The Village - side

The service from Mia was absolutely superb! She was friendly, professional, and set us up for a great meal. Ill be back! The food was competitive with other good italian restaurants in town. The decor and atmosphere was one of a kind and made for a memorable night. I shall return! Grilled Calamari Chicken Piccata and Gnocchi Gelato

Had a reservation for 5. As soon as we got there, ann older man wearing a suit, walked us to our table, which was inside of a very small/tight shed looking area. All I did was tell him that this wouldn’t work because it’s very small and confined that my mother wouldn’t be able to sit in there. He moved us to another table with the same exact set up, so I told him this is literally the same thing. He immediately started being a smart a and was rude. I’m not sure who he is and I truly don’t care who he is, but we all felt very unwelcome just wanted to get out of there as quickly as we can. Our server wasn’t the best either. Hard to get a smile or anything out of her. The Food was really good in my opinion. The decor was nice as well. Would be awesome for a date night. after reading the other reviews, it makes much more sense now. management needs to have a word with their employees, but other than that, it’s worth going to.

On my first trip to Chicago, I happened to be staying at the Hyatt Centric Loop that was a block away from The Village (the neon sign reads “Italian Village” . The restaurant advertises that it is the oldest Italian restaurant in Chicago. Lured by the desire for a classic Chicago experience, I made a reservation at 7 PM on a Saturday night, and at the appointed time, my friend and I ventured into a restaurant that had been open since 1927. After entering the doors, we climbed a staircase to the main floor. This is an eatery from a time when windows were thought to distract from the food and the decor transports you to the owner’s vision of Italy. Landscape frescoes adorn the walls with prop awnings and other architectural decor fitted with twinkling lights. There are little alcoves positioned in various places against the wall for a private dining experience. The front of house acknowledged my reservation, and my friend and I were seated at a two-top at the back of the restaurant near the kitchen where I could see the large compliment of staff moving back-and-forth. We did not wait too long before our server checked in on us. The manager even stopped by to make sure that someone had touched base with us. While we reviewed the menu, baskets of fresh hot bread were provided. Olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and chili flakes were already on the table. My friend and I decided to share the entire meal so we could order a full complement of courses. My friend started off with the Chardonnay and I had sparkling water. My friend enjoyed the white wine, and my sparkling water came without ice which was exactly as I ordered. We selected for our antipasti the meatballs. Two meatballs arrived, and they were large and had the proper amount of luscious marinara sauce that was balanced and not too tart. The meatballs had the right proportion of beef, pork and binder so that they were juicy and delicious. For our second antipasti, we ordered the two soups that were available. My friend had the minestrone, and I had the chicken soup with pastini pasta (tiny pasta balls . Both soups were tasty, warming, and obviously homemade. To avoid overeating, we ordered a side of mostaccioli with pesto as our pasta course. I added the pasta side late and didn’t see that pesto was not on the menu, but without making a fuss, they accommodated my request, coating the pasta in a light mixture of olive oil, crushed basil, and garlic. It was tasty and I enjoyed it. The pasta was cooked perfectly. For the primi, we ordered the veal marsala. It came with four healthy sized pieces, served on a bed of capellini—everything was nicely covered in a mushroom marsala sauce. The pillows of veal were possibly the most tender I’ve eaten in an Italian restaurant. The sauce did not have a strong marsala wine flavor, but I enjoyed the mushroom-forward sauce. The service was impeccable. All of the courses were timed so as soon as we finished one, the next was only about a minute or two away. Staff cleared the plates, refilled our bread basket, and provided new silverware for each course without being intrusive. We ended our meal with their rum cake and spumoni. The rum cake was the star. It was light as a feather, with just a hint of rum and a creamy white frosting. The two scoops of spumoni was a nice counterbalance, adding the traditional Italian flavors. This is a an excellent, casual Italian restaurant. We enjoyed our dining experience at the Village and recommend it without hesitation.

Our first time to dine at Italian Village…food was very good, Remy, our server even better. The atmosphere is fun… Disney like!?

Recommended by friends fantastic meal, delicious cocktail, friendly professional staff...this is how it is done!