This place is awesome- the food is delicious, huge portions. I don't generally even like pasta that much and I love the gnocchi here, the chicken parm is amazing and all of the appetizers are delicious, especially the calamari. It's also BYOB which is so unusual (but amazing!) for an Italian restaurant. It is on the smaller side so I'd stick with couples or groups of four. read more

Simply incredible. One of the best Italian restaurants in Chicago. Very small unassuming location made it a warm dining experience. Fantastic service and even better meal. read more

Fantastic little hole in the wall just outside the hub bub in Ravenswood. The Pappardelli Con Porcini was crazy good. Not to rich but not watery, and tons of flavor. The Agnelotti Rossini was the perfect blend of ricotta and shell, and the sauce was just the right zest. Everything on the menu looked enticing. Great find. read more

$17 for bruschetta!!! I've been to Caro Mio several times and been very pleased with the service, quality of the food, and that it is a BYOB. Last night, however, I was shocked when I saw $17 on the bill for bruschetta -a mere 5 pieces of bread, mozzarella and salsa. Even half that amount would have been overpriced. When I brought this to Jean Pierre's attention, he smiled and said the price was justified. After this reaction, I informed him that was the last time I'd eat there. Lesson learned: always ask about prices before ordering, even a small appetizer. read more

Was looking for a BYOB establishment when my girlfriend and I found Caro Mio. From the moment we walked inside we felt the Italian hospitality. Our waiter brought us an ice bucket and champagne glasses for our bubbly and helped recommend an appetizer and main dishes. The service was impeccable, attentive but not overbearing (as a fellow yelper mentioned). The food came at a nice pace, allowing us time to sip our bub, and the portions were big, enough for leftovers so you definitely get your money's worth. It was some of the best Italian we've had in the neighb, so we'll be coming back for sure. Nice place for date night or I'm sure would be a good time for a large group or party. Def check this place out and take advantage of the BYOB read more

Still as good as ever...but I just have to say one thing: their rigatoni Bolognese with chicken parm is the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. Do yourselves a favor and order it. Order two. Order twenty!!!! It's unbelievable. read more

Caro Mio - Rigatoni bolognese with chicken parm - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

You can smell the delicious scent of homemade pasta sauce and garlic coming from Caro Mio a block away! Their lasagna is delicious and their portions are huge. Love this restaurant for a date or fun group dinner. read more

(Giving it two stars because Yelp removes it when it is just 1) The owner dared me to write this...so I am (I also assume he will respond-- if he does-- I am a woman and I think your restaurant is terrible. And no you cannot speak to my husband). I am that bad review. And you may be asking yourself-- oh is this an isolated incident-- maybe she is sensitive, maybe she is harsh. Well I will tell you. I don't cook. My husband and I rely on eating out. And this must be our punishment. Calling Gordon Ramsey-- I really just got yelled at for telling a waiter I didn't like the food because it wasn't as described. The waiter replied- oh that isn't good, because the chef is in a bad mood and you don't want me to tell him." I said-- ' yes I do.' Now I wasn't looking for a free meal, but I am someone who openly avoids carbs and if I knew the salmon I paid $22 would be on a bed of only pasta-- I would have said-- oh wait is there a side salad? But i wasn't given the choice. Now the humor-- the waiter got the chef. I don't know why I didn't expect the reality tv show ending. Maybe because I'm in my 30s and assumed we are all adults. But the chef came out angry-- and told me that I was wrong and that no one has ever complained about the food ever. Now I'm not a dumb person-- if you own a restaurant someone has complained about the food at some point. He said "You will pay" and I laughed and said "I will pay-- but you must know your food sucked." To which he quickly and cutely said-- I don't listen to people with that vocabulary. That made me giggle. I wasn't at my most eloquent-- but pay $70 for a meal you didn't eat and the eloquent flies right out the window. I will say that at one point after he looked at my husband and told him to 'stop me.' I looked at him and said 'from speaking?" and he said 'yes'. So all and all-- if you don't believe this-- go there. After you complain-- think about this review and all the feminist courses you took in college. It is that bad. read more

How do you know you have a Yelp problem? When you already know what you are going to order before you get to the restaurant, but you've never been. Thanks to the wonderful reviewers out there, I was already sold on the gnocchi special (if they had it, which they did) and the pasta with mushroom sauce. My better half and I each ordered one, and both were fantastic. You could tell both noodles were homemade - so good. We each had enough leftovers for a second meal. We also had the bruschetta at the server's recomendation (I would venture to guess the same flamboyant individual from others' reviews). Now, we didn't realize when we ordered that this appetizer was $11. $11 for bruschetta? That's pretty steep. Well, I will say it was unequivocally the best damn bruschetta I have ever eaten. It is a little pricey, but well worth it. They were unfortunately out of the chocolate tartuffo so we had to suffer through the lemon version. Oh the humanity. I'm not a big lemon fan, but I wouldn't hesitate to order this plate of refreshing deliciousness again. I'm on quite a roll with Italian places impressing the hell out of me. Add Caro Mio to that list. read more

