Gino’s East

Been to Second City many times. It is always a great way to spend an evening. The night we went the performers were Chelsea Devantez, Paul Jurewicz, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Sara Shook, Daniel Strauss & Jamison Webb. They were hysterical. We made advance reservations & had seats on the rail. They were great. If you are in Chicago go to Second City!

This place is adorable! I was so sad when this location closed last year, but it reopened and the new remodel is super cute! They turned the parking lot into an awesome outdoor patio! Great pizza, great vibes, great service. Major plus – they are BYOB! I will def be going back!

Gino’s. We went for lunch. Luckily before a rush of tables. Our waiter told us it would take an hour for our pizza to arrive. It took 45 which was not too bad as we were entertained by the multiple screens around the restaurant. Beers were cheap as it was Craft Beer week, so we had a nice English pint for $ 4.
As far as Chicago style deep dish expect a dense rich base doused with lashings of tomato sauce which overpowered any of the other ingredients.

Some of the people working here were utterly inept, and some other reviews have mirrored this one regarding the problems with this place.
We came here on a Saturday night and were told 15 minutes for a table (next available). We went to park, and came back within a few minutes only to watch two other groups get seated prior to us. After more than 30 minutes I asked the guy who originally told me 15 minutes what the deal was. He said he didn’t know what happened. How do you not know what happened? You seated two groups who came in after us. Now everyone seated would be there for who knows how long because none of them had their food. He said we could go across the street to a beer place and have the pizza delivered. Since we had already ordered we went and we waited. And waited. And waited. It took over an hour and we had to go back over there to ask what the problem was. At the very least they could have apologized or taken some $ off of the bill, but nope. I’ll never go back to this place and will never recommend it.

I’ve been to many Gino’s around the city and enjoy their pizza, but this one definitely needs some work… I’m pretty sure they had recently remodeled and restaffed, so this might be the source of the inadequacy of service.
I had called about 15 minutes ahead of time to order a large deep dish to eat at their restaurant. They told me it would be a half hour wait, so we paid for the pie and settled in across the street at Beermiscuous, where we were told we could drink and have the pizza delivered free of charge. Novel idea, me thinks! Unfortunately, this is where the problems begin…
One beer and fifteen minutes into Beermiscuous, still no pizza (projected delivery). Two beers and forty-​five minutes into Beermiscuous… Still no pizza. At this point, they’re a half hour over their estimage; no big deal. I called them (across the street), whereupon the operator could not locate my order. Problem. It took three different people on the phone for fifteen more minutes (across the street…) to even locate our order to confirm it had even been started! A this point, it’s completely possible they lost my order and had to reinsert it and start the process all over.
It wasn’t until the third or fourth beer and 1.5 hours after arriving at Beermiscuous that I had to WALK BACK ACROSS THE STREET to PICK UP my pizza, that had just finished cooking. Who knows how long it would have taken them to deliver it?! The management and ownership here needs to step up and execute their lines in a much more efficient, let alone competent fashion.
I’ll stick to Pequod’s.

We went here last night after passing the place about 5,000 over the course of living in the neighborhood. We got a 16″ thin crust with sausage, mushroom, gardinera, and garlic, plus 3 beers. That’s a total of 4 toppings (that will come into play later).
1. Staff and associates were nice, friendly.
2. The pizza was delicious.
3. It took a long time to get a thin crust… 30+ minutes.
4. They took our order at the counter yet have suggested tips on the receipt for 18% — 22%.
5. Toppings are $ 3.25 each!!! That’s $ 13.00 in toppings alone, plus $ 22 for the pizza. Our night for a pizza and 3 beers was $ 62.45 plus tip making it come to about $ 75. Outrageously expensive!!! The beer was a little stupid expensive too, $ 7 for a draft.
By comparison, other premium pizza places in town are all cheaper. Pequod’s $ 0.80 per topping, Giordano’s $ 3.00 (still a lot but less than Gino’s), Lou Malnati’s $ 2.50.
In summary, we enjoyed the experience and the food/​drink but left feeling taken advantage of and that we won’t be back due to the outrageous topping prices. Shame on us for not checking the price but we asked other city-​living friends their thoughts on $ 3.25 per topping and everyone agreed that’s outrageous even for Chicago. We were so surprised by that price per topping that we were actually confused… it made no sense on how they could charge that much. Stay away unless you want to spend way more on pizza than any of the surrounding pizza places that are also delicious.

