Best Tiramisu in River North. Hands down, stfu.
Soon after we sat down, our scrumptiously thin 12" Margherita pizza hit the bar and went well with my generous pour of their own red blend, which is also mouthgasmic. The thin amount of sauce and cheese were PERFECT for this lunchtime snack. Â The crust ends were perfect for dipping into the savory and erotic garlic aioli. Â
The tiramisu comes in a metal trough and has climatic bits of white chocolate strategically scattered amongst the black coffee nirvana goo that sits between high class, crispy lady fingers. WOo!
Daniel and Ashlee are the great ladies who took great care of us as we didn't quite hear the instructions at the front desk about how to proceed sans reservations.
The ladies were handling a frenzied lunch rush crowd but kept the personal touch expert, along with the support staff who truly seemed to like having us there. (This isn't often the case in this area.) Â I'm pretty sure I've laughed it up with Daniel at another location nearby but forgot to mention it.
Now I'm just a few steps from this location and have been waiting months for them to open, to such delight.
Someone put a ton of thought, care and cash into this new spot and it has the widest, smoothest granite bar I've had the pleasure of groping.
He was William Shatner's personal chef! The man fed T.J. Hooker, and the Priceline Negotiator! Captain Kirk liked his food so much that he chose to have it on a regular basis. Â And if it's good enough for Captain Kirk...
I was hoping I'd get to meet Chef Fabio Viviani when we dined at his Siena Tavern last night. As luck would have it, he was out of town.
We were seated at a four top by large floor to ceiling windows offering a great view of the action on Kinzie Street. Â Based on our server's recommendation I started with the Grey Goose cocktail No. 2. With peach, lemon, and prosecco, it tasted much better than the Johnny Walker Black cocktail No. 8.
For an appetizer I wanted to try the Coccoli, but like the famous chef, it was MIA. They were out of stracchino cheese. Â The gigantic Kobe Meatball more than made up for the missing Coccoli. It was served in a tomato sauce with ricotta and shaved basil, and I would gladly have made a meal out of just it. Â I hear the meatball is so popular it has its own Twitter account.
My squid ink linguini with a grilled lobster tail entree was spectacular. The spicy lobster cream sauce added just the right amount of heat. Â The dish was perfectly executed. I also loved that there were large chunks of lobster hidden in the pasta.
For dessert, the Tiramisu was an obvious choice. We knew we couldn't go wrong with one of Chef Fabio's signature preparations. Â Our server also suggested the Bomboloni, Italian doughnuts. Served in a paper bag, they were accompanied by miniature squeeze bottles of caramel, chocolate and raspberry sauces which could be injected into the doughnuts. The caramel was a little too sweet for me. Â I resorted to making up my own sauce by mixing the much more subtle raspberry with the chocolate.
Overall, the meal was excellent. Â It was a great value for money too. Of course that was to be expected. Â If there is one thing the Priceline Negotiator knows, it's a good deal. He would never have hired Chef Fabio if he didn't think he was getting a great deal.
First the nuts and bolts and little things: Â Hot new place attached to Fabio Viviani of Check Please fame. Â He joined with a hot group to open a large space in the uber hot River North area. Â Think of Hubbard St, Erie St,. Kinzie, Dearborn, and State street near Wacker drive. Â Very competitive area for food. Â Well, he may have staying power as long as the crowds don't mind paying up to $16 for a pizza and upwards of $30 for a main course and $12 for parking. Â Now, little things. Â Had a very nice beet salad, but we also ordered the Truffle Pizza and the salad plate remained on the table for the pizza. Â A restaurant of this nature should have taken the salad plate and replaced it immediately. Â Servers and bus boys ned to know this. Â Also, forks were used, taken but not replaced until after we received our next course. Â Finally, my wife's decaf coffee was just colored weak water and the server did not bring cream or sugar and this had to be requested. Â Again, a restaurant of this type should not skimp on the coffee and should bring what is required without asking. Â
Service was good and attentive and young, but the car park was quite slow in taking my car.  The message starts on the outside.  Now the food which is billed as rustic italian. I don't know.  Maybe rustic with modern takes.  We had a beet salad, a truffle pizza, the short rib ravioli, the gnocchi and the sea bass and the sticky parmesan potatoes, which are more like what you would get at a  Sunday breakfast with eggs, and finished with the donuts and dipping sauces and pistachio gelato, and a nice bottle of wine.  I think I would classify the food as small plates, but not very rustic. We did not leave hungry and all of the food was y good.to very good.  The best in Chicago, hardly, but nothing to complain about.  The gnocchi and ravioli were terrific and the pizza also very good.  The room is beautiful and must have cost a small fortune to put together.  Now, all they need to do is stay consistent, hope people don't have a problem spending the kind of dollars they are asking and keep filling the place.  Last night, there was a steady stream of people so that may not be a problem, but foodies are fickle and once the next hot thing comes along, they move on.  Finally, I had a nice conversation with one of the young managers.  We talked about the restaurant and the area, and just lots of general stuff.  Very nice young man, and he took time with us to talk.  Helps with the PR.  Good luck Fabio.
