We went there with another couple. Even though we arrived an hour before our reservation, they were able to accommodate us. This was our second time there, the previous being as outstanding. My girlfriend and I both opted for the halibut with farro special. I'm a pescetarian and picky about my fish and this was perfectly cooked. The basmati reduction was mellow and savory. The couple we were with had pasta and both loved their dishes. This is the quality of food one would hope for in a downtown or River North restaurant, but it's in Evanston with more reasonable parking. The menu leans towards elevated Italian, and not the heavy red sauce stuff (not that there's anything wrong with that). Everything has been great. The restaurant itself is in a vintage building with nice high ceilings. It's much larger than what it seems from the outside. All in all, a nice place to take a date, or for a special occassion or even if you just feel fancy. Not too spendy considering the food quality and service. Can highly recommend. read more

Another excellent visit! This time for our second anniversary! We really do love it here, fantastic atmosphere, service, and food!! read more

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Campagnola was hard to rate. One dish we ordered had perfect pasta but mediocre flavor, while the other dish had amazing flavor with ok pasta. Skip the chopped salad; it's not good. The Caesar salad was the only perfect plate but was very small. So we are still on the search for our favorite Italian restaurant. read more

Everything about this restaurant is top notch! Great food, incredible service and you can actually talk and hear the person you are dining with! Loved everything about this restaurant, a hidden gem read more

You really cannot go wrong with this legendary local food haven. I haven't been in a while as I had to move back to the city for work and rarely am up the north shore, but, boy do I miss this food. Heavenly, and the people are top notch! Very cozy, smaller venue so you will be in a group of hungry humans close to each other. Not a place for quiet meetings. read more

Professional service, great service timing, food was fantastic and the value for the quality of food, service and ambience was excellent

I just went to Italy this summer. I will say the quality of this food is AT THE LEVEL of what I dined on abroad. This is great spot for family celebrations, birthdays, and more. Romantic, bustling, warm, and delicious -- very authentic. read more

Campagnola is a small, intimate restaurant that has excellent fish, yummy pasta and more. The manager kindly gave us a new table when ours had a panel that would not stay up. Service was excellent! It's a lovely, romantic restaurant. read more

One of the best meals I have ever had. Beautiful atmosphere. Highly professional service. The food was extraordinary. Thank you, Chef and staff. read more

Outstanding restaurant The food is tasty and they serve generous portions The price is appropriate for he quality of the food Friendly stay A great place for dinner read more

This little gem is unassuming from the outside. I've lived within walking distance from it but never could make out any impression of it from the outside! Last night, we gave it a try and were pleasantly surprised! This restaurant is a cozy, intimate Italian dining experience in south Evanston. Great ambiance for a date night or gathering with a small group of friends or family to break bread and have some good conversation. We were greeted warmly as soon as we walking in and seated immediately. Our waitress was fantastic from the moment we sat down. Never overbearing, so kind, and anticipated our every need with perfect timing! We ordered the bruschetta as an appetizer, and didn't realize we would receive complimentary fresh warm bread as well! Yummy! The bruschetta was a unique experience! I've never seen or eaten bruschetta with no tomatoes! They used an interesting combination of roasted potatoes, onions, and Lima beans! Oh and cheese! Really interesting and delicious! For our main course I had a mushroom pasta dish. Unfortunately they could not add chicken as a protein, only sausage was an option (I don't eat pork). So I just had the mushroom pasta as is. My partner had the roasted chicken. Both dishes were delicious and so flavorful and rich!! The chicken has such a great rosemary flavor and the subtle gravy over the mashed potatoes and spinach was a divine combination! The mushroom pasta was quite creamy and rich! Just slightly too rich for my stomach, but I would recommend it because it was really delicious. We finished the night off with the raspberry cheesecake, and neither of us even like raspberries that much! But we smashed that cheesecake! It was light and a beautiful blend of flavors! We left feeling happy and satisfied! Definitely recommend this place and will be back! read more

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Delicious food! I got a pasta dish which was a perfect portion for one. The ambiance was really romantic so it's perfect for a date. We didn't need a reservation, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to have one because the place was pretty crowded. read more

