Giordano’s

You can take the girl out of Chicago, but you can’t take Chicago out of the girl.
OK. Maybe you can just a little bit. But there are pieces of Chicago that don’t go away…
… like cravings for stuffed pizza.
Every time I’ve visited Chicago in the two years since I moved, I usually get some Portillo’s (my husband loves their beef) and bring back some pizza for Chicago pizza-​loving Kentuckians. Ironically, my husband and I never got pizza for ourselves. So all that time, I kinda really wanted pizza for myself.
Last weekend, I finally got some. Just a little bit, BUT I HAD SOME PIZZA.
My sister and I ventured over to this Giordano’s location because it was the closest to home/​our next destination. It’s a new location, and really tiny! I hadn’t expected to find a small counter/​room up front and some kind of a narrow hallway with several tables. I didn’t even know Giordano’s offered this kind of location. So, essentially, it’s for pick-​up orders but if you really want to eat in, you can — it’s just a more laid-​back experience.
This location does offer slices, which is fantastic, but only of the thin crust type. I wanted stuffed pizza, but the idea of ordering a whole pizza just for my sister and I was a bit much. Fortunately, the girl behind the counter pointed out that they make individual pizzas. YES! So we each ordered a stuffed cheese mini pizza and grabbed a table in the narrow corridor.
Our pizzas arrived within a half hour. It was good. Not the best ever (because the ratio of crust to pizza was almost equal), but satisfied my craving. I had two slices and brought the rest of it back home in a box for lunch the next day. I believe the bill was around $ 20 for these two personal pizzas, which wasn’t too awful but a bit high. Oh well. It was just this one time.
Thanks for the Chicago pizza fix, Giordano’s.

Really disappointing especially since it was my first time ever ordering from Giordano’s. I placed my order at 3 pm and they notified me that my pizza would be delivered between 4:45 and 5 pm. I was okay with that, but the pizza did not arrive until 5:30 pm and when I called to inquire about the whereabouts of my pizza the lady put me on hold and didn’t even apologize or offer anything for the lateness in delivery.

Has anybody else gotten violently ill after eating here? Well I did, a few weeks back and it was unlike anything I’ve experienced before. I question the sanitary practices at this establishment. That scarred me for life and all I ordered, was a slice of cheese pizza. Never eating at this restaurant at any location again.

Do not ever order online. Call and wait on hold forever or go somewhere else. They are not tech savvy and will get your order wrong AND blame it on customer for ordering online.
Simple Order –half cheese & half onion& peparoni cooked well done. Get half onion half pepparoni and only pepparoni side well done. how did that magic happen. While causing a argument in the house because now we have no food. Because**
He will not replace because our fault ordered online“next time call” says Sal. And i wont replace pizza now but you can have one next time you call and order. He even said the preparer thought it came through odd. but instead of calling customer at listed phone number. Just make it wrong and blame it on customer for not holding for 10min.
Makes no sense customer service wise. confirming email and online order are correct on my end. It comes through wrong on their end. Just thank you for bad ending and no dinner on a friday Giordano’s. Much appreciated.

I’m not sure what it is about this location but when I order the same pizza as I have for the past 20 + years (stuffed spinach) this one is really soggy… like REALLY soggy. This has been a few times now, it’s not just a one time occurrence. When I called the store and brought it up, the tone I was given was that I order it incorrectly… and that I should make a special request.
I’m sorry but this is their specialty pizza and it’s what they are known for. I sincerely hope that no one has this location for their first time with stuffed pizza and/​or Giordano’s. The chain is not losing a customer, but that location is…

Awful service the server seemed annoyed when I asked for lemon with my water and when we asked for her to box left overs she rolled eyes like it was to much work for her to do, food was good I would suggest doing carryout

This is GREAT deep dish pizza!!!
My first time here! Hot pizza is the best!
Have to eat here though! 10 times better.

Terrible service. Completely hit or miss. The pizza is inconsistent. Sometimes it tastes better the following day, when you re-​heat it in the oven. But when it’s good, it is good. Not enough to continue dealing with this location however. The Rosemont location is too far for us for pickup/​delivery. So we’ll be going elsewhere now for Pizza. On two occasions, they forgot about our phone order. We waited over an hour for delivery and when we called, there was a «system error». Which also rendered them unable to call back the customer. On another occasion, the lady put us down as a pickup, instead of delivery .So I picked up a cold pizza and had to speak to manager on getting a discount. You figure they would of done it automatically and apologized, but nope. Like others,
I gave them a chance due to being new and letting the workers get the hang of things. But they’ve made too many mistakes now. I also hate picking up from this location, parking is extremely difficult/​none-​existent during evening hours. Then once you’re inside, it’s tiny.

