Three Chicago institutions, and people argue about them as if they’re the same question. They aren’t.
Giordano’s and Lou Malnati’s are the deep dish argument — two pizzas that look similar in a photograph and are genuinely different things on a plate. Portillo’s answers something else entirely: what to do when you have an hour, two hungry children, and no appetite for a 45-minute bake.
We ate at all three. One caveat before the verdict: we ate at Lou Malnati’s in Brookfield, Wisconsin, not in Chicago, during a week at a basketball camp near Milwaukee. Same chain, same recipe, not the same room.
The short answer
- One deep dish meal in Chicago: Giordano’s pizza
- Children under 8, or under an hour: Portillo’s, without hesitating.
- The argument settled: the difference is the crust, and the answer is a preference, not a fact. Anyone who tells you otherwise is from Chicago.
- The mistake most families make: ordering one pizza each. One slice of deep dish is a meal. A large pizza feeds four with leftovers.
The deep dish difference, explained properly
Most articles say “one is stuffed and one isn’t” and leave it there. Here’s what that actually means when it arrives at the table.
Giordano’s — stuffed
Two layers of dough with the cheese sealed between them, and the sauce spread on top. It’s a pie in the literal sense: you cut through a lid to get in.
It is the heaviest of the three and the most theatrical when the first slice comes out — the cheese pulls in a way that makes children stop talking, which is not nothing.
The first Giordano’s opened in Chicago in 1974, when brothers Efren and Joseph Boglio started making stuffed pizza from a family Easter-pie recipe.
Lou Malnati’s — buttercrust
A single crust, thinner and flakier, with the toppings and sauce layered on top rather than sealed inside. The crust is the point: rich, buttery, closer to a pastry base than a bread one, and crisp at the edge where it meets the tin.
Less of a pie. More of a proper pizza with high sides.
Lou and Jean Malnati opened the first one on 17 March 1971 in Lincolnwood, Illinois — Lou’s father had worked on deep dish back in the 1940s, which makes this the older of the two recipes.
So which one?
Our kids would say Giordano’s without hesitation, the reason is simple, it was our first choice, and they stayed with its first time flavour.
What I can tell you regardless of preference: both take a long time. Deep dish is baked to order — roughly 45 minutes at Giordano’s, 30 to 45 at Lou Malnati’s. That single fact matters more with children than anything about the crust.
The 45-minute problem, and how to solve it
This is the practical heart of the whole post.
Order the pizza the moment you sit down. Not after you’ve read the menu, not after the drinks arrive. It goes in the oven when you order it, and everything else is a waiting game you can control.
Order a starter at the same time. Garlic bread and a salad while you wait isn’t an indulgence — it’s the difference between a good meal and forty-five minutes of “when is it coming”. We did exactly this at Giordano’s.
If you don’t have 45 minutes, order the thin crust. Both restaurants make one, it comes from the same kitchen, and it’s out in a fraction of the time. Almost nobody tells visitors this, and it’s the single most useful workaround for a family on a tight afternoon.
Share. A large pizza feeds a family of four with leftovers. Ordering one each is the most common and most expensive mistake.
Portillo’s: the different question
100 W Ontario Street for the downtown flagship.
Portillo’s started in 1963 as “The Dog House” — a 12-foot trailer in Villa Park run by Dick Portillo, renamed in 1967. It is now the fast, loud, cheap answer to a Chicago food day, and it is every bit as much a local institution as the pizza.
Counter service. Food in minutes. No booking. On a day when the schedule is tight or the children have run out of patience, this is the correct choice and it isn’t a compromise.
What to get: the Italian beef, a Chicago-style hot dog, cheese fries, and a chocolate cake shake — which is exactly what it sounds like, a milkshake with cake blended into it, and the reason children remember the meal.
How to order, so you don’t freeze at the counter
Nobody writes this for visitors, and it’s the bit that catches out families who’ve never ordered either of these before. The staff will ask you questions and expect fast answers.
Ordering an Italian beef
It’s roast beef in gravy on a roll, and you’ll be asked two things:
1. How wet?
- Dry — beef lifted out, minimal gravy
- Wet — extra gravy spooned over
- Dipped — the whole sandwich briefly submerged in gravy
Dipped is the authentic version and it is messy. With smaller children, order dry.
2. Sweet or hot?
- Sweet — roasted sweet peppers
- Hot — giardiniera, a pickled vegetable relish with real chilli heat
Order sweet for children. Giardiniera is spicier than it looks and it’s the most common way a child ends up not eating their lunch.