The ambiance is great, I love the huge space and the industrial yet warm feel. We were worried about seating, but it turned out there was plenty at the bar (there are two pretty sizable bars where you can sit and eat) so we sat there. Our server was great, the drink list was nice and more reasonable than I thought it would be (i.e. glasses of wine for under $10!) and the food was really good. We got the beet salad, which was excellent, the gnocchi, the pear and prosciutto pizza, and the fries. I would say everything was excellent except the fries, but then again they are fries so you can easily skip them! It's not cheap, but I would go back.
Review Source:Holy mackerel, this place is a ball of crazy.
The fiance and I stopped in here after dinner the other night to check it out, have a drink or two. Â First off, we were there at a slightly awkward time, around 9:30, so the dinner crowd was lingering, but the clubby types had arrived en masse. Â (Let me say, for the record, I was not expected clubby types at this place, but boy did they represent).
Plusses: I had a glass of prosecco that was decent and was served in a champagne saucer which was utterly charming. Â Also, though I can hardly imagine how it could have been more crowded, there seemed to be enough standing room to not feel completely claustrophobic.
Minuses: wowzers, douche-bag city. Â If that's your scene, no judgement, that might be a plus for you, but not so much for me. Â At one point a certain gentleman fitting the above description jostled my arm and caused me to spill the better portion of aforementioned prosecco down my silk blouse. Â And he didn't even notice. Â Also, at least at the back bar, there were only two beers on tap, which disappointed my gentleman companion.
I can't speak to the food, I only witnessed the (somewhat schizophrenic) decor, atmosphere, and a single glass of bubbly.
If you ever wondered what authentic, delicious, memorable Italian food tasted like, go to Siena Tavern! Â WOW, Chef Fabio knows what he is doing! Â This place is definitely worth the hype it has been receiving and I cannot wait to go back! Â The food here was FANTASTIC and so memorable I cannot stop thinking about two dishes, the truffle gnocchi and the cocoli.
To start the evening off, our waitress was great. Â Extremely helpful with drinks and menu suggestions for sharing as well as an overview of the menu. Â Our table started with 4 starters, the Kobe Meatball being one. Â Fantastic! Â The sauce was not too spicy with a dollop of ricotta on top. Â We also shared the Kale Caesar Salad and the Chopped Salad. Â Both were wonderful! Â My favorite small plate however, was the Cocoli, little crispy balls of dough (similar to a savory eclair puff) with stracchino cheese, prosciutto di parma, truffle honey. Â Absolutely heavenly! Â I could have eaten that all myself!
For the entrees, 4 out of the 6 in my party had the Gnocchi with truffle cream sauce and little bits of crispy pancetta. Â On top were perfectly fried sage leaves. Â We were all eating in silence because it was SO heavenly! Â The other two had the squid ink linguini and the pappardelle. Â Both said it was fabulous. Â
After all that, you would think that we all would be stuffed (which we were) but who could leave without trying the desserts? Â
We had to try the Chef Fabio's famous tiramisu, house made gelato, and the bomboloni. Â The tiramisu, came in a little loaf pan and was topped with shavings of chocolate covered coffee beans, hands down the best I have ever eaten. Â The gelato's came in a wide variety of delicious and different flavors. Â Creamy and rich, but not too heavy as you might think. Â Finally, the bombolni, which were perfect little balls of fried dough (similar to a donut) covered in sugar with three different dipping sauces-wiskey carmel, chocolate hazelnut, and fresh raspberry (my personal favorite!).
