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Al Primo Canto - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants Brazilian Brazilian [Edit]
749 N Clark StChicago, IL 60654
Neighborhood: Near North Side
(312) 280-9090
- Nearest Transit:
-
Chicago-red (Red Line)
Chicago-brown (Brown Line, Purple Line)
Grand-red (Red Line)
- Parking:
- Street, Valet
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
61 reviews for Al Primo Canto
Review Highlights
-
"The lamb and beef was cooked to perfection." In 4 reviews -
"The wait staff is very friendly and attentive." In 7 reviews -
"The cheese bread is to die for." In 3 reviews
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61 reviews in English
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Review from Tu'ens N.
Chicago, IL
2/20/2011
I went with my girlfriend at ~730 on a Sunday night and we were literally the only customers. I thought we' be kind of rushed etc and just wasn't very optimistic, but everything was great.
The food was very good. The lamb was excellent as was the chicken. The beef was pretty good. The pão de queijo was not the best I have ever had but it was pretty good. The pasta would be sub par if it was my main dish in but as a quick bite with three different sauces on standard overcooked spaghetti worked fine as well. I got a caipirinha which I didn't think was the best. I think they don't have any of the Brazilian beers I wanted but I haven't seen any of them anywhere in the US anyways.
I could see that its a bit confusing having this mixture of Italian and Portuguese terms on the menu (name of restaurant is Italian) but it really did remind me of southern Brazil. I don't really see why it's not more popular. -
Review from Food- H.
Chicago, IL
2/23/2011
Made reservations. Came in, sat down, looked very nice and cozy. Ordered appetizers.. Never got them! Ordered rear.. got well done meat! Instead of mashed potatoes we got baked potatoes.. Muslim girl orders beef, gets pork in questions..
We ordered a bottle of wine and the cork fee is $10.00. Sharing desert increases it's price!!
We brought in a coupon from http://Restaurants.com, it was never applied, waitress was nice but totally misinformed.. Ended up paying almost $140.00 for dinner of 3 and a split desert... +tip of course, but got yelled at by the management because of questioning charges on the receipt!
This is not a place any of us would visit again... -
Review from Sarah E.
2/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ladies, let me fill you in on a little secret. All those attributes you want in a man that you have listed in a top secret document in Microsoft Word, can be found in the sizzling Brazilian waiters at Al Primo Canto. That's right. Click 'Print' and whip out that Sharpie. Now let's read along together and check off each item:
1. Attentive
2. Listens
3. Assertive
4. Takes charge
5. Educated
6. Has your best interests at heart
7. Knows how to pour a mean glass of ale
8. Knows good food
9. Sweet demeanor
10. Super hot.
My yummy waiter fulfilled each of these 'musts' that I need in a man... I mean a server... Unfortunately I had to experience this perfect man while out to dinner with my fiance, who found no humor in the several hisses I made at him throughout our dinner, "Why can't you take charge like that??" "You could learn a lot from that guy!!" Terrible, aren't I? It isn't my fault really. Miracle Men like these are no more than pipe dreams to ladies. So when we actually meet one of these mystical men, we tend to forget our manners.
I'll explain how I found Miracle Man. We had YouSwoops to the restaurant for the all-you-can-eat dinners. However I wasn't ravenous, like I should have been, but my fiance was. My server asks me what I'm leaning towards, I tell him, and he promptly whisks both our menus away and says, "I know exactly what you need. Leave everything to me, I'll take care of you." Now tell me that didn't excite you just a little. It did, didn't it?? Within minutes, the first course on the all-you-can-eat menu is served and our waiter is back to tell us we are to share everything brought for my fiance, and that he has a delectable fish entree coming out just for me. Swoon! Thank you, Miracle Man!
I was able to try everything I wanted from my fiance's giant trough of goodies, like braised polenta with parmesan, grilled veggies and three types of pasta, and still enjoy an amazing cut of sea bass and accouterments.
Ladies, do yourself a favor, and go meet Miracle Man.Listed in: Swoop! There it is!, Noon Hour Noshin' in River…
-
Review from Courtney P.
Chicago, IL
2/9/2011
I cannot believe this place gets 5 star reviews. I almost want to give it 2 stars because it is a really cute restaurant in with a good location, but I just can't label it "meh, I've experienced better"
I had to spit out two things.
I'm getting ahead of myself. I saw Al Primo Canto on check please a while ago, so when I saw a deal on youswoop I bought it. The deadline was fast approaching so we ventured out in the cold. When we arrived there were a dozen or so people, but no one at the host stand, eventually someone came to greet us and asked it we would like to sit in front or back or the room, and we said it didn't matter and he said "well you pick" which is a little strange.
We were alone with our menus for a while, then ordered a caesar salad to start, the surf and turf special, and the cheese ravioli.
The salad was one of the worst caesar salads I've had, but I didn't mind at this point, just an off dish.
Then the entrees cam out. We split them, and I ordered the steak med rare and it came out blue. This is a honking piece of meat so I couldn't eat it blue, I had to spit out my first bite. No big deal, right? We will just have the waiter bring it back and cook it more. Well we didn't see the waiter for a half hour so no meat for us.
The sides were pretty gross too. They were cold, and the veggies were undercooked, and the potato's were over seasoned. The scallop was not very good, but the shrimp was disgusting. Second thing I had to spit out because I absolutely could not swallow it. Good thing they give you pita bread so you can spit out the nasty food!
