We went to Thorabella's for a large family birthday party. All of the appetizers we had were really top notch. Loved their bread (and I'm not really a bread person). We all had pasta. They have a kind of choose your own adventure method- noodle, sauce, veggie, meat. Their noodles were very high quality, I wouldn't be surprised if they were making it themselves. The staff was very patient with my loud and confused Italian family. I'm sure we will be back for another birthday. Also the prices were very reasonable for a big group. They had a good wine selection with reasonably priced bottles. My only complaint is they are currently only serving canned cocktails. A few of us are pretty into cocktails and we were looking to get martinis that night. Hopefully they will be adding more drinks. read more

See all

Less than zero stars. Tasteless food in portion sizes befitting a five-year-old. The writing was on the wall when we entered. The hostess was very rude and far too into herself. Seating people annoyed her as she did her best to make our group feel like they were overly burdensome by dining here. Our waiter wasn't much better. He never offered us bread or read any specials to us, and didn't refill drinks particularly well. He came to our table minutes after we sat down and asked, 'did we want something'. He said something odd the second time he came back too. At least he smiled, unlike the hostess who shows a clear disdain for people. Staff aside, believe it or not the real problem here is the food. Three of the four people at our table had the grilled mahi mahi. The cut itself was about 3x2 inches, and maybe 1/2 inch thick. If you cut it right, you got six little pieces out of it. The side was a 'salad'. This consisted of three folk full servings. And that was it. I've seen serving sizes three times this size for children under the age of 10. The dish might have been persuasive if the mahi had some flavor, but it didn't. It was cooked improperly (for all three people at our table) and seemingly without any seasoning. The fourth person at our table had a flatbread. The toppings on it could be fit into a 3x3 square and the portion size was utterly laughable. As we left, I gave thought to speaking to a manager, but a hostess that's as shallow and mean as theirs probably isn't being led by a thoughtful individual who cares for their patrons. My advice is to steer clear. If you want excellent Italian food, go elsewhere. If you want to be treated kindly, go elsewhere. If you want a serving size larger than something appropriate for a 5-year-old, go elsewhere. I can provide a dozen excellent suggestions within 20 miles. An embarrassment to Batavia, easily one the worst dining experience I've had in our area in 20 years. read more

All went well. Relaxing evening with Italian music, sound track from movie the Big Night playing in background. Conversation friendly. Owner Brian is welcoming host. Server Paula was attentive and helped us pace the evening. Appetizer of fresh Italian bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Parm cheese. Enjoyed stuffed artichoke hearts, Italian salad, saute rainbow trout. Wine, beer and canned espresso martini. No bar. We found a local place that we will return to frequently. See you there! read more

Hubby and I had arrived in town to catch a show at the Comedy Vault across the street. Due to a festival, they'd suggested we arrive early for parking - turns out a brief rain shower opened up parking so THAT wasn't an issue :) Ok- once we got settled at our choice parking location, we decided we had time for a quick din-din. We looked at a couple of the places, and decided on Thorabella's. Once in the door, we were promptly greeted and shown to a table at the front of the house. I ordered a (canned) cocktail (not always my preference, but it worked here); hubby had a water. We quickly ordered the bruschetta as an app, and settled in. Boy. It did NOT take long to show at the table! It was four pieces only - and it had no tomatoes or parmesan cheese. It tasted like a flavored cream cheese with a piece of mint and a golden raisin on top. Turns out it was pretty yummy, though not very generous in portion size. It did, though, work for us! We both got create-your-own pasta dishes- I got the gnocchi with italian sausage and a bolonese sauce; hubby got linguini w/bolognese and meatballs. Wow. We both declared said pastas "yummy-worthy"! The service was pretty spot on, so no issues there at all! And - I think it was the owner- thanked us profusely as we left. Would we come again? Yup. It was THAT good. Not bad for a quick eat before a laugh-fest, right? read more

Thorabella's - the bruschetta - definitely different, but good nonetheless! - Italian Near Me - Batavia, Illinois

See all

rating-1 Annual ladies bowling banquet for 40 people was a disaster from start to finish. PREARRANGEMENTS and earlier visits for preparation was not followed. Enough food for only 30 of those attending -1(great) waitress for entire restaurant-Manager was rude and uncaring. Billing had discrepancies in final pymt . Food that was served should never receive a 4.6 review - read more

