There are not many sit-down restaurants in the Loop where you can get dinner for 2 for under $50. So for value alone I would recommend Bonivino. It helps that the food is tasty and the service is friendly. It's like they transported a southside Italian-American joint under the EL tracks 30+ years ago and then didn't change a thing. There are plenty of pizza places downtown, so try their homemade pasta specials instead.
Review Source:One word: TERRIBLE. Terrible service, terrible pizza, and a terrible/weird/slightly depressing ambiance in the place. A mob hit may be placed on me after this review...that type of place. I mentioned to my co-worker as we were leaving that I would pen a Yelp review and give it only 2 stars. He could not understand why it even warranted 2. He was right.
They advertise a "jumbo slice w/pop" for $5. This is overtly misleading. Two major, major, major issues with this.
1. The pizza is basically two slices of a frozen pizza. It is under-cooked and reminds me of a cheaper version of a Tombstone. Basically, it would take 2-3 orders to equal one slice of Bacci's (which, oh by the way, also costs $5). I apologize for not taking a picture, Yelpers. Oh yea, the pop was as flat as an Olsen twin.
2. The slice just by itself, costs $3. The pop just by itself, costs less than $2. Yet their "special" of a slice and a pop costs $5? Granted, we did not notice this until after our bill arrived, but come the hell on! Trying to swindle your customers like a unionized plumber ain't cool bonivino. It would have been nice for the heads up from the server...which leads me to me next point.
The service was atrocious. First of all, who creates a sit down pizza by the slice place? Second, when the lady found out we were only ordering the special, she basically ignored us. My drink sat empty the entire time without one refill. She threw the straws on the table. She disappeared during our entire meal. She was just an unhappy camper.
Bottom Line? I will NEVER, EVER, ever, ever, ever go back. Ever. With so many other delicious pizza places in the city, why would anyone return to Bonivino?
Not impressed by the pizza. Â I was excited to see a place that sold it by the slice. Â I feel like they didn't completely cook it or something. Â It looked like that very uncooked Tombstone frozen pizza. Â It tasted better than Tombstone...
I don't know, maybe if we had eaten in and ordered a full pizza?
This place was a find! The back area is dive-y and perfect. The food was pretty good and the service was fabulous. We had fish that night but will be back for the pizza. you MUST try their tiramisu is is like nothing you have had before they put a little spin on it and it was awesome.
Review Source:Been here a few times for Beer and Pizza. Â The pizza is nothing to write home about. Â It reminds me of something I could make at home. Â With that said, maybe that's more of a compliment than intended since maybe the ingrediants super fresh? Â The prices are impressive though. Â The slice of pizza was large and under $4. Â I will certainly be back for the cheap grub if I happen to ever walk by again, however, I would never "plan" to eat here.
Review Source:All in all, Bonivino has pretty good food. Â The service is kind of slow though, which is surprising since many in the area may want to pop in for a quick lunch, as I did, and not want to have to wait to get their order taken and check paid for. Â I had some pasta dish with sausage...very hearty! Â Also tried the thin pizza, pretty good. Â My friend's eggplant parmesan sandwhich and fries was quite amazing so next time I go, I'm going to try that!
Review Source:I don't usually house a pizza on my lunch break but I might start. I checked this place out today for the first time. Having worked across the street for a couple years I'm not sure why I waited so long.
Sure the service is no BS but I like that. Multiple servers made sure we were taken care of and our waters were filled. The owners son went out of his way to introduce himself and was very friendly.
We started with the fried zucchini which was served HOT and tasty. The pizza was awesome too and didn't take long to make at all. Â It was the perfect thickness and loaded with toppings. Â This spot is a great sit down and eat lunch place. Â I'd come here over Giordano's on Jackson any day of the week!
Oh Boni Vino's, how you never disappoint me in my quest for good pie on a Wednesday lunch hour.
The service is straight forward and no bullshit. "What do you want to drink? Are you ready to order? Let me know if you have any questions."
Duly saved from the nonsense jargon of other servers at miscellaneous joints were they chit chat and shoot the shit when all you want to do is eat. The food comes out hot and fast, a plus when dealing with a hungry downtown loop lunch crowd.