On to the ravioli. There were six average size raviolis, three for each of us. This was basically my entire meal. And if I was at any other restaurant, holding the food to any sort of standard, I would say it was bad...but here it was the only thing I could eat.
And the prices are high! For horrible, terrible food. Even with the discount I ended up paying $40 for the worst meal or my life. -
Review from Ann S.
Chicago, IL
1/30/2011
I took a client here for dinner this evening. As a local political figure, he gets to eat at some of the nicest places in the region. So, when he very emphatically stated after we left that it was one of the best meals he has ever had in Chicago, it was a compliment of the highest order.
Service was unobtrusive, but very warm, efficient, and thoughtful. The staff has mastered the rare art of knowing how to keep service flowing while remaining almost invisible save for just enough personalization to make you feel as welcome as if it were a neighborhood hang out.
The food was outstanding. The chef clearly favors hearty flavors, simple seasoning and precision kitchen skills. Vegetables were cooked perfectly al dente. Meats were tender, with a perfect sear on the outside which rendered the insides positively juicy and extraordinarily flavorful without need for sauces, etc. Meat prep like this is an art unto itself as it takes a deft hand and palette to coax such seemingly simple materials into such memorable entrees.
According to friends in the know about Brazilian cuisine, Al Primo Canto is the real deal. While I can't speak to that from first hand experience, I can say that a visit here offers more sophisticated foodie palates something exceedingly more distinctive than the protein-to-stomach-pump, big chain Brazilian steakhouse fare. From the unique drink menu to the authentic desserts and all things savory in between, Al Primo Canto delivers a dining experience that is loaded with terrific ambiance, texture, and fine tuned flavors. -
Review from Phillip M.
Chicago, IL
1/15/2011
I am really surprised by the negative reviews. My friends and I had an amazing time here. Great location. Impeccable service from the moment we walked in the door. Extremely attentive wait staff without fail. Great value (friend had $30 Groupon I believe). Drinks were fresh and not overly sweet.
The 6 of us all did the unlimited option. I'm not going to repeat other reviews and list all the courses, but out of every round there was at least one dish that made me stop and say, Oh my gah. I am almost always satisfied at 'comfortably full' but I knew from from the first course there was no way I was going to leave without thinking, What have I done?? 100% worth it. -
Review from Matthew W.
Chicago, IL
12/13/2010
Everything about this place was just ok. The food was ok. The atmosphere was ok. The price, not really worth it. You do get a lot of food and it's decent food but for $5 more per person, you could go to Brazzaz and get a meal that's 10x better.
Nothing wrong with Al Primo, but nothing overly right either. -
Review from Andrea K.
Chicago, IL
4/24/2011
Ordered all you can eat.
Would not recommend. The over priced restaurant. -
Review from Doris M.
Chicago, IL
11/20/2010
My husband and I went last night to use a LivingSocial deal for $40 worth of food. Thank goodness we weren't there for full price. Bland food and crappy service.
I found it odd that when we were seated we were just given drink menus. Our server showed up about 3 minutes later with the food menus, gave the mini spiel about the all-you-can-eat (including informing us that you can't take anything home- duh), but no mention of specials. We heard the other server in our section tell another table specials, which we would have appreciated.
Our food came and it was incredibly blah. I ordered the gnocchi caprese- the gnocchi was packed tightly, not nice and soft like it should be. And the sauce really lacked in flavor. I had about half of it and declined to bring the rest home. My husband ordered the rigatoni with sausage and tomato cream sauce. It was better than mine, but not by much.
We also got an order of the fried polenta, which was passable. My husband bit into what looked like a shard of a plate in the polenta. When our server did come to check on us, we showed him the shard, and he took it back to the kitchen. But took his sweet time coming back. He finally arrived, by which time my husband had bitten into another hard thing- this one looked like a small piece of bone- from his rigatoni. Server took this piece back to the manager, who probably took another 10 minutes to come over. He told us it wasn't a plate, then offered us free dessert. We declined, so he said he'd take 20% off our bill. Really? No comping? And no apology? Seriously, this guy didn't say "I'm sorry, what can I do?" It was just "do you want dessert?" Of course not. God knows what else we'll bite into- I have no faith in your kitchen.
This screwed everything up with our LivingSocial since it brought our total back below the $40 we were trying to use up. It took probably 15 minutes for them to figure out our bill. We paid the tax due in cash and left.
We will not be returning. -
Review from Elizabeth R.
Forest Park, IL
9/14/2010 1 photo
I purchased a YouSwoop coupon for this restaurant and the bf and I went on a Sunday evening and were seated immediately.
We ordered the $30 feast which they will happily let you split with the purchase of an entree. Everything was so amazingly good! It's been 2 weeks now and him and I are still ranting and raving about how great everything tasted.
Besides the food blowing our minds the location, atmosphere and service was stellar. I would highly recommend this to anyone. Oh and they took my coupon with no problem and even allowed me to purchase 2 cocktails that were on special which most places won't let you do if you are already getting a discount.
I'm off to purchase a http://restaurants.com coupon so I can go back again and again although I would gladly pay full price, it's just that good!
OH!!! And they gave me us a 20% off coupon for our next visit and since I've returned they have honored it and handed back! Cannot say enough good things about this place! -
Review from Steven N.
