A fantastic surprise! Â Like many others, we wandered here after a certain pizza place informed us of the 1 1/2 hour wait for a party of two (no thanks!). Â So glad we discovered a new piece of Wicker Park.
The service was the best you can ask for....friendly, knowledgeable, and not too pushy. Â The food came out promptly, and all of our server's suggestions were spot on.
Instead of dropping a general statement about how good the food was, I think our experience merits a bulleted list:
- Fresh bread and olive oil - so fresh and delicious. may have been the best olive oil i've ever tasted, seriously
- Crostini with goat cheese and caramelized onions - really flavorful...a perfect start to the meal
- Pappardelle - the truffle oil really sets this dish apart. Â Could have used a bit more 4-meat sauce, but otherwise it was incredibly tasty
- Gnocchi - the scallops and mushrooms went really well together, and the texture of the gnocchi was unlike any I have tasted. Â Good portion size (despite what all the other reviewers say....where do you think you are? Olive Garden?!)
-Spumoni - This decadent dessert was a great way to end the meal. Â The pistachio cream and berry mascarpone were delicious, and perfectly complimented the dark chocolate.
- My Ommegang beer was Belgiantastic, as expected
-My girlfriend raved about her Gin Death Punch, which tasted much more delicate and nuanced than the name implies
The best part was that we got out of there for way less than expected. Â We were too busy drooling at the menu to notice the very reasonable prices!
I loved the service which is very friendly and the space is cute. Â I didn't mind the music but my boyfriend is not a Jim Croce fan and was expecting something a little more fitting for an Italian focused place. Â
The two stars is for the food. Â For small plates Italian I can think of a few others that do it better. Â Like Davanti Enoteca. Â I wanted to like this place more but I just can't. Â
We were here with a deal for 7 shared plated and 2 wine flights. Â I notice that they have deals like this on their menu so if you can't get on Gilt or Travelzoo no worries.
Our waiter was very knowledgeable of the wines. Â We liked that. Â We had a decent flight but I wasn't dying for a full glass of any of them. Â We started with the oyster Rockefeller and it was great. Â 1 is enough because its rich and you will burn your mouth. Â Also had some sort of salad trio with cold mushrooms and cold potatoes and a fig and celery comb. Â All 3 were good but not great. Â The mussels were prepared well but we were underwhelmed by the sauce. Â Usually I'm eating it like soup. Â This needed something. Â The bread and oil are pretty great. Â The we had a squash ravioli like dish (not ravioli but I can't remember the name) it was very good and not too sweet. Â Sharing it is good b/c you only want one or two. Â Its a rich dish. Â Then we got brussel sprouts which I usually devour. Â These lacked seasoning and were a little mushy. Â Given the uniform size and mush I think that maybe these were frozen sprouts, or were roasted the day before and warmed up. Â The brussel sprouts that I've been buying even at the JO don't look like these. Â I was also suspicious of the trout. Â It was too uniform. Â I think it may have been purchased at the frozen section of Costco. Â It was prepared very well with an olive relish. Â I loved the polenta crust. Â But it didn't stand a chance because I'm not a trout fan. Â I would not normally order it.
We did end on a very high note. Â The panna cotta was sublime. Â So so simple and good! Â I wish the apples on top had been chopped up to make it easier to eat but regardless we didn't leave a molecule of that behind.
A different establishment lost our reservation for 10 for a Saturday night. Â Imagine our horror when trying to find somewhere else that would take 10 with no notice... Thankfully Ripasso came to our rescue! Â They were able to seat us within a half hour and were very extremely nice and helpful about it. Â We did the family style option (4 courses) and we all left STUFFED. Â I couldn't even eat some of the food at the end, it was so much. Â We had salad, cheeses, meats, olives, aranchini, several pastas, more meat, fish and different desserts. Â Our waiter was great, we loved the atmosphere and they did us a huge favor. Â We will definitely be back.
