- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Al Primo Canto - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants Brazilian Restaurants Italian Brazilian, Italian [Edit]
5414 W Devon Ave(between Central Ave & Kinzua Ave)
Chicago, IL 60646
Neighborhood: Forest Glen
(773) 631-0100
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Romantic
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
110 reviews for Al Primo Canto
Review Highlights
-
"His fried polenta was delicious too." In 13 reviews -
"I loved it the feast family style all you can eat." In 13 reviews -
"Their regular a la carte menu offers fish and some more..." In 4 reviews
Loading...
110 reviews in English
-
Review from Gerry X.
Chicago, IL
4/29/2011 12 photos
So I walked in here after my Michigan flight for dinner, being the tail end of Lent...not much of a selection for me; The Shrimp appetizer I got was great tasting, but 10 bucks I thought maybe was a bit much.
Place inside was packed and beautifully done and quite spacious, the waiters were friendly and a couple seemed camera shy.
Looked nice for a date or family thing on a friday night.
Not sure about lunch if they are open.... -
Review from Jacob J.
Updated - 8/14/2011 8 photos
My last review from 2008 seems like so long ago when you take into consideration the food. Which has fallen short in my opinion.
I still like hitting them up for the occasional mojito or caipirinha and dessert, but when it comes to dining for meals I'm no longer impressed. With the plethora of restaurants which offer staunch competition in this cuisine, I could go elsewhere for this type of meal. Money is king and you have to be wise on how to spend it.
I'll skip going into grave details about my recent trips, the gist is that I haven't been impressed with the lackadaisical service in preparation of meat cooked my way and then the time it takes to replace mistakes. Key to know, a la cart is still the best way to eat and ample time is needed when sitting for dinner. Never before a movie, make sure to block out time for it.Listed in: Chicken - the always…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
7/6/2008
Churrascaria at $30 dollars each for buffet style and what's left on your plate you are allowed to… Read more »
-
-
Review from Agnes F.
Chicago, IL
9/6/2011
We recently went to Al Primo Canto to use our groupon and was pretty happy with the experience
instead of going with the all you eat deal, we decided to go al la carte
we started with a calamares (the green olives really brought this dish to life), i opted for the leg of lamb and my fiance had the tenderloin; we shared the polenta as side
the food were all pretty good and it went well with the wine our server recommended to us
if we are in the neighborhood, we'll definitely go back; don't think we'll make a trip just got the restaurant though -
Review from Natalie S.
Chicago, IL
4/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
My Dude and I don't get out often now that we have the mini-Dude. My Mom has generously offered to watch our kid once a month so we can get out and be grownups for a night. She also gave us a Groupon to Al Primo Canto. What a Mom, right?
She had the best of intentions...
We made a 7:00 reservation for last night (Saturday). We walked in on time and were sat right away. We were also pretty much simultaneously sat with the two tables next to us. We were giddy about being out and about like grownups and made friendly chit-chat with the couple sitting next to us. We ordered the all you can eat dinner and a bottle of wine and waited for the goodness to arrive.
10 minutes passed.
The table next to us got their pasta course.
Another table across from us was sat.
10 minutes passed... the table across from us got their pasta course.
We asked the waiter where OUR pasta course was. He said it would be right out.
10 minutes passed.
20 minutes passed.
The tables around us were all brought their meat courses.
After sitting for 50 minutes, we finally asked the waiter where our pasta was. He said "Oh, the pasta is cooking, the owner is coming to talk to you".
Great!
Not great. The owner came over and we pointed out that everyone around us that ordered at the same time was all on their meat course and we hadn't even had our pasta yet. He said, and I quote, "Oh, here is your pasta now, you'd better eat it before it gets cold, I'll come back to deal with this later".
Sounds great! Who wants to eat cold pasta?
Another employee (I won't say who because I don't want to get them in trouble) leaned over and said, "good for you for complaining, everyone is almost done eating and you're just now getting your pasta".
Right?
The meat dragged. Everything dragged. The table next to us was sat with a new couple (mind you, because even though the first couple was sat at the same time as we were, they were finished and paid up before we even got our meat) and they had a confrontation with the same waiter about their service. They complained that the chicken was a little overdone and the waiter said to them "That's how we cook our chicken, I'm not going to serve you raw chicken" and dismissively waved his hands at them. We all met eyes and raised our eyebrows. Seriously, the service was so bad it was something out of a sitcom.
We finished our meats and asked for more chicken. We waited 20 minutes. We asked again and waited some more. Eventually, we realized no more chicken was coming and that's just how it was. I guess "all you can eat" REALLY means "all we'll serve you". At that point, we had been there two hours and we just needed to get the Hell out of there.
The check came. No apologies. Just.... the check. We waited 5 minutes to see if the owner was coming back to talk to us like he said he would.
No owner. So, we asked to speak with him again.
My Dude said, very, very calmly, I might add, "We just wanted to tell you that while the food was delicious, the service was terrible, and your handling of the situation by saying 'eat your pasta before it gets cold' was not how you should deal with customers".
The owner flew off the handle and went on a rant that consisted mostly of him shouting at us, "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY?!" in a very, very loud, angry and confrontational manner. My Dude said, very calmly, "is this how you talk to your customers? Don't you want them to come back to your restaurant?"
Then he POUNDED his hand on the table and said "I DON'T WANT CUSTOMERS LIKE YOU, GET OUT OF MY RESTAURANT, NOW!".
That's right, kids. We got thrown out of the restaurant. I have never, EVER been thrown out of a restaurant in my 32 years of dining out in Chicago.
As we were exiting, we were cheered on by the tables around us. The guy sitting next to us who had the confrontation with the waiter over chicken said "Good for you guys, you guys have a great weekend" and another employee said "You all have yourselves a great night, good for you for speaking up for yourselves!". Ah, see, it wasn't just us that noticed the absolutely horrible service then.