10/29/2010
Two main things to cover in this review - first, the food, then, the service. The punchline is, despite the ok tasting food, we will never come back to this place again.
The food isn't bad at all. Our birthday party of 10 people came here on a busy Friday night and orderd the all you can eat option. The menu has a nice selection of apps, salad, pasta, and grilled meat - all nicely done (hmm...some were well-done). Pricing is $30 each - I don't think the food is worth $30 a head, but hey, you could do worst in Chicago.
Next up is the service - dining here is like buying a used-car from a crooked car salesman - very confusing and you walked away almost certain that you got ripped off.
The waiter first suggested he would only charge us for 6 all-you-can-eat meals because the portions are generous, and we thanked him for the "hook-up". Then he somehow proceeded to bring out food we didn't order because he said the manager may review the check and he has to make it look like we're order for 10 people. So without our approval, he brought out two orders of fish and an extra bottle of wine. We let that go because he said he would give us a coupon to "cancel" the fish orders.
Well, we got the final check, and guess what - we got charged for all 10 all-you-can-eat, two orders of fish, and that extra botttle of wine. After some of my more vocal dining partners voiced their concerns, the restaurant reluctantly cancelled the two orders of fish and the extra bottle of wine. They then tried to make it up by giving each of us a 20% off coupon for the next visit - well, we all left the coupon on the table when we left because we won't come back here again.
Diners beware. -
Review from Dennis J.
1/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
This was just terrible.
We waited 10 minutes after sitting down before our drink orders were taken. The cuba libre (which the waiter insisted meant Coke + rum + soda ... but we agreed to disagree and told him she intended to order Coke + rum + lime c.f. http://en.wikipedia.or...) was terribly mixed. Not an auspicious start, but we were hungry and the options looked good so we were still hopeful.
We ordered:
Two bruschettas: mediocre bread with cold toppings. Decently flavored, but poor presentation.
Gelato Al Primo Canto: This chicken dish was cooked well but incredibly bland. The potatoes it came with were lukewarm by the time they got to us and a little undercooked at that. It also came with an assortment of vegetables that looked (and tasted) like it came out of a mixed vegetable freezer bag.
Porco a Bluemenu: Well cooked pork, okay flavor, probably the best dish any of us got.
Churrasco: bland beef.
One All You Can Eat assortment: The only item he thought stood out was the lamb and even then it was light praise.
The best part of the service was that our water glasses were constantly full. So we left hydrated. Even with a $50 coupon, we spent $80 for four people for food that was at par with Chili's. Mediocre food, poor service AND high prices? There's too many excellent places in Chicago to waste time and money here. -
Review from Keith C.
Chicago, IL
9/22/2010
The meat here was unbelievable. I came for a friends birthday and they gave us an option for a set all you can eat menu or a just to get items off their menu. For the set all you can eat, they gave us 3 different pastas as appetizers. There was a mushroom, a garlic and a marinara spaghetti. Each of these were killer. The garlic was probably my favorite one but I couldn't eat too much of that because I would fill up and would be farting the entire night.
For the main course, they brought over a bunch of vegetables and plates of lamb, chicken and beef. The lamb was perfectly cooked to medium rare. The chicken was extremely tender and juicy. The beef had plenty of blood and just melted in your mouth. A couple people got items from the menu which looked really good but the star was the meat. I think the total for the all you can eat was about $45/person. They gave us the upstairs room because there was close to 15 of us and we somehow got BYOB so there were 3-4 magnum's of champagne, 8 bottles of wine, a couple bottles of vodka. They provided the mixers. They hadn't gotten their liquor licence yet so we were able to pull this off.
It was one of the most delicious meals. I definitely recommend going there. -
Review from Josh V.
8/16/2010
2.75 Stars, rounded up to 3. As explained to us by the waiter, this is an Italian-influenced Brazilian restaurant, with cuisine from southern Brazil, which has many Italians (learn something new every day).
There was no wait for a table here on a Saturday evening, which was very convenient as we had a movie to catch. The movie was "Salt" which was interesting in that there was none of it on the table.
The place looks nice and it smells good (like cooking meat) when you walk in. Nice decor and furniture.
The service was good. Perhaps a tad obsequious but I can live with that. It's good for the ego, right? The "Brazilian lemonade" alcoholic beverage that my dining companion ordered was tasty. On the other hand, my iced tea turned out to be a bottle of sweetened Lipton poured into a glass with ice. Yuck!
The food was the weak spot of this experience, though not universally. The house salad was huge (enough to split) and pretty fresh & good. No wilted iceberg in sight! The bruschetta wasn't so good though. And worst of all, neither was the meat. The chicken wasn't terrible, but it had an odd flavor I didn't much care for. And it varied from moist to dry. My dining companion didn't care for his beef either. It was described as having a bad flavor and he said it was cold. The potatoes were good, but could have used a little salt (if you were paying attention, you know there wasn't any on the table).
Maybe we caught them on an off night. Who knows? It's conveniently located to me, but even so I'm not sure I'll be back. There are just too many really good places out there. -
Review from Tricia T.
1/17/2011
Appetizers were really delicious-- love the variety of brushettas and the calamari was great - a nice spin on the traditional dish. I ordered the rotisserie chicken and it was good - nothing to rave about, but good.
I enjoyed the ambiance - dimly lit, dark wood, modern.
