So the fest was this past weekend, and it far exceeded my expectations…read more Unfortunately for everyone in attendance, it was a sweltering 95+ degree summer day, but the delicious food, music and huge amount of beer options made the sweat dripping down my neck and back bearable (Brew Fest Organizers, pleaseeeee consider making it an Oktoberfest!)   The sample punchcard was printed on the back of the paper map of the fest that you get when you arrive.  Another fest I went to had a lanyard punch card, which I thought was a nice touch...but not as green as this was.  So, yay for recyclables!    It really didn't matter if you had a punchcard once you were inside...because no one marked off your samples unless you literally put it in their face and asked them to.  Not that anyone needs more than 20 beer samples, but they almost seemed offended when I asked them to mark my card!   The music was good, the food was fabulous and I especially loved the Bravazzi Italian hard sodas. I saw them at Caputo's the next day.  Now I know where to buy them next time I'm craving one. My MOST favorite-ist beer of the entire night was Roaring Table's 5:00 tap special - a fruity/berry sour with whipped cream on top.  What a way to finish off the night!!!

I had the fortunate pleasure of attending the 8th Annual Barrington Brew Fest this year (2011)…read morelocated strategically directly in the North lot of the Metra train station (perfect for stumbling back to the train for an easy ride home). We decided to make a day of it, starting out with a wonderful lunch in the French Market adjacent to the station. What a delightful way to start off a cool saturday morning before an afternoon of heavy beer drinking. Sandwiches from Pastoral, modelo tallboys from the CVS located within the well air-conditioned building, and hot crispy frites from the belgian shop, SCORE, great start. After the luxuriously delicious meal, we bought our $7 weekend passes (super-cheapo bonus) and hopped aboard with previously mentioned tall-boys and played a game a Yahtzee while the hour quickly passed. Arriving at the station around 3:30, the festivities were well underway with several hundred beer-fanatics vigorously imbibing. The free t-shirts were long gone, but they offered past years T's for just $5 if you pleased. I paid my $40 ($35 before), grabbed my tasting glass and had at it. Some notable attendees included Floosmoor Station with two specialty kegs tapped early and dry soon (everyone love FS), as well as Lucky Monk's Oatmeal Stout and Wheat WIne (WOWZA WAS THIS TASTY). I also thoroughly enjoyed selections from Limestone Brewing, Half Acre, and Wild Onion's Hop Slayer was down-right awesome. I love me some IBU's and this packed in the hops. The brews and patrons were all top-notch and made for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon (3-7PM). Best part (besides the beer of course: proceeds from the Barrington Brew Fest go to the Barrington Area Council on Aging serving seniors and caregivers. After a great day of craft-brews, we headed back one minute to the Metra and rode home, arriving before 8PM, just in time for late dinner and ready for round-2. The cold-hard facts: * Three Dozen Brewers & over 80 samplings * Bean Bag (Baggo) Contest * 50/50 Raffle * Live music by Second Time Around Food available for purchase from McGonigal's Pub, Cooper's of Barrington, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

Service was great. Ambiance is casual and comfortable. Food…read moreis very good and moderately priced!! Would definitely recommend this restaurant to friends.

We chose Neoteca to celebrate Mother's Day. It was outstanding. From the moment we walked in we…read morewere greeted by an organized staff ready to make sure our celebration was perfect. Our servers name was Joyse she was very attentive and knowledgeable with ideas for great appetizers to start our night. There were 8 of us and we all loved our dinners. A couple of us had Salmon. It was perfectly prepared. The pizza was Amazing. Our experience was outstanding. We will definitely be back.

This place is great. Great atmosphere, really good food, nice size portions. Warm inviting dining…read morearea in both spaces. Family owned feel... so nice instead of that cold chain style. Only complaint is the crushed ice in cocktails.... They need the large cube maker. Minor detail... this is a gem.

I've been to ciao baby three or four times before, and my wife has been another 6 or 7 times, so…read morewe're pretty familiar with how good this restaurant can be. We went for dinner with my wife's brother and our sister-in-law on Saturday 6/21 for 6:30 reservation. Right from the get-go we knew something wasn't right. We walked in the door at the same time as two other couples , and we all stood there for five minutes, waiting for a hostess to greet us. That never happened, so after another few minutes, we figured that our guests were already seated in the back room, so we walked through the front of the restaurant and there they were. Kind of odd that there was no hostess. We had a good waitress, but unfortunately, the only waitress working in the back room. Three or four bus boys hustling around water and bread, but she was all by herself taking orders and checking on customers. Placed our drink orders which were promptly delivered and then five minutes later placed our food orders. We were literally served at 8:50, two hours after placing our food order! The waitress was very apologetic, kept coming back and telling us that she was checking on her order and they were working on it, but obviously that wasn't the case unless they ruined the meal over and over again. When the orders were finally delivered, she comped us a free drink which I didn't want, so she took a drink off my tab. The meal itself was fine. Everybody enjoyed what they had but the night was a travesty because of this awful service from the kitchen. No visits from the chef no visits from the manager, no discount for the terrible experience. Just this poor waitress left to fend for herself. It was really weird, because after we served our dinner, out comes three or four more table's food all at the same time. I don't know what the problem was, but the night was ruined. You don't expect this for a $200+ dinner for four.

