Scoozi
410 W Huron St
(between Hudson Ave & Sedgwick St)
Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 943-5900
- Nearest Transit:
Chicago (Purple Express, Brown)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Valet
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
37 reviews
Neighborhood: Lakeview
"Superb!! I was highly impressed with our visit to Fiorentino's. The inside is cozy, but elegant, with hardwood floors and white linen…" read more »
75 Reviews for Scoozi
I really like Scoozi. It's laid back with a cool atmosphere. You can see some of the cooks making the food in a big wood burning pizza oven, which is neat to watch. I like the new menu changes, too. They have some interesting things I haven't seen too often like a veal skirt steak that was really tender and a good portion size. I thought the service was on point and it was easy to make a reservation. My sister is planning a dinner here for her friend's bachelorette party which they had no problem accomodating even on short notice. I'm excited for their upcoming tomato event in August. I guess the chefs are making a bunch of new tomato dishes. What's more Italian than tomatoes! Definitely give this place a taste!
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Safe to say the 73 previous reviewers covered the important stuff.
I will say the atmosphere was pleasant, the food delicious, the service so-so and its affordable. Not cheap, but its not going to break the bank.
I went there with my immediate family on a Tuesday night and it was busy but not super crowded.
Four stars because it was great overall, but even then, I still don't know if I would go out of my way to come here.
(What a boring review)
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i was here last night with my little niece and nephews. .. .and they loved their cheese pizza. . i had gnocchi. .. which was unfortunately heavy and the sauce seemed like it came from a can .. very average. .. pretty good wine list by the glass though. .. had a nice barolo .. i think that during the week it is a pretty ok place to have an early supper. .. especially with little ones in tow. ..and i saw last night that they have $5 glasses of wine on tuesdays at the bar if thats your thing .. .. doubt i will be back .. ..
I owe 100 million kisses to scoozi! My boyfriend and I spent an anniversary here and had nothing but a great time!!!
We got bread and a wonderful spice vegetable spread with out meal. Our waitor was awesome and so thoughtful. We ordererd a white wine that was cheap and ended up with a huuuuge bottle of same white wine!!!
We ordered the ceasar salad(they have great antipasti and other salads) and a large sausage and peppers pizza (large, other choice is medium). The pizza was HUUUGE, atleast 26 rectangle pieces. NOT square, rectangle.
All in all, everything was great, and we also had some chocolate mousse cheesecake dessert. I was fantastic.
Will Dine Again!! Great ambiance as well.
There are so many things to love about Scoozi-the 'industrial' decor, the inviting atmosphere, the slow (but not too slow) service, the large menu, and the delicious food! I went there to celebrate a birthday & had a lovely time.
It began with a sweet waitress who suggested a delicious red wine, which we took her up on-thank goodness. We then moved onto the muscles, which were a bit too lemon-y for me but everyone else seemed to really like them. After stuffing myself with bread and muscles I decided to go with a small spinach and strawberry salad.
When the salad came out I was disappointed with how small it was, but was completely satisfied when I was finished. The sharp cheese and sweet strawberries created an unbelievably tasty duo. The balsamic vinagrette gave it the kick it needed. Man, I was in total heaven.
The only downside was the small wine glasses. I felt like I couldn't refill my glass as many times as I wanted even though the servings were small. I didn't want to look like a complete wine-o. This is only a small issue, so I will definitely be back there again! I would recommend the spinach and strawberry salad to anyone who enjoys unique combinations :)
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What a great restoration of a old garage space. Kudos to lettuce...
The host was very friendly and the table seating was very comfortable.