I love Gino’s East deep dish pizza but I always had it delivered.
On this particular day I had just gotten out of work and was famished. Decided to dine in since it was close to work. Ordered cheese sticks for appetizers, it was ok. I ordered a thin crust margherita pizza, it was the worst mistake ever! The pizza was like biting into a piece of ply wood. Thin crust should not even be in their menu, for now on just sticking to deep dish.
The two stars go to the friendly and helpful staff.

Gino’s East provides a solid option for deep dish among the myriad of options in the Chicago area. Be advised that if you are going to the Lakeview location that their dining area is very small, and if there’s a line, you’ll be waiting a while.
My recommendation would be to order for pickup or delivery so that you can know exactly when you’re going to get your pizza (although if you’re from Chicago and expect a deep dish to be ready quickly, you’re not paying attention). The crust is buttery and flaky, which is not the easiest thing to find in a deep dish place.
Their spinach sticks as an appetizer are very good. You can even pretend that the breaded, cheesy sticks are good for you because they have the word «spinach» in the name. They are filled with flavor, and go very well with the marinara dipping sauce.
Long story short: order ahead, get delivery/​takeout, and enjoy a solid deep dish pizza.

THIS IS THE BEST PIZZA PLACE IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD! I’m from The south and this place has southern hospitality in the north which was one of the biggest surprises to me! The owner Joni even served us our food and took multiple photos of us. She was such a great host I can’t express how amazing this women is once we received the food I could not stop eating. I am not a big fan of any crust but their crust is even delicious. I would give this place a million stars if I could and will return here and recommend it to anyone visiting or living in Chicago

First of all this is my first review ever because I felt compelled to share my experience about this establishment. The whole «order at the counter and wait for an hour» method makes absolutely no sense for a pizza restaurant. Secondly, the one staff member who was a younger, stockier fellow was rude and inconsiderate to me and my family. Our pretzel bites were borderline inedible and obviously straight from the freezer. We told the one previously mentioned person who kept for some odd reason insisting that he is owner and he said «that is how they are supposed to be» and wouldn’t take them back. The guy seemed a little bit off overall, very unsocialable for a position that serves the public. Lastly, we received our pizza after an hour and fifteen minutes and it was atrocious to say the least. Minimal toppings and clearly undercooked. We didn’t even finish up half and had no intention on bringing the leftovers home. That bad. It is a shame because they ruined one of my favorite Chicago deep dish pizzas.

Great place, My girlfriend and I loved the updated intimate interior, especially the prominently displayed picture of Abraham Lincoln and other historical imagery.
The management and servers were super cool and interesting to talk to.
The food was just what I like and have always had. I have eaten at the original downtown Gino’s East all my life.
I am very glad that there is a Gino’s East in the Lake View area. We will be back frequently.

One of my friend’s got a $ 16 Groupon deal for $ 30 worth of deep dish pizza (dine in only), and we decided to check this place out. We normally don’t travel this far for pizza, we went during a busy weekday afternoon and figured that all other locations would have terrible parking. Although newly renovated, they removed the parking and a summer deck took its place. Luckily, we didn’t have trouble with street parking.
Upon entering, we were greeted and were told to sit wherever we liked. There was not many tables to choose from however. They brought us paper menus and told us to order at the counter when we were ready. There were no waiters.
After deciding on the beef brisket deep dish pizza, we waited for what seemed like hours. Unilocalers, do NOT go here hungry. It is best to order your pizza ahead of time instead of having to wait at least 45 minutes for a pizza pie. Was the pizza worth the wait? Yes and no. Yes because the sauce was oh-​so-​plentiful with ooey-​gooey melting cheese and a crunchy, buttery crust. No because there was not much brisket in the pizza itself. We found ourselves reaching for the hot pepper flakes more than usual to add more flavor.
For the Groupon price, I’m glad that we were able to get a steal. Would I pay for the full $ 30 for a medium deep dish pizza? Maybe when I’m craving deep dish pizza, but ONLY for takeout.

