Chicago Pizza: The Best Pizza in Chicago, by Style

Chicago pizza styles at a glance

Three styles define Chicago pizza, and they could not be more different.

Deep dish

is the tourist icon: a tall, buttery crust pressed up the sides of a pan, cheese on the bottom, chunky tomato on top, 35 to 45 minutes in the oven. Stuffed pizza goes further, adding a second thin layer of dough over the fillings before the sauce. Tavern-style is what most Chicagoans actually eat on a weeknight: a cracker-thin, rolled-and-docked round cut into squares so it can be shared at a bar. Our full guide to

tavern style pizza

covers the dough and the party cut.

Best Chicago deep dish

For the classic deep dish experience, Lou Malnati's, Pequod's (famous for its caramelized cheese crown), and Giordano's stuffed pies are the icons. Expect a 30–45 minute bake — worth the wait. If you want to understand what makes the style tick before you go, our

deep dish pizza guide

covers the crust, the layering and a cast iron recipe.

Best tavern-style pizza

Locals' everyday pick is tavern-style: cracker-thin, party-cut squares. Vito & Nick's, Pat's Pizza, and Marie's Pizza & Liquors are legends of the thin-crust scene.

The new wave

Wood-fired and artisan shops like Coalfire and Robert's have brought Neapolitan and coal-fired pies to Chicago, broadening the city far beyond its deep-dish reputation.

Chicago is more than deep dish

Chicago's pizza reputation is dominated by deep dish, but locals know the city's everyday pizza is thin, crispy tavern-style cut into squares. A complete tour of Chicago pizza spans both worlds: the towering, buttery-crusted deep dish and stuffed pies tourists seek out, and the cracker-thin party-cut pizza Chicagoans actually eat most nights of the week.

Understanding deep dish and stuffed

Deep dish is baked in a high-sided pan with a thick, almost pastry-like crust, cheese layered directly on the dough, and chunky tomato sauce ladled on top so it doesn't burn during the long bake. Stuffed pizza takes it further, sealing a second layer of dough over the fillings before the sauce. Both are knife-and-fork affairs that eat more like a savory pie than a flatbread.

• Deep dish: thick pan crust, cheese under sauce, long bake.
• Stuffed: an extra dough layer sealed over the filling.
• Tavern / thin: cracker crust, party-cut into squares.
• Order thin like a local, deep dish like a visitor.

What makes Chicago pizza distinctive

The defining trait of Chicago deep dish is its inverted construction. Because the pie bakes for 30-45 minutes, cheese goes on the bottom to protect it, and the sauce sits on top where it can handle the heat. That long bake and buttery, cornmeal-laced crust create a rich, structured slice unlike anything in the New York or Neapolitan traditions.

Recreating Chicago pizza at home

Deep dish is one of the more achievable restaurant styles to make at home because the pan does the work and the long, moderate bake is forgiving. Use a round cake pan or a proper deep-dish pan, a butter- and cornmeal-enriched crust, low-moisture mozzarella on the bottom, and a chunky, well-seasoned tomato sauce on top. Bake at 425°F until the crust is deep golden and the center is set.

Planning a Chicago pizza crawl

To truly understand Chicago pizza, sample across styles rather than sticking to deep dish. Split a deep dish or stuffed pie for the full tourist experience, then seek out a neighborhood tavern spot for the thin, party-cut pizza locals actually eat most often. Deep dish is filling, so pace yourself - a single slice is a meal, and leaving room to compare styles is the whole point of a pizza crawl.

Shipping and recreating Chicago pizza

Several famous Chicago pizzerias ship their deep dish frozen nationwide, letting you taste the real thing far from the city, though you'll need to follow the baking instructions carefully for the best result. If you'd rather make your own, deep dish is one of the more forgiving restaurant styles to recreate at home thanks to the protective pan and the long, moderate bake - a great project for a weekend.

Deep dish, thin, and everything between

Chicago rewards pizza lovers who explore beyond the postcard deep dish. The city's pizza identity spans the towering, sauce-on-top deep dish and stuffed pies alongside the crisp, party-cut tavern pizza that dominates neighborhood dinners. Sampling both ends of that spectrum - and the styles in between - gives you the full picture of a city that takes its pizza seriously in more forms than its famous deep dish reputation suggests.