We order a couple bottles of wine to start for our group of seven and the server didn't stop pouring throughout dinner. We tried the flatbread to start and it was crispy. I tried the gnocchi trio and was pleasantly surprised by it's flavors bursting with every bite. The size of the trio was a bit small and would have loved to order second if we had the time. My only thought not to give five stars was the lack of bread. An italian restaurant with olive oil on the table should have bread flowing. This place gives out bread one piece at a time. :(
Had an awesome experience at Scoozi but I think my coworkers also had something to do with it. : ) We had our company's holiday party here and it was an absolute blast! Can't remember exactly what we had since everything was already pre-ordered by my company but I remember bruschetta, pizzas, a candied nut salad, chicken/salmon entrees and everything was delicious! I remember we also had lots of different desserts and those were scrumptious as well. Will definitely be going back if I'm in the area and I have my company to thank for introducing me to a yummy place!
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I used to dine at Scoozi quite often and in fact lost a Aids benefit croquet match to their Tomato Mascot so we have a long and sordid past. But my last few visits kinda were slightly less then stellar.
I used to love the roasted chicken and would order it without looking at the menu everytime. And then poof! It was gone. And I had to find a new love, but alas, nothing lived up to my darling little chicken. Juicy and moist. Quite tantalizing actually. And gone.
Wine list has always been solid with lots of great by the glass pours and just a really well rounded and reasonably priced list of my favorite Italians.
The pizzas are good, if not sometimes a little spare with the goods and the service used to be SPECTACULAR but that has kind of slipped a little too. Scoozi is a dinosaur in a good way. They have been around a long long long time. And me loves you...just not as much. Lets get back together!
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My mom actually recommended Scoozi to me, and of course a mother knows best! I got the ravioli trio which was great, it allowed me to sample a variety of flavors. The gnocchi trio is also delicious! I like the warm atmosphere and friendly service, I would eat at Scoozi any day.
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Scoozi is a bit of an enigma. On its' own merits the food is very good. Rarely excellent, rarely just OK. So, if 4 stars means very good, then there you have it. Frankly, with all the choices of Italian within 5 miles of River North, I'd opt more often for one of the 5 star places like Volare or Topo Gigio. I do have a favorite dish at Scoozi, the Wheat Pasta with Vegetables in a nice Parmesan Broth. The Rigatoni with Sausage and Mushrooms also rocks. But I like Italian with more choices and memorable food. The ambiance and buzz here is nice and you'll rarely be disappointed.
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My girlfriends & I decided to have a Chics weekend in our very own city--we did the whole become tourists for a day sort of thing & spend it downtown (we all live north of downtown). We decided to give Scoozi a try for dinner since it got decent reviews here on Yelp & we were not disappointed.
Decor-while industrial looking was not at all off putting--actually felt cozy.
Service was extremely warm & friendly (and quick--I think it being Sunday evening had something to do with it).
Waitress was knowledgeble & let us take our sweet time in deciding what we wanted to order. Since there were 5 of us we had a decent variety of food (we all sampled from each other).
One huge highlight for me was the grilled artichoke hearts appetizer--incredibly flavorful & just the right size for 2 people to share. The tomato pesto they add with it was also very tasty.
I ordered the gnocchi trio & was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the dish was not a huge portion, it was just right--I got to taste the 3 different flavors & not feel gluttoneous. The gnocchi was fresh & not overly complicated--just the way I like.
One friend ordered the Ravioli trio--which was very yummy.
All in all a very nice experience & I would go again.
Very, very meh. I went here last night with a large group. We were seated quickly and the server was pretty attentive all evening. Nothing about Scoozi was bad, it was just really unexceptional. I had a baby spinach salad, which was fine and one of their pizzas, which was...fine. DOC is much, much better. I did think it was a little overpriced for the food quality, but that's unsurprising considering the area it's in. Valet is $10, but try to find some meter parking in area before you cough that up - I found a spot about a block away.
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Came here last night and had a great meal!
Pear and Gorgonzola Cheese Salad -- Really delicious with glazed walnuts, thinly sliced pear, good amount of cheese and a light dressing. Loved every bite!
Entree -- Got one of the specials of the night - Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Basil and Pine Nuts in a Pesto Sauce - The sauce and combination of these ingredients was very tasty. Only drawback was that there were too many tomatoes, making it a bit watered down towards the end.
