Vincenzo's Pizzeria & Sports Bar

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  I've now been to Vincenzo's on two separate occasions, on both ends of the spectrum. One was with wife and child for dinner, the other with friends for late night fun.
  
  First time, was with my 8 month pregnant wife and my 18 month old son. We got a table in the back (always try for the back when we have the kid with us) and got great service from the waitstaff. I had the stuffed meatballs and my wife had a salad. We also got an appetizer (the garlic twisty thingies). It was all fantastic. We left in food coma and planned to return.
  
  Second time, I met my brother (in from Colorado) and a bunch of our buddies here at 10pm on a Saturday after a Blackhawks game. Wow did we have a blast. Countless Guinness and whiskey shots for me, and plenty of crafty type beers for my "Colorado Spolied" bro. We ordered the Diavolo pizza and it was perfection. Cannot wait to get back for some more late night fun, though with #2 here, don't know how much time there will be for that.

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  Posted on 03.07.13 Dan F.

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  I give this place a solid 3 stars.  We came here hungry after a movie.  The pizza diavolo was very good.  Good beer selection.  Lots of TV's.  Basically a solid neighborhood joint that is a litle on the pricey side.  Probably too many menu items and not enough specials.  Convenience will bring me back probably more than the food.

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  Posted on 02.21.13 Jill Z.

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  Amazing pizzas (the Italian beef/giardiniera one was out of this world) and great drinks at great prices.  Love the atmosphere there too!!

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  Posted on 02.18.13 Emily V.

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  For gluten-free west loopers like myself, this place is great.  I ordered a gluten-free pizza for takeout.  When I picked it up, the bar staff was friendly and chatted with me while I waited.  I found out one of the owners is gluten-free, so he wanted to offer a lot of gluten-free options.
  Let's be honest, gluten-free pizza will never be as good as regular pizza.  But their gluten-free pizza was pretty darn good.  The crust is crispy on the outside, a bit soft in the middle, but that's to be expected.
  I saw when I walked in that the soup was seafood chowder.  It was not technically gluten-free as it was made with corn starch, but it was wheat-free which is my main concern.  The chowder was really delicious, creamy and chunky like it should be.
  I will be back to try the gluten-free pasta and burgers on gluten-free buns.

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  Posted on 02.15.13 Michelle B.

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  I came here to check out the Notre Dame vs University of Alabama game a few weeks ago. (Roll damn tide!) I work right down the street and had been curious to see what would become of Plush. My coworkers and I found a big table where we could all sit easily and we ordered a few appetizers. They were pretty standard bar fare...wings, tots with BBQ sauce and yummy unhealthy stuff on top, and mozzarella sticks. Everything was pretty good, nothing was crazy fancy obviously. The service was decent but could have been a little quicker because the place wasn't too busy that night, but maybe it was just growing pains. We also ordered a few pizzas (the giardinera one and the margarita one). They were also just OK. I liked them but they didn't really stand out. But for a neighborhood spot other than Crossroads, it's a good fit, especially if you want to watch some sports or just have a low key evening!

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  Posted on 02.11.13 Carolyn L.

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  Came here with my family (including our 11 yr old) ariund 5pm, looked likethey had just opened. Service was great. They have a special on wednesdays $5 for a small 1 topping pizza. It was pretty good. Ive had better but for $5 was worth it. My daughter had the buffalo chicken wrap, she loved it! I tasted it and yea it was pretty darn good. Overall this place was a good pick!

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  Posted on 02.01.13 natalie c.

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  I have been waiting very impatiently for this place to open.  I kept telling my husband it was going to be our new Friday night pizza place.  While it wasn't terrible it wasn't the kind of pizza I'd want every Friday night.  The actual restaurant has very little character...while it's got a lot of tvs it doesn't have much else going on.  It was a little pricey for what it was.  I think I'd prefer take out from Coalfire.  I'll have to agree with the others on the garlic knots...they weren't terrible but they almost seemed like they came out of a frozen bag from Costco or something.  Good beer list and a lot to choose from other than pizza.  I will definitely be giving it another shot.

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  Posted on 01.25.13 betsy b.

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  Loved this place.  It's packed with wall to wall flat screens for us hockey fans, and the food is great.  It's more like bistro-style food than a pizza joint or bar 'n grill, and it tasted amazing.  The staff is super cool, and the crowd was more 30ish, so everybody was actually watching the game and friendly with each other instead of getting blackout drunk and creeping on women like the bars in Wrigleyville.  Definitely check this place out if you're into great food, sports, and a few beers without feeling like you're at a frat party :)

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  Posted on 01.20.13 Audrey G.

