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UIC-Halsted (Blue)
Tue-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 3:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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Tufano's proves that good italian food in ridiculously large portions doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. The wait staff is incredibly friendly and the atmosphere is fun.
The calamari is a standout. But everything I tried on the table was delicious. Cash only.
Worse italian place I have ever been.
I ordered the chicken marsalla it came with no pasta. I had to wait over 30 mnts for the food, my server should have been a BOUNCER she was not nice at all. There is nothing special about this place or the food. DONT WAIST YOUR TIME AND MONEY.
AND BY THE WAY THEY DON'T TAKE CREDIT CARD. IT MUST BE CASH. THEY DO HAVE AM ATM MACHINEN INSIDE THAT CHARGES 2.75 PER TRANSACTIONS
A solid Italian fare at large portions and reasonable prices. I just had a fantastic, calorie-packed lunch, sitting outside in the patio by the fountain, soaking in the mid-September sun. Fried calamari, chicken parm with pasta, and tiramisu (!!!). What more can I ask for? Oh, right, a post-lunch nap (in a Utopian world).
Service was fast and friendly. I wasn't too thrilled about one of the bus-boys staring down at my chest every time he refilled my water, but - hey - life goes on.
Most certainly would love to return for another summery day lunch or dinner in the patio.
Cash or personal check only.
Be ready to valet and don't forget THEY ONLY TAKE CASH. Great italian food in a casual atmosphere. I always get a full carafe of their house red it's pretty good. This place makes me feel like I'm at home in my italian grandmother's kitchen.
What can I say? My grandmother from Napoli cooked like this. O .. the Lemon Chicken [ a chicken Vesuvio type] ... O.. the eggplant [like a Parmesan, but more a casserole] ... O ... the good old plain red sauce [known as tomato gravy in our family]. And now 4th or maybe 5th generation owner Joey is now on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives"!! Joey I knew you when...
I came here with my very Italian friend for an authentic Italian experience and I was not disappointed.
The place is so ...down home and comfortable. The service is incredibly friendly and the menu is written on a black chalkboard. With a huge selection of traditional Italian dishes you won't be at a loss for what to order.
If I had an old Italian grandma cook me Sunday dinner, I think this is what it would taste like.
Word of warning; however, if you plan a night of drinking, don't eat here....you will be so full after you leave you won't be able to choke down more than two beers and catching a buzz will be impossible! Or maybe that's just me....
I love this place. I don't go enough. The chicken piccata is like crack. OMG. so good. Could eat 4 helpings by myself!! The prices are very reasonable, service is good. Place is kind of dingy, but that lends to its charm. Their fried calamari is near perfect and their anti-pasto salad is excellent. Great for a group. Cash only.
I was there several weeks ago and I've been there about 10 times or so. The food is always good, with fresh ingredients used to prepare their dishes. I usually order the Veal Parmesan and its always more than enough and what's great is that it's served with pasta. I've noticed a trend with lots of these yuppie joints and that is many of them don't serve pasta with a meat dish which I think is ludicrous. If you grew up in an Italian home or around other Italians and know about authentic Italian cuisine (or as authentic one knows from the old country) is that you damn well know you get pasta with your dish no matter what. I love Tufano's, the people are nice, the food is great and the prices are fair. Also, the booze is never watered down.
Just try it! The second best place to go for casual Italian dining! It does get quite crowded at night especially if Bulls or Hawks are playin' be prepared to wait a while, but well worth it, lunch is equally as good......just use valet, parking is impossible....
Worst Italian place in the neighborhood. Terrible service.. Food, nothing special. No flavor..No atmosphere. It resembles an Italian fast food joint.
No parking..Valet HORRIBLE. Long wait for my car which was parked across the street..Charged 5.00 ..NOT TO MENTION KEYS ARE LEFT OUTSIDE ON TOP OF MY CAR TIRE???
DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY
CASH ONLY
Street parking ONLY with a Zone Permit---Valet available
This family-owned business has been in the neighborhood since the 1930s. We live in the neighborhood and this is one of our favorite places for reliable Southern Italian food and wine at affordable prices.
You can place half-orders for items. The wait staff is very friendly and helpful if you have questions (including giving advice on whether an item can be ordered as half size). You can have your food served family-style or as individual orders. The bread is so good.
They are always closed on Mondays. Hawks games, Bears games, and White Sox games can result in VERY BIG crowds. No reservations are possible unless you make prior arrangements with the owners for a VERY LARGE group (20 or more). You just go and wait in line until a table big enough for your party opens up.
The menu is on chalkboards scattered through the restaurant and changes daily.
Some of our favorites include:
Rapini and sausage
Chicken Piccata
Lemon Chicken (whole or half chicken)
Tilapia Vesuvio
Broccoli with olive oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper
Mussels and angel hair (choice of sauce)
Broccoli and Bow Tie Pasta (choice of sauce)
Lasagna
Eggplant Parmesan
Fried Calamari
Quercceta Chianti
Tomato and Onion Salad
Raspberry Tartuffo
Tortellini Alfredo
Linguini and Red Devil Shrimp
Veal Marsala
Pasta with Red Sauce and Sausage
Linguini with Calamari (choice of sauce)
Chicken Limone
Stuffed Shells
Fettucini Alfredo
Ravioli
Canoli
Spumoni
This is probably the worst Italian restaurant in the city. I've never been to the Olive Garden, but I suspect that the food is a lot like this.
Pros: It's a divey neighborhood joint with good bread. This scores points with me, but that's it. There are no other pros.
Cons: The food was terrible and the waitress was terrible--friendly, but terrible. There is no street or lot parking. Valet only.
Example of terrible food: This is a "red sauce" Italian restaurant, so you'd expect them to be able to make a competent red sauce. Most basic thing in the world. No Italian person could mess this up, right? Their red sauce is literally some chopped up garlic simmered in canned tomato sauce and then dumped on some noodles. No oil, no herbs, nothing. Worst pasta I ever had.
Example of terrible service: We ordered drinks and appetizers, then ordered the entrees. The appetizers came out with the entrees. The drinks came out AFTER we were more than half-way finished with our entrees and about 5 minutes before the check.
If you like this place, please do yourself a favor and try one of the other, vastly superior options in the neighborhood: RoSals, Genneros, even Tuscany. You're really missing out.
I saw this restaurant of Diners Drive in and Dives, and it looked so amzing on Tv. First off it was really hard to find, and it was extremely loud on the inside. On their tv special it was presented that the owners greet everyone and they know people by what they order but i didnt think the custumer service was that great. Now lets get to the food, i had the veal parm, and it was good, but it came with pasta, totally unnesessary, i was full from the meat allown. My sister had the cavatelli, and she liked it. Overall it was alright.
Are you freaking kidding me??.. I mean seriously.. you must be FREAKIN kidding me!... This IS CHICAGO & Tufano's is for REAL!... Coming up on 80 years!! This family style, unpretentious hole in the wall Italian joint with rich history and real Chicago flavor! A Chicago Little Italy landmark.. you have not experienced the rich Italian heritage of this City if you have not experienced a meal at Tufano's but you better show up hungry. I'll always have a special place in my stomach and heart for Tufano's.
Very cool place to go for Italian food near the Little Italy area. It's just what you would expect after reading Yelp reviews...nothing fancy but just what you want anyway. Our waitress was so cute. As first timers she wanted to know all about us. My friend & I tried way too many things (and walked the 2 miles home as pennance) but everything we had was excellent. My favorites were the antipasto salad and the eggplant parm. Lots of good wine choices that are really inexpensive! Next time I go I want to try the much-hyped lemon chicken. I saw it come out and it looked pretty amazing.
Like everyone else says...they only take cash.