Also, we live in the neighborhood and love walking by in the morning to watch them make their fresh pasta in the window!
32/365
Went Friday January 11th. Â Sat at the table for 2 by the window and I would recommend not doing so during cold weather.
Rockafella oysters were phenomenal! Â Must have item. Â The pollo was awesome, too. Â It was a roasted half chicken. Â Our server joked that she would never go out to eat to order chicken, but if she did....she would order Ripasso's. Â I know why.
The front area was conversationally challenged. Â Larger groups can have their fun and be loud, but that "date" couple could be in trouble if one of them is a soft talker....
I came here for my birthday dinner this past weekend based on Yelp reviews. I was very disappointed. We had appetizers, which were fine (we had a vegetarian with us so we got a lot of veggies) and our meal came out as soon as the plates were cleared. Everything was very rushed. The food was flavorless and portions were small for what you pay for. The only good thing the four of us ordered was the pappardelle. I wouldn't recommend anything else.
Additionally, the ambiance was uncomfortable. There was no music playing and the set up of the restaurant itself was cramped and crowded.
Will not come here again. Will not recommend it to a friend.
Ripasso's food is pretty good but overpriced.
I ordered the polenta which was really great. I was looking for a vegetarian option and the waiter recommended this dish. Sadly, there are not a whole lot of vegetarian options so.... if you don't eat meat, head somewhere else.
A friend of mine ordered the tortellini in broth and wow.... you might as well call this an appetizer. She was served approximately 9 tortellini with barely any broth. It almost looked like someone ate half of her dish. Quite disappointing.
The rice balls were a fantastic appetizer: fried with rice and cheese in the middle, covered with a tomato sauce. Yum!
It was OK...nothing memorable, and with so many amazing Italian places, there's no reason to go back here. I was really excited about the homemade pasta, and that was the best thing we had, but overall everything was VERY under seasoned and bland. We had the meatballs, rice balls, porchetta, anchovies, and Brussels sprouts to start. None of them deserved more than 2 stars. We then split the pappardelle and the squash pasta. These were both good, but nothing special. Service was good, though I think he was sensing we weren't so happy and what trying to compensate by being a little too nice and attentive. Â I was really hoping this place would meet my expectations, but sadly I won't be going back.
Review Source:I think Ripasso's style is very similar to Davanti. So it might be unfair to compare it to my favorite Italian place. On top of that, I had the Gilt City coupon, so we got 7 dishes, chef's choice. Let's just say, I wouldn't have gotten half of the dishes if it were up to me.
Anyways, I think it still deserves a 3.5 star, so I round it up to 4 due to our awesome waiter. The service was very friendly and attentive. The good dishes were polenta ricca and the seasonal sweet potato ravioli. Both were unique and had great flavors. The rest of the dishes we had were three different pickles, salad, ragu of three beans, and some fish dish, all were kind of average. I really wanted to try their meatballs or risotto, but I guess the chef decided they were not representative enough to be served based on "chef's choice"? Also, among the 6 main dishes being served (the last one was dessert), only one had fish in it, everything else was veggie. I meannnn i didn't think it's a vegetarian menu when I purchased the coupon...
Next time if we are in the neighborhood, we may go back and try other things. But we won't go to Wicker Park just for this place, not really worth the trip.
Bravo Ripasso! The pasta here is simply delicious and reminded me of some of the best I've had in Italy.
We made a reservation on gDine for a Sunday night and had an outstanding meal. Â The gDine deal is $34/person and includes 3 courses and 2 glasse of wine. Â The wine they serve is just the house red/white, but I thought the red far exceeded my expectations as it displayed reasonable structure, balanced fruit, and some light tannins on the finish.
We started off with the polenta ricca. It was two hamburger patty sized polenta cakes seasoned with truffle oil. In between the cakes was thinly sliced ham and fontina cheese. Â Incredible dish! I was impressed by how meticulous they were with the preparation of this dish and the light and fluffy texture of the polenta cakes.
