Where to Find Chicago’s Best Deep-Dish Pizza

Roll up your sleeves, loosen your belt, and prepare for a next-level pizza experience at these Chicago originals.

To a New Yorker, folding a slice of pizza like a taco is the most regal way to eat it, but consider carving into a slow-cooked, thick, cheesy, and sauce-laden pie with a knife and a fork… now that’s class. Deep-dish pizza might be one of the most controversial terms in Chicago’s culinary canon. Everyone has an opinion on it, and ours is that no two deep-dish pies are created equal, so you might as well try them all. In the interest of time, here are the best places to indulge in Chicago’s singular pizza experience—places so reliably good that deep-dish lovers will fall more deeply in love and haters might even give the venerable casserole-like discs a second chance.

Located southwest of Chicago, this old-school charmer makes the short trip to the suburbs worthwhile. Louisa DeGenero and her daughter opened Louisa’s over 40 years ago, converting a former dive bar into a family-friendly neighborhood favorite. Build your own buttery deep-dish pizza and grab a pint. Don't skip on appetizers and sides like cheesy meatballs or sausage with peppers.
How to order: Order ahead for delivery or pickup through Slice.

Connie's Pizza

Bridgeport
$$$$

Slinging pies since 1963, Connie’s is a must-try. The Bridgeport flagship location can accommodate large parties, boasting a sunny patio and a spacious 1800s warehouse dining room. Along with classic deep-dish pies loaded with cheese and rich with tomato sauce, Connie’s also offers Sicilian pizza, stuffed pizza, pan pizza, and thin pizza—so even the deep-dish skeptics in your party can be satisfied.
How to order: Order online through Foodtech for pickup, curbside pickup, and delivery.

This contemporary deep-dish wonderland pulls inspiration from several Chicago pizzerias, harnessing the best parts of each pizzeria of yore. However, it’s the dough, based on a focaccia-like Greek flatbread called lagana, that sets it apart. This cold-fermented dough bakes up with a delectably crispy, caramelized edge. Plus, the tomato sauce is just the right amount of sweet, and the cornmeal underside gives the whole thing that extra crowd-pleasing crunch. George’s only makes small batches each day and sells out quickly, so order ahead to make sure you get in on all the cheesy, saucy glory.
How to order: Order takeout and delivery via Tock

Launched as a ghost kitchen, this diminutive pizzeria opened in 2020 under the wing of pizza master Robert Maleski. Inspired by his grandmother (who taught him how to cook), Milly’s pan-style pies may not technically fit the deep-dish definition but they still have that girth Chicagoians know and love. Now operating out of a location on Argyle, the tasty pies are packed with care. Try the popular Clickbait, loaded with red onion, mushrooms, mini peppers, Kumato tomatoes, Castelvetrano olives, jalapenos, Calabrian chilis, and fresh ricotta cheese. If you’re feeling creative, build your own with the You Do You pizza, which only comes with a cheese base.
How to order: Order takeout and delivery via Tock.

Burt's Place

Morton Grove
$$$$

Sitting about 25 minutes north of downtown, this celebrated suburban titan makes the drive worth every minute. Burt’s Place founder, the late Burt Katz, operated the neighborhood favorite from 1989 until 2015, when he closed and eventually sold it because of health reasons. A couple years later it returned under new owners who have continued Burt’s legacy by upholding all of his original recipes and pizza-making technique. The hefty pies are a perfect blend of cheese, sauce, and bread and each pairs brilliantly with a seasonal beer enjoyed on the pleasant patio.
How to order: Order takeout or delivery through Slice,Seamless, Grubhub, UberEats, Postmates, Caviar, Doordash.

Gino's East

Multiple locations
$$$$

A 1966 original, this venerable multi-outpost pie slinger has converted many deep-dish skeptics over the decades. The owners keep the recipe, with gooey mozz and peppery tomato sauce over an ample cornmeal crust, locked up in some vault somewhere—so don’t even ask. Roll up your sleeves for inventive combos like the appropriately titled Chicago Fire, laden with hot sausage, roasted red peppers, and red onions.
How to order: Order takeout and delivery via Slice, Grubhub, Seamless, Doordash.

Giordano's

Multiple locations
$$$$

Basic? Sure. Delicious? You bet. This deep-dish giant has proven itself a master of the art throughout its long-ranging tenure, whipping up a variety of bloated pies including the coveted, stuffed variety—even offering frozen options for easy transport. An extra layer of dough above the cheese keeps all the internal fixings, like pepperoni, sausage, veggies, and the works, intact while the surface oozes with fragrant marinara sauce, beckoning passersby like a sodium-loaded siren song.
How to order: Order takeout and delivery online.

Uno invented the original deep-dish style—a crispy, short-edged crust layered with cheese and crushed tomatoes, in that order—in 1943. The budding empire later expanded to its sister restaurant Pizzeria Due, located a whole block away, after it quickly caught on. And while there are places doing the original style better today, it’s impossible not to salute this admitted tourist trap as a piece of living history. This is one heavy meal, especially if you opt for sausage—a solid disk of spiced meat plopped atop the crust like a hubcap on a tire. Despite the long waits, it's a Chicago institution, and you have to try it at least once.
How to order: Available for delivery and takeout on the business’s website.

Tano's Pizzeria

Irving Park
$$$$

Even thicker than the original deep-dish standard, stuffed pizza (which has been around since the 1960s) is built like a pizza pot pie, sporting an added cap of crust covered in sauce. Usually the crust is breadier and flakier than the traditional style. Tano's continues its family recipe from its former old school Italian joint, Manzo's, and the stuffed pie is dressed with a signature—if a bit too cloying for some—tomato sauce.
How to order:Available for delivery and takeout through Slice, Grubhub, and Seamless.

