Having my wedding in Pazzo's was a dream come true! It was magical and just beautiful! All my guests were awed and most of them commented that it was the best wedding they ever attended. It has everything I could ever hope for---unique, city-esque, an outdoor feel, elegant but not too stuffy. I am also thankful for Faye and Carmen. They were very helpful in planning our wedding and so accommodating to what we needed & wanted. I was so happy they said yes to having a 1/2 chicken and 1/2 prime rib duo instead of what they initially offered in their packages. My friends and family loved the open bar! The food's really good! The bacon and scallops are divine! So is the prime rib! My only regret is I didn't get to enjoy my wedding food as much as my guests. We were so busy mingling with everybody and being the center of attention. It would be awesome if I could be a guest in someone else's wedding lol! I highly recommend this place!!!
Review Source:If I could give Pazzo's a 3.5 star I would. Â We had our wedding here 10/13/12 and it is a BEAUTIFUL venue. Â We received so many compliments! Â Also, the day of food was amazing. Â Everyone raved about it. Â Also, the day of Fay was wonderful. Â I had a TON of work/an out of state work conference the week before my wedding and a lot of the last minute details were left to my husband...who isn't really detailed oriented (aka the seating chart) Fay and her team added more tables last minute when we realized that the seating chart was a bit wacky. Â All the last minute details were added with ease!
I knocked down stars for the pre/post wedding day situations. Â At our tasting the food was HORRIBLE! Â At that point it was too late to back out but it really left my grandma/mother in law/husband/myself worried about what we were going to get on the day of. Â I also had some major family situations happen and whole groups of people were not able to attend my wedding bringing my guest list down. Â Also, I had a group of family in AA and I felt like I was constantly being pressured to extend the open bar. Â I had to mention multiple times that I did not feel comfortable with that at all. Â Before the wedding, I felt like our wedding was not important because we didn't have the 150+ guest list. Â I know they were completely booked up most Fri/Sat/Suns for the whole season, but it didn't seem like I had any help 4-5 months out when I knew I would have more time to get everything together than the 2 months before the wedding. Â It would take a while for emails to be returned and some times it wasn't Fay who responded, but another lady (maybe the manager?) who wasn't very helpful or nice and started leaving a bad taste in my mouth for the venue.
Also, post wedding one of my bridesmaids lost her slip and my efficient left his ceremony book at the venue. Â I have called twice and sent an email asking if those items are in fact there and if so if we could pick them up and have yet to hear any response. Â Â I also had some cards missing, however, I am not sure if they were stolen or lost and still there since I am not getting any response from the venue itself. Â Which is a shame because my photographer took some AMAZING shots of the venue that they could use when pitching it to future brides.
Over all the DAY OF was wonderful! Day of food was good!  Service was good the day of!  I do have to shout to the wonderful bartender/the lady who served my husband and myself dinner.  She was a real pleasure and made me feel so special.  I am really sad that in the craziness of the day I did not catch her name!!  The venue is beautiful and definitely  NOT a standard reception hall.  I also thought their prices were a good value compared to every where else.  I was just disappointed with pre/post wedding communication.
Great venue, Great location, Great people! We had an amazing wedding on 10/6/2012
Faye and her staff are awesome. They made sure that everyone was comfortable and treated well. Most wedding venues have low ceilings and you feel trapped. Pazzos is an open atrium and comfortable.
If you are shopping for a hall and are looking for an affordable downtown location please take a look.
We had my daughters wedding at Pazzo's last weekend. I can't say enough about this venue and the event coordinator Faye! First of all Pazzo's is a beautiful space for a wedding, we had about 140 guests and it was just perfect for us. We had many compliments on how beautiful the space was, the food and service of  the staff. Faye went above and beyond in helping to make sure everything was perfect! It's also a very affordable option for a downtown wedding. I highly recommend checking out Pazzo's for a wedding reception.
Review Source:We had our wedding at Pazzo's in March. Â
I have so many great things about it, I had to share. Â I am going to give you the highlights:
To start, the building is beautiful. Â The atrium in front of the restaurant is one of the most beautiful rooms in the city. Â There are 80 foot glass ceilings with tall, beautiful palm trees.
The food at the restaurant was delicious. Â We had a hard time choosing what we wanted because everything was so good. (We tried everything at the tasting.) Â We ended up with a petite filet and salmon. Â There was so much food and it was all good.