Dessert -- My companion and I tried the vanilla gelato with chocolate syrup. I wouldn't recommend it. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely a little too icy and not creamy enough for a gelato.
Service -- Definitely friendly, though we were a bit rushed. They served the entrees before we were even close to finished with our appetizers! And, we eat fast, so they were really speedy with the entrees. I guess that could be a plus, if you're in a rush!
Atmosphere -- Pretty large and crowded restaurant. The noise level was fine for the 2 of us, though I'm not sure how it would be if I came with a big group.
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Very impressive, I must say! Surprisingly so.
The setting was nice with high ceilings, wine lined walls, dim lights, quiet music, and crazy chandelier. Comfy.
I started with a white bean spread and gardinera for my bread. They were generous with the extra virgin olive oil and fresh ground parmesan. I moved on to the Wood Oven Prosciutto which was AWESOME. The best dish I had. I finished up with the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni. I enjoyed the sauce (though there was not nearly enough of it). Next time I'll try the pizza, which is I hear has a yummy crust.
Ask for Andre the server for an extra treat. Andre suggested a nice, reasonably priced glass of Cabernet. He was kind, friendly, funny, and I'm pretty sure I liked the place more because of him. (It's rare to find a server like that.)
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I went to this place with my brother to check it out. We got there via the brown line and it was only a few blocks walk. The atmosphere was really nice and the restaurant has a nice look to it. The place has a wall of wine bottles which was very impressive. They even have the window facing a brick building just like Italy.
We had the Calmari for an appetizer and I recommend it highly, some really good Calimari. They mix in a few peppers and other fried things for variety. I think this actually may be their specialty as it was the one thing on the menu that said SCOOZI next to it.
My brother had some shrimp pasta with alfredo sauce and said it the sauce was very good but the pasta was undercooked. I had some pasta with bolgnese sauce and the pasta was also undercooked and I am someone who prefers to undercook their pasta The bolognse sauce tasted nothing like tomato, it was like I was eating meat and noodles. I didn't even finish my plate because I didn't like it and I am someone who always finishes their plate.
The waitress we had was really in a hurry and seemed more intrested about getting us in and out quickly. She looked pretty but just wasen't friendly at all and seemed like she didnt want to be there.
Even though the setting and apetizer were good, I just cant give the place a higher rating. If you are an Italian restaurant you should at least be able to make a decent plate of pasta. Don't undercook my meal and rush me in and out and think I will be OK with it since your place looks nice.
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While it's not my favorite Italian restaurant in Chicago, I certainly did have a good time here for my friend's birthday.
We were a large group of about 16-18 feisty friends. There were bottles of wine ordered, appetizers, entrees, single drinks.
The olive oil was fantastic. Fruity, almost. The bread could have been less crusty, but that's my personal preference. I couldn't get enough of the olive oil & parmesan, though.
My meal was the capellini pomodoro. It was very good. I wish I could have taken a doggie bag home, but it was off to the next spot.
& the best part? The best part was that with 16-18 people, splitting the bill was not only not a problem, but really a non-issue. It was seamless.
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I think I've been going to Scoozi for well over ten years now. Some years I went a lot, and some years not at all. But I've been going for that long because the food is always good, and I really enjoy the vibe of the restaurant. It's casual and the food is too, but that's okay. It's just a really nice place to have a quick meal. I highly recommend the wood-fired prosciutto as an appetizer--one of my favorite ways to eat proscuitto--and the mezzaluna bandiera for dinner. But I've tried many, many of the dishes, and I can say that I've never had a bad one. Even the desserts are yummy, which is pretty rare for an Italian joint.
Also, I do think that this place is great for groups, because it's HUGE, so if you've got 8 or more who need to eat all together, this might be your place. Obviously, you'll need a reservation, but the space is just uber-friendly for groups.
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So being the fancy people our department are, we had the whole big place rented out for our holiday party. Very impressive interior, of course I can't speak for the day-to-day operation since we were treated well, but all the food was top notch, buffet style, eat till you pop. Everything is perfect when you self-serve! I would come back another time assuming its not too pricey....
