Robert was our server and he was very knowledgeable and professional. The branzino was absolutely fantastic. The roasted pork was flavorful but a slight bit dry. The beet salad with the fresh Gorgonzola was delicious. Altogether a great restaurant with great service. Very consistent. Highly recommend the branzino.
SueR
We thought the bread was mediocre, the brancino was described as roasted and then grilled, however, it did not taste grilled. It arrived cold and had to be reheated. Taste was 3 out of 5. Salads were uninspired.
Paul Florian
I've dined twice recently, once for my birthday, and the service was terrible. No greeting at the front door. Wait staff was perfunctory and rushed. 20 minutes between 'visits' to the table by staff, we had to flag down waiters for drinks and coffee. Food is still good, but the services made the atmosphere unpleasant. What happened?
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
g pad
Phenomenal Italian
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Señor Ciro and his beautiful host and staff treated this family with unlimited care and attention . My highest gratitude and respect in your hospitality to the best dinner event experienced here in Chicago . If you're looking to experience family ambiance with the best Italian food piccolo sogno is where you need to go. Thank you kindly The Silva family
worldtraveller
Food is excellent and service outstanding but I was charged extra for using a credit card! There's no warning about this, further valet is $16. The restaurant is lovely and feels old school, but the wine list is not well curated, most bottles are way too young to drink. That's why I gave the food high marks, but the value extremely low marks. Most entrees are $40-50, but you're not told the price before ordering, so if you're on a budget, this is not the place for you.
Derrick Carter
Loud, bland, slow.I’ve been passing this place forever, easily 25 years or so, while running around in the city. I’d always heard great things, so I was excited to take my date out on Friday for a meal and some drinks. We walked on and were seated in a tent that was loud and kind of ugly, with large exposed makeshift heating visible. So much for romance.I ordered a Manhattan on the rocks and it anriived in a stemless wine glass, filled with ice. Like a Pepsi would be.The Forno al Funghi was tasty enough but it ended there. A Caprese with (what seemed to be) sun-dried tomatoes and no pesto or pine nuts or basil anywhere? Weirdly boring. The Cacio e Pepe was literally missing the PEPE. Not much cacio to speak of either. Absolutely bland. Noodles in a sauce that was likely the worst version of this dish I’ve ever had.I was shocked that the food was as uninteresting as it was. So much so that we decided to forego dessert as all I wanted to do was leave.I’ll stick with La Scarola for my future six-corners Italian dining.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Curtis Yu
Paperdelle was good. They make their own olive oil which was amazing, and the balsamic (maybe made in-house?) was also amazing. So somehow the bread was the best part of the meal for me. Would come here again. Very traditional and authentic.Parking: Lots of parking, they have their own lot
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
AllieK
Wonderful food and service as always! Although if I am booking a reservation, I would not expect to be seated in a tent in February especially for a birthday- save that for the walk ins.
ShaneF
Food great, service excellent. Got a bottle of wine wine which they kept on ice for us. Ambiance seemed nice, but me and my partner had a large group next to us who were very loud, which was not ideal, but not really the fault of the restaurant.
This is the second year on a role we felt over dressed for our Valentine's days dinner. This is a neighborhood joint for sure, old school home cooking.Now people say simple fresh ingredients are what make Italian food great, that is true, but it also requires balance of flavors and depth. Let's say my favorite two items here are the reduced house balsamic vinegar and the cappuccino. High praises on the fast services, seamless. The interior atmosphere is so so, cramped. Maybe I will come back to see the outdoor space that everyone is talking about.The caprese was small, with sundried tomatoes instead of fresh, different kinds of good. But the basil was chopped, strange because you lose that mouth watering aroma from the whole leave. The presentation is not even photo worthy.The Burrata was good, loved the flower presentation. The dates and pistachio chunks are good compliments of each other.The oxtail, nothing fancy, no secret recipe there. Simple carrot, celery cook down. Tender.Pappardelle with Boar Ragu, good pasta, bland Ragu, not much depth to it, actually the most disappointing dish. A bit over salted.The Branzino was perfect, old school preparations and cooked to perfection, just the way I like it. But that grape fruit and capers sauce completely lost me. I am not sure if that is how it is done in Italy, but I just can't find the connection between any of those ingredients. Just lemon please!If the prices they charge are 15% less, I think it is more reasonable for the value of the dishes. Plus the 3% credit card fee on top of it, there is no selling point anymore.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Ann Belaski
*boss's kiss*
Dave
Now people say simple fresh ingredients are what make Italian food great, that is true, but it also requires balance of flavors and depth. Let's say my favorite two items here are the reduced house balsamic vinegar and the cappuccino. High praises on the fast services, seamless. The interior atmosphere is so so, cramped. Maybe I will come back to see the outdoor space that everyone is talking about. The caprese was small, with sundried tomatoes instead of fresh, different kinds of good. But the basil was chopped, strange because you lose that mouth watering aroma from the whole leave. The presentation is not even photo worthy. The Burrata was good, loved the flower presentation. The dates and pistachio chunks are good compliments of each other. The oxtail, nothing fancy, no secret recipe there. Simple carrot, celery cook down. Tender. Pappardelle with Boar Ragu, good pasta, bland Ragu, not much depth to it, actually the most disappointing dish. A bit over salted. The Branzino was perfect, old school preparations and cooked to perfection, just the way I like it. But that grape fruit and capers sauce completely lost me. I am not sure if that is how it is done in Italy, but I just can't find the connection between any of those ingredients. Just lemon please! If the prices they charge are 15% less, I think it is more reasonable for the value of the dishes. Plus the 3% credit card fee on top of it, there is no selling point anymore.