The magic question - would I go back? Probably, although as I really think about it - I'm slightly uncertain. I really did love the appetizers and would go back there just for them. This time I would try the fish - it sounded really good. -
Review from Edgar D.
Chicago, IL
1/26/2011
My wife and I met a few friends here last week for dinner and had a great time catching up. The decor is nice and cozy and the staff is nice but not very attentive.
I had ordered the special which included steak with garlic and onion mashed potatoes. And maybe because I have been spoiled by the superior quality of steak I feasted on when I lived in Brasil but I wasn't all that impressed. It was too fatty and couldn't have been better then choice or select in grade.
My wife had ordered the "buffet" and that was a little better although the server didn't clarify that it wasn't a "rodizio" or Churrasco style buffet ala Fogo and Brazzaz. They basically bring out small family style dishes of different meats and pastas. Some of the medallions of meat were cold and the pasta looked like something out of a ramen noodle cup. Spend a few more bucks and enjoy the real thing a 5 minute walk away at one of the places I mentioned above.
Were it not for the excellent band that played there that night I would've probably given them two stars and would consider coming back solely to hear them play again. -
Review from Johnny G.
Chicago, IL
11/22/2010
What a great spot. I went with a Groupon and will definitely be back without one. This is not another quantity Brazilian steakhouse. This is pure quality and more than enough to go around. 1/2 price bottles of wine on Mondays!
As I review the other reviews, it just goes to show you that if you have one bad experience, you will tell twelve people. If you have a good experience, you're likely to tell no one. -
Review from Raghav C.
Chicago, IL
2/14/2011
Food: Below average - wasn't even warm enough. Very hit or miss.
Service: Below average - slow, forgot orders.
Drinks: Very good, expensive though
Decor: Great ambiance
I went here for dinner with my girlfriend. We made a reservation for a sunday (day before vday though), but it wasn't full and were seated right away. We decided to go for the all you can eat for $29.99/person, but we had coupons (living social) that made it $15/person.
The guy brought out the pastas before the appetizers and we had to remind him that he forgot the appetizers. The pasta was very average.
Next came the meats as we asked them to have it cooked (medium for lamb, medium rare for beef). The meat was flavored well, but wasn't piping hot...what you'd expect for meat straight off the grill. The sides were good, especially the potatoes, however, on our repeat order of the potatoes, they tasted very diff (for the worse).
We also ordered a 2nd round of lamb, which the guy forgot and after ages and one reminder, he brought it out - again not warm enough and not even lamb, he brought us steak.
We did order drinks, the Caparinha and they were very good. We tried the Original and the Al Primo Canto one, and both were good. Though at $9/pop, I would think it was a bit pricey. He did end up charging us for only one though at the end...no idea why.
The atmosphere of the restaurant was good, you could say romantic, but yet professional. Light music and a sense of everyone talking very closely made it seem classy.
Overall - nothing to rave about and a place I wouldn't go again. I would give it 1 star, but for what I paid ($15/person for food and one free drink) it was some what worth it. I would be pissed if I had to pay full price here. -
Review from Eric M.
Chicago, IL
4/15/2010
This is kind of a starter review. I think they have the ability to get to a four-star level once they're into the flow of things. I think it was actually their first night open. They didn't have a liquor license yet, but I was a walk-in and they were very up front about that.
Service was excellent. The server walked me through the concept - like many other Brazilian places downtown, they have an all-you-can-eat option, priced a little lower than their competition. They bring you the food - there's no "bar" to go to for the non-meat options, which depending on your preference could be a plus or a minus.
For food, I bypassed the all-you-can-eat option and ordered a house salad, sea scallops, and a New York Strip. The salad was good, but nothing special. The scallops, though a little on the small side, tasted wonderful - I'm a scallop fan in general, and these were very nicely prepared. They weren't overcooked, the sauce with them was complimentary while still adding its own flavors, and they were served with some leeks and potatoes - which doesn't sound like it would work (at least to me), but did, in fact, work wonderfully.
The steak had a nice, robust flavor although it was underseasoned. The fries that came with it were probably selected to look house-cut since they were skin-on, but they had the texture of frozen fries.
Oh, and I almost forgot: they have complimentary bread which is some sort of parmesean-stuffed bread. I didn't like it (even though I ate it all). It was low on flavor, but worse, it was tough. It was like heavy profiteroles with parmesean in the center. Parmesean is good, but it doesn't melt worth a damn and is a very hard cheese. I like crusty, chewy breads, but these little balls just aren't a good idea in their present form. They should either use parmesean with a regular bread dough, or use a softer cheese with the dough they're using now.
All-in-all, I'll go back after they have their liquor license and the kitchen gets into a groove. And if the meat is better seasoned, their complimentary bread is a little better executed, and their fries are crispier they could get four stars from me. I think they can pull it off. -
Review from Annie L.
Chicago, IL
7/8/2010
Unlike some reviewer, I had a great experience at this restaurant. I took my cousin's family there last week, they said they enjoy every single dish from beginning to end. I have been to their Devon location and had a great meal there, but seeing some of the review, I was a little worry at the beginning.
There were 4 adults, 2 of us did all you can eat, 2 order something else. The pasta was just so good. I am not a pasta fan but I can do a lot of damage here! It is fresh made!!! The lamb and beef was cooked to perfection. Juicy and tender. They also present it very nicely when it was bought to the table. Our server was really nice and polite. Overall, we had a good time and our tummies were very happy but not overstuffed.
