Lou Malnatis..pass or fail?

My first visit to Lou Malnati's in Naperville was on a very busy Sunday let me tell you! We were a group of four people. It was my friends Emily bohanek, Miriam rascon, Tyler Ray and myself so right away we knew we needed a good table. Walking in it is very easy to tell what the theme is right away. The firehouse theme made a very fun and family envornonment. Walking in there is pictures of firefighters and plaques in memory of these citizens that helped the community. the staff like the hostess and waiters were extremely friendly and efficient.We got seated immediately even though it was very packed! It is 100% family friendly which means the noise level is quite high so I do not recommend it if you are planning a quiet dinner or lunch. Our waitress gave us time to order and was always checking if we were satisfied and to let us know how much 
longer our our food would be and was very prompt 
which shows good customer service.
 But now to the main dish, lets talk food...

Inside look into Lou's

  
Naperville's downtown Lou's Malnati's is the oldest firehouses remaining complete with ladders, fire poles 
and sports memorabilia and collectibles. It is equipped with a sports bar on the side and a small arcade area to keep those kids busy and entertained.
 



Lou Malnati's made the exclusive list of the
 top 100 workplaces in Chicago!  They were
 ranked as a Top Large Employer by their employees!




Our Menu Selection

Appetizers:

Calamari

stuffed spinach bread

Main Dishes:

 medium thin crust pepperoni pizza 

 small deep dish sausage pizza 

Dessert:

 cookie pizza

Pizza: Overall Score...8

Now don't let this discourage you from trying it because it is in fact worth going. You see  it was perfect except for my slice of deep dish...it was burnt at the bottom which did not satisfy my taste buds. I did eat the cheese which was very stringy and the sausages were well cooked. Overall it would have been a delicious pizza because i could tell Tyler,Emily, and Miriam loved it! As for the pepperoni pizza, it had an authentic pizza taste and was baked very well!

Appetizer: Overall Score...10

For many people calamari might be a little "iffy" but I would highly recommend choosing this as one of your appetizers! It was a good size plate for the four of us and it came with their homemade marinara sauce. The calamari was soft and flavorful all in itself but that sauce turned the notch all the way, it was very fresh and added a kick to the calamari yet not overtaking it. The stuffed spinach bread is also very good! it may be a bit small for four but we managed. When cutting into it the cheese just spreads which was great, the spinach, onion and garlic tasted fresh and the bread was baked enough so it wasn't crumbly. This was like a pizza preview! 

               
                                                      Dessert: Overall Score...9
 
The cookie pizza consist of a chocalate chip cookie bottom layered with three or four scoops of vanilla ice cream, whip cream and a cherry. I did not like the size considering we ordered a large...trust me it looked like a personal pizza BUT after eating it I did not mind at all. the cookie is moist, soft and chewy and the ice cream is just creamy and delicious  perfect for that sweet tooth! This dessert is one of a kind and any cookie/chocalate/icecream lover will enjoy and go back for more.

                                        
Cleanliness Overall Score...6            
evaluating the bathroom was not too pleasant. Of course we do not expect a bathroom to be glamorous but at least sanitary, right?

The floors and stalls needed some cleaning. Again it may have been busy hour so maybe we should give the staff a chance. They have a  very modern bathroom with automatic sinks and dryers but they lack cleanliness. There were cups all around the tops of the wall which was either put there by customers or used as fresheners/decoration but they definitely were not nice to look at. The actual dining area was clean and in order so it was not disturbing while eating.

Prices: Overall Score...8
Prices are reasonable and affordable. All together for our meal
that served four plus the drinks it came to $51.15. With the four
of us we split the tab plus a nice tip for our amazing waitress
calamari- $7.45
stuffed spinach bread- $5.50
small sausage deep dish-$11.45
medium pepperoni thin crust- $11.40
Cookie cake- $5.95
soft drinks- $2.10 
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