I'm kinda bummed. I used to go to this place a decent amount as a kid, and it was always something special. I love the ambiance, it's still really fun to come here, but the food is just kind of "meh" now.
I went here for lunch, and they have a pretty good deal on lunch specials. I got the tortellini with pesto and a cup of soup for 11.95. The soup was chicken broth with about 10 small pieces of pasta in it -- not bad, but nothing special.
The pasta portion was HUGE, which is great since I love leftovers -- but the pesto seemed like something from a jar and the pasta wasn't really anything special. Overall it just tasted like weak pesto sauce and so-so pasta. A bit disappointing.
I've been here for dinner before and had a better meal, so maybe I just came at an "off" time.
I have been here multiple times since I was a kid and have found The Italian Village to have consistent service and food. I have always gone to the Village upstairs. You have to know what to expect when coming here, Piccolo Sogno or Spiaggia, this is not. Italian Village is classic, red sauce Italian-American cuisine that has been executed well for almost 100 years. The decor is not modern and trendy, it is kitschy and old-school in the best way possible. I come here for the best lasagne in town and finish it off with a tiramisu.
The wine list has a great list of well known and obscure Italian wines. The prices are very reasonable especially considering you are downtown. The waiters all seem to be lifetime employees and provide great service. This is old Chicago dining at its best, the restaurant is in its 3rd generation of family ownership and I am in the 3rd generation of my family's patronage.
I came here with my husband before seeing the Book of Mormon last night. It's just across the street from the theater, and neither of us had eaten at this Chicago institution before, so we thought it would be fun to check it out.
We ate at the Village, upstairs. It was cute. Yes, overdone in a somewhat kitschy "Italian Village" theme, complete with faux-terra cotta roofs and twinkly stars in the ceiling, but honestly, I adored it. It was different from your typical super modern look, and done in a very earnest, even romantic way. The servers were all dressed in suits and bowties, and they were kind.
We sat at a table for two. The restaurant is crowded and cramped, but it didn't disturb us in the least.
The fresh bread was delicious, the salad was crisp with great house dressing. My seafood ravioli was a bit bland, but didn't make me ill, as creamy tomato sauces often do. My husband had the meat ravioli with the arrabbiata (spicy tomato) sauce, which he enjoyed. We also had an excellent bottle of Chianti.
Overall, decent food (not the best I've ever had, but good). Great ambiance, solid service, decent prices ($68 for two entrees and a bottle of wine, in the Loop). Â We'd be happy to return!
I think over the years I've been on every level of the Italian Village, most recently on the top floor for dinner with my brother and his family. It wasn't my first choice (especially during the busy holiday season) but they wanted to stay downtown & it was one of the few places where I could get a last-minute reservation. The service was obnoxious - the server saw me on my phone (looking up train times for my brother since he'd forgotten his Metra schedule) and would not let it go. Instead of spending time needling me as some sort of poster child for the lamentable decline of manners in the 21st century, I would have preferred he pay more attention to things like our order, which he got wrong. The food was ok for tourist fare but way too salty for my taste, and left me dreaming for all the better Italian fare you can get outside the Loop. It is a serviceable place for after-work drinks but I'd leave it at that.
Review Source:This is probably the worst Italian food I have ever had, a complete travesty in fact.
Pros: The staff is very friendly and the inside decor is pretty good to.
Cons:
1. The staff doesn't understand restaurant etiquette. At one point they put a cart in front of my seat blocking my exit to the restroom and it had some other table's food right next to me.
2. The chicken soup was not edible. I took one sip of the broth and it tasted worst than can product.
3. The server highly recommended the fruta di mare, made with scallops, shrimp, mussels, on pasta. The pasta was not properly cooked and the red basic italian sauce was almost flavorless. How do you get the sauce wrong???
If you want good Italian, go to La Scarolla, Sabatinos up North, Piccolo Sogno, or even Olive Garden beats this place by a mile. Don't fall into the trap for suburbanites.
If you are new to Chicago, you need to try Italian Village and nearby Berghoff's. Â Both, will introduce you to the world of "Old Chicago" dining!