Wish I could give 3.5 stars. I so badly want to love this spot but after another go, it still isn't hitting the mark for us. We sat outside and the ambiance in river street is great. We ordered the apple cashew salad and a flatbread. The salad was wonderful but overdressed. The flatbread had great flavor but the crust wasn't great and I felt like I could make better at home. Our server was nice but so incredibly slow. I love a local family owned spot but this just doesn't do it for us. Everyone else in town seems to love it but we probably would not be back. Nothing special for us. read more

I really enjoy this restaurant. Last night was my second visit. There were four of us, and we all enjoyed the experience. I got the exact same meal as my first visit a month ago. It was a meal that was recommended by our server on my first visit. I asked her to pick a salad. She brought out the Panazella salad. Never heard of it before but it was great. As far as I know this is the only place that has this salad. I also had pasta with spinach and portobello and Vodka sauce. This was also based off her recommendations. Service has been great on both occasions. Both young adults, polite, and attentive. Unfortunately, I'm from out of town, and typically only visit family in the summer. But look forward to dining here again. read more

I love this place!! We have done take out a few times and I also had them cater a party. I have been craving their flatbread so we came last Tuesday. I love the crust! Prices are so good that it makes it really affordable I eat out. We sat inside and most of the tables are by a window. It is truly a beautiful spot and a great new gem for Batavia. read more

Thorabella's - Love the mushroom flatbread and bolognese linguini with meatballs. - Italian Near Me - Batavia, Illinois

See all

Totally overpriced for what you actually get. A glass of wine is 4 oz. (1/2 cup-$10 to $15), servings of all foods are very small, really child sized. Lasagna is not like the picture, actually half the size and no sauce served with it. Pasta offerings are served on small plates; definitely not dinner size plates. You select what you want added to the pasta; sauce type, veggie, meat or seafood, but you can barely find it mixed with the pasta. It's all in little tiny pieces. We had to ask for some parmesan and got a thimble full on a little plate. Staff was friendly and attentive but that's all that is positive about this restaurant. I'm astonished that anyone gave 5 stars or that anyone would go back. read more

This place this awesome! Set in the quaint town of Batavia, and housed right off the river, the spirit of Italy is alive at Thorabella's. We felt like family as Brian and his staff took great care of us and answered all our questions. The pasta was handmade, fresh and delicious. And the presentation of our mahi mahi made it Instagram-ready. With seemingly fewer independent places around that serve quality Italian dishes, it was so nice to find this gem in the Fox Valley. Don't forget to ask Brian to make his special bananas foster!!! read more

Thorabella's - Flat noodles with shrimp, spinach and diavola sauce - Italian Near Me - Batavia, Illinois

See all

First thing off was they were out of a dish 30 min after opening. Server was a young lady with no polish. Bread is $3 extra. Food tasted ok, but small portions for the $. Soup bowl wasn't filled- really? You can't fill a soup bowl? My friend and I order the same salmon dish and pieces of salmon were not equal. We won't return. read more

So yummy!! I love coming here with my family and friends! The hostess Anna was especially kind!

What a lovely little restaurant! Our waitress was so helpful - checked with the chef for recommendations for something vegan for me. Food was beautifully presented and delicious! Will be back! read more

We ordered two appetizers and two entrees, all were blend. No flavor what so ever! No salt or pepper shaker available to add some flavor. We asked for bread and it was going to be an extra charge. Who ever heard of an Italian restaurant charging for bread!!?? We've been to many Italian restaurants and this was by far the worst experience. We should've walked out when we saw there was only two people having dinner. The waitress was very nice, but the food absolutely bad! Never again. read more

Was there on Valentine's Day and waited over an hour before we decided to leave. Didn't even get water until I flagged someone down. Never got asked what we wanted in any way, shape, or, form. Nearby tables were being served food and they came after us. We even had a reservation. Another table left without service. read more