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I always forget about this place, but every time I go, I have a great meal. I went here a couple of weeks ago. It was a last minute decision but they were able to fit us in. The food was delicious and very quick. I think we sat down at 8:45 and were done by 9:15. I really have no complaints. I think scoozi has great food and a good atmosphere. Its good for a casual dinner out.
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i used to kinda like this place, my mother loves it, but it went downhill years ago. the food's not outstanding, the menu hasn't changed in years. some would argue that's a good thing, but not so much in this case. the last time i ate there my mother and i got the same salad and there was quite a significant amount of dirt in it. we brought this to the waiter's attention and his solution was to give us the dirt salads for free. wow, what a deal! avoid this place...
Good restaurant overall: tasty dishes, good wine selection,and the service was friendly. I had the ravioli and it was very good. The atmosphere is very open with a great crowd. Large bar to have a glass of wine at if you have to wait to be seated. We had a group of 20 and they were very accommodating.
Overall, a good experience.
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Scoozi is a tradition in the family - I've been here more times than pretty much any other restaurant in Chicago. I tend to stick to one or two items, but I'm never disappointed (and I ALWAYS love their chocolate cake. It's one of my favorite cakes in the city).
The bruschetta was perfect (fresh tasting, garlicy, overloaded with tomatoes). I had ravioli that was good (I thought the cheese melted over the top was just a bit overwhelming, but that opinion was not shared). And of course, the cake.
I'm sure I'll be back...
Why I liked this place:
The food is good. I had the caprese salad (yum!) and the grilled calamari (double yum!). Two Italian staples done well and served with a beautiful presentation. Everyone else at my table enjoyed their dishes which included salads, pasta, and pizza. 4-stars here.
Why they lost a star:
Although kid friendly (most groups on a Sunday night were there with children), they placed us in the most inconvenient spot for a child needing a highchair. We were in the way of patrons and waiters the entire meal. The restaurant was half-full and we definitely could have been placed at a table that would have worked better for our party.
The food is good but not worth the price. Linguine with meat sauce for $13? I don't think so. I could go somewhere else and pay half the price for the same quality or pay that price and at least have a better meal.
Finally, all the parking in that neighborhood is permit after 6pm, which means paying the $10 valet fee or walking many blocks for a parking spot that you might never find.
Good (but not great) food and kid friendly. I'd go again if in the neighborhood, but wouldn't go out of my way with so many other options in Chicago.
A little side-note: the last time I was here it was for my prom dinner! This shows that it can be a more romantic, kid-free evening and they do a great job of accommodating large parties. If you're going for something fancy, just go later in the evening and probably not on a weeknight.
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Got in late from Midway and ran over to Scoozi for a late dinner. The place was packed and grabbed 2 seats at the bar. Had the ravioli trio, which was fantastic, tons of great flavor packed in such little squares. Spent a few hours trying different wines by the glass. Both the bartenders were friendly and attentive; our wine glasses were never empty. A place I will definitely return to next time I am in Chicago...
I have been to Scoozi a handful of times and have never been disappointed. My last visit was in early Dec to celebrate my birthday, and my mouth is watering thinking about my meal. The wood roasted proscuitto stuffed with fresh mozzarella and the gnocchi Bolognese are my favorite things on the menu. The only complaint I had was that the restaurant was overcrowded with large groups and we had a 30-minute wait even though we had a reservation. However, the restaurant apologized with a free dessert plate, which made up for it in my book.
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This is one of my all time favorite restaurants. I've came here many times with friends and family, large and small parties. They've always been able to satisfied a wide range of pallets.
For starters I usually get the grilled or fried calamari and the Chopped salad which has chicken, avocado, gorgonzola, prosciutto, tomato in sweet basil vinaigrette.
For an entree, I usually go for the pasta; Tagliatelle Bolognese Homemade Flat noodles, classic slow cooked meat sauce or the Filet Mignon garlic butter, herbs, roasted red potatoes.