Campagnola - Italian Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Since we were heading to a concert at Pick- Staiger Hall, we wanted to grab dinner close by. Seeing that Campagnola was only a few mins away we decided to try the place out. The restaurant has dim lighting and seating was maybe about 15 tables. We went right when it opened and before long the place was packed. Our waitress was the best! Super friendly and gave great recommendations. The food was SUPERB! Everything was delicious. For an appetizer, we ordered the Diver Scallops. The scallops were big, fresh, and cooked perfectly. For our main dish, I ordered the Linguine Diavolo and my husband ordered the Short Ribs. Both were so good. The Short Ribs were tender and the seafood in the pasta was plentiful and fresh. After a great meal, we decided to end the evening with dessert. We ordered Sticky Toffee Date Cake. My husband was very skeptical about it but once he took the first bite, he couldn't stop. The cake was moist and not overly sweet. Everything we ordered was soooo good! If we were ever in the area again, we would definitely be back! read more

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Great service and amazing food. It's small but nicely decorated and an enjoyable space and energy. Did I mention the great food. I almost didn't want to comment because I want to be able to get a reservation at any time! LOL! read more

Campagnola - Duck dish with a cherry sauce - Italian Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

This place is excellent. Atmosphere is great. It's a little noisy but cozy place on date night.

Wonderful atmosphere! Ordered bruschetta & carpaccio for starters so so fresh and tasty ! Bolognese and scallops as entrees. Probably the best we've had!! Service was kind, pleasant and attentive. Prices very good. If we lived in Illinois, we'd be regulars - thanks again for a lovely evening read more

Great local spot in Evanston. The food is always great, good cocktails, and the staff is always very friendly.

Evanstons best restaurant! Go for a full authentic and inventive Italian menu if you like but if you want small and perfect dessert, go there just for the bread pudding and a glass of Sancerre. Thank me later read more

Campagnola - Italian Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Wonderful restaurant in Evanston with amazing Italian food! We arrived and ordered cocktails and wine... very good, although I prefer my old fashioned with one large rock vs on ice. Warm fresh bread with butter, or olive oil by request. Love a restaurant that will split portions in the back , so we were able to easily try more food options. The beet salad was delicious! Fresh, lightly dressed and with creamy goat cheese, roasted beets and oranges. The salmon was perfectly cooked and served over fresh lentils, spinach and crème fresh. Creamy tagliatelle with mushrooms was heavenly. Pappardelle bolognese definitely great as well! We enjoyed our time leisurely enjoying each bite and never rushed by the attentive, friendly staff. Food was reasonably priced and good portions. It was a bit crowded inside and challenging to hear at times, but otherwise, a wonderful neighborhood gem! read more

The food was terrific, as was the service. Caesar salad was shared between the two of us but our portions were substantial. My husband loved his duck entree and my penne with grilled Italian sausage was quite tasty. Lovely ambiance with not too much noise in spite of the fact it was a very busy Sunday evening. Highly recommend! read more

I've known about this restaurant since the 90s, but had just never been here. My husband loves Italian so I thought, with it being close to our home, it would be a nice spot for our anniversary dinner. It's a small space with a bar up front and good ambiance for a date. They don't have signature cocktails or drink specials, just an extensive wine list ($16-18 per glass or bottles) or a full service bar with a good variety of liquor. The menu is small, but my husband had his heart set on the veal he had seen. To our disappointment the menu was just changed and the veal was taken off. (Our server said they rotate the menu every 3 months.) It was substituted for chicken Parmesan and hubby was super disappointed. They do have a few pasta dishes that sounded good but he doesn't care for pasta. We ordered the scallop appetizer to start. An order of only two, but they were large and served over a bed of delicious cauliflower puree. Hubby didn't see anything else he was interested in so he settled on the salmon. I ordered the highly rated short ribs. Our entrees were both well prepared and satisfying (although the brocolli rabe that came with the short ribs was bitter.) We were full from the martinis we had and their delicious crusty bread. We ended up having an ok evening but I don't think he wants to come back here due to the limited menu. read more

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I visited this restaurant for the first time last evening with a group of close friends. I actually lived in Evanston for 25 years and cannot believe that I never stepped foot in this restaurant. The experience was outstanding. The weight staff was great, the ambience of the room was perfect, and the food was absolutely delicious.I had the special of beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes. Everything was just so good. I highly recommend this restaurant. read more

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Food was excellent. The scallops were divine. Fish and steak and dessert were all great. Can't fault anything. service was good. Seated fairly quickly. Definitely a gem read more