We also ordered the zuppa: mussels, clams in a white wine sauce. Also served with two crosinis. I thought the broth was light, but showed surprising complexity since they used tomato peels to add a red sauce dimension to it. Kind of reminded me of how red wine is made where the grape skins are added to the wine. My only complaint was that there were not enough mussels and clams, but it was still a very enjoyable dish nonetheless.
For my entree, I ordered the foletti. It was a pasta dish (tube pasta to be more precise) with sausage, rapini and cauliflower & pecorino cheese. The pasta tubes were homemade and complemented well by the sauce and cheese. The sausage really made this dish resonate as it has a spicy kick to it that added a bold dimension to the dish.
My wife ordered the pappardelle. This was fabulous. The noodles were excellent and complemented well by a superb meat sauce with delicate touches of truffle and parmigian cheese, it reminded me of some of the incredible pastas I have had traveling in Florence and Rome.
Our server seemed pretty new and was although she was not fully aware of the gDine concept, where you prepay for your meal and get to choose the items you want, she was very accommodating and attentive. Overall we had an excellent meal and I was surprised the restaurant wasn't fuller...although I suppose their prices are a bit high for pasta. Regardless, I am definitely a fan of Ripasso and will be back soon!
I think a lot of these reviews are before their re-opening in October after they remodeled. I was with a party of 6 and we did not have to order "family style" so maybe there have been changes since then?
Food was very good. Italian is not normally my go-to but everything I tasted was delicious. Â The celery root custard and potato pancake was excellent, along with the other apps I tried.
Entres , (pappardelle, Â trout, Â folleti- homemade sausage was excellent) were also very good. Â The pasta is fresh and handmade everyday.
Our server was great; very knowledgeable and attentive. Â I hope this place stays in Bucktown because I will definitely return!
One of the best meals EVER! Â Hands down. Â We did the 4 course chef's choice and everything was 5 star. Â I don't go back to restaurants more than once or twice unless they are VERY good. Â But, I will make it a point to visit Ripasso every time I am in Chi Town. Â I wish we had Italian this good in Denver!
Review Source:Ripasso is located in the trendy Bucktown area of Chicago. Â It serves Italian cuisine in an unremarkable setting. Â Carb dishes dominate the menu with very limited meat and fish selections.
On a recent early Sunday evening our party of four dined there all for the first time. Â One of the reasons that we selected this restaurant is that it advertizes an assortment of unique house cocktails. Â However, when we tried to order a couple, we were informed that no bartender was on duty and that only basic drinks were available. Â That being the case, one of us ordered a straight up Manhattan that turned out to be skimpy and served in a stemless, bowl-shaped glass totally unsuitable for that type of cocktail. Â Moreover, it took an inordinate time to prepare. Â (I believe our waiter mixed the drink.) Â
The table bread, which is made in-house, was soft and spongy without a crisp crust and not to my liking.  The accompanying olive oil, however, was very flavorful.  Because of the limited entrée selections we opted to share multiple antipasti and a couple of pasta dishes.  Moreover, we had to order one of the plates prematurely because it was the last serving available despite the early hour and the dining room being only half filled.  Overall, the food was mediocre.  As to the service, our waiter was amiable but could not explain what constituted the chef's special that was a combination dishes for that evening.
Ripasso's operation was disorganized and unprofessional. Â I feel that its menu strives to be hip but doesn't meet the standards of a good Italian restaurant.
Service was good and the place is actually pretty cute. But the food was not good. 6 of us went and they said for party more than 4, you have to do family style. We said ok but what's on our menu, right. The waiter said the chef will just prepare the menu like prixe fixe with appetizers, two main courses, and then desserts. We told the waiter no beef and no lamb. We were not given a menu in advance.
So the first course came, it actually came with multiple dishes, potato sticks, spinach pudding and prosciutto salad. Not bad! And then the first main course came, with potato ravioli and shrimp and scallops cutter fish ink pasta. We were like, potato again!? Granted, the ravioli tasted kinda bland, it's stuffed with potato with the potato sauce. It's like very potato! The shrimp and scallop pasta tasted no bad actually.
