Chicago's 10 Must-Visit Restaurants For Deep-Dish Pizza

The simple question — which city has the best pizza — has kept America's largest cities engaged for the better part of a century, ever since sauce and cheese on dough became a comfort staple across the country. Although cities like Detroit, New Haven, and Portland are all contenders, the two biggest rivals have always been New York (known for its thin crusts) and Chicago, famous for its deep-dish pies baked with cheese on the bottom instead of the top. The playful competition has even been brought before Congress — well, kind of. "I love my dear friend [Connecticut Rep.] Rosa DeLauro, but to be frank, I had no idea she had such poor taste in pizza. It's no question that Chicago's deep-dish reigns supreme," Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky told The Hill, joking, "I guess I'll have to give her a taste of what real pizza tastes like."

According to the historian Peter Regas (per National Geographic), deep-dish was invented by Ric Ricardo in 1943. Ricardo was inspired by recipes from his native southern Italy, and used the cast-iron pans in Pizzeria Uno's kitchen to dream up an inch-deep, part-casserole, part-pizza creation. Now, there's no shortage of deep-dish joints across the Windy City.

Finding somewhere to sample the famous Chicago food can sometimes feel like a tourist trap, and that's why you'll want to study up on which places are must-visits. Factoring in everything from the opinions of renowned chef Anthony Bourdain to Yelp reviews, we've curated a list of the top deep-dish joints in the Chicago area that will guarantee you a perfectly proportioned bite of sauce, cheese, and dough.

Longtime New Yorker and travel-show host Anthony Bourdain tried Burt's Place on a 2009 episode of "No Reservations." Bourdain's slice was topped with locally sourced spinach, mushrooms, and bell peppers — toppings you can still order at the cozy Morton Grove pizza joint. Other toppings include sausage, pepperoni, Italian giardiniera, and more — all fresh.

Burt Katz, a restaurateur who'd already earned a stellar reputation at Pequod's in the early '70s, founded Burt's Place in 1989. Today, it's consistently ranked among the best pies in the Chicagoland area thanks to its top-notch ingredients and famous caramelized crust, which is achieved using the "pan method." Tomato sauce boils over, sweetening in the space between the buttery crust and the oven-hot cast iron.

While you're in Morton Grove, a suburb about 15 miles from the heart of downtown Chicago, make sure to check out the community's other attractions. In the wintertime, locals look forward to a tree-lighting ceremony at Harrer Park, visits with Santa, and tractor rides under the stars. During this time of year, when daily lows drop well below freezing, a slice of deep-dish at Burt's Place is one of the best ways to keep warm.

The Art of Pizza was voted the best place for deep dish by the Chicago Tribune in 2001, and it's remained a Windy City staple ever since. "We've added a few items over the years, but everything is the same," owner Arthur Shabez told Pizza Today, speaking about the menu. "I keep asking my cooks, 'What's not selling?' Everything is selling, so if it wasn't, I'd take it off." In 2017, the restaurant moved to its current spot on State Street. There's another location on Ashland Avenue about 7 miles away.

At The Art of Pizza, you'll be able to order a slice for less than $5, so no need to worry about storing leftovers in your hotel room or Airbnb. "If you're a solo traveller, this place is a godsend if you want to try deep dish pizza," writes one reviewer on Tripadvisor, adding, "I'm not sure I can have regular pizza again, as I think Chicago deep dish has raised the bar too high." Order Art's Special, a pie topped with a mix of Italian sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions, or, if you're hoping for a heavy dose of protein, opt for "Art's Meaty Delight," which has pepperoni, sliced beef, and more. There are also subs, salads, and various desserts to choose from on the menu.

With a majority of five-star reviews on Tripadvisor and a long list of official awards under its belt, Bartoli's is truly a must-visit if you're in Chicagoland. Brian Tondryk, the pizza shop's owner and founder, is the grandson of Fred Bartoli, a restaurateur who played an instrumental role in the popularization of deep dish at Gino's East, per BBC. For some families, it seems, pizza's in the blood. The pies here are also known for using fresh ingredients, like sausage sourced from the Bartoli family butcher. "My goal was to recreate what I remember growing up as a young kid running through my grandfather's restaurant," Brian Tondryk told ABC 7, adding, "Some deep dish is way too heavy, some stuffed pizzas are way too heavy. I found a good combination of the right amount of cheese, right thickness of the dough, and the right balance of sauce to our sausage."

Inside the restaurant, you'll find a chalkboard-style menu and warm brick walls, ideal for a cozy winter day meal. But for those who prefer to hunker down, Bartoli's delivers fast and hot. There are multiple locations, one in the West Town neighborhood and another in Roscoe Village on Addison Street, 4 miles away. If you're looking for something other than pizza, you'll also find a range of pasta dishes, soups, salads, and sandwiches on the menu.