I first started coming to The Village in the mid eighties, and we seem to come back once a year ever since. Â The food is good and the experience is a trip back in time, as like to say. Â Back in the day, The Village was where all the important financial deals in the city of Chicago were done, or so it seemed.
The secret to it's longevity, is that it's really three different restaurants, with three different menus in one.  On the ground floor, you have The Village and bar area. It has an Italian grotto feel to it.  It  serves some good northern Italian food and the prices are very reasonable, with generous pours from the bar. Â
Upstairs is a more formal Italian dinning called the Vivere. Â It reminds me of some those Taylor Street eateries. Â Very upscale, but without the thumb on the scale prices. Â
Sadly, these are the only two Italian Village restaurants we have tried. Â There is also the La Cantina downstairs, which I know we will get to some day. Â LOL
Enjoy!
I've been here many times over the years for work events and such and the Village offers super size portions of rather mediocre food. Â The atmosphere and location are neat, if a bit over the top, and tourists and folks from the suburbs tend to flock here. They do know how to make a pretty good cocktail and have a huge selection of wines but if you are looking for truly fine food, I would encourage you to pick another card.
Review Source:Hands down! Some of the worst food in Chicago. Â
I've been here twice (to the basement restaurant, whatever the difference is) and both times the food was atrocious. Â
Visit 1: I had a boar sausage and pea pasta dish that I still remember almost 2 years later because of how terrible it was.
Visit 2: I had a white fish entree that was sort of strangely undercooked and otherwise terrible. Â The broccoli on the plate was limp and watery and I had a lovely mealy minestrone soup to start.
Likewise the food is very overpriced
If there were an Olive Garden near by, I would choose to dine there instead...that is saying a lot. Â Astonishingly terrible!
As I am slightly new to the Chicago area (was born near South Philly in PA), I was craving Italian food, so thought I would try a Chicago Landmark... did you know that that a section of Monroe St. has a honorary street sign called The Italian Village Restaurant Way?... Anyway, arrived on a Sat night at 5pm and thank goodness we had reservations, it was hopping...
The food was slightly disappointing though, I had the manicotti (or "man a  gut"  as I am used to hearing it called by South Philly Italians)  with a side of meatballs.  The manicotti was obviously warmed up under a broiler (that burned the ends of the tender crapes) and the meatballs were only slightly warm on the inside... Disappointing.  I can say I went to this Chicago landmark, but know better to go somewhere else for good Italian food.
We came here as a Christmas gift for my boyfriend's mother. She picked it out and none of us had ever been, so we decided to try it out. We had a reservation at 6 and got to the restaurant early. We told one of the managers who was seating guests that we were content to sit in the bar until six. The manager offered to seat us early, which was great! We were lead into a very crowded seating area and seated at an incredibly small table for the three of us. The table was right in the aisle and my boyfriend was getting bumped by everyone walking by. There were carts of food all over and it was very crowded. Next to us were several unattended booths that would have better suited us. We asked our server, Austin, who was very kind and knowledgeable, to see a manager so we could ask to move to another table. One of the three managers (not the one who had seated us) came to us and said, "Since you demanded to be seated early, you have to sit at this table. There is nothing we can do for you." He then walked away before any of us could say anything to him. My boyfriend's mother got up and found all of the managers and addressed them, saying how we didn't ask to be seated earlier, we could have waited, and she then singled out the rude manager. Immediately, we were re-seated in one of the surrounding booths and the rude manager kept coming over throughout our meal, but his prior rudeness left a bad taste in our mouths.
 Now, the food. My boyfriend's mother and I both ordered the Maine lobster alfredo and my boyfriend ordered plain fettucini. The food came with bread, salad, or soup. I ordered salad and it was very small, only a few leaves of lettuce, and the lettuce was soaking wet, not crisp as it should be. The bread was incredibly hard, very hard, actually. My fettucini with lobster, tomatoes, scallions, and mushrooms was alright, hardly worth the $26.95 it cost. It was filling and heavy, which is fine, but not as flavorful as I thought it would be. I was slightly disappointed. For three people with no drinks, it was $81, which I thought was fairly pricey. Not a good place for a quiet dinner. Very loud, cramped, okay food, and the manager really turned me off, which is a shame, because all other members of the staff were incredibly kind. I will not be returning, neither will my boyfriend's mother, as she was disappointed with the experience as well.