Then the second course came with roasted duck and mushroom pasta. The duck was tender but lack of flavor. The pasta was the same, lack of flavor. It tasted something I can make at home. Usually home made pasta taste much better but this restaurant didn't do a good job with that, in my opinion. Along with the second course, there came with 2 side dishes, and they were spinach and mashed potato. We were like potato again?? And didn't we have spinach pudding for appetizer? Â Although the mashed potato tasted pretty good, it was just too much potato at this time, it killed the appetite. The meal was very heavy at this point. Luckily the next course was desserts. We were jokingly saying wondering if dessert was potato too! Thank god they weren't! They were egg custard with peaches and I'm not sure what the other one was exactly. It was something with fried dough covered with chocalate. They were not the best tasting desserts.
Overall, the experience was lots of potato and spinach and flavorless food!
Given the number of superior Italian options in Chicago, there is no reason to go to Ripasso.
One of the main reasons I selected Ripasso was because of the interesting cocktails featured on their website. When I asked to see a cocktail menu, I was told that their bartender only works on certain days and the night I was in wasn't one of them. So, the cocktails were not available. I have never been to a restaurant where an entire segment of the menu is only available on certain unannounced days. Total disappointment. We were told that they could make any classic cocktails we wanted. When my mother ordered a vodka with cranberry, she was informed that they didn't have cranberry juice.
After two quick strikes, I was ready to leave but wasn't in a position to. I hoped the food would turn my experience around and was only partially satisfied. The polenta and mussels were quite good. The suppli, which seem to get hyped on Yelp, were just OK. It just tastes like fried. I didn't care for the sformato at all (I found spinach in a creamy custard form to be off-putting). The pastas were generally fine. The folletti with eggplant and tomato sauce was very nice. The neri was interesting, although I found it hard to eat more than a few bites of it. While the gnocchi themselves were great, I didn't think the sauce was a good complement. We had the zeppoli and torta for dessert. They were fine but unmemorable and not worth the cost or calories. I'd skip desserts here and go a few blocks to Black Dog instead.
I eat a lot of Italian food so it is only natural for me to compare Ripasso to my other experiences around town. This place is an inferior version of Letitzia's Fiore. Both have a cool drink program, although you can actually try Letitzia's. Both feature arancini and house-made pasta, but Letitzia's are better.
Our server was very knowledgeable and informative. It did take a while to get drinks, which happens when the waiters are also the bartenders. Cocktail pours were weak for the money.
Thankfully we didn't experience this, but there was an issue with condensation from the air conditioning dripping on certain seats. That is inexcusable in a restaurant at any level, let alone one of the caliber Ripasso aspires to.
Here's how Ripasso could have earned that 5th star:
*Offer more non-alcohol options for my pregnant dinner guest. She ordered a sparkling water and we were told they didn't have it. So she ordered a sprite. The service then returned to tell us they only had coke and diet coke. Not being able to offer clear pops seemed odd. And how can you call yourself an Eye-talian restaurant if you don't serve sparkling water?
*I'm not an alcoholic (I tell myself everyday) but the wine pours were incredibly pathetic. I had planned on only having one glass, but considering it was a very meager offering, I ordered a second and hoped the first was a fluke. It was not. I wasted $20. Well, I wasted the price of one glass, so $10.
We had noveau service, so I think that made the difference. I understand everyone has to learn, so hopefully things improve for the future customers.
Here's how Ripasso earned the 4th star, thus saving them from a 3 star experience.
*Suppli
*Steak crostini
*Papardelle - amazing!