Although the the renovation looks cute, the old Chicago style was why we loved this place! Now it just feels like a chain restaurant. We had thin crust zio Gino and they barely put any toppings on! The ranch with my salad was close to flavorless, the Caesar dressing tasted great but was too thick for a salad dressing.
Also, the location is now quick service. You place your order, pay, take a number and they bring your food. You get your own drinks and they leave dirty dishes sitting on your table and don’t pick them up.
However, the couple next to us ordered a deep dish that looked good and they seemed to enjoy it. If we return it will be for take out only. What a disappointment.

The renovation and new ownership is a GIANT step down from before.
Why?
Yeah the old place was kind of dumpy but it had a great vintage vibe about it. Now feels it’s trying to be a bad megachain (Five Guys or something).
No more spinach dip appetizer. The appetizer pretzels were straight-​up nasty.
(Paper) thin crust pizza was terrible. Thin, tasteless, no crust, any random frozen pizza is easily better. I don’t usually complain about food but between the sub-​par pizza and the nasty pretzels this place is just awful. Not that it really matters but it was cut NY-​style as well (triangles). Honestly, we didn’t try the deep dish, but if you’re here to order thin crust– just go buy a $ 6 frozen pizza.
No more parking. I get that’s not a priority for this location, but it was nice to at least have the option if we decided to drive and not have to deal with either the weather or trying to find a spot in Lakeview. I guess the summer deck will be nice, but we won’t be back.
I don’t have the old menu to compare but it felt like everything was a few bucks more. Not a big deal and it’s cheap pizza anyway but between that and everything else, we won’t be returning. Too bad, as the pre-​rennovated place was our preferred sit-​down pizza place in town.

What a disappointment this place is after anticipating their re-​opening for so long. While the family who bought the franchise at this location seems as sweet as candy, the pizza was terrible! We tried two different types of thin crust pizza and they were flavorless and had the texture of cardboard. Even worse, the leftovers (which often taste better) were inedible the next day. Additionally, the prices are extremely high. Save yourself the trip… go to Art of Pizza on Ashland instead.

We were eagerly awaiting the re-​opening at this location and tried our first pizza a few weeks back. Unfortunately, it was not what we were used to or expecting. We called and they were very apologetic and told us the next pizza was on them. We just tried them again last night and when we explained the situation, the owner went above and beyond to ensure we were happy. He even through in an extra pizza and his wife delivered it! And yes, the pizza was delicious! We will continue to be loyal customers! Thanks Ginos!

Staff is rude, they tried seating 3 people at a 2 person table after we had waited 15 min for the larger table. Then argued saying we should take the small table. I insisted on pushing the small tables together as for what we waited for. Mozzarella sticks were still cold in the middle and had to be sent back. When we finally were able to eat them they were tasteless and very chewy! Deepdish Pizza was awful! Best can be explained as spaghetti sauce poured over crust. Will not be returning and defiantly will pass the word not to come here! Worst experience for deep dish ever !

Great pizza… So glad this location is open again. Sausage and Cheese two thumbs up! Staff is super friendly under new ownership. Chris is great, was very talkative to my wife and I and on top of everything. We are sure to be back soon!

