Amazing service and authentic italian food! Ambiance is perfect for a date night too!read more

Hubby & I went there Saturday night, 7 pm reservations for my 55th birthday celebration. They sat…read moreus in the dungeon, aka, basement. Horrible table, crammed like an after thought to squeeze more money out of 2 suckers in the corner. When I complained, we were seated in Margo's section. I heard her tell the table next to us something along the lines, if they liked her so much, don't forget to leave a review! I foolishly thought, cool, we'll be in for a treat. Took 10 minutes before she came to us. We had to ask for water & the few times she came over, she acted like we were a major inconvenience. I ordered the Pappardelle Bolognese. At $29 it was a major ripoff. Had no taste & there were tiny scraps of veal. Photos I've seen of this dish have decent sized clumps of meat. The whole point of Bolognese is the meat!! The "wonderful" Margo only checked on us as soon as the food was delivered, asking how it tasted. It was just placed on the table, barely had a chance to taste it! Never asked if we needed drink refills until we were ready to leave, never came back to see if the food actually tasted good. My birthday wasn't even acknowledged by the hostess or the waitstaff. We will never return & highly recommend you avoid. Would give 0 stars if I could.

For years, we have eaten at Viaggio before attending summer concerts at Ravinia. This year, we…read morelearned that Viaggio had "evolved" into Nico, so we didn't know what to expect. It turns out, Nico is GREAT! Many of our favorites from Viaggio remain on the menu; the crusty bread, the Caesar salad, the gnocchi, the chicken Parmesan, all were top-notch. Terrific seafood dishes remain, too, although we didn't try them during this visit. And some new items that will be fun to try have been added, such as pizza. As always, the service was friendly and efficient. And best of all, the spumoni bombe is still on the menu! (It's our favorite and SO delicious.). Other delightful desserts, such as Tiramisu, are also available. We loved Nico and we will return soon!

Nico's, formerly Viaggio's, underwent a full renovation and change of ownership. Thankfully, much…read moreof the great staff remains. However, the new owners have made what I believe is a design mistake of historic proportions. The heart of this restaurant has always been the bar. It's where locals gather, have dinner, see friends, and create much of the energy that makes the entire restaurant work. For reasons I simply cannot understand, the new owners installed a large pizza oven directly in the middle of the bar. It has completely changed--and, in my opinion, destroyed--the atmosphere. First, **the bar is now literally a pizza counter.** Instead of sitting at the bar enjoying dinner and a drink, you are sitting at the counter of a working pizzeria, watching pizzas being made all evening, with pizza boxes and supplies occupying what used to be the centerpiece of the restaurant. It's not a bar with a pizza operation nearby; the bar itself **is** the pizza operation. There is simply nothing appealing or relaxing about spending an evening sitting at a pizza-making station. What was once a comfortable, social neighborhood bar where you wanted to linger over dinner and drinks now feels like a place where you should order a pizza, pick up your box, and leave. It completely defeats the purpose and atmosphere of sitting at a bar. Second, **it is literally impossible for the bartenders to serve the patrons sitting at the bar.** The pizza oven and pizza-making operation physically separate the bartenders from their customers. To take an order, deliver a drink, or interact with someone sitting at the bar, they have to walk all the way around the bar. It's an astonishing design flaw for a restaurant whose bar has always been such an important part of the experience. And finally, there is the heat. You are sitting directly in front of a large pizza oven, and no amount of air conditioning is going to make that a comfortable place to spend an evening. The heat is so intense that the pizza maker is, quite understandably, sweating heavily throughout the night just a few feet away while you are trying to enjoy your meal. It ends up being unpleasant for everyone involved--the staff working in those conditions and the customers seated right in front of it. It's simply an odd and impractical place to position a pizza oven. What makes this particularly frustrating is that we loved the old Viaggio's and genuinely wanted to love Nico's. The staff is still terrific, and there is a lot here worth preserving. But putting a pizza oven in the middle of what was historically the heart of the restaurant has fundamentally changed the experience. It's sad because the problem is completely fixable. Move the pizza operation out of the bar and give the bar back to the customers and bartenders. Otherwise, I fear this single design decision could ultimately sink what should be a very successful neighborhood restaurant.

We have been coming to Bella Via for years. Never a bad meal, always consistent, delicious food…read more Not sure what the griping is about. Try it, you'll like it! Short rib ravioli, minestrone soup, appetizer meatballs, tiramisu, and veal saltimboca excellent tonight as always. Every business, especially restaurants have an off night here and there. A chef gets sick, folks quit without notice, etc. It's a tough business. Don't be mislead by the star rating. This place is a gem.

Pleasantly surprised at the food at a very reasonable price especially in this area. Drinks were…read morestrong and menu extensive. The Caesar salad was just ok.... No anchovies and a weak dressing though. The bread was rock hard in both baskets we were brought. Mains were very good with a generous portion of chicken Marsala smothered in tasty mushrooms. The side pasta was very bland and not hot. The halibut was very well received and the side artichoke was tasty. The bolognese on pasta also went down quickly but it's a giant portion of a lot of the same. The lemoncello ice cream was frozen rock hard and we were afraid the fluted glass which it was in would shatter. We sat outside on a nice evening. Service was just ok. Inexperienced server tried hard but.... I would return!