I grew up in Edgebrook and I'm completely embarrassed for the neighborhood that this is the way a business owner treats customers. After being at a restaurant for 2 hours and getting absolutely piss poor service, we were not offered A SINGLE apology. That's all we wanted, not a percentage off our bill, not a comped glass of wine. Just an apology. Instead, we were screamed at and then tossed out for voicing our opinion about the service.
I cannot emphasize how much I implore you to think twice about patronizing this establishment. There are too many more wonderful restaurants out there to waste your time here. -
Review from anita m.
6/27/2011
In my honest opinion, I'm glad I was able to finally try Al Primo Canto after hearing about it through my friend. Sadly I can't decide whether I'd come back any time soon. The service is not terrible, yet in an almost empty dining room, I felt that our server could have been a lot more attentive.
Al Primo Canto offers an all you can eat option of their Brazilian meats ( lamb, chicken, steak ) along with salad, 3 pastas and 3 side dishes. Not bad for the price you pay per person of $30. The difference about this place is that all the sides are served to you rather than buffet style. I'm not sure if I really like the way they set that up. I mean you have no choice really, you get all of the things on the menu whether you like it or not. Then if you find that you don't like it, a whole dish goes to waste. I felt pressured to eat a lot more pasta than I wanted to. The sides were just okay, nothing to write home about.
Then there was the meat. This is probably the one thing that definitely prevents me from wanting to come back here. When ordering the meat for a table for 2, you can only have your meat cooked one way! Its really a shame that you force people to choose and have at least one person end up unhappy. You have one person who likes the meat rare and still kickin and the other medium well! I mean seriously, anyone who knows the difference knows that its a huge difference! Well being the one to compromise, we settled for medium, which the server kept saying there'd be some pink. There was definitely no pink. The lamb was gamey, chicken was over cooked. The beef was mediocre at best. Overall not something I hope to experience again... -
Review from emily n.
4/3/2011
This place makes me SOOOOOOO happy that leggings are in style, because they really are the perfect attire to acommodate a belly full of brazilian style meats they bring you here.
Stacy Y and I made the trek up north to put her Groupon to work before it expired, and as luck would have it, we made our reso on BYOB night. SCORE! So two bottles of wine and plates upon plates of perfectly cooked lamb, beef, and chicken later, we had made fast friends with the owner and her adorable kids. We also gorged ourselves on a trio a fresh made pastas, and basket upon basket of those parmesan stuffed baked nuggets of delicious.
The staff never gave us the side eyes for eating enough food to feed a small army, or lingering over our wine, or laughing too loudly. I only wish that they had a few more choices of meats to choose from, like chorizo. Add chorizo and it'd be 5 stars all the way.
*I wonder if that last line will bring Shake and Bake out of retirement?*Listed in: I've got booze in my purse!
-
Review from Carla d.
Chicago, IL
4/10/2011
Service - poor. We asked the server to pace our dishes since we were talking and drinking wine. 5 clock pm, there were plenty of empty tables, no need to rush. He did not pace - brought all the after a short time and was very defensive when we complained.
The owner was called and was very sweet and tried to apologize. I would not go back, although I really wanted to like this restaurant!
Food - hit and miss. Pasta was below average, salty and the tomato sauce seemed to come from a can. Meat was good. I actually think that my friends who did not have the all-you-can-eat ate better. Pão de queijo was dry, hard and cold. The polenta was amazing though!
Price - too expensive for the irregular food and poor service. The waiter made sure he told us that 18% would be added as a tip, since we were using coupons. I don't think the service was worth a 18% tip. -
Review from Gwen R.
Chicago, IL
5/15/2011
This place is in my neighborhood, so I picked it for a big group of friends for dinner this past Saturday. We had a table of 11, all spending lots of $ on drinks, except for the two small children with us. It was family friendly enough, including letting kids under 6 eat free.
I liked the atmosphere, the food, and the waitstaff. For the "all you can eat" menu, I thought the price was much more reasonable than other Brazilian steak houses, but the format of the service was poor.
They rushed us through the first few courses, but then after the first serving of meat, service basically stopped. We were offered more potatoes, but getting more meat was like puling teeth. They stopped busing the table too, leaving a full salad serving plate next to a partially filled one, I guess just trying to trick us into thinking we'd had plenty?
I wonder if it would be different with just two people, but, the food wasn't spectacular enough that I think I'd try, considering the price price point and the manner in which they serve the customers. I would've paid an extra $10 to have an actual "all you can eat" experience, and I guess will next time, somewhere else! -
Review from John H.
Chicago, IL
10/11/2011
Out of business......
-
Review from Heather L.
Des Plaines, IL
4/3/2011
This is a rather unassuming storefront property but once you walk in and see the vaulted ceiling you are transported to another location. I lived in Brazil for a year and found this simple tasty food to be very representative of the food I ate nearly every day in the outskirts of Brasilia - though we had rice not pasta in Brazil, I'm not complaining.
The service was very friendly and professional though a tad slow - one waiter worked a half full room but this was a big room so I could see he was moving fast. The drinks are pricey but all cocktails in the city limits are.
My husband and I ordered the $30 all you can eat deal and everything came out timely and was seasoned nicely. The pao de queijo was perhaps a tad overbaked as they shouldn't be brown - it makes them tough. I did especially like the mushroom pasta and the garlic pasta but really didn't want to fill up. The meat is what is best here. Chicken, lamb and beef. Seasoned nicely, cut into user friendly pieces. Loved it. Simple and tasty.
What I especially liked about this place, versus places like Fogo De Chao where there is this crazy frenzy of consumption and gauchos with spears attacking you at every given moment - this was three choices served family style upon request. Much more relaxing. And frankly, a little wait time on an all you can eat is a good thing. I didn't feel nauseous when I left.
