We stopped here one night and were truly impressed. The restaurant vibe was friendly and classy. Our server was very nice and helpful and the food was beyond delicious! I will definitely be back. read more

got the manicotti, but I liked the cavatelli better still pretty good. I would go back. read more

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ordered the 14 ounce ribeye medium well. Resembled a breakfast steak lookin grey and dried out very tough. Not sure if it was the owner but her excuse was we're busy but we pointed out numerous open tables and her response was we are busy outside. No apology and just walked away. Upon leaving apparently they couldn't find a parties reservation. Needless to say definitely will not be back! read more

Environment- plenty of high tables and stools around the bar for casual to fancy attire. No dress requirement and you're welcomed as is. Today I was wearing baseball cap and sweatshirt because I was ent plant shopping at local nursery. Service - like I was being hosted at a diamond resort... Dany came by often to see how we were doing and we had great recommendation conversation. He made sure we were happy and enjoyed what we ordered. Prices- comparable to others in the area but their food is comparable to any fine dining your best experience has been. Food- I'm a pescatarian so I had seafood dishes starting with mussels appetizer. I requested a spicy seafood pasta... deeelish! Drinks- they'll make whatever you want but they have an expansive menu. My choices were Pinot noir and Sangiovese, loved both. Ambiance- you want to be cool, relaxed, casual or romantic... you feel comfortable and enjoy it whatever you want your experience to be. Don't hesitate coming here!!!! I've been in the food industry over 25 years... I see everything... I didn't go in the kitchen but I doubt I would change my review. read more

Balagio - Mussels in plenty of tomato sauce and oil. There's plants of bread for you to enjoy this appetizer. - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Mokena, Illinois

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Best broiled calamari ever! Just the right amount of garlic and butter. Love it with lots of lemon juice.

Giving this place only a 4/5. I didn't realize the lasagna had that much meat and dairy. I accidentally broke my vegan streak of 10 years! I got to wash it down with a yummy martini though LOL... Our server was amazing and even the host was lovely. I'm not vegan anymore so i will be coming back! read more

I recently moved to a different state and I miss this place! I was in town for the weekend and made it one of my top priorities to have dinner here. I saw my favorite server, Dan, and had the best manhattan! The food is great and the drinks are fantastic! I always love the holiday decorations that they put up. read more

Service, food and ambiance were great. Local gem and nice place for a date night. Ask for Fern for your server. She'll make sure you'll have a fantastic dining experience. read more

Delicious food and nice atmosphere with mediocre service. $98 for 3 entrees, a side salad, 2 beers, and a Pepsi. I had an excellent chicken parmigiana made with thinly pounded chicken, which could be a stand-alone, served on homemade angel hair pasta and tangy marinara sauce. Others had the pappardelle ragu and cavatelli. I know everyone is happy about their meals when we force everyone try each other's dinner. read more

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I absolutely love this place! The food is delicious and the service is absolutely fantastic! I love the beautiful decor here, too! They never disappoint! Can't wait to go back!! read more

I went here on a Friday night with a friend for the first time. The tables are so close together, are small and so you are right on top of a whole lot of other tables to the point where you can't hear the person across from you speak half the time. I would say the food was average. Considering the above, no reason to return here. I prefer Gatos as it presents a much better environment and dining experience. read more

Just went for a dinner (gift from my son) service was not even service plus people came in and gathered at the bar overloaded with cologne and couldn't hear yourself think If you don't know the staff forget getting noticed!!!!!!! Horrible feeling for a so called nice restaurant!!!!! read more

Somebody who worked there named Carla was very rude about my purple hair. Not a friendly environment

Food is always fresh, consistent and a great variety on the special menu as well as the regular menu. Spectacular bar service, with a warm and inviting ambiance. One of my favorite places for a Saturday night dinner. read more

Great place for Italian food with great service. We were planning to go to Legends Bar Grill which is in the same parking lot as Balagio but Legends had 60 minute wait. We put our name on wait list but walked down to Balagio to see if we could get seated sooner. We were able to get seated right away which was miracle on a busy Saturday night. Hostess and wait staff were very good. We had excellent dishes including lasagna (best I've had in years), manicottti, salmon, chicken and gnocchi. Finished off with an amazing cheesecake daily special and crème brûlée. Great food, great value and very good service. We will be back. read more