If you like poor service and sauce that tastes like it came out of a can, this spot is for you.
I just went to Tufano's last week for a wedding rehearsal dinner. Even though I didn't get to choose what I ate (we had a family style set meal) I still had high expectations after all of the great yelp reviews!
I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I found several of our dishes to be pretty boring. I mean, classic Italian cooking is very simple. Simple but FLAVORFUL. This was boring and bland. For example, my sister was fawning over the eggplant parmesan. I found it to be mush covered in tomato sauce. Not good. The sausage and peppers were ok, but the piece of sausage I had tasted like it had been cooked a few hours too long, it was almost HARD. We also had mostaccioli and chicken Vesuvio, both fine, but not great.
There were a few standouts. The calamari was pretty good. A nice mix of the rings and the tentacle parts, which I love! Not greasy, also a plus. The antipasto salad was good if you like your salad to be full of "stuff" and not alot of lettuce. The bowl was lined with thin slices of cheese and salami, and then filled with goodies like MORE cheese, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts and giant black olives. Simply dressed with oil and vinegar, and not drowning in it either! I liked it, but there were about 2 pieces of actual lettuce in there!
I will say that the service was fantastic! We were in the private room in back, and the ladies taking care of us were SASSY! One of the ladies even gave my cousin a well-deserved smack on the head for being a smart alec! I'd say that's worth a star! The wine and beers were flowing and the food came out quickly and efficiently.
This place is cash only, but for a special event like this, with a group of 30+ people, they were happy to accept a cheque.
I'm willing to give Tufano's another chance, because I'd love to try some of the dishes that people have been raving about. We were there on a Friday night, and the place was jam-packed the entire time we were there, so they gotta be doing something right!
Oh, and for all you food snobs out there who are wondering what the fuss is about, Tufano's actually won a JAMES BEARD America's Classics Award in 2008. They have the medal framed in the bar area! Hey, if it's good enough for JB, it's good enough for me!
I saw this restaurant on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. The food was good. I ordered Lemon Chicken, it was good but a little too oily. The service was very good and fast.
This is the type of place that you can only find in an old, Italian neighborhood. It's your neighborhood eatery with giant portions (they'll recommend the half portions, which are actually half priced?!) because they are sooo huge!
We all stood and looked at the chalkboard menus-- this was a pretty hilarious and awkward. The food is terrific (stuffed shells was tasty) and if you need a side of meat, the meatball they give you is bigger than your fist. Pretty inexpensive too... the four of us pigged out on $48 w/ tip. (Good for lunch!)
I HEARD 'DIS GUY' AT LEAST THREE TIMES
Ergo, I proclaim this place is authentic Italian.
Tufano's has been on my bookmark list forever and I finally decided to give them a try. I'm glad I did. It's an old school, no nonsense Italian place with stiff drinks, hefty portions, and tons of character. I'd take this place over any of the Rosebuds any day.
I really wanted to get eggplant parmigiana, but they said they don't make it on Friday!?! Instead I opted for the massive, rib-sticking spaghetti and meatballs and their famous lemon chicken which was good, but not life-changing.
Don't forget to bring cash to pay your bill, binoculars to read the chalkboard, and an completely empty stomach.
Excellent food with a more diverse menu than you might think. Great family business. Currently Gen 3, and there's a good chance Gen 4 will take over.
Veal Parm outstanding.
There are reasons why restaurants stick around for eighty plus years - they are damn good at what they do and they don't try to be something they're not. Tufano's isn't fancy - no white table cloths, service can be surly - but they dish up some of the best darn Italian food in this city.
I took my fiance here for his birthday last weekend (after we couldn't get in at RoSal's - definitely should have made a reservation there). Tufano's was his choice - I had never been there and upon walking in, had my doubts. I'm guessing the decor hasn't changed since the seventies, possibly earlier, but the bar was packed, and we were promised a table in twenty minutes. Good enough for me. Two drinks, one beer and one wine, were under ten bucks total. Even better for me.