We did share the flan that was also slightly over cooked as it was bubbled on the sides and it should be smooth.
I read they have music on weekends and will definitely plan a trip back to check that out. -
Review from Lenka-Penka F.
New York, NY
4/28/2011
I've been saving my Groupon for this place till I had a super-eater to go with -- didn't want to waste it on a tiny appetite. As a result, it got almost to expiration, and in a hurry to use it I ended up going there last night with my mom who eats like a bird. I read multiple reviews prior to going -- they ranged from satisfaction to really poor service, so I adjusted my expectations accordingly. Well, I'm happy to report -- Al Primo Canto stood up to the higher end of the reviews and then some!
Tuesday night: only a few tables occupied, but I made a res just in case (as suggested by Groupon). We were warmly greeted, promptly seated by the window, and very well served. We opted for family-style so that we could sample a wider array of their dishes. Everything was very good -- especially tiny cheese-stuffed rolls, garlicky eggplant puree (later used it as a sauce for the meat, soooo delish!), beef, lamb, garlic pasta and fresh salad! The chicken was on the salty side, and I didn't care much for potatoes or pasta marinara. Our server Hugo was very attentive -- he noticed the unsure look on mom's face when the meat seemed too red, and right away offered to bring another plate just for her -- well-done! (and the plate was there very quickly).
The only reason it's 4 stars instead of 5 is when I got a check, they took the liberty of adding 18% tip on the full amount. I only accept the restaurant adding the tip themselves for a party of 5+, so in this case -- I know, they were probably afraid that they would get a tip on the discounted amount or who knows what... but I was planning to leave my standard 20% on pre-Groupon amount, and when I saw the added 18%... well, I just left it at that. But it did snuff out some of my enthusiasm about the place -- it's like them suspecting me of not being classy enough to tip normally... But otherwise -- yummy, good service and pretty good ambiance overall! -
Review from Brandon B.
Chicago, IL
9/27/2011
I just received an email from Groupon stating that it has now closed.
-
Review from elaina b.
IL
12/19/2010
Yay! I'm a fan. I stuffed my face like I hadn't eaten in days!
I am happy to have this beautiful restaurant in my area!! You should eat here!
I have to say, I am really surprised to see all of the bad reviews about this restaurant. I ate there last night with my cousin and her boyfriend, they eat there often and LOVE IT.
When we walked in, we were greeted warmly by the hostess, she sat us with a smile and was super friendly (and beautiful). A staff member then came immediately to see if we would like a drink and to bring the menus & provide specials for the evening.
I had the "All you can eat" dinner. It was SPECTACULAR.
You receive an amazing eggplant dip right away (we must have had 7 orders, no joke).
You then receive a salad, the meal, which includes, Beef, chicken, lamb (i skipped the lamb), delicious green beans, polenta, potato pieces with dip, 3 kinds of fantastic pasta (my fave was the mushroom and olive oil, 5 orders...)
The desert was AMAZING, the best Tres Leches cake, banana cake & chocolate mousse cake! :)
The reason I did not give a 5 star review is because our server brought the check before we asked for it, said "I'll take this whenever you are ready" didn't ask if we wanted anything else (and my cousin wanted another drink) and then left before we could say anything. when we finally got her attention to order the drink, she took back the check to add the drink, instead of bringing the drink on the house in acknowledgment of her faux-pas and poor judgment (the bill was BIG, we ate x 3, drank x 6 and had desert x 3 ), and then, brought the wrong drink (for the 2nd time that evening), then, disappeared with the check for a really long time when we really were ready for it.
That was really our only gripe. All of the other servers were super friendly. She was OK, but not great and needs to be told that you do not bring the check unless asked and if you do bring it over on your own, before putting it on the table and saying "I'll take that when ever you are ready", and walk away immediately, ask if the table would like anything else first. (It was still busy, we were not her last table.) -
Review from Alan M.
Evanston, IL
3/18/2011
This is one of those places where they bring you more food than you can eat. It's not like those "gaucho" places where you turn a coloured disc over, and then they attack you with swords of meat.
Instead, they serve you family style (assuming you choose the "feast")... several different meats, including some of the best lamb I've ever had. The appetizers were good, the main courses were excellent, and I enjoyed what we had.
While I enjoyed what I had, and the ambiance of the room (with a lovely barrel-vaulted ceiling ... hmm... may have been some sort of warehouse at one time?) was nice. I won't be running back. -
Review from Allen B.
Chicago, IL
3/2/2011
My godmother recommended this place and her palette for food has always been impeccable. My family and I went here to celebrate my Mom's birthday. We visited on a Sunday evening before the dinner crowd to enjoy their fare. We opted for the all you can eat family style dinner. Our server was more than attentive to our needs and always accomodating whenever we had a question or concern. The price is of reasonable value, since you are paying for quality of food and service. I'm sure I speak for the rest of my family when I saw that I will definitely be back.
A+ on all grounds, except for the D- for difficulty of parking. -
Review from Bonnie L.
Chicago, IL
9/7/2010
I had a very enjoyable experience at Al Primo Canto. I went last week with a couple of friends to celebrate a birthday. I had a http://Restaurant.com certificate and thought we should go check it out. We started out with a couple of bruschttas. For the money they were kind of small but they were very good. I had a pasta entree that was really good. They brought out a basket of these cheesy little bread balls that were really yummy, too.
All in all the food was very good but by far what made our experience great was the staff. Our server Luis was so great. He was friendly, made great suggestions, and even brought out a comped piece of cake for our friends birthday. We also chatted with Octavio, who I believe might be a supervisor and he was awesome. I will definitely go back. -
Review from Jane K.