Thank you to the tv show Check Please! All I can say is amazing! service at front of house sat us with our 2 year old instantly. Waiter, Richard was not only knowledgable but attentive. Best garlic bread I've had in ages and the missus loved her mussels. A+ on apps, we both opted for salad instead of soup the dressings were top notch! The wife had their homemade blu cheese which was amazing and I asked for balsamic but Richard suggested their balsamic/Italian that was to die for. It took every ounce of energy for me to not lick the plate. A++ Now we went there for pasta. My wife had the Salmon Puttanesca, which she loved. Now I was torn on what pasta to have, so.... I had the filet mignon. Holy cow, not what I expected from a place famous for pasta. Cooked to a perfect medium. Wonderful flavours and you could cut it with a butter knife. A+++ if I had anymore time, I'm sure desert wouldn't have let me down, but it was the babies bed time.... If I could give 10 stars I would!
The wine list is insane, they have 40,000 bottles in stock, but I was the only one drinking so I had 2 glasses of the Pinot Noir, I could of had a whole bottle it was that good.
This time we ate at "The Village" I hope they plan on seeing a lot more of us and will be trying the other two places, but they have a lot to live up to!!!!
We went there around 5:30 pm on a Wednesday and didn't expect much of a wait. Much to our surprise, there was a 40 minute wait. No problem- we weren't that hungry to begin with and we just walked around outside. We came back 30 minutes later and checked in again with the hostess. They had already called our name, but pushed us to the top of the list! YAY!
It has beautiful ambiance however, it seems that they tried to squeeze too many tables into the space. I could overhear other people's conversations and the servers were constantly running into each other.
There is a large menu with reasonable prices. We filled up on the bread and olive oil waiting for our food. The lasagna was amazing, the eggplant parmesan was good. However, the chicken marsala was a bit dry and the noodles were definitely overcooked.
Our server came by to check and I told him about my dish (just the noodles because they were so horrible- I hate to complain). He came back a few minutes later with another side order of noodles for me. Great service.
One of my faves in the city. Â We have only ever eaten upstairs, but have been there countless times in my 41 years here on earth :)
The atmosphere is wonderful -- really old world. Â Only once have we ever waited for an exhorbitant amount of time, and frankly the place is so much fun to just "be" in, I've never minded waiting. Â Kids are treated well here, and the staff even tried to accomodate us once when we asked on a busy Friday night if we could get into one of their booths, which are scattered about the room in cute little nooks.
The food is great...I usually get the lasagna which is out of this world, but I have never disliked anything I've tried. Â Even the olive oil and breadsticks are good. Service has always been great. Â The only negative thing I can think of to say is that the place is a bit cramped, so if you don't like being able to see what your neighbor is having (I think that's a good thing -- you learn about more of the food they offer that way!) then try one of the other two restaurants in the building. Â Again, to me this translates to "old world" italian. Â Nostalgia is a great thing when it's done well.
This place is an insult to all italian food. I made the mistake of ordering one of the hardest italian dishes to perfect -- risotto. I basically had mushy rice with cheese on top. The waiter also misunderstood when I asked if she could add arugula to my salad, she added it to the risotto. Warm, limp, arugula is nasty.
Staff was super friendly and helpful, but def not coming here ever again.
I've been here multiple times and have had the chicken vesuvio, chicken parmesan, lasagna and others. Â Their lasagna is probably my favorite but every time I thought the food tasted really good. Â The ambiance is nice and the wait staff is very friendly. Â Prices are very reasonable for both lunch and dinner. Â The place always seems packed and yet we never have to wait that long. Definitely a place to visit in downtown if you like Italian food.
Review Source:I do so Love Italian Village..
And there are so many things here to love!
First of all Italian Village is split up into three
different restaurants.
La Cantina on the lower level, Vivere' on the ground level
and.. my favorite up the stairs to the Village where
you can sit in a booth or at a table beneath twinkling lights
and a moonlit sky..
The Village is truly the best place to be, for the ambiance,
the great food and the phenominal customer service.
And.. tonight being Friday Night the Village was packed
in with the Theater and Opera Crowd as well as the tourists
and us local Chicagoan's..