I'd read the reviews and heard first hand from friends of the amazingness that is Caro Mio. Still, however, I don't get that excited about going out for Italian food. Not that I am a culinary superstar or anything, but I've always prepared pretty fantastic Italian food at home. I saw no need to go out for it. Caro Mio changed that for me. Caro Mio was a backup choice after my original dinner plans fell through. From the outside, you wouldn't really expect much. It looks like a small mom and pop type of restaurant. The interior is nice, but not over the top . Caro Mio is dimly lit and romantic in the evenings. I like it. On my initial visit to Caro Mio I ordered the zuppa di pesce. It is amazing. It was filled with seafood deliciousness. At first I thought $25 was a bit pricey for the dish, but there was enough food that it fed me for two days! Well worth the price. On my most recent visit to Caro Mio I had the linguine alla pescatore puttanesca*. Another seafood dish, this time it was shrimp and calamari. It was fantastic. One of the best things I have eaten all year. Once again, there was enough leftover that I had the remainder for lunch the next day. It was just as enjoyable on day 2. Caro Mio manages to produce Italian food that I know I can't replicate at home. The service has been steller with each visit. The dishes I have had have been Italian culinary perfection. They also are BYOB with no corking fee. This is great because the food isn't cheap, but your booze can be! *Food trivia: Puttanesca means "whore style". Supposedly,the name is derived from the quick, cheap style of pasta ladies of the night prepared between "visitors". The more you know. read more

My friends really love Caro Mio, but I've always found the food to be just passable. What WAS exceptional was the service - the last time we had a large party at Caro Mio they treated us like royalty (they even let one of my friends leave her bicycle in their store room overnight!) So when my friends chose to have my early birthday dinner here I figured we were in for a fun night. We had reservations for 16 for 7:30 pm on a Friday night. Caro Mio repeated called my friend who had organized the party to remind her our entire party HAD to be there at 7:30. This was a little annoying, but understandable - our party represented a good chunk of the restaurant that night. It was befuddling, then, that the when we showed up promptly at 7:30 the restaurant staff did not seem ready for us. We had to wait to have our wine opened and then wait for our bread. When the bread did finally arrive we discovered the table didn't have enough bread plates, so we had to wait for more. Then we had to wait to order appetizers. Then we had to wait to order main dishes. By the time the food finally arrived at the table, it was 8:30. I ordered what was essentially an eggplant parmesan roll. It was, again, passable but nothing special. Once we finished eating and the plates were cleared Caro Mio brought out cupcakes my friend had made for my birthday. She was really upset because she'd put a lot of time into organizing them on a platter (with Happy Birthday letter candles) and Caro Mio split them up and put them randomly on two plates. It totally ruined the presentation she'd worked on and just looked sloppy and thoughtless. At this point it was 9:30 and Caro Mio staff began repeatedly telling one of the members of my party that we needed to leave because they had a group of 12 to seat and had given them 9 pm reservations. Our party wasn't offered coffee or the opportunity to order additional dessert. We hadn't finished our bottles of wine and would have liked to linger, but we were made to feel so uncomfortable that we paid up and left. Giving a party of 16 a one and a half hour reservation window is ridiculous, especially when the restaurant themselves couldn't get the entrees on the table until an hour after we were seated. The whole experience put a slightly negative tinge on my birthday celebration and left us all annoyed. I won't be returning to Caro Mio and would encourage others NOT to plan large parties there, especially on weekends. read more

On a chilly June night, double date, my friend insisted that we meet up for some Italian at Caro Mio. I love Italian food, but these days, I'm realizing that my jeans are a bit snug and I should, well, ya know, start watching what I eat. After a quick glance at the online menu, I decided, eff it, I'm going all out with carbs and the like. My date and I split the calamari fritto, which was good, but a smidge too big for my liking, and a touch chewy. I like 'em little and dainty. (That is NOT what she said.) But it was perfectly crispy and served with a lovely tangy marinara sauce. I had one of the specials for the evening: lobster ravioli in the marscapone cream sauce with sun-dried tomatoes which was decadent and fabulous. (Not as good as La Gondola, but if you've had it there, you know what I'm saying.) I had half leftover for my lunch today...ya know, spread the fatty out. BYOB with no corkage (love that) and very friendly service, albeit a bit slow. Too full for dessert, I have no comments there. I know, I said I was gonna go out fatty style. Turns out I failed at that. Besides, there's always control top pantyhose for that extra tightening on those "days after" eating massive amounts of carbs and cream sauce. And to allow you to finish your leftovers the next day. I'm just sayin... read more