I like to review establishments and be honest with my reviews. If an experience is not great, I take into consideration the details, do they look short staffed (maybe someone called in sick) is there a big name at the comedy club so they are busier than expected, is it a holiday weekend, etc. We received a gift card so we made a reservation and decided to try it. Our first impression was, "hmmm why enter in the back when the door is right out front but no big deal." We enter in the back and the first thing is we are hit with a very unpleasant seafood smell. It smelled like bad seafood. Not a great first impression but still keeping an open mind. We walk in and they are pretty crowded. As soon as you walk in, the kitchen is exposed (no door or curtain) and it is not a great thing to see. In addition is a dirty cart, dirty pan and brown bananas, for the table side bananas foster. Again, not pleasant to see or appealing to the eye first thing. No one is at the hostess stand, so you are walking into the restaurant, standing there awkwardly, looking at these unsightly things. After a few minutes, we are greeted by the owner (we later find out) and we are seated along the wall. As we found out, the Comedy Vault had a pretty big name so they were very busy and in our opinion appeared to be understaffed. So for that reason, I will not hold against them the rushed service, the lack of quick refills and overall lack of attentive service. We understood that and were willing to try it again. Now, that being said, the condition of the entrance, not really acceptable, in our opinion. The overall look of the restaurant is cold and stark. The walls are white and the lights are very bright. This shows all the dirt on the walls, the not very pleasant carpet, etc. There are white table cloths but this is in no way a "fine dining" experience. Maybe lower lights, better carpet, a warmed color on the walls would help a bit. The food review ... appetizers were excellent. We had the sausage and peppers. It's was excellent. We also had the mozzarella balls. These were also very good. I had the chicken Marsala which was good but the pasta that comes with it, extremely bland. My husband had the ribeye Diablo?? (Whatever the ribeye is called there). He ordered it medium and it was overcooked and inedible. Again, we saw they were slammed so didn't complain and were still willing to give it another chance. We also had a $200 gift certificate and felt guilty using it on such a busy night so we agreed we would try again and come with another couple. We ended with tiramisu which was pretty good. The cannoli was not great. The filling was ok but the pastry part was too hard to even bite into and tastes like old grease when I broke off a piece. The iced tea was good and the beer was cold. We paid and left agreeing not the best first impression so we would try again. We got home and my daughter hugged me and immediately said, "ew. You smell like bad fish". Not a great thing to hear after wearing a nice outfit, fabric bag and just having a hair blowout that day. We returned a couple weeks later with another couple. Sad to say, not a better experience. We had a kind and attentive server. We sat at a table that was in a little "cubby" area. Our immediate impression for this experience, place is less appealing than I even recalled. It really doesn't have a warm or clean feel. It was extremely warm in the whole restaurant, my silverware was dirty when I unwrapped it. I was given a new roll and that fork was dirty. Between the two sets I was given I was able to get a full set of utensils. The appetizers were good again but the entrees overall were not. The chicken parm was very dry, the chicken Marsala was not as good as the first time. I had a different side of pasta with a marinara so that was better but the chicken was a bit chewy. We all agreed the ambiance, not great, the appetizers were all good, including the meatball pops, but the entrees are just not fabulous. Prices are reasonable. We will not return for a 3rd try. Hope this helps. read more

Food and service always amazing and fresh. I love their Brussel sprout appetizer I could eat them everyday :) read more

My husband and I went here for dinner for our anniversary this evening. Great service, great food and great ambience.

1st here and will not return. We ate outside for lunch and barely saw the waitress. Caesar salad was lettuce, croutons and barely any dressing. Flat bread with prosciutto. You needed a microscope to find the prosciutto. Music was too loud. read more

The food was delicious, the only thing that would've made it better would be some sort of French or Italian bread with the salad and the pasta. read more

The food was very good and our server was super sweet and attentive. It's very clean and it's decorated very nicely.

This is our new favorite Italian restaurant. My husband and I have been there 4 times and will definitely be back. The Grilled Mahi Mahi and the Salmon Vesuvio are both delicious!! Great atmosphere and service. read more

Sadly, not impressed. Limited menu - due to be changed soon per waitress. Salad was OK, pasta disappointing: noodles overcooked, waterlogged, shrimp had no seasoning, pesto sauce uninspiring, without flavor. Other details: nice outdoor patio with green lights strung/lit for ambience at night. Problem: sun leaves the patio area at probably 1330 - yet the umbrellas were still in full open position. Close them when not needed. read more

The fresh baked bread, fresh made pasta, and yummy bananas foster made at the table! And the service was fabulous! Highly recommend!