But the best part of Pazzo's is Fay Sweeney.  Fay runs the show.  She is with you every step of the way when planning the wedding.  She has great ideas and gives great advice.  She is trustworthy, dependable  and truly was the wedding planner.  Everything that we wanted, she made happen.  Fay did not drop the ball on anything.
All in all, if you are looking for a modern wedding that is not in your typical hotel, then check out Pazzo's. Â The space is stunning, the food is delicious and the service is on the mark!
We had our wedding at Pazzo's in June 2012.
I was very pleased with Fay, the woman who coordinates weddings. Overall, I was happy with how the day went., which is why I gave it 4 stars.
The reason I'm writing this review, however, is to warn you that a few of our cards were stolen. We had a little mailbox type thing for cards, but unfortunately some of our guests did not place the cards inside the mailbox, they were placed against it. The few cards that were place against it were stolen. (I know they were stolen and not lost because someone used the Visa gift card that was inside one of those missing cards).
It is possible one of our guests stole these cards, but I really can't imagine that being true. Â My advice to you is to assign someone to watch your gifts, make sure that person places all cards inside the card receptacle and keeps a close eye on your gift table. Also, insist that they use the little room for the gifts. I'm not sure why, but our gifts were placed on the same table as the sign-in book and not inside the little room. Maybe it's because we had a smaller wedding.
Also, the acoustics are not great. I could not hear my dad's speech at all. I have no idea what he said, even though he had a microphone. Maybe he just wasn't speaking into it enough.
UPDATE:
I just wanted to add that after receiving the photos and video from our wedding, I really am pleased with how the wedding looked. This venue really provides a gorgeous backdrop for your big day. I have received so many compliments about our wedding venue. As for the missing cards, Fay offered to review the security footage and let us see it. She assured me her staff would not risk losing their jobs over a few cards. I decided not to pursue the issue because I was afraid it was one of our guests who stole the cards, and I would rather not know. As for not hearing my dad's speech, I was able to finally hear it when we got our video from the videographer. He sounds clear in the video, so it must have just been where I was sitting that I didn't hear very well. Overall, I would highly recommend this venue to other brides. It was so much better than your typical church/banquet hall. It's so much more unique, prettier, and grand.
This restaurant is located in the basement of a building - and mostly for business lunches, at least during lunch hour. They have a nice sitting area outside the restaurant - mimicking a patio, with fake palm trees and a water fountain - nice ambiance. They also have an 'inside' sitting area. I got there around 1140am for a business lunch and it was fairly empty - by the time we left nearly an hour later it got packed.
Menu - a good menu size, with options for soups, salads, pastas and entrees. I felt there were not many vegetarian or seafood options though..
Food - I ordered the tilapia - it was breaded and grilled tilapia with sundried tomatoes on a bed of spinach with mash potatoes and a light butter cream drizzled over the entrée. I really enjoyed my meal! The meal was fairly inexpensive for the taste and flavor.
Service - efficient and friendly, gave refills on soda drinks
I would def consider going back to Pazzo's, I just wish it wasn't located in the basement. But if you want an upscale gourmet tasting meal reasonably priced- this is your place!
This is strictly on the wedding side of things (though I've enjoyed many a lunch at Pazzo's)...
I had my May 2012 wedding at Pazzo's and couldn't have been happier. Â From the moment my fiance and I met Fay, we knew that our wedding would go off without a hitch. Â And it did!
Some highlights: the prices are very reasonable for a downtown Chicago venue, the food is pretty darn good (considering they are feeding 200 people), the atrium is a unique and impressive space which you have all to yourself, and the staff was flexible, friendly, and prompt. Â
Pazzo's was a great choice for our wedding. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a venue downtown that isn't a hotel ballroom.
Stopping in with a group from work. Â Service was fantastic - quick, friendly, and accurate. Â Drink refills were lightning fast. (the way it should be)
I had the lasagne with meat sauce. Â The noodles were a tad overdone and hard to cut through, but it did not detract from what was a really good meal all-around. Â The flavors were great and the amount of meat in the sauce was generous. Â Worth a repeat, and if I get the chance will probably try a different dish.
This place tasted kinda gross at worst and mediocre at best. These were my first thoughts.
Then, I found a maggot in my food. Â Literally. Â See the picture I uploaded for reference.
I still feel like throwing up when I think of it. Â I couldn't say anything because we had a client out on a work lunch at the time, but I have to do something about it so I'm posting here to warn others!