I will definitely be going back and HIGHLY recommend! Â I can't stop thinking about this meal!
Went to the newly opened Siena Tavern on 3/6. Â The food was absolutely amazing. Â The kobe meatball may be $17, but its delicious, and as big as a softball. Â Gnocchi were divine, and the ricotta and pesto with bread was awesome. Â Our waiter was very friendly, and did a wonderful job at describing the items we were debating, and making recommendations. Â I cant wait to go back.
Only two minor complaints: Â Our two drinks took forever to come. Â We were there just after 5pm, and it wasnt very crowded. Â Drinks should have come before the apps. Â Also, the valet service isn't the best, but thats not really on Siena Tavern.
I heard some good things about this new place and love Italian food so I was excited to check it out. I was disappointed but would like to come back to try other dishes. Â
I was with a friend who was in town and we weren't too hungry so we just shared 3 things: the fries, chopped salad and prosciutto pear pizza. The fries were good but its hard to mess up fries. I don't know what it was about the salad but I thought it was horrible. And the pizza was nothing special, didn't have much flavor and I had to search for the pears because there was barely any on there.
We went on Thursday 3/7 and I knew it was going to be very busy. They weren't taking names because they were booked but we quickly got 2 seats at the bar. The bartender was very nice but I was disappointed in the timing of the food coming out. We ordered everything at the same time and we didn't ask for anything in any order, but I thought common sense is to bring the salad first. Our pizza came out first within like 7 or 8 minutes. I wondered how we got it that fast and thought maybe it was someone's mess up order? Then about a minute later the salad and fries came out, so we pretty much got everything at the same time.
Maybe we just went on a bad night and ordered the wrong things, but I would like to come back to give it another shot. I really wanted to try the pasta but we just didn't have the appetite for a lot of food. Â
I give it two stars because the bartender was nice and the atmosphere is great. Maybe on less busy nights, the chefs will put more effort into making the food good, rather than just throwing something together.
Came here with a group of 7 and had quite a bit of their menu. The exceptional dishes are the following:
Gnocci
Tiramisu
Bomboloni (pretty much a donut with different flavor of syrup)
The rest of the stuff are just ok. My party got the following:
Cocoli (which is ham, with cheese and bread which you can end up eating like a sandwich)
Truffle Mushroom Pizza (which one of my companion said it reminds him of CPK pizza)
Squid Ink Linguine
Carbonara - the noodle's fresh made but definitely undercooked as it was hard
Daily Risotto (I think it was butternut squash)
Ossobucho
Brick Chicken - which was overly dry
Overall, the pasta are just ok. Their are made in house, as i can taste it, but they screwed them up by under cooking them. The rest of the entree have creative description by the server but under delivered.
However, this place definitely is a nice place to go for a drink and dessert. The drinks are good and dessert are pretty solid. So I'd come back for those but maybe not the food.
As a previous poster said, definitely MAKE RESERVATIONS. Â I don't usually complain about service, but if you show up without reservations (even on a weeknight before 6), you may have as unpleasant an experience as I did. Â
The host will try to tell you that bar tables turn over quickly....they do not. They want you to believe it will be true and order a drink, which will turn into more drinks while you wait. Â I waited for an hour for a table, and during that time only one table and one seat were vacated in the bar area! Â If the host would have said the wait might be an hour, I could have dealt with that. Â Refusing to give a time, however, allows you to be delusional in thinking you will get to eat sometime soon.
But even after you're seated, don't expect to be taken care of quickly. Â After waiting at least five minutes for water and a waitress to introduce herself, it took 45 minutes for a salad to arrive. Â The waitress apologized, but that did not make up for a 45 minute wait! for salad!
The purpose of my visit was to eat pizza. Â The pizza is definitely not worth a two hour wait. Â It's fine, but not anywhere near the best in the city. If you're really going for the pizza, I say skip this place. Â However, it seems like Siena Tavern is made for large groups who want to drink a lot of wine and order an assortment of items. Â The large tables (which had reservations) seemed to be having a great time, unlike my disgruntled party of 2.
Great dining experience with friends...
Siena Tavern is a Top Chef place, guy from Bravo, Â bla bla. I stopped listening and agreed to check it out. Â
I am glad I did !!
