Chicago is famous for its deep dish pizza like this one with a butter crust at Lou Malnati’s.
During our visit last weekend, we found a world-class thin crust pizza in downtown Chicago at the Siena Tavern in the River North neighborhood.
Just down the street from the Westin Chicago River North hotel where we stayed, the Siena Tavern had great reviews on Yelp, especially for risotto, which we love. We headed over for a late lunch on Saturday. The place was packed – reservations only for the dining room and the bar was full.
We found empty seats at the pizza bar and convinced the host to let us dine there.
While the brunch menu is packed with many delicious-sounding dishes, having a close of view of the pizza-maker in action made our decision easy.
Mr. Jones ordered the Carne pizza with fennel sausage, pancetta, cured bacon, salami, sopressata, mozzarella, tomato and fresh basil. It was tasty with a draft Peroni beer.
I ordered the Truffle Mushroom pizza with roasted wild mushrooms, garlic cream, mozzarella and white truffle oil.
When the server delivered my pizza, he drizzled truffle oil over the top.
How we would like to have that squeeze bottle of truffle oil – oh my this pizza is incredible. Better than pizza in Naples.
Of course I shared with Mr. Jones. These pizzas are large. We should have shared one. But somehow we managed to eat both minus some of the outer crust.
The crust is very thin and crispy, except around the outer edges.
The only disappointment was the Mazzoni Barbera d’Alba wine; it was quite sharp with the pizza.
We’ve already booked another quick weekend trip to Chicago to try out more of the Siena Tavern menu, if we get past the pizza section.
What’s your favorite place to eat pizza in Chicago?
We think eating is an essential part of the travel experience. Check out these other food posts:
- A Perfect Lunch in Sonoma Wine Country
- Enjoying Modern German Food at Affäre in Kansas City’s Crossroads
- Outrageously Delicious Italian Food in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- World Class Food at Borkonyha Wine Kitchen in Budapest, Hungary
- Eating Local at the Southport Raw Bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Share your comments or questions via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram.