Remains our go to for old school Italian. We've been all over Chicago and this is our favorite chicken parm.

This place is still a five star restaurant ... from food, to service, to ambiance ... but a few things have changed that any prospect should know. Due to rising expenses and the lagging effects of the pandemic, the standard parts to AVVIO's usual dinner presentation have changed a bit. It used to be that pretty much everything you ordered here was a full meal - your entree being preceded by wonderful crusty bread, a small salad of mixed greens, an Amuse Bouche from the kitchen, a small cup of soup, and a nice serving of pizza bread. It also was a BYOB place so you could bring whatever wine or beer you fancied for a small corkage fee. Nowadays your dinner begins with the crusty bread, and a small salad or cup of soup. Gone are the Amuse Bouche, the pizza bread, the BYOB, and salad and soup are now one or the other. That said, you can still order the pizza bread off the appetizer list and they now have a full service bar for your drinks. All in all, the dinner is still a large meal and you will not leave hungry. It was just nice the former way to have an old-fashioned complete dinner. Still a great outing for diners, and our rating remains 5 stars all around. Highly recommended. read more

This place was mentioned on a neighbor social media group so we decided to try it. People said that the chef from Sabitinos, which closed due to retirement, opened his own place. The food was excellent. We had black mussels and I had the pasta with shrimp in garlic iloilo sauce. We also had calamari to start and finished with banana fosters. Everything was eexcellent. I didn't actually care for the banana foster, not because it tasted bad, but because they put cinnamon in it, so I couldn't taste the caramel or banana. Personal taste opinion. The service was superior. You get warm bread and pizza bread to start. Then both soup and salad. We will definitely be back. read more

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I am so sorry to report this. My family LOVED 'Avvio' when they first opened. The food was AMAZING! We were also big fans of the Sabatino's (which a lot of recipes were taken from). And Avvio did a great job at first. But lately, we have all been disappointed. We recently celebrated this weekend and had a bigger party in December. Both were very disappointing. While the staff was fabulous, the entrees were disappointing. The food was either over salted( stracciaella soup) or the food was just bland (I had the chicken vesuvio). It makes me sad that I have no plans to return. 2 times confirms it. Bummer. read more

Excellent Italian restaurant with an expansive menu of most every Italian dish you can imagine! Service is extremely attentive. Upon arrival at your table, besides filling your water glasses, a full loaf of fresh crusty bread arrives. And that's not it--pizza bread arrives gratis! Did i mention that there was a strolling violin & accordion playing duo making their way around the dining room for that romantic dinner or birthday dinner. Portions are generous. Highly recommended. read more

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4.5 stars My family went to Sabatino's for years. I had my 16th birthday dinner there among lots of other family milestones. My husband knows it holds a special place in my heart because it held so many memories. When he had a hankering for chicken Alfredo, I jumped on the chance to try Avvio. While it lacks the ambiance of Sabatino's, the food brought back so many memories. I do think they could try to warm it up a little by adding some screens to delineate the car and restaurant areas. Swap out the framed flatware for some better artwork, and add some wall accents that improve the ambiance. As expected, we got cheesy tomato bread to start. Pro tip: this dish has red meat. Every time we dined at Sabatino's we would bicker about whether that was the case. Husband ordered the chicken Alfredo and I got shrimp fettuccine with a tomato cream sauce. Like Sabatino's, meals come with soup, salad, and a loaf of their wonderful bread. The only food hiccup was my husband's salad seemed to have only olive oil, not the house Italian. Our food was excellent and the portions are generous. We could've muscled down our plates, but took them home and had a nice lunch the next day. Our server was nice. One major difference is the servers are a bit more casual. No suits like Sabatino's. Our server was nice and efficient. The bus boy always knew I needed water before I could try and flag him. They also have the violin and accordion player there, which felt a bit strange with the overall more casual vibe. We will definitely come back. read more

Wonderful italian food!! Excellent service and very reasonable prices in a nice and very comfortable setting. I had the oysters Rockefeller that were unusual and topped with béarnaise, but very good. Wonderful hot fresh crusty loaf of bread. I had the seafood fettuccine that was loaded with great variety of seafood proteins, and a side of excellent eggplant parmesan. Martinis and wines were excellent, as was the apple tart for dessert. Excellent experience of food and service. Looking forward to going back soon. read more

In this age of general star inflation on Yelp, Avvio deserves a five-star rating as much as any restaurant of its ilk. In a non-inflationary star environment, I might give them four stars instead, not because there was a particular problem per se, but I consider five stars to be perfection, and that should be really hard to attain, IMHO. Take that as you will. The owner was the chef at Sabatino's before it closed and brought some of the recipes along with him. It's a very old world-type Italian restaurant in a cafe setting. They start you out with a full small loaf of bread with crunchy, chewy, crumbly crust with thin bread filler inside, which really works well, especially if you're a crust guy as I am. It's more than enough bread for two, although probably not enough for four. We started out with the baked clams, which comes in six and have a substantial amount of seasoned breading on top. I ate one whole and was overwhelmed by the breading; I ended up scraping that off from the rest of them and just eating the clam straight. I also had the Stracciatella soup, which is an egg white drop soup that also had parm and pieces of spinach within. I'd never had it before--I'd have it again. For our dishes, my wife had Paglia e Fieno without the cream sauce, and I had the meatball lasagna straight up. She loved hers, and I really liked mine. It's a very hearty lasagna, half of which, after having loaded up on bread, you will take home for dinner on another night. The chocolate mousse cake was quite excellent. Very moist and creamy tasting. The location is on a crowded part of Elston just around the corner from Pulaski. We found parking right across the street at 6pm on a Friday, although I would guess that by 8pm, spots become scarce. The waiter we had was friendly with a slightly gruff manner, not off-putting at all, just a somewhat entertaining working-class Italian type. She did not steer us wrong in any respect. The menu is a bit pricey. With one app, two entrees, one dessert, and two glasses of wine each, plus tip, the bill for two was $190. Avvio is a very good choice for a nice Italian restaurant on the northwest side. read more

We have been going to Santino's since we moved into neighborhood 20 years ago. Always great service, food and value. When we learned of Avvio having many of Sabatino's recipes we were excited to try it and had several family Christmas and birthday dinners there. Ambiance and value not nearly as great las Sabatino's but some similar food items. We decided to order takeout tonight since it had been a while. The bill for 2 pasta dishes seemed crazy high and realized they charged us $41 for spaghetti and meatballs! The pasta was marginal and the fact that they are charging those prices , they have lost us as customers. Not even close to be worth it. read more

Avvio has the late, great Sabatino's DNA and it's hard to resist comparing the two. As much as Avvio's menu and recipes echo its heritage, I will try to judge Avvio on its own merits. The barely conspicuous 'kitchen' sits amid auto repair shops on a nondescript stretch of Elston. We visited on Valentine's Day. Arriving at 6:30, we were fortunate to find street parking ($5 for 2 hours) close to the restaurant. The plain jane interior was dimly lit with flickering candles reflecting off the white tablecloths. The menu--extensive for such a small dining room--dwells on old school Italian comfort foods. Trendy? Not. Our server recited a description of several Valentine's Day Specials from memory. Although the stuffed flounder, heart-shaped cheese ravioli, etc. sounded tantalizing, we went with the everyday menu. Prices appear high until you realize that all entrée prices include pizza bread (served hot), Italian bread, soup, salad, entrée AND a generous side dish. An excellent value. If you ignore the blah décor and focus on what the kitchen delivers, you'll be happy. My Missus began with a cup of hearty beef barley soup and I had the stracciatella soup (a Sabatino's carryover), followed by simple green salads with good house-made dressings. The menu lists 14 veal entrées, so how could we not order veal? I had the Veal Sorrentino. This is served on wine sauce and topped with eggplant, prosciutto, and mozzarella cheese. My Missus had the breaded veal cutlet (seems odd that the menu does not call this a "cotoletta"). The chef pounds the meat cardboard-thin to fork tenderness. Generoso sides of pasta came with our entrées. Everything was superb--nicely plated and served at the right temperature--and the portions were ample. Service was cheerful and totally professional, with an astute sense of timing. Which was no small feat, considering we visited a on a major holiday. My only grumble is their supersized dessert portions. Cannoli is the only individual-size dessert on the menu. The profiteroles ($14) was much more than my Missus could devour. read more

AVVIO - Veal Sorrentino - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The food was spot on and the beers I had were cold. Ample options to pick from on the menu. Attentive service. Street paid parking. read more

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We went with our Family on Christmas , I was thrilled to bring my adult Children. When we get Lynnette the service is stellar. ( we asked for her station) and instead we got a dude who politely told us we only could tie up his table for 45 minutes and was about to cancel our dinner. My drink took 1/2 hour to get there. Our bill was over $1,000.00 and he made sure we knew he included his tip! He didn't get another order right at all. It was a very disappointing experience. Likely we won't be bring anybody to dinner there for a long time to come. Sadly this was one of our favorite places. read more

I love the old Sabitinos feel with the same menu. Soup, salad with amazing garlic dressing homemade! A pasta side with mains and some really great old style Italian cooking. Same chef as former Sabitino's restaurant that closed down due to owners retiring. Things the new incarnation and it's worth the drive. Chow baby! read more

Started with baked oysters and the cheesy bread. Had gnocchi, mushroom ravioli, and tricolor pasta with chicken. Water cups were always full and server was helpful with recommendations. Quaint spot felt very Italian. read more

AVVIO - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Absolutely spectacular veal braciole last night. Also their 6 hour happy hour is a steal of a deal! Keep the blue cheese olives coming!

Old school Italian place that gives you soup and salad with your entrees. Normally you get bread too but they forgot to give it to us. The menu has so many choices you have to wonder how all the food could be fresh especially since it wasn't busy at all. Food is all just ok. Our server could not have been worse. He was rude, dismissive and made us feel it was a burden to serve us. They over charged us for our cocktails. We had to argue with the server who tried unsuccessfully to explain how we got charged for ice in the cocktail. The space is basic. read more

Great food, good server but they don't have a point of sale system that could issue multiple bills for our party of 10 (5 couples): get into the 21 century please. read more

I went there loved the food and service for sure will be back again and try different dishes

The food was good. We couldn't wait to try this place but the service was so slow. It was the waiter not the busboys they were great. We will probably try it once more. I usually never have a problem with service but I can't stress enough how slow it was . Also here's the kicker our waiter ate the olive out of the martini that the lady left in the glass after finishing it . Do it in the back but a few of us seen this it was hard to believe what we seen. Lots better places around our house. read more

As a local, this is literally my favorite restaurant in Chicago - highly underrated. Exact menu from many years at Sabatino's and same warm ambiance. I love the popular higher-end places in the city but for any given weekend and every birthday of mine I'll be here. Glad they're keeping the traditions going. My personal favorites are their straciatella soup, chicken parm, and homemade pasta - lasagna and tortellini. I've taken so many out-of-towners here and they always ask me when they're coming back to enjoy it some more. read more

Longtime Italian food aficionado here. I'd put Avvio up there with the best of any Italian places on the north side. The bar is small, but boy did they mix a nice drink. Old-fashioned for me and a nice wine selection for my friend. Service staff was attentive and absolutely on the spot. I know we go to restaurants for food, but the service can make or break your experience and they were absolutely outstanding from beginning to end. My only regret that I did not ask our waitress's name. She knew the whole history of the place and its legacy and was just so friendly and fun throughout. Minestrone was good. Caesar salad was excellent, and you could tell freshly tossed and made. I don't eat seafood, but my friend said the clams were outstanding. I had the lasagna. I can be pretty harsh on lasagna because it's my favorite Italian dish, but this was excellent. Street parking was fine, but we went early. Not sure what it's like on a weekend night but I don't think it's hard to find a spot around there. It was bright inside, but again we were there early in the evening. Maybe they dim the lights for a little more atmosphere as the night goes on. Not a problem though. Everything was nicely laid out and clean. Looking forward to our return visit! read more

