Had dinner at Tocco last night, what a wonderful surprise. Friends took us there and said order anything; so we did and lots of it. Here is the report (and we are great foodies).
Appetizers: Mozzarella burrata (fresh mozzarella that has two textures, it's creamy in the center). Impossible to find in the City and a gourmet's treasure. The owner imports it from Italy himself-heven.
The thin crust pizza with prosciutto et fungi (though slightly soggy in the center), was yeasty and flavorful. Will absolutely order it again. Maybe now I should mention they put a plate of the best  italian tomato bread on the table when you arrive.
Salad was regular.
The spaghetti carbonata was excellent, not too rich, the smoked bacon best quality.
My friends had the special, I don't remember the name, ravioli  filled with meat, and they raved.
Could not have dessert-too full!
The bill was so reasonable...
Nothing was over $16
My favorite place from now on.
Went to Tocco last night, reading reviews now and am so upset with Yelpers I have to write a review. Â Please don't listen to them on certain points about this restaurant.
Tocco is a truly authentic Italian restaurant. Â The owner is from Italy, most of the ingredients are FROM Italy (hence slightly higher prices than effing Olive Garden), the portion sizes are like those in Italy, the service is not slow, it is relaxed like it is IN Italy because they savor each moment of their meals.
I was sitting in the restaurant and thinking about how much it reminded me of how things are in Italy and it made me so happy. I don't know what everyone's beef with the projections are but I loved it. Watching the landscapes encouraged lots of conversation about Italy and how much we want to go back. Our server, Blair, was awesome. She knew her menu, was very personable, and let us enjoy each course without pestering us to get the next course order in. Like in Italy.
We had the porchetta ( a must), gnocco fritto, insalata Tocco, lasagne, papardelle with sausage (BEST thing we got) and their version of tiramisu which was to die for. Â
I hope you go to Tocco and enjoy it the way I did and appreciate it for what it actually is (an authentic Italian restaurant) and not for what it's not (Americanized, cheap, too-large portioned, fast.)
Mangia!
Although we live in the neighborhood, we always seem to forget that Tocco is a great option. We took some friends there last night and had a wonderful experience. The decor is hip and modern, the atmosphere is fun and lively, and noise level is such that you can actually participate in group conversations and be heard. I've had enough of restaurants where you are packed in like sardines with music and noise so loud you have to strain to hear your fellow diners.
We started the meal with an antipasto platter, which we've had before and it was delicious. Perfect for four to share. My husband is a huge fan of the pizzas here so he ordered one for the table to share. It was thin, with crisp edges and light. Yum!
I had the fish special - a very generous portion served with escarole and rosemary roasted potatoes. Again, excellent. Everyone else had parpadelle with pork ragout and there wasn't much left on anyone's plate by the end of the meal. Bruno the owner is super friendly, loves to stop by the tables and check in with the diners to make sure everything is up to par and chit chat. Â He surprised us (again) with a round of muscato which went down perfectly with dessert.
My husband is Italian and comes from a family of chefs and he was very impressed with everything. All in all, a delicious meal. We MUST make a better effort to come here regularly. Deelish!!!!
My mommy and I like to get together every few weeks for a mother-daughter date and Tocco was the spot for our most recent outing. She happily goes along with anywhere I suggest, but I try to take into account the fact that she's a quasi-vegetarian and doesn't care to eat a heavy meal, so Tocco fit the bill perfectly.
We went on a Friday evening, arriving just before 7, and while the dining room was mostly empty, the bar was lively and boisterous with a large group. The dining room as has been described in other reviews, is, um, odd. The decor and furnishings are a mix of 70s kitsch, Christmas, and the interior of a Cheesecake Factory. On the back wall, there's footage of what appears to be a travel show on the Italian countryside being shown. The scenery was lovely, but it was just odd to have that going nonstop during dinner. Confusing to say the least.
We started with drinks, a glass of Montepulciano for mom and an acqua dolce martini for me. The cocktail was a mix of fresh cucumber, lime, mint, and a choice of gin or vodka. I opted for the gin. I enjoyed the cocktail; it was crisp, delicious, but oh man, it was strong. I could only manage to suck down one.
We shared an appetizer of grilled vegetables which were quite good, but could have used a bit more salt. I liked that vegetables included radicchio, eggplant, and endive and not just the usual boring zucchini and peppers (although these were present as well) and some tomatoes. It was a perfect light starter.
Then we decided to share a pizza with some mozzarella, roasted cherry tomatoes, and arugula. It had a thin, slightly charred crust, and the toppings were nicely balanced. Highly enjoyable. I like that Tocco isn't heavy handed with sauces and lets the quality ingredients shine on their own.
By now the group that was in the bar when we first arrived moved into the dining room right next to us and that's when our service kind of dropped off as the large party seemed to be the main focus of the staff's attention. We wanted to order dessert but we had waited so long for the dessert menu that we just wanted coffee instead. My mom ordered decaf and we were told that the restaurant doesn't offer decaf. What kind of restaurant doesn't serve decaf coffee? I didn't want my mom to sit there and watch me drink my cappuccino, so I declined, and we asked for the check, which was brought several minutes later.
I got nervous because I saw our server start taking the large party's food order and I feared it would be another 20 minutes before she would return to take my credit card, but thankfully the manager took care of it after seeing that we were waiting (and looking antsy, apparently).