Strongly discourage ordering from this location. We have been loyal giordanos customers for many years and it is our go to for Chicago style deep dish. We have always had a consistent and delicious experience at other locations; however the DesPlaines location has been terrible both of the times we’ve tried it. First time we ordered from this location, we ordered thin crust and it was a thick strange brick like consistency and sauce/​cheese had no flavoring. Very disappointing and unlike thin crust we’ve had from other giordanos locations, which has been great. Second try was tonight ordering stuffed pizza for delivery and after 1.5 hr wait, the pizza was delivered with raw dough (top and bottom).
We have heard neighbors also have complaints about the new location.
Whomever the franchisor is– please inspect this location for quality control and training. It’s a shame it’s so inconsistent and not a good representation of your brand.

Can I say amazing pizza and service?! The food was on point and it was cooked very well! I got the spinach cheese deep dish which took about 45 minutes to cook. This is standard since its deep dish. The place has a great atmosphere and vibe. Staff was super friendly and I was seated as soon as they had a spot open. Clearly the place is busy because it’s great!!! I will be visiting this place frequently! Love it. Parking lots also available which makes parking easy.

This is a cozy little place. The tables may be tight but, the staff is outstanding especially Salman the son and Syed the owner.
I have come to this restaurant many times.
First it was by myself and then I coaxed my sister to come and then my beau.
I like how clean the place is. The food may be a bit up in price, but the portions are big and very tasty.
My favorite is the spaghetti, but the thin crust pizza is also very good.
What I like is the way the staff is so very polite and accommodating. One night we wanted to sit in the back of the restaurant
and the staff assisted us to do it.
In the summer, I wanted to sit outside at a table. A very nice waitress brought my food to me outside.
I find the place small, but very relaxing. One night as my beau and I were having dinner, we watched The Sound of Music on a big screen television.
This is also a great place to call in an order and come and pick it up.
.

I live in the condos next to this place. The service is terrible. The phone person (lady) seemed annoyed in taking my order. Did not even ask for my name, did not confirm the order and did not even give me a total. I went to pick up my order and had a $ 5 coupon. The guy behind the counter (bald guy) claimed he took the $ 5 off the bill. I took the pizza went to the car and noticed he did not take the $ 5 off. I went back inside and he just played it off, like he forgot. That is a bunch of crap. What bad service!!! He finally gave me $ 5 cash.
The thin crust pizza is good. The deep dish sucks. It’s too doughy and not cooked enough. There is way better deep dish in Chicago.
I really wanted to like this place because I support all the businesses that are in my condo complex. But they need to hire a friendly staff that cares to deliver good service.

We had a discount, so thought we would try this newer, smaller location. This is not a full service location, but primarily geared for carry out /​delivery.
We called ahead for a deep dish pizza for dinner. We asked about ordering ahead to eat in, and were told this is a great idea. The order taker said 40 – 45 minutes, so we showed up in 35, just in case it was early. The pizza came in between 40 and 45 minutes after ordering — we waited only a few minutes, which gave us time to order drinks and settle in.
They don’t have all the ingredients, such as shrimp, which was our first choice. The drinks also are only bottles, though they did bring a glass with ice. The seating area is also basically a hallway between the front and rear entrances. The décor is decent given the small space, but it’s not roomy.
The pizza was excellent. Hot and fresh, made with ample ingredients — we ended up with garlic and spinach, a wonderfully flavorful combination. The garlic was fresh, and baked on top with a wonderful flavor.
Overall, the atmosphere was mediocre, but the pizza and attitudes of the staff were excellent. I recommend this location for take out of the most popular ingredients. If you want to sit to enjoy your meal, or have some of the less popular ingredients like shrimp, maybe the nearby Rosemont location would work better. This is a great place for convenience if you live in Des Plaines.

This was the worst place I have ever been!
Walked in and the place was empty with the exception of one creepy old guy sleeping at a table. We should have ran out then!
Ordered small cheese pizza and s chicken sandwich with fries.
30 minutes later, remember the place was empty, the pizza comes. COLD AND HARD. Chicken sandwich comes, stale bread and dried up chicken. No fries. Fries come 20 MINUTES later. I ask the girl at the counter to please heat the pizza. She states well it was frozen, like everything here!
Service– horrible
Food-​horrible
Environment-​horrible
Thank goodness I had a gift card.
They should be ashamed of themselves!
They have ruined the Giordanos name!

We ate here a few days ago and must say the food is amazing.
We were properly greeted and immediately seated. Everyone who has eaten should know what the pizzas all about. And yes that does involve proper cooking time. So everyone whose writing about the wait times should know this isn’t something you should come visit On your corporate 30 minute lunch break. For the deep dish to properly cook with the toppings of your choice you need to allow at least 45 minutes.
We ordered garlic cheese bread as an appetizer which was a great starter to the famous deep dish.
I’d definitely come back here and recommend it to others.
The place is kept super clean and you have a clear view of how your food is prepared with neatness.

I went here for the first time this week, and loved it! Yes, it is small, but there were about 10 tables along the narrow inside, and a bunch on the outside. It’s not their fault, all the stores on that side of the strip are kind of pie shaped areas.
The main reason I went in was to pick up a menu because I’m planning on ordering pizza for friends this coming week. Everything smelled good, so I ended up getting an Italian beef with sweet peppers and provolone to carry-​out. It came with a side, which she listed about 5 things to choose from. I got the Ceasar salad.
It was freakin’ delicious! I didn’t think any place in the northwest burbs could beat Portillo’s for a beef sandwich, but Giordano’s actually did. Just the right amount of garlic, a huge sandwich that lasted me two meals. The salad was great with the Ceasar dressing on the side, which was very tasty.
They also sell thin pizza by the slice, with a drink, for a very reasonable price. I will so be back there again!

This is like the worst place ever. We ordered a super veggie pizza and they said its gonna take 20 min. When we reach the place they said its gonna be couple more minutes. In the meantime the owner came out and talked to us about our hometown. After 10 min wait they come out and say they screwed up the pizza and made something different than we ordered. Then the owner offers that screwed up pizza for half the original price and says the super veggie is in the oven. We refused to buy it and started to wait for the super veggie pizza. Then after 10 minutes when i went to check the status, they were actually preparing it.
They tell you something and do totally the opposite and not even care how the customers feel about it.
I dont know how long they will run the place but, I guess this is the last time Im ever gonna come in here.

Love the pizza and love the owner.
Syed is a wonderful guy and the pizzas salad and cheese bread we have had numerous times were perfect.
We will keep coming back.

Length review coming up.
We had been craving some classic Giordano’s pizza for a week now, and decided to try this new location out. We’ve been to many Giordano’s and my mother has even worked at three stores in the early 90’s.
When we got it and started eating it something didn’t taste right. The dough was not cooked all the way. It was extremely doughy, and tasted gross. So we called and spoke with Sal, the owner of the Des Plaines location. We were offered a new pizza, but we didn’t want another after how disappointing the first one was. We were told Sal was hesitant to give us a refund since he had never had a complaint before. We offered to bring the pizza in, he said that’d be good.
We get to the store with the pizza. We show Sal the pizza, and brings the cook to take a look at it. We were told it was cheese… we know the difference between uncooked dough and cheese. My mother said she was disappointed as she had worked at three locations. Sal said he had never had a complaint about under-​cooked pizza, I informed him a Unilocal review from ⁹⁄₁₃ that said they had received under-​cooked pizza as well. After that he started bragging about how well they have been doing… in the two months they have been open.
After some back and forth Sal handed the receipt to the very nice cashier woman and told her to give us the refund that he didn’t care. He didn’t care? We were served under-​cooked pizza and Sal didn’t care… great management behavior. We asked if he had read any of the reviews on Unilocal as they aren’t flattering at all. He started to brag about his numbers and said if there is seven bad reviews that he doesn’t care… Buddy you have been open for barely 2 months! With the name Giordano’s people trust that they’ll get a good pizza. Sal is riding on the name and as soon as people realize how crappy this place is, business will disappear and he’ll have a hard time paying that rent.
I’m so disappointed in not only the pizza but they way Sal runs that place. To blatantly say you don’t care about 7 bad reviews in barely under 2 months is ballsy.
We will be contacting corporate about this place, and I will laugh when it’s shut down.

I was excited to see Giordano’s move into this Des Plaines spot. I like Giordano’s pizza and restaurants. Once they were open for business and seemed to have settled in, I thought I would pop in to get a deep dish to go. My first reaction upon entering was, are you kidding me? What appears to be a full menu offering… with 5 – 6 small tables along an uncomfortably narrow, dark aisle & wall and a couple outdoor tables at either entrance. The kitchen is probably 2/​3rds of the entire place and the desk ordering area has room for maybe 7 people. I will spare you the problems I see with this setup, but it should be a phone-​in/​pick-​up/​take out or delivery only-​type of place; and forget about waiting 45 minutes for a pizza to drive home.
Service was mediocre (I must’ve come on a bad day), the pizza crust was soggy, and the total lack of flavor was very evident. Gee, the receipt helps you figure how much to tip to add on if you should be so inclined. Too bad about this place; I won’t be going back.