First time diner. My friend and I split the caprese salad, manicotti, and the flourless chocolate cake. The caprese salad: The mozzarella and balsamic glaze were delicious. The tomatoes were not great-but it's also not the season for them so that's on me for ordering. The Manicotti: Delicious. I really enjoyed the sauce. Pretty much everything gives me heartburn and this did not! Flourless chocolate cake: Came with vanilla gelato and was very tasty. Ambiance: Very noisy and hard to hear. Once it cleared out a bit it was fine. Love the decor. Service: a little slow, they could have used another server or 2. I was sitting a good 10 minutes before my server came. She was friendly and helpful. Oh and their decaf coffee is delicious. read more

Wonderful atmosphere and menu. The staff, starting with the reception area to the wait staff, including the manager, Pam, are extremely friendly and welcoming. Prices from appetizers to desserts are more than fair. Many of the desserts are less than $7. My only complaint-- sitting next to a table with two guys wearing baseball caps, one of them on backwards. I don't get it. The women at the table are dressed appropriately. I know it's hard to establish a dress code and no one wants to turn business down these days, but it sure would be nice if the ownership would restrict baseball caps in the dining area. This isn't a sports bar ... read more

Have been wanting to try this place for a long time, finally did. Food was great, probably the best thing was the shrimp appetizer. Drinks were good and service was decent. Will definitely be back. read more

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The staff at balagio spoiled us for our daughter and son in law's baby shower with delicious food and over-the-top service - thanks to Pam, Oger and Dan for making the day so extra special!!! read more

Balagio - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Mokena, Illinois

This was a very nice Italian restaurant out in Mokena, and it is a sister ship to the one in Hometown that took over the old Surma's Restaurant. This Balagio restaurant has a nice ambiance to it, mostly contemporary stuff, but it has a huge outdoor dining area that really makes a nice touch, especially for larger parties or celebrations. For food we shared the Caprese salad (4 star nice with a very good balsamic and tomatoes just shy of perfectly ripe), veal Piccata (2 stars mainly because the sauce was way too tart ... either too much reliance on the capers or lemon), chicken Parm (3 star average for this meal, nothing off but also nothing remarkable), and a chicken Vesuvio (4 stars for the tender chicken but 3 stars overall, once again because the sauce was off as it had bitter notes). For dessert we had the Tiramisu (4 stars and lush) and Chocolate Cannoli (4 star nice). Service was 5 stars all the way, the wine selections were very nice and could accommodate pretty much any taste. Nice clean and attractive dining room. Give this place a try. read more

I've been to many restaurants , but never has one failed so miserably. I actually don't know where to start It was disappointing from beginning to end MEATY LASAGNA?? I found the secrets of king tut while digging for the meat. Excruciatingly dry and rubbery I'm getting annoyed thinking about it Do yourself a favor .. drive 10 more minutes and visit capri Unbelievable food read more

I don't know how I was talked into coming back to this place,but I regret it.....again. Was there Wednesday at 7:30,then back to my house less than 3 hours later.......sick as hell,on the toilet. Bubbling stomach,with painful diarrhea,from eating their chicken parmesan,it tasted horrible too, didn't want to send it back,you never know what really happens to your food,when you do. NEVER AGAIN!! read more

In response to Bobby N. from Chicago...Who are you to criticize and condemn somebody's career choice. This review is not about the Restaurant's awesome food or drinks, nor about the excellent service and beautiful atmosphere, but an assassination of peoples character whom you don't even know. I can only guess this review comes from a disgruntled protégé of yours or possibly a friend or family member who couldn't cut it in the restaurant business. I have been a patron of Balagio's Mokena since day one. I have seen the work staff come and go but the only professional bartender with a huge following is Faith. Know this...all the bartenders that have come and gone rode her coattails for tips because they could not do it on there own. Hence their unemployment. So take your classless, malicious bully self and go to Rocco's. I'm confident Balagio's wont miss a patron like you. read more

Would give zero stars, but wasn't an option. Went there about 6 months ago. Poor service, waitstaff inattentive, blatant racism. Went with a group of friends, had been there before and had a great experience. A waiter actually went up to my African American friend and handed him a paper bag stating "here is your order of collard greens!" (They are NOT on the menu, mind you). We were woefully neglected as patrons and THIS was how our evening ended. We would NEVER go back to any Balagio. That. Is. All. read more

Outstanding food, from appetizers to entrees. Good service, nice place overall. Never been disappointed there. You can not miss trying Balagio. read more

Nice place to eat, great food and ambiance is up-scale, while on the pricier side .. it is well worth it.