Chicago, IL
11/19/2010 1 Check-in Here
The price is good but it really doesn't matter when the meat at a steakhouse isn't. I like the idea of the food coming to you presented nicely on a dish but there were a few things wrong with that. First off, the pastas were BLEH, the meat got cold too quickly, and the meats weren't good quality and the lamb smelled really gamey. I like gamey but that was a bit over the top.
Positive things: great service, amazing wine, good atmosphere, the green beans were cooked perfectly and the shallots were delicious!
I probably won't go back.
I went to Fogo de Chao very soon after going here and it just made Canto's meat look even worse. Not that it's comparable price wise but... just saying... -
Review from Andy K.
Chicago, IL
11/28/2010 1 Check-in Here
So my friend and I really wanted to fall in love with this place, but at the end of the night i just couldn't.
Let's start with the goods; we walked into an absolutely stunning open dining room that was elegant and lively. Beautiful decorations and a huge wine rack on one side. We were seated immediately (it was a Sunday evening) and met by an incredibly kind and knowledgeable server.
We had intended on using a http://livingsocial.com coupon for the all-you-can-eat special (normally 29.99) for 15, but our server, Desiree, described the evening specials so beautifully, we wanted to try some. So she kindly suggested that one of get the all-you-can-eat and the other get a special of the day.
Whether this is a normal policy or whether she was giving us special treatment, I don't care, she made me feel like a star! Haha.
We ordered a bottle of Desiree's favorite malbec and everything seemed to be going fantastic right? Wrong.
The first course of the all-you-can-eat came out, cheese bread, pita, and a roast eggplant dip. It was good, but nothing special. The pita was cold and seemed directly from the package. And the cheese bread had no flavor and could very well have been a hot pocket minus all the delicious chemical cheese and meats.
Next was a pasta course, marinara, garlic and mushroom sauces. After sampling these three-- the marinara and mushroom were unimpressive and the garlic was somewhat tasty (emphasis on "somewhat")-- I started to have a sad and suspicious feeling: this is wedding food. Not great, not bad, but mass-produced and stock, nothing exciting, nothing original.
That feeling dominated through the salad course (bland and predictable) and into the main course chicken, beef and lamb. I guess we got to have all three main courses on the menu, instead of at a wedding where you are forced to choose the least of 3 or 4 boring entrees.
To be fair the lamb was quite tasty and the fried polenta was certainly a bright spot, but the beef was dry and over cooked and the chicken screamed "MEH!!!!"
Even the special we went with, a mango glazed duck, tasted like it was straight from the heated cabinets of the white eagle banquet hall or something. The glaze was too sweet and candy-like and completely over powered the natural flavor of the duck.
All in all the food was rather bland and uninspired. The flavors were safe and predictable. I realized halfway through the meal I was trying so hard to like it, but after a while I just couldn't.
And what really was disappointing was that my wine ended up being too spicy and dry for my taste, not a fault of anyone, but just tacked on a giant sad face to the end of a disappointing evening.
Let me be balanced here and say I cant say enough about the wonderful, attentive service. The decor is lovely. I really really wish I could have fallen in love with this unique family-owned edgebrook establishment, but at the end of the day I couldn't. Even with the 30 dollar discount we still dropped almost $100 that night for food that wasn't any more thoughtful than the local dinner or applebees. In fact, I'd rather have went with either of those over Al Primo Canto.
I still had a fun evening, but it pains me to say I probably will not be returning to Al Primo Canto anytime soon. -
Review from Jon B.
Chicago, IL
10/24/2010
We had dinner with 2 of our close friends and it was there turn to pick a place to eat-Primo Canto was there choice.
I must say that my wife and myself were pleasantly surprised!
Great looking decor,staff very friendly,and a great bang for your buck.
We had the all you can eat family style dinner
Chicken-A little dry but ok
Lamb-superb
Tederloin-Verry Yummy
All the sides were very tastie as well I would recommend this restaurant to anyone going out for a nice evening! -
Review from Angela G.
Lansing, IL
1/31/2011 5 photos
So while out in Des Plains, my husband and I decided that we might as well get something to eat to avoid the evening rush. It was 430 and we didn't want to fight the major traffic to go back south. We couldn't decide on where to go so I grabbed my ipod and checked out my living social app. Al Primo canto was like 10 minutes from where we were, so away we go.
Where to start, well parking was cool. There is parking available out front. Paid parking of course. (remember this is Chicago) Even though it was rush hour, that wasn't a problem. We found parking directly across the street from the place.
The place was beautiful. It was dimly lit and playing soft music. Our waiter came over and greeted us warmly. I explained that we wanted to use a living social certificate and it seemed the waiter was more excited. He asked if we ever dined here and I said no but I have been to a couple of Brazilian steakhouses before. He informed me that they had some similarities but they were slightly different. He told us that we could use the deal for a la carte menu and the all you can eat. (had 2 vouchers) So I opted for the all you can eat and my husband order the new york strip. The review is for my all you can eat experience, I didn't try my husband's food.
The first thing I was served was the pasta. (trying to lay off the bread, so I can't comment cause I didn't try it) The pasta was decent. I liked the garlic especially. But I was wondering, where was the seasoning? The garlic was good but it needed a little work. The marinara was plain as hell. It needed salt, pepper, oregano, basil, etc. I understand that everyone doesn't eat salt but come on! There are other ways to flavor the food besides salt. So I mixed a little of the garlic with the marinara and it wasn't that bad.
The next up was the meat. I had the lamb, chicken and beef. One taste of the beef and I knew I wasn't gonna eat it. One it was tough and two, it had NO seasoning again. I tasted the chicken and it was OK. Again no seasoning and it was slightly overcooked. The lamb was the best thing I had. Even though it had no seasoning, it was very tender. A salad also came with the meat. The salad was AMAZING. It needed nothing. It had the right amount of dressing and it was SO fresh. So I ate all the salad and some of the lamb. Don't know how you could get the salad right and not the meat? Hmmmm........