I'll skip any reference to Sabatino's--others have covered that--and state simply that Avvio stands solidly on its own merits: excellent food, large portions, and attentive service. There was no shortage of starches to start--complimentary pizza bread, classic bruschetta, and a massive loaf of bread. We held off and saved room for excellent fried calamari followed by delicious blackened mahi-mahi and veal Vesuvio. And yes, we took home leftovers, thanks in part to filling up on the calamari starter. Dinner for two before tip: $105.00 including a $10 corkage fee. The dining room decor is no great shakes but we were far more interested in the food in front of us than what's hung on the walls. The place was jumping for a Thursday night during the fourth--or is it the fifth?--wave of Covid. Were we not triple vaxxed, this isn't a place I would patronize. read more

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We went for a double birthday dinner on a Saturday night and were very pleased with the service, ambiance and the flavors. The black Manhattan was very strong and tasty. The Italian bread and warm focaccia with cheese were nice complementary bread service. We started with an order of the fried calamari which were light and crispy. The straciatella soup was very light in flavor with tons of egg threads and some spinach (or kale?) I ordered two appetizers and shared the oysters rockefeller. It is an interesting presentation with a hollandaise sauce instead of broiled crumb topping...not sure I prefer this as it seemed a little too "soft" and I do so like the crunchy topping of the standard presentation. The oysters themselves were very fresh. My second app for dinner was the beef breseola on arugula salad. It looked very nice however it really lacked flavor. The meat was almost completely dry and the salad totally lacked dressing and flavor. Would not order it again. Others had rack of lamb (very tasty), skate wing (nice butter sauce) and gnocci with goat cheese - everyone loved their entrees. read more

AVVIO - Bresaola with arugula - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Wanted to love this given the Sabatino's pedigree. The food was good, but the service was incredibly slow. No appetizers or desserts and we were there for 2-1/2 hours just to have entrees. Took 45 minutes to get a round of drinks and an hour to take our order. I hope the owner can sort the wait staff issue. I'd order take out but not sure I'll be back for in-restaurant dining. read more

I was so looking forward to visiting my favorite Italian restaurant after arriving back from Florida. I had been bragging about the wonderful food and extra goodies that are part of the experience. I am not sure when these "goodies" became an up charge, and are no longer included with the entrees, but it was quite disappointing, especially since the entrees themselves are quite pricey. The pizza bread which was always complementary was no longer offered, and is now available for an extra charge, the soup AND salad were also part of the dinner, but now it is either or, and when one of our party asked for additional bread, we were told there will be an additional charge. I did notice that the dining room was not a packed house like I remember it and wonder if these changes have had a negative impact. Our check for 4, with no appetizers, was over $400, so it wasn't like we had inexpensive meals. I will admit our entrees were excellent, that part was consistent, but I am sure there are other restaurants that are comparable without the downgrading we experienced. Rethinking a repeat of visiting again read more