Both mom and I enjoyed our dinner together at Tocco, but we manage to have fun no matter where we go. It remains to be seen if we'll be back, because we try and go somewhere different every time, but we'll definitely keep this place on our radar.
I absolutely love Tocco! The food and service is always great. Standouts to me on the menu are the tortelli, Ravioli di zucca, Spaghetti alla carbonara, fresh fish of the day and seafood pasta. They also always have burrata, which I love. Service is wonderful and the decor is very modern and cool. The owner is always around and makes you feel right at home. Tocco is a gem.
Review Source:I absolutely love this place. Â My friend and I strolled in the area eager to try the Korean restaurant across from this place but so glad we ended up here. Â The Korean place was closed. Â This place is incredible from the ambiance/ decor, to the service to the food. Â The food wow....the food is so yummy. Â You will feel like you are in Italy having an authentic Italian pasta dish. Â The ingredients are so fresh.... . I had the vegetarian pasta. Â I have no idea how that tomato sauce is made but all I can say is DELICIOUS. Â I can't wait to go back. Â My friend had a pizza not sure which one...can't remember since I was sooooo involved in my own dish. Â All I can say is this place deserves all the stars...and high marks...in Chicago for being the best. Â Without being pretentious this place delivers high quality experience at an affordable price.
Review Source:After living in NYC for awhile, I long for a good homemade pasta and pizza place with decent prices. I've been to Tocco couple times because its in my 'hood and have liked everything I've ordered. It is totally within a reasonable price range for what you get. Â I'm surprised places up the street like the sub-par Francesca Forno do well when there is such a better option nearby! I had the burata cheese and salad appetizer and the tortelini pasta dinner that were both to die for. With the panoramic scenery of Italy on the backscreen in the main dining room, it was a really nice dining experience on a cold, rainy Chicago evening. A definite recommend! Oh and the service is nice, too.
Review Source:Tocco is an amazing, contemporary Italian joint!
Delicious food: Pure Italian, simple taste, light, extremely carefully chosen (and take care of) ingredients. (Just ask Bruno Abate, owner and chef, why his tomatoes taste so great and you will be amazed at the thought and attention that goes behind them)
Atmosphere: Chic, very modern, Â very cool design, coordinated to the smallest detail. Â Wear you trendiest, most daring outfit to this place, it's an "Italian fashion-house.
Awesome wine and drinks...they even make Negronis (an Italian famous gin and campari drink)
Service - as Italian as it gets!! Â So there you have it, the full Italian dining experience of the modern days!
Chowhound Chick's August dinner club diners enjoyed the freshest of Italian delights that were simple yet refined. The owner informed us all that his recipes came straight from Italy.....which was corroborated by someone in our group.
My favorite special of the night was the fennel salad that had a nice balance of crunch from the fennel mixed with tender arugula and the perfect amount of dressing. The Napoleon style pizzas were a crowd-pleaser as we passed them around and marveled in the simplicity of just a few ingredients. My favorite entree was the papparelle bisanzio with homemade pasta, basil, and fresh black pepper.
Another diner favorite was the tortelli with ricotta, spinach and a truffle cream sauce. It literally melted in your mouth.
-Chowhound Chick
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Tocco is an absolute delight! They have a great food selection. My favorite dish is the Tortelli and then the Margherti pizza, however I've tried a lot of the dishes here and they are all remarkable. Great place to go for AMAZING food, exceptional customer service and a beautiful venue. They open the patio when the weather permits, and that's a treat! :) Bruno is so nice, he makes you feel like you're family. He's the owner.
I will be back most definitely!
Went here for an early dinner with my husband, and I'm sad that it took us so long to find such a great spot so close to home!
The service was wonderful - we weren't rushed, nor did we feel anything was slow. My pizza was delicious. I am a big fan of wood or coal fired, thin crust pizzas, and this did not disappoint. My husband had the tortelli stuffed with spinach and loved it.
The only strange thing to me was how empty it was, especially given how great our meal was.
We will absolutely be back!
A nice casual spot for pretty authentic Italian in Wicker Park. Â This place is not authentic like Taylor Street Italian American, but authentic like the restaurants I actually went to in Italy.
The space very Euro and modern and they do have a crazy projection of lovely Italian landmarks that plays in the back area of the restaurant. Â I agree with other Yelpers that it's sort of random, but it didn't bother me.
The food is good. Â We both tried pizzas, which were delicious with a fresh crispy thin crust-- just like they do it in Italy. Â My husband's prosciutto and mushroom pizza was definitely tastier than my veggie pizza. Â To start, we shared the Gnocco Fritto, which is basically a plate of cured meats and fried dough (think elephant ears plus salt, minus sugar). Â It was good, but it's HUGE-- too much for 2 people. Â Also, I really could have used some more variety to the salt heaviness of the meat and dough on that plate. Â Maybe some marinara, roasted veggies, something else.
Holy krishna, I don't know why I keep drinking from the poisoned well that is <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a>!
$2 for a $25 coupon is so tempting on the surface, but it's taken me far too long to realize that 90% of the restaurants on the website are like Tocco..
What didn't we enjoy about our experience here?
I'm not one to get too hung up on ambiance and decor, but if you're going for the euro chic look, what the hell is with the gargantuan film projector in the back dining area? Am i eating at an Italian restaurant or getting ready to watch a double feature at the Cary, IL drive-in? And what do they decide to air for the 7:30 showing? Night of the Comet, the Blob?
