Rance's Chicago Pizza — Restaurant in Long Beach

I have gone to the Rance's Chicago Pizza in Costa Mesa three times and I absolutely love it. So when Rance's opened up in Belmont Shore, I was extremely excited to have one closer to me in Long Beach. The restaurant in Costa Mesa suggests calling in ahead of time because the pizza takes 45 minutes to make. Each time I called, the pizza was ready for me when I got there. So before heading out to the Long Beach location, I called my order in to allow time to cook. I called before 6 pm and was told it would be ready in an hour. I headed to the restaurant before 7 pm. It was full, so they're obviously busy, but after a 10 minute wait, I was seated. I told the server that I had called my order ahead of time, and she stated that she would move my order from "pending" to "cooking". (What's the point of calling the order ahead if it's just going to be on hold?) Fine. If that's how the logistics are, it's okay. We kept being told that our pizza would be out, but we didn't get our pizza until about an hour and half after sitting down. We fared better than the family in the next table, however, as they were seated before us and did not receive their pizza until we were about to leave. The staff (and I assume, the manager) was very apologetic and promised that they were usually better. They gave us a gift card to come back another time. I love Rance's pizza so I will definitely come back and...

Good pizza, but I've had a few deep dishes in Chicago so I expected the same level of pizza since this place originated in Chicago. Rance's only slightly failed to reach that level.

While the pizzas here were indeed filling and delicious, they were somewhat deflated compared to the ones I had in Chicago. Its immediately apparent that the pizzas don't fill the entire dish. The ones I had from other authentic places looked like giant cakes and had a certain heft in every slice. A single slice had me more than satisfied whereas I needed two Rance's slices to feel fairly full.

I'm not knocking the quality and my opinion is biased so don't get the wrong idea. The crust and cheese, which I believe are the stars in any pizza, we're both baked perfectly. Not to mention the wings made delicious appetizers during the requisite 45 minute wait time for the deep dish pizza. I also enjoyed the wide selection of beers, which included a few sours and some stouts during my visit.

The ambience was pleasant. The wall murals had a vibe that tastefully mixed vibes from both Chicago and Long Beach.

All in all, good pizza, good appetizers, good beer, good ambience. The pizza just might be slightly underwhelming if you've had authentic...

My visit was around 6:30pm on a Saturday, so things were more of a crowded and busy circumstance. The service was doing well, considering how busy they were. So, no complaints at all, good work folks. While I could imagine the average price range for most people being between $20-$30, I wanted something fancier, so my price range was $50-$60. So yes, it is possible to spend higher amounts here. I ordered a mushroom, garlic, sausage, pepperoni, canadian bacon, and chicken, pan deep dish 14". Gotta say, real artisan quality, they pile on the toppings thick juicy and chunky. If you intend to take-out bring something watertight that can contain a pizza box, I'm not kidding when I said juicy. Making the pizza took around 40-45 minutes. My pizza was un-sliced, but I suppose that was done in the name of promptness to serve me a hot pizza. So I sliced it myself. Deep dish in this establishment is to be interpreted to understand that the pie itself is shaped into a dish-like pizza. Personally, I found this to be a bit of a disappointment, I was hoping for a pizza crust that is an inch or so thick. Sadly it seems not even a Chicago pizza place knows how to do that anymore. Chicago pizza should NOT be New York...