What was once a prominent local chain has been whittled down to a just a few locations in the suburbs. That hasn’t stopped this Northbrook outpost, though, from cranking out superb tavern-style pizzas. The crisp, cornmeal-dusted crust provides the foundation for a right amount of cheese, tangy sauce, and toppings like housemade sausage.

It’s hard to miss the gigantic neon arrow pointing folks in the direction of Candlelite. West Rogers Park is home to great cracker-thin-crust pizzas boasting ingredients such as Italian beef, shrimp, and barbecue chicken. On Tuesdays, those who dine in can get two pies for the price of one. There’s now a location inside Time Out Market food hall in Fulton Market.

The Northwest Side sometimes gets overlooked, but its love for tavern-style pizza is as strong as any part of town thanks to the large Italian immigrant population along Harlem Avenue. Dino’s is a family-owned joint with a dive bar. The owners don’t even know the term “tavern-style pizza” — they just needed a way to keep the bar’s customers. The restaurant has expanded with fresh ingredients, crispy crusts, and an adherence to tradition. 

Head to Uptown for cold beer and flaky and buttery crusts topped with a thick layer of ingredients. Michael’s is a sports bar that does Chicago-style pizza the way it was meant to be done. If guests prefer to hold the tomato sauce, an extra thin white pie finished with garlic, olive oil, mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan is the ideal alternative.

Exuding Old World charm, this family-run establishment has been a steady presence on the Northwest Side for decades. Owner Salvatore Canale makes everything from scatch, and his top notch thin crusts sport a second layer of cheese over the toppings. Selections include the La Villa Special (sausage, pepperoni, green pepper, mushroom, green olives, onion), Veggie Alfredo, and Southwestern (barbecue sauce, chicken, bacon).

Crust Fund Pizza isn’t just about cool logos that may have been inspired by “Cuphead,” the impossibly challenging video game. It’s not even a restaurant. It’s a force for good from John Carruthers, an obsessive home cook with connections to the restaurant scene thanks to his day job as marketing hype man for Revolution Brewing. Carruthers has worked hard to perfect his thin-crust pies, which go up for the taking on Instagram on a regular basis on a very limited run. Carruthers asks customers to donate money to a not-for-profit group (the selection changes weekly). It’s a clever way to raise funds while celebrating some of the best pizza in town. There’s frequent collaborations with characters like food writer and pizza chef Dennis Lee and just good Chicago vibes while picking up a pie from a back alley on North Side. This is a mighty pop-up that embraces what it means to be a Chicagoan.

Started in suburban Homewood, Aurelio’s has been mastering thin crust pizza for more than 60 years. It’s one of the oldest franchises in the Chicagoland area and has expanded to multiple states.

Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream is a force in Bridgeport, a sibling to the Marz family empire of Kimski and Maria’s Community Bar. It’s a pizza incubator for a merry band of misfits who called themselves Eat Free Pizza. They roll out a variety of styles, but their tavern style is special. Crispy, with a sauce that’s not too sweet, and sausage from Makowski Real Sausage. PFIC has injected some electricity into the tavern-style pizza scene. 

Another contender for the thin crust crown, Villa Nova is a no-frills spot that deserves to be mentioned among the South Side’s greats. It’s worth a trip out to suburban Stickney to enjoy the square-cut pizzas topped with juicy house sausage, gooey mozzarella, and other add-ons like Italian beef and chicken.

Tucked away in a Gage Park strip mall, this pizzeria has been drawing in patrons for more than 40 years with light, crispy, cracker-thin pies. Owner Rich Jensen makes the dough and fennel sausage fresh and bakes them in a Faulds rotary oven.

Garfield Ridge residents know and love this quaint carry-out joint. The neighborhood favorite has received accolades (including an appearance on The Good Wife) for one of the best thin crust pizzas the South Side has to offer. They’re sauced all the way to the edges, giving each bite a nice balance, and cooked in a 1947 Middleby Marshall oven.

Opened in the late ‘40s, Italian Fiesta is a popular South Side staple with five locations. The pizza is also a favorite of President Obama and was served at his 2009 inauguration. It’s carryout-only and customers should expect to wait at least 45 minutes, but the reward is a solid thin crust pie with a buttery crust, lots of topping choices, and a hefty amount of oregano.

The Eater 38 institution has long been praised as the king of tavern-style pizza. In a town where deep dish gets all the buzz, Vito & Nick’s still manages to garner national recognition for its thin, crunchy crusts, topped with everything from fennel sausage and ground beef to shrimp and anchovies. It’s a must-visit not just for pizza lovers, but every Chicagoan. Make sure to bring cash and order a pint of Old Style.

Travel across city lines to the suburb of Evergreen Park for terrific pies loaded with tangy sweet sauce and fresh toppings. The crispy crusts are very thin but sturdy enough to stand up to the layers of melted cheese, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, and more.

Reliable and unassuming Milano’s is where Morgan Park locals look to for some stellar thin crust. The pizzeria celebrated 35 years of operation in 2019 and its pies are notable for using imported mozzarella and a secret family sauce.