Nooo, why, it was none other than continuous landscape shots of what I gather was an Italian countryside, shot from what appears to be the vantage point of a helicopter flying at 100 mph. Seriously, for the length of the ENTIRE meal, i felt as if I were stuck in a scenario where I naively bought one of those helicopter tours on groupon, only to have my chopper be commandeered by a freshly dishonorably discharged Black Hawk pilot who was hellbent on correcting his egregious life extinguishing errors, as if he could actually change the course of history by continually reliving his missions. By the time the entrees arrived, I was so disoriented, i swear i muttered to my girlfriend that she had indeed missed the village full of children with that salvo of napalm and that the groundswell of noise below was a result of cheers of jubilation, and not the horrifying sounds of skin melting at 5000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Now, with a backdrop like that, maybe Tocco would offer the type of food that would make you forget about this pre-meal entertainment. No such luck. Fried Calamari was plentiful but it was nothing i haven't already tried at a hundred other places. We went with a classic margherita pizza and the special penne pasta of the day to round out the meal. The penne was completely flavorless, even over salted would have been preferable. But the kicker was the pizza. Now, i'm rarely one to complain about toppings being a little on the skimpy side, but I've never suffered indignation to such a high degree before. Our large pizza had one stinking sprig of basil on it, ONE! What made matters worse was the portly gentleman beside us had ordered a pizza with arugula, and the only reason we knew this was because we could hear him literally choking on this mountain of greens piled high on his pie. So we have to listen to the sounds of this man devouring a lush eco-system next to us, while we try to split this measly basil leaf between the two of us.
Reminded me of that scene in Casino where De Niro chews out the chef for not putting an equal amount of blueberries in each muffin. Screw that, I wouldn't even give this chef the chance to correct such a ridiculous error. He gets the hammer to his hand and a wrench to the noggin immediately.
Skip this place.
First off it's slooooowwwww.
Second, why do places have people with a loose grasp of the English language rattle off specials... the waiter is on special #6 and I am still trying to translate his broken English on special #1.
We ordered the grilled calamari and asked that the order be tripled. We received a single serving but the waiter got the triple order price right on the bill.
The waiter totally ignored a member of our party who declined a second cocktail & brought one anyway.
Then they got our orders wrong and then lied about it. Seriously... Dressing on the side means a dry salad & a little cup of dressing. Don't tell me that it's "wet". Wet from what? Aside from that, for $18 I expect more than a handful of lettuce and 4 cherry tomato's and 4 thin slices of charred chicken.
All in all we felt the portions were a rip off and were disappointed by the service.
FYI - This particular block is a great place to get stabbed so keep your eyes open.
I had a pleasant enough experience at Tocco. I would have given it 3-1/2 stars but alas that's not available. And this was just not a 4-star experience for me. (There was way too much cologne going on here. The staff needs to cut down on that. Whoa.)
The decor was nice enough. It's modern and sleek and it has good energy. Service was friendly.
We started with some prosecco and the insalata tocco, which has mixed greens, capers, green olived and grilled zucchini. It was quite good. We also had the burrata, which is amazingly good cheese and a must try in my opinion. It's not just like your typical caprese. Get it. Do it! Then we ordered a sopressata pizza, which was really pretty good.
The room started getting pretty lively around 8-ish. I wouldn't recommend going much earlier.
It's no secret that when Follia closed a few years back; I was really devastated - the place held a special spot in my heart. Not only was the food always impeccable, but the memories made there over the years were equally as excellent.
I really do not know why it took us so long to go to Tocco. Maybe fearing that it just "wouldn't be the same" or that even though on paper it would be a proper successor to Follia that something would just be different.
Well, we finally came to Tocco and shame on me for letting so much time pass.
We walked in and were immediately greeted by Bruno who we hadn't seen in years. He started talking with us about something we spoke to him about in 2009 as if it were yesterday - if that isn't the sign of a phenomenal business owner, then I don't know what is. He told the hostess we were the best customers at Follia and to seat us at the best table in the house. (For those that know Bruno, he's quite the schmoozer - but in a way that really makes regulars, returning patrons like us, and even newbies feel like the most important person to ever step foot in his restaurant.)
The atmosphere was on point. Sleek and modern with great house music pumping at a good volume through the speakers. The service was attentive throughout the entire meal - busser on top of water and bread, our great server had spot on recommendations and paced the meal perfectly...
So - all of this style, what about substance?
To me that is what always set Follia (and now Tocco) apart from any other places in the city. Great vibe, great music, great scene and UNBELIEVABLE FOOD. This place does not sacrifice one for the other. Many of the menu items were similar to Follia with some newer, more "casual" additions. We shared the to-die-for Caprese salad. I had the delicious veal Milanese and Amy had a fantastic chicken dish rolled with cheese and prosciutto. We capped it off with a decadent chocolate cake and gelato. I also had a Manhattan on the rocks that was mixed as good as any of the cocktail focused lounges around Chicago.
I hope that old school Follia junkies, new jacks on the dining scene, and just about anyone looking for an amazing meal in a restaurant owned and operated passionately by an amazing proprietor will make their way to Tocco soon. You can bet we'll be going here on a regular basis ... For us, this was like running into an old, great friend you had lost touch with for no reason and picking right back  up where you left off without a moment of awkward silence.
Amazing.
Our dinner at Tocco was uneven. Â We had an early reservation because we were going to a play and at 5:45 on a Friday night, the place was empty. Â By the time we left at about 7:15, the place was about half-full. Â The decor is Euro-slick, white on white with dark accents and a huge video screen in the back showing beautiful scenes of Italy. Â The Euro-electronica-dance music is a bit intrusive but contributes to the "let's try to be really hip" vibe - which is difficult when the place is empty.