I want to begin by saying that Ripasso really needs to fix the problem they have with water condensation falling from the "vent ducts" in the celing (big pipes, just look up, they are pipes that have an industrial feel to them but I have no idea what they are called). Â We went on a sunny evening after a rainy day, the rain probably had something to do with this issue. Â For whatever reason water condensation forms on the vent ducts and that water fell on us and our table repeatedly, causing us to get up and move until waiters came over to clean up. Â This is not pleasant, especially while eating. Â In any event, they did their best to wipe the ceiling with a home made mop (rags tied to brooms). Â But it was only a temporary fix until the next water issue arose. Â I'd like to think they should have comped us desert, an appetizer, or something else for this unpleasant experience, but all they offfered was an apology, which was appreciated.
Aside from that, service was pretty good. Â Ambiance was nice as well. Â But one thing stood out, the noise! Â One had to yell to be heard and that was surprising given the restaurant is so small. Â I feel like an old man complaing about noise, but seriously, if noise bothers you then skip Ripasso.
Onto the food. Â
Bread Service:
Standard white bread and olive oil. Â Good but nothing unique.
Bigne:
These potato-cheese puffs came out a little soggy/greasy. Â I'd skip them.
Suppli:
I liked these but they got mixed reviews from the table. Â Very crispy with plenty of mozzerrella and a decent amount of greens.
Polpetti:
Standard fare meatballs that I thought were quite nice with a simple red sauce.
Mussels:
Very well done. Â Broth had good flavor. Â Again nothing crazy or unique but they got the job done. Â I do wish they had given us 5 mussels, instead of 4. Â We were a table of 5 and we would have paid $2 for a 5th mussel (item is $8 for 4 mussels).
Pappardelle:
All I can say is I don't get it. Â Everyone loves this and cites the truffle oil. Â I found it to be very good and light pasta...but it needed something more & lacked flavor. Â Maybe it is me or we got a bad batch. Â It just seemed bland.
Pollo:
I ordered this. Â It was good. Â Chicken needed more flavor but thankfully the potatoes had plenty of flavor, so if you ate the two as one bite it made for a very good combo. Â Chicken was cooked perfectly, so it was rather moist.
Wine:
List is limited and most bottles are over $50 and maybe one or two were under $30. Â We ordered a decent chianti and a white that I don't recall. Â I do know that we tried to order a 2nd bottle of the white and they had run out of so we tried a different kind...I hate when this happens. Â I can understand running out of an entre, becasue food spoils. Â But I can't understand running out of a wine on your list.
Overall, this place is okay. Â They need to fix the water problem and step a few of the food items up and add a few wines in the $20 to $30 range. Â If they can do that they'd be a 4 star but for now I can only give them 3.
Food was great! Â We ordered the Bigne to start - super delicious. Â I love pesto and who doesn't love fried potato cheese puffs (thought they were more like fried potato cheese sticks). Â We ordered the Pappardelle and Folleti as our main pasta courses. Â The Pappardelle was my personal favorite. Â The pasta was great - love the taste and feel of homemade pasta. Â The sauce was perfectly creamy and anything with truffle oil wins me over. Â The Folletti was very good too - that was my sister's favorite dish. Â We were too full for dessert but the dessert menu definitely looked good so I'll have to go back to try it!
Only sad thing was we forgot about the yelp check-in to receive a free something off-menu until the very end. Â The waiter wouldn't let us use it and said we needed to show him when we first sat down. Â Next time perhaps.
Go to Ripasso and eat as much as you can cram in. Â It's all soooo good. Â Well, I don't know about all because there are some dishes I'm just stuck on and love so much that I have to get them every time. Â My boyfriend and I often split dishes, with friends too if they're there, so we get to share in all the goodness. Â
Things you should definitely order:
-Suppli for a starter
-Pappardelle
-Whatever polenta dish they happen to be serving. Â Melt in your mouth deliciousness, every time.
I don't always make it to dessert, but when I have, it's been wonderful. Â
In short, this is a great restaurant. Â The food is scrumdiddlyumptious.