Although the decor leaves something to be desired, the atmosphere of this place is fun. The menus are written on giant chalkboards hung on the walls, and the place is noisy and full of life. Many of the patrons seemed to be "regulars" and joked around with the staff. It's the kind of place that feels like a bit of history, one you can imagine your grandparents eating at when they were young.
The food is fantastic, and pretty darn cheap. I had a vodka pasta that was so scrumptious, I'm still thinking about that sauce. I have a hunch the pasta was homemade, but I'm not positive. Nick had the chicken piccante, which was two giant breaded chicken breasts in a nice light sauce and sprinkled with pine nuts. We shared our two dishes, which made for a scrumptious meal (with leftovers!). For an app we had fried calamari, which I think takes the prize for best calamari I've had. Perfect breading, very large and meaty.
We ended the meal with tiramisu and cappucino. Very good tiramisu, but not quite the best we've had (that prize belongs to RoSal's).
I will be back, for sure, probably with out of town guests. This place is so very Chicago, and so very good. Next time you're craving Italian, go here!
We enjoyed a nice group dinner here with friends. The food was actually pretty good, the wine flowed freely and at the end of the night, it was very inexpensive. I had pre-ordered the eggplant parmigian, which I'm not normally a big fan of, and let me just say it was damn good. There wasn't too much so I didn't feel so stuffed.
The only reason I'm giving it three stars and not four is because my husband's sunglasses were stolen from our car by the valet.
This is a classic example of a neighborhood joint with no frills. Simple decor. Servers dressed in Tufano's Ts and jeans. Family owned and operated. This place gets a ton of locals (Italians from nearby Taylor St.), which gives it even more of an authentic feel. Tufano's definitely has its quirks - no individual menus (dishes are written on a large chalkboard on the dining room wall), no credit cards (only cash is accepted) - but I thoroughly enjoy this place. The antipasto is outstanding, and the gnocchi is my favorite. Hearty Italian bread is served at every table (you gotta pair it with fresh olive oil), and there's also a cozy bar area perfect for a pre-dinner drink. I definitely recommend this place for a satisfying Italian meal.
A college buddy and I tried this place when I was in Chicago on business. We went here simply because we both were feeling like Italian and becuase I saw this place on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Overall, I was a bit disappointed. The food was good, but not great.
I guess I don't get it. Sure, it has the feel of an old time Italian neighborhood place. Sure, lots of actual Italians from the neighborhood go there. Bottom line, though: it kinda sucks.
I think that back in the 70s you could get away with this kind of thing because there weren't many alternatives. But seriously, Chicago is now one of the best restaurant cities in the world. Life is too short to eat canned vegetables, overcooked pasta, and to wait 20 minutes for a glass of crappy Pinot Grigio (and Carlo Rossi as the house red? seriously?)
If you want a traditional old school family type ethnic place, cross the expressway to the Greek Islands, where they still do it well.
This place makes me miss the old Como Inn.
If I could only eat at one restaurant for the rest of my life this would be the place.
We had our rehearsal dinner here and it made me wish it was big enough to have the wedding reception at the restaurant.
I used to eat here once a week and wish I still did.
There are no menus... It is written on a chalk board on the wall. Usually I get a half order of pasta with red sauce and a half order of pasta with alfredo sauce. The lemon chicken is amazing and a great way to start the meal is with the the Tufanos salad.
You can not street park unless you have zone five parking.
I've been coming to Tufano's ever since we met the owner, Joe, a few years back. I love his restaurant. It has a lot of classic italian favorites at cheap prices. Also, the unlimited supply of warm bread and olive oil hits the spot everytime. I've had quite a few items from the menu...the lemon chicken, stuffed shells, spinach ravioli, all are very good. Just remember to bring cash as credit cards aren't accepted.