The menu has an array of Italian favorites, however had some new additions I have not seen before. Â The Cuccoli and Crudo Bar selections were fantastic. Â We were a table of 4 and ended up sharing everything. Â Our waitress Hannah was very knowledgeable and helped guide our choices the entire evening. Â It is a big plus when the wait staff knows their customers and the menu. Â
Next visit we are trying the Steak Florentine style! Â
This place is here to stay.
Food was unreal! Â I ordered the brick chicken and the shishito peppers and couldn't have been happier. Â Wifey liked the lasagna (I tried to get a taste but was denied). Â I went there three days ago and am writing this review because I am thinking about the sticky parm potatoes--it is 9:30 in the morning. Â
Service was decent, they couldn't figure out how to bring a scotch with one ice cube (I ended up ordering it neat) but they clearly are not rushing you out of the place, which made for a nice relaxing dinner
Loved this place...I think the food is better than RPM's, but RPM has a better atmosphere. We tried a bit of almost everything on the menu. My favorites were:
Antipasti - Coccoli (the truffle honey was amazing)
Entree - Squid Ink Linguini (a bit of a kick to it, very tasty and great with the lobster)
Desert - Tiramisu and Pistachio Gelato
Stopped in here on a Sunday evening and was super excited to see Fabio himself hanging at the host stand. The man was in the house! So was everyone else as this place was movin', they cited us an hour wait for a table for 2 but we grabbed a spot at the bar which worked out really well. Service was great, the space was still comfortable and the food was great. I was most interested to see what they were doing with their pizza here and as I'm such a burrata fan (which needs to be put on pizza more often!) I had to go with that. Also ended up sharing the kale caesar salad and the roasted cauliflower side. The burrata on the pizza was fantastic, creamy, with a slight saltiness. Amazing! I really liked the flavor of the crust but it was a little thin for me. If you like really thin crust pizza though you'd dig it! I actually found the salad and cauliflower to be the real stars of the night, the caesar salad dressing really paired nicely with the kale and the cauliflower had a nice lemon flavor and was paired perfectly with some really flavorful peppers. The place was a little spendy but that's the going rate in this neighborhood. I was also impressed with the beer selections on draft, bonus points for having the 3 Floyds Gumballhead.
Review Source:I am thoroughly shocked by the number of 4 and 5 star reviews for Siena Tavern. Upon reading through their menu I was instantly intrigued. We initially stopped at Quartino for calamari, late on a Sunday night and they were sold out. Total bummer, so I said let's run to Siena and grab a table. We made a reservation and apparently we didn't need one. Since I can see the list of everything that was off or bad getting long we will continue this in list form.
--no hostess at the door. I am sorry its 11pm on a Sunday but you are a bar and it says you are open until 2am on your website. There were 18 bus boys and smiling bartenders and it took us wandering in for someone to ask what we needed...
--we went to the bar, food bar whatever, and asked a girl if we could still eat or get a waitress and she directed a bus boy to ask the manager...this guy walked over with a big attitude and stood about a full foot shorter than my 5 foot tall frame and said "what's up". The only real Italian thing in this place at this point was my temper. The place screamed typical bar, no surprise since they are opened by the same group as Public and Bull & Bear, and certainly the customer service was as far away from inviting as you can get. Not a representation of anything Italian I'd be proud of. He explained some bs that since they were slow they were going to close, 3 hours ahead of schedule....but if we wanted a quick pizza then to order it now. In retrospect I should have said see ya at this point.
--we sat down because we felt so awkward and just ordered a margherita pizza. It was like any other you can get from Frankie's Scallopine or any of the million pizza places in Chicago. For $15 I was super unimpressed and thank God we only stuck to that item. No drinks even. The bartender was trying to be nice but I think she even knows that 3 weeks into this place opening it is a bust. The best place is to find a balance between outstanding customer service, delicious food, a beautiful environment all for a price that matches these, and this place failed to meet all of these criteria.
--on a really disgusting side note I ran to the bathroom and was washing my hands and couldn't find the hand soap...they had a bottle of C.O. Bigelow BODYWASH. Seriously who manages this place? Anyways, an older woman next to me was furiously wiping her nose and appeared quite jittery after coming out of the stall and seeing someone else in the bathroom. I am pretty sure she was doing coke and not fighting a bad cold. All in all I think it is safe to say I would have rather gone home hungry after Quartino.