Nevertheless, the meal started off great. Â I had a Negroni which was well made, with Hendrick's gin to boot. Â Delicious. Â We had the fried dough and meat appetizer - freshly fried savory dough with shaved prosciutto, speck and mortadella. Â Yum. Â Then we had a pizza - anchovy and fresh mozzarella - nice. Â The crust was thin and nicely crispy, and with just the right amount of sauce.
Our entrees were not quite so good. Â I shared the spaghetti carbonara with my wife, thinking that the typical large portion would be good to share, however, the portion was quite small and when split in two, was really only a few bites. Â It was tasty enough but I wanted more! Â The rigatoni with braised veal was just ok, and the veal scallopini milanese style was tasty but a small portion. Â With the prices being in the $16-25 range, this is quite expensive.
The dessert selection was small for this type of restaurant. Â There was a flourless chocolate cake that was ok but not spectacular. Â A selection of gelatos and sorbets and one or two other desserts was all.
Our server was competent and the service was slowish. Â Bruno (?), the owner, seemed to visit every table to say hello except ours. Â This pretentiousness particularly stood out because the restaurant was nearly empty! Â Hmm ... did I forget to shower? Â Were we not Euro-chic enough? Â Ok, that question doesn't need to be answered. Â But the real question is why eat here?
I did not know what to order last time. This time, I went with my homey Minh and he knew Bruno. This made a HUGE difference as was expected. My other homeys were drinking nice drinks and eating the complimentary focaccia (sp) bread and other niblets with the delish olive oil, when Minh walked in, he knew the waiter, bartender and Bruno. We were wondering what to order, Bruno suggested this fresh fish he just flew in from Greece. Can't remember or pronounce the name. But when it came out, we were blown away.
We also got a delish antipasto dish with marinated artichokes, carrots, beets, olives, proscuitto and delish cheese covered in honey. This really tied the meal together.
When the fish came out, Bruno said; "Ok, peel de skeen bake, than squeeze a leedle lame-on, than I come bake wheeze a especial oleeve oil." So I did that, he busted out some super expensive olive oil he gets imported from Tuscany, called Primotava or something. Needless to say it really complimented the fish, which came out European style, head on and bones still in it. This was a great dinner. I will def be back, and I am giving them 5 stars because some of these 1 star reviews are not very convincing they deserve 1 star. The ambiance alone should bump this place to 2 stars. Which can be described as an Italian porn star hit the lottery.
My husband and I went here on a weeknight around 7pm and the place was completely empty. Â Funny story - when we walked in we were asked if we had a reservation. Â We said no and looked around to a completely empty restaurant and then looked back at the server who sighed a little and said ok. Â Of course, with that attitude I was waiting for the place to get crowded and it never did. Â When we left, we were one of 3 tables dining. Â This really is not a big deal but sometimes I feel uncomfortable being the only one dining in a restaurant - it's like no one else likes the food.
Speaking of food - it was all great. Â You can tell the recipes are straight from Italy or an Italian household as they don't have the Italian American spin on them. Â We started with the salad di busco (arugula, shaved Parmesan and mushrooms). Â The dressing was perfect and the salad was nicely salted. Â We then shared a pizza with fresh mozz and salami and an order of the carbonara pasta. Â Both were fantastic and so similar to flavors and dishes I've had in Italy. Â I really love their pizza - it is a nice thin crust that is crisp and chewey in all the right places. Â It is also a very nice size.
I would say the prices are a little high here but not crazy. Â I could see the prices being reasonable if they were using all organic or imported products but the menu didn't make mention of this so I am not 100% sure. Â Regardless, our bill was not crazy expensive and we were extremely full when we left so that was a good sign.
The decor is interesting. Â There is a glass display window in the back of the restaurant. Â It had 3 mannequins in there with these gorgeous dresses. Â I kinda felt like it was fashion week and I was under dressed. Â I think the mannequins just freaked me out a bit. Â Other than that, the decor is pretty bold but still modern and clean. Yes, you will probably feel like your in a nightclub in Milan.
Tocco surpassed my expectations. It's a cute, modern Italian restaurant and a very sweet owner. Service was wonderful (and it didn't hurt that most of the staff were easy to look at). A fair warning is that their exterior decorations look slightly tacky - a bit like a colorful, gaudy European discoteca. Â However, inside the restaurant looked very chic and modern.
I visited Tocco with three other friends and we ordered cozze pupate (spicy mussels in white wine sauce) which were tasty. I will note that the dish smelled like a zoo when the waiter lifted the lid, though. The insalata tocco wasn't exceptional, but a decent salad overall. Â The prosciutto e funghi pizza was really tasty - great texture, perfect amount of sauce, and the ham added the perfect amount of saltiness to the pizza. Â We also ordered the special pasta of the day (the name escapes me) which on first bite reminded of the seasonings of packaged ramen, but as I continued to take bite after bite the dish became even more delicious. For dessert we all shared the affogato al cafe (ice cream covered with expresso) with was simple and delicious.
