Spiaggia Restaurant

(312) 280-3300

980 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611 41.9007 -87.6243

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Neighborhoods: Near North Side, Central

SPIAGGIARESTAURANT.COM

Price:

$$$$

Last updated 10.15.11

Category:

Restaurants, Banquet Rooms

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Discover, Diners Club, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Local Favorite, Romantic Dining, Quiet, Special Occasion Dining, Fine Dining, Waterfront Dining, View Dining, Private Rooms, Business Dining, Online Reservations, Notable Wine List, Prix Fixe Menu

Cuisine:

Italian

Notable Chef:

James Beard

Smoking Permitted:

No

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Spiaggia Restaurant

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

Soaring 40-foot windows are the focal point of this muted, all-out-luxurious dining room, which is broken up by geometric, white partitions and overlooks Lake Michigan. Widely considered one of the best restaurants in the city, restraint (and modernity) on the plate--with an emphasis on high-quality ingredients--is de rigeur. Whether diners choose the the tasting or opt to eat a la carte, attention to detail abounds. Hand-crafted spinach and chive pasta nestles with snails, garlic, herbs and bread crumbs, while wood-roasted Colorado rack of lamb and crispy Wisconsin lamb belly pairs perfectly…

Editor's Tips

Where to Sit:
For the best view, request a table on the lower level by the windows.
Parking:
Spiaggia will validate parking for the adjacent garage at 100 East Walton St. ($24 for up to five hours).
Know Before You Go:
Tasting menus are available, including an eight course "classical" menu of signature dishes ($165). For eight wines to go with each course, add an extra $90.
The Extras:
Impress friends at your next dinner party by picking up, and preparing dishes from, Mantuano's "The Spiaggia Cookbook: Eleganza Italiana in Cucina."
Know Before You Go:
Most entrees hover around $40 a pop, and the tasting menu is $165 per person, plus an additional $90 with wine pairings.
Fun Fact:
"Spiaggia" means "beach" in Italian. It kind of makes sense when you realize the restaurant overlooks Oak Street beach.
ambiance
91.66999816894531% positive
  1. “The decor is a bit outdated, but the atmosphere is clean and upscale.”
  2. “we loved it all - great view, great service, great food and wine - very romantic.”
  3. “Service was great, atmosphere was special, food was outstanding.”
  4. “The lighting is neither romantic nor high class though that seems to be what its trying to be.”
  5. “The service was perfect, the setting romantic and the food exquisite.”
  6. “Excellent Mag Mile location and definitely a memorable dining ex.”
  7. “Exemplary service, Outstanding food, Wonderful atmosphere, Reasonable parking fee”
  8. “The dining room was very elegant and ideal for a romantic dinner.”
  9. “The ambiance was upscale, but the food portions were woefully inadequate.”
  10. “The ambiance is nice.”
  11. “Im sorry, but seeing pot-bellied middle-aged men wearing Dockers and a Blue blazer does not make for good atmosphere.”
  12. “The service, food, and view were wonderful!”
dessert
71.4300012588501% positive
  1. “The lemon vodka cream desert with a polenta cookie and chunks of Meyer lemon was divine.”
  2. “The dessert was fantastic!”
  3. “find the true test of a restaurant to be how great the dessert is, because so few do it well.”
  4. “After our lousy three course meal, the non-Italian unknowledgeable waiter handed us a dessert menu which we didnt even look at.”
  5. “So if you like yours with dessert, ask.”
  6. “The dolci they serve with dessert were very tasty and a highlight of our dining experience.”
  7. “-Chocolate crepe dessert had too much bitter chocolate and too much salt”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “we loved it all - great view, great service, great food and wine - very romantic.”
  2. “food/wine. From the hostess to the wait staff, the service was impeccable.”
  3. “the wine excellent, the service fantastic!”
  4. “After being seated, the extremely courteous and knowledgeable service team will acquaint you with the many delights of the menu, attend to your every desire and insure you will enjoy a meal marked by splendid and attentive service, excellent wine pairings”
food quality
82.8600025177002% positive
  1. “The dolci they serve with dessert were very tasty and a highlight of our dining experience.”
  2. “They kiss a little booty, change your fork like you are royalty, pretend the mediocre food in front of you is ?”
  3. “I've eaten at top-notch restaurants my whole life and don't mind paying a pretty penny for a terrific meal, but Spiaggia was obnoxiously over-priced and you are guaranteed to leave the restaurant hungry.”
  4. “The food was good but not amazing.”
  5. “The room is gorgeous, the servers are attentive and the food is exquisite.”
  6. “food/wine. From the hostess to the wait staff, the service was impeccable.”
  7. “Fresh made pastas are perfectly cooked and all ingredients are fresh, seasonal, and cooked to bring out their best flavor.”
  8. “The ambiance was upscale, but the food portions were woefully inadequate.”
  9. “food was disappointing, portions were ridiculously small.”
  10. “and the food is not THAT good.”
  11. “Fantastic service, great food, and happy attendees were all I needed to recommend it to anyone looking for a restaurant in Chicago.”
  12. “The service was perfect, the setting romantic and the food exquisite.”
  13. “We also thoroughly enjoyed the complimentary bottled still water served with our meal.”
  14. “The service, food, and view were wonderful!”
  15. “And no dinner at Spiaggia is complete without a sampling of their excellent homemade gelato or pastries.”
  16. “Again, the service was completely flawless and the food nearly reached perfection.”
  17. “After our lousy three course meal, the non-Italian unknowledgeable waiter handed us a dessert menu which we didnt even look at.”