OK food but bad service. Â We walked to our table, the server handed us the menu, immediately launched into an explanation of the chef's tasting and asked for our order. Â Our butts barely touched down on the seat!! Â Give us a second OK? Â When we weren't ready to order right away she got a little snippy.
Also the set-up for the chef's tasting is annoying. Â The server said the courses were of the chef's choosing, and the whole table has to participate, and that was it. Â When we asked what was being served, she said it changes from guest to guest and wouldn't tell us what it was. Â Gimme a break -- we ain't talking about Ferran Adria here for god's sake. Â When we explained that one of us don't eat certain types of meat so that's why we were asking, she said well then order a-la carte. Â Well excuuuuse us.
After we get our food the server decides to ignore us completely. Â We had one glass of wine each and the glasses sat empty for the rest of the meal despite our trying to get her attention. Â Even our water ran out. Â She was too busy chatting up the bar patrons to notice us. Â When we finally flagged her down we ordered more wine and asked for water. Â She brought the wine and forgot the water completely. Â And btw, the wine pours were really small. Â They probably served 6 glasses out of one bottle. Â Stingy.
Finally she handed us the dessert menu, and when we said we didn't want dessert she walked away before we even had a chance to say...but we want more wine! Â Next thing you know she's brought us the check.
So, well, nothing tragically wrong but just a bunch of missteps that added up to an lingering unpleasantness.
So glad Chef Theo did not leave Chicago when Terragusto closed! The food at Ripasso is just as delicious as it was at Terragusto and the service has improved greatly. They make their bread and pastas daily.
We ordered the 3-course chef's selection menu and licked each and every plate to completion. Highlights included onion custard with braised mushrooms and all pasta dishes!!! And, the chef was very amenable to a completely vegetarian meal.
Ripasso beats any Italian restaurant in Chicago, including Spiaggia.
Great neighborhood italian spot! Â Beats out much of the italian competition in the damen-milwaukee-north ave intersection. Â A great combination of fresh pasta, home-style presentation and food. Â Space is small but cozy.
Loved:
- Proscuitto crostini appetizers: totally salty and fatty, love it.
- mushroom/duck confit with onion custard: Â the custard didn't look appetizing but tasted amazing
- Papardelle truffle pasta: Â home made delisciousness! can't go wrong with truffle either
- butternut squash ravioli: tasted like dessert which can't be so bad! very filling
- strachiatella dessert: chocolate chip mousse! yum
Liked:
- white anchovie crostini appetizer: tasty, would rather have the anchovies straight up!
- arugular salad: underseasoned but fresh
- braised veal leg: underseasoned but very tender
Overall, would definitely return. Â Please go support this neighborhood spot! Â Great wine suggestions from the staff as well. Â Service was probably a low point, a bit too casual and when it gets busy, a bit lackluster.
Welcome to Bucktown, Chef Gilbert! Â
I purchased the Farmhouse Dinner via Groupon and it wildly exceeded all of my expectations. Â Course after course after course, paired with generous pourings (and frequent refills), in a cozy atmosphere. Â I'm always a little worried about there won't be enough food, but in true Italian fashion, there was more than enough to serve 2 tables family style. Â This may have been the first time I've ever seen my boyfriend leave food behind. Â Oh, and everything was delicious. Â Best pasta I've ever had, end of story.
Chef Gilbert walked us through each course, its origins, and his take on it. Â He was so warm, and passionate about what he does. Â And our wine coach, Victoria, educated us on what we were drinking and happily answered all of our wine questions, most of which had nothing to do with the menu -- she was happy to share knowledge. Â It felt like a dinner party. Â
We had such a good time and left with full bellies. Â I cannot wait to go back on a regular night and order off the menu, and I would definitely do another Farmhouse Wine Dinner, even at the full price.
I was very pleased here. I would recommend the 3 course Chef's menu. It was plenty of food (I am a 27 yr old guy who can eat a lot) and gave us a chance to try different things. We also ordered the Aranchini (sp), which is the fried Risotto.
