My husband and I visited Chicago for Thanksgiving weekend, and I found La Bella Trattoria through a search of restaurants serving Thanksgiving meals that were close to our hotel. We could not have been happier with our selection! We had the family meal, which included appetizers, two entrees, and dessert. The salad was amazing, as was the calamari. I don't even like olives, but I tried them and was very happy. Primo was massive meatballs with, I believe, rigatoni. The sauce had just the right amount of spice. Secondi was turkey or porchetta (we had one of each and shared) with mashed potatoes, a sweet potato dish that was almost a puree, sliced sweet potatoes, stuffing and probably more that I can't remember. Everything was astounding. We didn't eat most of it, and our delightful server packaged it all up for us, including the dessert which we didn't touch because after the appetizers and a few bites of our main courses, we were stuffed. We had so much food left over, we didn't go to any other restaurants during our stay! We aren't complaining about it. We also loved the quiet ambience with my favorite holiday songs playing. Thank you Guy and everyone there for making our holiday memorable. We will definitely be back!!
Kate
Did not feel like a hotel restaurant. It was cozy and warm and delightfully decorated for the holidays. We just stuck with the basics, pizza and spaghetti with meatballs, which were fine. We had a nice night catching up with friends since we were able to hear each other with the holiday music being suitably low. The service was great.
Nichole
We went for lunch. The food was just ok. Nothing was amazing...the pizza wasn't in the oven long enough because the cheese wasn't even melted. Roared ravioli was ok, and ravioli main dish was ok but it wasn't anything special. For the price it should've tasted better. Restaurant decor was lovely just unfortunately not someplace I see myself returning.
Keerie
We went for dinner before the theater. The ambiance was great. Our server was attentive and personable. The food was delicious. The calamari appetizer was one of the best I have had. I also enjoyed the eggplant Milanese special. Oh, and my amore cocktail was the perfect mix. We will be sure to return.
Haley
Everything was great except for the NY strip. Probably our fault for seeing a mostly empty restaurant on a Friday night and ordering the steak. But it was 80% fat. Crazy.
Mike
We were pleasantly surprised by the ambiance, decor, great service and very good food. We initially thought this would be “just another sandwich and pizza” place with a limited menu, but the calamari, chicken parmigiana and the lamb chops were fabulous, as was the wine list. A bit pricey, but we were looking for a place for a nice dinner prior to a date night show at The Auditorium, a few blocks away. We'll definitely return as we enjoyed dinner immensely.
cathy
Food was good but it came before wine. Had to ask for bill twice. Fun atmosphere and staff was pleasant but service was slow
Frank
Best fries in Chicago. That's all I want to say but OpenTable is requiring me to put down more words so here they are.
Christopher
When you walk in, this place appears to be a nice, more upscale restaurant, but after dining here, I quickly found out that looks are deceiving. The service was inattentive and very aloof. The wait time between the time you order something till the time you get it was double the time it takes at any other place. The food was absolutely terrible. My dinner tasted like it was a frozen meal that was heated up and plated nicely. When the check came, they gave us the wrong one and then the servers argued back and forth for a minute about which table they were supposed to bring the check they gave to us. I didn't end up saying anything while I was there because we had tickets to a show and we needed to leave, but I wish I had spoken up. I would not recommend this place.
Robert
Had a nice experience. The fried calamari and my fig jam and prosciutto pizza was excellent.
Food was excellent. I particularity recommend the Calamari, Steak Sandwich and Spaghetti and meatballs. Ricky, our service was professionally friendly, knowledgeable and willingly provided sample tastings of eine prior to our ordering. Guest service exceeded excellence as a standard.
Lily
Food was really great and good price for the food the only thing was that the service was a little slow but nothing too bad. Free bread! Yum
Ryan
Our server was lovely, but the environment was hot and we constantly had swap flies and gnats away from our meal the entire time. They had the front door propped open on a 90 degree day in Chicago. Why on earth would you do this? It's wasteful energy wise and just brings in bugs and makes the place hot.
Nisha
It was ok, but the acoustics in the restaurant are very bad so it made for a very noisy experience. The fettuccine Alfredo was seriously lacking in flavor - and salt. The staff were attentive but there's definitely room for improvement - main issues are the lack of an overall vibe, the noise, the music which doesn't suit the vibe or create any sort of ambience. This venue is really only suitable for a large group of 20 something's that want to catch up after work over drinks and ok food.
Eryn
Drinks were great - but the food was very slow to come out. We had fried ravioli and a pizza: both were good but nothing to write home about. The HH price of the drinks and app was a great deal but I would most likely only go back during a HH and not standard dinner.