  18. “Our waiter's modest opinion: best pasta in the universe.”
  19. “will say the food was very good, but not excellent for the price.”
  20. “The scallop appetizer sounded absolutely delicious on the menu and to our surprise, for $24, the ONE measly medium-sized scallop that arrived at our table was only so-so tasting.”
  21. “the food was amazing!”
  22. “we loved it all - great view, great service, great food and wine - very romantic.”
  23. “Great meal, great evening but very pricey.”
  24. “Enjoying a meal at Spiaggia is not just the epitome of culinary delight, but also a truly tasteful experience for all the senses.”
  25. “After being seated, the extremely courteous and knowledgeable service team will acquaint you with the many delights of the menu, attend to your every desire and insure you will enjoy a meal marked by splendid and attentive service, excellent wine pairings”
  26. “The food was great and the service very experienced, knowledgeable, and attentive.”
  27. “The shrimp appetizer was outstanding.”
  28. “Spiaggia has excellent Italian food that is deftly prepared.”
  29. “The only complaint I have is the lobster, which was quite chewy and overcooked; otherwise, every course was great, especially the lamb and cheese courses.”
  30. “Service was great, atmosphere was special, food was outstanding.”
  31. “If you don't mind forking over big money for a great meal, read on.”
  32. “Exemplary service, Outstanding food, Wonderful atmosphere, Reasonable parking fee”
  33. “From the attentive and flawless service, to the sophisticated and delicious food, the night was perfect.”
  34. “The service was wonderful and the food was amazing.”
  35. “The pasta course was superb, but the main (veal chop $42) was the smallest I'd ever seen and the fattiest I'd ever tasted.”
menu variety
75.0% positive
  1. “After being seated, the extremely courteous and knowledgeable service team will acquaint you with the many delights of the menu, attend to your every desire and insure you will enjoy a meal marked by splendid and attentive service, excellent wine pairings”
  2. “highly recommend Spiaggia, and will definitely be dining there again, this time trying the truffle tasting menu.”
  3. “The scallop appetizer sounded absolutely delicious on the menu and to our surprise, for $24, the ONE measly medium-sized scallop that arrived at our table was only so-so tasting.”
  4. “After our lousy three course meal, the non-Italian unknowledgeable waiter handed us a dessert menu which we didnt even look at.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “Fantastic service, great food, and happy attendees were all I needed to recommend it to anyone looking for a restaurant in Chicago.”
  2. “-Service was great at 6 PM and progressively got less attentive by 8 PM as restaurant filled”
service
92.30999946594238% positive
  1. “The staff was very good.”
  2. “un-attentive service, basically the experience was very bad.”
  3. “The service was excellent.”
  4. “The service is great.”
  5. “The service was wonderful and the food was amazing.”
  6. “The host was friendly.”
  7. “food/wine. From the hostess to the wait staff, the service was impeccable.”
  8. “The service was outstanding.”
  9. “The other wait staff was equally as wonderful.”
  10. “Our waiter's modest opinion: best pasta in the universe.”
  11. “The food was great and the service very experienced, knowledgeable, and attentive.”
  12. “the wine excellent, the service fantastic!”
  13. “The service was perfect, the setting romantic and the food exquisite.”
  14. “we loved it all - great view, great service, great food and wine - very romantic.”
  15. “Also, every time you touched your fork to your lips, or used your knife, a server would come by and replace them with a new, clean set.”
  16. “The service, food, and view were wonderful!”
  17. “Exemplary service, Outstanding food, Wonderful atmosphere, Reasonable parking fee”
  18. “As soon as we sat down, the servers began replacing big spoons with smaller ones.”
  19. “From the attentive and flawless service, to the sophisticated and delicious food, the night was perfect.”
  20. “-Service was great at 6 PM and progressively got less attentive by 8 PM as restaurant filled”
  21. “Again, the service was completely flawless and the food nearly reached perfection.”
  22. “The room is gorgeous, the servers are attentive and the food is exquisite.”
  23. “Fantastic service, great food, and happy attendees were all I needed to recommend it to anyone looking for a restaurant in Chicago.”
  24. “After being seated, the extremely courteous and knowledgeable service team will acquaint you with the many delights of the menu, attend to your every desire and insure you will enjoy a meal marked by splendid and attentive service, excellent wine pairings”
  25. “After our lousy three course meal, the non-Italian unknowledgeable waiter handed us a dessert menu which we didnt even look at.”
  26. “My fiance than followed the waiter thinking he will give him a nice presentable blazer.”
value
60.0% positive
  1. “Their prices are high, but well worth such a wonderful dining experience.”
  2. “food was disappointing, portions were ridiculously small.”
  3. “The ambiance was upscale, but the food portions were woefully inadequate.”
  4. “will say the food was very good, but not excellent for the price.”
  5. “If you don't mind forking over big money for a great meal, read on.”
  6. “Spiaggia was perfect in every way except for the price.”
  7. “Great meal, great evening but very pricey.”
  8. “He came back wearing a CINTAS uniform blazer with huge shoulder pads.”
  9. “can list about 20 other outstanding restaurants in Chicago that I would rather eat at, spend one-quarter the money, and leave the restaurant full: Ruths' Chris, Maggianos, Gibsons, Roys, etc.”
  10. “Spiaggia suffers from the if its expensive it has to be fancy mentality that plagues all of Chicagos best restaurants.”
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/11/12

