Can't believe that this is supposedly one of the best that Taylor St has to offer.

Went here last Saturday afternoon with my comadre and my 5 year old daughter and had a great time. The inside of the place has a nic dark, intimate decor to it which i found inviting. I was a little worried that this would not be a good pick for my 5 year daughter but she did well. They do not have a kids menu so you either need to share your meal or order them a complete meal. The waitress said that they would be willing to do a side order of pasta for her but of course she wanted the ravioli. Our waitress was very attentive and did a great job. The food was excellent!!! I had the veal, my friend ordered the tuna and my daughter had cheese raviloi! My veal was the best I ever had! My friend who isnt a fan of veal even loved it. My daughters meal was great and she nearly finished the entire thing! We sat around after our meal and just talked and Im glad to say we were not rushed out of there! The only thing about this place is that it is a tad bit expensive and that while I would love to come back very often...I see this as a once a year type meal. Other than that everything here is great ! read more

I may be one of the few people to say that this restaurant is mostly hype. Perhaps, years ago it offered great Italian food but now it's sub par. If you love authentic Italian food this place will probably upset you but if your going just to say you experienced a famous restaurant then by all means, knock yourself out. The chicken Parmesan was not bad but definitely not the best I've ever had. The baked chicken was o.k. but for a restaurant that's been around this long we expected alot more. I think several entree's are over priced and under seasoned. read more

we went there as part of the free restaurant week lunch, even though we ended up not ordering from the special menu. so the food is deeelicious, we stared out with the spicy calamari and maybe the price seems high on the menu for an appetizer, but the size is really large for an appetizer either, so it's definitely fair. the square noodles in vodka sauce was amazing, we also had tilapia in vesuvio sauce and it's so moist and tender, and last we have Baked Ziti Genovese...which is also amazing, the portions are very large so you can share, and since we didn't know that ahead of time ...we didn't get to finish our entrees because we were really stuffed by the appetizer and bread =) read more

The Rosebud is my favorite restaurant...of ALL time. My family dines here for almost every special occasion. We have made the rounds with the wait staff and they are all knowledgeable and attentive. The management is always around making sure everything is going well. The food is AMAZING. The servings are huge so we always leave with a Rosebud shopping bag full of leftovers. Definitely a must for all Chicagoans. read more

Food excellent, large portions. Staff friendly and helpful. Definitely will go back.

What a mess! We had a reservation for four people at 6:00 Friday night. This restaurant is located less than a mile from the United Center and we had tickets for an 8:00 show. When we arrived at the restaurant, the valet service was not to be found. The restaurant is located on a busy intersection in Chicago with limited street parking. Compounding the problem, the intersection in all four directions is currently under construction and one road is reduced to one lane. I went in the restaurant to inquire about valet service. I was told by the hostess that no valet was currently available because there were no spots for them to park cars. She explained that they were very busy and valet had parked so many cars already. She told me to find street parking. I asked her if she could honor our 6:00 reservation and she told me she was running behind by 5 to 10 minutes. I ended up parking 6 city blocks away on a residential street sporting signs clearly stating parking allowed only by permit. This was the only spot I saw after searching for 15 minutes. When I returned to the restaurant, I found my party standing at the bar. They told me we were next to be seated. By 6:20, lots of names had been called but not ours, I again asked the hostess when we could expect to be seated and again she assured me, the next table was ours. At 6:40, after watching more than a handful of tables being seated, I approached the hostess and asked a third time when we might be seated. She said right away and proceeded to seat a different party! I would have taken this personally except that the bar was filled with patrons experiencing the same treatment. I did suggest that either a sign be posted on the street indicating valet service was unavailable or an employee stand at the outside door, ready to inform patron there was no valet. At 6:50 we were seated and waited, waited, waited for a waiter. One finally appeared and announced she would get water and a basket of bread right away. Had she given us a moment to respond or heard our shout to come back, we would have placed our entire order at that moment. She never returned. A different waitress appeared and said the exact same thing! We were able to slow her down and place our full order with her. Our salads arrived at 7:25. This is when the trail of managers began visiting our table, asking how our meal was. I asked three different suits if my car was likely to be towed as the street signs stated it would without a permit. They had no clue and offered no suggestions to help me. Two salads were prepared incorrectly. Water glasses were re filled once during the entire meal. Silver ware was poorly cleaned, the Ladies bathroom was littered with tissue and trash, the garbage can was over flowing onto the floor and hair was all over the sinks which were just filthy. The entrees were soaked in butter, my entree was not even warm, it was initially sauna room hot and then glacially cold in our part of the restaurant. Our waitress looked frazzled. When the bill came, our waitress told me the manager picked up three of our glasses of wine. They knew how out of control everything was but were unable to set things straight. I imagine they were picking up lots of glasses of wine. Every table around us was receiving similar service. This restaurant gets business from early birds dining before Bulls games, Blackhawks games, and concerts. They know what to plan for, they have reservations to help make those plans. They can look at their reservations and get a reasonable expectation of the number of cars that will need valet service. They can look at their reservations and choose to actually hold open table for those reservations. They chose not to do either last night. read more

