We stopped in to grab their espresso martini since it was voted "the best" by Chicago Time Out…read more  It wasn't my most favorite espresso martini but it was really good and strong! The service was super easy and quick. There's actually a bar downstairs and a bar upstairs as well. The bar downstairs was busy so we ended up going to the bar upstairs which I am glad we did because the entire upstairs is huge! There's a lot of lounge-type seating with couches, benches, and tables. I think the upstairs turns into more a club feel at night because it had that kind of vibe.

We want to Ummo for our anniversary dinner with family and friends. The ambiance is perfect, we got…read morea nice long table for our big party on the upper floor. The drinks, appetizers, salads, pastas were all great! We tried the focaccia and the mozzarella tomato salad, which we loved. All the pastas were great, with the gnocchi being my favorite. Everything up to this point was so good that I was looking forward to the desserts and saved space for them. We ordered the Tiramisu, panna cotta, the fererro, mascarpone ice cream and an espresso shot. The desserts were a big disaster. Tiramisu was the most disappointing. While visually pleasing, and the live pouring of the sauce was exciting the taste was so bad that it ruined the night for us. First of all, I was expecting a basic tiramisu with dipped lady fingers, mascarpone and stuff. Their tiramisu is nothing like it. The hard chocolate shell bean was hard to crack open with a spoon. The cold brew, amaretto and chocolate sauce was too bitter. Nothing else in the dish was balancing the bitterness out. The Ferraro dessert felt like the chocolate mousse was trying too hard. It was ok, but thankfully not as bad as the tiramisu. The pannacotta and the ice cream were nice. The espresso shot could have been avoided. While the food was good the desserts left a bad taste (pun intended).

This place is insanely good! It was such an amazing dining experience. The food and service were…read moretop notch! This was super neat, they can take a photo you send to them and put it on top of an espresso martini!!! Who does that?! It looked so cool! I got a virgin espresso martini and it was an espresso martini from heaven. The A5 was the best A5 I've ever had. It had this really nice crisp on the edges and just melted in my mouth. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I've been on the hunt to find spicy rigatoni just as good as Carbone's, and I found it here! It's the perfect hint of spicy, creamy, vodka sauce with al dente pasta. The truffled Caesar had a nice light truffle flavor that elevated the Caesar! Now, I'm a big dessert person. As you can see, I had to order quite of them just to try it lol my favorite was the chocolate cake it tasted like a Ferrero Roche. The cake was super moist, the chocolate ice cream and nuts gave it a nice creamy flavor with a crunch. The strawberry ice cream was really good! It has balsamic on it so I thought I wouldn't like it, but it actually works well with it. The cheesecake was interesting. It was kinda like a basque cheesecake but I wasn't sure. I'm definitely coming back here when I am in town!

Three of us went for Happy Hour during the World Cup so it was a very different vibe than typical I…read moreshould think (there are TVs in the bar area). We still had great service from the warm greeting at the host stand, to our attentive server and friendly food, water and drink runners. The HH specials are very good for both the food and drink. There's a nice multiple choice drink bite main option as well. Shrimp and oysters were very fresh (with excellent horseradish) and the gnocchi fritti were great. Fries that came with caprese slider ("main" part of said special) could've been crisper but I'm sure that was a stylistic choice on their part. We were very happy with everything and will definitely make a point to return. Peaking into the main dining area, it looked art deco glam yet comfortable-- definitely a special occasion kind of place that you would want to dress for. Though I'm sure you'd be made to feel welcome however you came in. Going here today made me want to come back to the regular restaurant as well as check out their other spot, Adalina Prime. And I think that is the main and worthy goal of Happy Hour specials so congratulations on a successful recruit!!