I will NEVER be back.
This is my second living room end of discussion, I love this place
My friends and co-workers frequent here so much you'd swear we live here. Short of being extremely convenient for me as my house is across the road and I work in the building hanging out here is part of my weekly routine.
Lunch is the premier time to come and enjoy their wide variety Italian dishes, simply good food. Additionally they have a fast food spot that caters for on the run burgers, salads and sandwiches  you can enjoy your burger inside the atrium where a huge fountain and palm trees is sure to blow your mind away. In summer step outside on the grass and enjoy the view and if your'e lucky  there may even be a band playing live music.
The bar crowd hangs out from around 4:30 on wards and somedays it gets packed.
Only gripe is their kitchen closes at 6:30p.m. since there is very little traffic for dinner so no late night eatery here else they would have gotten a 5 star review :(
stop by by maybe one day you'll run into me and my friends......
Came here for a wedding reception a few weeks ago. It's a elegant venue with a HUGE fountain, palm trees, and high ceilings. Overall there is alot of room; you can probably seat 150 to 200 people in the reception. Friends of mine attended an even larger reception here where they had tables on the second floor hallways, so it seems Pazzo's is always willing to accommodate to your size. Service was ok, food was pretty good, except that all of our filets were way overcooked. I guess that's how mass-produced steak always turns out though.
Overall a very elegant and pretty choice for a wedding reception, pricey though, but food portions are huge and the venue is very nice.
Having stared at this building from my balcony for the last 4 years, I'm happy to have finally ventured inside. It is a rather pretty building both inside and out. Palm trees, waterfalls and loads of marble looking material make this place shine like a new penny. And at the bottom sits a pretty looking restaurant; Pazzo's. Safe to say the best thing about Pazzo's may be the atrium. I can see why pictures are posted by Yelpers for wedding receptions. There's only one problem, I was here for lunch. A nice view can only do so much for a hungry stomach. If food isn't #1, why head back?
There's nothing really wrong with the food here. It just isn't great. And for the price of the food combined with waiter service it's just not worth a visit. I ordered the grilled steak sandwich. It was presented nicely on the plate with the steak and arugula situated between two halves of a ciabatta loaf and a heaping portion of pasta salad on the side. I knew I would not be clearing my plate. The portion was huge. I took one bite of the sandwich and couldn't bite through - the steak was too tough. I felt like a lion trying to rip through a zebra on the discovery channel. After a few tries, I was forced to eat my sandwich with a fork and knife. This was disappointing and downright weird.
The pasta salad on the side was the best thing about lunch. Filled with red peppers, onions and other fresh ingredients, I would have loved that served in a bruschetta style as an appetizer with thin slices of garlic bread. For dessert we tried the chocolate mousse cake. It was fine but boring. Mousse in general doesn't have the big chocolate flavor I enjoy so I'm glad it was split between the two of us. Flavor-wise, there are better lunch options in the loop that are half the price. Pazzo's fits the bill for coworkers looking for a sit down option to kill 60 minutes over lunch.
If I'm here it's usually because I'm on a business lunch. And I think it's mostly the same for most of Pazzo's lunch patrons. There's a nice mix of seating, inside with nice wood wall touches, or in the atrium, among the palm trees. Service here is always attentive and the food is good, but I'm never super-wowed by Pazzo's.
For a lighter "Power Lunch" the Apple and Walnut Salad with spinach, gorgonzola cheese, cranberries and granny smith apples will having you closing the deal without missing a step.
I often make the mistake of having pasta here, and end up falling asleep later in my bored (sic) meetings in the afternoon. Still, the lasagna is tasty, and it's worth a little desk snoozin'. The chicken Vesuvio is very good, and seems like a healthier option on the heavy side, with veggies and red potatoes.
I had my wedding reception here on 12/18 and had a great experience. Â
We came in to try the food twice before the wedding (once for lunch, once for our wedding tasting) and thought the food was amazing. Â If you come for lunch you have to try the caesar salad, it is wonderful. Â The food at our wedding was pretty good. Â The appetizers were tasty and served warm (important in the middle of December!) and the chicken vesuvio was good. Â Realistically, the chicken was not GREAT, but when you're pumping out 150 dinners at the same time, I'm totally fine with good. Â The portions were so generous- nobody was hungry at the end of dinner! Â The food on the regular lunch menu is stellar- if I still worked in the loop I'd be here often.