There is a new owner and one thing he or she did change was the spinach deep dish. I spoke with the manager or owner and she said that it was corporate who changed the spinach recipe. It is now sweeter than before because of basil or nutmeg they added. I much prefer the savory recipe to the sweet.
They have a Margarita pizza that most people have not liked so the hostess has been doing a spinach mix. I did appreciate that because my desire for deep dish spinach pizza would not be satisfied with a Margarita pizza. I honestly don’t know why corporate would mess with perfection since this location has had the best recipe.
Also, this place did away with waiters and has smaller seating inside. I guess their focus is take out and summer since they have a very large area for outdoor seating (I saw the plan in the window)
I really want the traditional deep dish spinach back on the menu!
Thankfully, the crust has not changed and is still amazingly crunchy.
I tried the sauce by itself because my sister ordered extra and it is still very tasty.
The entire time we ate in, they played beatles.
Overall, I still recommend this place for the best deep dish in chicago.

Small restaurant but the pizza was very good. They had a good selection of liquor for such a small place. The service was very good and the owner’s wife was very sweet. Asked for fried calamari and although small in size, they were very fresh. On the way home I realized I had left my hat and they kept it for me. Definitely plan on returning.

So much potential! The place has a great atmosphere and the employees are very nice and helpful. It just needs some direction! The food was very good and that’s what this review is about. Everything was brought to the table as requested and in an orderly fashion. The problem was that we didn’t know we needed to order from the cashier. We sat for maybe 20 minutes before we dicided to ask about how to order. Maybe it was our fault but we really were confused at first. Great place. Nice-​small atmosphere. Directions just need to be clear.

I’m sorry to see some negative reviews on here. I have eaten here a couple times since the remodel and I only have positive things to say. First off, the renovations are beautiful! They managed to upgrade the space without changing the quaint and homey vibes. As others have mentioned, we waited a bit long for our food, but that is to be expected for a new place that is still figuring out some kinks. The new staff were overly friendly and accommodating and apologetic about the wait. The pizza was perfect, and just how I remembered it! I can’t wait until the spring when they open up the new patio! This place always has been and will continue to be a staple in Lakeview!

First time there since the renovation and was a bit disappointed by the price (more expensive), less seating and the pizza wasn’t the same… seemed thinner to us. The staff was nice and friendly so there was a plus!

My husband and I visited the renovated location a few weeks ago. The atmosphere is great as a result of the renovation. We were very excited that they now serve beer and loved the selection. The pizza was amazing and exceeded our expectations. We will be returning for some more great food and drinks soon!

The crust was perfect, the seasoning for a spinach/​cheese deep dish was fabulous, and the service was friendly. Definitely the go-​to pizza in lake view, if not the north side.

That was terrible disappointing and not the same Gino’s East pizza I had from the LaSalle location two weeks ago. We ordered deep dish but it wasn’t even close to the deep dish they show in their photos. The cheese was really dense. Usually I can only eat one or maybe two slices and feel completely stuffed. Tonight I easily ate three because it wasn’t very filling. It almost tasted like a Gino’s frozen pizza you can get from the grocery store. We love Gino’s but unfortunately we will not order from this location again.

I am not sure how the food tastes but we have waited over one hour for our pizza (thin crust) and nothing. Don’t go for a few months until they get there act together or go out of business. So if you mush go, maybe call ahead or avoid.

This review is solely on pricing at this newly revived location. I used to be a regular customer before it closed.
Ordered 2 medium deep dish pizzas. One had only cheese and the other was pepperoni. The total came to $ 47.00!!! WTF is that?
Never again. Lou’s is better and a third of the price. Disappointing.

I’ve had the pizza at all of the big name Chicago places and Gino’s East takes the cake (or pie). The sausage pie is the way to go. My only problem is the same with all Chicago style pizza, it takes too long to make it. But, it is what it is and you just accept it, order your pie, have a few beers, and then eat!!!
If it’s too crowded, go to the bar and hope you get lucky enough to snag a seat. There was a 45 minute wait outside. I had to use the restroom and on my way outside to wait in line someone got up and left the bar. BAM!!! 2 seats for my wife and I with no wait.