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Best restaurant in Evanston. Very well priced, great food, immaculate vibes, outstanding service. Great all around restaurant. Been around since the mid-90s and it's so cool to watch the staff interact with the regulars with whom they've built relationships with over the years. This has quickly become a staple for us!! Duck - incredible Chicken - incredible Pork chop - incredible Arugula salad - incredible No notes! read more

So we started the night with the Divers Scallops with a cauliflower puree, pine nuts and golden raisin relish. The scallops were perfectly prepared for us. I ordered the Salmon and my wife got the Braised short ribs My salmon was cooked perfectly! Frank was our waiter he was wonderful. We did not get a desser. Well I was disappointed they didn't have veal on the menu but all in all my entree was excellent. The restaurant ambiance was moderate and the music was light we had a very good experience. Good job Campagnola. My only discrepancy would be never take veal off the menu read more

Campagnola - Salmon - Italian Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Excellent food. Great service. But if you want a quiet dinner, this is not the place. read more

We really enjoyed our meal here and would definitely recommend it. We will come again.

Food was really good, but why when there is a table of 4 people do they not serve a proportionate amount of food. We had the scallop app and they served 3 scallops for 4 people. Maybe if they let us know that it came with 3 but that we could pay a little more to get 4. Service was inconsistent. Mains were rushed out while some were still eating the apps. And the coffee we ordered to go with our dessert was terrible. I have a hard time with quality restaurants that serve horrible coffee. read more

Good Italian joint in Evanston. The dishes were really good and the portions were very generous. Very worth it for the money. Only complaint is that they charged us $15 cake fee for bringing a cake for someone's bday (WHY) - kinda wish they also mentioned this cause it came kinda as a surprise. They also don't have an online reservation system and service was a bit stuffy and not very warm. Other than that, all good food-wise 1. Roasted beet salad: this was good and refreshing. I especially loved the goat cheese with the orange and pistachios. 2. Shells: usually not a big fan of Ragu but I liked how it was a chunky sauce with lots of sausage and spinach 3. Tagliatelle: very rich and umami filled with mushrooms. This gives steakhouse mushroom side vibes in a good way. Probably a bit too rich if this is all you're having but good nonetheless 4. Duck: this was amazing. The portion size was especially generous with 2 duck leg quarters. Sweet, sticky and downright delicious with the cherry sauce and polenta read more

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Fantastic food and friendly, attentive service. We were here for our 15th anniversary. My husband makes his own pasta and recently spent six months cooking dishes from all regions of Italy. I love to cook too, and we're often disillusioned with restaurants (overpriced mediocre food that we'd do a better job cooking ourselves, although sure, we're just home cooks and not pros). Campagnola didn't disappoint in any way. We had the arugula/parmesan salad, linguini diavolo with shrimp and scallops, short rib with broccolini and potato, Sancerre and Prosecco, and cheese cake with raspberries and whipped cream... everything was wonderful. Definitely the best meal we've had in Evanston, but definitely up there with great meals we've had in Italy. read more

Wow ! We found a new place we love. This place had it all. Atmosphere, food and wine. I always like a place with a lot of gluten free options since I am celiac. I ended up getting the octopus appetizer and then the short ribs. It was great. The staff was cool too. I am guessing you need recreations because the place was packed but I don't know 100% but we did. Anyway - a big thumbs up for this great find in Evanston. read more

The best food and service. A regular gave us her table and stayed at the bar. It is a fantastic spot.

Food was excellent. I had the Halibut It was one of the specials for the evening. The service was excellent. Place is laid back no pushing to get out. Great wine selection. Delicious desert. I highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Oh Campagnola, I can't stop thinking about you!! My friend and I went to dinner on a very cold night, expecting a quiet evening. What we found was a cozy, bustling dining room, filled with fans already in love with this adorable spot. We were greeted warmly by Wayne, who took our coats and seated us immediately. We sat at a nice corner table, that allowed us to enjoy the warm aesthetics the room offers. Varnished wood, rustic brick and interesting art create the perfect backdrop for a delicious meal. To start, our cocktails were expertly crafted. They were bright and fresh. The bread was crunchy and chewy. It was sooo good! My friend loved her soup that was rich and creamy. I LOVED my chopped salad with homemade champagne vinaigrette. Every bite was amazing. For dinner my friend ordered the linguine with shrimp. It looked beautiful and she said she loved it. I too, loved my grilled salmon with wild rice. The rice had tasty little bites of grilled onion and other veggies. I would definitely order this again. Dessert was the perfect way to complete a lovely meal. My friend enjoyed Chocolate Pot de Creme. It looked adorable. I was crazy about my Vanilla Bean Bread Pudding. It was seriously the best bread pudding I have ever had. The texture and flavors created a delicate dessert that matched the quality and creativity of our dinner experience. The service was handled beautifully. Our server and busser were kind and attentive. Wayne, up at the front was incredibly gracious and personable. I cannot say enough good things about Campagnola and will definitely return very soon. read more