Also some crunchy potatoes were served. They were really good too. All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. But if I had to pay the full price, I probably would be upset. It not worth the $30 a person. Not a place I would frequent again. -
Review from Ngoc H.
Skokie, IL
1/25/2011
Came here for an all you can eat dinner for 29.95! I have to say though, compared to other Brazilian steakhouses, this place is sub par. The salad was very good, the pastas were a bit oily and the meats were ok. One piece of chicken my friend tried to eat, still had blood in it. Service was great, but the food (for the all you can eat) could have been better. One person in our group got he NY strip steak, delicious, we were all envious.
We came back again another night and had the NY strip again and the Pork. Different server this time and when he brought us our steak, it looked totally different from what it did the initial night we came here! there was an amazing sauce and scallops and shrimp on it this time. Better than the first time we had it, we asked him about why it was different and he joked that we should only come on the nights that he's working. The pork tenderlois was divine. It came on a bed of mashed potatoes and caramalized asparagus and pearl onions. DELICIOUS! better than the steak I would say. Portions are HUGE, You'll never finish their dishes unless you're doing the all you can eat. Prices are very reasonable for the portions they provide. Meter parking in front isn't too hard to come by.
Good place for big groups, they have specials daily. Wednesday is .10 glasses of wine! Can't beat that. -
Review from Luan N.
Columbus, OH
11/20/2008
My appetite is not as ravenous as before and can't get my money's worth with the all you can eat, so I took Jacob J's advice and opted for a la carte. I ordered the the lamb. Anh got the roasted chicken and Amish got the garlic massa.
[I am sick of seeing Amish roasted chicken on every menu, I think my new crotchet will be breaking that association but still using Amish and Chicken in the same sentence]
Anyway, the lamb was not bad, enjoyed the roast chicken more. Amish's garlic pasta was a bit too bitter for our taste because the garlic was burnt, so they were nice enough to exchange it for the marinara. The pasta dishes we were far from impressive. Roast chicken was the highlight of the dishes, but to be honest, I would have been perfectly content eating $8 Peruvian rotisserie chicken.
Service: Very cordial, professional. I must say, the hostess/ floor manager knew how to work the crowd. She commented on Anh's hair being nice and long. She complimented Amish's frames and asked where he got them. I was eagerly waiting for my compliment like a puppy anticipating approval but didn't get any. boohoo. -1 for no compliment, you're useful, cool, or funny would have been nice. J/K.
Entertainment: Monica de Silva was performing and was amazing. This was definitely the highlight of the night.
Definitely a great bargain for a Churrascaria with great attentive service. But, these days, the more brazillian steakhouses I've been to, the less appealing it has become. Just don't think the quality and flavor of the meat is all that great. -
Review from Carolynne M.
Chicago, IL
11/3/2007 1 photo
I wish I could be more enthusiastic about Al Primo Canto. Its like, they have all the right ingredients, but something is off somewhere.
First off, the decor is incredible. How they could transform this cheezy beater storefront on Devon (that was empty forever) into this imaginative, airy place I will never know. You gotta peek in just to see the kick-ass wood ceiling.
I order the Maminha, which was beef tenderloin served with potatoes and vegetables. The meat was excellent - two thumbs up for that! The potatoes were average but the vegetables were terrible! It was kale, broccoli and carrots, but everything was bitter and dark, like they had sat around in the pot too long.
BF ordered the "endless feast" - a massive 12 course meal that included 4 kinds of meat and a wide variety of vegetables & pasta. He was very pleased at what he got, but was not able to finish everything. I did sneak a taste of some of the meats and I think my beef was better.
Service was decent, but they brought the endless feast out in two batches which loaded up the table. Also, noone told us which dish was which, so we spent the whole time saying "well, I think this is lamb" "are you sure? it tastes like pork to me". Also, because he couldnt eat everything at once, most of the dishes became cold fast. This was a bit disappointing.
While I am pleased that more restaurants are being attracted to this neigborhood, for what we paid at Al Primo Canto I think I might hold off on going again for a while. Maybe once they are more established things will be better. -
Review from Jean C.
6/17/2010
A friend and I have been trying to find a date to get to this place for months now. She had a http://Restaurant.com coupon she wanted to use, and I've been curious about the restaurant since I go past it whenever we come up to the Chocolate Shoppe. Finally, we got there on a Wednesday night, and that was a great choice because there was no waiting for a table or service.
I think the best thing I can do is make a list of pros and cons for this place to explain why, though I have mixed feelings about it, I generally liked it and would definitely go back. Let's go with the cons first and get them out of the way so I can end on the high notes:
-- The chicken, which is the signature dish was a little dry. Not enough to be really unhappy with it, but definitely a little dry.
-- The tables were too high for the chairs.
-- Everyone who came in seemed to get seated in the same area. In a big restaurant, that's kind of a no-no, in my opinion Separate diners by one table at least, so they don't have to listen to other people's noise.
-- Service was either very good or very slow. They were fantastically attentive with the food, but our water glasses went unfilled after the first round.
Okay, now the pros:
-- Really good food. And honestly, this is one of the bottom lines for me. I won't put up with a lot of nonsense for good food, but I will put up with a lot of what I mentioned above. The chicken had seasoning which made me chow down on the skin. Ask anyone who knows me; I don't do that! The garlic pasta was heavenly, with perfectly cooked garlic. The mushroom pasta was a delight. The polenta was delicious as were the crispy potatoes. The beef was tasty and very tender.
-- Friendly service. Yes it could be spotty, but these are some of the nicest people you could ever want to talk to, and that makes up for a lot.
-- Nice looking place. A pleasure to be in a big, open, airy room.
-- Music at the right volume.