We came here for Valentines Day. Pretty standard experience, but the food was atrocious. We got Burrata, which only came with five pieces of what tasted like actual bologna, and not nearly enough grapes to garnish (3 in counting, that's all?). It was sincerely bland. There's also no specialty bread with it, we had to awkwardly balance the oversized meat and cheese on the table bread that came when we arrived 15 minutes prior (bread cold by then). Funny enough, my signature ravioli “Piccolo Sogno” tasted exactly like Whirl butter off the Waffle House grill. The pasta also proved to taste extremely one dimensional and was biting too hard to call Al Dente (even if it came out the intended boil, too hard to call appetizing) It wasn't the middle of a dinner rush either, it was 5pm. They left a sweet touch at the end by gifting my girlfriend a rose on our way out the door, being Valentines Day. Not too sure if it was just our experience with what we ate, but when your food leaves that impression, it sticks as a glaring issue out of the countless restaurants I've visited this year.
Bill Wang
Exceptional Italian cuisine with great service. The pasta dishes are generously portioned and had lots of great flavor. I particularly enjoyed the Spaghetti Neri—the squid ink pasta had a delightful springy texture and paired well with the flavorful seafood in a rich sauce. The bread basket and house balsamic vinegar were equally amazing, and I literally could not stop eating from the moment I arrived. Overall, I was thoroughly pleased with the dining experience.
Robert was our server and he was very knowledgeable and professional. The branzino was absolutely fantastic. The roasted pork was flavorful but a slight bit dry. The beet salad with the fresh Gorgonzola was delicious. Altogether a great restaurant with great service. Very consistent. Highly recommend the branzino.
We thought the bread was mediocre, the brancino was described as roasted and then grilled, however, it did not taste grilled. It arrived cold and had to be reheated. Taste was 3 out of 5. Salads were uninspired.
I've dined twice recently, once for my birthday, and the service was terrible. No greeting at the front door. Wait staff was perfunctory and rushed. 20 minutes between 'visits' to the table by staff, we had to flag down waiters for drinks and coffee. Food is still good, but the services made the atmosphere unpleasant. What happened?
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Phenomenal Italian
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Señor Ciro and his beautiful host and staff treated this family with unlimited care and attention . My highest gratitude and respect in your hospitality to the best dinner event experienced here in Chicago . If you're looking to experience family ambiance with the best Italian food piccolo sogno is where you need to go. Thank you kindly The Silva family
Food is excellent and service outstanding but I was charged extra for using a credit card! There's no warning about this, further valet is $16. The restaurant is lovely and feels old school, but the wine list is not well curated, most bottles are way too young to drink. That's why I gave the food high marks, but the value extremely low marks. Most entrees are $40-50, but you're not told the price before ordering, so if you're on a budget, this is not the place for you.
Loud, bland, slow.I’ve been passing this place forever, easily 25 years or so, while running around in the city. I’d always heard great things, so I was excited to take my date out on Friday for a meal and some drinks. We walked on and were seated in a tent that was loud and kind of ugly, with large exposed makeshift heating visible. So much for romance.I ordered a Manhattan on the rocks and it anriived in a stemless wine glass, filled with ice. Like a Pepsi would be.The Forno al Funghi was tasty enough but it ended there. A Caprese with (what seemed to be) sun-dried tomatoes and no pesto or pine nuts or basil anywhere? Weirdly boring. The Cacio e Pepe was literally missing the PEPE. Not much cacio to speak of either. Absolutely bland. Noodles in a sauce that was likely the worst version of this dish I’ve ever had.I was shocked that the food was as uninteresting as it was. So much so that we decided to forego dessert as all I wanted to do was leave.I’ll stick with La Scarola for my future six-corners Italian dining.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Paperdelle was good. They make their own olive oil which was amazing, and the balsamic (maybe made in-house?) was also amazing. So somehow the bread was the best part of the meal for me. Would come here again. Very traditional and authentic.Parking: Lots of parking, they have their own lot
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Wonderful food and service as always! Although if I am booking a reservation, I would not expect to be seated in a tent in February especially for a birthday- save that for the walk ins.
