Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio

Carb loading before the Chicago marathon. The pasta dishes were all tasty, the Caio whey Pepe dish was a perfect show of how proper pasta dishes should be done. The Ragu alla Napoletana portion was massive, loaded with juicy meatballs and sausages and a tender shank with plenty of pasta, we couldn’t finish it even with five of us. The Burrata E Ham was delicious too, the San Danielle ham had a lovely fatty aroma. Great service and lively vibe. This helped me survived my run.

Recommended dishes: Ragu Alla Napoletana, Egg Yolk Raviolo, Cacio Whey Pepe

Stop....... Just walk here,..... we did..... and everything was amazing and we all bought t-shirts. Yep, order everything and spend extra on the t-shirts! Frankly, best value, time spent on food in Chicago. Period

Dietary restrictions: Listen to your server!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Tiramisu

Great food and great service

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

We have been coming here through years since it first opened. It’s a harder reservation to get so we don’t get to go here as much as we would like and we settled for 9:15 reservation for 4 that we booked a month ahead. This is after multiple attempts waiting at midnight to try to get a peak reservation time on a Friday.

We arrived about 45 minutes early but we checked in early just in case we could get seated early. The table was not ready but after walking around the neighborhood, we were seated at 9.

Once seated, it took about 10 minutes for our water to be filled and about another 5-10 minutes until we were greeted by our server. We can understand with how busy this place always is. However there were 2 other parties seated after our party of 4 and those tables were attended before we were. We also noticed our server made return visits to their other tables and for us it was not as frequent as we would expect, like when we had finished our drinks and was looking to reorder.

We ordered similar dishes to our last visit such as Burrata and Ham, arancini, Zlikrofi, and Pappardelle and they were as good as we remembered.

For drinks we had the non alcoholic spritzer, the limonini and a beer.

We also had the wagyu beef skewers, the mushroom salad, gnochetti, spaghetti pomodoro and the special which was the tortellini in broth (one of the original dishes we had when the restaurant first opened).

The only disappointing one was the tortellini. It was not as we remembered, the broth was under seasoned and tasted like water. The tortellini did not have the delicate texture that we remembered and was closer to pre made pasta we have had at the grocery store.

Overall the food was mostly good but the service was very disappointing for price point and the difficulty it is to get a reservation. Also there is an automatic 4% service charge on top of us tipping 20%. I don’t know if it’s unique to these more “upscale” restaurants but I have been to Olive Garden and Cheesecake Factory in the past year with service that is warmer and more attentive. The difference is that we’re getting refills of free bread and 30 ounce sodas while here we waited a long time before we could place another order for a $20 drink.

Once we did get water to the table, the bussers were consistent to refill. The problem was the service was a bit sloppy. A few times, the bussers were trying to clear plates while we were still working on it. And more than once, they were dropped silverware on the people in our party due to the rush.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Gnocchetti Con Pesto

I always come back to Monteverde when I’m in Chicago. I loved the burrata e ham starter. The half portion was just the right size to get a taste of the rosemary tigelle paired with decadent prosciutto and burrata. The peach plum mostarda had a peppery kick. The braised beef ravioli were delicious and packed with beefy flavors. I ended the meal with the butterscotch buddino. The dessert was silky, not too sweet and packed with great texture.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Rated the best Italian restaurant in the city of Chicago and it is amazing. I would say this place seems more than Italian New American. Love the home made pasta. Cocktails are great.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A must. Reservations are tough, grab a seat at the bar if you are 1-2.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Came here for a business lunch. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the dishes - they were complex and special enough to differentiate from a typical Italian restaurant and presentation was gorgeous.

Standouts: Super Tomato Arancini, Proscuitto Butter and surprisingly, Cacio Whey Pepe.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Cacio Whey Pepe

One of my favorite local, go-to Italian restaurants. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. I love all their pasta dishes.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Had such an amazing experience at Monteverde! Beautiful space and truly some of the best Italian food I’ve had. Our server, Katie, was absolutely incredible. They explained the menu perfectly and made our experience even better. Would recommend this spot to anyone who wants to enjoy delicious pasta in a gorgeous restaurant!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Make your reservation well in advance, Monteverde is worth it! We celebrated our anniversary and enjoyed a variety of pastas, artichoke crostini, arancini, and the dark chocolate citrus sundae for dessert!

Dietary restrictions: Gluten free menu

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Artichoke & Sunchoke Crostino

Went on a reservation for two. Drinks were pleasing to the tongue and eyes, and the burrata & ham with salami was one of the best things I have ever eaten. The ragu was tasty and well-sized, but in my opinion not worth missing out on 2-3 fantastic pasta dishes for. Our server was informative and attentive, and took care of us well.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Had a lovely meal on their terrace (which I recommend as it was nice & more quiet than indoors). We loved every plate, with a special mention for the prawn succotash. Our server had an off night, which was compensated with a dessert. Caters to gluten free diet!

Dietary restrictions: Gluten free menu

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 3

If it was possible to give ten stars I would! The service was spectacular and the food was even better than the reviews suggested

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Pastas were smothered with cheese and too many garnishes and everything. I went through an entire pitcher of water during cacio whey pepe because it was so salty, mind you one pitcher of water not for all three pastas we ordered, just the cacio whey pepe. In the corn agnolotti dish, there were so many damn things that were actively fighting each other out for the center stage of flavors, and it was a disaster that wasn’t working. We were so very disappointed. We literally went on a bender to eat good pasta dishes at other places in Chicago to move on from this experience. And the arancini, god it on its own damn self was so opened up and amazing, why destroy it with the fish spread? Why add legs to an amazing painting of snakes? Everything here was against the very fundamental principles of Italian cooking. Jesus Christ.

Although, service was amazing and hospitality was well done here. But for the love of god please dial everything down by 90% and you’ll achieve greatness.

But how dare you call yourself a pastificio when your pastas are hot messes swimming in salt baths?

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 5