Okay, so here are some pointers: If you go with a coupon, they will add an 18% tip onto the bill based on the price you would have paid without the coupon. Fair enough. Don't look for salt and pepper on the table. You'll have to ask, but frankly I don't think you'll need to. Everything was well-seasoned.
But I have to say that I think there is too much food on the all-you-can-eat menu. Now, I don't eat lamb, and if I'd noticed that it was being served, I'd have told them to forget it. But they brought a plate filled with both lamb and beef, of which we ate about half the beef and none of the lamb. Just too much. And because it's served family style, you can't take it home with you and they have to toss whatever is left. I hate seeing waste like that. However, I know people who could have polished off everything they brought and asked for more, so I would say that unless you have at least one really big eater in your party, don't go for the all-you-can-eat. There's more than enough on the a la carte menu, which is how I'll be ordering next time.
Yeah, I'm going back. I liked the place, I liked the people and I liked the food. -
Review from Mary T.
Chicago, IL
4/10/2009
This is a attractive room and the hostess could not have been nicer or more welcoming.
I ordered chicken and my husband ordered the feast thingie. Whatever it was it came on SIX plates and it set me off thinking about how decadent that was. My food came on one plate. There was, however, enough for two.
The chicken was good not great, the vegetables were really great, crisp and fresh. My husband said that he liked the chicken the best, his also came with lamb and beef. His fried polenta was delicious too. Anyway mine was good enough that I kept eating when I should have stopped and now I'm sorry. And fuuuull.
They had loud, live music tonight, (Friday) so take someone who you dont' mind yelling at or them yelling at you.
We also had a coupon from http://restaurant.com which seemed to slow them up at check time. The hostess explained that they have to make a call to verify it and the lines are always busy on Friday and Saturday. The waiter had been a bit absent at the end of our dinner though even before we got our bill. Apart from that service is very attentive. -
Review from Michael B.
Chicago, IL
5/21/2009
Please pardon me while i'm double-fisting this pasta into my eager waiting mouth.
so here's the deal - 30 bucks for 3 course meal of unlimited appetizers, followed by pasta, then the plates o meat. this place is seriously downtown calibre, reasonably priced for the devon n central neighborhood. when i went for my friend's bday in early may the place was PACKED on a friday, so i think you might have to make reservations. they had a band playing some loungy calypso renditions of modern hits which was a new experience for my uncultured uncouth self...very great ambience and well run place. definitely a sweet date place to impress the ladies. -
Review from art s.
6/26/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I've been here twice and experienced a lot of the inconsistencies that others have cited. Service can be slow, frazzled or both. Food has its highs and lows. Wine might be a little pricey. But the space is pretty attractive. Net: It isn't a place I would go out of my way to visit again. However, it fits a very specific need state kind of perfectly : coming home from O'Hare across the northwest side of the city and you have a Groupon / Restaurant (dot) com gift certificate in your pocket. Under those circumstances it's a pretty good call to stop in @ Al Primo Canto. Order the Polenta Frita and the Risotto de Linguisa.
-
Review from Chris C.
Chicago, IL
8/31/2007
This place needs to be discovered - the wait staff is excellent, and the food is very good at a price 1/2 that of typical "Brazilian Steakhouses".
My wife and I dined here on a Friday, and were seated at a nice window seat. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the food and menu, and provided a nice accompaniment the whole evening.
Ah the food... all courses were at a minimum "very good" to "excellent" in some cases. Excellent would apply to both the lamb and chicken, which were both moist, well flavored, and delicious.
As the few Brazilian Steakhouses I've visited simply hand you a bill of $60 / person and an unholy amount of food, Al Primo Canto was half that ($29), and still provided more than enough food. I'll take quality over quantity any day, and I really liked the uniqueness of the family style preparation vs. the standard Brazilian steakhouse. And perhaps in response to some of the critiques, the price is listed prominently on the menu outside the restaurant, and our server quickly told us this as well. Also, the new news is that the will soon offer both the standard multi-course $29/person meal as well as an a la carte menu.
Overall, very good food, great wait staff, and an excellent addition to the Edgebrook neighborhood. -
Review from Ryan L.
6/23/2009
It's nice that this place is in an area not billowing with nightlife (Devon and Central), so i had good expectations for this place. I realize i've already lost some people by saying Devon and Central, yes this place is on the outer city limits. But you're not missing much. Sorry to say i was disappointed with my experience.
First, the bread. Cheese bread is a specialty in Brazil, so i was excited to have some here. Some of the bread came out nice and hot, and some of the bread came out very cold. It was very weird, and not really tasty. I'm a big fan of this cheesy gooey bread, and this didn't work. Boo.
I ordered the steak for dinner, the filet to be exact. The sauce it sat in was powerful, pretty much overwhelming. The steak itself was overseasoned and just average. Others at the table ordered the pork chops and they had the same issue with the sauce. It pretty much masked any flavor there might have been. This doesn't mean i didn't finish it, though. The food just didn't blow me away.
I enjoyed the decor and the large wine rack on one of the walls. The prices are not bad so i don't think this place will struggle. The staff couldn't have been more helpful and courteous. I was just disappointed in the food. I'd give it another shot, but it would have to be a special occasion for me to come back. -
Review from John F.
12/29/2007
We discovered this place based on the other reviews -- hadn't driven on this stretch of Devon in a while and did not know it opened.
This is a very nice Brazilian steakhouse with quite reasonable prices. The $30 feast includes excellent lamb and beef and so so chicken. In addtion, you get a nice appetizer of "caponata" which actually turns out to be baba ghanouj plus three kinds of fettucine, roasted potatoes, green beans and baby onions, green salad, and very tasty fried polenta. They do try to stuff you a bit on the starches so be careful if you want to have room for more steak and lamb. They have a reasonable wine list with a lot of South American offerings.