Very refreshing to have a classier resturant on the strip. We stopped in at a time when all the other restaurants had long wait and im happy we did! The server was sweet and attentive. The bruchetta is highly recommended. I got an eggplant parm panini and shared a honey-cheese-fig Flatbread. The prices are good for the classy setting in my opinion. And definitely get the fries nothing was bad and I felt its my duty to give the new resturant a review as it wasn't as busy as it should have been. Would definitely recommend! read more

Service was very poor, most likely due to being understaffed. Never asked for refills for drinks or refilling water. Did not get bread either. Two waitresses working both inside and outside resulted in very few visits to the table. The food was up and down. Wife's Ceasar salad was very good, but my caprese was not. The tomato wasn't vine ripe and cut thin. This salad had a red onion slice that overwhelmed the tomato and mozzarella and had no balsamic. I had gnocchi with the tomato basil cream sauce, and it was delicious. However, my wife's veggie panini was under cooked, the cheese wasn't even melted, and the veggies too uncooked. The bread was soggy, not crisp on the outside. The ambience is good at this restaurant, and it has great potential. However, it really missed the mark for us on our first visit. read more

Went here for lunch based on all the good reviews. Service was meh; waiter seemed uninterested in doing his job and didn't even refill our water glasses or check on us. I ordered a flat bread which barely had any cheese on it and crust was stale. Hubby had a Caesar salad that was not very good quality and very small-not big enough for a meal. Was very disappointed. read more

I've been to Thorabellas 4 times. Each time was exquisite. Wonderful menu and delicious food. A definite plus for Batavia!! You won't be dissapointed. Cheryl read more

We really wanted to like this place. It is a decent location which would be perfect for preshow dining for the vault. There is absolutely nothing that we liked about it. You enter around the corner in the back of the restaurant. (not on Wilson) which is fine, but you walk right into the staff service area. It feels chaotic and unwelcoming. Nothing is aesthetically pleasing in this restaurant. Absolutely nothing. The white walls are very stark. No warmth whatsoever. They chose some kind of brown indoor outdoor carpeting which is extremely ugly. Some type of laminate would have been much warmer. Nothing is charming or warm. The food is absolutely terrible. Things started out OK with some nice bread. The balsamic/oil mix was disgusting. When I asked for some olive oil, the server brought me some kind of "oil blend". She did not know what it was. It tasted like canola oil. It was disgusting. That caused me to be concerned about the ingredients in the food. I ordered a panzanella salad which was not memorable. My husband said the chicken Parm was flavorless. Overall, no one was impressed with the food. The restaurant feels like it did not establish a point of view with food and ambience. I would not recommend it to anyone. read more

Food and service are excellent. Great location in Batavia. Short wine list with some sold out. Tiny intimate place with only one aisle. Was louder than expected. Could not hear the music or my partner across the table. Still overall great experience. Excellent build your own pasta! read more

I loved the arancini flight! The truffle sauce was great. Salmon with capers was also delish. Very friendly service. Romantic atmosphere.

This was some of the worst food we have ever eaten. It was expensive and we left hungry because we couldn't eat our food. We ordered make your own pasta with gluten free pasta, chicken, spinach, mushrooms and garlic al olio . The gluten free pasta was soggy, chicken tasted boiled and it was just thrown together. The mozzarella balls were something you could get in the frozen section your local grocery store. The sauce had no flavor. The crab fingers were so tiny and strange tasting. The shrimp appetizer was soaked in butter. They don't have a bar so it's not a place to go for drinks. read more

Been there twice and really liked it - good food and service at a reasonable price point - with a great atmosphere. Portions aren't overwhelmingly large - like them as they are. read more

So happy to have a local restaurant like this. Such a comfortable environment, with great food across the board. Amazed by the service and work ethic. Thorabellas is my new "go to" for dinner and catering! read more

Excellent restaurant!! Everything we tried was delicious. Just what Batavia needs! Keep going, can't wait to try more items on the menu!

We had a horrible experience last night! Only two servers with both outside and inside diners spelled disaster. My panini was barely warm, veggies inside were undercooked and once we got our food we never saw our waitress again... no water or drink refills, etc. When I eventually flagged her down she apologized and said she wished she could have given us more attention. Being understaffed with a poor quality of food is a bad combination. We won't be back. read more

Our second visit. Gave it six weeks to work thru things. Much better ambience than Mirus, but still a face plant. Mediocre. Hard pass.

me and my friend just came in 30 minutes ago and wanted to grab food after the market. place is cute nothing crazy, but service is awful. i can understand understaffing and issues that can delay service, as two people who worked restaurants before. We waited 30 minutes after being seated with two waitresses filling other people's glasses, walking right past us, some people sat after us and got their food in the time of us being there. My friend and I tried being nice and making excuses, but decided leaving (never had to do that before). On our way out the man waiter said "hope you enjoyed" so they were just being assholes, not understaffed. read more