Fay is the wedding coordinator at Pazzo's and she is wonderful. Â I had a good feeling about her from the start. Â She has been doing weddings for a long time (I want to say 15+ years) and she knows her stuff and is very organized. Â She never pushed us to upgrade anything and helped us figure out the best way to pull together all the choices we made. Â She was always quick to get back to me with any questions. Â Fay was at our wedding until the very end and had people pack up our vases and all sorts of other stuff that we had brought in for the night so that it was easy to clear out.
The restaurant itself makes a very impressive backdrop for a wedding reception. Â Everyone raved about it. Â The dance floor is the perfect size and I loved that the bar is basically on the dance floor- I didn't leave the dance floor after my 1st dance! Â The ladie's bathroom is very nice and clean, which is important to a bride on her wedding day. Â
My only suggestion would be to coordinate better with the lunch staff who work Fridays. Â I was given a hard time when I came on Friday to drop off several things for the wedding the next day (doorman wouldn't let me double park out front, nobody in the restaurnt wanted to help me bring stuff down from my car).
Overall, I'd recommend Pazzo's to anyone- for lunch or as a wedding reception location.
I've only eaten here twice, but decided to give them a review after the amazing customer service I recieved today. Â I've eaten here for work lunches, both of the times I ordered the farfale which is AMAZING. I hate having my food drowned in sauce, and I'll be honest, I prefer very little sauce on things, so when I asked for light sauce and got back the perfect amount, I was sold.
So fast forward about three months to where I needed a receipt from my last meal here. I called up Pazzo's and spoke with Carmen who was super helpful. She offered to fax it over to me, but I went ahead and picked it up.
When I got there I noticed the receipt  didn't have any info indicating it was my account,  I asked the hostess know and she tried to ask Carmen to print out a copy with my account information. They're not allowed to keep that info, but apologized multiple times to me. Not their problem at all, but they felt very badly about it.
Thank you, Pazzo's for really caring about your customers!
I found Pazzo's (like a lot of my wedding vendors) on Yelp. Even though I have lived in Chicago for 15+ years, I had not heard of it. Well, thank God for this hidden gem! I got married at Pazzo's on September 17, 2010 and it was a fabulous, epic experience!
The space is gorgeous and unique. We worked with Fay Sweeney and Carmen. Both women were excellent to work with and Fay (our main contact) was so amazing...professional, accommodating, responsive, and calm! She clearly had a handle on how to "do" a wedding and made it all seem effortless. I had read a lot of reviews on Yelp and elsewhere and my only worry was a previous bride mentioning that some of her gifts went missing. Fay mentioned (without my asking) that they now have cameras in the gift room and they keep it locked, so problem solved.
I can honestly say that everything went great! Fay walked us through the rehearsal (our officiant was not there) the night before and was there every step of the way for us on the wedding day as well. She really seems to enjoy her job and she does it flawlessly. From beginning to end, all the details were totally taken care of . We were able to stop by several times before our wedding and see room set-ups and once we stopped by (no, we didn't crash, just watched from the upper level) a wedding in progress just to see how it looked. The guests at that wedding were raving about it so we felt pretty good about our choice. Â
The food was great...all the appetizers and the dinner (filet and chicken Vesuvio) were spectacular. No fewer than 20 people have told me it was the best wedding food they have ever had. Â Everything went off without a hitch. We were a little curious about how the acoustics would be (we had violinists at our ceremony and a DJ for the reception) but it all seemed fine. Maybe a little echo-ey but since I never left the dance floor it was great for me! Â As for the speeches, I agree it was a little hard to hear but really not that bad.
I also would echo previous reviews in that the prices at Pazzo's were very reasonable, especially for the downtown area. We felt so lucky to find a place that didn't break the bank (such as it is) yet was so incredible.
Now, I may be biased, but I felt like my wedding was one of the best ones I've ever attended and I'm so glad it was mine! Thank you so much Fay, Carmen, and Pazzo's for a wonderful day!
PS You are the only event booked there so no other brides are around to steal your thunder! Â :)
I was a little hesitant about this place because I discovered it wasn't really a dinner place but this was after I bought my Groupon and I don't work in the Loop so I could only use it for dinner. We made the last reservation of the day, 6:30, and they called the day of to ask if we could come early because there were no other reservations and the kitchen staff was staying on just for us. Oh no... resentful employees...Christmas shopping crunch time....it couldn't be a good experience right? Wrong. Our server was so friendly and bubbly and the food came out artfully prepared. It was like the first meal of the meal of the day;decorated plate lip with paprika formed into a giant star, piping hot and very delish.