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  Was pumped to walk by here the other day and see that it was open for business... I'm a pizza lover (aren't we all), and having a pizza place within walking distance is a welcomed addition.  
  
  Beer selection was good, and not too expensive... on point with everyone else in the neighborhood.  Had garlic knots as an app... good, not great by any means.  They just didn't have much flavor.  Had the Diavolo (sp) pizza, my buddy and I polished off a medium... good stuff.  Not "I have to get back there and have their pizza again immediately" good, but good.
  
  I liked the atmosphere, plenty of TV's, they even had the volume on the Bulls game... I can't tell you how much I love when bars allow you to listen to the game instead of music.  Kind of dead for a Friday night, but business should pick up once people realize it's there.

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  Posted on 01.19.13 Mike G.

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  Been living in the West Loop for  7 years now. Ordered carry out from here tonight and it was delicious.  
  
  I am guten free and my husband is not.
  
  He ordered the Four Seasons on regular crust. Seeing that pizza crust made me wish  that I for a night  did not have to live GF. The crust looked  crisp/fresh and tasted the same (so I heard) toppings as well.
  
  I ordered a GF pizza. As crusts goes it was pretty good and even better after a little more crisping in the oven. The toppings were great and bonus for both versions was the balance of just the right amount cheese with toppings. Neither was a heavy pizza.
  
  We also had the arugula salad with tarragon dressing. Salad was delicious with crisp prosciutto, nuts, and fried onions. The onions were placed on the side as requested.
  
  Looking forward to trying other items off the menu, and eating it in too.

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  Posted on 01.18.13 Erika B.

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  My original review got tossed into "filtered" because I wrote it in word first and copy and pasted it into the review section. So here goes again: This is my new favorite place! A great restaurant and bar that is perfect for a night out with friends or a good meal with family. The food is delicious, the bar tenders and wait staff are friendly and knowledgeable, the atmosphere is inviting and rustic with a Chicago-style flare, and the space is not to big but not too small - perfect for any size group. Whether you are watching a game (beautiful, huge flat screens line the walls), catching up with a friend (plenty of booths and tables), or celebrating a birthday (spacious bar with an endless selection of drink options) - Vincenzo's is the place to be!

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  Posted on 01.17.13 Sarah K.

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  Well, you're not Plush (thank God) and you've got better pizza than MOD (no big feat).  So, you've got that going for you-which is good.  
  
  Welcome to the West Loop Vincenzo's.  We really want to like you.  I know the wife and I certainly love having a pizzeria in the neighborhood that we can walk to.  However, that didn't turn out so well the last time.  So, I'm going to do my best to be constructive and offer the insight that we gleaned from our recent visit for dinner.
  
  We're big pizza fans.  Every trip to NYC begins with us dropping our luggage off and beelining for Lombardi's.  I knew it wouldn't take us long to stop in once you were up and running.  The redesign of the interior is impressive.  I like what you've done with the place, and we remember it since it was the first location of Phil and Lou's.  TVs are everywhere if you want to catch the games.  A nice selection of taps with local craft brews from Bell's and Founder's to name a few.  We were thrilled to see that because nothing goes better with pizza than beer, good beer specifically.
  
  A round of beers while we checked out the menu.  We were obviously getting pizza, but you've got a lot more than that.  Too much, I'd say.  We started with the goat cheese marinara app that was served with crostinis.  We enjoyed that and snacked on it while we put our pizza order together.  Medium veggie pie for the lady and the Diavola (salami, garlic, red pepper add giardiniera) for me.  Pizzas came out pretty quickly.  They're Neapolitan style so the crust is very thin, kinda like a cracker.  I tend to like the crust a bit chewier, but not a big deal.  I really liked my pie, and the giardiniera really made that combo.  My wife was not so much a fan of her pizza.  The veggies really didn't cook enough and were a bit raw.  We got another round of brews while we finished eating about half our pizzas and took the rest home.  
  
  Our friendly waitress, who was great and very attentive BTW, settled us up.  This is where the shock set in for us.  We dropped nearly a bill for an app, two rounds and two pies.  Way too expensive.  I think the beers were about $5 a pint, which is great.  If you've going to charge that much for pizzas, they better be outstanding.  It would also be nice if you had some specials.  I could throw a stone in this neighborhood and hit a dozen bars that offer daily specials and run shuttles to and from the UC for games and events.  Those bars and the best restaurant row in the city are your immediate competition.  Take that for what it's worth and focus on the pizza.  That's what the locals are missing.  We all want you to be successful.  
  