Great authentic Italian food. Always my go to when I need a quick meal to make my family or when I…read moredon't want to cook.

we had my daughters baby shower on Sunday. it was fantastic. we had 50 people. room was…read morebeautiful. Food was great and plentiful.fresh salad, chicken limon, vodka pasta--so good. Yummy. I highly recommend to host your next party /event here. Plenty of room. Great chef and the staff and owners ,so nice to work with.

Delicious Italian and cozy spot in the heart of downtown barrington. We had a nice family birthday…read moredinner on a Friday evening here. We started with a bottle of Chianti, tasty complementary bread, and some appetizers. Service was great, and they allowed us to bring in our own cake - they cut and had candles for it as well! The burrata, calamari, and mussels were all excellent appetizers to share in our big group. We also had the Francesca's salad to share with our entree, and this was a nice portion as well. The ceasar salad was tasty and large too. I got shrimp on it which were okay. The linguini con calamari was delicious with a nice kick. The linguini scampi was also a group favorite. My dad's pork chop was scrumptious and well cooked. Everything was great and perfect for a celebration or nice night out!

Our friends threw us a wedding party here and the food was incredible! I have not been here in…read moreyears but the appetizers (especially the bruschetta) was delicious! The pasta was also fresh, flavorful. I loved the ravioli. The real highlight for me was the soft, creamy tiramisu and cheesecake. The ambiance is beautiful, and I would love to host my own events there in the future.

How did I not know Moretti's pizza game? Shame on me for sleeping on them. My friend clued me in to…read moretheir Tuesday half off special so we bopped over and waited 10 minutes for a table. This place is big! We ordered a 18" special half Moretti's house favorite and the other half was Tuscan vegetarian. Loved that we could customize our pizza. This thin crust was topped with all the goodness and it was more than we could have finished. The crust has a nice tavern-style crunch and holds the toppings well. I'm a fan. We also came here on BINGO night, which was a pleasant surprise and I even won on one of my sheets This place has a fun atmosphere with TVs galore, and ample seating for parties, large groups, or to just hang out at the bar. There are different specials throughout the week so keep an eye out.

This is a great spot to gather with a big group with great portions and a big menu for everyone…read more The bar area is nice too - we sat at the bar for a drink before getting seated. We had a large group for a birthday - no cake cutting fee which is nice, but no dessert offered. Our service was otherwise good and quick - though they forgot one of the entrees and my poor brother had to wait much longer for it. The crispy brussels were a huge and tasty shareable. The grilled calamari was also delicious. My fiance and I shared the meatball salad and shrimp scampi. The salad was great and a lovely huge portion with a light refreshing dressing. The scampi though was dry and overcooked. I've had their pizzas and other items - so it's a hit of miss off the menu but otherwise a great suburbs classic with many locations!

This place is absolutely fire!!!!! I am a thin crust girl and this place just does it right. This…read moreis the second time I've picked up a pizza or slice (yes, they do slices thank god!) and the pizza literally never makes it home or is half gone by the time I'm home. This place is how old school pizza places are done! RC liters waiting and ready to go, thin crispy crust, nostalgia inside and great signage and to top it all off friendly "shoot the sh*t" service that makes you feel like you're a neighbor next store. My favorite is the chicken Alfredo pizza! Tonight, I had the primo by the slice and I am not a fan of mushrooms or sausage but I decided to give it a whirl.... Wow - sausage is bussin' and the shrooms were nice and thin with no overpowering bites! This blows any of the places around, palatine, Hoffman, Inverness, out of the water! Run, do not walk.... You will not be sorry!

I tried this place as I was "in the neighborhood". It's small, with a few small tables and a…read morecounter to order. The guy that took my order was really nice and helpful. I ordered a large 16" cheese/sausage thin crust and a combo (no peppers). Also got an order of roasted potatoes. All of this was to-go. He asked for about 20 minutes which was no problem. I returned after 20 minutes and he was just bagging it up. My plan was to eat some of the pizza while I was driving and eat the combo later. I'm an expert at eating while driving but pizza can be a little tricky. The pieces were cut in small squares, maybe 1 1/2" around. While I don't always like them that small, I did appreciate it because I was driving. Anyway, the pizza was outstanding. Good crust, nice spices, and the sauce was really good. I ate half the pizza before I got out of Barrington. I would return just for the pizza. Now rating the combo May be a little unfair because I had it later, and I had to reheat it. It was very big, to say the least. I found the combo to be just, meh. The juice was good, but the beef was a little dry, but like I said, I didn't eat it fresh. The potatoes were a little bland. But hey, it's a pizza and pasta place, not a combo and potatoes place. So go for the pizza, you can't go wrong. And I didn't take off a star for the combo, because I did reheat it later.

Amazing flavors and good wine The service is great And the…read morestaff is very friendly I would be happy to come back again soon

"A wonderful 'going away' meal for my daughter before her move back to NYC! We visited Bendita…read moreCocina around 1 PM and were seated right away. The mushroom and butternut squash soups are both amazing--highly recommend tasting both if you're with a friend! My daughter loved her Caprese sandwich, and I'm so glad I asked our waitress, Juliette, for her favorite empanada pick--the Spinach and Cheese was the absolute correct choice. My husband loved his Chef Zee chicken salad, too. Service was timely, professional and friendly. Got daughter to airport on time, Thank you. We will be back,

I worked with Brandon at Chicago Dine Around to plan a dinner and Casino night for my company…read moreouting. Brandon was amazing and incredibly helpful and responsive! At the venue, Genesis was the event coordinator for the evening. She made sure everything flowed seamlessly and helped me enjoy the outing stress free! Both our game dealers (John and Ivan) were very knowledgeable and fun! They helped teach many of us how to play roulette and blackjack and were patient with us throughout the games! I would highly recommend Chicago Dine Around and we will absolutely return to book other events!

We hosted our Toronto team in Chicago for the first time and used Chicago Dine Around to help plan…read moreour team event. Working with Brandon was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. He made the entire process incredibly easy and stress-free. We chose the Private Architectural Boat Tour, and the Chicago Dine Around team went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect. They even arranged for us to tour the boat beforehand so we could confidently select the right experience for our group. For lunch, they seamlessly accommodated all dietary restrictions and preferences, making coordination effortless. Every detail was handled professionally, allowing us to focus on enjoying the event. The feedback from our team was overwhelmingly positive. Many team members said it was one of the best company events we've had to date. Even our Chicago-based employees, who are very familiar with the city, thoroughly enjoyed the tour and experience. I highly recommend Chicago Dine Around for anyone planning a corporate event or group outing. Their attention to detail, outstanding customer service, and local expertise made our event a huge success.

What a cute and unexpected place! Had the caprese eggplant…read moresalad. What a delightful light but full of crunch and flavorful dish. The grilled shrimp added the rich savory touch. Portion was just right. For dessert, shared the tiramisu and it was perfect with their house coffee. The waiter was attentive but not overbearing. I will definitely go back to try more salads and pasta.

Dined in for our final meal before welcoming a new child and everything was perfect…read more We've eaten food from Gianni's many times and have dined in one other time, but this time seemed to be the best. Kyle was our server and he was excellent. His attitude was positive and he took time to converse but was also quick with his service. The server often makes the experience and Kyle did his part well! As for the food, we started with a half plate of grilled calamari which was more than enough for two people. The calamari was excellent tasting and perfectly cooked. The sauce was tasty and great for dipping your bread in (you get warm toasty bread at the start of your meal with a plate of seasoned olive oil for dipping). Next, we split an entree of Chicken Franchese which was more than enough food for two people...especially after the calamari. They split the meal into two plates in the kitchen, without us asking, which was really nice. The chicken was tender and flavorful. We substituted angel hair pasta and used the sauce from the chicken instead of marinara. It was excellent. We had some food left and Kyle boxed it carefully for us right at the table (I typically don't like when they take your food elsewhere to box it. I typically do it myself but this was good). Prices have crept up over the years but portions are huge and with service like we had, it makes it feel a bit more worth it. The restaurant is small and a bit cramped inside. There's typically an early crowd that thins out around 6:30 pm. You may have to wait a bit to be seated if you don't make reservations. Hopefully they move into a bigger spot in the mall they're in to make it a bit less packed. Two bathrooms are single occupant and clean but there can be a wait to get in. Gianni's is an excellent restaurant with a great team. You should check it out.