We love Raffi's. The most delicious tomato/basil soup is their soup special on Wednesdays. Minestrone is on the menu everyday as they rotate a second daily soup. The sea bass is lightly egg buttered baked in a lemon wine sauce, it literally melts in your mouth. (soup or salad is included with each entree) Ask for John's Special (not on the menu) named after my wonderful godfather. He can't get enough of the Sea Bass & has a special side! You will NOT be disappointed. It's my favorite! My husband loved the Tortellini Ala Panna. The cream sauce is amazing. The stuffed gnocchi with the tomato cream sauce is also fabulous. read more

Passed by this place but never tried it and then the whole family went there for my brothers birthday. Loved it! Even the children who are usually picky about food were clearing their plates. read more

Awesome! Just eat here. Food is so fresh had delicious. Owner Raffi is a delight. Very clean.

First time. A nice add to the local options.great service. Baked clams great, except a little gritty. Lobster raviolis were good though overcooked. Veal limon lacked breading. Busy night. Definitely will try again. read more

My wife and I stopped by Raffi's Locale for our 18th year wedding anniversary and had a wonderful meal! The Arancini appetizer was amazing! Spaghetti alla Carbonara was on point! The Lobster Ravioli was outstanding! Finally, the Tiramisu was Pure perfection! Even better than the food was the service rendered by the staff. Hands down one of the best meals we've had in a long time. Thanks for the great food and memories. read more

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Maybe the best way to describe Raffi's is exceptional! Large portions, well prepared good food, a comfortable atmosphere, and a nice owner. Who can ask for more. Why go into the city when places like Raffi's and Rafael is here. We will be back soon. read more

The food is fantastic and authentic. The service was excellent. The atmosphere was Just right. Of the many restaurants I tried on my trip to the Windy City, Raffi's tops them all. read more

A little hard Hole in the wall and parking is not the greatest but this is hands-down the best Italian food ever!

great food and service! We went to a late dinner near closing time and they never rushed us!

WHAT A GEM! We picked this restaurant because of its proximity to the Rosemont Theater. But we will definitely make it a destination in the future. Amazing food! Great atmosphere! Delightful staff! One of our favorites! It is BYOB by the way, which added to the casual/intimate atmosphere. read more

The guy that took my reservation, said it was so good, we brought any proceeded to act, weird, not very welcoming. Waitress was nice, but the host needs to work on his presentation and how he makes some gas feel comfortable and some not. You spent good money on a place and the food was not good and the host not good. Get some better food options and better customer service. read more

This is my 5 th time and it will not be the last. Great food in a very nice atmosphere. Owner is there to greet you and will come by to check on us. Highly recommended. read more

Amazing place to eat! The best Italian food in Chicago and totally recommend coming here. The prices are fair and the food so good. 10/10 would come again read more

Great Food! Great Neighborhood joint! Great Waitresses! And BYOB, can't go wrong! Good Italian Cooking! Can't say enough good things about the place. read more

Italian Food is great and very authentic, and the environment is quaint. It's BYOB, but you'll love it. Stop in and give it a try!

Apparently you only get treated great if you're a regular at this place? We were seated and waited about 10-15 mins before anyone came to the table. This place is in Chicago and none of the staff or patrons were wearing masks. Mind you most of the clientele were elderly. Anyway, we didn't know it was byob so we drank iced tea and it was only refilled once on request. No one came to refill our water either. The waiter offered some specials so I went ahead and ordered a chicken dish not realizing it would cost $32.95!! I have never heard of chicken costing that much. The food was ok but I have definitely had better Italian food. I only went to this place because it had some good reviews. In the future I will go elsewhere. read more

Food was good. Salad and bread was good and all entrees were good. I had chicken parmigiana and it was salty, otherwise would have given 5 stars. It is a byob. Prices are average. It's a small place with ample parking and it is always busy. Service was good. read more

We brought some out of towner friends here Wednesday evening as we needed to dine out and have been meaning to try Raffi's for a long time. The food was absolutely outstanding. We'll be back and this will be our go to Italian cuisine place. Thank you for transitioning from Bascilcos!! read more

Cute little place, not very big. I was there with three friends and we all had something different and each meal was amazing. I had chicken francesse and I'm still dreaming of it! You'll need reservations, but it's worth it! read more

great food. portions are good. service and ambiance are good. if you live around NW Chicago, Harwood Heights or Niles, try this place. recommended! read more

Awesome food and great atmosphere The owner Rafael is awesome making Italian food anyone looking for good Italian food stop here you will not be disappointed read more

One of my favorites! I enjoyed the sea bass which was mouth watering! Based on a special request from my wife the owner created a special dish of cacio y peppe! This place is outstanding! BYOB with NO CORK fee is incredible! Highly recommended! read more

Just in love with this place. The food is absolutely incredible and the staff is so hospitable. BYOB with no corkage fee is just topping on the dessert of this place. There are so many BYOB places where the food is mediocre but people think because it's reasonable it's good, that is not the case here it deserves 10 out of five stars.!! read more

Best Italian food ever Raffi' a I give it more than a 5 star the lasagna, the Chicken, Steaks and all the homemade dishes are prepared with exceptionall excellence , awesome and amazing. The atmosphere is awesome and amazing . read more

Very good food and service. Only problem was too much salt in Rigatoni and broccoli. Vegetable soup very good just a lot of salt . I like a lot of salt but there is a point where it makes the food taste not as good , right ? Just tone it down and will be great . read more

