There are a ton of pizza places in Chicago, and honestly most are good. This is no exception. However, to stand out, each place has got to have its own claim to fame. Does Via Stato "state" its claim? ATMOSPHERE/ARCHITECTURE: 7/10 Definitely has an intimate night vibe to it that makes it good to go to as a late night visit type of place, and I like it for that. SERVICE: 8/10 Servers were friendly and I felt pretty comfortable here with the staff. FOOD: 9/10 Thin Crust Margherita - 9/10 - Okay, moment of truth. This pizza did stand out. There are many good deep dish Chicago style places and classic American style pizza places, but here, they offered a really Italian classic that I felt was done right! Probably better than Eataly which is overhyped anyways. VALUE: 8/10 Fair deal. PROBABILITY OF RETURN: 8/10 I would return here. TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT: Bon appetit! OVERALL: 8/10 read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - a pizza in a box - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

HASTA LA PIZZA, BABY Warm up with a delicious thin crust at this intimate restaurant on the Near North Side. Located inside the Embassy Suites on north State St, Pizzeria Via Stato is tucked within Osteria Via Stato. Their specialties are Roman-style thin crust pizzas but they've also got a great variety of Italian appetizers and an extensive wine listing. We were seated around 7pm on 11/4/19 by a hostess who was downright delightful. She was upbeat and held a brief but pleasant conversation with us (the greeter at Rosemont's Bub City could learn a thing or two from the charming hostess here). Not long after, we placed drink orders. My cocktail of choice was their Farmer's Mule ($13) made with vodka, fresh pear, ginger beer and cinnamon. My fiancée enjoyed her Stella Rosa ($12), which had tequila, muddled strawberry, prosecco and thyme. There was no free bread service here, but I'm willing to cut them a break. She absolutely loved the burrata ($13) that came in a pool of olive oil with buttered crostini. The caprese salad ($13) had roasted tomatoes along with the usual fresh mozzarella and basil. It was expensive, and worse still, we spotted a small black hair hiding between the slices of mozza. Ooohhh no thanks. On the other hand, their pepperoni thin crust ($15) was one of the best pizzas we've had in a while. The red sauce was great and the small slices of 'roni had the perfect amount of spicy kick to them. It was really delicious and a pretty fair price. The 'prosciutto americano' ($18) was just as good. It had arugula, aged balsamic, and shaved grana (similar to parmesan). It was also excellent and we easily polished off the entire thing. I liked that it was more of a flatbread in nature and less of a "pan style" pizza, which meant we could eat more slices and not feel stuffed to the brink. Bread = 4.5 Circuses = 4 Our server did a fine job and took solid care of us during dinner. The atmosphere inside was perfect for an impromptu date night and the dining room was tidy. I didn't realize this place was part of Rich Melman's vast Lettuce Entertain You empire, until the check came asking for LEYE points. How 'bout that? * TL;DR * It's tough to stand out amid the deluge of deep dish that seemingly dominates the Windy City. Finding a worthwhile thin crust is no small feat, but Pizzeria Via Stato is up to the challenge. The food and service was fine but finding a short black hair in our antipasti tells me that someone in the kitchen needs to wear a hat. That's an automatic 1/2 star deduction (sorry guys!) I'd nevertheless recommend this place to friends and family seeking a pizza that won't put them in a food coma. read more

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Didn't have a reservation but they were able to get us seated immediately and taken care of by the bartender which was very kind of them! The bread and garlic dip was incredible and the pizza/pasta also fit the bill for a nicer meal out for a tourist than one of the touristy places on the river walk. The staff was pleasant and attentive. read more

