11/02/09

YUM YUM YUM

by WindyCityNewbie

This is by far the best deep dish in Chicago! Yes, it takes a long time to cook, and is a little pricey, but well worth the buck and the wait. When I moved to Florida for a few years, I always had Lou Malnati's shipped to me from Chicago because it's my fav! Try it for yourself, you will not be disappointed. YUMMY!

• Pros: Best deep dish in Chicago!
• Cons: Long cook time

08/17/09

miamian favorite

by CSMobileUser

excellent pizza-great recommendation-filled up-no left over-not oversold

07/12/09

Tourist trap

by SureThing

We started the evening with a lovely hour long wait for a table. Admittedly, it was Saturday night so that by itself is not unexpected. We went to the bar and were blown away by their extensive beer listing - all 8 of them, all lagers.

When we were finally seated, our waiter kindly took 30 minutes between checks for drinks.

The 'deluxe pan' was garbage and the thin crust cheese was even worse. They use the same crust for thin crust as they do for pan, which makes the thin crust over risen and dry like a cracker. Both crusts were super bland as were both pizzas in general.

It then took 30 minutes for us to get our check...

Don't waste your time. We also went to Pequod's earlier and it was the same thing.

Chicago just can't do pizza. If you are a fan of New York or even west coast style pizza, you're going to be disappointed. Don't bother.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Pretty much everything

05/12/09

Good food, NO PARKING! Pick-up is a nightmare!

by MaryannFlash

This is a great place for people that live in the neighborhood.

If you can walk here, you will LOVE the place!!!!

But the down side is that I live a few miles away and have to pick up my order and when I do, there is never any parking out front so you can run in and pay.

If they were to have a "Curbside Pick-Up" it would make all the difference in the world!

They, like all other 'Chicago style pizza' places, charge a LOT for their food but it is worth it... Their pizza is wonderful and their salads are fresh and, most importantly, WATER FREE... (Here in Chicago, we have a problem with there being a LOT of water at the bottom of carry out Salads.) oh, and they even have garlic dressing!

I love this place and will come here again and again.

• Pros: Spectacular Pizza
• Cons: When you order to pick-up, you have to park Illegally.

04/26/09

Pizza was pretty good, but service made it not worth it

by JenniferinOhio

My husband and I had heard how great the pizza was at Lou's, we were told we "just had to try it" before we left Chicago. We had tried the pizza at Giordano's two nights before and were completely blown away- it was THAT fabulous! So, we headed over to Lou's where waitress took forever to get us anything. She kept saying she'd check back with us- I finally said- "I know what I want to drink and you can take our order too". Yes, three passes by the table and we had to demand she take our drink order. Asked for extra napkins, waited, asked again (never did get them). We wanted to order an additional pizza to take home with us- and our waitress literally disappeared, my husband approached a woman by the bar to request to order our "take home" pizza, and was told "oh your server can handle that for you" to which he replied "uh, yeah, haven't seen her" I think they've gotten too egotistical and have let their service go downhill. Next time I'll just go back to Giordanos.

• Pros: Good food, drinks
• Cons: slow service

04/22/09

Its like eating pizza in Italy

by dwogn

Try their thin crust cheese pizza topped with giardiniera and fresh spinach (enhanced with garlic, basil and onion), its the best pizza anywhere!

• Pros: Best pizza anywhere
• Cons: none

03/29/09

I like the taste of taste

by ybpants

My wife and I went to Lou Malnati's to sample the deep dish pizza because we heard it was one of the best (if not the best) in Chicago. Just as a bit of background I lived in Manhattan for 6 years and am a fan of NY style pizza but not so much that I would dismiss other types (and let’s be honest, Chicago and NY pizza are too completely different dishes). That said we were excited to try this “great” pizza and we were very disappointed. The tomato sauce tasted like it was straight out of a can with no added herbs or spices for flavor, the sausage may as well not have been there and the cheese was possibly the cheapest that the restaurant could find with no regard for quality. I have to say though, the butter crust was really good. For all you Chicago locals reading this, if you ever get a chance to eat at Grimaldi’s in Brooklyn, NY you will get a lesson in what award winning, world renowned pizza should taste like (or even try a papa John’s because they take care to make sure one of the ingredients they add is taste). Bottom line, fresh ingredients = good food, Lou Malnati’s = cheap ingredients & over rated food.

• Pros: Great Service
• Cons: Terrible food

01/02/09

Great deep dish pizza

by jtmrmc

Pizza was great - selection of beer more than adequate! Friendly service - an overlooked order was remedied quickly and discounted well!!!

• Pros: Friendly bar keep named Kirby
• Cons: Crowded

11/15/08

Outstandingly bad--so much so that I'm more shocked and concerned rather than disappointed or angry.

by KoG75

I hadn't had Lou's in a few years and had remembered it being quite good, so I picked up a deep dish from the Northbrook Lou's tonight. Without being overly dramatic, this is probably the worst pizza experience I've ever had considering expectation/price and the awful quality of the pizza.

The crust on the bottom was totally soggy, and the crust around the edges was totally greasy and the consistency of stale corn bread or else something like polenta. By this wierd, distubing texture, I could tell that even if the crust on the bottom had *not* gotten soggy due to the toppings it still would've been off. I'm aware that sometimes the crust gets soggy due to the ingredients (mostly veggies 'perspiring') but it wasn't just that. It's as if they forgot to add yeast to their dough or something...or maybe they didn't knead the dough enough. I'm not sure, but *something* happened (or didn't happen), but there was something obviously very wrong with this crust.

Aside from the crust, the sausage, the sauce and almost everything about the pizza was awful. It was just so bad that I *had* to call back to let them know--I wasn't even concerned about getting my money back. They advised me to order the pizza 'well done' next time, and to ask for it 'uncut,' and seemed to think that the pizza was normal and i was just being difficult.

That said, they were polite enough, and told me that I could get another one made or credit back for next time. I opted for the latter, and they took my address down, so presumably I'll get a coupon or something (although I thought this to be wierd...I would've thought the credit would jjust be in the database under my name) . I'll give it another try to use up my credit and see if this was a one time error on their part. It was just really surprisingly, astonishingly bad.

09/02/08

Best pizza in Chicago

by jen1971

Lou's pizza never disappoints me. The pizza is consistently delicious. The wait staff is friendly. I give Lou's a big thumbs up. I wish I would have discovered this pizza earlier. If you visit Chicago, you must taste Lou's pizza! Make sure you get the deep dish. If you happen to get delivery, get it delivered uncut.

• Pros: Near public transportation, good service
• Cons: Not a lot of parking