As soon as I had my first bite of the Gnocchi with Truffle Cream and Crispy Pancetta at Chicago Restaurant Week's First Bites Bash, I knew a visit to Siena Tavern needed to be in my near future. Had I known when I took that bite that Siena Tavern was the new Italian restaurant of chef Fabio Viviani...well, let's just say there would have been some squeals involved. I'm a huge Top Chef fan and the charming Viviani of Season 5 won Fan Favorite for a reason. I had no doubt that my gnocchi was just a small taste of the amazing food Fabio had in store for Chicago.
Situated on the corner of Kinzie and Dearborn, Siena Tavern fits perfectly into Chicago's trendy River North neighborhood. Lucas Stoioff and David Rekhson of Bull & Bear and Public House are no strangers to this 'hood, and they know how to do it right.
Our reservation was at 6:30p on a Friday and we arrived early to grab a drink and check out the bar area before dinner. At 6p the place was seriously hoppin'...from business professionals grabbing a drink after work to girls dressed like they were ready to hit the club...it was quite the mix of people.
We were able to grab a spot at the bar and try a few of their Femme du Coupe cocktails. I tried the #2 and the #4. Both on the sweeter side, one made with vodka and the other with gin. I thoroughly enjoyed both, but the #4 with plymouth, lavender honey, lemon, and creme de violette was definitely my fav. By 6:30p the wait for walk-ins was almost 2 hours...if you don't have a reservation I'd suggest stalking the bar patrons and swoop in once they're ready to leave-like I said, we snagged a couple seats at the bar less than 10 minutes after arriving.
Once our reservation time rolled around we were seated at one of the half-circle booths in their large, open dining room. We had a group of 4 and the booth was perfect; we had more than enough room and the arrangement made for intimate conversation while letting us take in the beautiful space around us.
The service we experienced was outstanding-our server Karissa was so friendly and had great suggestions, she coursed our dishes perfectly, and our water glasses were never empty. The plates at Siena are smaller and made for sharing. I think a group of 4 is the perfect size if you're looking to maximize the number of dishes you can try while still getting a decent portion of each.
We started with a few smaller plates: Â the Burrata from their Mozzarella Bar, served with a delicious tomato jam and grilled bread; the Saba Roasted Bone Marrow with pickled maitake mushrooms and crispy bread; and the Siena Chopped Salad. The salad was good but the Burrata and Bone Marrow were major standouts. I will definitely be ordering both of these again when we return (because we'll obviously be returning).
We followed up our "starters" with a few pastas. We tried the Short Rib Ravioli, Squid Ink Linguini, and Gnocchi. Again, they were all incredibly delicious and picking a favorite is nearly impossible, but I think the linguini stood out the most for me. The rich, meaty ravioli and velvety truffle cream gnocchi were both dishes I would absolutely order again. However, the subtle spice of the lobster cream sauce on the linguine was what really did it for me. Plus, I think I just love eating squid ink linguini!
We would've loved to go on trying more of the pastas, but we were told it would be wise if we left room for some of their fantastic desserts. We went with the Tiramisu and the Bomboloni. The Tiramisu is Fabio's grandmother's recipe and grandma did not disappoint! I like to think of myself as somewhat of a Tiramisu connoisseur because I try it everywhere. Â Siena Tavern's rendition is without a doubt one of my favs. Rich and creamy yet it still feels light when you take a bite. Tiramisu perfection!
The Bomboloni is also worth a sweet splurge at the end of your meal. Warm, airy dough covered in sugar and served with 3 different sauces in squeeze bottles-yes, you want this. You can squeeze the whisky-caramel, chocolate hazelnut, or lemon-maple sauce into the bomboloni at your discretion but in my experience more is better!
Of course no meal at the restaurant of a famous chef is complete without a picture with the chef! Fabio was visiting tables in the bar and dining room all night and before we left we asked if we could grab him for a quick hello. He graciously posed for a picture with me and my night was complete! Absolutely fantastic meal, we can't wait to return!
My wife and I have been excited to try this place and were lucky enough to get a reservation with a friend last night.  The atmosphere was very trendy but not as loud as some of the other Chicago hotspots, which I appreciated.  The decor felt sophisticated yet rustic somehow.  I noticed some people comparing Siena Tavern to RPM in their reviews.  Siena has a much more comfortable, less pretentious feel with much better food.  The service was very friendly  Our waitress seemed to have a lot going on, so we may not have seen her as much as we liked, but it didn't affect her friendly demeanor.