I ordered risotto and it came with a chicken breast which was delightfully surprising.
if I ever work in the loop I will certainly return for lunch or to try the sandwiches at the express window which I hear are excellent!
I had my wedding at Pazzo's in September of 2009. There were some minor issues, but overall I am pretty satisfied. Firstly, I can't speak any more highly of Faye Sweeney. She was an absolute delight to work with. I forget how many years she's been working there... at least 6... but in all those years, she has never missed a wedding. She was there to help us organize in every step of the way.
For a downtown location, our price per person was comparable, if not less than, venues we scouted in the Rosemont area. The venue itself is beautiful. I would find it hard to imagine having more than 150 people there without people feeling too crowded or too far away from the head table.
What I LOVE about this place is that your event is the ONLY event booked for the evening. You don't have to share it with any other brides. Also, there is a parking lot adjacent to the building. Keep in mind that this is a prepay lot that is independently owned. If you want to foot the bill for your guests, it's $10 a car. The food was absolutely fantastic! From the starters all the way to the entrees. I didn't drink much, but from what I heard, open bar included a lot of top shelf drinks.
Some things that were less than perfect... though the venue is breathtaking, the acoustics proved difficult for speeches. There was a technical issue with trying to turn the fountain off during the first two speeches. It took about 20 minutes to shut it off and even then, it was still difficult to hear. The dancefloor itself seems isolated from the scenery... if you look through the pictures, the bar/dancefloor is just under the "Pazzo's" sign.
Overall, I am a happy camper. The value for what you get is outstanding.
Pazzo's is located at 311 South Wacker (the office building just south of the Willis (aka Sears) Tower in the lower section of the lobby opposite the water fountain. Â And because I work in that building, I have been there a few times for lunch and happy hour due to its convenient location.
The ambiance is excellent, mainly due to the decor of the building's lobby, complete with palm trees (yes, palm trees inside a skyscraper in Chicago!). Â And coupled with that water fountain, I personally feel this is one of the best looking lobbies Downtown Chicago.
As far as the food...Pazzo's serves a contemporary Italian menu that's a bit upscale. Â I have had the mahi mahi, and it was ok. Â Yup, I can honestly say I have had better. Â I must say that the risotto that came with it definitely made up for the fish. Â On the other hand, the hummus sampler we had as appetizer was also excellent.
And for happy hour...the bartenders at Pazzo's are quite friendly and attentive. Â And if you are into martini, they do shake an excellent martini. Â But as is with any martini...I limit myself at 2 just in case :)
Service was fair, but not stellar. Waiter seemed rushed, talked too fast, and messed up several specials. Followup was courteous and appreciated.
Food came to us fast, and it showed. My salmon was not flavorful at all, and if I had to guess at why I'd suggest it'd fallen victim to freezer burn. Pazzo's pasta salad was alright, a bit heavy on the seasonings to the point where you're not sure if you're eating a fork of pasta with seasoning or seasoning with pasta.
Fellow diners enjoyed their salads, which looked tasty. Several finished their meals -- I did not. It's rare for me to not join the clean plate club, but I couldn't bring myself to waste any more calories on what amounted to crappy food.
I won't be back.
I wish there was a half star. Â I would say food is 4 stars, but service is only 3 stars to give the place an overall rating of 3.5 stars. Â Great place for a business lunch. Â Service is usually mediocre though due to the lunch rush.
The fish dishes are always good. Â My favorite is the spaghetti and meatballs.
I had my wedding at Pazzo's on March 28th. Â The planning was easy; Fay was really on top of things, and the day went smoothly. Â In fact, I can't think of anything that went wrong. Â Everyone who came to our wedding was impressed with it; and I am positive they had no idea that Pazzo's is one of the most affordable venues in the city and suburbs. Â Everything really was beautiful and the day was so much fun. Â If I were to base my review on just the wedding, tasting, and times I have dined at Pazzo's, I would definitely give them 5 stars.