Lou Malnati's has been a Chicago favorite since 1971, when the restaurant's namesake, Lou Malnati, left Pizzeria Uno to start his own restaurant in Lincolnwood. Lou stayed busy, according to his son Mark, per YouTube, working six days a week to keep the business afloat. Lines formed down the street, and one infamous customer was so eager, he even drove his Cadillac convertible into the restaurant's brand-new wall.

Lou's pie was known for its acidic sauce made from California tomatoes, lighter helpings of cheese, and crust made with butter, rather than oil. You can still order the original slice — "The Malnati Chicago Classic" — at any of the chain's many locations. There are now 60 stores in the Chicagoland area, six in Arizona, two in Wisconsin, and two in Indiana. Here's one pro tip, according to Chicago-area pizza expert Steve Dolinsky, in conversation with the BBC: Order the sausage "crumbled" over your pizza, or you'll get whole patties. And, if you go to the restaurant's original location in the northern suburb of Lincolnwood, expect a bit of a wait.

In Chicago, pizza runs in the family. That's certainly the case for Pizano's Pizza & Pasta, which was opened in 1991 by Rudy Jr. Malnati, who was none other than Lou Malnati's half-brother. Rudy's mom, Donna Marie, also played a key role in getting the business off the ground, according to Pizano's website. She was responsible for the renowned dough recipe, which continues to attract customers to this day.

You'll find hundreds of five-star reviews on Tripadvisor, many of which mention the crust and confirm that it's worth the wait. "It does take a bit for them to make, bake, and get [the pizza] to your table," notes one customer, recommending ordering a salad "to enjoy while you wait." The restaurant's interior is cozy, with dim lights and sports memorabilia decorating the walls — it's the ideal place to watch the game or to escape the Chicago cold to meet up with friends.

While you're in the lively waterfront neighborhood — which is called The Loop — check out its iconic attractions and its artsy charm. There's the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which performs in an early 20th-century concert hall, the Museum of Illusions, and even an ice-skating ribbon in Maggie Daley Park. And when it comes to food options, Pizano's is just the tip of the iceberg.

Unlike many of the other names on our list, George's Deep Dish is relatively new to the city. Founded in 2021, its owner, George Bumbaris, isn't related to the Malnatis or the Ricardos or any other Chicago pizza dynasty. Instead, he took inspiration from his father's native Greece to craft the crust recipe, which is allowed to ferment for two days and has a focaccia-like consistency, or, as Bumbaris describes, "crispy on the bottom and pillowy in the center," per The Chicago Tribune.

The restaurant is also known for its eccentric menu items, like Carlin's Layover, topped with pineapple, pepperoni, spicy cherry peppers, and grape tomatoes, or Harrison's White Album, which has spinach artichoke dip and garlic confit — all specialty pizzas are named after different famous "Georges." "The only thing I was really serious about was the quality of ingredients," Bumbaris told the Tribune. "After that, it was like, let's just have fun with it."

According to longtime Chicago pizza aficionado Steve Dolinsky, per BBC, "You must get the pinched and pressed sausage here so that fat renders into the pie as it bakes." George's is near Andersonville, a neighborhood that's often considered the "shop local" capital of Chicago. You'll also be close to Loyola Beach, one of Chicago's most popular swim spots with iconic views.

Rich Labriola has been perfecting his pizza recipe since the early '90s, when he opened two Labriola Ristorante locations — one in the heart of Chicago near the Museum of Ice Cream and one in Oak Brook. Pizzas here are among the best in Chicago, according to experts at The Chicago Tribune, and according to locals. "Labriola might actually be the most underrated pizza in Chicago," writes one Redditor. Unsurprisingly, given Rich Labriola's decades-long background in baking, it's all about the dough. Like George's, you'll find a focaccia-style crust, which allows for a soft interior and crunchy exterior.

A counter-service-only branch of Labriola's, known simply as the Pizza Joint, opened in Washington Food Hall in 2024. Here, you can order mini deep-dish pizzas, which are equivalent to a single slice and cost less than $10. Toppings are limited to cheese, sausage, and pepperoni — things like burrata and hot honey are considered add-ons. "It's awesome that the crispy cheese crust wraps all the way around so you can get the best part in every bite," reads one Google review. In the area, you'll find Millennium Park, home to The Bean, as well as Lurie Garden, which has dozens of species of local flowers and trees.