My favorite place in the world! I drive from St Charles on all special occasions. The other Rosebuds are not the same, though their food is good, you dont get the old world Italian feel. Awesome!!! read more

The decor is old school high class Italian. Cozy and dark lit dining room is good for a romantic date or just right for gorging yourself on some of the best Italian fair you can find. Beware, they will try and sell you a bottle of spring water and it will cost you 5 bucks, it is not mandatory to purchase but they are pushy. Great list of top shelf liquors and if I drank wine I'm sure they'd have a fine wine list. Stuffed Mushrooms are amazing and the pork chops Calabrese was spicy and actually overpowered the flavor from the garlic that was stuffed in the mushrooms. University students (pre-law I'm guessing) can be obnoxiously loud but it seems like a normally relaxed crowd. Highly recommended, expect to spend around 95 to 150 dollars depending on drink choices or the specials. read more

Great food. Great portions. Great atmosphere. I'm a little perturbed that, when I ordered the "Veal Parmigiana" ($24), the waitress exclaimed, "Oh, well how about the Veal Chop Parmigiana that's on special tonight instead!?" without mentioning that it was $15 more. Same thing happened to my girlfriend, whose entree "on special" ended up being $50. Sure, most customers are not penny pinchers in that environment, but I'd have appreciated the upfront communication about such significant price differences. read more

Best Italian on taylor! Place has best food and best service! Been here 10 times and never had a bad time. If you don't come here you need to! Large portions so be prepared! They started it so don't be surprised and right about it when u go! 5 stars!!!! read more

A Chicago Classic. I usually go before a Hawks or Bulls game. The Brick Chicken is amazing and all the portions are big enough to share. Not a place to go if you are counting the calories. read more

Fabulous from start to finish. Ask for the home made square noodles with sausage & vodka sauce.

It has been a wonderful Saturday dinner,my fish soup was as good as home made and the leftover were enough for a second dinner,even more flavorfull the day after,so fresh! I am glad I went and I will go again. read more

We visited Chicago for a few days and had the pleasure of eating at The Rosebud on Taylor. First off the staff was excellent and our waiter Jay was fantastic. The food was beyond excellent. I would highly recommend this place to anyone who is looking for authentic Italian food. The BEST!! Try the Moms Sunday Meatball Salad as an app- truly delightful. We'll def be back! read more

I used to live across the street from this place and me and my girlfriend would go here often. the staff are professional, friendly and attentive. We went here tonight for our anniversary and as usual everything was great! One complaint though...... The strip steak (I highly recommend italiano style!) that I would order most of the time had changed in price from just above $20 to $40!!!!!!! in under 2 years, the price of the SAME MEAL had doubled! I love this place, but I noticed a lot of the items on the menu have increased dramatically. I don't frequent there any more because i moved, but that was a considerable let down. If not for the price difference, i would definitely change my review to 5 stars. read more

A little pricey but the portions are MASSIVE. The food is delicious, the staff is competent (we asked to be re-seated inside to escape the bees and we were moved immediately), and the vibe is nice. "The lighting is too dim" isn't a valid complaint; it's a preference. If you don't like dark(ish) lighting, I'm sure you can find a brightly lit McDonald's that's more to your liking. read more

Had very nice dinner with my cousin. Great service. Very good bar selection. Classic chicago steakhouse. They accommodated our special requests as well. Recommended. read more

Really upset with Rosebud, as I have been told nothing but good things. We are from out of town & made a reservation for 5PM on a Sunday night (which happened to be the Sunday night of Taylor Street Festival). We walked in and three hostesses told us there would be a 45 min wait; I asked what the point in having a reservation was. They had no answer and told us we should have known Taylor Street Festival was going on. After speaking to a manager, we suddenly could be seated but the service throughout the whole night was extremely unacceptable. Will not be going back. read more

Perfect and delicious tonight! Service was impeccable - attentive but not pressing. We had a party of 4 and all 4 dinners were wonderful and interesting and served hot and delicious. The calamari and shrimp appetizer was a real treat. I haven't been for awhile, but it is definitely on my favorites list. read more

We where there last night before the Hawks game. Two of the four of us are vegan and we are used to fending for ourselves with little regard for our needs in most restaurants. Wow, was Rosebud different. The host/manager when told two of the party where vegan said "we will take care of it" and he did. He came to the table discussed dishes that they could make especially for us. A pasta dish with garlic, olive oil and vegetables was fantastic. Service was excellent. This is the way to run a restaurant, we will be back with omnivore friends because we know we will be taken care of. read more