We got a flyer in the mail featuring some good looking pizzas, pub favorites, and tacos de harina…read more Never heard of Cansino's, but we had to try them out. Man, am I glad we got the flyer, because they have since become one of our local favorites! For the longest time, Lou Malnati's was our favorite Chicago style deep dish pizza, but Cansino's is now #1 in town for us. Their cheese blend is soooo creamy, stretchy, and delicious! It's apparently their own in-house blend of California cheeses, and it reminds us of the tasty Wisconsin brick that's popular in Detroit style (possibly a little creamier but less salty). Their tomato sauce is super savory, with a rich herb blend and not too sweet or tart - it's so satisfying! The crust is firm and delicious, and their sausage is leaner than Lou's while having a stronger fennel essence. We still love other Chicago style deep dish pizzas, but Cansino's will be the first on our list when we get a craving. We love onion rings in principle, but are a little particular about how we enjoy them. Cansino's onion rings are excellent - crispy seasoned breading and supple onion slices that are cooked juuuust right. Their fries are also really tasty, and we loved their fried mushrooms. I've tried two of their Mexican style tortas, which were also very good (I loved the fajita style veggies and beans, and the seasoned beef was pretty good). The steak and veggies were excellent, and their bread was pretty good. Next time, I REALLY wanna try their paninos. Their staff is super-friendly, giving us great suggestions of new things to try. The restaurant is always clean and well lit. Prices are fair for the neighborhood. Their preparation times are reasonable, and everything we've ordered was ready on time. There's plenty of parking right in front of the shop, and their front entrance is easily accessible. They're right across the street from the Fort Sheridan Metra Station, so I recommend trying them out if that's your stop. They also have some breakfast items, so it might be a good treat before your morning commute. We're definitely going to be trying more of Cansino's menu, and we'll be sure to add more photos and updates.

tried cansino's pizza for carryout last weekend. got the thin crust marguerita, along with two…read moresalads, house garden salad and individual antipasto salad. the salads were very good--cold, crisp and fresh. pizza was okay--already cold and needed big reheating at home. also ordered spaghetti with marinara sauce. honestly we were both disappointed. the sauce was so-so, and lacked...alot. also had cheese already baked on it w/o having requested it--not thrilled with that. sadly, would not order that again. the interior of the restaurant is clean, bright and eating in is available. the takeout order was taken carefully and promptly.

Don't have an Italian nonna? Stop at this little store in Highwood for the fresh pastas, and frozen…read moreentrees, soups, desserts, and Italian specialty goods. We love the lasagna, and don't let the small size or the price throw you, these are the best. The meat lasagna is really delicious and the pasta so tender. There is street parking, and a small lot. Check in advance for store hours. I haven't tried the tiramisu, but maybe I can find a special occasion to serve it.

Amazing dinner! The meatballs were delicious…read more The lasagna.... So good!!! My first time there but I will be back. It's pricey... but worth it!

It's always amazing to have lunch at Francesca's in the #1 voted city in Illinois - Lake Forest…read more The pasta primavera is king! Farrah gives great service and the food is top shelf. I have to visit this town and restaurant every year!!

Francesca's Intimo is a great Italian restaurant with amazing ambiance. It's a perfect place for…read moredate night. FOOD: we stated with the calamari, risotto, and carpaccio. All three appetizers were delicious and I'll definitely get them again. The calamari was fried to perfection. I hate it when it's chewy and that was not the case with their calamari. For my main dish, I got the sea scallops linguine with spinach and tomato cream sauce. It was sooo good. My favorite pasta from there. They did not skimp on the sea scallops. We ordered 4 desserts: tiramisu, lemon olive oil cake, sticky toffee carrot cake, and chocolate torte. All the desserts were good but my favorite was the tiramisu. It's probably one of my favorite place to get tiramisu. Honestly, you probably cannot go wrong with any of their desserts. The one thing I was kind of disappointed with the Hugo spritz but not a big deal. It was weirdly too light for me SERVICE: service was slow in the beginning. It took awhile for the waiter to get to our table. But after that it was great.

Love this small chalkboard menu place! Great catering. Family owned! Incredible meatball sandwich!read more

Excellent food, great selection of dishes. Tiny little place with lots of character. Parking can be…read morea challenge but worth the effort.

Stopped in last Thursday night - very busy, lots of conversation…read more Had to wait a bit for service, but OMG was it worth it! Wonderful food. Exceptional wait staff. I mean, we're still eating leftovers because they're so good, we don't want them to be gone. Even the bread they gave us had a super crisp crust and soft, moist crumb. We are back in St. Paul MN but can't wait for our next road trip to The Windy City just to go back to Italian Kitchen!!!!! (I think "Nancy K." got up on the wrong side of her broom the morning she wrote her nasty review. Just saying.)

I have been catering from here for special occasions for the past 20 plus years and my guests would…read morealways be excited that I was having food from here. Something changed over the past year with the quality of the food. I catered some pasta and tiramisu for a grad party. I asked that the pasta not be overcooked and they offered to cut the tiramisu into slices decorated with strawberries. Unfortunately the pasta was way over cooked and the dessert was not precut as promised which had me scrambling at a 100 person party. I called to give feedback with minimal response. I also catered from Grill House for that party that brought a cheesy shell dish that was cooked perfectly and held up well. I ended up throwing out the pasta from Italian kitchen as it was way overdone and no one even took it to go. Please return to your previous quality and service.