Pequod Pizza's notoriety can also be attributed to Chicago's king of pizza, Burt Katz, who opened the restaurant in 1970. Although it's switched owners in the 50 years since, the quality of the pie has remained the same. In 2024, Yelp ranked Pequod's as the No. 1 spot in the country to grab a slice; "It's thick, with a soft bready center, a crispy bottom, and a caramelized cheese crust around the edge," manager Sean Asbra told the site.

Reviewers point to the "fresh ingredients," but they also mention the wait times. "You absolutely MUST make a reservation," wrote one Yelper, adding that, "even with a reservation, you may end up waiting for a few minutes." This applies to both locations — the original Morton Grove shop and the one in Lincoln Park.

Somehow, Pequod's got even busier in the wake of season 2 of "The Bear," which featured the Lincoln Park location in Episode 7. In the show, a classic Pequod's pie is plated at a Michelin-starred restaurant, much to the chagrin of real-life Chicagoans who watched the show. "Pequod's is famous for their caramelized cheese crust. And the chef in this scene completely and literally cut the caramelized cheese crust from the dish," wrote one, per Reddit. Although there's certainly a lot of fanfare around this particular deep-dish shop, it's generally agreed upon to be worth a visit.

Giordano's is the second of Chicago's two major pizza chains (with the other being Lou Malnati's). The restaurant was founded in 1974 by Efren and Joseph Boglio, brothers who were inspired by their mother's "Italian Easter Pie." Today, there are more than 60 locations in multiple states, and you can even order a frozen Giordano's pie shipped directly to your door. The original location, however, is on Rush Street near famous Windy City attractions like the John Hancock Center and the Richard Driehaus Museum. The interior is cozy — customers sit at red-cushioned booths, and brick walls make the restaurant feel rustic and warm during the coldest days of the year.

You'll find more than 5,000 five-star reviews on Tripadvisor, with many pointing out that the pizza's well worth the wait time — deep-dish bakes for longer than thin-crust pizza, given the heaviness of the dish. "It takes about 45 minutes for them to make your pizza (which they tell you up front), and the wait is worth every second," reads one. Giordano's is known for its stuffed-crust — on top of the cheese, chefs roll out another very thin layer of dough. If you're traveling alone, YouTube vlogger Josh Payne recommends going around lunchtime when the menu includes a smaller, personal pie. "This cheese is everything," he says. "It's stringy, it's flavorful, it's abundant. If you really only care about cheese, just end your search here."

Just a block away from the original Giordano's is another Chicago classic: The original Gino's East. It was founded in 1966 by Sam Levine and Fred Bartoli, patriarch of the Bartoli pizza family. Alice Mae, a former employee of Pizzeria Uno, was hired to be their head chef. She pioneered the Gino's recipe that's still used today. According to a 1989 interview in the Chicago Tribune, Mae found that the dough at Pizzeria Uno was "too hard to push," so she developed a special "dough conditioner" when she started working as a chef at Gino's East. It allows the chef to gently shape the dough to fit the pan, instead of forcing it. Chicago Magazine guesses the so-called "dough conditioner" was made with a combination of water and oil, and that Mae's crust used less fat.

Like many of the other pizzerias on our list, Gino's East has thousands of five-star reviews on Tripadvisor. "They were easily the best Chicago-style pizzas I've ever had," reads one. It's also received a lot of attention from food bloggers and publications like Chicago Magazine. The restaurant's original location is located along what's known as the "Magnificent Mile," an upscale shopping destination that's also home to one of the largest indoor swimming pools in America.

In order to build the most comprehensive list possible, we looked to everything from firsthand accounts on Reddit, Tripadvisor, and Yelp, to YouTube vlogs and local magazine rankings. Also important to our list were the opinions of Steve Dolinsky, a longtime pizza aficionado and food journalist in the Windy City, as well as iconic chef Anthony Bourdain, who visited the city in 2009 for his show, "No Reservations." Given that deep-dish versus thin-crust pizza is a surprisingly contentious debate, we didn't factor in the opinions of self-proclaimed Chicago-style exclusionists, many of whom argue that deep-dish is a casserole, not pizza, per The Northern Star.

Traveling in from out of town? It's relatively easy to get to Chicago, which was recently ranked the "world's most beautiful city." Collectively, Midway and O'Hare airports are home to about 45 commercial airlines, and there are thousands of daily flights to hundreds of locations. There are also plenty of hotel options in the area — you can even get special deals in the wintertime, when temperatures often drop below freezing. If you're interested in a more guided pizza experience, check out The Original Chicago Pizza Tour. Although locations vary, they typically stop by places on our list like Pequod's, Labriola, and Lou Malnati's, so you'll get to sample multiple pies without waiting in line.