I have been living here for 51 years, I'm as local as you get..
Tonight was really quite a treat because the play Kinky Boots
is in town performing and most of the cast were seated in a room
right behind my Aunt and Myself!
Got to see Cyndi Lauper who did the score
for the play.. pretty cool!
But.. the food is the reason why this is such a popular
and successful restaurant!
The best Italian Salad, and definitely the best Chicken Vesuvio
in all of Chicago..
I could never think of having it anywhere else..
Fresh Italian Bread dipped in olive oil and parmesan..
And.. a death by chocolate type dessert which consisted of
chocolate mousse, chocolate cake and whipped cream..
It may be someone's death.. but it's my heaven..:)
I would like to Thank Frank Sgro, who is the Maitre'D at
the Village, I think the fact that Frank has been working at the Village for
53 years is beyond incredible!
And.. I would like to Thank everyone working at the Village Tonight,
you all worked so very hard and you truly impressed me!
I believe that the three restaurants/divisions in the village have
different price ranges..
So.. I would advise planning accordingly and they do accept credit cards
so this is definitely a plus!
But.. if you would like to sit beneath twinkling lights and a starry sky
climb up the stairs to the Village..
Truly.. it is a walk worth taking..:)
The best thing I can say about this place is if you get seated in a booth, it's a great place to chat with a friend because it blocks out the noise of the rest of the restaurant. Â Other than that, take a pass.(This review is for The Village.)
I went with a friend prior to going to a taping of "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me." Â We were seated promptly, and a server came quickly. Â We ordered our meal, but when mine came, I tasted it and--based on past experiences of eating foods LADEN wtih MSGs at other restaurants--I KNOW what MSG tastes like, and I know it was in that dish. Â I am HIGHLY allergic. Â So, after only one bite, I called the server over and asked if they cooked with MSG. Â I didn't want to come right out and say that it was; Â I was trying to be nice. Â He said he would ask the chef.
BUT...and THIS is why neither me, my friend, nor any of our other friends will EVER go back there...the waiter said he would ask the chef. Â Problem was: Â he went to the table outside of our booth (the booths are like little houses). Â I could see him talking to the other customers at the table through the window of the booth. Â He then came right back into our booth and said, "No, the Chef says there are absolutely no MSGs our food, but, there might be, like a little somewhere in the seasoning. Â HE NEVER EVEN ASKED THE CHEF! I COULD SEE WHERE HE WAS THE ENTIRE TIME THAT HE 'CLAIMED' HE WENT TO ASK THE CHEF.
Anyway, my friend is not allergic to MSGs, so we just switched dinners. (She had a fish dish that did not have any MSG-laden sauce, like my chicken dish did.)
Any place where the server lies to their patrons is NOT a place to go! Â I wasn't after a free meal and I wasn't going to send my meal back even if he had REALLY asked the chef, and had the chef fessed up. Â I only wanted to know so that, if it did contain MSGs, I could just switch dinners. Â (But, again, based on taste I KNEW it did, because I got VERY ill from another Italian restaurant one time that also claimed the did not cook w/MSGs.) Â My friend, who is a nutritionist, agreed with me that, based on the OVERLY salty and "off" taste, that the chicken did contain MSGs.
Even if we had not had a waiter who lied (which, had I eaten the dish I would have become VERY ill!), we still would not go back. Â The food was nothing to write home about, and the atmosphere is a bit arrogant.
This is one cool spot.. that I didnt get a chance to really try the food at. The ambiance and decor is the first thing you notice. Its like a Dr. Seuss book. The bar is a unique looking spot, very cramped if theres 15 people in there. The restaurant looks amazing and I would love to try some of the food here. I did try the mozzarella and tomato appetizer ( bruschetta ). Its a nice spot to come after work for a beer in the loop.
Review Source:I'm NOT a fan of Italian-American food! So now that that's out of the way let me tell you all of the reasons I love The Italian Village.
First of all, this is the only place I can actually eat Spaghetti. Â It's flavored so well, I mean the sauce, OMG the sauce is amazing. Â I had no need for meat or salt or pepper or anything else! Â Prior to having the Spaghetti at TIVR I had been avoiding pastas with red sauce althogether because I hadn't found any that actually tasted good.