Their regular a la carte menu offers fish and some more items plus the items on the feast. While I'd like to see a little more authenticity and meat cut fresh at the table, for the price I'd definitely recommend it. We ordered two dessert specials, mocha flan and coconut flan, both of which were wonderful. For a Brazilian restaurant however, I thought the coffee left a bit to be desired.
Service was nice if a bit hovering. Decor is very pretty with rustic beamed ceilings. However, we sat by the window and were very cold. Their landlord would do them a favor if he let them brick up parts of the large storefront findows that give a rather fishbowl feel to the place.
In general, a worthwile addition to Edgebrook and a nice place to go. -
Review from mark c.
Chicago, IL
3/28/2011
One of the favorite restaurants in our area. I am a frequent diner and have brought several different groups there and none of have been disappointed.
The pork is great and I think their chicken is outstanding. The ravioli is also remarkable and some of the best polenta fries on the planet. What really sets this place apart is the fantastic service we receive from the staff and Maria our hostess. -
Review from James L.
Chicago, IL
Updated - 1/8/2010
Lets fast forward to 3 years later after my first review of Al Primo Canto and was happy to see that the place is still on top of their game. While I love CHECK PLEASE - sometimes the additional fame is not always a welcomed one.
My family (wife+4yr old - minus the 1.5yr old - one thing you learn as a parent, if you go to a restaurant that has sharp steak knives, it's best to leave little hands w/ a sitter) went for dinner at 7:30pm on a Friday night. I was afraid that since it was a weekend night - there would be a wait, but luckily it was the Friday after the snowpocalypse of 2010, so needless to day - the snow and cold probably kept a lot of people from going out, so we were seated immediate by the hostess/owner. This is the first time I've been back since my last review, so I was pleasantly surprised by a live band that was set up by the bar.
We were greeted immediately by our server (I believe her name was Angela) and was able to order drinks immediately. My 4 yr old is shy - I mean REALLY SHY. So within a matter of minutes, the hostess/owner stopped by and presented her w/ her own little chef's hat. Luckily we also carry a couple of crayons, so my daughter was now very busy decorating her new hat.
After review of the menu (which has expanded to al carte, and seafood dishes since my first review which only consisted of the feast) my wife and opted for the feast - even though the specials sounded wonderful (chilean sea bass, and NY strip).
We started off pita and what I think was hummus - whatever it was, it was good - and little cheese bread/puffs, which was a hit w/ my daughter.
The first dishes was the pasta - which has not change (the fungi, olio, and tomato). This time, the olio was my favorite - good amount of garlic. My daughter loved the fungi, and the marinara ... is well ... marinara. I give great credit to service because they immediately noticed that my daughter was going to have difficulty using her fork w/ the pasta and got us small spoons for her to use before she even started to eat.
The second course was the was the rest of the feast - the chicken, lamb, beef, palenta, potatoes, and small mixed salad. We went w/ the meats as suggested - a medium rare (we like it on the bloody side) and it came just as that. It was moist, and very tender. The chicken was roasted to perfection - it was moist and very flavorful. It was a big hit w/ my daughter.
Our water glass was never empty, and was checked on frequently for refills on our drinks. The bartender actually noticed that my daughter's juice was low, and was already waiting to refill it as my daughter was drinking the last drop.
Dessert - when I last visited - the dessert menu was limited, and they did not have coffee. I am so happy that has changed. They had me at "banana foster" cheescake, and after listening to the owner describe the chocolate fudge cake earlier in the night, I knew I had to get some of that. There was only one problem - they ran out of the cake. We stuck w/ the cheesecake - and it was wonderful, and to make it even better - I had my cup of coffee to go w/ it.
The night did end w/ a small down note, but picked back up immediately after - we had a RESTAURANTS.COM certificate, but in the fine print it says remaining balance needed to be paid in cash (that'll teach me to hit the cash station first) and it was going to expire that day I was dining, but all I had was my credit card. It wasn't that big of a deal for me to use it, so I told them to not worry about it and I was still going to use my credit card. When the owner heard that I had the certificate and that it was going to expire - she came over, and initialed the certificate and said they'll honor it the next time we come in.
Coming from a family where everyone worked in the restaurant business, we completely appreciated how warm and inviting the owners/service were to us, and especially to guests that have children.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
7/1/2007 First to Review
I had some friends from out of town and we're all big eaters. We wanted something, but not exactly… Read more »
-
-
Review from Chris M.
Chicago, IL
7/8/2008
So on the 4th of July, I went with a friend to Montrose harbour to enjoy the day on his parents 46ft 2 bedroom 2 story cabin cruiser with another smaller boat attached to the back. It was unbelievable, had a great time, met a bunch of people, and then the boat trip was coming to an end. We docked the boat, and I smelled the neighbors grill as soon as I stepped onto the pier. On the patio of their yacht they're grilling these beautiful, delicious filets, t-bones, etc. They invited us aboard, and we enjoyed their mouthwatering food.
The brother of the boat's owner was cooking away, and so we get to talking about food. He said he owns a restaurant, and he referred me there. The chef was Georges Albekai, owner of Al Primo Conto, and not only is his cooking unbelievable, he is one of the nicest guys on the planet. I made the visit to the restaurant on Monday, and the food was just as good, and the hospitality was even better.
I'd definitely recommend this place. Enjoy. -
Review from Ann Y.
Chicago, IL
Updated - 2/14/2009
My husband and I decided to go back tonight for Valentine's Day. I should have known that there was going to be problems when we made our reservation a week ago, and they never called to confirm. When I called on Friday to confirm they had no record of me and said that they couldn't seat us till 10:00. I had already cancelled other reservations that I had made and told them that this was unacceptable. They did work with me and got me in at 8:30.