On a side note, I recently saw Tufano's on Diner's Drive-in's and Dive's on the food network with Guy Fieri. It's hard to consider an Italian place either of those but I'm glad Joe is getting the recognition he deserves.
Been going to Tufano's for years. Was delighted when I realized how close I had moved to the joint. The place is pretty low key with amazing food. They are friendly, personable, funny and allow for a very enjoyable experience. My favorite dish has got to be the chicken picante. Light sauce with pine nuts. Not too heavy, but very filling! I'd definitely recommend this place to anybody looking for italian and trying new places!
This has to be the most over-rated business of any kind in the city. They do not serve any type of lettuce other than tasteless and nutrition-free iceberg.
Their signature dish..pasta shells with broccoli...is a limp and insipid blob. The wait staff...with the exception of one lovely blonde haired lady....is rude and uncaring. The valet staff are a bunch of 'Soprano' wannabees that need a revelation that the old days of Little Italy tough guy mafioso bullcrap is dead. I've tried to like this place because I live about 100' away from it and because of it's great 80 year history. Unfortunately, it just plain sucks.
I just got home from a later lunch/early dinner here.
We got seated right away and our waitress came to us to take our drink order. We talked to her for a little bit about how Guy Fieri had been there two weeks ago and they will be in an episode in the fall.
After my family took forever and a day to decide what they wanted to eat, we ordered and got our food not too long afterwards. I enjoyed the Fettuccine Alfredo, and better with parmesan cheese on it. The Baked Mostaccoli was just as good, and the sausage and peppers was great! For dessert I had a cookies and cream tortufo...yum.
It is definitely somewhere I'll go back, especially on a summer night.
Now, here are two VERY important things.
1. CASH ONLY! not sure about checks, but they will not accept any sort of payment in a plastic form.
2. NO MENU. It is written on chalkboards all around the place. [to me, this is utterly annoying as i need glasses to read chalkboards and i didn't have them. i had to get out of my seat to read it.]
Go ahead and call me a hater, but I really don't get the hype of this place. A friend and I went last night after her mother insisted that if we were headed to little Italy, Tufano's was the place to go. Well, she was way wrong.
We were seated at our table and the bus boy quickly dropped off a bread basket but only a bread basket. No plates, no utensils, no napkins. Just bread. After about 5 minutes or so of waiting, we walked over to another table and snatched up some dining gear. Then we tackled the bread. A whole loaf and 20 minutes later, still no waitress in sight. Finally, we get someone and put in our order, which amazingly is delivered to our table in a record 3 minutes. Obviously, it was not freshly prepared. I had fettuccine alfredo which was awful and had no flavor whatsoever. Even after a hefty portion of Parmesan cheese (of the Kraft variety) and salt & pepper, my meal still tasted like paper. I abandoned it for another serving of bread.
My friend's meal was only slightly better: She ordered spinach ravioli (which looked like it came from Sam's Club) with vodka sauce. The cost of her meal: $14! Unbelievable. Hers at least had some flavor, but it was majorly sub-par.
I understand this is a family business and I am not expecting Francesca's or Rosebud, but if I'm going to get crappy service and crappy food, I better not have to pay as much as I did. I could have gone to Noodles & Co. and I would have been much happier (which is pretty pathetic if you ask me).
My favorite part of the night:
Me - "Do you have lemonade?"
Waitress - Blank stare accompanied by an awkward silence
Me - "...by any chance?"
Waitress - Long pause and then, "Like the drink?"
Me - "Um, yeeeeah...."
Big fan of Tufano's. To me, it really epitomizes what old school, basic Italian comfort food is all about, in an atmosphere to match.
Love the simple red sauce. Love the homemade pasta. Love the basic menu. Love the calamari. Love the stripped down, no frills look and feel. Love the chalkboard menu and the lifelong servers. Love the history. Love Tufano's.
Canned vegi's, rude service below average food and expensive prices!!! Sounds like a winner! Plus they have horrible parking and their atmosphere sucks. Oh does this place suck!