Thank you TIVR for popping my pasta cherry!
Now moving on from the Spaghetti, have you ever had spumoni? Â Well even if you have, you haven't, if you haven't had it here. Â The flavor is so delicious, I wish they made cones to take with you. Â
Lastly, I love TIVR because it's three friggin restaurants in one location and I can never make up my mind where I want to eat so I love having three choices in one spot.
The food is tasty and the location is downtown Chicago, but the prices are mid-range!!
GO!
I'm giving this place two stars because I don't recommend anyone go here. I know I certainly won't be going back. While their lunch special ($8.50 I think) is a good deal for soup or salad, entree, and spumoni, it isn't such a good deal when you factor in taste, quality and portion. My chicken was just ok, but sat heavy in my stomach all day and the sauce gave me heart burn. The salad was a disappointment--looked like they took it out of a bag and put it on a plate. My coworker didn't finish his minestrone soup because he didn't like it. The spumoni was served too cold/frozen and a little tasteless for a dessert. Service was good and our large party was well taken care of, but that doesn't make up for the bad food.
Review Source:My second date with my Husband 7 years ago or so was at Italian Village.
I was dressed in super sexy business attire including a beaver trimmed coat.
My Husband to be was wearing (and I am not joking) Steve Martin's outfit from The Jerk; complete with hounds-tooth pants and a newsboy cap.
Our 5th date was Napa Valley so let's assume that I was more impressed with Italian Village than my husband's attire, or perhaps my charming husband, who's to say?
Well, Italian Village has not changed a bit.
Not one bit.
Not one bit since the first time I was there in 1991.
The eggplant parm tastes the same, the salad is the same, the soup is the same.
No progress no fundamental changes.
Does it read in 2012?
No.
The service is great and if you want a throw back this is your place. It is a Chicago institution but sadly removed from my go to list.
Nostalgia visits only.
Not the greatest Chicago has to offer, but it's decent enough. It's basically my fallback for when I'm in the area with friends, we don't have anything in particular in mind, and Italian sounds fine.
I've only ever been upstairs, to "the Village." Vivere, on the ground floor, looks pretty fancy and I always feel like I'm probably under-dressed, and I've never been downstairs to La Cantina so I don't know what's going on down there. There will sometimes be people dressed up at Italian Village, but don't be fooled - I've always felt that the atmosphere was really casual, and I've gone in there in a hoodie and not felt out of place.
The place is pretty cute. Kind of kitsch, but I guess that's why I like it. It's decorated to look like a little Italian village, complete with lights strung between the "buildings," a prop water wheel, and a painted backdrop. I usually go with the Three Cheese Tortelli, which is good, though I've also tried some other things that were pretty decent. Each entree comes with a soup or salad. I've only had the salad, and it was fine.
The reviews on the service seem to go either way, but I think it's pretty good. Everything always comes out pretty quickly and I've always found the servers to be polite and attentive.
I recently had lunch there.  The staff was very attentive, friendly, and  our food came quickly.  I had pasta.  It was terrific.  Price was reasonable. Â
I have family from out of town coming in this weekend, and I will definitely bring them for dinner. Â It's a walking distance to my home. Â
I too will definitely return. Â The ambiance is nice, and quiet. Â Great place to talk and not have to shout to hear each other. Â Great date place...
Bleesy!
This place made me coin a new phrase. Â The food was almost aggressively bland, and the decor was incredibly cheesy. Â Therefore, "bleesy".
We ate upstairs and the place looks like a cheap Disney version of an Italian village. Â I had chicken rotolini and my friend had veal marsala. Â The food was fine, but absolutely no flavor...it tasted like my cooking, and that's not a good thing. Â A little salt or pepper would have been welcome.
Service was very friendly and attentive, but definitely a most forgettable meal from a food perspective.
Bleesy.
This was about the only place other than McDonald's open on a Sunday night in this area of downtown Chicago and it looks like an A-class tourist trap. Went inside and was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere and the food. It's not the greatest Italian food I've ever had (it is pretty much still a tourist trap) but it was filling with good portions. The prices are a little steep for the quality but not that out of the ordinary for a large city.