Very nice place! We love it ..good food great ambience. Thank you Rafa!! We will comeback

Our favorite Italian restaurant in the area was not accepting carry out orders because they were swamped. We decided to try Raffi's Locale. We were not disappointed. I was raised in an Italian home with parents born and raised in Italy. So I'm rather picky when it comes to Italian food which we rarely order or go out for. Their portions are very large and one cab easily get two meals out of their entrees. We ordered the frutti di mare alla griglia, pollo francese with fettuccine, and pollo Vesuvio. All were well seasoned and tasted very fresh. The Vesuvio sauce was especially tasty and thankfully they included a 1/2 loaf of bread to soak up the juices. We had just arrived home and the owner called to tell my husband he had left his credit card there. When we returned, he actually had a generous piece of tiramisu waiting for us. He was extremely personable and welcoming. We plated our food at home as you'll see in the pictures. read more

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Food and service were great! Easy parking on the street. It's BYOB so the only drawback is the $20 corkage fee.

Calamari, soup (minestrone and the soup of the day), gnocchi, and the special Penne were all delicious. Service was on point and a friendly owner/host gives the place a true Italian feeling. Recommended! read more

Amazing Italian! My fav in the city! Great service, location, restaurant & staff! Byob too!!

We visited with the family on Saturday night and had a great experience. The food was excellent, fresh and beautifully plated. It's true that Chicago has tons of restaurants with excellent food, but you won't find better hospitality anywhere. The servers were professional and friendly, the manager was present and engaging with the guests, and everyone was especially nice to the toddler in our party. They made us feel welcomed and appreciated, and we can't wait to return! We love that the place is BYOB - we brought a special wine that isn't usually found on restaurant wine lists. Raffi's is a small restaurant that opened in the midst of the pandemic. It's important for the community to get out and do the best we can to support these local businesses. You won't be sorry that you did - this restaurant is a true gem. read more

I went here once and the food practically tasted like heaven. I went with my family and tried each of their dishes and oh my gosh they were amazing. The owner was there are the time and he was so nice. Our server was funny and nice and the service was PERFECT. The food came out so quick as well. read more

Delicious, what I would call 'authentic' Italian cuisine. Traditional choices, very well prepared. Not super cheap, but moderate, especially in our new, post-pandemic pricing. The owner stopped by the table to check on everything. My companion is native Siciliano, so they had a cordial chat. The room is warm and welcoming. Very much of a neighborhood feel. In a good, welcoming way. Try it! read more

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

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Good food and the service was outstanding! Such a pleasant restaurant for a quality meal.

This is my second time here and let me tell you both times our entree's took FOREVER to show up! That is the WORST when you're out with a toddler and they're done eating and YOUR food isn't here yet. Today was the WORST! We put our order right when we got there since we were there with our toddler. We literally watched every other table the came after us AND ordered AFTER us get their soups and salads AND entrees before we got our soups and salad! Our entree took over an hour to get to us, there was no acknowledgement or communication that our dinner was running late. We informed the owner because it was next to impossible to get a hold of the waitress that was working solo on a busy saturday night. The owner was more focused on reservations waiting at the order rather than acknowledging our concern! The owner seems to take of him "own" rather than anyone else. When we finally got our order we just asked for it to go and to give us the check. It was not acceptable to get there at 6:15pm and not receiving our entree until we'll after 7:30pm. DINERS BEWARE!!!! read more

Great food..great atmosphere..Rafael is the best host ever..try the chicken Vesuvio ...

Stumbled on this restaurant; wow what a find. Very fresh ingredients, incredible flavor and everything we've ordered has been outstanding down to the bread and Italian dressing. You won't be disappointed!!! read more

Since my first review of Raffi's a few months ago, I have returned several times to enjoy every more delicious fare, courtesy of Raphael. Raphael is the first chef/owner who I personally know that takes the time to find out exactly what a customer truly would like to eat, and then exceeds by leaps and bounds what had been conjured up. And he does it so easily, so artfully, that one is left wondering how he pulls it off. But he does, time and time again! If you have a penchant for thick, sizzling steaks that are char-grilled to perfection... in my case that means they are double-charred and rare-plus, then you have come to the right place! They are simply awesome. Be sure to try his grilled asparagus, and oven roasted potatoes with garlic butter. Wow! As Raphael's restaurant is BYOB, if you have a favorite wine that you'd like to enjoy at dinner, bring it with you, and have at it! As I have recommended many, many friends about Raffi's Locale, so too I recommend it to you, with a full 5 Star rating. No, wait a minute... that should be 5 Stars times one hundred! This picture is from the dinner I had tonight. It was a veal chop stuffed with Prosciutto di Parma and Cortina cheese. Delicioso!! read more

WHOA THE EGGPLANT rollups are truly excellent, just delicious - could not stop eating it. The atmosphere is very cozy and the owner and staff are very attentive. Can't wait to go back and try the SEABASS and other things, yum. read more

arrived with a lady friend and we wound up ordering the same dish, linguini and clams. A generous serving of food arrived. However the linguine was undercooked. The clams were the chopped kind and were tough and rubbery. Platter was adorned with empty clam shells filled with the rubbery fragments. I broke off some bread, hoping the broth would be tasty. It was watery and lacked taste. The tomato-basil soup beforehand I will mention was good. Walked out of Raffi's in a state of shock at being served such a bad meal, especially after hearing how good the food was. read more