I've been here for lunch and I've also been here for small happy hour department functions.
Good joint for some good ole' fashion pie.
5 stars for the pizza, thin crust-sausage. Yum. (It's only a dollar more to upgrade from a medium to a large-per the waitress) The pizza was great. Nice crust, just the right amount of cheese and enough to take home for leftovers.
5 stars for the service, a little different and straight forward, which I kind of liked. The server was a nice lady who got right down to business. "What are you drinking?" I kind of liked that approach. And she brought me an ice cold Miller Lite and kept them coming as long as I was there. Nice touch.
The ambiance was perfect. A little dark, and I love the red/white checker tablecloths.
The bar crowd reminded me of Cheers, Everyone knew eachother and used a first name basis.
It's a great thing I work just blocks away because I definitely will be back, and bring some friends for sure.
Good "Loop joint that doesn't seem like it should be a Loop joint" place.
I enjoy going here for the 1) blunt yet endearing service and 2) the bread.
1) I love a server who when a customer asks, "Should I get this or that," responds without hesitation, "get that." It shows a great knowledge of the menu and of actually having tasted the food. You can totally tell this is family run, and I feel really comfortable here.
2) I'm a sucker for bread with herb infused olive oil, and their olive oil is delightful.
I've had the pasta, pizza and the steak sandwich. They're all good dishes - in no way the best I've had, and a little on the bland side, but I find myself wanting to go back time and time again. I think that's because there is so much charm in the familial ambiance of this place.
need fast cash? sell your teeth. you sure as shit won't need them at boni vino, an historic italian eatery near the chicago board options exchange. allow me to recount my latest tribulation had at the hands of these charlatans. two fellow tradesmen and i go in for lunch and order nothing unreasonable. i had one (1) traditional italian beef sandwich with hot peppers. the beef was sliced unsettlingly thick, and certainly was not what would be called shaven. not wanting to pass judgment too quickly, i took my bite after applying jus and peppers. this was my only bite, for the offering was comically inedible. i couldn't easily identify what many things were incorrect about the meat, but it was suggested that it was freezer burnt or past expiration.
nothing about this tasted like any other italian beef did, and not in any desirable way. i gave the dish its last rites, and had the waitress take it away, an event which transpired not without her effrontery and the defense of her restaurant's innocence. we closed our check, which of course, bore full charges for the unsatisfactory sandwiches.
basically, the best thing i can say about this lunch is that there wasn't any hair in it. curiously, my dinner the night before had a stray hair in it, and it was leagues superior to the food we ignored. if you're looking for a better plate of inexpensive italian food, try out home depot, or maybe charles schwab.
Good pizza at this place. Good everything, really, as we ordered some bread and a salad to go with it all. We enjoyed the food.
Three stars, though, because it's a bit pricey (it is downtown) and the service wasn't that great--server seemed annoyed that we were there in some ways; we came between lunch and dinner, and only one other table was occupied, but still, she seemed distracted by something, not really paying much attention to us at all.
Good pizza, though, if you're in the financial district and don't want to go to a chain.
Great hidden gem. Â Would have never found it without the help of Yelp. Â Our whole group left more than satisfied. Â The homemade pasta was fantastic, as was the homemade sausage, pizza, salad dressing, and so on. Â Two members of our group were raised in New England wtih high standards for a family run Italian restaurant, and both agreed that this was a good midwestern substitute for what they grew up with!
I highly reccomend it.
This is a place that I only went to for a couple of drinks and an appetizer. A few months ago, several SuperElites(tm) had a pre-lube here before a Yelp event.
The bar is absolutely charming, and gives a feel of Oldskool Chicago: The SuperMob Days. Another charming feature is the owner! As soon as he realized he had Yelpers in da haus, he came out and socialized with us. We sampled a calamari appetizer. Yum!
I can't wait to go back here, it smelled delicious. Agreeing with my homegirl Kellie K., this place is a hidden gem!
oh Bonis.... what a love/hate relationship I have with you....
This is the hole in the wall-ish bar we hang at after work sometimes. It works for us and always makes for a great time. Though sometimes the beer can be a bit bad, or out... and some of the other clientele can get rowdy and start problems (beer related, sometimes not). The pizza is pretty darn good though surprisingly!!
On a recent snowy night- my friend- who knows I'm a thin crust pizza girl- set out to impress me with the simplicity of Bonivino.
What's funny is that I have been in this block many times (my favorite martini bar is right around the corner) but never noticed this place before. Â Hard to believe given the big signs hanging out in front!
We walked in and were seated in a booth by the front windows. Â The place was almost empty- two guys at the bar and one other lonely patron- but that didn't stop our server from warmly greeting us and cracking some joke that I am still wondering about . . . ..
This place is like a kickback to a classic, old school Italian restaurant- checkered table clothes, wooden tables in both rooms and a small bar in the back corner manned (wo-manned?) by a fun bartender who took good care of us later on in the evening.
The antipasto salad was tasty- slices of salami, ham and provolone cheese, artichoke hears (ask for it without the anchovies which were way too fishy for me) Â and a nice Italian dressing. Â As for the pizza- it came loaded with sausage, pepperoni and cheese, piping hot and on a nice thin crust. Â Perfection on a plate! Â And with our drinks all for the rock bottom price of about $40.
We finished dinner and moved to the bar for a few more beers before heading home. Â Beers were cheap and cold and the banter between my friend and the bartender made me feel right at home.
As we walked back to his place- my friend told me that this was one of his favorite places in the neighborhood. Â And now I can see why!
Not impressed. Virtually everything they served was inedible: canned minestrone, salad with chunks of chicken that tasted like cardboard and had pieces of bone, gnocchi that had "marinara" soup (they didn't strain the water out of the gnocchi)
So, perhaps the pizza is the only thing that one can eat here?
I've only had the delivery service, but must say this was a thin Chicago pizza a New Yorker could really like. Very good sauce, and didn't taste quite as cookie-cutter as some of the area chains. I had both the plain cheese and the spinach pizza, which was delish.
If I have reason to be in the area, I will definitely give this place another look. I'm very picky about my pizza, so the fact this inspired me to write a review says a lot.
Beer and Pizza. Stat!
Black Friday is hereby the best day to wander around the southwest Loop. You share the sidewalks with tumbleweeds and lost tourists and that is IT.
Large sausage pizza and a pitcher of High Life: $28. Two of us killed that pizza, but more modest eaters could probably get three people in on that action. I suspect it fills up after the traders get out but on a weekend holiday night, it was a ghost town. That didn't stop the staff from being friendly and welcoming, or the pizza from being pretty darn tasty.
For the past 2 years we have our annual employee meeting at Boni Vino.
My experience here is always good  but I am not wowed by their food. Boni Vino serves mostly Italian comfort food, cheese sticks, fried calamari, home made bread with cheese, meat ball/ sausage pasta and ice berg lettuce salads. Again the food is good but there is nothing special about it.  Need I stress----American Italian food---winter weather food because you ain't going running after you finished---winter weather food because it will make you tired and sleepy.
Good bank for your buck in south loop. Most dishes in a $12 range.
Boni Vino is great for family style dinners.
If you ask the owner about the photos on the wall he will point to his mother, and grandfather. He is a true Italian and when you go there expect that he will treat you like family and you will be fed a lot of food.
Boni Vino has potential.
At first I was afraid, not quite petrified.
When I started working in the Loop a few years ago I was out walking around looking for a place to eat lunch when I found Boni Vino's. I walked into this dark, somewhat dreary place which seemed dated and smelled like a retirement home. Yet I decided to eat there anyway.
That was definitely a good decision.
The dark, dreary, dated, retirement smell quickly faded into a nostalgic journey for my senses. Looking around at the clientele I could see traders from the BOT, construction workers, and general office goers. The owners are there and are friendly so long as you don't mind they have no filter. They tell it like it is and talk to you like an old family friend. Bring your thick skin and empty stomach.
Pizza. Not the typical Chicago style that put this wonderful city on the Pizza map, so if you're looking for that continue heading West and one block North to Giordano's. If you're looking for a thin, flaky crust pizza topped with tomato sauce, generous amounts of cheese, and chunky, meaty toppings then you've found what you're looking for!! Personally, I just *love* thin crust pizza.