I ate upstairs with my friend but after checking out the main and lower floors kind of wish we had gone to one of the other areas. The decor in those other areas looks much more interesting so you might want to give those floors a shot.
After just checking into our hotel last weekend, one of my friends was starving and needed to eat some dinner somewhere close (she was getting a little cranky). We passed a couple of locals on the street, and I asked what they recommended. They suggested this restaurant, which was right down the street so off we went.
Upon entering, it looked like a pretty classy restaurant and we were in very casual clothes, but they assured us the restaurant had no dress code and we were fine as we were. We were quickly seated and given menus shortly after. I wasn't too hungry, so I pretty much just kept my friend company while she ate. She ordered some sort of whole wheat pasta with a meat sauce. I had a few bites, as the portion size was plenty for two. It was decent, but nothing special. And definitely not worth the $20 she paid for it. I was happy with my warm bread and olive oil, which was brought to the table while we were waiting for her food.
The service was good, the ambiance was nice, and they were quick which was good since I had plans with a friend less than an hour after we go there and had still had to get back to the hotel to get ready. If you're looking for an Italian where mostly tourists go, this may be your place. I, however, prefer places where the locals go and will probably not return.
I love this place. I had eggplant parmesean, a favorite of mine, and it was done to perfection. Â Very hearty, robust rich flavor. The bread was delicious, the iced tea was great and the service was excellent. They seated us next to the water/ice station which I didn't care for, but I guess someone's got to sit there.
This place could use some updating, I do like the dark, romantic booths and would hate to see that ambiance leave. The booth's seats were starting to get pretty worn out, so I would probably replace those and all would be well. I agree with Stephanie B., that is sort of what happened to us. NO ONE likes being in the middle of a conversation and hearing loud crashing ice being dumped into the bin not three feet away. Other than that, it's an extremely quiet place! I would just ask the hostess to NOT seat me by the stations.
So yes, I am reviewing a tourist restaurant downtown. Friends and I went there recently (why is a long sad story).
Anyway, I found online that they're supposed to have gluten free options. When the waiter finally wandered over to us, I asked about them.
"Are there gluten free options?"
"Yes."
I blink expectantly at the waiter. "Um, what are they?"
As far as I can tell from the confusing quickly-stated items, your choices is you want gluten free are as follows:
1) Gluten free pasta with meat sauce
2) Some chicken dish that's 'safe'
I got a salad.
Also, at some point, the manager, or a manager, sort of ran up to our table and waved in our faces saying loudly, "Hi ladies!" And then he left. It was super odd.
When I visit new cities, I like to eat at the locally owned restaurants to experience the culture of that city. Â I was staying downtown and the hotel desk clerk recommend the Italian Village for dinner - it was only a block from our hotel.
The ambiance is quaint and charming. Â Looking around in the booth we were sat in, I got the feeling that at one time there was some "business" done in this restaurant (if you know what I mean). Â Some of the staff was extremely friendly and some was a bit aloof - love them or hate them, that's what Italians are like. Â Â
I thought the food was fabulous. Â For anyone who's grown up in an Italian family, you'll know, it's what Italian food is - simple, unpretentious, earthy. Â Â
I loved the character of the place, the personality of the staff, and the food; and the next time I'm in Chicago, I will be going back.
This restaurant has always been a staple of downtown shopping trips/theater visits with my family and friends.
I like the decor alot, it's dark, romantic, and charming/ There are many nooks and crannies to have a nice romantic date.
I want to make this one of my favorite restaurants again. Really.
However, last time I was here, we were placed in the back by the busboys set-up station, on a rickety folded table and crappy uncomfortable chairs. It looks like it is placed out when it is busy, and folded back up again when there is no need. We were bumped into by staff running from here and there, and it just became a real nuisance. I would rather have waited 20 minutes for a nice table to come about than face what we had at that table. Just get rid of that stupid table.
The servers are very attentive, and all the staff are very formal. Very welcoming as well.
The food, though, has gone downhill over the years. DO NOT try the fettucine alfredo, it tastes how a gym sock smells after a good workout. Most of the sauces are too watery or oily, and have no taste to them. The lemon chicken is also a disappointment, no taste with steamed chicken.