Nino's Pizza

Alsip
$$$$

The old-timers claim that deep-dish pizza came from the North Side, and real Chicagoans—by which they mean Southsiders—eat tavern-cut thin crust. There's some truth to that (though Giordano's started on 63rd Street, for one). These days, deep-dish is all over the South suburbs. Few examples are more dramatic than the pies served at this Alsip mainstay, with a ring of flaky crust as tall as a medieval wall barricading a thick lake of gooey cheese and supple tomatoes.
How to order: Call 708-423-9100 for takeout and delivery.

Bartoli's Pizzeria

Multiple locations
$$$$

Owner Brian Tondryk made sure that pizza-making stayed in the family. His grandfather, Fred Bartoli, was one of the founders of the Gino’s East empire, and when Tondryk decided to open his own place, he revived many of his grandfather’s old recipes. The deep dish here is pristinely balanced with a light, flaky crust that doesn't sit like a gut bomb. The sauce is a little sweet, as old-school versions often are, but it pairs well with both neutral toppings (like spinach) as well as toppings with a little kick (like pepperoni). Bartoli’s also hawks slices to go for those who don't think they can pound down an entire pie themselves.
How to order: Available for delivery or takeout online.

Pequod's Pizzeria

Multiple locations
$$$$

The third main style of Chicago deep-dish is pan pizza, which puts ingredients atop a puffy crust. What sets Chicago's pan pizza apart from similar styles across the country is the crispy edge of caramelized cheese that turns lacy and almost black—the creation of Burt Katz, who launched and sold several pizzerias from the 1960s on, including this very one. From cheese that's sharp enough to cut your gums to the acidic blast of the tomato sauce, this is put-hair-on-your-chest pizza, one to work up to only after you've proven you can take on milder versions. Lines snake out the door here on weekends, so if you're not up for risking an hours-long wait, make sure to snag a reservation ahead of time or plan to post up in the recently added bar next door to bide your time in style.
How to order: Order takeout and delivery online.

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

Multiple locations
$$$$

Whether or not he invented it, Lou Malnati’s pop Rudy Malnati, Sr. was definitely present at Pizzeria Uno during the birth of what probably comes closest to the original deep dish pizza in 1943. Alongside his dad, Lou Malnatii worked at Pizzeria Uno and over the years helped to develop the menu. When he left to start his own place in 1971, he took the deep-dish recipe with him. Today, this recipe has been preserved and continues to extol the virtues of simplicity: buttery crust, a thick layer of cheese, bright canned tomatoes, and massive, frisbee-sized servings of Italian sausage with a hint of wine.
How to order: Join the waitlist and order takeout and delivery online.

The Art of Pizza

Lakeview
$$$$

As far as the stuffed stuff goes, The Art of Pizza (AOP) delivers. It gets everything right, from the flaky crust to the brightly spiced tomato sauce on top. The pies are big and loud, and whether you’re a vegetarian or a meat lover, AOP has you covered. You can’t go wrong with any of the slices, but the Spinach Mushroom Onion and the Meaty Delight reign supreme. Be sure to order an extra side of sauce. You won't regret it.
How to order: Order takeout and delivery via Slice.

Nancy's Pizzeria
Photo courtesy of Nancy's Pizza

Nancy's Pizzeria

Multiple locations
$$$$

While the title remains contentious, Nancy's claims to have invented stuffed pizza. Instead of simply imitating pan pizza, founders Nancy and Rocco Palese created their own based on a family recipe for the Italian Easter pie, a savory pie traditionally stuffed with ingredients like ham, prosciutto, sausage, and mozzarella. Add sauce and a little more cheese, and the American stuffed pizza was born. The signature version features two layers of crust, with cheese and toppings crammed inside and sauce covering the top. The original 12-inch pie weighs in at an impressive five pounds and stands two-and-a-half inches tall, so prepare your stomach—and your soul—before arrival.
How to order: Order takeout and delivery online.

My Pi Pizza

Bucktown
$$$$

Deep-dish at My Pi is an all-American affair, showcasing ingredients that are said to be superior to Italy's. All the cheese comes from Wisconsin, and the San Marzano vine-ripened tomatoes are grown in California. These tomatoes are the reason My Pi is known for its famous chunky sauce—it's much more sweet than acidic, and seasoned with a special blend of herbs and spices. But what makes this pizza really stand out is the crust: It's raised three times and the final proofing happens in the oven, so you're in for a tender, yeasty bite.
How to order: Order takeout and delivery online.

Labriola Cafe

River East
$$$$

One of the best deep-dish pies is hiding in plain sight right in the middle of Chicago. Instead of flaunting a traditional golden-brown crust that soars in height, Labriola's sports a thinner crust that almost resembles the outside of a dark loaf of bread. The sauce is chunky, the mozzarella is sharp; and if you order Danny's Special, the most popular menu item, you'll get a taste of some of the crispiest sausage in town.
How to order: Order takeout via Toast, Grubhub, Seamless, Doordash, Caviar, Ubereats, Postmates, Tock.

Elanor Bock is a Chicago born, New York-based professional dancer, writer, and renaissance woman, excelling at philosophy, mathematics, outdoor adventuring, and balancing six martinis on a tray in a crowded bar. Like her dog Oli, she is highly motivated by treats. Follow her on instagram @rathernotthanks.
Mike Gebert is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and video-maker based in Chicago. He’s the creator of the acclaimed blog Sky Full of Bacon and a contributor to the Chicago Reader, Time Out Chicago, Thrillist, Where Chicago, Serious Eats and others, and was the editor of Grub Street Chicago.