10/02/09

Great food, nice ambiance

by MarkFister

The menu includes an excellent variety of appetizers, pastas, meats, seafood, dessert. Very good wine menu.

• Pros: Excellent quality, friendly staff, good value
• Cons: Not close to downtown Chicago

08/16/09

used to be good and my favority. Key word "USED"

by RedRidingHood

Totally disappointing experience, the dinner which was to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday was a complete disaster. Va Pensiero used to be our favorite Italian restaurant. My husband and I have been there several times and loved it; although last time service was questionable but the meal was good. This time the bad experience started from the walking in, we had to wait 5 minutes for someone to acknowledge we were waiting to be seated (the host was MIA). We set down and another 10 – 15 minutes until the waiter appeared introducing himself and apologizing for the wait (did not ask and did not take our drink order). Another 5+ minutes and the waiter came back and got our drink orders and disappeared but this time came back a bit quicker. Dropped the drinks and another 15 minutes went by before coming back to take our meal order.

The mixed field greens salad was fresh and crispy although room temperature with a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing which did compliment the field greens. The good meal and bad service only god worst from there turning the experience into a complete disaster.

My husband ordered the Garlic-Rosemary Marinated Medallions of Beef, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Exotic Mushrooms cooked median rare and I ordered the Lamb Scaloppini, Gorgonzola-Infused Polenta and Braise Italian Greens. Both meals were over cooked with burned yes bitter burned chunks on the thing and toughs meat. It was so burned and over cooked it tasted bitter. We waited for our waiter to come back to check on us and see if we wanted anything else to drink but that never did occur. The only time to waiter was prompt was at dropping the check.

I am extremely disappointed and will not return. Once bad shame on you, twice bad shame on me.

• Pros: Ambiance
• Cons: service, food

03/24/08

Hidden Jewel with great food and service

by ihatetocook

From the time we entered Va Penseiro, we were treated like royalty! The service was exceptional and the servers were so discrete...it was as if our water glasses were refilled and bread replensihed magically!

The Wine list was excellent and reasonably priced. The food was even better than the service! We had the beet salad and the field greens with gorganzola and michigan cherries. Both were tasty and a wonderful start to a fabulous meal. My husband had the pork and I had salmon with lentils. Both main courses were taste sensations that exceeded our high expectations. We ended the evening with the budino~ a warm chocolate with a a melted chocolate center ~It was to die for and the creme brulee, again an exceptional taste sensation delight! We go out to eat almost every weekend night. After our ivsit to Va Pensiero, we know where we will be going again and again!

• Pros: great service, food, wine and reasonably priced
• Cons: hard to find, but worth the search