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    Formento's

    4.0 (895 reviews)
    Open • 4:30 pm - 9:00 PM

    Order Formento's Takeout or Delivery

    Services - Formento's

    Bartending services

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    FORMENTO'S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Classy
    Happy hour specials
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Formento's

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    Reviews With Photos

    Nonna's meatballs
    Sky W.

    I came to Formento's with some Yelp friends for Restaurant Week and I'm pleased to say it exceeded my expectations. Given its location in West Loop, I usually expect pretty exorbitant prices for food that's just good, maybe great. At least from the Restaurant Week menu, I felt that both the price reasonable and the food was great. To start, I got the Nonna's Meatballs. The meatballs were tender, a perfect size, and seasoned appropriately. I'm usually not a huge meatball guy, but these hit the spot. Next, I got the Canestri pasta with Sunday Gravy which I felt was the highlight of the meal for me. The pasta texture is perfect, and the sauce is wonderfully light, especially after the whipped ricotta is mixed in. Third, I got the chicken parm, which is good. The chicken was crisp and there was a lot of parm on top. I'm not certain if I would get it again, though. Finally, I got the banana cream tart for dessert which I really enjoyed. The banana cream was light and the crust of the tart was delicious, although slightly too thick. Service throughout the night was about what you would expect from a nice West Loop restaurant, attentive but not particularly outstanding. The whole restaurant also has a pretty upscale feel to it (aka dark) which helped me enjoy my food. I think I'll be back at some point! Food: 4.75/5 Price: 4.25/5 Service: 4/5 Ambiance: 4.25/5 Overall: 4.5/5

    Dave H.

    Excellent choice for mid to upscale Italian cuisine and steaks. Fresh made pasta and excellent aged steak cuts including Wagyu. Full bar and excellent wine and cocktail menu. Super friendly hospitable service. Great for couples or large groups.

    Sabrina C.

    Formentos needs to be on your must visit list! Let's start with the fact that their pasta is made in house and you can taste it! The recipes here consists of food that is made from scratch with recipes from Nonna Formento - the beloved grandmother of one of the owners. It's full of flavor and that good Italian feeling that can only come from well executed cusine. Their famous Nonnas meatballs, the garlic bread with the truffle butter in the Housemade giardinara, the Parmesan chicken, the Wagyu fillet - all DELICIOUS! And the desserts? Just wow! They have a new banana tart dessert that is light but lovely if you are a fan of banana pudding and the chocolate cake? I can see why people just come in for a slice of it! It's so rich, moist and one slice is just not enough! They have a great wine list and if you ask they are more than happy to recommend a good pairing for your meal. If you are going for CHICAGO RESTAURANT WEEK - They have a four course meal for $60 which comes with an optional beverage pairing for $39! And their portions for restaurant week are still BIG! I loveeedddd that! The beverage pairing is also very well put together and you get a couple of options for each pairing. And ask for Louis to be your server! He's the best!

    Squid ink pasta
    Rachel F.

    Great pasta! I really liked the squid ink. It was the perfect size to finish and feel full and not have leftovers. They gave us complimentary garlic bread too. Nice happy hour deals even on the weekends.

    Cake by the pastry chef
    Joy C.

    I picked Formento's over a few other places for a small, special event. I visited all of the venues and met with the special event representatives of each places. Formento's had the perfect private space that I wanted. I especially liked the old brick walls and antique wooden cabinet in the room. What really helped me decide to choose this place over the others is the Director of Sales, India D. Compared to the other event representatives whom I've dealt with, India's sincerity and thoughtfulness stood out. I came back to the venue in less than a month to finalize the menu and other details. I met with India and Wendy P, the event manager. They were both fantastic. They listened to what I wanted for the event, and they also offered great recommendations. They charge a fee if guests want to bring in their own cake. You can either pay the fee or order a custom made cake from their pastry chef. I opted to send pictures of the cake design I wanted. Wendy confirmed with me that their pastry chef can create my request. The price was very reasonable too. The service that we received during the event itself was excellent. I liked the personalized menu for each guest. During dinner, Wendy came by to make sure that everything was going well for us. The designated server for our event, along with the rest of the staff, were all efficient and great. The food was delicious. We had the family style dinner which included: Starters: PROSCIUTTO TOAST, NONNA'S MEATBALLS, GEM LETTUCE SALAD Entrees: CLASSIC CANESTRI, CHICKEN PARMESAN, PORK CHOP Sides: CRISPY POTATOES, WOOD GRILLED BROCCOLINI Desserts: CHOCOLATE CAKE, VANILLA GELATO The chocolate cake from the pastry chef was amazing. It was not just beautiful, but it was moist and had the perfect sweetness. Thank you to India, Wendy, and the rest of the staff of Formento's in making this event special for my family and I. It was a happy and unforgettable evening.