If I was just driving around looking for a place to eat, I would have passed this restaurant. The exterior looked bleak, but the inside was bustling. Tables were close together to accommodate the patrons. You'll have to strategically maneuver your way through to get to the restroom with one stall, but luckily, the place is small enough. Sat down at 615pm, and my drink order was placed. We already had a slice of bruchetta on our plate. Then cheesy bread slices came out and eventually a loaf. 7pm and our waitress hadn't taken our food orders, yet, so I gave her a stink eye as she walked by us. Finally, she took our order: husband had lasagna, I ordered the Avvio Chicken, child had buttered noodles, and bday girl had Shrimp Enzo. An order of Rockafeller Oysters was placed to start. There were 4 other people in our party, but I didn't ask what they ordered. The oyster looked like it was just spinach and cheese and I was told that's exactly how it tasted. Our soup came out first, 15 min later the salad, and then another 15 min later the main dish; 2 hours after we arrived. It was a long wait but I have to say the food was really good. I devoured my Avvio Chicken. My child enjoyed his buttered (which you can't really mess up anyway), but my husband barely touched his lasagna I think he was just not hungry cause I took a bite and I thought it was good. The rest of our party finished their plates; maybe its because we waited so long? Dessert was Baked Alaskan cause who doesn't want to see your dessert on fire? We also had cheesecake, which was ok. For drinks I would highly recommend the Lemincello sprintzer Martini (first one on the cocktail menu) - so so tasty. They also had two guys walking around serenading guests with an accordion and violin, which was a nice touch. If you want to relax and spend hours sitting, drinking, and eating a delicious meal, you should go here. They will not rush you out. read more

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So, I think the story is that when Sabatino's closed, there was a feeling that this left a void; the area needed a good Italian restaurant. I wasn't a big fan of the old fashioned style of Sabatino's, but appreciated the concept. Apparently, one of the chefs branched out and opened his own restaurant, Avvio, and put modern twists on some favorite Italian classics; American Italian rather than Italian American. The restaurant looks very "old" traditional from the outside, but is more modern and elegant on the inside. I imagine they adapted this space from another restaurant. The mid-century style bar ( which is not yet serving) is cool. They are pending a liquor license, but you can BYOB. There is a corkage fee, but they provide proper glasses. Sabatino fans will love that they still provide a full loaf of warm crusty bread, the wait staff, are gentlemen in ties and the portions are huge. It seems the dishes are either from Sabatinos or a used restaurant supply. Depends on how you interpret this; old and stodgy or retro. A Sicilian style crusty pizza with bolognese sauce and cheese are also delivered to the table and yum yum, because the crusty bread is tasteless unless you slather it with olive oil and cheese. (They must have the same baker as Sabatino. If you're a big eater this is a good place for you. Most diners walk out with a box. The entrees are full dinners; soup salad, and side included.; your side can be pasta. We both ordered specials. Veal stuffed chicken and 3 fish sautéed. Salad was good, soup good and entrees really good. Both were more than we could eat and great for the next nights's dinner. For dessert we had the apple tart, crispy pastry dough, beautifully carmelized and presented with creamy gelato Overall good dinner. read more

AVVIO - Salmon grouper and seirdfish - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The food was horrible. We ordered 3 different dishes and it was all bad! The only good thing was the water! The service was terrible. My nephew ordered a beer twice, and they never brought it! The restaurant looked like an old dirty restaurant. They need Gordam Ramsey help!!! read more

Been wanting to come here for a while and so glad we finally made it! The food was absolutely delicious, huge portions! The pizza bread was so good! Our server, Lynette, was AWESOME!! Will definitely be back!! read more

AVVIO - Chicken Marsala and chicken Parmesan - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Very authentic northern Italian food. They have a veal combo thats unbelievable (not on the menu) ... they give you the options of selecting 3 veal styles of your choosing. They also have the best meat sauce in town. Highly recommended. read more

Avio hit the spot! The food is delicious, and the customer service top notch. They start you off with bruschetta and pizza bread! Also, the loaf of bread they bring out is huge! The entrees offer soup AND salad! By the time the entree came, I could only eat half! The drinks are delicious too! Sit outdoors on their patio. It's a little oasis. read more

AVVIO - Great outdoor seating - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Drove by Avvio and noticed it had great reviews so we bookmarked it to return. So glad we did... this place is an absolute gem! The space is clean and comfortable with a few bar seats and fairly sizable dining room. Service was fast and friendly... they start you off with a loaf of warm Italian bread some olive oil and parmigiana. We ordered a brown butter scallops, risotto, and roasted pumpkin dish... the presentation was incredible and it tasted fantastic. For the main course we split an egg plan parmigiana... it comes with choice of soup, salad, and a side of pasta, potato, or green beans (we got pasta with meat sauce). Wow what a meal! We'll be back for more! read more