Onto the food, we started with the Kobe Beef Meatball. Â The flavors were great with a delicious sauce and creamy homemade ricotta with some pieces of basil. Â There was a hint of lemon that I felt it could have done without. Â The meatball was huge, which likely kept it moist, but it may have been better as a few smaller balls. Â We got the Shishito Peppers side, and while these were another item that I thought had too much lemon, they were good (but not as good as Sunda's). Â
For entrees, we shared the Shortrib Ravioli and Truffle Mushroom Pizza. Â The ravioli had a ton of flavor packed into it with a delicious cream sauce and balsamic on top. Â Unfortunately, the pasta was a bit undercooked, and there wasn't enough of the delicious short rib filling, which made it a little doughy. Â The pizza was a delicious flavor combo, and they showed good restraint with the truffle. Â The crust was definitely too chewy though. Â For dessert, we tried the salted caramel gelato, which was delicious. Â It was creamy and fluffy with a great balance between salty and sweet.
While there were some minor flaws in dishes, the flavors were great as a whole. Â Being so new, they're surely still working out some kinks, so we'll be sure to give them another try and see how they progress.
Have been here twice in the short time it has been open and will definitely be back for more!
We went with a large group of people so we had the chance to try a majority of the menu items and they all impressed me. Â The coccoli, kale caesar salad, gnocchi, and pistachio gelato were my favorites. Â Server was very knowledgeable regarding the wine list and had great recommendations.
I love Italian food and this venue successfully mixes great authentic cuisine with a trendy and lively bar atmosphere. Â Would also be a great date spot to sit at the bar, enjoy some drinks and order some za from the pizza chefs!
This place is going to be our go to place for years to come. Â From the moment you walk in you feel at home. Â The hostesses were friendly, the decor was thoughtful and the ambiance felt part Chicago, part Italy.
The menu is so diverse that I think we need to go back about 5 more times to try everything. Â Rarely do you find a menu where not one thing looks bad! Â Everything we had was awesome, especially unique was the Coccoli, a crispy dough (like a puff pastry) that you stuff with cheese, prosciutto and truffle honey. OMG, ridiculous. Â Next we had the highly recommended Kobe Meatball, again another win! Â Other favorites for dinner were the Prosciutto Pear Pizza, the Baked Lasagna (the owner's mom's recipe I believe?) and the absolute most decadent, fluffy, rich gnocchi you will try, truffle cream, with crispy pancetta. Â Unreal actually.
We ended our night by trying the out of this world, Bomboloni. Â They were like little donuts (made with some mashed potatoes to add fluff) that you could infuse with carmel, chocolate or raspberry yourself at the table with little squirt bottles. Â A must try!
This place seems to have knowledgeable staff, great atmosphere, awesome wine and creative whiskey drinks. Â Siena Tavern pushes the bar up even higher in Chicago, its just right!
I think this may be my new favorite Chicago eatery!
We came here last night for a date night in eager anticipation of meeting Fabio but to no avail. Â He left town for a short trip but left the restaurant in great hands.
The place was packed for Friday night and while I made reservations on opening night, our table was ready the second we walked in. Â I thought we'd sit at the bar and take it all in while waiting for our table but yay for us.
The seats were unbelievably comfortable and our seat was right by the windows for some great people watching. Â Our server couldn't have made it any better. Â She was friendly and helped us travel through the menu with some of her recommendations.
We started with the Hamachi Crudo. Â A perfect blend of jalapeno, truffle honey, shallots, and a balsamic reduction. Â Holy cow was this fresh and tasty!
Next we ordered the Bar Harbor Mussels. Â OMG! Â Pancetta, white wine, red chilies, tomatoes, and a grilled bread for dipping...perfect meal that was not too spicy.
Up next came the Hearts of Palm salad with watermelon radish, avocado, grapefruit, roasted marcona almonds in a citrus vinaigrette. Â What a perfect palate cleanser!
And the next meal was the highly recommended Margherita pizza. Â This was so thin and flavorful with just the right amount of sauce!
Next came our Short rib raviolis. Â I am a huge fan of anything with short ribs. Â Absolutely rich and filling!
