Lou Malnati's Pizzeria (Pizza Review #100)

Basic Information:

Pizza: Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

Number of Locations: 81, mostly near Chicago, IL

Location Reviewed: 1050 E. Higgins Rd. in Elk Grove Village, IL

Website: https://www.loumalnatis.com/

Date of Review Visit: May 2019

What I Ordered: Personal Malnati Chicago Classic Pizza (8” deep dish sausage pizza); Coke to drink

Price: $11.99 (includes drink and tax but not tip)

Photos:

Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: True to its name, the crust on the pizza at Lou Malnati’s is an inch thick Chicago-style butter crust baked in a pan.  They do also offer a thin crust option, but I have no idea why.  I have not yet seen anyone do this style of crust better than Malnati’s does.  Score: 10/10.

Sauce: This pizza features a thick layer of sauce spread over the top.  The sauce has some chunks of tomato, which I don’t like.  However, the most important thing to me about any tomato sauce is that it tastes like tomatoes, and on that metric this sauce passes with flying colors.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: The cheese seems to be 100% mozzarella, and it appears in high quantity even though I had to look for it under the thick layer of sauce.  Score: 9/10.

Toppings: The sausage is an entire layer, and as you would expect on a Chicago-style pizza it appears in nice fresh chunks.  This is my favorite kind of pizza sausage.  Score: 10/10.

Overall Taste: Everything comes together really well.  Maybe this pizza has a little too much sauce with a few too many chunks of tomatoes.  Score: 9.5/10.

Pizza Appearance: The sauce and crust dominate the appearance, as usual for a true Chicago-style pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: The Elk Grove Village location has a dark dining room that is well-decorated with antique light chandeliers and antique-looking chairs.

Customer Service: The service was friendly and excellent, but the pizza took longer to make than it should have considering they weren’t that busy when I came here at 3pm on a Wednesday.

Monetary Value: The price is reasonable for pizza of this quality.  Therefore, while this is not cheap pizza, it does offer good value.

The Final Judgment:

A Chicago classic, Lou Malnati’s ranks right up with Uno’s and LaRosa’s as my favorite pizzas available.  Score: 93/100.