The only thing that is preventing me from giving Pazzo's a 5 star review is that at least 4 of our wedding cards were stolen. Â I have looked high and low and asked everyone who handled any aspect of moving our stuff out of Pazzo's and the cards are simply gone. Â I cannot imagine that my own wedding guests would steal gifts from one another, and I don't want to believe that a member of Pazzo's staff would steal from a wedding, yet I have no other explanation. Â I just have no idea where the cards could have gone, it's been odd asking wedding guests to stop payment on their gifts though. Â
I let Pazzo's know about what has happened and they have been as responsive as they can. Â I know it has been discussed with all of the staff, and the owner informed me that they will be installing a camera in the room where gifts are placed during weddings. Â They have also offered to make it up to my husband and I as much as they can with gift certificates, which has been appreciated. Â All I can say is, if you have your wedding here, ensure your cards are truly under lock and key; ours were in a box that could not be opened easily, but it was not enough to prevent someone from opening it at some point to take the cards. Â
At the end of the day, if I had the chance to do everything over again, I would still use Pazzo's. Â While I could have done without the theft, Pazzo's did not charge us any hidden fees, which at other venues could easily have amounted to more than we lost. Â The only thing I would have done differently would be to have really locked the card box. Â The more I spoke to Pazzo's staff about what happened, the more sure I am that it wasn't an employee there that took the cards. Â It truly is a mystery where they have gone, but regardless, I encourage every bride/groom to really secure their gifts. Â
Despite the issue with my missing cards, I really recommend Pazzo's as a wedding venue. Â It's only been a couple weeks, but we have received tons of compliments about how great the wedding was, which has been nice to hear.
In 8 days, I'll be having my wedding reception at Pazzo's! Â AH!!! Â It's been a pleasure working with Fay Sweeney, catering manager. Â She's more than happy to answer any of my questions and to provide me with a list of recommeded vendors to make planning as easy as possible. Â I have always admired this space and I can't wait to have our reception in the beautiful open atrium with the four palm trees towering over us! Â Pazzo's prices are very reasonable for a wedding in the city, but they do have a $2500 fee for using the atrium on a Saturday.
I've eaten here on multiple ocassions too. Â I absolutely love the tilapia that is served over buttery mashed potatoes and a bed of spinach. Â Wouldn't really recommend the gelato-was freezer burned!
Parking is available directly out side the atrium in a lot or there's also ample street parking (get ready to pay 25 cents/5 minutes).
Update to come after 04.18.09!!
I wish there was a -4 star option, because Pazzo's would definitely be a well deserving recipient. I cannot, in any capacity, understand what anyone likes about this restaurant. I was just talking to a co-worker who said she had had the worst meal of her life..guess where? You got it: Pazzo's.
My first experience with Pazzo's was in 2003 when a friend had her wedding reception there. As many people know a wedding, and the accompanying reception, is a big event in most people's lives, and, my friend was robbed..big time. The service was abysmal, there aren't enough words for "bad" to describe the service. And then there was the food..ugh. At least 3 dozen people that attended this reception got food poisoning. I had hoped that this would be the first, last, and only time I would have to eat there, but that was not to be the case.
Last year I was forced, and I do mean forced, to eat there again for a work outing, despite having pleaded with my co-workers to dine ANYWHERE else. For reasons unclear to me, everyone in the group was dying to eat there, so off we went. Much to my dismay, the food was still horrendously bad, and the service was inexplicably slow. The servers aren't rude, just clueless. And slow. And confused. I am going on record saying that I will never in my life eat here again.
Do yourself a favor and don't eat here. There are a multitude of other places in the Loop that are much better.
It's been a few months since I've been to Pazzo's, but for awhile I went to this Pazzo's location quiet frequently. Â
My love for this restaurant took a slow, but definite decline over the first year I was working in the city. Â In my humble option the food, and service, went from great to mediocre. Â My first disappointment was when they stopped serving the sweet potato chips however it didn't kill my love of the place completely. Â After having the chicken parmigiana sandwich several times I mixed thing up a bit and got one of their salads which I found outstanding and had renewed my hope in the place. Â However, when I went back a few months later and ordered the same thing again it wasn't as stellar. Â
As for the actual service it's not bad, just not as good as it had been when I first started going there. Â Sadly, I have to say my biggest problem involved making reservations. Â On several occasions they lost our reservation. Â Thankfully, we always planned to get there before the "first shift" descended upon the place so even if our reservation was lost we had no problem getting a table.
All in all, I wouldn't totally disqualify Pazzo's, but I there are many other places I'd go first.
I recently went to Pazzo's for lunch and while the terrace area is enjoyable (enough to warrant a third star), the food and service were mediocre.
