The food is fabulous and the owner is awesome. The staff is very professional. I love the atmosphere., it's very cozy. We go there often.

Food and services Owner was great greeter. My pasta spinach and ricotta was awesome. Was great experience will return soon read more

Awesome place. Owner came by and chatted with us before our meal. Good service and homemade pasta and sauces.

This locally owned restaurant hit the spot! Authentic, fresh and large portions perfect for sharing! Staff made you feel like family! It is everything that makes eating local so special! read more

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Yet again another successful visit to our friend. Took the family here for a group dinner Had calamari appetizer which w as excellent Several different plates I went low maintenance this visit and had the lasagne which was mouth watering Great service What a great place , small cozy and great for a tight knit family to go sit down and break bread together Love it and always do Thanks Raffi and crew read more

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Update: ok, upon returning, I like this place A LOT more than I did before. Not that I didn't like it before but this time was a much better experience. So, this is BYO drinks, which is awesome. The staff is amazing, as they were the last time too. We were greeted, the staff was friendly, we didn't wait long for service, and they were attentive. We both had the salmon off the Daily Special menu and it was so good. We followed up dinner with a creme brulee. Im glad that we gave this place another go. Again, my previous experience was not bad but this one was just better. Thanks to everyone at Raffi's read more

Love this Italian restaurant. The food is superb and the service is top notch. The servers have been there for years. The pricing is very reasonable for the quality of food and It's BYOB. read more

Excellent food, every time. Everything on the menu is delicious. Highly recommend. Always busy, so go early.

The food is cooked with love .I want to try everything all at once. Thank you for making my day! :) read more

Raffi's Locale - Arancini - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The owner is amazing. The is great, and the is to die for. Try the Sea Bass, the best in Chicagoland

My fiancé has been coming to Raffi's for over 10 years. When him and I met he introduced me to Raffi and I have NEVER gone back to any Italian restaurant. Raffis is the only Italian food I'll eat, it is amazing. I'll get "home sick" when we're on vacation and can't get Raffis cooking! read more

Raffi's Locale - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great food and BYOB or wine. No corkage fee. You can drink better wine and not have to pay for bad wine.

Raffi Locale is a must go to restaurant From the Tiramisu to stuffed Gnochhi Risottos to sea Bass to Tortellini every meal we had

Excellent food and customer service. Been here so many times. Friendly owner and employees.

I ordered from Raffi for the first time when I placed a Christmas catering order. I chose this restaurant when my regular go-to place was no longer accepting Christmas orders. In a panic I started searching the Internet and found Raffi. The reviews were positive, so taking a chance, I placed a large order. OUTSTANDING! That's what my Christmas dinner was. All seventeen of my guests raved about the food, which was tasty and exceptional. Chicken Parm, meatballs, veal Marsala, and ricotta spinach mostaccioli were our favorites. Big thumbs up for Raffi. read more

Went in for Valentines this year and it did not disappoint. Highly recommend the mussels appetizer. De-licious. As always, friendly warm service in a great neighborhood restaurant. Highly highly recommend. read more

Catered food for our wedding from here and every dish we ordered was delicious and Raffi was very accommodating.

The staff is incredibly friendly, the atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the food is consistently delicious. The menu offers great variety, and it truly feels like a neighborhood gem. This place never disappoints! read more

The owner and staff are so friendly. We had a big group and headcount changed a few times, but the owner accommodated. Staff was on top of refilling water and friendly to the kids. Food portions are good and no corkage fee for BYOB. Highly recommend the fried calamari and linguini frutti di mare. There is a small parking lot next door. Thank you Raffi and team for a great experience! read more

Fantastic Italian food and service! Desserts drinks ambiance and fun!! In my neighborhood love it

This a nice Italian restaurant nestled in the neighborhood. It's roomy, welcoming, and BYOB. The waitress was nice. We ordered the fried calamari as for appetizers. It was a small portion but we managed to share it with 4 people. I order the lobster ravioli. It was really good. The ravioli was perfectly cooked and it was filled with the right amount of lobster. The sauce it came in was very nice and tasty. This is a nice neighborhood gem. Highly recommend. read more

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We made a reservation for 3 for 6pm, arrived on time to see there was no seating available other than a couple 6 tops. After being ignored for about 10 minutes, the host tried to seat us at a tiny 2 top. We walked out very disappointed as we were excited to give a new local place a try. Don't accept reservations if you don't plan to honor them. read more

Had a reservation, recommended as this place is busy. Great service from our waiter (German). Great chicken Marsala with minestrone soup or a salad choice. Chicken vesuvio with roasted potatoes . 15 , 16 tables great wait staff, bring your BYOB, wait staff took care of everything for your wine, well trained staff and friendly. Can't wait to go back! read more

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Amazing food! Raffi is a great guy, often checking everything was ok. 10/10 recommend, the tiramisu was amazing as well!