They have very nice bread with decent parmesan cheese and oil for dipping with. The salads are also very fresh with good ingredients. The blue cheese dressing is as homemade as it can get.
I do recommend the seafood ravioli and any of the risottos. The ravioli you can eat in one setting, the risotto, though, beware, because it is a massive portion.
There's also a chocolate mousse that is to die for. So rich and deadly. With a nice shot of Sambuca, what could be better?
The host and waiters were welcoming, friendly and seemed happy to see us the moment we stepped inside. Sad that this is so refreshing, but I can't remember the last time I wasn't greeted with a gruff, "how many?"
The decor was charming. So many little nooks and little private dining rooms and alcoves. It might be a little on the dark side for some, but I thought it was romantic and "cozy"--and I could see the food just fine. ;-)
Pumpkin ravioli special for me and salmon for my husband. The food wasn't spectacular, but it was really good and tasted fresh. Might be a little on the expensive side, but we'd be back just for the tiramisu.
An average Italian restaurant that is a bit over priced for lunch, yet perfectly situated next to my building. I came here for lunch with a friend  to catch up. For the price and the genre we expected to have leftovers, but portions were small.
For $22 each we had a fixed price meal featuring bread, salad or soup (I had a salad), pasta entree and a dessert. Â The bread was warm and my small salad was pleasant enough. My pasta was fine. Nothing especially special however. The desert choice was a dry cannoli that was meager at best. I guess you get what you pay for, but after tax and tip, lunch was nearly $30 per person.
Service was okay, but I honestly expected it to be both better and faster considering the lack of filled tables.
This place is a charming old Chicago institution. You're paying a premium for the charm, not the food (although food's pretty good too).
The upstairs bar is a special little nook, perfect for meeting friends after work downtown to canoodle under the twinkly little lights while Scott serves up some strong drinks. It's a tad corny, but just embrace the cheese, and you'll have a great time. The staff has a great way of making me feel like a cool celebrity whenever I go here.
This bar has more character than almost anywhere else to grab a drink downtown. Everything else seems sterile, boring and corporate by comparison.
Food is middle-of-the-road Italian. There's an emphasis on gut-busting portion sizes, not necessarily subtle flavors or presentation. I'll skip it for dinner, but I'm sure I'll be back for appetizers and drinks again.
I never knew Chicago Yelpers were such snobs! Â I was a little hesitant to try The Village after reading the mediocre reviews on here, but its proximity to the Bank of America Theater outranked the reviews, and I'm glad I went. Â
Is this the kind of restaurant you go when you want the best Italian meal you've ever had? Probably not. Â But I'm pretty sure there's absolutely nothing wrong with a good Italian meal that isn't pretentious. Â Sometimes a girl just wants a big bowl of pasta off of a menu that doesn't require a dictionary to understand. Â
The atmosphere is a bit kitschy, but honestly it's weirdly refreshing in a city full of modern and simplistic decor. Â Once we got our table, our service was excellent. Â Our waiter and all of the bus boys were really attentive, polite, and friendly without being intrusive. Â (Upon entering the restaurant, however, the hosts were kind of unfriendly, uninterested, and seemed a little overwhelmed. Â Plus, they tried to seat us in the "little private dining room" way in the back. Â I have a real problem with hosts that think they can seat young people in the crappy seating areas.) Â Â Â Â
I wish I could have taken my Fettuccine Alfredo home. Â It could just be that I've deprived myself of this fatty, creamy, carb-overload dish for so many years, but I really think The Village has the best Alfredo sauce I've ever had.
This restaurant was highly recommended by a friend of mine,
I came with high expectations... it was my first time in Chicago so I picked this place over many others to have dinner one of my 3 nights there.
Total disappointment.
The ravioli with pink sauce tasted like it could have been boiled by me from a package and sauced over with jar sauce.
I tried really hard to like it, the ambiance was awesome and service excellent, but gosh they really need to work on the quality and taste of their food.
I got the chance to meet one of the Chefs, as he was a friend of my friend, and this guy had such incredibly impressive credentials... I would have thought a restaurant that houses such an accomplished chef would reflect that in their menu.
Lots of potential... but your food is subpar.
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