3 Deep-Dish Rules Illinoisans Take More Seriously Than Out-of-Staters Expect

Walk into Pequod’s without a reservation, and you’re gambling.

Walk-in spots are limited, and locals know it.

These are the deep-dish rules Illinoisans take more seriously than out-of-staters expect.

1. Cheese Under the Sauce

Lou Malnati’s builds its deep-dish pizza in a set order, with mozzarella placed directly on the dough.

Mushrooms, onions and sausage are spread over that cheese.

The tomato sauce goes on last, topped with a sprinkling of cheese and spices.

Britannica describes the same inverted layering, with the sauce on top of the toppings instead of under them.

If you’re used to thin crust, you’ll find the order reversed, with the first layer of cheese placed directly on the dough.

2. Knife and Fork

Deep-dish pizza is typically eaten with a knife and fork.

A 2023 Gino’s East blog post tells you that slicing off a chunk with a knife and lifting it with a fork is fine.

Your hands are fair game too, especially if the crust is thick enough.

Just don’t try to fold it.

A slice of deep dish rarely folds the way a New York slice does.

3. Quartering the Pie

The same post starts a deep-dish pie with a sharp knife because there’s a lot of cheese to cut through.

Two cuts through the center make quarters, and repeating the cuts makes eight slices or more.

A squarish spatula with an offset handle then loosens the crust from the pan before you scoop a piece onto your plate.

If your takeout pie came neatly packaged in a pizza box, you can skip the loosening.

Ordering Ahead

Deep-dish pizza takes time to bake, and a 2020 Giordano’s blog post puts the wait for its stuffed deep-dish pie at 45 minutes.

Pequod’s calls its pizza pan-style, a close variant on Chicago deep dish.

As of 2026, it lets you place takeout and delivery orders in advance, by phone or online.

Standard dine-in orders can’t be placed ahead because of health department regulations, so you order those after you arrive.

The last order must come at least 30 minutes before closing.

Uncut Takeout

As of 2026, Pequod’s sends its pan pizzas out uncut for takeout and delivery, to protect their quality.

If you want slices, you have to say so when you order.

Booking the Table

As of 2026, Pequod’s recommends that you reserve a table through its partner Tock because walk-in availability is limited.

If you’re planning a weekend dinner, lead times depend on group size.

Those are one week for groups under five, two weeks for groups of five or six, and three weeks for groups of seven or more.

They’re general guidelines, and lead times run longer around holidays and major Chicago events like the Chicago Marathon.

Lou Malnati’s dine-in locations and Gino’s East’s Chicago restaurants take reservations too.

Sizing by Party

Pequod’s sizes its pan pizzas by how many people they feed.

That lets you order by headcount instead of by inches.

A 14-inch large pan feeds four to five people, the same group a 16-inch large thin crust feeds.

If you’re ordering for a group of five, the 14-inch large is the size to look at.

Topping Limits

Pequod’s recommends no more than five toppings on its pan pizzas.

You can add as few or as many as you like.

Onion, green pepper, mushroom and tomato lose water as they cook, so if you order any of them, extra cheese reduces fogginess.

Thin Crust in Squares

Deep-dish pizza has a rival in Chicago, and it’s thin crust.

Locals argue that many Chicagoans eat thin crust more than deep dish.

Britannica says sales figures point the same way, with Chicagoans seeming to prefer thin crust over the version that bears the city’s name.

If you’re visiting, you might think Chicago is strictly a deep-dish town.

At Giordano’s, the traditional thin crust comes cut into “Chicago-style” squares.

It also sells a separate tavern-style pizza, baked very thin and crispy.

Vito & Nick’s on the Southwest Side settled its family tavern in Ashburn in 1945.

The family baked ultra-thin, cracker-crust pizza for its tavern patrons from the 1940s on.

The owner says she has never called it “tavern cut,” only thin crust pizza.

Who Gets the Credit

Ask who invented deep-dish pizza, and you’ll get more than one answer in Chicago.

If you check Pizzeria Uno’s history page, you’ll find Ike Sewell credited with developing deep dish in 1943 at the corner of Ohio and Wabash.

Uno’s pie was baked in a round cake pan coated with olive oil, which gave the crust a crunchy quality.

Lou Malnati’s says its recipe is the one Grandpa Malnati helped create in 1943 at Chicago’s first deep-dish pizzeria.