Food great, service excellent. Got a bottle of wine wine which they kept on ice for us. Ambiance seemed nice, but me and my partner had a large group next to us who were very loud, which was not ideal, but not really the fault of the restaurant.
Restaurantji Recommends
This is the second year on a role we felt over dressed for our Valentine's days dinner. This is a neighborhood joint for sure, old school home cooking.Now people say simple fresh ingredients are what make Italian food great, that is true, but it also requires balance of flavors and depth. Let's say my favorite two items here are the reduced house balsamic vinegar and the cappuccino. High praises on the fast services, seamless. The interior atmosphere is so so, cramped. Maybe I will come back to see the outdoor space that everyone is talking about.The caprese was small, with sundried tomatoes instead of fresh, different kinds of good. But the basil was chopped, strange because you lose that mouth watering aroma from the whole leave. The presentation is not even photo worthy.The Burrata was good, loved the flower presentation. The dates and pistachio chunks are good compliments of each other.The oxtail, nothing fancy, no secret recipe there. Simple carrot, celery cook down. Tender.Pappardelle with Boar Ragu, good pasta, bland Ragu, not much depth to it, actually the most disappointing dish. A bit over salted.The Branzino was perfect, old school preparations and cooked to perfection, just the way I like it. But that grape fruit and capers sauce completely lost me. I am not sure if that is how it is done in Italy, but I just can't find the connection between any of those ingredients. Just lemon please!If the prices they charge are 15% less, I think it is more reasonable for the value of the dishes. Plus the 3% credit card fee on top of it, there is no selling point anymore.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
*boss's kiss*
Now people say simple fresh ingredients are what make Italian food great, that is true, but it also requires balance of flavors and depth. Let's say my favorite two items here are the reduced house balsamic vinegar and the cappuccino. High praises on the fast services, seamless. The interior atmosphere is so so, cramped. Maybe I will come back to see the outdoor space that everyone is talking about. The caprese was small, with sundried tomatoes instead of fresh, different kinds of good. But the basil was chopped, strange because you lose that mouth watering aroma from the whole leave. The presentation is not even photo worthy. The Burrata was good, loved the flower presentation. The dates and pistachio chunks are good compliments of each other. The oxtail, nothing fancy, no secret recipe there. Simple carrot, celery cook down. Tender. Pappardelle with Boar Ragu, good pasta, bland Ragu, not much depth to it, actually the most disappointing dish. A bit over salted. The Branzino was perfect, old school preparations and cooked to perfection, just the way I like it. But that grape fruit and capers sauce completely lost me. I am not sure if that is how it is done in Italy, but I just can't find the connection between any of those ingredients. Just lemon please! If the prices they charge are 15% less, I think it is more reasonable for the value of the dishes. Plus the 3% credit card fee on top of it, there is no selling point anymore.
We came here for Valentines Day. Pretty standard experience, but the food was atrocious. We got Burrata, which only came with five pieces of what tasted like actual bologna, and not nearly enough grapes to garnish (3 in counting, that's all?). It was sincerely bland. There's also no specialty bread with it, we had to awkwardly balance the oversized meat and cheese on the table bread that came when we arrived 15 minutes prior (bread cold by then). Funny enough, my signature ravioli “Piccolo Sogno” tasted exactly like Whirl butter off the Waffle House grill. The pasta also proved to taste extremely one dimensional and was biting too hard to call Al Dente (even if it came out the intended boil, too hard to call appetizing) It wasn't the middle of a dinner rush either, it was 5pm. They left a sweet touch at the end by gifting my girlfriend a rose on our way out the door, being Valentines Day. Not too sure if it was just our experience with what we ate, but when your food leaves that impression, it sticks as a glaring issue out of the countless restaurants I've visited this year.
Exceptional Italian cuisine with great service. The pasta dishes are generously portioned and had lots of great flavor. I particularly enjoyed the Spaghetti Neri—the squid ink pasta had a delightful springy texture and paired well with the flavorful seafood in a rich sauce. The bread basket and house balsamic vinegar were equally amazing, and I literally could not stop eating from the moment I arrived. Overall, I was thoroughly pleased with the dining experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Complementary Bread Basket