First time here - we were here for the pizza. The menu is pretty sparse; I was in the mood for some calamari, which is (what I thought) an Italian restaurant staple. Alas, we arrived during the "brunch" menu time, so even the featured grilled octopus wasn't available. The brunch menu, on the weekends, goes until 230pm. A little long for a brunch menu, yeah? Anyway. Drinks were good, pizza was delish (thin crust pizza is my jam) and the service was spectacular! Our drinks were never empty and our server was so nice. Not sure if we will be back, but it's good to know a place like this exists. Thanks! read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - Veggie pizza, pepperoni pizza and some Miller lite. Cheat day at it's finest. - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The restaurant is nestled adjacent to the lobby of an Embassy Suites. The place has a Tavern feel to it. Pro tip: During Happy hour, drinks and apps are half off! Unfortunately it took a while to be served. The staff Seemed a bit all over the place. And because i had so much time to observe, they just have a poor customer flow. So many confused customers not knowing where to check in with a host. After i ate, it took a while to get my check. I started with the Roasted Garlic. It was so savory and sweet, so smooth, and the sourdough bread was so warm and fluffy. I had a cheese Pizza. It was light and crisp, and the basil was really fragrant and fresh. the sweetness of crushed tomatoes was also nice. Next time I go, I'd prolly just do take out. read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - Roasted Garlic - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Opening another pizza restaurant in Chicago is only slightly less redundant than opening another steakhouse. But Lettuce Entertain You rarely miscalculates, and this place is another winner. If you like thin crust--and by thin, I mean wafer thin--pizza, then Pizzeria Via Stato is the place to go. This relatively small, casual but nice restaurant is making some of the best pizza in River North. The crispy pepperoni with fresh basil was excellent, with a cracker crisp crust, and an excellent tomato sauce, and lots of (not actually all that crispy) pepperoni, and generous fresh basil. I also really liked the "celery" Caesar salad, which was a normal Caesar with lots of tasty croutons and an extra crunch imparted by celery. Although served on a small plate, it was a deceptively large mound, ample for sharing. Service was professional, and there are interesting beer and cocktail selections. read more

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Stumbled upon this place as we were walking around in River North. This is a great place to eat if you're looking for something casual and quick. The staff was very friendly and we were able to get served very quickly. We ordered the margarita pizza on the four cheese pizza. Both were fantastic with thin crust. One thing I really appreciated was that the waiter brought us some extra cheese without asking. I am a huge cheese lovers so this absolutely made my day. This is located downtown so the parking situation is not the greatest. I would catch a cab, train, blue line or walk here. This is located in the hubbub of downtown so it's very close to everything. If you're into nightlife, you can walk down to the clubs nearby or hit up the bar scene a couple streets down. Be aware that this place is very informal and there is only one bathroom, yes, one bathroom for both men and women so the line can get pretty long. read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - Margarita pizza and four cheese pizza- we ate for the 3 of us but I'd recommend more if you haven't eaten before. - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Restaurant review Great lunch special! The Just bring me lunch pronto is 9.95 and includes the seasonal soup, sandwich, and a small sliver of chocolate tart for dessert. The chicken pesto sandwich has good flavor and served hot from the brick oven. The dessert is delicious, but a very small quantity. With your meal you also get hot bread from the oven with olive oil which perfectly complements an italian meal. You can't beat that price for lunch in Chicago. Pro: fresh italian food, inexpensive lunch special Cons: none Hidden gem: Lunch special 9.95 Sign up for LEYE to earn points. Annual coupon book also provides good savings read more

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Love this place. White Sangria, beet salad, sausage pizza & chocolate gelato were all wonderful.

Came in for Sunday lunch. Quiet ambiance and good lunch deals! Chase was our server and he was very prompt. The lunch deal is great. For about $12, you can get the daily soup, a choice of pizza, and a small chocolate tart. Great deals, great service, and great food, you can't go wrong! read more

Check your bill carefully. They tried to charge me more for the wine than the price listed on the menu. No apology from the server when I mentioned it. Is this normal operating procedure? If I get a response to this post from management telling me which wine it was I'll believe it was a mistake. Otherwise..... tourist beware. read more

Did not have high expectations going in but still disappointed. Pizza was soft/uncooked in the center. Veal meatballs came to me cold. Not just not hot, not even warm. Cold. And once re-served to us hot, they were mediocre at best. Roasted caprese salad is hardly roasted at all, name is totally misleading. Restaurant does not have properly protected entrance so cold inside on a day with 12 degree wind chill. Our server was the exception, gave him large tip! This us a perfect example why we have not been to a Lettuce Entertain You establishment in years. Thought they deserved another look. Looked and done, they failed the test. Fortunately there are so many other amazing options in Chicago, so to those we go! read more