Thank you, Tocco, for introducing me to Burrata!  I had this as an appetizer to share, the portion is so generous and rich, two orders were more than enough for our table of 16 or so.  I only wish it had more tomato and basil to accompany it.  it would help balance out the richness of the cheese, but the waitress was kind enough to  bring out out extra crostini to finish it off. Â
The other parts of my meal including a steak with topped with arugula., a delicious cucumber drink and a delicious cheese plate, were all top notch. Â Everyone pretty much raved about their meals as well. Â Everything tasted incredibly fresh at this contemporary Italian joint and the service for our large party was handled flawlessly. Â
We brought a cake for dessert to celebrate a birthday and we were just too full to go with any of the other dessert options. Â The restaurant was kind enough to provide plates and forked and didn't tack on a fee for it (I know some places do this). Â
Also, they have a great patio when the weather is nice.
Yeah I don't know how people could rate this place anything below 4 stars, I guess they wouldn't know Italian food if it hit them in the face.
I went here with my gf several weeks ago upon a recommendation from a fellow Italian that I met at a bar in wicker, the guy was Milanese and had only lived in Chicago for a few years so I knew I could trust him.
So we went ahead and made reservation with high expectations. We prepped our taste buds, got dressed, got in the car, and made our way over. From the outside the place looked nice and chic, always a plus. As we approached the door we saw a group of Italians standing in front of the door saying their good byes, another good sign.
Since we were late to our reservation we had to wait a few minutes for them to prep the table, in the mean time the gf and I decided to get ourselves started on a bottle of wine at the bar. When I saw the wine list, I was blown away, it was short but it was an adequate summary of Italy's world of fine wines. I was particularly impressed that they had a moderately priced Sagrantino di Montefalco, which I of course had to order having been raised by a very opinionated Umbrian father.
Once our table was ready, it was time for food! We first started munching on some focaccia and bread that was quite simply, awesome. For our appetizer, we order the prosciutto and parmesan plate that was covered with perfect slices of Parma's finest toped with fresh slices of Parmigiano Reggiano, for Chicago I don't think you could get any closer to the real thing.
For our entrees, the gf ordered tagliatelle with a veal ragu that was just about perfect and I ordered the Carbonaro that was equally bomb. The carbonaro was cooked with fresh pancetta and the recipe was executed perfectly. This Italian man couldn't have been happier.
I hope to return very soon. Complimenti Tocco!
Tocco! I long for your pizza and your wine and your Bruno and your sweet staff all the way in Los Angeles.
I've travelled the United States looking for something to match your Pizza. NOTHING! Next time I am there I am stuffing myself silly.
Buffalo Mozzarella, Al dente pasta, prosecco, wine, wine, wine, pizza and more! Come to LA, damn it!
Okay, so I went back to Tocco last night for a b-day dinner....oy...unfortunately, I have to bring down my rating. Why you ask? Just read Ela G's review of the night. I will not recap.
One thing I will say, on top of our bad experience there, they didn't discount our pizzas/bottles of wine for their advertised Yelp special. When I brought this up to the owner he said they only did half off pizza, and he would adjust it. I proceeded to tell him that was false advertising then on Yelp because it clearly states half off pizza and bottles of wine. Anyway, he agreed to discount it for us but he said that is not their special and they can't get a hold of the people at Yelp to remove it. I hardly believe that. Anyway, I'm saddened to say my actual food experience at Tocco was NOT good. The only thing that was good was the pizza. Still has an amazing ambiance and patio. If only the food was something to be remembered.....besides being bad.
A big SIGH.
I liked Tocco. A lot. My husband will have all kinds of obnoxious things to say about the interior, but I thought it was mighty slick. Loved the very futuristic black, white and hot pink decor.
The reason I cant bestow 5 stars is admittedly, a bit picky, but this is what separates a 5 star from a 4 star experience for me.
1) When we arrived there were quite a few tables to choose from. However, we were seated right by the kitchen door. I know I could have dressed a little more fabulously, but there was a blizzard that night and warmth was more important to me. Plus there were people that came in after us dressed FAR worse who got way better tables. And this was with a reservation!
2) Our server listed the specials for the night, one of which included an arancini appetizer. Â Which we ordered (or so we thought). It never came, we were never charged for it, but what happened? Â It actually worked out well though because that gave us an excuse to sample and share some gelato at the end.
So I order a pizza. Â Neapolitan style, wafer thin crust, appropriately blackened in areas. Fresh, sweet tomato sauce. The style was the Quattro Stagioni which was black olives, mushrooms, artichokes and cured ham topped with a fried egg - yes I said egg! And the flavours went together beautifully. Â It is very large so be prepared, you will have leftovers.
As for the aforementioned gelato, it came in a dish with 4 small scoops of 4 flavours - a hazelnut, a pistachio, a chocolate, and one other that tasted a bit like caramel or butterscotch. That one was my fave.
Hopefully the one saving grace to Andy's review about the interior of this place will be tamed somewhat by the arrival of the newest CB2 catalogue to our house the other day. Â If he thought Tocco was weird, it was nothing compared to CB2. Â The man doesn't know weird. I once ate at a restaurant where the walls were papered in newspaper ads and tin foil. This is nothing. It can get WAY weirder than this!
Awhile back, I promised myself that I wouldn't Yelp a business unless I had two interactions with them (I don't know, I guess I believe that everyone deserves a second chance). Â But my experience at Tocco was so bad, that I wouldn't go back unless someone else was buying (its not expensive, I just wouldn't shell out my own money again). Â
Before I begin, I just want to air some grievances about the other reviews:
1) I'm not going to even entertain the comments that other folks have made about the decor (IKEA?) because they obviously don't know what qualifies as contemporary and stylish; trust me, the furniture is far from IKEA. Â I believe the restaurant is actually quite chic, but clearly everyone has their own taste and is entitled to their own opinion. Â
  a) A lot of restaurants have IKEA furnishings... who on Yelp is too proud to patronize an establishment because of that?