My experience at The Village was a solid one! The restaurant is dimly lit and busy - a nice place…read morefor a good Italian dish and it gives off a nice, romantic ambiance. Service was solid, but nothing above and beyond what was expected. To start, they bring out a side of bread, which you can dip in the olive oil that's on the table. Per usual, this is always a delicious appetizer at most Italian restaurants. For dinner, I ordered the chicken scamorza sandwich. The sandwich was absolutely fantastic, though my only recommendation would be to include some more sauce on the sandwich. It gets a bit dry with all of the bread. I also came to find that, while I had never had or heard of scamorza cheese before, I would now consider it one of my favorite cheeses. It's like a mozzarella, but with a smoky flavor, and the taste is amazing! This is a dish I highly recommend trying!

This Italian restaurant, was such a disappointment, since we were really anticipating a great…read moreoverall experience. Starting with the service, it was just very cold and not personable. We were seated at our table and were handed our menus in a very cold way. We then waited (which was totally ok, because the restaurant was busy on a Saturday), to then have our waitress, who was clearly stretched thin, come and introduce herself quickly and get our drinks orders. Then we had a bus-boy bring us some bread in a very rude way. He also didn't speak one word english. No smile and not even some type of acknowledgement. We probably waited another 30 mins to get our drinks. Then we waited again to get our soups, however, the same bus-boy came continuously to take our plates/away... At one point he just stood there next to one of us to finish our bite to then take that one plate.... It was incredibly awkward and rude. He was efficient to clean the table, however never once brought us more water or bread while we were waiting. Then we all got our meals, and the only good meal was the Gnocchi. The risotto, was clearly made with normal short rice... not arborio rice. It wasn't creamy and thick as the consistency should've been. The Veal was tough, and the pasta was overcooked. We probably saw our awkward bus-boy more times than our actual waitress, and even to get our check was such a long wait... We were just so disappointed in the whole experience.

One of my favorite Italian restaurants in Chicago! The food is always so consistent, and the…read moreatmosphere is perfect for a cozy date night with dim lighting and a great ambiance. The burrata is an absolute must order. It's flown in fresh from Italy a few times a week, and you can definitely taste the quality. The Rigatoni Vodka is another favorite of mine. It's rich, creamy, and always delicious. We also loved the Ricotta Gnocchi, Bucatini Amatriciana, and finished with the Toasted Almond Cookie Soft Serve, which was the perfect dessert. The service was friendly and attentive, and every visit has been a great experience. Definitely worth the reservation!

Italian food isn't my first choice with dining, neither is Hogsalt. That being said, Ciccio Mio…read morequite literally translates to 'My darling' in Italian and it is undeniably the darling of the Hogsalt restaurant group. A ~very romantic~ touch is that they give you a red rose for your birthday. What we ordered: Bucatini Amatriciana: Guanciale, Calabrian chili, pecorino romano Burrata: Saved with fougasse bread, olive oil, and other accoutrements. Forget the lasagna rotolo, this is Ciccio Mio's pièce de résistance Truffle Mafaldine: truffle cream sauce, parmesan. I think mafaldine is my favorite pasta shape. It's just such a whimsical noodle to eat lol Fried Artichoke: Artichoke hearts, caesar aioli.

The restaurant is not that far from the Art museum and Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)…read more We had reservations and were seated right away. They light a new candle on your table and it was fun guessing how many hours it takes for the candle to melt all the way down. We came during dinner time and sat inside. We shared the Arancini, usually comes in 3 and they made 4 for us, since there were 4 of us. Very delicious and we all just took our time savoring the flavor. So good and it is also GF made with rice flour. Next I had the Umbricelli con Sugo d'Anatra. House made spaghetti with duck meat. Noodles were firm and didn't twirl on the fork easily. But it was really good. There were plenty of duck meat shredded and chunks. The cherry tomatoes were a bit tart to me, so I didn't eat them all. For dessert we shared the Tortino al Cioccolato Valhrona, like a chocolate lava cake. Very soft and rich chocolate. Had orange pieces throughout. Came with coffee gelato. Also shared the Vanilla bean panna cotta. Smooth creamy and light, reminds me of crème brulee. Had lots of cherries with crumbles of cookies. Both desserts are GF. I actually like the chocolate more... couldn't resist. They cleanup and give you a new plate and or silverware after each course. They are very good at keeping your glass of water refilled. Very friendly staff.