Loved the decor and ambiance in this restaurant. Our server was exceptional- personable, helpful, attentive- and the overall service was great. The restaurant was completely full, but we didn't have to wait long for food. Everything was excellent and portions were large- the food tasted fresh. The owner checked in to make sure everything was good. This is a BYOB restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised that there was no corking fee added. read more

Everything was delicious and the servers were very friendly! Love that it's BYOB as well.

I have to wonder how many Dunning residents realize they have a top notch Italian restaurant right in the neighborhood. Raffi's offers great northern Italian style dishes in a cozy, modern setting. Do yourself a favor and eat there! read more

You'll be happy to discover this small intimate gem on Irving Park Road in Chicago. if you were missing some of the specialties you enjoyed at Basilico you'll find them here. I always go back to the sea bass francese. Outstanding. Friendly, welcoming staff. BYOB with no cover charge. read more

The food was very good everybody loved what they order , our waitress was even better .We will definitely go back.

Cozy place Good Italian food, Owner and staff very friendly. BYOB. No corking fee. read more

The Food! The Atmosphere! The Service! All A++! LOVE this place! Truly Excellent and very delicious Italian food!! Also it's BYOB and it makes it even more Fun to come out enjoy!! MUST check out this place! So worth it! Ps.. Reservations recommended they get super packed! read more

Love this spot! The food is incredible and the owner is the best. You must give it a try if you live in the area.

Pretty good Italian food. Older crowd observed, walkers and 85th b-days. Eponymous owner is charming, he seemed to be the host/manager, not the chef. BYOB is a great feature. They maybe aim for fine dining but land somewhere around grandma's home cooking. Loved the bread with garlic infused EVOO. The Frutti di Mare alla Griglia had octopus which was a bit chewy and could have used a kiss from a grill. I would guess they don't have a grill. A nice place to try if you're in the neighborhood. Service was middling, atmosphere was senior-living. I would recommend Nonna Silvia's Trattoria for better pasta. read more

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Found this local family owned spot while on business travel and staying near O'Hare airport. It's BYOB and good thing there is a Market/Liquor/Wine/Beer store next door. While the Caprese salad and Minestrone soup were not that desirable, the house Lasagna was excellent. Flavor, portion, meat, cheese, marinara sauce were delicious. read more

Delicious food, great service, attentive waitress, lovely restaurant, will def go again and absolutely recommend. read more

Raffi's Locale - Pollo Francesse - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The food is great! I absolutely love this place! The food is great. Warm atmosphere and great service. We love the byob - makes it soothing affordable. I've never had a bad meal. read more

Raffi's Locale - Sea bass Francese!!! - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Raffi's is a small Italian hidden gem! 1. Don't let not having a parking lot deter you. There is plenty of street parking or you can park in the vacant 7-11 parking lot next door. 2. It is a small and cozy restaurant which is good for a date night or having dinner where you can have a conversation and hear each other. 3. The owner is so nice and so is the others who work there. They are very attentive and so accommodating to kids and large groups as well. They let me have a large group to celebrate a birthday and it was great. 4. Last the food, which is the main reason we go to a restaurant...is great! We tried the 8 Finger Cavatelli in vodka sauce, the bruschetta, the Sea-bass Francesse, the soups, meatballs and salmon. Everything was delicious except the salmon was not the greatest. We can't wait to try other dishes on the menu and dessert next. 5. An added bonus is that it is BYOB! read more

Overall the restaurant was not crowded and we were seated right away. The restaurant is BYOB and you can bring your favorite wine etc. The restaurant is small and cozy and the waitress was just so pleasant, nice, and attentive. We had for dinner the spaghetti with meatballs, pollo Francesse, borne came with side salads. The dressings we tried were ranch and house Italian. The appetizer was a simple bruschetta which was delicious with the mozzarella cheese. They also include warm fresh bread to your table, that is complimentary. Dessert we had the crème brûlée which was great! The pollo francesse was simply ok, the egg flavor overpowered the dish. It was simply ok, and they added only a bit of pasta. The sauce needed more flavor. The spaghetti with meatballs had a strong flavor of basil in the sauce, which made the dish with aftertaste of basil after every bite. Overall experience was just ok, food was just ok. The menu is very limited, they cater more into seafood dishes, didn't see much red meat or chicken incorporated into any dish. If you love seafood dishes this would be your place. read more

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Worst Italian food I've ever had. Everything here is microwaved, from a package or a can. Not even the bread was fresh. Huge disappointment. Ordered both of the ravioli. Bread tasted microwaved. Lentil soup, salty. "Minestrone" bland and served cold. The Ravioli came out and didn't look right at all. My husbands beef ravioli came out dry - half without "sauce" that tasted like canned sauce. The ravioli itself, definitely microwaved and not freshly made. The "lobster ravioli" I took one bite and I was disgusted. The sauce was separating, definitely not freshly made and it tasted like canned feet sauce I don't know where you guys eat that you've rated this place 5 stars but when it comes to food, it's literally a 0. read more

Great bread, great service, good customer service.... food was decent/ good. Pricey for pasta. Might give it a second chance.