The 3 courses were:
Mushroom and Diver Scallop Risotto - This was the best dish of the night. Scallops were cooked perfectly. Order this is you love mushrooms like me.
Butternut Squash Ravioli - This was delicious, but my 3rd favorite only because the other two were so good.
Bologna Sauce - VERY close 2nd. The truffle oil was an excellent touch and the chef did a great job adding tons of flavor to what I usually consider a boring sauce.
Service was excellent and prices were reasonable.
This review is in regard to the Farmhouse Wine Dinner. Â We were a little anxious on what to expect since we read a TOC review that was just OK. Â In all fairness, that review may have been a little premature, since they had just opened and may have not been fine tuned yet.
We signed up for the Emiliana-Romagna region. Â My wife and I were in Italy for the first time in June, and had the pleasure of experiencing a communal dinner on a "Fattoria" in the Tuscan countryside. Â Our experience at Ripasso was so similar and fun, and we would highly recommend it. Â
At the start of the degustation, Chef Theo comes out to the two large tables set up  at the front of the restaurant.  The tables you are seated around are the tables they use in the morning to make their pastas.  Each table holds ten guests.  Chef Theo explains the first two courses in detail, which really gets your appetite going.  Also present is a sommelier who dines with you and, after Theo gives his schpeal, will speak about the first two course wines in detail.  The evening is very educational and we appreciated learning the "hows and whys' of the selections and assembelages of the meal. Â
I won't break down each course in detail, but  to give you an idea of what you'll be in for, will say that the first course, Antipasti, consists of a selected wine, and three items.  The second course, Primi, consists of a selected wine and two pastas.  (This is were we died......the squash-stuffed Cappallacci (pope-hats) were incredible.  Equally so was the tagliatelle pasta in a four-meat sauce with white truffle oil - Ohhhhhh man....god-food!)  The third course, Secondi, consists of a selected wine and two items. (The roasted chicken dish was so flavorful! As it was said "Anyone can roast chicken, but to do it really well takes talent".)  The fourth course, Dolci, was  served with a sweet Moscato selection, and two items.
So, nine food items and four wine selections will take you on a quick trip to Italia. Â Using the Groupon we bought made for a really good value, averaging $55p/p without the tax and tip. Â We would highly recommend the "Fattoria Experience" Â for a fun and educational evening and plan on returning to experience another region.
My boyfriend took me here for my 25th birthday and it was great. The paparadalle dish is something I am still dreaming about, the service is fantastic...I like places that take a team approach to service. It is also refreshing to see one of the owners bussing tables...shows a true commitment to their business and service. Go to Ripasso, you will not be bummed.
We had the following dishes and all got an A-A+
-Squash ravioli (pope hats really, can't remember the shape!)
-Papardalle
-Meatballs
-Aranchini
-Marscapone mousse (A+++)
We started with the Insalata, which was a simple enough salad, but had just the right amount of dressing and ingredients. I also had their Fernet cocktail which was delicious*. For the main I had the Pappardelle (wide ribbon pasta in a four-meat sauce, parmigiano, and white truffle). I couldn't get enough of this, it was delicious and I'd definitely come back again just for this dish. I also tried the Cappellacci which while it was very good, was a little on the sweet side for me (especially after having the Pappardelle). My only complaint of the night was the high noise level, but since it was packed, I guess that's to be expected. Ripasso is a great new addition to the neighborhood...
*if you are a fan of Fernet, if not you probably shouldn't bother without trying Fernet on its own
This review is for the bar experience only, which I found to be immaculate.
Captaining the bar is former Drawing Room apothecary Tim Lacey, and his style certainly binds Ripasso's cocktail menu. He's been known to make Fernet Branca taste good in a myriad of ways, but "8 1/2" is a stand out amongst those. The Fernet is rounded out with the El Dorado 5 yr Rum, cherry compote, lemon juice, orange bitters and is topped off with a flamed citrus peel in a stemless wine glass. It's reminiscent of a cocktail punch, but delivers an elegance with menthol undertones from the Fernet and the almost-umami depth from the cherries.