After catching a play in the city, we headed just a 10-minute walk away to this wonderful…read morerestaurant and wine bar for dinner, and it completely blew us away. The inside of the restaurant is so nice and cozy, though they also offer covered patio seating if you prefer the outdoors. We sat inside for our 5:00pm reservation for a table of four, which I booked easily ahead of time. What truly sets this place apart is their incredible accommodation for dietary restrictions. Because I have celiac disease and am listed as a vegetarian on OpenTable, the host thoughtfully brought a separate vegan menu right to our table without us even having to ask. Their main menu also has multiple items clearly marked as gluten-free or gluten-free available, and best of all, they use separate fryers to prevent cross-contamination. I let our server know right away that I have celiac, and she reassured me that the kitchen would take every precaution to make sure my food was entirely safe. We started off with the arancini, which is made gluten-free in a separate fryer and was absolutely to die for. For my main course, I had the gluten-free radiatori tossed in a spicy vodka sauce, and it was so good that I ate every single bite. To top it all off, we shared two desserts between us: the panna cotta and the flourless chocolate cake, both of which were delicious. To drink, I enjoyed a refreshing Aperol Spritz followed by a glass of the moscato. From the top-notch allergy safety to the amazing drinks and food, everything was excellent. This is a must-visit spot, especially if you need gluten-free or vegetarian options!

We stumbled upon Henrietta after our original happy hour spot was closed for a private event. It is…read moretucked away inside the hotel, so it can be tricky to find, but that does make it nice and quiet. The restaurant itself is very pretty with a nice ambiance. The whole place, including the bathrooms, is clean. Service is also wonderful. The hostess was very friendly and our server was awesome. He gave a lot of good recommendations too! The biggest downside to eating here is that there are no happy hour specials, which is unusual for a place in the Loop. This is probably what would stop me from coming back here often. The food was pretty good. My friend and I split a pizza and dessert. The drinks were also tasty, but not worth the price, in my opinion. If Henrietta had a happy hour menu, I'd come back here often. But since it doesn't, I'll probably skip it for other Loop options.

While new, it's still a hotel restaurant, so I guess we shouldn't have been expecting too much. We…read moresat at the bar had some of the happy hour wines but weren't impressed with any of them. They tasted flat, as if the bottles had been open a long time. Perhaps they just weren't good wines. My chicken piccata wasn't like I was expecting. No capers, and it was more like a fettuccine sauce than anything you'd expect with a piccata. Chicken itself wasn't that great. Overall temp was too cool, and pasta was undercooked as well. My friend asked for a Caesar salad that apparently wasn't available because they were missing an ingredient needed to make it. He pivoted to a different one, adding shrimp as a protein. He got both, separately. Odd they didn't add the shrimp to the salad. Easy enough for him to do. Maybe things get better the longer they're open? I stay here often, so maybe I'll give them another shot down the road.

Everything was amazing, and the service was wonderful. Debbie is the best and adds a great presence…read morewhen she comes by. If you eat here ask for Debbie.

Eduardo's Enoteca was SO good. We got the bolognese, fig pizza, and meatballs and peppers to start…read moreand everything was incredible. The fig pizza might be one of my new favorites in the city and the bolognese was also amazing. Cute patio too, perfect for outdoor dining. Can't recommend this place enough, we'll be back!

IMPOSSIBLE to find unless you know where you are going. Not a lot of signs telling you where to go…read more And it was pretty warm inside... a little too much. Entrance was a little uneven and rusted, so careful walking in. Service was good. No complaints there. I ordered the risotto for dinner. Food had good presentation. Not the best I have had, but not at all bad. Honestly, the place was not memorable.

We came here for dinner the Friday before Valentine's day. We had a later reservation, but it…read moreseemed they did not prepare well for the dinner menu preferences. They had a limited menu, but ran out of buns..so they weren't serving their burger or sandwich options. The gnocchi however was really good and the oysters were a must have! I'd go back, just not on a holiday :)