So...all you can eat, you don't have to stuff yourself silly. It just give you the opportunity to try more dishes. :) Ciao! -
Review from Andrea P.
7/10/2011
I ate here for Valentine's Day. My boyfriend and I got the all you can eat. The food was pretty good. He especially liked the mushroom past and got seconds. I did not like how narrow the restaurant was. The tables were SO close together that we could easily overhear the conversation of the couple next to us. Additionally, we were seated next to the bar. The bar was packed with people waiting to be seated. People were standing right next to our table, listening to our convo and watching us eat. So much for a romantic dinner!!
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Review from Jenn R.
Chicago, IL
10/31/2010 1 Check-in Here
before first crow; this is the meaning of Al Primo Canto. So they cook young chickens, but that's only a small part of this meal.
We went with the all you can eat to see what it's all about. Being churascurria fans, we had to. But this place was different. You don't get a big beautiful salad buffet and you don't have gauchos walking around with delicious juicy meat.
What you do get is a nice selection of pastas, meats and a salad.
Everything was good, but just good. They start you with tahini & pita bread & cheesy bread. Then bring out three pastas: marinara, garlic & mushroom. The marinara was not bad, the garlic was VERY garlicy, and the mushroom... well, the mushroom made me want to eat it and nothing else. It was DELICIOUS. Next came the meats: the aforementioned chicken, beef tenderloin, and lamb. The chicken was ok; a little dry and to be perfeclty honest, taked almost just like the ginger chicken I make at home; the beef and lamb were cooked nicely and tasted good, but came out a little cold. They also came with sides of nicely cooked green bean/pearl onion side and polenta and a large radicchio salad which was really tastey.
Glad we tried it, but we probably won't be regulards, even though we live a block away... Also glad we had a groupon.
Give it a try though. The server was fantastic although they could hire a hostess that smiled once in a while. -
Review from Evan S.
Chicago, IL
11/28/2010 1 Check-in Here
Nice decor, large portions, friendly wait staff, good - not great food.
We had the all you can eat buffers which include three different pasta dishes, salad, lamb, chicken, beef, potatoes, and a few more dishes. We actually wish we had tried more of the al a cart items. The buffet is loaded with carbs.
Our only knock on the place was that gratuity was included. I don't think gratuity is usually included for 2 people. Maybe it was because we used a living social coupon. -
Review from Jason L.
Chicago, IL
8/17/2010
Summary: Location gets four stars, food gets three stars, price gets three stars, service gets 3.5 stars.
Details: We've been eyeing this place for a little while. It's convenient to the downtown residence, and looks like one of those little-known gems that you would surprise out-of-town guests with, saying "It's local places like this that make this city great!"
We went for dinner on a Saturday night, arriving around 7ish. The place wasn't packed, and we were seated immediately (maybe that should have been a warning sign). The decor is nice, perfect place to have dinner for two or four. A group was seated while we were eating, and it looked like they had a private party room upstairs. And the smell....mmmmmmm! It looks like they have a full bar, and they had both a cocktail and wine list available.
After what was about 90 seconds too long to be acknowledged after we were seated, the waiter brought our menus. Very pleasant, very friendly....seemed a little bit forced, but I'd have to force it too if I were in his shoes (flying spaghetti monster bless our waiters and waitresses, I could never do what you do!). He told us about the menu, that it was a Brazilian-Italian themed pallete (apparently there is a large Italian population in southern Brazil, who knew?), and he informed us of the all-you-can-eat option. That could've been tasty, but for two people looked to be a bit too much. So we ordered ala carte...I had bruschetta and the churrasco, JV had a salad, different type of bruschetta, and the chicken.
Up until now, the experience has been fine. But most people judge a restaurant by the food, and as I feel like a lemming today, I'll do the same.
The salad was huge, definitely big enough for two, though I didn't have any so I won't comment on the taste. The bruschetta was "meh"...the bread was soggy, the tomatoes were okay. The churrasco was the downfall. I ordered it medium, so I wasn't expecting a steaming hot piece of meat, but I do expect it to be warm in the middle. I think it may have been sitting for a bit too long before it was served. The potatoes were okay. JV's chicken was okay. The Brazilian lemonade was okay. Overall, okay, but I expected more for the price.
We might have just hit an off-night, but I don't think I'd be willing to give it a second chance on my own accord. As a side note, the menu isn't something I would call "kid-friendly," but they had high-chairs available and a group brought in a young one. Still, I think there are more appropriate (and cheaper) places to feed a brood. -
Review from Shannon M.
Chicago, IL
8/24/2010
Went on a weekend and made reservations, but it was not very crowded. Used a http://restaurant.com certificate & glad I looked at the fine print first...you must pay any balance after the certificate in cash.
We both ordered the all you can eat and started with cheesy bread which was pretty good, the dips were just ok. The salad, polenta and green beans were awesome...the garlic pasta was delicious but the other 2 pastas were just so-so.
I don't eat red meat but my husband thought the beef was really tender and ordered an additional helping. The chicken was slightly dry as was the lamb. Would probably not go back. -
Review from Katherine C.
Naperville, IL
12/1/2010
Came here on a Groupon (Yay!) so I was glad I did not have to fork out the entire bill. Went for the $30 all you can eat meal. I'll just rate the food in the order they were served:
Pasta - 2/5
The three pastas (cream-o-mushroom, marinara and burnt-garlic-flavor) didn't taste great and I think I can make them using a bottle of Ragu. I'll say, skip this and save your stomach space for later.