Lastly we had two desserts - The Bomboloni. Â This was our waitress' favorite and wow was she right on! Â It's just a perfectly warm Italian donut with three sauces that come in a cool presentation. Â Let's just say that the caramel was empty when we were finished! Â The second dessert was something that I really wanted to try: Â Olive Oil, Sea Salt, and Lemon Gelato. Â It has now become my favorite dessert ever! Â It was a perfect blend of sweet and salty!!!
While everything was perfect from the drinks, the ambiance, and the food, I really was disappointed that we couldn't get a chance to chat with Fabio. Â But, it just gives us another reason to make reservations again!!
A celebrity backed Italian restaurant in the heart of River North? Â I think I've seen this before? Â In the words of Lee Corso...Not so fast my friend. Â Bill and Juliana might have some heady competition on their hands from my man Fabio (no...not the blonde mane that adorns the grocery store romance novels). Â
I found the atmosphere to be more approachable, and more laid back than RPM. Â I could see this easily becoming a great happy hour spot that is upscale enough to bring clients, but casual enough where you can just grab a quick bite and a beer. Â
At first glance at the menu I thought things looked a little pricey (apps were in the mid teens). Â Take that with a grain of salt though, the portions are sizable and we left with a pretty big bag of leftovers and a few cocktails in us for $60-70 a person. Â Sure its not cheap, but for River North anything less than $100 for a good meal and a quick buzz seems like a relative bargain. Â This was more than a good meal though, we truly had a great meal from start to finish. Â Every dish we had exceeded expectations (in both portion size and overall quality). Â
We started with the Coccoli, which was something new. Â Freshly baked bread that was like a popover, that was drizzled with honey that you crack open and fill with fresh mozzarella and prosciutto. Â "Fun and interactive" is how the waitress spun it, it was something new and different....definitely would get it again. Â We got the meatball to start with as well, this thing was basically a mini-football cooked to perfection. Â Massive and done just right, don't think I've ever had a better meatball. Â We also got the brussel sprout salad that was light and refreshing, had a bite of citrus in the dressing and some pine nuts to add a complimentary flavor profile. Â I would get this again....lets be honest, I would get all these things again. Â The pastas were awesome, the gnocchi were like floury puffy clouds that floated in your mouth. Â Words do not do these justice, we also got the squid ink and lobster pasta...which was also good. Â You can definitely tell these pastas were fresh and from scratch. Â If I had to pick one, the gnocchi hands down. Â We also got the pear/prosciutto pizza which had a perfect char on the crust and a great combination of ingredients. Â Like everything else this pizza was a lot larger than we were expecting. Â Osso bucco and the parmesan potatoes rounded out our feast. Â The osso bucco was a favorite of everyone at the table, I thought it was a little on the dry side, but still good enough that I would order it again. Â The potatoes were to die for as well. Â I know this all sounds repetitive, but everything was amazing. Â Its one of those restaurants I can't stop recommending to people and on top of it all we were there the first weekend it opened. Â To come on an opening weekend have great service, perfect food and an overall great experience, I think that is rare, even for a stellar restaurant. Â It looks like this place might skip right past the growing pains of a fledgling business and hit the ground running in full stride.
Here it goes....I sit down with two people and the server comes over and tell us about the place takes our drink order and we are ready to order dinner. She asks if we had reservations after all this took place, we said no we thought this was the bar. after waiting 15 min for her to come up in the first place she goes through this whole process then after finding out we didn't have reservations they make us get up leave the table and tell us it's an hour and half wait. 5 stars? if I could give a half a star I would went down the street and had a real genuine Chicago Italian meal.
Review Source:I came Saturday night (the first night it was open to the public) and it was EXCELLENT! We had a group of 8 so we started out with 2 servers and both were extremely attentive and knowledgeable. Between our whole table, we got salads, apps, pizza, and pastas.
Their kale caesar salad is one of my faves. I also really enjoyed the kobe meatball and i dont normally even eat red meat, so that says something!
We came for a birthday celebration, and Fabio even stopped by to take his picture with the birthday girl, not to mention, they brought out a free donut dessert for the table to split!
They have a few small kinks to work out, but for opening night of a restaurant that size, and with that large of a crowd, id say it was AWESOME!
Wow, wow, wow!
