Gino's East - Chicago

We walked into Gino's a little before 5pm yesterday (8/2) and were immediately seated at a high table just feet from the bar. Within 15 minutes from that, there was an incredible line outside waiting to get in!! GET THERE EARLY to avoid the line.We ordered the Supreme pizza with pepperoni and an appetizer, calamari. Do not order the calamari. It taste like they bought it at a local grocery store. It was rubbery and bland. Had the pizza not been hitting on all cylinders, I would have been angry.The medium Supreme pizza was ? delicious ?. The pizza took about 50 minutes to arrive. We were told this, but it was well worth the wait. It was cooked perfectly. It may be the best pizza I've ever had. Certainly the best in my memory.Please note...we ordered a medium pizza because we were very hungry. She had 1.5 slices, and I ate 2. A small would probably be enough for two people.

This was our first Chicago deep dish experience. Albeit a more touristy dish, we were looking forward to finally trying it out. We fully expected a long wait (45-60 min) as mentioned for any deep dish place. Instead we waited 75 min (ok), but more frustrating was 2 other tables seated after us that got their pizzas first. Although we were warned the servings were large and don’t fill up too soon, we went ahead and ordered the Brussel sprout appetizer which was delicious. Over this long wait we had never seen our waitress after our initial order. We had to hunt her down for water and to place a beer order. During this wait the manager came over twice to apologize for the delay. I figured there must have been a series of mixups because 4 times someone came over to serve a pizza and they declared the name (ie small cheese) and each time it was the wrong one (we just order a medium supreme off the menu, nothing special). When our order finally came, the manager served us the slices personally onto each plate due to the wait. I appreciate the effort, but looking at the slices closely I asked if this was the medium supreme, which he quickly assured us it was. It was only 4 slices, one per person in our party of 4. I figured the toppings were buried under the sauce or something, but after a few bites I realized there were only a few specks of sausage, nothing else. Moreover, I’ve heard to be careful with the portions, Chicago deep dish pizzas are very thick and maybe 1 or 2 slices per person would be enough. Instead the thickness was basically a Pizza Hut or Domino’s deep dish, and quite frankly the generic versions are more substantial. Our family of 4 light eaters literally finished the entire pizza in less than 5 minutes. My 8 and 11 year old kids asked ‘is that it?’ I think a small Pizza Hut pizza is bigger than what we got. When the waitress finally came at the end and asked how everything was, I said it was a bit of a let down and she said ‘well I wasn’t here when it was served’, which isn’t surprising since we hadn’t seen her in an hour. We paid our bill quickly and went to another restaurant to have a proper lunch. My friend from Chicago urged was to give deep dish another try, and we ended up trying Giordano’s. The medium supreme was very thick, came in under 45 minutes, stuffed with cheese and toppings, and we had to box a few slices to go because there was no way we could finish it. I would say the medium was easily 2x, if not 3x the size of the pizza we got here. I figure Gino’s forgot our order or delivered it to the wrong table and they tried to turn out whatever they could asap without telling us. Or their pizzas really are that basic and mid. At this point I don’t care, I’m glad I gave another place a chance though, I suggest you do too.

Great stop for lunch when we visited the Museum of Contemporary Art.Seated quickly. Excellent customer service from Dan and Joshua.My husband enjoyed the Eggplant Parmesan Sub Sandwich, which was a very generous serving. He had a house salad as the side really big portion with great greens and even olives. I enjoyed the Veggie Sub Sandwich, which was packed with artichokes, cucumber, and arugula. It was so full I couldn't bite into it! Fries as my side were ok, but I think they were frozen not fresh. So I might try a side salad next time.Great atmosphere with graffiti and art all over the walls (which is true for every Gino's location we have visited). Lively space in terms of sound.Very affordable meal for the location. What a treat!Vegetarian options: Several vegetarian options besides pizza. House salad is a big portion with terrific greens.

Absolutely love this spot, it's a must stop spot in Chicago. the ambiance of this place is great. and i believe this ia the original location aswell. The deep dish pizza here is one of the best you will find. definitely worth a visitFood: 5/5

Husband and I went on vacation to Chicago and had two touristy things planned. 1) kayak down the river and 2) eat some tasty deep dish pizza. Both were accomplished and this is where we got our pizza. The environment was laid back, all inclusive, and friendly! Extra plus is that they offer pitchers of any cocktails. Our server was Q and she was the warmest and most welcoming to us compared to any server we had on the entire trip. Q is a local on the south side and when we asked about other food recommendations she had a variety of options for us. We appreciate you Q! Would definitely recommend this place and will hopefully be back again. Thanks for the experience Gino’s!Kid-friendliness: Kids love writing on walls and this place encourages it. You’re welcome.