Chicago is a special place. It's the home of a number of incredibly important moments in our nation's history and has developed its own unique personality over the years. And with that personality comes a thriving pizza scene - it's, uh.... simple pizza economics? No matter how you justify it, taking a trip through The Windy City simply isn't complete until you've sampled its greatest pizza pies.
So - let's get you some top-notch Chicago Pizza.
East of Chicago Pizza is a longstanding pizza chain with over 80 restaurants across Ohio, New York, and the American southeast. The first East of Chicago Pizza store opened in 1982, and has grown to become one of the larger regional pizza chains in America. They're known specifically for pan pizzas, which bring an extremely crunchy exterior crust with a fluffy, airy interior.
And if you're not in a pizza mood (sacrilege!), they've got subs, wings, and loads of other tasty sides. Give East of Chicago a chance the next time you're craving crispy, crunchy goodness.
Chicago's Pizza With a Twist is a standout in this list because it takes the American melting pot and brings it to its next logical evolution - combining pizza with a number of abnormal (and delicious) toppings and accouterments. Chicago's Pizza With a Twist is another family-owned pizzeria chain that's rapidly grown across the United States, Canada, and Indonesia.
They specialize in serving up pies with specialized diets in mind. Halal, gluten-free, GMO-free, vegan, keto, and a number of other crust and topping options make their pies infinitely customizable, and their extraordinary Indian-inspired pies are something entirely new that you really don't want to miss.
And for the third-best Chicago Pizza Restaurant on our list, we have Rance's Chicago Pizza. Rance's began many years past when Executive Chef and Founder Rance Ruiz discovered that his beloved Chicago stuffed-crust pizza was nowhere to be found on the west coast. So, he made his own. Since then Rance's Chicago Pizza has grown into an incredibly widespread chain that offers stuffed, pan, and thin-crust pizzas with the freshest possible ingredients available.
All in all, Rance's Chicago Pizza is an excellent stop for Chicagoans that are both away from home or still stuck on the couch. If you're craving a true Chicago-style stuffed crust pie, this is the stop for you.
Now, don't be fooled. The honorable mention section isn't a diss - it's meant to recognize truly excellent stops that just barely missed the cut for our top three. You'll see two quite famous entries this time around - a Neopolitan-certified pizza shop and the original Chicago deep-dish pizza joint. Let's take a peek.
Native Chicagoans already know this name - we couldn't just not mention Uno Pizzeria & Grill. While many stops will claim the same, Uno Pizzeria is the only stop to be able to claim to have truly invented the Chicago deep-dish pizza. Opened in 1943, Uno Pizzeria & Grill has remained open for well over 75 years and to this day serves the original deep-dish pie for hungry customers.
If you want to try the true original, Uno is really the only possible stop. There are many deep-dish joints in Chicago - but only one can truly say that they invented the thing.
And finally, we make it to Coda di Volpe. Coda isn't your average pizza stop - in fact, they're one of only seven restaurants in Illinois that's officially recognized as true Neopolitan pizza. Coda earned its place in the Chicago pizza annals upon being recognized by the international board that has the sole responsibility of authorizing pizza stores across the world as true Neopolitan-certified shops, the AVPN.
If you don't feel like dining out, consider cooking your own pizza at home on your own pizza oven! Be sure to check out our reviews of the Best Indoor and Outdoor Pizza Ovens. Making pizza is even more fun than dining out!