Natalino's Italian Ristorante

I really like Natalino's -- I've been twice in the past month. One with my sister and once with an old friend. Both times I had the whitefish -- YUMMY.

Definitely try the sausage and pepper appetizer -- to die for. So is the roasted eggplant appetizer. YUM.

Portions are really big -- you'll probably need to take half home -- but that's just fine with me!

I love the decor and it's a really cute space. Free parking would have given this place 5 stars.

I think the waiter I had both times is named Aaron. He is a tall African American gentleman with a shaved head and earrings ... I love him. He was very attentive and very cool -- he made great suggestions and was very sweet. Great server!

I'll be back soon. :)

Walking into Natalino's, you'd expect this restaurant to be at least 4 stars. The host was friendly and accommodating, and the atmosphere was upbeat and chic.

Started with a spinach salad that was very tasty. The pasta was incredible. I had the 8 finger cavatelli in a vodka cream sauce and would compare it to pasta I ate in Italy - worth going back for.

My biggest complaints would have to be service. Maybe they are missing a link or something but it was kind of unbelievable how slow/disjointed it was. First, I asked the server if they could make a French martini (they have a full bar but you never know), and he said yes, definitely. About 35 minutes (and several annoyed looks at our seemingly challenged server) later, and after my sister asked the host what was going on, our server informed me that the bar was out of pineapple juice and had sent a bus boy to get some across the street. I said, "You could have told me that half an hour ago and I would have ordered something else." He said, "What would you like?" Well obviously if I've waited about 40 minutes now for a French martini and they've already sent a bus boy to go buy pineapple juice, I'm going to drink a French Martini, YOU IDIOT.

(Luckily they comped it so I ordered another. This time they had to send out for the vodka.)

We waited a long time for our food but I guess you could say it was worth the wait. Other positives include the chocolate chip cookie dessert with ice cream, hot fudge, and Heath bar bits, and the bowl of Junior Mints at the host stand.

*Valet service was also slow! Maybe there's a carbon monoxide leak in the area.

Four stars for friendly, friendly, friendly and friendly. The place has a very down-to-earth feel. From the valet, to the hostess, to Anthony, the gentleman who apparently runs the place for the owners, and from those behind the bar, smiles and welcomes abound here. And who can complain about a complimentary cocktail? I had stopped in briefly to eyeball this new place, to wish a friend who works here well, and was treated like a king. But I'd already had dinner so I ate nothing, and can't comment on the food.

Obviously the folks who opened this place have spent big dough. The menu looks interesting, varied (but too many chicken dishes, I thought), and for a place with an apparently big sunken cost, it's far from overpriced. The crowd - big crowd for a brand new place - seemed happy, and the bar was busy, busy, busy.

A tad bright in there - but hell, the lighting wouldn't stop me from eating here one of these days. One more nit: if that ceiling ain't faux tin tile I'll be a monkey's uncle. I thought that was a wee bit of unnecessary pretense; the place is too big for such a big ceiling to have been that well preserved, and it was the one thing I thought was a poorly planned nod to Home Depot.

If this place can be as long on food quality as they were on hospitality, they will succeed. The valet parking was a nice touch but might be somewhat unnecessary when the weather is more or less tolerable. There was rock star parking all over Chicago Ave., so I did my own parking right in front.

The only reason this place get's any stars at all is that the food was decent. Normally, decent food translates to decent restaurant, but in this case the terrible dining experience outweighs even the most savory cuisine.

Upon arriving it became very clear that they were not interested in having people like my and my boyfriend as customers. Maybe we were too young (23 and 26) or maybe our tops weren't satiny enough and our hair cuts a little too rumpled. We were given the table closest to the door in the cramped bar, rubbing up against the host stand, washed in a deluge of drunk women and their complaining husbands. I don't want to trash talk our server, he was perfectly respectful but we were obviously not a priority.

They were also playing some raunchy movie on IFC over the whole bar. Not that I am particularly offended by nudity, but I am also not particularly turned on by Harvey Keitel's hairy tush while I am eating dinner.

I really wanted to like this place more. The atmosphere's fine, the outdoor patio is nice, and the martinis are great, but the food is just...OK. I haven't had the problems with service that others seem to have experienced, and there are some nice touches -- the bread is good, things are well presented, and -- yes again -- the martinis are great.

But I can't get beyond the food. I've been there three times now, and each time I've just been left wanting more. Not quantity-wise -- portions are huge -- but quality-wise. It's not bad really, but you just want them to do a bit more with what they have. Kinda bland and boring. Maybe I'm ordering the wrong things, but I'm not sure I'll be back to take my chances.

I've passed by this place for almost a year and had no idea it was as fancy as it was inside...I was starved and so I got the meal started off on a bad foot when I opted to order before the waiter said the specials. Then again, he didn't offer to read the specials but I think I annoyed him just the same. I also wasn't drinking and felt like I insulted him.
That said, we got adequate service and terrific food. Loved the sauteed calamari and the mushroom risotto. Will definitely be back for both and perhaps to sit outside!

I remember when this place was a clinic (many many years ago). After driving past this place almost everyday I always said I'd stop in, so last night I did just that.

I was very impressed by the decor of the place. For some reason I was not expecting it to look this way. Though smaller than what I thought it would be the service was great.

Recap of the night:
Got there pretty late (9:30ish) and there was hardly anyone there. They're host who BTW if you're not comfortable w/ loud gay men, you would have HATED this visit was great. Though loud he was a good hostess!

Dinner: Ordered the White Fish & Chicken Parmesean

Both were great given that me & my date were STARVED HOWEVER, on any other given evening I think I would have been disappointed in these dishes.
The Whitefish though good, tasted a bit too fishy and really wasn't as seasoned and flavorful as it could have been. The chicken parmesean (since I didn't have this dish) was OK.
The portions there are LARGE so this was another plus for the place.

DRINKS:
I ordered a standard Margarita w/ 2 Coronas. Now you can't go wrong w/ a Corona but my Margarita was GREAT. The bartender was SOOO CUTE & SWEET & HELPFUL, loved her!
Drinks were fairly priced given our bill came out to be exactly $50, not bad for 3 drinks and 2 FULL MEALS.

Will I go back to this place, YES for drinks only OR if someone is buying. This would be a great place to have a party, event but off of my 1st visit, the food was OK.

I am a-skeered to say anything negative about Natalino's. I don't want to end up sleeping with the fishes.

The food was ok, a little bland. I was overdressed compared to the crowd (and by overdressed I mean you couldn't see as much of my t&a as the other female patrons). A lot of girls there with dates twice their age.

The 3 layer cake has 7 layers, none of which are very good. It isn't prepared on site, so let's not fault them for that. Just don't order it.

This restaurant serves Italian AMERICAN food. It's not real Italian. And it's not good Italian American food, either. We started with the polenta and octopus appetizers. Pretty bad. Then we each chose a pasta. Both were inedible. Really. And then they serve obscenely large portions so it's just a complete waste. It actually made me a little angry.

We sat outside so I can't comment on the interior since we just did a pass-through but it looked pretty cheeseball.

Brought a group of 7 here, including my grandmother. We sat outside on a fairly windy but comfortable evening. Solid menu, fairly priced, great service. Brought my brother, who is impossible to impress, and he was happy.
I'd say don't have insurmountable expectations, but I live 2 blocks away and every good neighborhood needs a place like this.