Pizzeria Uno at 29 E Ohio St is the original address where Chicago deep-dish pizza was born in 1943, when Ike Sewell first baked his thick, buttery-crusted pie just steps from the Magnificent Mile. The restaurant still draws pizza pilgrims and families who want to taste the dish at the exact spot it started.
Expect a wait for a table, especially around lunch and dinner, because the deep-dish bakes fresh and takes close to 45 minutes. The Classic Deep Dish with sausage, chunky tomato sauce, and a thick layer of mozzarella remains the draw, though the menu now stretches to thin-crust pizza, pastas, burgers, and steaks for anyone not in a pizza mood. The dining room leans casual and loud, with sports on the televisions, wood booths, and a bar pouring Chicago-brewed beer alongside the usual cocktails. Servers know the building’s history and will point out the original brick walls and low ceilings that date back to the restaurant’s founding.
Visitor Highlights & Practical Info
Order the deep dish as soon as you sit down to offset the bake time, or call ahead for pickup. Weekday lunches run quieter than weekend evenings, when tourist traffic from Michigan Avenue and the Chicago Riverwalk fills the room. The Grand/State subway stop sits a few blocks south, and Navy Pier is a short walk east, making this an easy stop before or after a day of sightseeing in River North.