Great meal! I had the jumbo shrimp Milanese with a side of flat noodles and vodka sauce. The baby arugula with tomato was fresh and the dressing was light and perfect. Shrimp were tender and lightly breaded. Service was great! Would recommend! read more

We had a fabulous dinner last night. The bartender John and server Jay were great. Dinner specials of lamb and lobster risotto were awesome. An absolute favorite spot. read more

This was by far the best alfredo sauce I have ever had in my mouth. I don't know how they do it, but it is heaven in food form. On top of this, we were treated to have a server, Jay, that went above and beyond to be sure our experience was excellent. I will definitely returning as soon as I can! read more

Awesome restaurant, complete perfection, best Italian Food in Illinois. Makes all other Italian Restaurants look pathetic to this place. Food is FANTASTIC. Great atmosphere , great service, its what you picture when you think of a great Italian restaurant read more

This is a truly great Italian restaurant. I've been here a few times, for a business lunch, a date, and a large fraternity formal ... and I have never been disappointed. The food is awesome and the restaurant itself is classy. I highly recommend the vodka sauce. The only drawback is that Rosebud definitely is not cheap ... but hey you get what you pay for read more

Very nice old school Italian restaurant on Taylor. It's just a couple blocks from the United Center and near a medical center complex. Seems like a hip urban neighborhood. Inside is woody and white table clothes. We ate at a sidewalk table. The service and food were very good and reasonably priced. The portions were very large - you could easily share a plate and save room and money for dessert. read more

This truly was "As Good As it Gets!" My husband and I are restaurateurs and it is hard to please both of us. We waited, we had to dine late... but who cares when the food and service are impeccable!? I could only explain it by stating that this is the food that the angels serve you in heaven! My husband had the chicken marsala and asked for garlic to be added. The server explained that the sauce is a sweet sauce however he passed my husband's request along to the chef. The marsala not only came to him with garlic added... but whole cloves of "roasted" garlic! As busy as it was, they still took the time to cater to a specific request! I tried the lobster ravioli special with slices of tender asparagus and a roasted red pepper sauce... just magic... rich, creamy, with the taste of "freshly made from scratch" in every bite! The very next night we decided to try their sister restaurant... Rosebud on Rush.... I will put a separate review on that particular restaurant's yelp review area as well! ROSEBUD was suggested to us by a server at a steakhouse we were patronizing... and when I asked where she goes for authentic Italian she didn't even hesitate "Rosebuds!"... she was correct! read more

Wonderful evening...service was outstanding, food delicious, setting great. Will definitely go again.

I went out to dinner with my aunt on Thursday night and we were craving Italian food. We decided to try 'The Rosebud'. Right as I walked in, everyone was so nice and made me feel comfortable. We were seated immediately and it wasn't too crowded. I ordered chicken parmesan and it was to die for! It came out pretty quick and tasted delicious. I would recommend this dish to anyone because the chicken was amazing. It was very moist. The penne pasta I had with it was great too. It was topped with a mountain of melted cheese. I sprinkled some freshly grated parmesan cheese on top and it was very delectable. The portions were big and we definitely got our money's worth. For dessert I ordered tiramisu. It was very good. Since I am a baking and pastry major and I was at an Italian place, I was looking for a great dessert. I found it at this place! The service, however, was a little slow. We had to wait a long time for the waiter to come take our order and see how we were doing. Although during that time we had other workers come by to see how we were doing and also to refill our drinks. I felt the atmosphere inside the restaurant was very extravagant, but the lights were turned down too much and I could not read the menu very well. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes Italian food. It is a very classy place with good food and nice, smiling people. I will definitely be going back and will try another dish to see if it is as good as the chicken parmesan. If you want a good time, visit The Rosebud. I hope you will all check it out. read more

This is the second time that my friend and I attempted this restaurant and once again, we were highly disappointed. The first time we went for lunch, we saw our waitor three times; once to take our order, once to bring us our order and once to give us our check. He never came to ask if we needed refills on drinks or how the food was. As for the food, it was so so. Needless to say that waitor did not get a very good tip. The second time, we thought things would be different but despite the service being a bit better, we were not impresses by the food at all. We both ordered your basic spaghetti with marinara sauce but it seemed like all they did was open up a can of Chef Boyarde spaghetti, heat it up and dress it up with some Parsely. We will NOT be going there anymore. read more

Best Italian food in the city! Talk about a home cook meal taste, simply great. Lasagna and manicotti are best. Great location, atmosphere and service. Perfect for a good night out dinner. read more

I have been coming here for years! and it never disappoints! Love the wait staff and their knowledge of product. The atmosphere cannot be beat! Will be back again and again. read more