Lamb - 5/5
Beef- 5/5
Chicken - Seriously... don't even bother
The MEDIUM-cooked lamb and beef was ah-ma-zing! Yes... it was really that good. It was tender, juicy and grilled just right. The thin layer of fat just melts into the meat, making it taste even juicier and more flavorful.
As for the chicken - skip it. It was kinda dry and hard. No, not good at all.
Salad - 5/5
I loved the salad. It was fresh and the dressing was really nice and light - like a sweet vinaigrette.
There were other side dishes like fried polenta and other forgettable side snacks which are probably not worth mentioning.
Overall service - 3.5/5
Service was just OK. The waiter took a while after the pasta, so we waited a little longer than we liked for the meat to arrive. But after that, he was quite prompt in clearing the tables and asking if we wanted more refills of meat.
In addition to the above, I ordered a Tiramisu for dessert and it was the BEST Tiramisu I ever had in my life. It was the perfect ending to hearty, meaty dinner.
The bill came up to be about $80++ , which consists of two $30 dinner, Tiramisu, Tax and Gratuity (18% which is automatically included in the bill when it arrives). I guess this is considered reasonable for Chicago prices... right? -
Review from Janie C.
Chicago, IL
7/7/2010
If I could give zero stars I would. This place was an absolute disaster.
First of all, they were understaffed and the host was taking out his frustrations on us. We arrived and told him we had a reservation. He told us to wait a moment, so we did. He answered the phone while we waited. After he got off the phone, he looks back at my friend who he had just spoken to and says, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Really, dude? We were just waiting here like you asked us to. Finally when we get "seated", which was more like, they sat us at the wrong table, then sent us upstairs, where there was no table big enough for our party. We proceed to wait and wait and wait for someone to set up a table for us, probably 20 minutes have passed.
After we're seated, it takes another 10 minutes for us to get the waiter so we could order. Food service was slow. The drinks we ordered took 20 minutes to receive. The food, even longer. The steaks were BLAND. Absolutely no flavor and not cooked to the order specifications (all were overdone). I got the lobster ravioli and the sauce was supposed to be a creamy shrimp tomato sauce. It tasted like straight up vinegar. My friends tried it and agreed.
The waiter forgot about my friend's second drink order. It was ALL OVER PRICED. A terrible experience and I would never go back even if they paid me. -
Review from Ian T.
Chicago, IL
8/25/2010
Well, I give it a begrudged 2-stars.
The garlic dip, breads, calamari salad, and overall food was very good 4-star food. Don't get me wrong, everything tasted excellent! Really, its super tasty stuff. The restaurant was oddly empty...
However the service was not so awesome.
No refill nor offer of one on my Diet Coke.
Of course they couldn't afford the 2.9% credit card fee combined with the http://restaurant.com coupon so I had to go find an ATM because I didn't have $100 in my wallet. (cash only!)
On top of that, after I ran to the ATM they didn't bring back my $10 in change. I usually tip more than the 18% forced gratuity by the http://restaurant.com coupon, but when they automatically take the tip AND don't bring back my 10 buck change... Yea, I went back and asked for it.
Not cool. -
Review from Claire F.
Chicago, IL
8/28/2010
The pita and hummus they give you at first is AMAZING. We had some calamari that was pretty good and different with kidney beans and olives. I had the beef entree under the BBQ section. The beef wasn't overly great, but the vegetables were perfect. I would seriously just order vegetables if that was an option. And, lets be real. I don't like vegetables.
I probably won't go back because I felt as though the food was worth maybe 10-12 bucks a plate not 20.
The service was subpar with no refills and a few discrepancies in the ordering. -
Review from Mandi P.
2/14/2011 2 photos
I felt like I was secretly being filmed for an episode of Kitchen Nightmares with Chef Gordon Ramsay during my first dining experience at Al Primo Canto this past weekend!!! WTF was going on in that kitchen???
This place really deserves 1 star, BUT the bartender and wait staff at this place deserves 5 stars...so I am compromising and giving Al Primo Canto 2 stars.
Let me take you through our evening...you are now entering The Twilight Zone!!! We got to the restaurant at 7:00 pm, a full hour before our reservations to grab a drink at the bar and relax before our party of 8 fully arrived. This was Valentine's Day weekend and we had initially been concerned that a restaurant could accomodate a party of 8 only days before Valentine's Day weekend, but the place was packed. Marcello (I hope I spelled that corerctly.), was the bartender...the bartender...the only bartender...for the bar and entire restaurant!!! He was busy!!! However, he was also amazing and super duper friendly!!! I would have to say that Marcello was the bright point to our experience here. His drinks are delicious and nicely strong!!!