AVVIO - *Eggplant Parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Came here for my sisters birthday. We made a reservation at 7:15 pm and we were on time. There's 21 of us. Our server was great and she's really nice but our order was taken late. Our soup came 1 minute before closing which is 8:59pm. The food was okay.... Soup was salty and we are paying our bill at 10:04pm. We can't eat our birthday cake in the restaurant not unless we will pay extra. Our bills were a bit of a mess. One thing is for sure... you will not get wrong ordering pasta here but nothing else read more

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We had a delicious meal there including chicken parmesan, bone in chicken vesuvio and chicken marsala. All were delicious. So was minestrone soup and loaf of bread. Good iced tea. Yum! We will be back. Beat chicken parmesan ever in a restaurant read more

If I could give this restaurant six stars I would it's a great great restaurant the owner Joel was the head chef of Sabatinos for 30 years executive chef, and he really knows his way around the kitchen. All of the kitchen employees are from Sabatini's because they closed about three years ago when the owners retired after about 70 years of operation, the food here is excellent. The service is wonderful and I can't say enough good things about the minestrone soup is to die for nice salad, homemade dressings, the fish we had the white fish was superb the side dishes the green beans were excellent and the spumoni for dessert that we shared was great two thumbs up so I can't say enough good things I will post a picture of the restaurant. I love my wife, sitting there, enjoying her self. read more

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As delicious as Sabatinos always was, socdarnbgood, pur server Lynette was great and the food... Tutti a tavola a mangiare! read more

AVVIO - Chicken Muniere - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This spot is owned by the former chefs at Sabatino's. The food is quite good, but seemed a bit pricey for the spot. The ambiance was so-so, not even close to the old spot. Service was excellent. read more

Food here is really good and you get plenty of it. We have been here twice and both times they give you a free appetizer to start! Every main dish comes with soup and salad and one side dish. There is so much food, we always take some home for lunch the next day! It's still BYOB which honestly I love. I can bring in my favorite bottle of wine for dinner and not pay the gross restaurant markups. The corkage fee is $10, very reasonable and normal. I would definitely recommend this spot for a nice date night for group dinner. They have live music on the weekends so it can get quite loud. It's great music but just a fair warning if you're looking for a quiet night. read more

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I can't stop raving about Avvio after eating here. My boyfriend and I have driven by a few times after moving to the neighborhood and tonight we stopped in. Throughout our meal we just kept looking at each other and going wow. We came for dinner and almost every table was filled, luckily we were able to be seated. The waiter came out with various breads for starters (whole loaf, marinara bread, bruschetta) - some of which we wanted to order as an appetizer like the bruschetta so already we were impressed. We ended up ordering the oysters on half shell as our appetizer and they were a great size for the price. The menu is very thorough and in addition there are specials; it took us a bit to figure out which delicious sounding dish we wanted to order. I settled on the homemade gnocchi de spinach and my boyfriend ordered one of the specials (veal three ways). Both meals came with choice of soup and salad, the veal also came with a side of pasta! My gnocchi was $25 and when it came out, it was a heaping portion that I obviously could not finish tonight after filling up on bread so I brought half home. They also let us take home the leftover half loaf we didn't finish! We did not have room for dessert, but we are already planning our return - I was eyeing the baked Alaska I saw another table get. The staff are so kind, attentive, and fast! They really make you feel taken care of and the service is top notch. I love the decor! Parking is simple, right out front you can find spots. BYOB, too! read more

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Fantastic!! The chef from the closed Chicago favorite, Sabatino's, opened this establishment on the Northwest side in the vicinity of Sabatino's old location. The food is great. The place is smaller than Sabatino's and lacks the tacky Chicago decor Sabatino's had. They recently got their liquor license. I shall return. read more

AVVIO - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois