09/12/09

Rather expensive without the payoff

by Gesq

I've been here twice and have yet to really enjoy a meal here. I love Northern Italian food but I was underwhelmed by the food here. The wine selection is nice, though pricey. The prices in general aren't outrageous, but they're certainly high - though it could just seem that way since I didn't enjoy my meals. I should disclose that I do not eat seafood and may be missing out on what this place does best, considering some of the other reviews.

The staff is friendly and attentive. The crowd here makes this place a bit more pretentious than the place itself. It seems that anytime people are drinking champagne/prosecco, they feel the need to imitate the aristocracy. The ambiance is great, though. It's a very nice place. I may try it again.

• Pros: Great Ambience, Friendly Staff,
• Cons: Mediocre meat dishes, Seems a bit pretentious, Expensive

02/14/09

Yummy!

by idigtolstoy

Service is friendly, attentive , and the food all tastes like it was made from scratch. I think the reviewer mst be mistaking "pretentious" with auhenticity because the food here is yum. I love food -- but I love food that tastes what I would eat in someones home. It truly tastes how you expect and Italian would prepare food. On the contrary to the previous reviewer : I would like to emphasise that the feeling is elegant yet not pretentious. The theme may be Venezia but its very welcoming and reminiscent of a warm candlelit palazzo in Firenze. Lush cream and old colors very aestheticaly pleasing and warm ambience. The crowd there was also pretty hot -- a good looking gaggle of friendly sophisticates.

• Pros: Impressive Italian Wine Selection, Food tastes authentic and uncompromised.
• Cons: Tad bit pricey but so is quaker oatmeal and lemon curd in this economy.

05/19/08

Great pasta and seafood

by gfulgoni

Prosecco is in a great location and the restaurant has a wonderful open, airy feeling. Tables are not too lcose to each other. We ate there on a beautiful spring evening. My wife had salmon and she loved it. I had spaghetti with shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce. Rasta was perfectly cooked al dente. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Going there again in two weeks. Yum.

• Pros: food, ambience, location

02/15/08

Swanky Venice-inspired River North ristorante finds its muse in the Veneto's signature bubbly and pan-Italian cuisine.

by Contributor

The Scene
Gilt chandeliers and mirrors, pale gold draperies and wall sconces hidden behind embroidered cloth shades successfully evoke the sumptuous glories of Venice. A small pour of the namesake sparkling wine, courtesy of the attentive staff, smoothes the way for an evening of civilized dining. Couples and intimate groups relax at tables decorated with a single red rose and a glowing white taper.

The Food
The menu of seasonal Italian dishes begins with adventurous antipasti and carpaccio bar choices. Plump clams and black mussels are served in a garlicky saffron sauce. A sinfully rich orecchiette plate suffused with black and white truffle flavors gets a tart pinch from sun dried tomatoes. The veal chop, though tender, tastes a tad underseasoned, but the Mediterranean striped bass is perfect--meaty, moist and crispy crusted, with a delicious Sicilian tomato sauce. A flakey apple tart with cinnamon ice cream appeases the sweet tooth nicely.

Hits
First-time customers will feel like regulars when the sommelier suddenly appears with a complimentary taste of the perfect dessert wine to go with that dolci.

Misses
The espresso was weak, lacked crema and had an unpleasant sludge at cup's bottom.

01/28/08

Fabulous!

by christycumbo

We had a fabulous dining experience here. This place truely is a gem! The items on the menu were all to die for. My salmon came out perfectly grilled on a bed of delicious lentils. The flavors went together wonderfully, and I am glad I chose this as my final dish. The fish does come out on the medium rare side, so if you would like it cooked more, do let your waiter know. The Veal Scallopini, holy cow was it amazing! Served with heavenly garlic spinach and creamy mashed potato's, this dish in an overall winner. Overall - wonderful ambiance, flawless service, delicious dishes.

• Pros: atmosphere, decor, food & service

01/28/08

great service. great space. great food

by alphachiomega

What a gem. I went over the weekend with a group. If I recall correctly, (I managed to drink a lot of prosecco) the dining area was split into multiple, smaller rooms, which left a lot of room between the tables. It was very nice to not feel cramped, and there was no need to shout at each other. Everything everyone ordered was delicious, no complaints period. I had the filet with grilled vegetables and horseradish mashed potatoes. All three of us girls ordered it, and I'm going to say it was the winner. All of the employees that helped us were super friendly and very accommodating. Especially the head chef, Mark, he was great. I will definitely frequent this place - very enjoyable.

• Pros: Fabulous dining experience from finish to start

01/07/08

Not worth a return visit

by ezeats

My wife and I went on New Year's Eve. The restaurant had advertised a 6 course prix fixe menu and we were excited to try it out. I called in advance and asked how long I should allow for dinner and was told that the plates were flying out and to expect 1-1.5 hours. I wasn?t optimistic that it would take an hour, but I assumed 2 hours was reasonable. We were greeted nicely and seated very promptly, however, after 20 minutes of not seeing our server I had to go to the host stand and ask to have our server sent to the table. The server came to our table, briefly apologized and we ordered the 6 course prix fixe menu with 4 glasses of wine to be paired with our food. It took an additional 45 minutes for the first course to arrive. The first course was a lobster bisque soup. So by this time we had been at the restaurant 1 hour 15 minutes. After about another 30 minutes our second course arrived. Then another 30 minutes passed and our 3rd course was served. At this point I went back to the host stand and explained we had been there for over 2.5 hours and were only half way through dinner. We had other plans for the New Year festivities and really needed to go. Their response was that they would send our server over to the table. Our server did come over and I explained the situation once again. He said he would see what he could do. He came back after speaking with the manager and said our next course was ready to serve and in the interest of time we could leave after that course and he would comp our drinks. We agreed and left after the next course. Setting aside the slow service I would also say the food was not that great. It was all served warm to almost cool. Most of it tasted the same because lobster bisque, a lobster/crabmeat crepe and lobster tail with crabmeat were 3 of the 6 courses.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Slow service, below average food and priced too high

12/17/07

Top-notch first experience

by tleedy7777

- Great service, granted we were there early, but they did all of the little things you would expect out of a high end restaurant.

- Highlights:

- The Carpaccio was amazing and they even made us a off the menu sample platter of the 4 kinds.

- Glazed pear desert with vanilla ice cream

- Lamb ravioli

- A lot of little extra?s made the evening extra special.

- Highly recommended and the only reason I am giving it 4 stars is that I want to try it again to confirm everything.

• Pros: service, the little things
• Cons: N/A