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The ambiance was very good. I also really liked the service. The servings are large. However, the sausage was not great.

Lovely Lille place ,very welcoming however neither I or my husband were wowed by the dishes we ordered . I should have listened to a reviewer who complained that it was just alright and not very special , that was the rigatoni dish. We ate there in April so this is a very late review. I would like to think we just chose the wrong dishes for our tastes. Try it. You'll definitely find something to enjoy. read more

This place was so good my daughter and I ate here twice. Excellent service from phone reservation, and greeting, to the goodbye. Prompt water refills. Excellent wine list (Sangiovese by the glass was very smooth.) Transplant this place to L.A. and they'd be packed every night. Complimentary fresh bread and tasty butter. Apps we had were: octopus with gigante beans, grilled (crispy but still tender), Caesar salad with white anchovies, kale salad with ricotta salata, preserved lemon and toasted hazelnuts, Diver scallops (cooked perfectly and served with a pea puree so good I could drink it.) Entrees were: short ribs with mashed potatoes and rapini, roast duck with a cherry mostarda and polenta, papperdelle in a veal and pork ragú, and linguini with grilled shrimp and asparagus. So so good. Friendly, cozy place with excellent service. Coming here with the whole fam in September when my daughter starts at Northwestern. This has got to be the best place in town. read more

This place is probably one of the best restaurants in Evanston and the North shore and that says a lot. The host here is always always gracious and accommodating and is one of the reasons we keep coming back. Of course food needs to be excellent, which it truly is. On this visit, we had huge martinis, split a radicchio salad. Entree-wise, I wanted to order a veal preparation but wanted to sub chicken because I'm NOT going to eat a poor baby calf so the server said she could do that. What came out was a bone- in chicken and not a paillard so she gladly sent it back and so I ordered something else from the menu with no fuss or attitude. This is why this restaurant lasts! Campagnola has been around a long time and they've lasted for a reason: outstanding food and service without attitude! read more

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Was there over a year ago. We had a lovely waitress. Very knowledgeable about foods and wine. Steak was very good. read more

Campagnola - Italian Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I did not have the same outstanding experience at Campagnola as what the other reviewers had. I picked and called for a reservation at this place for a Friday night dinner, because of the almost 5-star rating it has. There are metered parking spots along Chicago Ave and the place inside is nice, with neat interiors and dimly lit, which gives the place a more formal vibe. My friend and I arrived on time and were seated right away at a corner table, near the end of the bar area. We were not too happy about our table but we were thinking that maybe all the other tables are already reserved. Anyway, our server was prompt, efficient, friendly and knowledgeable of their wine list. We ordered the following: ROASTED BEET SALAD- delicious and refreshing OCTOPUS- it was average SCALLOPS- too small to appreciate (they just appear big in the pictures) SHORT RIB- the meat was very tender but once it's not warm anymore, it gets very dry since the polenta underneath absorbs all the juiciness of the meat and the sauce TOFFEE PUDDING- satisfying and definitely good for sharing None of the dishes stood out and guess what the saddest part of my experience here was. FRUIT FLIES. They were at, on, and around our table! I covered my wine glass with a napkin to make sure that a fly does not get in. I asked our server about it, he just said "Oh yeah, they are everywhere." Then he walked away. Oh great(?)!, yippee(?)! No other guests sat at the unoccupied tables until we left the restaurant and I am guessing that our table was the only one getting visited by the flies since it is the closest to the bar. It really made the whole experience a disappointment, besides the average food. Now I have Campagnola crossed out of my "To Try" list. It is now on my "Not Again" list. read more

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