Upon arrival it was clear that they still didn't have us in their book, however they seated us right away. Then we waited. We waited some more. We had no menu, no water- nothing. After about 20 minutes, I went to the hostess and informed her that we didn't even have a menu. She did apologize and eventually someone brought us a menu and some water.
My husband and I ordered the feast for $30 a person. We told them up front that we wanted one order of beef medium rare and one medium well. When the food came, we only got the medium rare and we had to wait another 30-40 minutes for the medium well- not to mention I had to ask for my waiter 3 times plus the manager before he came.
I had a Brazilian Merlot that was recommended- it was OK, but tasted like a $3 glass and not a $9 glass of wine.
The food was just OK, and was not what I remembered it to be. I did like the garlic pasta and the flan.
All and all it was not a good experience and I will not be returning. The owner clearly saw that I was upset but yet they did nothing to compensate for it. I do understand that it was Valentine's Day and they said there computer was down, but what does that have to do with getting a simple menu and a waiter to greet us?
Lastly, they had music, but it was so loud I couldn't talk and it gave me a headache. Our waiter had to yell over it. It was actually better once they stopped playing and they just had the recorded background music.
Don't waste your time or your money. There are so many better restaurants out there. I am not sure if the appearance on "Check Please!" got to their heads, but I think it did.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
-
11/8/2008
I went back again tonight with a group of 13 people and I was still very pleased. For starters I… Read more »
-
-
Review from Justin G.
Oak Park, IL
11/8/2009
I went here for my birthday last night and it was awesome. This is my first experience at a churrascuria and I definitely plan on going back. The food was awesome and the service was great. They have a good band that plays Friday and Saturday and the volume is perfect (You hear them play and can still hold a conversation with the people at your table).
It seems that many churrascarias have closed down lately. We first tried Asado in Evanston and their number was disconnected, then Rio in Niles, and their number was disconnected, then we found this place and are glad we did. After talking to the owner, they had a rough start (look at the early reviews of this place and it reflects that) but now they are doing so well, they have to open up a second location deeper in the city. -
Review from Eric T.
Rogers Park, Chicago, IL
9/18/2011
I came here with my fiancee for a Friday night dinner for two and we were both very pleased. The service was excellent as our waiter was personable and attentive even though we took our time dining. Each course was excellent - only complaint being that the beef ordered medium rare came out well done - but our waiter was happy to correct that with another serving brought out a perfect medium rare. The entrees were very good, but the dessert was excellent - the flan and the vanilla cream gelato are ridiculously good.
-
Review from Jose T.
Chicago, IL
9/16/2011
My friends at Groupon hooked me up with an evening for two (plus our 1 year old who eats free at this place - all kids under 6 get this perk). 3 pastas, salad, potatoes, fried polenta, 3 meats & a bottle of Merlot later, we were very pleased. Everything was delicious. NOTE: the chicken at this place is something special. Dim lights & great music make this my kind of place.
-
Review from Jayson C.
Chicago, IL
5/5/2008
Good new Brazilian buffet in the Edgebrook area.
We chose the $29 all u can eat buffet with consists of chicken, lamb, and beef. The chicken was to die for, lamb was made to perfection, and the filet cut was the only downside - dry and lacking in any flavor. Their wine list is exception and the service was very prompt friendly.
Will definitely come back again for a second opinion. =) -
Review from Christina R.
Chicago, IL
4/10/2011
I have to assume that this place remains in business because of Groupon, Living Social and various coupon sites which make it seem like a great deal. I support small businesses, so I figured I would give it a shot. I made a huge mistake. Suffice to say, my meat loving fiance hated it, too.
The servers were average. While the space is lovely, you don't shell out $30 a person for decor. What was completely unacceptable was the quality of the food. While the caponata was good, you aren't going to write home about an eggplant puree, particularly when the cooks in the back have assaulted everything else on the menu with so much salt that it was on the verge of being inedible at times. Three fettuccines came out - the marinara one was food service grade, like they had poured bottled sauce over some noodles. The garlic offering was oversalted - the mushroom sauce was the only one that was even edible. While this place bills itself as a galetaria - but the meats were unimpressive. As indicated above, my fiance is a carnivore - he was looking forward to the meat course, hoping redemption was coming after the fettuccine. I don't think I have ever seen him so disappointed over dead animals, or leave a meat restaurant unsated - until tonight.
To try and save our evening, we ordered dessert. We went safe - creme brulee. Even the simplest of desserts was too much for this establishment. It was soup - tepid, unset and unacceptable - and we didn't eat a bite. And did the server care? Not a bit.
Other reviewers seem charmed with the non family style menu; maybe the chefs take care with those plates - however, I would not recommend partaking in the family style menu. -
Review from Victoria W.
Chicago, IL
2/9/2009
BRUNCH REVIEW:
We saw this place on "Check Please!" but were a little hesitant about the $30 price tag (especially since I don't eat land animals), so we decided to try it for brunch since it was ~$10 cheaper.
Many of the choices were non-traditional for brunch, but they do serve pancakes, fruit, smoked salmon, breakfast meats and omelets made-to-order (mine was quite tasty). They also offer several Italian-influenced salads and cheeses, roasted potatoes, fried polenta sticks and the beans that I can't remember how to spell (sorry).
I never thought I would eat at a Brazilian restaurant since they seem so meat-intesive, but I was more than satisfied with the food choices and flavors we discovered. My husband kept waving the chicken under my nose (it smelled delicious!) and smacking his lips over the lamb. It was almost too much for my will power, but fortunately their other food was so delicious I didn't "fall off the wagon."
The decor was beautiful and the staff were very attentive, and they are not as busy on Sundays (hint, hint). All in all, I would recommend this restaurant for meat lovers who need to eat with vegetarians (and not get nagged). But only those vegetarians with strong will power!