My husband and I visited Chicago for Thanksgiving weekend, and I found La Bella Trattoria through a search of restaurants serving Thanksgiving meals that were close to our hotel. We could not have been happier with our selection! We had the family meal, which included appetizers, two entrees, and dessert. The salad was amazing, as was the calamari. I don't even like olives, but I tried them and was very happy. Primo was massive meatballs with, I believe, rigatoni. The sauce had just the right amount of spice. Secondi was turkey or porchetta (we had one of each and shared) with mashed potatoes, a sweet potato dish that was almost a puree, sliced sweet potatoes, stuffing and probably more that I can't remember. Everything was astounding. We didn't eat most of it, and our delightful server packaged it all up for us, including the dessert which we didn't touch because after the appetizers and a few bites of our main courses, we were stuffed. We had so much food left over, we didn't go to any other restaurants during our stay! We aren't complaining about it. We also loved the quiet ambience with my favorite holiday songs playing. Thank you Guy and everyone there for making our holiday memorable. We will definitely be back!!
Did not feel like a hotel restaurant. It was cozy and warm and delightfully decorated for the holidays. We just stuck with the basics, pizza and spaghetti with meatballs, which were fine. We had a nice night catching up with friends since we were able to hear each other with the holiday music being suitably low. The service was great.
We went for lunch. The food was just ok. Nothing was amazing...the pizza wasn't in the oven long enough because the cheese wasn't even melted. Roared ravioli was ok, and ravioli main dish was ok but it wasn't anything special. For the price it should've tasted better. Restaurant decor was lovely just unfortunately not someplace I see myself returning.
We went for dinner before the theater. The ambiance was great. Our server was attentive and personable. The food was delicious. The calamari appetizer was one of the best I have had. I also enjoyed the eggplant Milanese special. Oh, and my amore cocktail was the perfect mix. We will be sure to return.
Everything was great except for the NY strip. Probably our fault for seeing a mostly empty restaurant on a Friday night and ordering the steak. But it was 80% fat. Crazy.
We were pleasantly surprised by the ambiance, decor, great service and very good food. We initially thought this would be “just another sandwich and pizza” place with a limited menu, but the calamari, chicken parmigiana and the lamb chops were fabulous, as was the wine list. A bit pricey, but we were looking for a place for a nice dinner prior to a date night show at The Auditorium, a few blocks away. We'll definitely return as we enjoyed dinner immensely.
Food was good but it came before wine. Had to ask for bill twice. Fun atmosphere and staff was pleasant but service was slow
Best fries in Chicago. That's all I want to say but OpenTable is requiring me to put down more words so here they are.
When you walk in, this place appears to be a nice, more upscale restaurant, but after dining here, I quickly found out that looks are deceiving. The service was inattentive and very aloof. The wait time between the time you order something till the time you get it was double the time it takes at any other place. The food was absolutely terrible. My dinner tasted like it was a frozen meal that was heated up and plated nicely. When the check came, they gave us the wrong one and then the servers argued back and forth for a minute about which table they were supposed to bring the check they gave to us. I didn't end up saying anything while I was there because we had tickets to a show and we needed to leave, but I wish I had spoken up. I would not recommend this place.
Had a nice experience. The fried calamari and my fig jam and prosciutto pizza was excellent.
Restaurantji Recommends
Food was excellent. I particularity recommend the Calamari, Steak Sandwich and Spaghetti and meatballs. Ricky, our service was professionally friendly, knowledgeable and willingly provided sample tastings of eine prior to our ordering. Guest service exceeded excellence as a standard.
Food was really great and good price for the food the only thing was that the service was a little slow but nothing too bad. Free bread! Yum
Our server was lovely, but the environment was hot and we constantly had swap flies and gnats away from our meal the entire time. They had the front door propped open on a 90 degree day in Chicago. Why on earth would you do this? It's wasteful energy wise and just brings in bugs and makes the place hot.
It was ok, but the acoustics in the restaurant are very bad so it made for a very noisy experience. The fettuccine Alfredo was seriously lacking in flavor - and salt. The staff were attentive but there's definitely room for improvement - main issues are the lack of an overall vibe, the noise, the music which doesn't suit the vibe or create any sort of ambience. This venue is really only suitable for a large group of 20 something's that want to catch up after work over drinks and ok food.
Drinks were great - but the food was very slow to come out. We had fried ravioli and a pizza: both were good but nothing to write home about. The HH price of the drinks and app was a great deal but I would most likely only go back during a HH and not standard dinner.
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