  And for those Question Mark Heads flooding this place with one off one star slam or five star praising reviews, you're not fooling anyone.

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  Posted on 01.15.13 Dan G.

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  I purposely waited two days before posting this review in order to take a step back from what was a very bad dining experience.
  
  This is the worst pizza I have ever had!  Went here Friday (Jan.11)  for lunch with some co-workers - had a margherita and one with prosciutto.  Worst mozzarella/sauce combination ever.  Also, got to sample the taste of rancid prosciutto.  I've been sick all day.  Very poor quality ingredients.  Sorry to leave such a bad review but I cannot recommend this restaurants.

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  Posted on 01.14.13 Todd W.

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  great addition to the neighborhood.
  
  inside is great - huge flat screens, open space, great music, attentive staff.
  
  menu is bar food/pizza and then some. started off with goat cheese app, could have used a little bit more cheese. loaded tots were awesome, covered in bbq sauce, cheese, peppers - a definite must. italian beef pizza was good too - plenty of real italian beef, cheese and pepper. i would say the menu is hit or miss - some things i loved, others were so so.
  
  overall, good food, if you know what to order; everyone working there is friendly.
  
  this rating is closer to 3.5 stars. will be back to watch hawks games

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  Posted on 01.11.13 Sam C.

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  Food was very good, fresh and yummy!  I definitely recommend!

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  Posted on 01.08.13 Lina D.

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  I have been to Vincenzo's twice now Friday and Last night. I didn't want to write a review until I tried everything  I want to taste on the Menu. There was a GREAT Selection of  things on my list. First off  the Pizza(I had Sausage)was Awesome!
  Crispy just the way I like it. Then there is the Meatball Sliders. Yum. and last but not least the Skirt steak Dinner was Right on!! that is my Fav. I judge a place by the Skirt Steak and Vincenzo's is a WINNER in my Book.

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  Posted on 01.08.13 Scott M.

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  Extreme disappointment.   We had the food for take-out so I can't comment on the service.   We ordered a pizza and garlic knots.    I will give it, the garlic knots smelled amazing...and then the good news ends there.  The garlic knots were overpriced and hard as a rock.  For $6 we got about 6 small knots that were tasteless (confusing since they smelled very garlic-y).  But this was the high point of the meal relative to the pizza.  The crust was hard and bland - and in fact upon inspection looked like the kind you buy at the grocery store that is frozen and you reheat (note the small little dents in the crust).  The cheese, peppers and meat also did not taste of anything special and all together were rather unflattering.  The pizza did not look appetizing and its look far exceeded its taste.
  This place needs serious renovation to its menu.

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  Posted on 01.08.13 Pat K.

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  I'm in LOVE with the baked goat cheese dip here! It's a must try! :) I noticed when I walked in the place it looked completely different then it use to, it has a new warm feel to it! Great for game day since they have lots of tv's! My friends and I had some beers and cocktails and never went long without being asked if we needed another! I ordered a pizza with pepperoni and goat cheese on it ( yes I LOVE goat cheese lol ) and it was AWESOME!!!!  Thanks for opening up here and I will DEF be back!!!! Welcome Vincenzo's!

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  Posted on 01.07.13 Natalie B.

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  First of all, praise Jesus that we have something better than Plush in this spot and fingers crossed, it looks like this pizza place is here to stay (I'm looking at you MOD Pizza).  
  
  Husband and I came on a Friday night a little early to get some food and drinks before watching the Bulls game.  Comfortably crowded, pleasant staff.  We took a seat at the bar and got some wings and beers to start.  Hot sauce was good, wings were pretty good.  Husband commented that they were pretty meaty (insert joke at your leisure) but overall just decent, not the best wings ever.
  
  We debated whether to get one of their "signature" pizzas or our standard (sausage, green pepper, mushroom, onion) to judge them on... ended up with the standard in 14" (Medium).  We're doing the whole new year sort of let's try to diet but still go out to eat but maybe just eat half the pizza and not the whole pizza thing... yeah we ate the whole pizza.  Maybe because it is SUPER thin crust, I overheard the waitress saying they call it a cracker crust.  There wasn't an overabundance of sauce or cheese either, a decent amount but definitely not overflowing.  Also, the toppings were a bit sparse and on top of the cheese, which was a bit weird, especially since they were all pretty raw still.  Everything tasted good and we obviously polished off the whole thing in about 4 minutes.  We decided it's good bar pizza, maybe not good Chicago let's go out specifically for pizza, pizza.  If that makes sense?
  