Now begins the slow decent into hell. Our party arrived in full and we were seated at the front of the restaurant...right beside the door...it was 30 degrees outside and every time someone opened the door we were freezing. Some of our party even ate with their coats on. We ordered multiple appetizers and I will say that I thought that all of the bad reviews I had read about the food here were bogus...the appetizers were actually pretty tasty. We then ordered our entrees. Most of our party ordered the pork or beef tenderloins and I ordered a trio dish that had a fish (Mahi I think) and scallops and shrimp. While waiting for the entrees, we feasted on the baskets of bread that included pita bread and cheesy bread balls..also very tasty. The entrees arrive...all of the entrees except for my fish. OK...no biggy. We are all friends with manners so everyone waited for about 4 minutes to begin their meals so that I could enjoy with them. I finally told everyone just to go ahead and begin and not to worry. I asked the waiter if my fish was coming..."Yes, yes, give me 2 minutes.". OK...no worries. One person cut into his beef and could barely cut through it because it was so tough...he had ordered medium rare...this was far from it!!! He sent it back and he was given a new dish about 5 minutes later...my fish had still not arrived!!! Are you kidding me??? Getting a little impatient at this point. I asked again about my dish..."It will be right out...very sorry." So, people are finishing up their meals...finishing up!!!...my food finally arrives. WORST MEAL EVER!!! My fish was almost raw in the middle and bizarrely overcooked on the outter edges. The scallops were gelatinous. However, my 3 shrimp were delicious!!! Thank God for those 3 little shrimp because that was my dinner!!! I am sooo not a food sender backer, but this was bad. I complained and we demanded to not be charged for it. Let me say, however, that I had a full view of the kitchen and entire restaurant during this fiasco and I could see our waiter Luiz running around like crazy trying to take care of everything. He really was trying to help us out and make up for whatever was going on in that kitchen!!! So, thank you for your effort Luiz!!! At the end of this meal, I noticed a man walking around in a suit and speaking to our waiter, etc. I determined that this must be the manager. We waited for him to come address our table...never did. I went to the restroom (nice and clean) and as I was returning I noticed this man and our waiter at the bar speaking. I interrupted them and introduced myself to this man and let him know that we were not upset with Luiz, but we were very upset with the meal and the experience. He apologized, told me his name was Dino and offered to buy a round of drinks for the table. However, Dino NEVER came over to our table in person to apologize.
The restaurant did try to make good on this horrible evening. They admitted they were just so overwhelmed with the crowd that night, they did buy us drinks and they also either took 2 of our meals off or gave us a discount. This place just perplexes me. How can you have just a fantastic staff in the front of the house and then such bad staff elsewhere...I don't get it!!!
Oh, almost forgot...the valet never came for one of our party member's cars so his car sat in front of the restaurant with its flashers on for 3 hours. The restaurant was made aware of it, but nothing was ever done. Somehow, the flashers being on for 3 straight hours drained the battery (???) and the car would not start. Marcello, the awesome bartender, came running to our rescue!!! He brought his own car around and jumped our friend's car...all while still bartending!!! Who does that??? As I told you that night, we love you Marcello!!!
Will we be back? -
Review from Ginger C.
Richland, WA
5/8/2011
Not sure what exactly the eggplant appy was but it was soooo delic! I tried the all you can eat taster menu & it was pretty good. They mushroom pasta was super good as well. Nice ambiance, it was fun!
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Review from enurgizer b.
River North, Chicago, IL
Updated - 5/18/2011
Wow, closed? Not suprised...it was a horrible place.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/31/2011
We were looking forward to our first dinner at Al Primo Canto. Unfortunately we did not have a… Read more »
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Review from Dory F.
Chicago, IL
Updated - 3/2/2011
Al Primo Canto on 749 N Clark is CLOSED! I called yesterday to make a reservation and they said that this location is closed and to visit their other location.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/22/2010
I bought a Tippr coupon for Al Primo Canto (think I paid $20 for $45 gift certificate). We went on… Read more »
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Review from Miriam B.
10/16/2010 1 Check-in Here
Great pasta and grilled meats. Bruschetta was soggy. Out server ignored us most of the evening. Even after complaining to the manager. I've been to better Brazilliian restaurants with better service in Chicago like Brazazz or Texas de Brazil.
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Review from Jackie O.
Chicago, IL
8/28/2010
I have no idea what the hell Brazilian Italian fusion is, but it's delicious.
First off, get a bottle of Bin #8. I can't recall the name, but it's a Cabernet from Chili, and I always ending up doubling my tab here by going through more than one bottle.
This is an awesome date spot, as long as you don't mind stuffing your face in front of said love interest. The all-you-can-eat dinner is a steal at $30. It includes lamb, steak, chicken, roasted potatoes, fried polenta, salad (which only suckers waste time on), hummus, three pasta dishes, and veggies. I've paid double for half the quality of this place. My service has always been excellent, and most recently had a great night out with about eight people. Our server was patient enough to run four credit cards for us, which I know is a pain in the ass. I have nothing bad to say about this place, except about the layout. The ceiling looks like the inside of a wine cask, and the decor is beautiful, but it seems like table placement was a complete after thought. There are just so many tables crammed into the place that if I came in here on a slammed night, it would feel kind of like being crammed in a sardine tin. -
Review from Ermelinda C.
Chicago, IL
1/6/2011
Absolutely great, and I knew this from the delicious and inviting smell the moment we walked in on New Year's Eve. Great atmosphere, great service, outstanding food. The calamari dish was to die for and the mushroom bruscheta with goat cheese did not fall behind either. The roasted lamb and the fusili we had as our main course were also tasty and cooked to perfection. The tres leche was as authentic as it gets! Kudos Al Primo Canto - you will definitely see me come back again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Review from Bryan B.