Our waiter was nice, but did not refill our drinks (which were empty by mid-meal). I had a salmon special--blackened salmon with poblano pepper sauce, spinach and potatoes. The salmon was extremely greasy--I don't know how they did it, but it was dripping in grease. Not sure what process they used to blacken it, but it was ick. The spinach was fine, and the potatoes were just run of the mill.
I looked the menu again just now and there are probably better things on it, so I will definitely give Pazzo's another shot. But for this visit, I can only warrant 3 stars.
This is such an amazing space. The food, not so much. I had the chicken parmigiana based on another Yelper review. It was pretty good but the service was slow and barely present.
So, better than cafeteria food, but at $$ prices, and poor service = 3 stars.
I wish the food and service had been as good as the ambiance.
4 stars or 5 stars... 4 stars or 5... Why can't we have half stars?!? Â
Every time I've been here the food has been really good. Â The salads are gigantic-- last time I was there I had a nicoise salad, which had been recommended by our waiter. Â It was great! It had a full tuna steak and really flavorful dressing-- I ate everything on the plate, and I don't even like salad! Â
This is a great lunch place since they have several lighter entrees, numerous vegetarian options, and the price of some of the sandwiches and pastas isn't over $10. Â For dinner, there are certainly other restaurants I'd go to before Pazzo's, but for lunch it's pretty much a 5 star place.
Went here for lunch a few weeks ago and it was okay. The menu seemed to focus more on quantity (selection) than quality. It's really the same type of menu that one would see at Rivers or One North Kitchen; a steak salad, a couple whitefish dishes, some variation on mashed potatoes...nothing really stands out, but everything is edible. I got the apple-walnut salad, which was supposed to come with field greens and was instead served with wilted, yellowing pieces of romaine. Now, it was a BIG salad - lotsa chicken on top and a goodly amount of apples and pears and walnuts, which were supposed to have been candied but which were actually raw and unsalted - but it was completely...incohesive. It was like someone just piled in the ingredients and called it a salad - there was no continuity, no flow. Normally I don't notice if my salads have "flow," but that's exactly what became apparent.
I should have guessed something was awry when I arrived and said that I was there for a reservation. They told me there was no reservation under my companion's name, so I just waited up front until my dining companion arrived. However, when he got there, he gave his name for the reservation and they found it in the book, crossed off his name, and seated us. What the hell?
Our waiter was really difficult to understand and visibly nervous. I felt bad for the guy, he was sweating and shaking...I couldn't tell if he was just really feeling out of place or if he was sick, and that's just not something I want to be debating when I'm dining out.
I have friends who work in the area, so I will probably go here again, but the bar has been set pretty low...
Some friends had their wedding reception here in Sept. and I was really looking forward to finally going to this place.
Everything started out fine. Â The cocktails were outside which was nice since it was a warm fall day. Â I only tried the chicken skewers and thought they were good. Â Things got bad when it was time to sit down for dinner. Â 2 things I'm not a fan of when attending a wedding reception.
1. splitting the seating into 2 different rooms.
2. Buffet's
That's exactly what happened at this wedding. Â My fiance and I sat in the bar area where the dance floor and a few other tables were. Â Not in the same room as the bride and groom. We didn't know alot of people, so we didn't mind being close to the bar, but it didn't feel like a wedding.
When everyone at our table realized it was a buffet we all decided to get in line right away. Â Good thing we did because the line snaked all the way back to where we were sitting. Â The food was basically a pasta bar. Pick your pasta, sauce and ingredients to put in. Â It stressed me out a little. Â I'm trying to decide what may be good in my pasta, while I have a line of hungry people behind me breathing down my neck. Â The food was good, but they didn't really give you alot and I felt weird going up for more, plus I didn't want to wait in line! Â I know it's less expensive to do a buffet for a wedding, I'm just not a fan.
The funniest part of the evening was that my fiance was glued to the tv watching the Wisconsin game and they couldn't get reception for ABC. Â He watched the game thru fuzz and a rolling screen. We were straining our eyes to figure out the score. Â How do you have a bar with tv's and crappy reception?
I think if I worked or lived close to Pazzo's I'd try it again, but  probably wouldn't plan a special night just to go.
Great place for a girl's lunch on a friday when you want to chat. Â I love the spinach salad (although I substitute for the dressing... the walnut vinegrette has so much raw garlic you'll be tasting it all afternoon... try the balsamic vinegrette instead). Â
It's also a nice place for a drink after work.
