Monastero's Ristorante & Banquets

i dont review often, but i had to mention this little gem.

I have lived within 2 miles of this place my entire life, and have never gone here. I cashed in a groupon, and i was very suprised at how great this place was. I ordered the chicken parm, and loved it. My wife ordered  Chicken pasta dish that she also loved. The Portions are huge, the bread is made fresh, and the best part is the SERVICE! They are all so nice and friendly, know their food, and always checked up on us to make sure we were treated great. i loved this place and will go back in the future.

I think my third time to eat here and the food is mediocre.

Monastero's has been a restaurant that my family loves going to for family dinners when we all convene in Chicago. This place oozes of OG (original gangster), from the outside facade to the spotless service.

The menu at Monastero's is torturous to me, so many things sound so amazing that it makes my decision feel like i'm missing out, only because I can't eat everything on the menu in one sitting. Lucky for me, my family loves to eat and they always manage to order every appetizer on the menu for all of us to share. I can't pick a favorite, they were all amazing.... oh and we ordered a cheese pizza to accompany the appetizers which was also perfectly crunchy, cheesy and just the right amount of deliciously seasoned red sauce. mmmmm.

Their food is always exceptionally fresh and the flavor combinations send my taste buds into a welcomed foodgasm. My recent favorite: Pumpkin ravioli al gorgonzola. Oh my. The sweetness of the pumpkin filling paired with the creamy gorgonzola sauce and topped with chopped walnuts is a perfect combination of flavors and textures. I tried my best friend's pumpkin ravioli abbronzato, which was the pumpkin ravioli but in a sage burnt butter sauce topped with parmigiano was also a winner. Totally different flavor profile just by changing the sauce.

There always seems to be a wedding reception in progress in the banquet room, so the people in the restaurant are always jovial and the music is very cheerful. This place oozes old world Italian, and gets my vote not only for authentic deliciously prepared Italian food, this place is the whole package: ambiance, food, service.