A Chicago institution with gorgeous

by amelialevin

A Chicago institution with gorgeous lake views: Tony Mantuano and Top Chef Sarah Gruenberg present sophisticated, authentic Italian cuisine

1 Star Rating: Poor

02/28/10

Worst Italian Place in Chicago

by sbader

This restaurant by far is the worst Italian restaurant I have ever experienced. The service is arrogant and ridiculously unprofessional. As soon as me and my fiance sat down at the dinner table, the waiter rapidly ran to him and said "sir you need a blazer, dont sit without a blazer!" My fiance than followed the waiter thinking he will give him a nice presentable blazer. He came back wearing a CINTAS uniform blazer with huge shoulder pads. As soon as we sat down, the servers began replacing big spoons with smaller ones. The waiter than came to take our order. I glanced at the menu and the prices thinking to myself, wow, this food must be enough for two people to share. So we ordered three courses. The first thing we ordered was ravioli, which was 4 pieces enough for a kid. The second meal was shrimp with rice which had TWO pieces of shrimp. The third meal was pasta, which was 5 ounces. After our lousy three course meal, the non-Italian unknowledgeable waiter handed us a dessert menu which we didnt even look at. He than gave us a complimentary dessert which consisted for 5 cookies the size of grapes. I am all about fancy schmancy upscale restaurants but this one I definitely will not recommend to anyone. We walked out of Spiaggia hoping this was all a dream, definitely a stick up.

  • Pros: free mandatory blazer
  • Cons: food portions, service
1 Star Rating: Poor

02/10/10

Second Rate!!

by SeanMarshallFan

The service is arrogant and unknowledgeable about Northern Italian cuisine, the decor is extremely outdated, and the company that owns this restaurant is totally reprehensible!! Levy Restaurant is a company which thrives on cheating people out of their money. Their modus operandi is to see how fast they can fleece people out of their money while giving them nothing in return!! The restaurants "TRU" "Charlie Trotter's" and " Seasons" are all considered Chicago's top rated restaurants, Spiaggia's does not belong in this exclusive group of eating establishments, not by any stretch of the imagination!! By no means should Spiaggia's be put in such an exemplary category of excellent restaurants, especially since they are emphatically second rate!!

  • Pros: On Michigan Avenue
  • Cons: Basically Bad Everything!!
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/26/08

Great place to show someone they're special to you

by enjoy2max

I took out of town friends intending the evening to be special.

The waiter was generous in his suggestions, helpful in choosing among the wines that caught my interest. We ate 3 course from the a la carte menu. You're free to mix: some can eat a la carte while others choose the fixed price menu and they'll match courses for you. The reviews here of the truffle gnocchi are uniformly raves. Our waiter's modest opinion: best pasta in the universe. It was fantastic. All pastas can be served as main courses, but this one is too rich for that. Be prepared for smaller portions than usual. The shrimp appetizer was outstanding. And yes, as others have pointed out, it is two shrimp for $15. They're perfect, though.

All three of us chose the herb crusted filet as our entree. We all agreed it was the best filet we'd ever eaten. I'm mostly a vegetarian yet I found myself restraining my knife so as not to leave my guests in the dust. Perfectly pink center, crusty outside, flavorful, moist, yum. The pastry with browned butter and herbs was fantastic.

The lemon vodka cream desert with a polenta cookie and chunks of Meyer lemon was divine. Just right to share. We enjoyed sharing three different desserts. Of the three, the gelato selection was my least favorite, the lemon cream above and the chocolate carmel concoction left us licking the plates. We left satisfied yet not stuffed.

The waiter didn't bring our coffees till after we'd finished dessert (like they do in Europe, he informed us when we wondered if he'd forgotten). So if you like yours with dessert, ask. The 2003 Brunello di Montalcino ($155) he recommended was perfect with our filets,and he decanted it. The only service glitch:some of that wine I had been looking forward to drinking was cleared away for desert! Service was great, atmosphere was special, food was outstanding. Bill before tip was $535 for three of us.

  • Pros: best ever herb crusted filet mignon, extensive wine list, truffle gnocchi is divine, validated parking.
  • Cons: very expensive.
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

03/18/08

Exemplary service, Outstanding food, Wonderful atmosphere, Reasonable parking fee

by margolis

This is an upscale, award-winning establishment meant for the sophisticated palate. If you don't mind forking over big money for a great meal, read on. The valet was efficient and very reasonable for Chicago at $14. The host was friendly. We were promptly seated, honoring our reservation. Our waiter was informed, efficient, friendly, and helpful. The other wait staff was equally as wonderful. The decor is a bit outdated, but the atmosphere is clean and upscale. We had a romantic table with a view of Michigan Ave and Lake Shore Dr. Our booth was comfortable and roomy. We chose the prix fixe menu, a DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) tasting menu. Every one of the eight courses was magnificent. Yes, the portions are small, but when you eat eight of them, you leave full. If you want to stuff yourself until you're uncomfortable, this is not the place. This restaurant is geared toward gourmands, not gluttons. If you appreciate 100 year old balsamic vinegar and artisan produced ingredients, then this place is for you. The prix fixe tasting menu we enjoyed is comprised of protected designation of origin products. In other words, they are produced within the specified region using defined methods and satisfy a defined quality standard. A nice touch was the Moscato d'Asti they served with our dessert, compliments of the house, in honor of our anniversary. We also thoroughly enjoyed the complimentary bottled still water served with our meal. Our glass never got below half-full. The dolci they serve with dessert were very tasty and a highlight of our dining experience. Other highlights were the rabbit, which we substituted for the Dover sole, and the cheeses served throughout the meal from the appetizer to the cheese course. $500 for our meals, cocktails, valet parking, and tips. We feel it was priced a little high, but we will definitely return. Next time, we may trying dining a la carte. Definitely highly recommend for special occasions.

  • Pros: Service, Parking, Food Quality, Atmosphere
  • Cons: Decor Outdated, A Bit Pricey

The Details on Spiaggia Restaurant

Place Categories:

  • great service
  • outstanding italian food
  • great culinary experience
  • mediocre food
  • clean atmosphere
  • terrific meal
  • not love spiaggia
  • superb pasta course
  • great view
  • very good other wait staff
  • great evening
  • ideal dining room
  • romantic class
  • fantastic dessert
  • great wine
  • great dining experience
  • romantic italian dinner
  • outstanding restaurants
  • worst italian restaurant
  • thoroughly enjoyed complimentary bottled still water
  • clean set
  • nice ambiance
  • outstanding shrimp appetizer
  • friendly host
  • fantastic pastry
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