I had a pasta and my girlfriend got a white fish with stuffed lobster. The food was decent but for 60 dollars I felt like I should have enjoyed the meal a little more. read more

I had not been at the original Rosebud for many years and was looking forward to re- experiencing my memories of good meals there. Myself and my fiancée were very disappointed and both agreed they must be skating on their reputation. The evening started out well with the very attentive service, but rapidly went downhill from there. The Pinot Grigio glass we started with was terrible and the more expensive replacement I had later was only marginally better. Even though we ordered our food 10 minutes after the couple next to us - it arrived 20 minutes after their entrees (this was 15 minutes after our server said "it was just being plated"). My fiancée's Tilapia was very boring, had a bone in her first bite, and was covered with clearly frozen peas. My linguini with clams was just ok - but again mostly uninspired. Both of us have had much better Italian meals in Lincoln Square and even in the suburbs. Hard to believe such boring food was made from the birthplace - Taylor Street - of the best Italian food in Chicago. We would not recommend Rosebud to anyone. read more

I took my fiancée to this place last night, and it was probably the worst dinner we have ever had at any restaurant. If it wasn't for the attentiveness/politeness of our server and the bread I think this place should get zero stars. We ordered the fried calamari, which was cut too thick and unseasoned (which prevented it from being thoroughly fried). My fiancée ordered the whitefish and it was dreadful. It smelled like garbage when it got to the table and there was absolutely NO seasoning on the fish. The accompanying fettuccine Alfredo was barely acceptable after she had butter, salt, and pepper added. I ordered the rigatoni with vodka sauce and it didn't look appealing at all, it was basically undercooked pasta that had orange paint dumped on it (voila?). I cannot understand how people are giving this place a good rating if they don't season the food. Needless to say we didn't stay for dessert and no "to go" boxes were taken. Yuck and I will never get robbed by this dump again. read more

rosebuds literally has the worst customer service i've ever come across. their food is mediocre and sooo expensive but it was fine bc it was a one time thing for me. however, the waitresses were rude and we waited an hour to get our check. a literal hour. they claimed the server were down but a lot of us paid in cash which meant they didn't need the fucking machines to process our order they could've just given us our change back. a friend that was at dinner and i didnt get our checks back and when the waiter came back like 20 mins later after everyone else got their checks she said it was bc we paid exact cash. so i asked the waiter and i was like i paid $25 and the meal was $24.09. she tried to scam me of my change and when I confronted her about it she rudely tossed me a dollar and walked away. my friend attempted to nicely talk it out with the waitress but she walked away and ignored us which is such inappropriate behavior for a waitress. there was a lot more that went wrong w dinner but overall do not come to this restaurant it is a huge scam. read more

Having eaten at Rosebud prime (a pleasant experience) was shocked at the horrible service at this spot (maybe the Prime folks get that downtown working folks won't tolerate horrible service, unlike customers who frequent their little Italy location). The service stinks in this place. I went on Saturday night for dinner with a friend. True, being Saturday, and we did not have reservations, we expected a wait (we were told by the overly perky hostess that it would be 20 to 25 minutes). After an hour and 10 minutes (yes, she lied) waiting at the bar (note: we were never asked once by the bartender if we needed a refill) we were finally seated. We sat there for 10 minutes before a waitress came to take our drink order (she was nice but distracted). Another 15 minutes before she took our order. When our food arrived, it was tasty or luke warm. Eventually (I think our waitress sensed by my friend's sour mood that she would NOT be getting a good tip based on the lousy service) our service improved a wee bit towards the end of the meal. There's more, but won't go into it. In conclusion, for the money, I'd try another Italian spot. You'll probably get better service. read more

have been before and really enjoyed the pork chop. last time i visited showed up early before reservation and they hooked us up early but they sat us in a very strange table where one person was stuck behind a wall and it really killed the atmosphere . we ended up having a bottle of wine an an appetizer. grilled calomari which was grilled to perfection and served with peppers. delicious but due to the table we bowed out after appetizers. finished our dinner at another restaurant and had a great night. read more

I went to Rosebud for the first time two weeks ago and all I can say is I had a wonderful experience. I sat at the bar waiting for my wife and the bartender was awesome. He was very friendly and understood the pleasures of a good drink after a long day. The bar was so pleasant that my wife and I stayed for an extra drink before being seated. I ordered one of my favorite dishes that just happened to be a special that night---Zuppa de Mare. This was the best dish I ever had anywhere. It was a perfect mix of seafood and pasta. The taste was out of this world. My taste buds were having a party. The taste would linger in your mouth just perfectly. The dish was not cheap and came in at 48 dollars. But, the portion was so huge I took it home is carry out that was the size of a lasagna pan. I ate the left overs for three days and never once thought about the price. I still walk around thinking about how good the food was. I hope they have this dish as a regular offering. read more