2) The issues about the food will also remain unresolved because everyone has their own preference when it comes to pizza. Â Bottom line: I don't know what led anyone to believe that they were going to get "traditional" pizza from Tocco; its pretty clearly a modern twist on Italian food. Â
Okay, now that I have that off my chest... I'm going to start by saying that the staff at Tocco was really cold and not accommodating. Â I hate having to stand around like an idiot when I walk into a restaurant because the host stand isn't manned. Â The bartender managed to completely ignore us, even though no one else was at the bar (he also thought it was acceptable to serve a dirty martini without olives and extra olive juice). Â Our server was just one of those people who sucks at life. Â Not friendly, not happy to be there. Â Her timing was bad (we were constantly being interrupted), and we actually had to ask her about the specials because she... forgot to volunteer the information?
The food was fine, nothing spectacular. Â The pizza and salads that we shared were alright, but the bacon in my spaghetti carbonara was literally just a bunch of cubes of fat. Â Blech. Â My husband's ravioli wasn't memorable either. Â Its safe to say that we skipped dessert.
Ugh, I'm so over it. Â Tocco: you think you're too cool for school? Â Well I have a newsflash for you, Walter Cronkite. Â You AREN'T.
Despite it's completely and utterly out of place surroundings in Wicker Park, Tocco shines like a Miami Beach spray tan amongst the more severe, broodish scenery on this stretch of Milwaukee Ave. Expect an extreme use of modern by way of almost campy design. Think Hamptons Summer 2003 meets Pluto Party 2090... a mix of white on chrome with a splash of hot pink, angled lines, cutting edges, fashion over function, impossibly modish seating and lest us not forget the clientele...
**Mix One Part Bruno Abate, owner and flamboyant fashion plate in his own right, with Ten Parts his friends, acquaintances and equally flashy 'mature' folk then add dash of heavily-botoxed Lincoln Park MILFS and garnish with assorted patterns of crisp Purple Label Ralph Lauren shirts.**
It's not nearly as bad as it sounds if you can adopt a 'when in Rome' attitude and saddle up to the large, shiny bar to slosh back limoncello and campari cocktails with the best of 'em. Don't prefer sweet libations? The all-Italian wine menu boats a fabulous array of bottles and some respite from Tocco's notoriously high prices as well. Try the Super Tuscan or Valpolicella Ripasso for a tasty vino treat, they both pair exceptionally well with Tocco-via-Follia's famous Naples-style, cracker crust wood fired pizzas. Insanely Yum! Go for a simple, yet classic cheeseariffic margherita or the balls-to-the-wall badass selection with salty prosciutto, artichokes, olives and a smooth, fried egg. So very money, Baby, especially if your money is made of crispy, tasty, love.
Pasta is handmade in-house and certainly stands out for entrée selection... keep in mind dishes here are smaller sized and intended for sharing, sorta like Dego Tapas... Bada Bing! It's easy to be disappointed when not expecting this and ginormous, heaping plates aren't being lugged out to the table for your overconsumption pleasure. Being dainty is a nice change of pace and I absolutely adored my rich, creamy and robust tagliatelle with lobster ragu and the secondi course of thin cut NY strip with arugula and parmesan was refreshing, peppery, salty, nutty, meaty... in a word, delightful.
Be sure to secure reservations as the hostess gatekeepers are nasty, unaccommodating and downright rude with walk-ins as experienced personally. One little lass tried repeatedly to discourage my duo from staying and waiting for a table - you woulda thunk we were simply not wanted there. Doubtful Bruno would approve of this lack of hospitality - tsk tsk Miss Worksforminimumwageandisthereforeangry! Fortunately, it was all smiles and pleasantry from everyone else we encountered and of course, especially from me. Full belly, delightful wine and a great view of South Beach, er, Milwaukee? Couldn't be lovelier.
I generally like to keep reviews of sucky places short, but this place sucks on so many levels that I feel it absolutely necessary to elaborate!
Here are some highlights:
-Windows everywhere + white washed walls + white furniture has a somewhat blinding effect
-Cripplingly bad wine by the glass selection. Additionally, all their whites had "gone off" [read: were undrinkably dry] from extreme sunlight exposure (mind you, this is the explanation our server gave us)
-Out of the most basic ingredients very early in the evening, i.e. things needed for 80% their specialty cocktails at oooh 8pm on a Friday night (really?)
-Excruciatingly... PAINFULLY sloooooooow service
-Caprese salad was the most offensive of all! Comprised of 3 cherry tomatoes, halved, garnished with a one inch sliver of mozzarella and a microscopically sized basil leaf. Served atop a river of oil and SALT. When I picked up a CHERRY tomato, oil was literally dripping from it. Iiiik.
-Our tapas sized entrees were both flavorless and served cold
Needless to say, you could not pay me to return here.
I saw a funny commercial the other day where this couple goes to a really fancy restaurant, probably spends a lot of money, but there portions are comically small so they have to go to a grocery store after dinner because they are still hungry. I think it was a credit card commercial. Well, eating at Tocco was a lot like that. The food was not bad. There just wasn't much of it, and for the price, there should have been. I got two $16 meat balls that didn't come with pasta or anything else. I was kinda confused. I thought the whole scene was just too pretentious. And I don't care that the owner is Italian. I have had plenty of bad tacos from Mexican owned restaurants. The good news is, there is a Jewel right across the street.
