Gino’s East – River North

I only had an appetizer and some beer while I was here, so I’m not going to speak to the quality and authenticity of the deep dish. Just warning you. I had a few hours to kill before I needed to head to the airport, so I decided to down some decidedly unhealthy delicacies. Gino’s was conveniently located and I’d eaten a different one when I was a kid, so I gave it a shot. As I’d expected, the large room was virtually empty at 4:30, save for a couple of tables, so I chose a seat at the long bar and took a look at the menu. $25 seemed a little more than I wanted to spend for a 9″ pizza that would probably fill me up after a slice or two, so I took advantage of the happy hour specials; $5 appetizers and half price in-house beers. I was excited by the large number of beers on tap that they brewed themselves and anxious to try some of them only to be a bit let down to discover that the polar vortex that winter had ruined much of their production and some of the most-anticipated brews were no longer available. There were a couple of choice pours that I had, however, and I wasn’t left thirsty. The pizza breadsticks that I ordered were fine, but nothing special and might be disappointing to more discerning foodies. The friendly bartender told me a bit about the history of the location. Everywhere was very clean and easy to navigate. Positive experience for such a short visit!

My first deep dish experience in Chicago and it did not disappoint! Let me tell you though, what was most memorable about this experience were the spinach mozz sticks me and some friends had as an appetizer. Very tasty and something I had not had before. For deep dish, I had the meat lovers pie which was fantastic. So much so I almost ordered it again later during this trip via DoorDash but ended up getting something else. Nonetheless, all things considering, definitely a place I would hit up again!

After I posted my review, Costen at Gino’s reached out to me. He sent me an apology card and a gift card to make up for my bad experience, which I thought was a really nice gesture. I really appreciate their effort to make things right. Not a lot of businesses care enough about returning customers or customer loyalty. I’m a little hesitant to go back to the same location, but I think this warrants a second chance. I guess I’ll have to go back and try their pizza again! (Oh no, more pizza? What a nightmare. :P)

Man..some of these other reviews are pretty brutal. For a pizza place, I think Gino’s East River North is just fine. Do some of the chairs wobble? Yeah sure- it adds some character, right? Most people end up here because they realize the wait for Lou’s is 1000 minutes. Honestly, just come here first. The place itself is relatively small, so you might have to wait a bit as well. If you don’t know, deep dish pizza takes a bit longer. so if you’re hangry..get an appetizer or two. We got the mozzarella sticks and those were great- not your typical “straight outta the freezer into the fryer” appetizer. Overall, as this isn’t in the hardcore tourist area, you’re much more likely to have a good experience here.

Chicago is one of my favorite cities. Outside of the architecture and cleanliness of the city, Gino’s is another reason. This is my second time coming here and I love love love the pizza. I always order the Ginos supreme sans mushrooms. It was hot, fresh and quite enjoyable. I had to stop myself from eating the entire thing. The only sad thing is that because of Covid, me and my friend did not eat there, but I still had an amazing experience. I will always come to Chicago and get Gino’s.

This was my first time having true deep dish Chicago pizza. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed in the pizza itself. I have to say I’m a bigger fan of NY style pizza, but even with that being said, I was expecting there to be just oozing cheese with each slice of pizza. The flavors were all there with our pizza, but it wasn’t as cheesy and gooey as I was hoping and as I’ve seen from other deep dish pizzas.

Mozzarellas sticks were awesome and the deep dish was terrific! Unfortunately the calamari is where it fell short, dry and overdone, but the pizza and beers made up for it for sure! We had great service in a pretty cool looking place!

It’s Chicago. It’s deep dish at it’s finest. We came here with a huge group during the Chicago Marathon and they accommodated us even in a busy dinner time. We sat upstairs in a surprisingly large room. Now, I’m from here and pizza is always near and dear to me. My guests had not been here before and wanted to try real pizza so this was the obvious choice. We ordered a Meaty Legend and a Spinach Margherita deep dish for the 8 of us and yes, it was easily finished. My guests could not be any more surprised by the size and taste of a true deep dish pizza. The service as always was friendly and fast even with a crazy dinner crowd. The wait can be long but worth it. If you visit Chicago and want an iconic deep dish, this is the top choice. Don’t forget to sign a table or wall to be immortalized.

Only doing the upstairs terrace on a Friday afternoon so the place was kinda packed and minimal service but it ended up being a semi-decent stop for us who have never been to Chicago. Deep dish pizza was worth the wait.

I made a call to an old friend who lived in Chicago a long time. I needed a deep dish Chicago pizza joint within walking distance of our hotel. My buddy recommended Gino’s or Another place, and Gino’s was closer so it won. We are glad it did. Housed in an old industrial building on N. LaSalle, it has a great vibe when you walk inside. We got immediate seating and our waitress, Audrey, got us set up with drinks, including some solid recommendations for local craft beers. Audrey explained that the 12″ pie would feed three people, so we quickly agreed on a Supreme with pepperoni and a Meaty Legend. After we ordered food, a crowd started filling the tables as Apple Education brought in groups of teachers. Our 6:30 dinner plan was perfect. When the pies arrived, conversation died and we heard “OMG!” “Mmmmm!” and “This is great.” Everyone managed to fit in both of their pieces, and the combination of great sauce, a crisp crust and smoked meat made this an eating EXPERIENCE. I don’t think you can go wrong if staying at one of the downtown hotels.