Tulsa, OK
10/10/2010
My wife and I went here during a quick vacation after I saw a discount gift certificate on http://Restaurant.com. I was at first skeptical because of some of the mediocre past reviews that I read, but since most of those were from a year ago, I decided we would give it a try. That was one of the best decisions I made on the trip!
We ordered the all you can eat dinner accompanied by an Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc and were impressed from the beginning. The cheese bread was similar to others we have had at Brazilian steakhouses only better, and it was outstanding when paired with the out of this world eggplant caponatto! Their version reminded me of a spicy hummus spread kicked up with a good amount of garlic. We ended up putting the caponatto on just about everything during the meal. It is that good.
The three pasta offerings were all very good, as was the salad (not that we ate very much of it). I liked the fried polenta, but the wife was not impressed with it. The main course of roasted chicken, lamb, and beef arrived and we were not disappointed! The lamb and beef were very tender and the chicken had a nice crispy skin. We liked the lamb and beef so much we ordered a second plate and needless to say there was nothing left when we finished. The meats were cooked properly and had very nice flavors.
The wait staff were very attentive to our needs and we did not want for anything despite the restaurant being very busy. We called ahead on Saturday at 5:00 and had no problem getting an 8:00 reservation. My wife and I had our youngest daughter with us (9 weeks old) and the manager and staff both made any accommodation that we asked for. They moved tables so we could keep her in the stroller and let us use the upstairs room to attend to her when she became fussy.
The only bad thing I have to say about the dinner was the iced tea I ordered was a bottle of Lipton pour in a glass. I had read this on a previous review, and should not have been surprised. It was disappointing but did not adversely effect my dinner.
The overall experience that we had at this restaurant was excellent and we have recommended it to relatives that live in the Chicago area. The $30 price tag was not out of line, especially for downtown Chicago. Give this place a try, you will not be disappointed. -
Review from Mark P.
Oak Ridge, NJ
7/15/2010
First off, the restaurant was empty which made me a bit worried I had missed a news story about 10 people dying there the night before from bad chicken. When I found out that was not the case, I then worried maybe Yelp had steering me wrong finally. I am happy to report this was NOT the case.
Now, I am usually a Jack and Coke drinker... but felt like getting in a festive type mood with my friends so started with some of their specialty drinks. Pretty much variations on a Mojito. I don't remember which exactly we got, but damn, they were good. Not only tasty, but nice and powerful (one of the reasons I usually do not have "specialty" drinks... they are usually weak).
We all opted to go for the "feast" and it was wonderful. First off, the Hummus and Pita were nice (as long as you are a garlic fan, luckily I am). The cheese filled little things in the basket (I think that is the technical name) were very good too. They were different for sure, but in a good way. The pasta was all good too. A touch past al dente, but very fresh and tasty. There were 3 different sauces, with the best being a toasted garlic one (yet again, Twilight fans should stay away). The salad came out at the same time, and once again, I was pleasantly surprised. Fresh and great flavor. Nice precursor to what was to come.
Now on to the main attraction... MEAT. 3 different meats come out to the table family style. Beef, lamb and chicken. Usually it would be easy for me to pick a favorite, but all three were excellent. Perfectly cooked, excellent seasoning and not a complaint about any part of it. I suppose the surprise would be the chicken. I think I had the most of that, and given excellent beef and lamb were on the table that is AMAZING for me! Crispy and perfect skin, amazingly juice and just perfect.
Overall, great experience. Service was good as we were the only party there really, and the price was good for what you had. If you are looking for a different Brazilian experience from the norm (I meant Fogo and nothing to do with wax...get your mind out of the gutter), give this a shot! -
Review from Jeanus T.
11/21/2010
I went with a group of 12 and we made a reservation through http://VillageVine.com where you can get 30% off the entire bill. So we sat down, the waiter came to take our orders. He said his manager wanted to offer us the $30 all-you-can-eat option and gave us a discount (10 all you can eat orders for the price of 6) because we were a big party. We told him that we got this 30% off deal and asked him to clarify if the discount is top of the 30% off. And he said yes! So we accepted his offer. In the middle of the dinner, the waiter brought 2 more sea bass dishes that we didn't order. He said the manager was checking bills and adding the sea bass ($30/dish) would make the discount less obvious. We were puzzled since he said the manager offered us the discount at the first place?? And, the waiter then handed us the 20% off coupon and asked us to use that towards our bill if the manager did question or didn't honor the discount 10 for 6 deal.
The whole thing was very bizarre and we ended up just paying for the 10 head counts of all-you-can-eat plus the 30% off. Which is fine because that's what we had expected to do anyway. But the fact that this restaurant offered the extra discount and then took it back after is unethical to me. That's not the way anyone should do business. If you offer the discount, you honor it! Not to play tricks and confuse people so you can end up charging the same amount of money!!!! Because of this, I'm not going back ever! The way this restaurant does business is fundamentally wrong. Oh right, the food is really not that great! I don't think anyone would miss anything without going there. -
Review from Dora m.
Chicago, IL
4/22/2010
I was very disappointed with this restaurant. The best thing I can say about it is that the staff was very nice and attentive.
My husband and I were very excited to eat some Brazilian food since I am from Brazil and my husband loves Brazilian food. Well, the chef must not be from Brazil. The food was absolutely bland and boring. It did not feel like authentic Brazilian food at all and, as a Brazilian, I would be embarrassed for anyone to think that food in Brazil is anything like at Al Primo Canto.
