicago or if you live there and are in the neighborhood you should go and check out Lou Malnati's Pizzeria. They're a cut above and served us a great first deep dish pizza experience. Happy eating and you're welcome! Enjoy!

The deep dish classic was out of this world good. The staff was super friendly. I loved the homemade creamy lemon garlic dressing on the salad. The house made tiramisu was excellent.

I needed to have some deep dish pizza before I left Chicago and I’m glad I stopped by Lou’s. They did not disappoint. Went on a Sunday afternoon without any reservation and was seated right away. The service was amazing. Shoutout to Angel he was very attentive. We had the Ravioli Crisps as an app. Wow those things are amazing. Then we ordered “The Lou” with pepperoni and basil. All the flavors were so good. The sauce was tasty and just look at the cheese pull in that video. The drinks were solid as well. We had Lou’s Twisted Lemonade and the Rum’ble in the Jungle. Everything was on point! I will definitely be coming back when I’m in Chicago.. I might even get some sent to me through Taste of Chicago.

Probably the best deep dish I’ve had in a very long time. I’ve had a few pizzas from Lou Malnati’s locations and this is by far the best one. The pizza was cooked to perfection with extra stringy cheese and nice crunchy but not burnt crust. We also tried out the mozzarella sticks and I gotta say those were darn good! The girl that was our waitress was new and still had a great level of confidence and even cut the pizza and served us. 10/10 will be coming back to this location.

Had a great dinner. Our waiter Armando was wonderful. He was extremely attentive, gave us recommendations while we were ordering based on what we were thinking about getting. Which led to the best pizza I've ever had. We also had a salad and the most amazing Bruchetta.

Our waitress was working so hard and she was great upstairs. I didn’t catch her name. The pizza was the best we had in the city. Thank you guys. The marinara sauce is something to write about.

Finally had the chance to visit Chicago’s most famous pizza spot, Lou Malnati’s, and of course we had to try their legendary deep dish pizza. The atmosphere is elegant yet cozy, with a beautiful bar area that really adds to the charm. Service was attentive and friendly throughout. We ordered the BBQ Chicken Salad and their signature Deep Dish Pizza—both were excellent. The salad was fresh and flavorful, while the pizza was everything you’d expect from Chicago’s best: rich, cheesy, and absolutely satisfying. On top of that, the prices are very reasonable—our meal for two, including tip, came out to just $45. If you’re in Chicago, this place is a must-visit. You simply can’t leave the city without trying their deep dish!

A great introduction to food in Chicago. Just one block from MHQ and a great option for lunch or dinner. I got the bow-tie pasta and "The Lou" personal pizza. Both were incredible and I had leftovers for the next day!