I'm not from Chicago so don't waste your breath about how Chicago pizza is the best and anything else just isn't pizza. I don't buy into that thinking. It's like saying that you can't get good BBQ outside of Memphis or Kansas City; which is also completely untrue. But I digress.
The pizza is phenomenal!! I just get sausage and pepperoni on my pizza because, well, why get anything else? OK, maybe some jalapenos too. The pizza is always HOT and greasy; just how I like it. Whether take out or dining in the pizza is consistently delicious.
One evening while working extremely late I decided to give them a go for dinner. I settled into my table then ordered the sausage and peppers. Outstanding! Hot, juicy, snappy Italian sausages served with sauteed green peppers and tomato sauce. Dinner came with some bread too which came in handy making ad-hoc Italian sausage sandwiches.
The service is brisk but pleasant. Not the hover-over-you-asking-how-your-meal-is-before-you'Âve-even-tasted-it service but the hey-whaddya-want-so-I-can-get-it-for-you-quickly kind of way. A refreshing change from the false congeniality served up at most other establishments.
From their dim lights, old-school nostalgia, roomy bar, and terrific food, Boni Vino's is a grand slam! Oh, it doesn't hurt either that they show ALL of the Sox games either.
So, don't be afraid of the rough exterior, Boni Vino's is a splendid, cozy escape from the hectic bustle of downtown. Settle in and enjoy!!
So, you've probably walked by Bonivino a handful of times and thought... nothing. But it's something all right.
The restaurant is comfy, cozy, and dim even in the brightest of Loop lighting. It's unapologetically old-school and they can be when their food is the focal point. No glitz, just good food. If you like Italian, I hear the open-faced beef sandwich is among the city's best of the best.
My 3rd or 4th cousin owns the joint, and he was dining at the table next to us post-Croatian American Day festivities. He welcomed a band in to play Croatian favorites and the experience was authentic, just super! Also, my cousin Drazen Zanko's CD's are in the jukebox which was a.) a bit surreal and b.) so much fun!
We were served more cevapcici by the platter alongside freshly grilled pita bread, onions and roasted eggplant sauce. Everything was done right, and I think our party of 20+ thought so too as I've never seen food disappear like that!
The service is on point: they anticipate your needs, are there when you need them and not when you don't.
Oh, and they sell Bell's Oberon for only $4/bottle (it's $5 or $6 at most bars). Ladies, after several of these you'll have to mindfully climb the stairs to the washroom.
BoniVino is a hidden place in the Loop. Â It looks a little run down from the outside, and the inside is outdated but cozy; Â the food, however, is fantastic. Â The pizza and the italian beef are some of the best in the city. Â I believe BoniVino is underrated compared to bigger name pizza and italian beef establishments. Â
I've gone to BoniVino for years. Â I took my girlfriend their for the first time two weeks ago. Â She loved the open-faced Italian beef sandwich, especially because of the au jus. Â The response i got after the first bite was, "That's the best beef sandwich i've ever had." Â We've been dating for two years, and now she is planning on making it down to my work area for lunch/dinner more often (so we can go to BoniVino).
If you're looking for classic Chicago, this is a must see. Small wooden tables with wallpaper of wine bottles fills this place that from the outside looks the size of a liquor store, but once walking in is a vast, two-story restaurant. The food is simple, fast, and pretty good. The owner sat us and told us some jokes and our servers were also friendly. We had the fried calamari and the pizza, both of which were nice.
Review Source:Good food. Cheesy outdated interior. Owner's fat son will kick you out of a bar stool if he needs to rest while walking to the kitchen. Or the father might accost you if you try to sit at a table near the bar without checking in with you and demand your objective. Even though I've met him several times. Maybe he thought I was gonna rob the joint lol.
Other than that, the pasta is good, pizza great. Good for large parties.
I'd give it 4 stars if not for the odd treatment to customers.
All that said and done I still go there and enjoy it.
Usually you can peg that a place is decent if the cops make it part of their beat. Â This is one of those family-run semi-hole-in-the-wall type of places that time has seemingly skipped right over. Â
But time has certainly not skipped over the food. Everything is made right there on sight and is fresh fresh FRESSSHHHH. Â I feel like we met half of the family that night, as everyone was super friendly and came over to chat - when you're there you're family. Â Now don't take this the wrong way, after a few friendly words with one of the owner/management types, he offered to flash us. Â What's not to like Vinny, eeehhh???