Food and service were both wonderful. Drinks were tasty too. Pistachio gelato is the perfect ending to a wonderful meal.

The service is wonderful, our waiter was great and humorous! Patio area nice ambience. However the food is lacking any flavor. Lasagna noodles mushy and tasted like can tomato sauce. Shrimp pasta was watery. Bruschetta tomatoes weren't ripe and tasted mushy as well. If just going for drinks, it's a cool spot consider most in the area seem to be sports bars. read more

Great food and Service throwback to the Rat Pack days. Food was authentic and of good quality. See my pics

I'm not sure how long this Balagio has been in Mokena but I wish I would have come here sooner! My new fav. We love everything about it. Let's start with the atmosphere. Whether your out to celebrate a birthday, graduation or a romantic date the ambience is contemporary elegance. The is a large patio with TV's also which I can't wait to try. Every time we've been here our service is spot on. My water glad never got half empty. Nor did my wine glass wink wink. Speaking of wine, so many choices available. If you don't drink wine there is a full bar. Most importantly the food. High end dishes available from streak to pasta. We love fish and there is a nice selection of that as well. I'm gluten free and they do have gluten free options. Just let them know in advance. They also have a specials menu. Can't wait to go back. read more

Great food, great service. One of the best Italian restaurants I've been too in Illinois read more

Balagio - Chicken Limone - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Mokena, Illinois

The food was some of the best I've had in a long time. Mary, the server was extremely good and offered some great suggestions. We were seated on the patio and it was perfect as it was a nice evening and quiet. read more

Went here for work lunch. Place was pretty empty. My client said they had a nice summer company outing here and it was nice. I had the salmon with bacon on brioche. Wow, never had bacon/salmon combo. Really good with the lemon aioli dressing. Roasted potatoes with light garlic were crispy on outside and soft in middle. Perfect. Service was great and pretty fast. It is a nicer place and sit down. Great place to take clients out to lunch. read more

Solid food, good atmosphere. Good service, Oger was our waiter. Outside was open and the patio was nice

I don't even know where to start The service was terrible The food was dry and chewy The "meaty" Lasagna what meatless I'm sorry I lied mind you .......... There was one piece of meat OVER PRICED AND UNDER SERVED IN MOKENA read more

Did a work event and set up was great. Amenities were excellent. Service was fantastic. Food was slightly above average for quality and taste. Will try outside of an event. read more

This Balagio is great! We have two fav Italian places and this is one of them. They always have a nice variety of specials. They also have what my husband drinks so there's that. This time, I had the salmon. It was delicious! Flavorful and not dried out with the potatoes. I chose not to have the mixed veg-put that on the side for him. He didn't complain. We did have the calamari-word of caution-if you do not like the large pieces, this is not for you. We prefer the small rings but it was still good. We mostly ate the 'stars' but it was still tasty. He had the roasted chicken which he has had before and he still enjoyed it. Add the cheesecake for dessert and you will not be disappointed. That is one of the main reasons we go! For those that like the outside, there is an area for that. Also for the summer there was a singer who, I believe, was a one hit wonder. So the entertainment is decent. It is noisier out side if you like it lively. Otherwise, there is a bar area inside and the restaurant with a bar on the other side. Plenty of parking also. read more

I love this place and it certainly rivals any Italian restaurant in the Chicagoland area, including downtown! I recommend this place to everyone I know and oddly enough, it was recommended to me. The ambiance is beautiful, the service is great and the food is delicious. They have a nice outdoor patio and live music on the weekends. This is another great spot where everyone knows each other because they are all regulars. The owner, Mike, is very friendly and laid back. He makes the point to dine and mingle with the patrons every so often and by doing so he is maintaining the integrity of Italian dining traditions. As far as the food, oh jeez, I've had their bruschetta, baked goat cheese, eggplant marinara, gnocchi and Chicken Romano and a few of their specials. I can't not say which dish is the best as they were all excellent. However, I will say that I very much look forward to their desserts and cappuccino! I've sometimes gone in just for those two alone. read more

Balagio - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Mokena, Illinois

Balagio is our family's favorite place to go. The staff is friendly and attentive. the food is always fabulous, great atmosphere too. Karin M. read more

Outstanding food and drink menu! The staff is woooonderful... so attentive and willing to recommend specialties!!! ...our desserts-house cab and the strong old fashioned that held up nicely thx to the big ice cube read more

Balagio - Mussels (requested spicy and didn't disappoint), wedge salad and pork chop specialty dish - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Mokena, Illinois