Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria · 85 S. Buffalo Grove Road, Buffalo Grove, Illinois · Updated July 2026
The question we were still debating on the drive home was not whether Lou Malnati’s makes good pizza. It obviously does. The question was whether a $62 pizza lunch for a family of four is something you plan a Saturday around, and the answer surprised all four of us. We put the new patio, the famous deep dish, a specialty thin crust, and the kids menu through a full family test, and one of those four things clearly beat the others.
This review is not sponsored. We paid for our own lunch, and nobody at the restaurant knew we were reviewing it.
Inside the Second Oldest Building in Buffalo Grove
If you have only ever grabbed Lou Malnati’s to go, this location is worth actually sitting down in. The restaurant lives in what Lou’s says is the second oldest building in Buffalo Grove, and it feels like it, in a good way. It reads like a converted old house, and the walls are doing a lot of fun work. There is a vintage Pepsi baseball scoreboard hanging over the bar, a display case full of old sports memorabilia, and a wall of vinyl records mounted in what look suspiciously like deep dish pans.
The New Patio Is the Reason to Come Back
Now the part of the visit that got a unanimous yes from all four of us. The newly remodeled patio is a big deck with red umbrellas, planter boxes stuffed with flowers, built in bench seating, and real shade. On a low 70s July afternoon it was just about perfect, and it honestly does feel like eating in someone’s backyard, which is apparently exactly what they were going for.
They also put games out on the deck, which I did not expect and genuinely appreciated. Josh and Emily played giant Connect Four while we waited for the food, which meant Vika and I got a few minutes of actual conversation. Any parent reading this knows exactly how rare that is at a restaurant. Service matched the setting too. Our waitress was excellent and genuinely pleasant the entire meal.
What We Ordered From the Lunch Menu, With Real Prices
We deliberately spread the order across the menu. Josh took the Express personal deep dish cheese pizza, a lunch combo that comes with a side house salad for $15.15. You choose your own dressing, and we always go with Malnati’s sweet vinaigrette. Vika and I shared a large thin crust BBQ chicken pizza at $29.75. Emily ordered the kids chicken nuggets with fries for $7.75, plus a Cherry Pepsi at $3.45. Check total for the four of us: $62.27.
A sizing note from the menu: personal pizzas serve one, smalls serve two, mediums serve three, and large and extra large serve four.
The Express Personal Deep Dish, the Best Order at the Table
Of the four verdicts in the car afterward, Josh’s was the shortest: “It was exactly what I wanted. It hit the spot.” That famous Buttercrust, the sauce on top, and a cheese pull that was, I have to say, next level. Vika’s description was the most accurate: it is basically a cheese soup in a crust, in the best possible way.
The combo also comes with a side house salad, and I want to give that salad its moment. The dressing is your choice, and the sweet vinaigrette is the one we pick every single time. It is delicious, it has been consistent every visit, and the salad is a real option if someone at your table is not doing pizza that day.
Josh’s one note, and I agree with him: at $15.15 the personal combo is priced a few dollars above where it feels like it should be. Something closer to ten dollars would feel right for the size. On pure satisfaction, though, it was the win of the day.
The Large Thin Crust BBQ Chicken, Good but Not the Reason You Come
Here is the honest take that might save you thirty dollars. The fundamentals of the thin crust were all there. The crust is a genuine standout, the cheese was generous, and the chicken did not have that dry texture chicken sometimes gets on a pizza. When you actually got a forkful, the cheese pull was alive and well on this one too.
But the BBQ part itself? Nothing earth shattering. The sauce leaned sweet, a little too sweet for at least half our table, and if you are used to a tangier BBQ sauce you will notice it. And then there were the onions. Vika and I genuinely disagreed here. I thought the sweet red onion was just right and will tell you that is exactly what belongs on a BBQ chicken pizza. Vika spent a not small part of lunch picking them off. You can decide whose side you are on in the comments.
The bottom line we both landed on, and I say this as the person who lobbied hard for BBQ chicken: it tastes like a good BBQ chicken pizza you could find lots of places. If you are coming to Lou Malnati’s, order what Lou Malnati’s is famous for. The deep dish is the thing you cannot get everywhere else.
PRO TIP: The price difference between a medium and a large is only a few dollars, so if you want leftovers the large is the smarter buy. Just know that a large thin crust for two hungry adults leaves less behind than you would think.
The Kids Menu Was the Value Play
Emily is not a pizza person, and when you do not like pizza, going to a pizza place can be a little tough. The kids menu saved the day: chicken nuggets with fries for $7.75, and there are other options on it too, including salads, so a non pizza kid is not stuck. Her Cherry Pepsi kept her happy at a table full of pizza she had no interest in.
Two honest notes. First, the fries are really potato wedges. Emily was expecting regular fries and felt a little ambushed, though the adults at the table thought they were some of the best bites of the meal. Second, the nuggets themselves were under seasoned, so plan on ketchup. Even so, Emily loved her meal, the portion was big enough that two thirds of it came home with us, and at that price it was easily the best value on the table.
How Much Does Lou Malnati’s Cost for a Family of Four?
Our lunch for four came to $62.27: a large thin crust specialty pizza at $29.75, the personal deep dish lunch combo at $15.15, a kids meal at $7.75, and one soda at $3.45. Order deep dish for the whole table at dinner, add drinks, and you will land higher than that. Here is the actual check, because nobody publishes real numbers for this and we think they should.
Was it worth it? Almost thirty dollars for a large thin crust was the sticking point, and the blunt verdict at our table was that the BBQ chicken was not worth that number. Even ordering the large specifically for leftovers, we ended up with maybe one light extra meal out of it. The line that summed it up on the drive home: the prices at Lou Malnati’s feel like sushi prices, and pizza is just not sushi ingredients. The deep dish combo and the kids meal, on the other hand, earned their spots on the check.
Does Lou Malnati’s Buffalo Grove Have Outdoor Seating?
Yes, and it is new. The remodeled patio is a large deck with umbrella shade, flower planters, bench seating, and outdoor games for kids, including the giant Connect Four our two could not stay away from. It is seasonal, so on a nice day expect it to be popular. If you are choosing between the dining room and the deck, choose the deck.
Does Lou Malnati’s Have a Kids Menu?
Yes. Emily’s chicken nuggets with fries ran $7.75, and the kids menu also has non pizza options like salads, which matters more than you would think when one of your kids is not a pizza fan. Portions are generous enough that ours came home with leftovers.
Is Deep Dish or Thin Crust Better at Lou Malnati’s?
We ordered both at the same table, so this is a same meal comparison, not a theory. The thin crust is good, and the crust itself is excellent. But the deep dish, with the Buttercrust and the sauce on top, is the thing that makes Lou Malnati’s Lou Malnati’s. If it is your first visit, or your tenth, the deep dish is the order. Save the specialty thin crusts for a day you are feeling curious.
Our Family Verdict
Would we go back? Yes, and that was unanimous, which does not happen often with this crew. Josh would reorder the exact same personal deep dish without a second thought. Emily would repeat her kids meal. Vika and I would skip the BBQ chicken and go straight for a classic deep dish, because the Buttercrust and the cheese are what this place does better than almost anyone.
So here is the play if you are in the northwest suburbs with your family: come to Lou Malnati’s Buffalo Grove, sit on the new patio if the weather cooperates, let the kids claim the Connect Four, order the classic deep dish, and know going in that the bill runs a little higher than pizza usually costs. You will leave happy. You just might also leave doing the math out loud in the car. We certainly did.
Location, Hours, and Reservations
Lou Malnati’s Buffalo Grove is at 85 S. Buffalo Grove Road, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089, phone (847) 215-7100. It opens at 11:00 am daily, closing at 10:00 pm most nights and 11:00 pm on Friday and Saturday. Reservations are available through OpenTable, and there is carryout and delivery if the patio is full. Happy hour runs Monday through Thursday from 3:00 to 5:00 pm with $6 drinks and $8 appetizers, which is a nice window if you are doing an early family dinner.
More Family Restaurant Reviews in the Chicago Suburbs
If you are eating your way around the northwest suburbs like we are, a few more honest family reviews from close by: Foxtail on the Lake in Des Plaines is the special occasion spot our kids picked themselves, LAGO in Lake Zurich made Vika’s Mother’s Day two years running, Sushi Plus Thai by Sensei in Palatine is the one we keep going back to when nobody can agree on a cuisine, Ari Sushi in Des Plaines quietly got really good, and Ostras Lounge in Des Plaines is worth a stop for the happy hour oysters alone.
Now settle our argument: onions on a BBQ chicken pizza, essential or the first thing you pick off? And if you have a go to order at Lou Malnati’s, drop it in the comments. We are clearly still figuring out ours.
