The Best Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago: A Local's Guide
Deep dish is the pizza tourists come for and locals argue about. Here's the honest guide to Chicago's deep dish institutions — plus the tavern-style thin crust most Chicagoans actually eat on a weeknight.
Deep dish is the dish Chicago is famous for — a buttery, casserole-deep crust, cheese on the bottom, chunky tomato sauce on top. It's a special-occasion, out-of-town-guests kind of pizza. (More on what locals eat the other six nights in a minute.)
We track tens of thousands of live Chicago deals at 312Deals. Here's the honest guide.
The deep dish institutions
These are the names that built the legend:
- Lou Malnati's — the most beloved of the big names; the "buttercrust" and sausage patty are the order
- Pequod's (Lincoln Park) — the cult favorite, famous for its caramelized cheese crust ring; arguably the local pick over the tourist chains
- Gino's East — the cornmeal crust and graffiti walls; a River North original
- Pizzeria Uno & Due — where deep dish was reportedly invented in 1943
- Giordano's — the stuffed-pizza variation, with a second layer of dough over the cheese
The local secret: tavern-style thin crust
Here's the thing most visitors don't know — Chicagoans eat way more tavern-style thin crust than deep dish. It's the cracker-thin, square-cut ("party cut") pizza that shows up at every neighborhood bar and corner spot. Vito & Nick's on the South Side is the temple, but nearly every tavern in the city has its version. If you want to eat like a local, that's the move.
How to save on it
Deep dish is rarely cheap, but pizza deals are everywhere if you know where to look — BOGO pies, happy-hour slices, and weeknight specials:
The takeaway
Get the deep dish once — it's worth the experience and the photo. Then spend the rest of your trip on tavern-style thin crust and the neighborhood spots where Chicagoans actually eat. Both are on 312Deals, with live deals updated daily.
Prices and specials change — always confirm with the venue. Data current as of June 2026.
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