Absolutely fantastic service and deliciously prepared food. I took my parents here for lunch during their visit to Chicago and ordered the quattro formaggi pizza (pecorino, parmesan, goat cheese, & hand-pulled mozzarella) and the blt (maple cured bacon, arugula, tomato, & pesto mayo) to share. The pizza was delightfully light and crispy, not too salty or greasy. It was a light lunch Our waiter brought out the roasted garlic in balsamic & extra virgin olive oil with our table's bread and it was the perfect starter. read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - The quattro formaggi pizza and blt in the foreground - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Connected to Osteria Via Stato, almost makes me wonder why they didn't just make one large restaurant to serve all the Italian food together. Anyways, I came by here for dinner with the lady and my cousin visiting from out of town and it was decent. For food we started with the veal meatballs which were excellent, but I only wished that the meatballs were bigger as the portion seemed kind of skimpy. Following that we had the chopped chicken salad which was crisp and fresh. Very enjoyable. For main entrees we shared two pizzas, the heirloom tomato pizza and the broccoli & sausage. I have to say the the pizzas were literally paper thin. Almost felt like you were eating chips with some toppings on them. Overall flavors were good, but I would prefer a wee bit more crust/bread. Don't forget those Lettuce Entertain You membership cards! Rack 'em up. That's all I got on this one! 'Til next time, cheers! read more

I ask the server why the focaccia is $12. "Because Chicago," he says. Indeed. Is the focaccia a big piece? "No." Hm. Well, I'll just have a pizza then. I receive what tastes like spray cheese over ketchup on a cracker that breaks apart in my hands. I'm pretty sure Tom Hanks made these in "The Terminal." When you're here, you're so close to Pizzeria Uno (or Due), just walk over one block and enjoy that cheesy goodness. And if you want cheaper focaccia, jump across the street to Eataly. (I hate that place, but the focaccia is reasonably priced.) read more

Oh, my heart, my conflicted conflicted heart. We live in the area and had walked by this place before, read the menu, and I knew we had to come back. The food was amazing. Even the complimentary bread was so good -- crusty and warm. The soup du jour.. something like cream of tomato.. yum. The crispy pork pizza with balsamic onions was to-die-for. I've had pizza in Rome, and this place did it justice. Chocolate tart was a great way to close off the leisurely lunch too. So why so conflicted? I loved the food but service was so sorely lacking. We were seated immediately then looked around uncomfortably for 15 minutes before our orders were taken. Then our pizza came after a long time and we had to ask for our soup that never came. Our water was never filled. We didn't see our waitress from ordering our food to dessert. It was a really late lunch, and the place was nowhere near full. So frustrating. Food is so good though, I'll come back and hope for better service. read more

This place was soooooo good. Came here for an early lunch on Saturday and was very surprised. The food was super yummy and came out right away. I had the pepperoni pizza and also a mimosa. My mimosa was one of the best I've ever had, the pepperoni pizza was delicious. Literally ate every last bite. And our server was amazing. She was funny, happy, and knew the menu very well. My other party members ordered coffee, (very strong, hot and bitter) a plus in my book, and the mushroom pizza, and a salad. We were all very pleased with our meal. It was amazing. Can't wait to go back. Highly recommend!! read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - Pepperoni Pizza added basil - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I have been to Osteria Via Stato several times for dinner, however, I've never been here for lunch so I thought it was about time. I was able to score a table on the patio. Roy, server, had greeted at the table and then took my drink order. Since I was heading to work afterward, I just had a soda. The runner had brought the bread and olive oil, which was outstanding. When Roy had returned, I had opted to have the Quattro Formaggi Pizza. About 10 minutes later, the pizza was brought to me. The pizza itself was large enough to share. The pizza was really goooood. Roy would check in with me and made sure my beverage was full. I was not able to enjoy any dessert this time. I would highly recommend this restaurant for a great lunch and service. read more