    Bucatini Cacio E Pepe
    Mark W.

    (BASED ON RESTAURANT WEEK MENU) This was my first time visiting Formento, and most of the items were great. The service was also very good. We decided to go with the Restaurant Week menu, which cost around $60 per person depending on your selections. For the first course, I picked Meatballs. The meatballs were very juicy and paired perfectly with the tomato sauce. The dish came with two pieces. For the second course, I had the Bucatini Cacio e Pepe. The handmade pasta was fresh and chewy. I really enjoyed the texture and the richness of the sauce. I also tried a few bites from my friends' dishes. The Chicken Parmesan was amazing. This is a must order and is also available on the regular menu. The Kuro Wagyu was a great value from the Restaurant Week menu. The meat was cooked at the right temperature and seasoned well. However, the Scottish salmon dish was a disaster. The fish was dry and overly seasoned. It was the worst salmon I have ever had. I would recommend avoiding the salmon option on the Restaurant Week menu. The other items were great though. Lastly, the chocolate cake was excellent. It had a strong chocolate flavor and a beautiful presentation. I am going to come back on valentine day, I hope to try different items!

    Old fashion with scotch
    Kenyata F.

    Steak sliders, fried olives, noonas meatballs, cheesy bread, all delicious. I forgot to take pictures. Service was good as I sat at the bar for happy hour. The ambiance was great and whiskey warm. There is valet options or paid street parking.

    lamb t bone
    Ellie D.

    perfectly located in the heart of west loop on randolph is this fine italian eatery. we were able to snag a last minute reservation on the friday before valentine's day but the restaurant was definitely bustling. opted to sit at the bar and had the attention of three bartenders and a bar back all of whom were fantastic, attentive and charming. the octopus and celery puree was my favorite dish of the night and the lamb T-bone was cooked to a perfect rare plus temp with a great char from the wood fire grill. the buccatini carbonara unfortunately didnt really impress. i love a house made pasta, but ours came out still tasting of raw flour more than anything else. still, this wasn't a deal breaker and we had a lovely time. chicago has no shortage of italian spots, but formento's sticks around for a reason!

    Filet minion
    Karen C.

    My colleagues and I were supposed to eat at another restaurant nearby but their WIFI was done which meant they could not accept credit cards. So we checked some other places and Formento's could take our party of 9 at the last minute. They saved the day. Our service and food were very good. Here is what we had. Appetizers: Nonna's Meatballs Parmesan, Marinara - super yummy Whipped ricotta Seasonal Fruit, Pistachio Dukkah, Hot Honey, Sourdough - I was limiting my dairy intake so skipped this but the group loved this. Garlic Bread - I had a piece of this. It was very good. The waiter brought me a plain, grilled piece too since I was limiting my dairy intake. I ate that one too. Yum! For entree, I had a filet minion. This was cooked to my liking, had a nice grilled char flavor and was very tender. Others had steak frites, various pastas and fish dishes. We also got a few sides that were good too - brussel sprouts, mushrooms and giant white beans. All yummy! We had a really nice meal with good service. A great west loop restaurant.

    Nonna's Meatballs
    Kiaya S.

    Came in for restaurant week! The restaurant is gorgeous and both the host and waiter delivered great service! The food left a little something to be desired! I really enjoyed the meatballs, and the sauce on the pasta was delicious but I think would have paired better with a smaller noodle as it was hard to eat, at least in a classy way! I saw a lot of groups inside! Highly recommend making a reservation as this place is in the most poppin corner of west loop! Overall we both have it a 6 out of 10

    Bucatini Carbonara
    Michael B.

    Beautiful, warm and inviting dining room. Classic Italian American feel. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Offered up recommendations and explained the menu fully. Our appetizer and entrees were all well executed. Great flavors and textures. Had a nice wine list and their signature Manhattan cocktail was excellent.

    Vanilla gelato

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    2 years ago

    Service and ambiance were great. Food was amazing. Would definitely recommend. Desserts were good, got the tiramisu was very good.

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    7 months ago

    Great service, great ambience, and a really delicious meal. If you are someone that eats pork, the pork chops are a must!

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    Page 2 of 23

    Ask the Community - Formento's

    Do you serve halal meat?

    Yes! All of our Creekstone Farms prime steaks are Halal.

    Is this a lettuce entertain you?

    No.

    Are there heat lamps in the outdoor seating area?

    Yes they have heat lamps and dining igloos / snow globes :)

    Can we bring kids there (toddlers)?