I highly recommend this restaurant. Bon appetite!
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Scoozi -
Pros:
Great wine selection
Good food
Nice trendy atmosphere
Good Service
Cons:
N/A
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Having dined here over a dozen times in the past several years, I'd offer that Scoozi is one of the places in Chicago that I'll happily visit at least a dozen times more. Some notes to add on what everyone else has already said...
- Seating is usually prompt with respect to your reservation, which I often make just a few hours before dining. The service has always been consistently good.
- The atmosphere is very open with exposed brick walls and delicate lighting. It gets loud during the weekends, but you can always hear those across from you.
- They've found a great balance for their menu. The food is not particularly inspiring, but its well executed with large portions especially when considering the prices.
I wasn't expecting much from this restaurant as it's part of restaurant chain but the food was great. My pasta was extremely fresh, the buffalo mozzarella great, I was pleasantly surprised. We got lucky and sat outside without a wait but I hear it can be crowded so make a reservation. The best part was the reasonable price less than 100 with tip, drinks and a few courses. I'd go again.
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My friend's parents live right near Scoozi and whenever I pass by I think, "Oh THAT's Scoozi." But I never remember it. So when I popped over there for a college alumni event on Tuesday I was happy to solve my Scoozi problem once and for all.
Scoozi does not scream "Lettuce Entertain You" at all. We sat in a private room which was perfect for our event. Our waiter was very helpful but looked kind of bored (what's boring about a bunch of people chatting about life in Maine???). For the particular event, white and red wines were offered - I went red per usual and they served a pleasant Cabernet. No complaints here.
The food was spread on a table buffet-style. The salads came out WAY before the pizza came so I filled up on salad not even knowing pizza was on the agenda. I really liked the Caesar salad while the mixed greens were so-so. There was also a cheese plate that was OK, but a little skeevy (I could not identify about 3 items on it). When the pizza came I dug the mozzarella and red sauce pie but was not a fanimal of my chicken and onion slice.
Since less people showed up than expected, we had money in the "minimum dinner budget" to spend. The manager came over to inform us of this and then brought a few bottles of nice bubbly. That good old college feeling came back ("I was over-served") which is kind of rough for a Tuesday but I lived. If I am in this hood and feel like my pants are too fancy for the Green Door Tavern, I will re-visit Scoozi.
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The atmosphere was nice, it looked like an old warehouse with exposed brick. My dish (a seafood linguini) was good. Not great, but average. My friend had the trio gnocchi and thought it was divine. The service was slow and plain. I think it would be a great restaurant for groups.
So Mediocre. I went to Scoozi's for the first time tonight with a group of 10 of us to celebrate two friends birthdays. it started off poorly when they gave me bad directions (they told me to get off on Chicago off of LSD, however there is no exit for Chiacgo off of LSD). We started with the baked goat cheese and caprese salad. The baked goat cheese was really, really good, however they took it away before we were done with it (they didn't even ask). The caprese salad was average to below average for the soul reason that they used baby tomatoes and there were only 4 or so of them. As far as the entres go- I had the gnochi combo which was cold and had to be sent back. When they first brought it out it was on a really nice plate with seperators. When they brought it back after the reheat it was not seperated and everything got put together which annoyed me. My husband had the pizza margharita which was burnt. He said the crust was awful and there was no sauce. Others in our party also said that the food was cold and sub par. One of my friends had the sea bass special and he said for $22 that he thought it was really quite small. The desserts were redeming as we shared the tiramisu and the chocolate cake. Both were quite good. As far as the service, it was ok to below average. Our server kept refilling drinks for everyone else, but overlooked me and my husband. She also dissapeared several times. The wine list was not impressive to me. They didn't have lambrusco, which for an Italian restaraunt is just plain unacceptable. The ambiance was nice though it is very, very loud. They bathrooms were way cool. All of the stalls were painted differently and you got your own room. That was classy. Parking is horrible. I had to pay $10 for valet and they basically drove my car around a lot because I went from a 1/2 tank of gas to no gas which pissed me off. I will not be returning here. If it weren't for the desert and the cool bathrooms they would only be getting one star.