  I think things will work themselves out, it was like day #3 when we went so we'll definitely be back.  The vibe of the place is cool and the service was good and overly attentive so we'll see...

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  Posted on 01.07.13 Mandy A.

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  Hate to be the one to ruin a perfect rating but...
  
  We stopped by the other night to check out the new joint.  Very nice presentation, bright new flatscreens every where, clean.  Hostess and waitstaff were polite.
  
  Ordered the chicken strips and a thin crust.  Here's the reason for three stars: my very easy to cook chicken strips were very raw.  I'm cool.  I don't blow up over stuff like this, accidents happen, but I do expect a modicum of damage control.  Waitstaff responded like it wasn't anything unusual (frightening) and brought me new, overcooked strips.
  
  Other than that, pizza was delicious and fresh out of the oven.  Perfect crispy crust (expected from a good thin crust) done just right.
  
  Pizza - recommended, chicken app - highly do not recommend.

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  Posted on 01.07.13 Brandon M.

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  Came here on Sunday (Grand opening was on Friday)
  
  Party Size: 6; 5 males, 1 female (me!)
  
  Space:  The old Plush.  Not much of a change.  Lots of TVs to catch local sports games.
  
  Service was good, our waitress was pretty attentive.
  
  Drinks:  Although I didn't drink anything but water, all the boys ordered beers.  They were out of several of beer selections from their list.  One thing i did note, the beer menu was on printed paper and it was all stained w food and water spots.  Eww.. unnaceptable in an establishment that JUST opened!  
  
  Apps:
  I ordered the sweet potato tots (Im currently on a sweet potato kick so i HAD to order these).  There's an option for plain or loaded (the loaded option isn't listed on the menu).  I went for the plain w a side of mayo.  Good.. nothing out of this world.
  
  Boys ordered Garlic Knots w marinara:  Again these were just "ok".  
  
  Pizzas:
  All had a very thin crunchy edge.  I'm a "pizza edge" girl, but the crust was bland and dry.  Like cardboard..  No butter, no doughiness, just plain.. so i left my edge on the plate.  Unheard of!
   
  Italian Beef: 2/5 boys loved it.  I had a nibble.  Italian beef isnt my thing but i did want to try.  Interesting concept, but meh.    
  
  Hawaiian:  Just ok.. It was definitely missing something; lacked flavor.  The pineapple would've been better if it was grilled...maybe???  Wouldn't order again.
  
  Diavola: Definitely the best out of the 3.   Full of flavor and not just because it had garlic.  The cheese was perfectly melted, the salami gave the pizza a nice salty taste to balance out the heavy garlic, the peppers gave it some depth and crunch.  Definitely ended the meal with stinky breath but so worth it.  I wish we would've ordered this one first bc i wanted another slice.. i just couldn't fit in anywhere... not even in my dessert reservoir stomach.
  
  Verdict:  Place is just "ok" and it's pretty price-y.  Would i make a special trip to come back here?  Prolly not.  If I'm in the area?  Eh, only if my friends are hanging out there already.  But there are so many other bars in the area with slightly lower priced pizzas  
  
  Maybe they still need to perfect their pizza making skills .. the place is after all only 3 days old.  So i guess i could be convinced to give it another shot in a couple of months.

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  Posted on 01.07.13 Carmen G.

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  Love the atmosphere ! Vincenzo's is not only a wonderful place to grab a salad, burger or delish cracker crust pizza ( I had BBQ chicken ) but it is a fun little spot to have late night drinks at !!!! I love any neighborhood - relaxed bar that you don't have to get all dressed up for :) Great food, great music , & friendly bar tenders ! A perfect addition to the west loop !

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  Posted on 01.05.13 Michelle M.

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  Vincenzo's is a neighborhood gem! The pizza is delicious & unlike anything else you can get in the West Loop or surrounding areas. I've eaten there twice now & have loved everything I've tried. Meatball sliders (marinara is amazing) & the Florentine pizza are 2 of my favorites! Our server Jade was super sweet & very attentive. Water glasses were never empty & our food was out hot & fast. There are tons of big screen TVs & many craft beers on draft which will make for a great local place to spend our Sat nights & Sunday afternoons! Great atmosphere all around. I'll definitely be going back soon!!

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  Posted on 01.04.13 Colleen M.

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