One of the best thin crust pizzas I have ever had! Ambiance of the restaurant was calming and relaxing after a long day of walking though Chicago. My husband had the seafood pasta and he says was amazing as well. Could have used a bit more seafood, but it was fresh- did not taste liek frozen shrimp/calamri. Wish we had a place like this in Florida. read more

This little restaurant & bar is adjacent to the Embassy Suites by Hilton Chicago DownTown which is the hotel that we are currently staying during our little vacation here in Chicago. Went there last night for a night cap after a day filled with shopping and walking. I had 2 glasses of the chianti while my sis had the proseco (sorry, forgot the exact one that she had) and we both enjoyed it. We ordered the grilled octopus with potatoes which was my first time having it italian style and it was delicious - flavorful and the octopus was not chewy at all but very tender. The veal meatballs were also sooo yummy! Its a pretty generous amount of meatballs for appetizers which we appreciated since there were 3 of us last night. We also ordered the seasonal greens which consisted of fresh arugula, spinach leaves, walnuts, smoked bleu cheese and apples with a sweet cider viniagrette dressing that was absolutely delicious and fresh fresh fresh!! We really loved this! All in all - our experience here was great - from the food & drinks we enjoyed to the service we received from our servers! Mahalo plenty!! read more

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Wonderful cozy atmosphere (but with ambiance room for improvement)! My mom and sister and I made a reservation here on a Tuesday night for a girls night full of apps and small plates. This did just the trick. It's fantastic for grazers, and I wasn't blown away (negatively) by the prices, either. For starters, we had the roasted garlic, antipasta tray and caprese. Caprese - SKIP! Tomatoes were mush and the mozzarella was hard and cold. My guess is they make these ahead of time and store in the fridge. Wasn't worth it. With that exception, everything else was fantastic - especially the foccacia served with the meat & cheese board. We had three in our party and were served two pieces so we requested one more - and were served two more. It's the little things! The arugala salad was delicious...dates, arugala and bacon? How could it get better? The pizza was great (we ordered veggie and quattro formaggio) - but one small odd part to me, was they cut in squares. I'm so used to pizza of this style being sliced like a pie! That way you get pieces with everything (gooey center, toppings, and crispy. For three appetizers, a salad, two pizzas and two drinks, our total was around $90. Not bad at all in my book. Room for improvements - we were stuck right by the ordering station/computer, so we were constantly hearing an update on order status. One of the servers must have been new, so ours was training her - so we could hear him tell her when he was going to ask certain questions, why, etc. We were also closer to the one-stall bathroom, so a lot of folks would squeeze around our table to get there. Lastly - this is connecting to an Embassy Suites, so there were a lot of people coming and going (from my view) and just staring in the restaurant. Not ideal, but not deal breakers, either. read more

I recently grabbed dinner here with a girlfriend I hadn't seen in a while. It ended up being the perfect place to sit, eat, and gab for hours. Our server was Camila, and she was OUTSTANDING. Not only was she polite, warm, and welcoming, but she went above and beyond filling water and sodas, bringing extras of everything without us asking, and being super attentive without overbearing. Like I said, my friend and I stayed for hours, and she let us do our thing without being annoyed that we were chatting so long. My friend and I both split the celery Caesar and the sausage pizza and both were great. It was the perfect little meal for two gals catching up. This would be the perfect place for a date night, outing with friends, and casual dinner in River North. read more

Went here for the first time and I have nothing but great things to say. I wish I remembered our servers name. He introduced himself and shook our hand before we left and was very genuine. I believe it began with a G. Every server we interacted with was so attentive and sweet. Now let's talk about the food: we ordered three different kinds of pizza and they were so good! Some of the crust was burnt but that's about it. We also ordered chicken Parmesan and it was cooked perfectly. Dessert: I highly recommend the ricotta cheesecake. Very fluffy in texture and just the perfect amount of sweetness. Thanks for a great night pizzeria! read more