I definitely want to come back and try their pizza.
Since every Italian restaurant answers the question "Is the pasta homemade, in-house?" the same way, I've learned to ask some important follow-ups.
"How old is the person who makes it?"
"Do they make it here in the kitchen?"
55 and yes, so I was convinced. Â When it came, I was CONVINCED! Â
First though, the olive oil that comes with the bread... they mix it in-house with fresh garlic and basil and it's delicious! Â I would have stolen some away with me if I had a container.
I had spaghetti with mushroom sauce. Â The spaghetti was clearly homemade, as was the sauce. Â The sauce was covered in chunked fresh mushrooms. Â My friend had garlic sauce and, hoo-ey! Â There was a bulb of fresh garlic pressed into that sauce- amazing.
The server seemed to know everyone else in there by name, too. Â What a little gem.
First of all, when you get the real thing, this place has a pretty decent slice of pizza...but my last experience ruined it for me.
On my way to the train station, me and my girlfriend decided to get a quick slice at around 7:45 pm. We order and wait around 10 minutes because the waitress said "they are cooking a fresh pie for you". Great, this is going to be awesome.
The waitress delivers our 'za to the table, and we notice that this is not the same Boni Vino pizza we have enjoyed in the past. One taste and it seems so familiar...The waitress had served us Celeste frozen pizza. Aside from the obvious taste of shitty frozen pizza, true boni vino pizza is not thin crust with very little cheese and overly garlic taste.
I can understand that you don't want to cook an entire pizza right before closing, but we got there a good hour and 15 minutes before close, thats not the time to start closing up early. This experience has ruined Boni Vino for me.
Boni Vino is the <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbomb.com&s=bb4f996415a9c2f21137e27cfb68f439a48cec2652b53e9b50dd7e766dbe177e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://bomb.com</a>! Â This place is old school traditional Italian comfort food and the cheapest prices imaginable for the south loop. Â Yeah, it's located under the el by the prison at Clark & VanBuren. Â But the sketchiness is what makes this place great. Â It's as if you were hanging out with Tony Soprano in New Jersey at Satriali's. Â If you're going here with co-workers, definitely leave the trixies back at the office. Â They don't have any healthy options, and the place is a little less than clean. Â But, if you want to have some good but cheap Italian food or pizza, this place is for you. Â Try the meatball sandwich, it's my fav.
Review Source:Looks like the sketchiest place on Earth from the outside, but the pizza is great. It has the sweet sauce that I love and it's done in 15-20 minutes. I wish the pizzas were a little bigger though. My office went through three large pizzas once, which doesn't sound like a lot but we only have 5 people in our office and one guy from down the hall. That means half a large pizza a piece. Maybe we're just fat asses I don't know.
Review Source:Our office comes here once every couple months to celebrate birthdays. Â Usually we get pop, pizza, and salad. Â It tastes good and it's relatively cheap at around $12 a person. Â Although the service is at times disorganized, the meal was tasty and cheap. Â Just stay away from their package deals. Â We decided to use them for a retirement party, and they offered a package of drinks, salad, mostaccioli, and pizza for around $15 a person. Â Unfortunately, for our group of around 25, that meant only 3 pizzas. Â They refused to budge, and we ended up having to pay for additional pizzas. Â Even then, no one felt like they were quite full, and by then, with taxes, and tip, it ended up costing around $22 per person. Â Definitely too much for a place like this.
Review Source:i have been here both to eat and to a party. Â it is totally old-school (checkered tableclothes, old guys at the bar) which is fine, but the service at the party was so terrible. Â i ordered a draft, which was soapy and flat so i sent it back - I got no apology and she asked me to pay for the second beer, which was also flat! Â um no i returned the first one for a reason!
I switched to bottles and on three occasions they came by and picked up my half-full bottles, forcing me to get another. Â this happened to others too. Â
the food is only ok. Â i guess location is a lot - there aren't a lot of other places in this particular area.
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