I was also fortunate to taste Tim's olive-oil washed Northshore Gin paired up with Ripasso's olive appetizer, which was an incredible match. The perfect briney, meatiness of the olives was cut with the edge of the Gin, but still left the tones of olive oil on my tongue.
I've heard good things about the food, but if you're like me you'll consider skipping all of that to have a seat at the bar. I promise, it's worth it.
Fantastic Everything!!  We went with a group of 7 and had a family style meal, allowing chef Lauren to choose the dishes for us.  It gave us the opportunity to try new items and widen our pallet.  The gnocchi was delightfully sautéed with mushrooms in a light sauce.  It was not your typical heavy dish but instead helped to build a wonderful base for the tender pork shank.  The wine, mixed drinks and coffee were also to die for!
I highly recommend this restaurant for any occasion.
My husband and I were so excited when we finally figured out where our favorite Terragusto chef went. Â We were impressed. Â While the offering weren't exactly like Terragusto there were some old favorites...the sformato and the wagyu steak. Â Both were delicious! Â We had the zeppoli dessert and it was amazing. Â
We have already booked another dinner and can't wait to go back and try some more dishes. Â I hope to try the pasta and risotto flights.
The service/kitchen was a bit slow but everyone was very nice and attentive to our needs.
My friend and I did the 5 course chef's tasting menu with wine pairings. Not only was each course better than the last, we were overwhelmed with the amount of food we received for the money.
The mushroom and scallops risotto was perfect, just a little al dente. Also, the half chicken was perfectly done. Can't wait to go back!
We also tried two of the specialty cocktails created by their bartender who used to work at The Drawing Room. I highly recommend the drink (can't remember its name) with the celery bitters.
If you're craving pasta and a reasonably priced bottle of wine, this could be your place. Stumbling distance to the Damen Blue Line stop, Ripasso, will surely attract Bucktown inhabitants. Is it get in a cab and drive a couple miles worthy? Â Probably not.
We had a large party of 6. Which was awesome because you can let the chef pick what you eat, which we did, and eat family style. For the less adventurous you can pick options.
Bucktown is known for mediocre Italian, Club Lucky or Forno, so it's nice to have a place that brings a different slant. If you've been to Antico and liked it, you'll probably like Ripasso.
Ripasso has great food. Â Period. Â
There are a lot of Italian places in the city, but what separates Ripasso from the rest is the perfectly cooked and sauced pasta. Â Authentically rustic and flavorful while staying far away from the assembly line pasta that is served by most restaurants claiming to be Italian but instead just heap bland sauce on overly cooked pasta. Â
If you like terragusto, expect the same kind of great pasta and simply grilled proteins. Â The Capelacci was the favorite at our table - ravioli like pasta filled with squash and served with a sage brown butter sauce. Â Not overly sweet and the pasta was cooked perfectlly. Â The raosted chicken was great too -- simple, but juicy and flavorful.
Our waiter was attentive and helpful, so no service issues in my experience (I wouldn't even address it but for the other reviews).
The interior is blah and small -- not a place I would take people who want a scene.
You're going to love the food -- enjoy.
Our service was extremely disappointing. I realize a first weekend opening can have kinks but this seemed a bit over the top. We only saw our server once or twice over the course of the 1.5 hour meal and we ordered within the first 15 minutes. Seemed very under staffed which is surprising considering the owners/operators have done this before.
I wouldn't be as harsh either if the food really made up for it. The meat ball starter was quite good and we enjoyed the simple salad but our pastas and risotto were average. The pasta is well cooked but the rest of the dishes lacked flavor. The risotto was probably best and the other two pasta sauces didn't add enough to the dish.
I hope they can fix it because I'd love to have a rustic Italian pasta place close by - it's exactly something we could use. I'll let the dust settle and get back in a few months, hoping things are figured out more.
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