I am a fan of Tufano's, despite the fact that it is far from perfect. It is what it is, and that's why I like it. The food is good, solid Italian. My favorites are the lemon chicken and the eggplant parm, as well as the Tufano salad to share. The wine is inexpensive, which, for someone like me who enjoys wine but is not a wine snob, equals goodness. The one thing that is consistently disappointing is slow service. It is hard to get a refill on anything after you receive it following a long wait. As a server myself, I appreciate how hard the job can be...but I also know that there are ways to get it done efficiently, even if it is hard. So, come here for a good meal, but not for the service.
I half expected Ray Liota or Al Pacino to come strolling in during my visit here. Seriously, it's old school. 3.5 stars with definite potential for more.
I haven't been there since the smoking ban took effect but upon entering you come through a bar where Ma, Pa and Uncle Tony are hanging out at the bar and everyone has 3 lit cigarettes in their mouth. Cousin Vinnie doesn't know you so he is going to check you out from head to toe as you walk up to the hostess stand. Once you pass through the bar it's smooth sailing from there!
Make sure to check out the menu on the chalkboard on your way to your table. It's no nonsense food made just like someone would make for you in their home. The house salad is a must with all its meat and cheese glory. But the vinegar and oil dressing is really where it's at. Save some to dip your bread in! I had chicken parm, a staple for me at any Italian place. If the chicken parm is good then you're alright by me. It was decent. Not the best that I have ever had but good. The alfredo sauce left a little to be desired for me, but I will definitely be back to sample other items. I tried a friend's vodka sauce and it was pretty good. Wine is served in juice glasses and the waitress had her pen in her bun and pulled it out to take the order. It was very charming and I really like the atmosphere. It's not fancy but it's cheap and easy and worth a trip if you are in the area!
I really liked this place. Definitely 'comfort' Italian food, like what my Grandmom makes - my born-in-South-Philly-Italian Grandmom. (I have yet to get used to the midwest accents prouncing Italian food...cal-imari. Funny.)
Cash only and they only take reservations for groups over 8 people but they have a lot more space than meets the eye and turn tables quickly.
The prices are VERY reasonable. Our tab came to $108 - one app, four entrees, four desserts AND a bottle of wine. Holy hell.
Tufano's has been in this place forever. While the area has some great Italian places, I find myself always coming back here. Everybody is very happy to see you and very helpful in finding food. It has a little bit more authenic food, but everybody can find their favorites. One of my top Italian resturants in Chicago!
WARNING: They do not take credit cards which is a little odd
First off, my 3 star rating is for the food. I know that's what you pay for when you go to a restaurant, but here you get more. First, the food. I had the lemon chicken, which was very good, however, no veggies or side dishes came with it. I think this is true of most everything at Tufano's. The chicken was good, very moist and cooked well, it it was one flavor on the plate and it was not satisfying to the palate.
However, the atmosphere is great. I did feel, as many other people did, that this was an old italian eatery, grandmother's cooking like of a place. I will go back to try the pasta, I really think that was my main mistake, going to the lemon chicken, even though it has good reviews on here.
Hidden Italian gem near Taylor Street. UNPRETENTIOUS. You will not find trendy decor, stylish waitstaff, or even a menu (well its all written up on the blackboard).
Nice selection of Italian table vinos and great food to match it up with. The pastas were good as was the house salad ( olives, lettuce, artichokes, asiago, onions..) and the calamari. I had rapini with sausage and it was fantastic. The prices are really fair and resonable.
This has an Italian neighborhood feel that many of the Taylor Street joints have lost due to tourists and suburbanite clientele (oh, yea...I am such an urban snob...hehehe). This is old school Italian folks, and it is the real thing for a gooddeal and a delicious meal.
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Category: Italian
Neighborhood: University Village
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: University Village
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: University Village
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: University Village
Category: Restaurants
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