Early was great for me and my family having dinner. My wife ordered off the menu and I ordered pizza. Wish we could do that at Osterio Via Stato next to our house but nope. You have to eat pizza in the bar or dinner menu in the restaurant but not at Siena!. Such a great atmosphere and the staff are well trained. Ill be back Friday.
What a mid-week treat! Â Stopped by after work and was seated at a booth facing the wood fire stove. Perfect for people watching!
My lovely dining companion and I split everything:
octopus (very tender)
burrata (need I say more? THEY HAVE A MOZZARELLA BAR holy moly)
squid ink lobster dish (decadent)
Dessert: bomboloni (essentially build your own paczki)
We enjoyed fun cocktails and very attentive service. I can't wait to go back for a special occasion (or another mid-week pick me up!)
And yes, Fabio was there!
Came here with my friend last night with no reservations, and ended up being able to get 2 seats at the bar. Before we arrived, I was a little nervous that the place would be slightly pretentious like RPM, but the atmosphere and service were incredible! We had the burrata mozzarella, gnocchi, and brussel sprout salad. All were amazing! Given that this place has only been open a few days, you'd expect a few kinks, but there were none to speak of! Will definitely be back soon!
Ooh also saw Chef Fabio constantly greeting people and checking in on tables!
Italian is tough here in the city. But the quality of dishes being pushed out on Saturday night (1st real business night) were impressive. Service was good and will only become better. (Can't blame a few hiccups on an entire new staff). Â Hands down MUCH better than RPM. Â Here is what we had:
Ahi tuna - delicious, the peppercorn integrated in the kale on top was a great combo
Grilled octopus - amazing, the duck fat potatoes provided a crunch and the celery gave it this sweet balance. It was like this grilled octopus with giardnara. Just right.
Gnocchi - seemed to be the popular dish. Very very good
Kobe meatball- an actual meatball with PERFECT seasoning and sauce. Should be shared because its a large serving.
Apple fig tart dessert- wow. Really good and Delish all the way through.
Hazelnut gelato - you will leave still thinking about. Addictive.
No tiramisu that night. They seemed to have run out.
Overall .. I only give it 4 stars because I feel the cocktail menu isn't up to par with what I feel it could be.
Enjoy!
This place definitely loved up to my expectations! Â The coccoli (fried dough with prosciutto and cheese, drizzled with truffle honey) was amazing. Â Tonight was the first night it was open to the public, and Top Chef Fabio Viviani was making the rounds which made it all worthwhile (so charming and nice). Â The atmosphere and service were great - everyone seemed really excited about the opening and the food. Â Even though they were not taking reservations, we waited only an hour and the hostess checked in on us in the bar several times and made sure we didn't wait too long. Â The food was really great, and I liked so many options on the menu that I had to make a point to come back another day. Â I did not get to try the pizza, but the meatballs, crude, coccoli, gnocchi, carbonara, and tiramisu were all really great. Â You can definitely taste that the pasta is homemade. Â I would recommend to anyone who wants to try a variety of Italian food with unique flavors.
Review Source:Yum~!  Love the atmosphere, large space and good people. Yes, Chef Fabio was walking around, taking photos, speaking with diners, etc.. Very cool guy.   I had the tuna tar tar  and brussel sprout salad... delish. Friends ordered pizza, meat and cheese plates, mozerella,  foccasia.. no food was wasted.  One friend ordered the tarimisu, and it was a coffee flavor overload.  Not the best dessert one has ever tasted... then again, the girl who actually ordered it, loved it. so.. to each their own for sure, especially when dealing wtih authentic cuisine.  Good wine list, I did not see my red zin, by the glass, however, as that's my go to drink, so I resorted to prosecco.  Oh, and then  margherita.. wonderfully made, I will say. :D  Definitely will be back, not just for the great atmosphere, but decent priced drinks and great food. Don't let the name fool you, it may be called a Tavern, but the food is top notch.
Review Source:Opening night and Chef Fabio was on hand! Very attentive staff taking individual roles very seriously. Â Bar drinks: Quite excellent. Â Wine: Â Very good bottle at our moderate price point. Â Food: Highlights were crudo (we ordered hamachi) and pizza (Burnt Pepperoni... Y.U.M.) Overall: Great atmosphere and stands up to other high end casual Italian.
Review Source:
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