Oh yeah, they charged us $5 to get olive oil with our dry, crusty bread! I think olives are less than $5 a pound.
It's not really fair that the default for yelp is to even give this restaurant a single star since it deserves ZERO.
My dining experience was at 9pm (well, our reservation was at 9) this past Friday evening for a party of 4; I had had the reservation for a fortnight.
Where do I begin? For starters, the bar service was horrendous and it took forever to even get one of the male bartenders attention (please reference my pic for why this is appaling). Second, by 9:50, we still weren't seated for our 9pm reservation.
While there was little apology from the hostess in the horrible chapeau, we were given a complimentary pizza (yet bland and not even worth the $0 price tag), it was an awful representation of classic Neopolitan style pizza and you're way better off going to Spacca Napoli or Pizza D.O.C.
The waitress, although friendly, was subpar in her attention and it took entirely too long to order additional glasses of wine (note to servers: alcohol is your biggest margin of profit and exponentially increases the overall sales on your check, pay better attention).
Out of the appetizers, the cheese was the only edible item (as I so appropriately told the waitress that that was because they did not cook it). Â The grilled radicchio with tallegio was the most bitter tasting thing I've ever put in my mouth and the polenta with funghi was a true bite of banality.
Entrees: the thinly sliced italian steak with mushrooms was likened to steak-ums and had the flavour of a tasteless cut of thin meat that had been frozen and defrosted on multiple occasions, the bracciole-esque entree order by my second friend was left half-uneaten due to the beef jerky-like quality of the severely charred at sacrificial temperature beef. Â The third friend ordered the pappardelle, as did I. Â We understand that the pappardelle *may* be homemade, and that al dente is the appropriate way to serve homemade pasta. But, there's a difference between al dente and dry pasta from the Barilla box that was flash-boiled before coming to our table. The pasta sauce accompanying the Barilla pasta was bland and might as well have come from a can of Chef Boyardee.
After 3 bites, I sent my meal back and told the waitress that we had been so disappointed in our entire meal that I chose to not order anything else. She thought I was joking; I assured her I was not.
After the friend with the bracciole consumed half of his (due to the fact that we were ravenous as the night drew on with inedible items) and sent his plate away, the waitress actually did profusely apologize for the poor experience. We assured her that the food issues were not her fault, but that we were so unhappy with the meal that we would all be yelping, twittering and facebooking reviews in an attempt to cyber-ruin the restaurant to the best of our extent.
One would imagine, that with 4 unhappy patrons (and the rest of the HORRIBLE reviews on yelp) that the manager/owner, Bruno (who was seated at the table next to us, btw) would have stopped by in an attempt to defuse the situation. No dice.
The solution to my complaining was the removal of 2 entrees off the bill and another apology.
Thanks for the gratis garbage, Tocco, but in the future I will be spending my money and gastronomical consumption time on the Italian places that count. You are not one of them.
Maybe I am torn because I am not a huge fan of spending $10 for a Tanqueray on the rocks, or maybe its because the neo-futuristic look isn't quite my style. Â Yes I realize that is the average price for a drink these days, but man it slammed out on the bill when $28 is spent on food and $40 on drinks...there should be some sort of drink loyalty, but one get one half off?
I went for an extremely late dinner Friday night, 10pm. Â It was crowded still at this time, but they sat us immediately. Â The staff was very friendly, although I noted that the server never said his name, which should be the number one thing they mention. Â After an order of the cheese plate ($12) which was delicious, but standard, and the "white pizza" ($16) which was also delicious, not so standard, and something I would definitely go back for, my date and I were actually completely full. Â A few cocktails later, and bam - the bill went to la la land.
Overall, I like the food, I wasn't a huge fan of the communal sitting, but that's the hot trend these days.  This is a perfect place for a first date because you can talk about the décor (if all else fails), or for foodies who want to try the hot thing now...because there is definitely a chance it wont be in 10 minutes.
What a complete joke of a restaurant. Â This place blows. Â I hope this place goes out of business soon and gets replaced with something good. Â I really wanted to like this place, but Tocco, you have now made an enemy. Â I hope my review helps that along...
I showed up on a Wednesday at around 5:45. Â There was not a soul in the place. Â The hostess asked if I had a reservation - sorry I didn't. Â Then she bailed on us to go answer the phone, and didn't come back for 5 minutes. Â The owner came over because we were just standing there in the doorway of their empty restaurant, and we just pointed over to the clueless hostess gabbing on the phone. Â He went over to get her (he made her hang up), and she came back to take us to the communal table. Â I said no way am I sitting there, and she said rudely too bad that's all she had. Â Seriously, it was Wednesday and we were the only 2 people in there. Â We left. Â
The atmosphere is pretentious. Â Service is obviously atrocious. Â I can't give a fair rating on the food since I didn't get to try it. Â I will never, never eat there even though I live less than a block away.
This review, like most (all?) of my reviews, requires some disclaimers at the start.
1) I grew up in Southern New Jersey. The population density of Italian Americans in and around Philadelphia and New York is such that growing up, I'd never heard of an "Italian restaurant". There were French restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Indian restaurants, and then there were "restaurants". I figured out later when I moved away from that area that these were actually what everyone else knows as "Italian restaurants". For us, it's just food and requires no adjective.