Svc started out slow. But improved after I ordered the octopus. So fresh so well prepared ! Also very tender. So i rescind my comment when I checked in about lateness. They made up when I asked for extra food. The lunch special avian is an excellent value. Over able to enjoy outdoors before Chicago winter comes. read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - Exceptional taste & very tender. - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

If i am just rating the goods: Incredible! huge recommendation: get the peppered bacon and egg pizza. You will love it- . The Bellini's here are awesome as well. I dream about the pizza here- very much like true pizza from italy and so good! But the service would get 2 stars. I sat at the bar on a Monday (no one was in the place except for a few patrons Bc it was a holiday) I barely got greeted, took forever for her to actually place my order. Maybe they let all of their good staff have the holiday off, but the food was worth it. read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - Amazing- peppered bacon and egg pizza- to die for! - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Sunday brunch was tasty. Not amazing but a solid thin crust magherita pizza a delicious smoked salmon plate. The bread at the table with olive oil was perfect. It's a solid option if you want thin crust wood fired pizza in River North. read more

I really like this place and fits perfectly for a casual dinner. The food is always delicious, but I tried a new appetizer called the "giant beans" and it was so tasty. Goes perfectly with the house bread. Pizza is good, but not neopolitan style. The service was pretty good too. read more

Only reviewing as a take out pizza joint, and I'd say there are many other places in river north I'd prefer a pie from if I'm going to walk the streets for take out. It was Neapolitan style, though just not quite the right authentic make up I'm accustomed to at proper pizza joints. I'd take out from siena tavern, mama's boy, or even Bongiorno's instead. read more

Went here to celebrate my birthday last weekend. Our waiter, Dario, made us feel like celebrities and made the night really special. Love love love the ambiance/decor of this place and the super thin pizza is delicious (if it's that thin, you can eat a whole one to yourself guilt-free, right?), but the service here is what deserves 5 stars.. no, 6. PS. Order the Garlic & Balsamic small plate. AMAZING with the warm bread they bring to the table. read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - Birthday desserts! Bananas Foster, Gelato Trio (Burnt Caramel, Banana, Coconut), and Apple Crostada - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Went here for happy hour and left a bit annoyed. We wanted to sit on the large patio, and they said if we want pizza at Pizzeria Via Stato we sit on the left, and if we want other food and drinks we sit on the right at Osteria. Since the happy hour we saw online was for Osteria, we sat on the right. Once our waitress came over, I let her know we would just be doing drinks and an app (it was only 4:30). She said this side was meant for people ordering full meals, stopped, and hesitantly said she guessed it was OK if we stayed on that side since it was so early. It was a bit odd that the patio was divided, but really no big deal, and we said we could move. Now we're on the Pizzeria side, and that's when we started to get annoyed. We had to ask for the happy hour specials - they don't advertise that anywhere - and we said we were here for happy hour and might get an app. Our waiter was really trying to sell us on some food, but hey, no big deal. But the thing that really got to me was our last round we ordered right when happy hour ended and he didn't say a word about it. So when we get the check, our $5 glasses of house wine went to $9. I'm sorry, but if your waiter/waitress knows you're there just for the happy hour, I think it's simply being polite or nice to alert them that it's ending/has ended. It just felt like he was trying to get extra money out of us since we weren't ordering enough (we did end up getting an appetizer, though). I can't say much about the food. It seemed more like a tourist hangout than anything. I've walked by this place a million times and usually the patio is pretty empty. read more

If you're hungry & cant wait for the entree, order the bread with oil, garlic, & balsamic mix, it's ridiculously good. We killed about 3-4 of those throughout our meal with no shame. The goat cheese quad pizza is delicious if you're into that kind of stuff. Another fav was the penne pasta, no regrets there. I heard they have a brunch menu on the weekends as well! read more