I was taken here to lunch by a vendor today and while I was happy to see so many seafood options on the menu, the reality wasn't as good. Â I had the seafood mixed grill and the tuna was overcooked (the salmon a bit too). Â The mixed veggies were heavy on peppers which I thought was a weird combo (and I hate green peppers). Â The lemon caper sauce and the spinach were good though. Â Two of my compatriots had the seafood cakes and they said the crab in it tasted cheap. Â They did like the mashed potatoes however. Â Service was okay, though we were amused the waitress' questions were rhetorical...she would ask how is everything as she kept walking right by us, never really waiting for an answer...And the initial waiter called me "honey". Â Uh, not too cool, sweetie.
Would not come here on my own dime.
Pazzo's is located in the lobby of the building I work in. Are we even remotely shocked that most of the food provided in meetings comes from here?
I've never actually bought food from Pazzo's directly. I won't lie - I only eat it when it's free. That definitely doesn't make it any less delicious!
The desserts! Oh, boy! There was a sampler tray brought in for one of the big important meetings, and my coworker and I got to polish off the leftovers. I'm totally glad that the execs decided not to eat everything, because WOW these desserts are fabo! Mixed berry cake. Chocolate-covered strawberries. Apple coffee cake. Some yummy apricot thing that I can't identify but still ate three of. If you have a sweet tooth, there's something on that sampler tray you'll like.
I was married this past May and my wedding ceremony and reception were held at Pazzo's on Wacker Dr.
Before my husband and I decided to have our wedding at Pazzo's, we researched so many places around the city. Â Many places did not seem to fit the style of wedding we were looking for. Â Some places were pretty outdated other places smelled too much like a bar/nightclub or some were just TOO expensive. Â Some places had a very limited menu and some just had rude staff.
So after going down the list of wedding venues in Chicago on a bridal magazine, we got to Pazzo's. Â Initially I was hesitant about it since it is a restaurant and I was not sure how that would work out for a wedding.
We decided to go have lunch there and the food was delicious. Â The atrium is very pretty and so bright. Â The fountain adds a nice touch to the place as well. Â We inquired about private events and apparently Pazzo's closes at 7:00 p.m. from Mon. - Thurs. and it closes Fri. - Sun. for private events.
We went back on a Saturday morning to see a set-up for a wedding being held there in the evening and it was amazing. Â It looked exactly what we were looking for. Â We decided to book it the following Monday.
I also liked their extended selection of menu items. Â The tasting was astronomical. Â WOW! Â Both my husband and I received a dish each of the selections we wanted to taste. Â So good. Â We had few vegetarian friends attending the wedding and they were able to accommodate them with a vegetarian dish. Â We also had a couple of kids attending and they were also able to provide them with a special dish as well.
We had the ceremony and reception at the same place so what they do in this case is set-up for the reception immediately after the ceremony. Â I was a bit nervous about this but being Pazzo's is directly across the street from the Sears Tower; we decided to treat our guests to the Sears Tower Sky Deck. Â This gave our guests something to do while the Pazzo's staff set up for the reception. Â Most of our guests were from out of town and they were actually very excited about this. Â My husband and I were out taking pictures around the city but apparently, according to my mom, it only took about 40 minutes for the staff to turn the place over.
After we walked in, I could not believe my eyes. Â The place looked amazing. Â I wish I can relive the moment. Â It was beautiful. Â A few of our guests (from Chicago) asked how we had found the place. Â I guess it's a hidden gem.
The person I worked with was Fay Sweeney. Â She was wonderful to work with and she is so knowledgeable. Â She knew what to do and when to do it. Â I was so nervous about so many things but in the end everything turned out AMAZING.
People still talk about the food and how nice our wedding turned out. Â It puts a big smile on our faces and we love to hear it time and time again.
I hope I'm able to provide Fay a couple of pictures so they can update their website. Â The pictures currently available do not do my experience any justice.
Quick & Convenient
This tasty treat is a hidden... wait, I work in the building and most of the time I eat here out of necessity and not out of wanting to. It's not a hidden gem, but it is pretty good for having to eat it three days a week...
The food is good and during the summer months, they have a live band and feature an outside BBQ... I believe Wed-Fri.
My favorite dish is its chicken quesadilla. (Napoleon... hands off.)
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