    I have seen babies and toddlers there before. So yep

    View All 6 Questions

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    Peanut Park Trattoria

    4.1(172 reviews)
    1.2 mi•University Village

    Delicious pizza and pizza in Little Italy area of Chicago. It is a nice looking restaurant, too…read more We went for lunch on a Sunday (to avoid the crowd and for free street parking). The restaurant is not busy at all. We were seated right away. Our server was nice and attentive. We ordered pizza and pasta. Pepperoni and Whipped Ricotta Pizza - cooked perfectly, fresh ingredients and delicious! Served hot! Short Rib Pappardelle - to die for! This is very tasty, the pasta is cooked al dente. The short rib sauce is ssosooo delicious! We sat by the bar overlooking the open kitchen. It was nice to see the chef make the pizza and make the pasta. Further area is more fine dining with wall of wine. Very classy! Street parking only. So plan ahead.

    This is such a cool spot. I wouldn't have even known about it, if it weren't for a local friend…read more Where to start? We came in with a group of about 20! Normally I hate those kinds of large group dinners, but this was the perfect spot for it. The service was absolutely wonderful. I don't know how our server stayed so cool and calm with a group that size. We got a variety of things. EVERYTHING was amazing. If you have seen any of my other reviews, I always get a meatball when I'm at a place that has them. They almost never live up to my expectation. But this place has the new gold standard for a meatball. It was everything you want. It is fork tender, full of flavor, no chewy ground up bits. The pizzas were authentic and thin. With fabulous house made red sauce that wasn't too thick and overwhelming. The flavor was A+ The cocktails were so good! All made from scratch with love. The ambiance was cozy and comfortable. Perfect for a group or a date. They have a full bar, and also great seating with perfect lighting. This is a new favorite for me in the city.

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    Alla Vita - Inside

    Alla Vita

    4.4(858 reviews)
    0.4 mi•West Loop, Near West Side
    •$$$

    Alla Vita was great! Glad we went with 4 people because we got to try more dishes. They also have…read morean extensive wine selection. We started with three apps. The octopus surprised me because octopus can be hit or miss for me, but they did it really well! The table bread was also pretty good and cheesy. The Caesar was just fine. Nothing special but not bad (which is good coming from me since I'm not usually big on kale). Of course all of the pastas were yummy. The fusilloni was definitely my favorite from the noodle shape to the sausage and cheese. The ricotta dumplings were suuuuuper cheesy which I really liked (though I could see why others wouldn't) and had a melt in your mouth softness. The rigatoni was tasty, but kinda just tasted like a normal red sauce so would probably try something more interesting next time. We really enjoyed the chicken parm, too. Not as good as the pastas, but definitely tasty and the basil was a good touch. We finished with the guava cheesecake sundae. I really liked the little bits of cake, but the ice cream itself was a little lacking for me. Still a nice sweet treat to finish the meal!! We had the perfect amount of food overall for 4 people!

    It was very flavorful, dish sizes were kinda small for the price. Usually if it's good I have…read moreenough to take home something for 1 more meal. Not here. The place is a little crammed inside, but good service. I think they have cameras lol because everytime I was running out of water or when I was done with my food the servers came around FAST AF. I had the tagliatelle , a beef shank ragu with parmesan and oregano. There was a hearty helping of shredded beef in there, noodles are homemade and dense with flavor. But again, serving size I chowed down on this pretty fast and even upon presentation I'm like "that's it?!" Just because serving sizes I don't think I'd come here again. Flavor and experience can make up for it, vibes lol. But still not enough for me

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    Alla Vita - The strawberry gelato was delicious!!

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    The strawberry gelato was delicious!!

    Viaggio Restaurant Chicago - Spaghetti Marinara with meatball

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    0.2 mi•West Loop, Near West Side
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    Went to Viaggio's for a girls dinner with some friends, and we tried an array of different dishes…read more I ordered the mussels and lasagna, and OMG!! the lasagna was AMAZING. It was a huge, thick portion, super flavorful, fresh, and served hot. The mussels were also really good, especially with the bread. Honestly, all of the portions were a really nice size. The restaurant has a cute, authentic Italian ambiance, and there was live music while we were there. The service was great...our server was friendly, attentive, and gave us good recommendations. We originally came because my friend raved about the chocolate cake, and it definitely lived up to the hype. I also tried the fudge cake they brought out for our celebration, and that was really good too. Writing this review is actually making me want to go back right now. Everything was flavorful, fresh, and delicious. I would absolutely come back!

    The best. Such a…read moregreat time, great atmosphere, and fantastic service. 5 stars all the way!!! Owner Dave was so nice and made every accommodation for us being late the first night and we missed, but we rebooked for another night and it was awesome. On Thursday it's live music and the singer was amazing! We got sat toward the back so we could hear and still have conversations. The food was excellent! We had the Mussels, linguini clam (tons of clam in it), the risotto special, and veal lemone. Not a single miss, it was so good. Our server was so nice, attentive, and personable. I'm glad to see that it's still at a high level and real. It was packed by the time we left so make sure you get a reso. When I return to Chicago I will be back and this will be one of my go to spots. - VIP, David

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