I love me some Chicago thin crust but Pizzeria's is just too thin for my taste. My fiance and I are Lettuce Gold members and honestly try to frequent as many Lettuce restaurants as our wallets will allow. We'd been to Pizzeria's counterpart, Osteria (connected restaurants) multiple times and were excited to try Pizzeria. We ordered: - veal meatballs: amazing, and well worth it at $8.95 - chopped chicken salad: pretty good but nothing spectacular. Word to the management - you might want to put on your menu that there is avocado in your chopped salad. I am pretty badly allergic and the night could have ended pretty terribly had a dining partner not noticed there was avocado... - 2 pizzas: brocolli and sausage; seasonal heirloom tomato. The broccoli and sausage was nothing to brag about but decent. The heirloom tomato had great seasoning, though was a little pricey in my opinion. My biggest beef though was with how thing the crust was! The sides were either burnt or shattered into a million pieces. Toppings kept falling off and it was almost impossible to eat. The service was friendly but a bit lacking. There were easy things the server could have done to make our dining experience flow by better. For example, we had no serving utensil for a big, shared salad. We had eaten salad and meatballs on a plate and had no change of plates for the meatballs. Will i be back? meh. read more

I think I understand why this pizzeria is attached to a hotel. It's so you can be discreet with your over indulgence, maybe to get some alone time and really dive into each other, to go wild and make a mess. Stop Six: As in six six six It might be very a sin to eat here at Pizzeria Via Stato. Service is excellent, pizza is very very good, and it's a quaint little place. If you're on a diet, this is not the place for you! This is also not the kind of place to bring a first date, unless they like that garlic, onion breath?! Sweet Onions crusted with Parmesan **Holy cheesy oniony mess Roasted beets salad -red & chiogga beets, goat cheese, micro greens ** Good Celery Caesar -romaine, celery, garlic croutons ** Massive sized salad, it could have been my dinner Margherita Pizza -san marzano tomatoes, hand-pulled mozzarella, basil ** One of the best Margherita pizza's I've ever eaten and that says a lot. Of course I went with the special but who could resist BACON Pizza -BACON, onions, egg, garlic, and a hint of olive oil. ** The Onions were a little much but the rest was deliciously EVIL! I think I made my case! read more

The ambience is dark and secretive and lovely. You go from State Street to an underground village tavern. Perfect for a late-evening meal with your significant other. I like you already, pizzeria darling. Oh, and the pizza. The pizza, the pizza, the pizza. Fresh toppings artfully sprinkled over the most fragile of pizza crusts, so thin and light that when you bite into it, you hear a delicate but satisfying crunch. That, my friend, is the sound of music to my ears. We had the roasted fennel and radicchio white pizza (my favourite!) and the barese sausage with goat cheese. For an appetiser, I highly recommend the grilled octopus with roasted potatoes. Ask for some bread to mop up the olive oil, lemon and herb sauce-- the bread is warm, supple, and very very good. read more

I guess they're trying to compete with Quartino, but Pizzeria Via Stato was a let down for me. I had the special pizza of the month, which our server recommended and was supposed to be slightly spicy with prosciutto. It fell flat--the crust was the best thing about it, there was not enough cheese or other ingredients on my pizza, it lacked any taste (I actually wish it had been spicy) and it was just bland and boring. Portions are kind of small for dinner, the pizza was super thin. I tried a Peroni, which I did not like either, wish they had a few more beer choices. So all in all, a disappointing dining experience here. Service was satisfactory. read more

Overall, a really pleasant experience. The staff was extremely helpful, kind and courteous.Our table was overjoyed with the endless amount of bread and oil to start off. The garlic based dip was also very good. We tried the veil meatballs and we're extremely please. I was most excited about the pizza, and it was unsatisfactory but it definitely could have packed more cheese and some seasoning. The crust was a bit too thin for my liking but if you enjoy very crisp crust this is the place for you. Very pleased with the experience and would suggest to anyone visiting River North. read more