2) Growing up my family made our own red sauce as well as our own pasta. Usually from ingredients we had picked ourselves on local farms.
3) After reading "Heat" I have abandoned any attempt at objective criteria with regard to "authentic Italian" cuisine in America. It basically doesn't exist, and it shouldn't, because the USA isn't Italy.
That out of the way, let's talk Tocco.
You will drive past it and miss it the first time you go there. You might very well drive past it and miss it the first three or four times you go there. The only places I have been more discreet from the outside are The Violet Hour in Wicker Park and Lily Marleen's in Providence, RI. Sign is not lit. Door is not lit. Interior lighting is obfuscated by window tinting. You. Will. Miss. It. You might even walk past if you arrive on foot.
This place is Pre.Ten.Tious. Now that's not a value judgment, per se. They do pretentious very well, and if you like going to pretentious restaurants, then you might as well go somewhere they get it right. But I say this up front because, if you don't care for pretentious, I do not see how you could get past it to even consider the food, given the way this place positions itself. If you aren't the sort of person who thinks the only thing in the room that shouldn't be black & white is the food and wine, then you probably aren't going to enjoy Tocco at all. That being said, the conversation in the room was louder than the over-head music, which is a plus in my book, and the carefully sculpted and painted PVC tubing which constitutes the wine and liquor rack over the bar is brilliant.
They are skirting a fine line between tapas and small plate dining, here. The prices don't seem at all in keeping with the ambiance until you realize that you're going to need a starter, a salad, and entree and a dessert in order to leave full. The pizzas are too big to be "personal", but too small to really split between more than two people (unless, again, you're ordering a full suite of courses). So don't get lulled into thinking this is typical Italian restaurant portions where you take 3/4 of it home and eat for a week off it. If you only order and entree (not a pizza) you -will- go home hungry, unless you eat like a finch.
The cheese plate covered a shocking spectrum of flavors in just four cheeses. The insalata Tocco (not to be confused with a taco salad) had an excellent balsamic dressing along with some delightfully straightforward green olives.
They make all their own fresh pasta, in house. This means that the texture of their pasta dishes is brilliant. I ordered their lasagna Bolognese (the waiter actually -winked- at me when I pronounced that correctly, which was a nice touch). Three or four round, pillowy bits of pasta about the diameter of a traditional drink coaster layered with a small amount of soft cheese, just enough red sauce, and a marvelously flavored sausage arrived on a small, white, plastic plate (placed on top of the larger, black, plastic plate which was the staging point for all the dishes I enjoyed). A very long cry from what my brain conjures up when I think "lasagna Bolognese", but very tasty food, and again, in the absence of meaningful, objective criteria, I cannot say their take on the dish is "wrong". I just miss the opportunity for left-overs.
Tocco serves what I will call a traditional, Naples style, flat, thin crusted pizza. What some Chicagoans refer to as "flat bread" so as to reserve the word pizza for Chicago style deep dish pizza pie. If you are a die hard deep dish type, just don't bother. You'll complain, they won't care. If you like Naples style pizza, they do this quite well. I -hate- mushrooms (see my review of The Green Zebra). Both my wife and our companions ordered pizzas with mushrooms. I had two slices of both pies anyway.
For dessert I was served a trio of gelato (almond, chocolate, pistachio) in whiskey. This was delicious. The almond became cold, creamy Amaretto. The espresso from their enormous machine was the perfect blend of bitter, creamy, nutty and rich.
This is the kind of place that is either your scene, or it isn't. There is no point going and then critiquing the setting. They have a vision, they execute with focus and precision. If it isn't to your taste, you should go somewhere else for your small plate contemporary Italian-American cuisine. But the food is marvelous.
IN THE YEAR 2000.... Â IN THE YEAR 2000!!!
In the year 2000...
Pizza will be served in a quasi-futuristic interior so cool that you can barely figure out how to turn on the faucets in the bathroom.
In the year 2000...
Ceramic plates will be replaced by black, bendy, flexy ones.
In the year 2000...
Servers will dress in all black, leather vests, or resemble mimes.
In the year 2000...
Unwashed scraggly hipsters will feel a little out of place and complain about what's happening to their neighborhood (as they return to their $400K condos).
Ok, in all seriousness Tocco has a lot of things going for it as it endeavors to elevate pizza to a higher level. Â
DECOR: In a word, stunning. Â It seems that no detail was ignored from the tiles in the bathroom to the wine racks above the bar and the ambiance is cool. Â It seems a little out of place in Wicker Park, but perhaps that's the intention, to be different.
FOOD: Â I am a big fan of wood-fired thin crust pizza so I was very happy with the food. Â Standouts include the prosciutto and mushroom and the quattro stagione (love the addition of the egg on top). Â
COST: Pizzas run about $16 which is reasonable, but the pastas seem steep at $12 for tapas-sized portions that you would find in Italy. Â I think they'd be better off serving American-sized portions and upping the price to $16 to match the pizzas. Â With drinks and tip it came out to about $30pp. Â Not bad at all.
SERVICE: Â They've only been open for a week so I'll cut them some slack as the pizza took a little long to come out and our drinks could have been refilled more often. Â That said, our server was very friendly and the manager/host/owner was exceedingly hospitable.
All in all, if you're looking for a upscale yet casual restaurant with cool decor and rustic Italian fare at moderate prices, then you should give Tocco a try.
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