Ordering a Chicago hot dog
A Chicago-style dog comes on a poppy seed bun with mustard, relish, chopped onion, tomato, a pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt.
There is no ketchup. This isn’t a stocking oversight, it’s a rule, and asking for it is a local joke at your expense. If your child wants a plain hot dog with ketchup, order it plain and add ketchup from the counter — everyone does it, nobody minds, and you’ve avoided the conversation.
That single paragraph will save more family meals than any review.
Side by side
| Giordano’s | Lou Malnati’s | Portillo’s | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The thing | Stuffed deep dish | Buttercrust deep dish | Italian beef, hot dogs |
| Founded | 1974, Chicago | 1971, Lincolnwood | 1963, Villa Park |
| Wait | ~45 min | 30–45 min | Minutes |
| Service | Sit down | Sit down | Counter |
| Best with | Kids 8+ who can wait | Kids 8+ | Any age, any mood |
| Faster option | Thin crust | Thin crust | It’s already fast |
And the cheap version nobody mentions
We ate at all three, and we still spent more on supermarkets than restaurants across the whole trip — €521.52 on groceries against €492.05 eating out, for four people over two weeks.
That wasn’t restraint. It was one supermarket meal a day, usually lunch from the Whole Foods hot bar, which is priced by weight and has seating. It’s a fraction of a sit-down lunch in the Loop and it’s faster with children, because nobody’s waiting on a kitchen.
Doing that is precisely what let us eat properly at Giordano’s, Lou Malnati’s and Portillo’s without the food budget running away. You don’t have to choose between eating well in Chicago and eating affordably — you just can’t do the sit-down version three times a day.
👉 What our whole Chicago trip cost 👉 Where to eat in Chicago with kids 👉 Our full Giordano’s review 👉 Our Portillo’s review 👉 Lou Malnati’s in Brookfield, Wisconsin 👉 Our 3 days in Chicago with kids
Giordano’s vs Lou Malnati’s vs Portillo’s: FAQs
What is the difference between Giordano’s and Lou Malnati’s?
The crust. Giordano’s makes stuffed deep dish, with two layers of dough and the cheese sealed between them and sauce on top, which is the heavier of the two. Lou Malnati’s makes buttercrust deep dish, a single thinner and flakier crust with the toppings layered on top. Lou Malnati’s opened first, in Lincolnwood in 1971, and Giordano’s followed in Chicago in 1974. The choice between them is a preference rather than a matter of fact.
Which Chicago deep dish is best with kids?
Both work, with one practical difference that matters more than the recipe: deep dish is baked to order and takes 30 to 45 minutes at either restaurant. Order it the moment you sit down, order a starter at the same time, and share rather than ordering one pizza each, because a single slice is effectively a full meal for most children.
Is Portillo’s better than deep dish with children?
For a tight schedule or hungry children, yes. Portillo’s is counter service, the food arrives in minutes, and it is cheaper than a sit down pizza meal. It is a different Chicago experience rather than a lesser one, built around Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago style hot dogs, cheese fries and the chocolate cake shake.
How long does Chicago deep dish take to cook?
About 45 minutes at Giordano’s and 30 to 45 minutes at Lou Malnati’s, because deep dish and stuffed pizzas are baked to order rather than reheated. Both restaurants also serve thin crust pizzas, which come out much faster and are worth ordering if you are short of time with children.
How do you order an Italian beef?
You will be asked two questions. First how wet you want it: dry means minimal gravy, wet means extra gravy spooned over, and dipped means the whole sandwich is briefly submerged. Second, sweet or hot: sweet means roasted sweet peppers and hot means giardiniera, a pickled vegetable relish with real chilli heat. Order dry and sweet for children, because dipped is very messy and giardiniera is spicier than it looks.
Why is there no ketchup on a Chicago hot dog?
A Chicago style hot dog comes on a poppy seed bun with mustard, relish, chopped onion, tomato, a pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt, and ketchup is traditionally never included. If your child wants ketchup, order the hot dog plain and add it from the counter rather than asking for it on a Chicago dog.
Is there a Lou Malnati’s near Milwaukee?
Yes. Lou Malnati’s closed three of its five Wisconsin locations in February 2025, in Greenfield, Oak Creek and Waukesha. The Brookfield location remains open as a full service restaurant and Fox Point continues as carryout and delivery only. We ate at Brookfield during a week at a basketball camp near Milwaukee.