For me this is the best crispy, paper thin pizza in this city. Now, this doesn't mean I don't like deep dish or middle weight crust, but thin and crispy, this is the place for it. With ample outdoor seating and a very laid back attitude, this place is all that. It shares space with Osteria Via Stato, which also happens to be a favorite of mine. What you can't pass up here is any kind of pizza, just choose your fave ingredients, the roasted garlic that you spread in your warm bread, the tomato and burata salad, or the field greens lightly dressed with walnuts, the chicken Mario or the greasy, deep fried but so good Calabria potatoes. I just named a few items from Osteria as well as the pizzeria side. If you sit at the bar, you can order from both menus. We had an awesome server, while seated outside, who understood that I can't just have the pizza, that I must also have the chicken Mario from the Osteria Via Stato menu. Thank you. Give this place a try, it's definitely worth it, and I'll always recommend this and Osteria. My comfort food stop. read more

Pizzeria Via Stato - Pizza Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Have been here for lunch mid-week (it was busy, luckily we had a reservation) and Saturday night dinner (a last minute, 9pm reservation). The restarutant is small and somewhat noisy, but that is as expected for a small, busy spot. It is a Lettuce Entertain You place, so be sure to get your rewards points. We didn't know enough about Italian wines to select one, so the bartender came over to the table and helped us out (we tried a few, to decide). The food came out very quickly after we ordered. Probably a bit too quickly... The salad came out first, then maybe 5 minutes later the pizza came out. Should have been spaced apart more. Next time I'm in, I'll ask for that spacing. This is a great spot for tourists, locals, etc. They have a few TVs, so hotel guests can also easily sit at the bar and enjoy a great meal. read more

Ok, so... night number 8 in Chicago for work and only one day left... As it was my last night and I was completely brain dead from working so long (and being in a hotel so long), I planned on blowing my night on margaritas at a famous Mexican restaurant down the street... and then it started to rain. As my Southern blood can no longer handle 40-50 degree weather AND precipitation, I decided to just eat in the hotel restaurant (something I NEVER do)... which was Pizzeria Via Stato. I sat down and started out with the Sangiovese blend of wine... delicious! Amazing and I definitely had another glass... I ordered the Margherita pizza and the Panzenella salad. I expected the salad to be a, well, SALAD, with bread on it (like you see on Food Network). But, it was actually a bread salad (no lettuce at all) with heirloom tomoato halves, strips of onion, cucumber and olives, all drenched in olive oil. DELICIOUS!! The olive oil was amazingly aromatic and flavorful, and it completely drenched the authentic, toasted Italian ciabatta it was covering. Amazing! The tomatoes, cukes, onions and olive slivers all complimented it perfectly. DEFINITELY go and get this salad! Then my pizza came, and it was kind of a bummer! :( This pizza is extremely thin crust, which I knew when I ordered, but didn't realize that it was so thin that parts would turn BLACK AS COAL as it was being cooked! (Yikes! I thought that stuff caused cancer?!) The ingredients were simple, hand-crushed tomatoes, cut up basil and mozzerela... only not nearly enough cheese to be satisfied with. It was yummy, but not nearly as awesome as EVO back home in Charleston (SC)... SC better then Chicago... what's that tell you?! In the end... only 3 stars for the pizza but 4 for the salad, wine and service. It was a nice atmosphere and a good meal (some parts great) for a rainy night in!! Ok.... this is an edit... the gelato, OMG, the gelato!!! Amazing! I had the caramel chocolate, and was told all gelato was made in house daily. Amazing, heavenly, orgasmic... Seriosly, go to this restaurant, get some amazing wine, the panzanella salad and the GELATO!! YUMMY!! read more

Came here because yelp had pointed us to a Pizza place. Me and my co-worker were visiting Chicago and had wanted to try a Chicago deep dish pizza. This is no where near what we had expected. Lighting was super dark and the place was cramped and crowded. The place is apparently known for their thin crust pizza, which we reluctantly ordered. It's not half bad, but I'm not exactly impressed. Ended up giving the take-out to a homeless guy, not because the food was bad, but just so you know... Service I have to say was pretty sub par. Pizza took forever and a half to come out and it was a pain to flag down the waitress because the place is so small and dark... The price I couldn't remember, but I wasn't complaining too bad for it. Now I'm no down town kid, but I sort of like to not be accidentally listen in on other people's conversations because the tables are way too close together. If you're here to discuss mafia secrets and hit lists, I don't suggest coming here to discuss that. read more