Went for a business dinner with a large group. At first they were not very attentive, but perhaps they were just giving us some time to figure out what we wanted. The food was very tasty as was the dessert. I had the risotto special and panna cotta. Yummy.
I had previously been here years ago and remember it being yummy then too. Apparently the neighborhood around it has been transforming which will mean even more business for this long established restaurant.
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The boisterous atmosphere at this large restaurant is what keeps me coming back. I have been here on dates, large birthdays with friends, and family dinners, and I just want to keep coming back! The food is above average and I always leave with a full belly and a smile on my face!
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I had been here a couple of times before but due to the fact that was a few years ago, I hadn't reviewed the place. I came here for a company party recently, so this review is mainly based on that. The service was good, appetizers and drinks came around pretty quickly and often. In fact, service was a little too good at first, we put our drinks down at the table and they cleared them. They have a signature holiday drink, a pomegranate bellini martini (something like that), and as much as I love fruity foufou drinks, it was a little too much for me. The bruschetta was very garlicy and tasty. The flatbread pizzas, however, were too crispy and dry for my particular tastes. The mini fried shrimp cocktails were tasty and a nice idea as well. The main dishes were as I had remembered--good, but nothing that made me go wow. I tried a few different types of pasta (one of the gnocchis was pretty good, the others average), salads (the caprese was good), and some salmon. For mass production, the quality was kept up, foods were replaced and kept pretty moist. The desserts were fairly disappointing though. Some almond cookie thing which I expected to be crunchy and wasnt (and I don't know what was in the middle), some fudgy thing, and some other cookies (I didn't know what they were supposed to be). Like I had remembered, I thought the food was okay, but I was not floored by it. If someone else wanted to go there, I would probably go along, but I don't think I would put it on my list of destinations I would pick.
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Generally the food here is decent, however, I was really disappointed with the take-out orders I got recently. The portions were tiny and their presentation was awful. Overall, I'd say they need to stick to dine-in orders.
I've been to Scoozi probably a dozen times not because I like it, but purely because I happen to live two blocks from it. The atmosphere is nice but the service is consistently terrible, particularly when you sit in the bar. The food is overpriced and generally mediocre. If you want good Italian food, go to Rosebud instead. Or La Scarola. Or anywhere else, really.
In the end, if you really must go, at least try to go on a Monday night so you can partake in the $5 glasses of wine. Note, however, that this special ONLY applies if you sit in the understaffed and overcrowded bar section. Try the pizza and the profiteroles - they're really the only highlights on the menu.
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We had an excellent dinner here last night. The bruchetta and goat cheese in marinara for appetizers were excellent. The Cesar salad was ok, but a little light on the dressing. I had the best ever baked ravioli stuffed with ricotta and topped with marinara, cream sauce and a dollop of pesto! So so yum! The tiramisu and/or the profiteroles are the way to end the night. I would skip the chocolate cake as it was so so rich and a little dry. Ambiance was great. It is a little hard to hear as the booths are shorter than shoulder high so noise travels too easily. As such, I give this place a 4.5! What a great night!
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Your typical average Lettuce Entertain You restaraunt. Nothing spectacular, but solid decent Italian food. They claim it's "Italian countryside" ... lots of gnocchi and ravioli on the menu. Dinner entrees are pretty standard (Chicken Parm, chicken this/that/, veal this/that).
I remember having pretty decent pizzas here. Their "signature" is apparently a white pizza. They have an asparagus white pizza that I liked.
Extensive wine list.
I lived about a block away from here for 2 years and only went here a few times, I much preferred other things in the area (for Italian, Club Lago).
Kid friendly and mother approved. Good place for a date even. The food is consistent. Standard italian fare, extensive winelist. Desserts are pretty good. I like going here during the week "for a bite" with friends. There's almost never a wait. Great for groups!!