It just happened to be the perfect night, at a perfect place... Well ok, so it was 14 below zero, snowing, and the night BEFORE Valentine's Day, but I have grown a bit more "amenable" in my old age. :) It was still pretty damn close to perfect. I should preface this review with the fact that I generally do not like to "go out" for Italian, unless it is pizza, which I think should actually be a different genre. I feel it is usually too filling, and that we could cook it at home (which we wouldn't do, in reality, but...whatever). But my boy is Italian, and no one does romantastic dinners like Italians, so off we trudged to Caro Mio, highly recommended on Yelp. I can see why. Cute, cozy little restaurant with neighborhood locals chatting over wine (that they brought themselves, AMEN!). Animated Italian staff/family bustling around. The only thing I didn't like was all the plant life in the windows...I just don't get that choice for decor, but it was a minor flaw... OMG. And the food...so. GOOD. We both had the specials, I indulged in the chicken and ravioli in mushroom porcini sauce. (Thank you Chris M.) It was earthy, rich and downright sinful. My date had the gnocchi special, heavenly in tomato cream sauce. We split the cappuccino tarfuto for dessert....divine. Seriously (Julia W gets the cred on that one...holy amazing, but they were outta chocolate.) Service was excellent even though the place was busy for a Wednesday night. Food arrived promptly, we got an ice bucket for our wine, and all was well with the world. 5 stars: Quaint locale, BYOB, excellent food, great service...and Lord, the food again. Great place for a date. :) Suggest reservations for dinner if you have a larger group near the weekends. Street parking is pretty good...definitely a place you could go casual OR dressy, depending on your mood! Run, go! Indulge. Many, many kudos to Julia W and Chris M for this fantastic recommendation! read more

After living basically across the street from Caro Mio for 2 years, I had finally stepped in their door rather than it's neighbor Sabor A Cuba. I had heard from several trustworthy [Yelper and non-Yelper] sources that this place is a hit--and I must agree. For my Spanish-speaking mind, 'Caro Mio' makes me think "Expensive, Oh My!" Entrees are ~18+ each, however, once you bite in to your "pasta fatta in casa' (pasta made in-house), you'll see why. This family-owned establishment makes everything to order. While I'll admit that gnocchi is almost always the dish I get when out for an Italian meal, I'd be crazy not to venture in trying other dishes here. My favorite dishes are: Lasagna Caro Mio (I claim their specialty because it's baked in an individual casserole dish smothered with fresh cheese and a tomato meat sauce), Pappardelle Gratinato (my favorite noodle shape [pappardelle] mixed in with sun-dried tomatoes, chicken and spinach with the perfected marscapone cheese sauce) and Spinach Gnocchi Gorgonzola (sorry I had to throw this one in here, even though it's a gnocchi, because it's perfection without the gorgonzola being too overpowering and is just as delicious as the Italian food I've had in Italia-influenced Argentina.) To help you plan your visit, so you don't wait as long as I did: -I recommend making a reservation ahead of time, but they're only accepted if you party is of 6+ guests. Otherwise get here early since the wait often travels out the door. -Thank goodness it's BYOB without a corkage fee because it gets you through the wait. The corkage fee is possibly already included in the food prices, hence them being a bit steep. -Be sure to start off with the Bruschetta con Basilico----Delish! -If you use the website, becareful you don't click on the wrong link or you'll become Eliodoro's date in Italia. -The Latino staff is extremely accommodating, diligent and very attractive. read more

This is really cute inside if a bit kitschy. The food was delicious the fresh burrata cheese was great, the tomatoes on it weee good given the season. The homemade pastas were well done. We also loved the cannoli dessert. Don't bother with the chocolate soufflé. It was over priced and clearly something bought frozen and popped in the microwave for a minute before serving. It was dry and bland. read more

Dining here for the first time on a blustery and wet November evening, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. The calamari appetizer was well prepared but was pushed to a new level with a good dose of chopped garlic (garlic makes everything better). I had the lobster ravioli in a cream sauce, which was nicely done, except for the few strips of sun dried tomatoes. The tomatoes were out of place texturally, and I felt their intensity clashed with the subtle taste of the lobster filling. I just avoided eating them (although I do love sun dried tomatoes). For dessert, I had their lemon tartufo. This was a very light lemon gelato ball with limoncello. Very delicious, even if it was served without the meringue crumbles. I have mixed feelings about the service. Let me explain: when I arrived, a few minutes early, I was greeted immediately and when seated, asked if I would like something to drink. Good thing, because I wanted coffee, which I received promptly. My friend arrived a few minutes after me, and not seeing me sat on the other side of the (very dark) restaurant. No one greeted her initially -- she said she stood at the entrance for at least a minute -- nor was she asked if she wanted anything after sitting. The difference in the level of service was confounding. (We found each other when she called me, wondering where I was, since I'm rarely late.) It's possible that she seated herself in a section that wasn't being utilized, but even so she should have been greeted. I moved myself over to her table, and after that things went smoothly. Another little problem: I just discovered that they wrapped up my friend's leftovers instead of mine. Great, I'll get to try the stuffed gnocchi! Good thing she's a CLOSE friend of mine, otherwise, ewww. Still, overall, it was a fine experience, with good food. I'll be back to try their other dishes, for sure! read more

PASTA LOVE. It doesn't look like much from the outside, it's a bit out of the way - sure - but goddamn the strands of dough they craft inside are tasty.... A cold and snowy night in January, a girlie date, a lost walk in the 'hood, a bottle of red wine, and the most amazing pasta dishes I have had in a long while. The paperdelle made in house are just perfection. You can substitute them (instead of dry pasta) to any dish your heart desires for an additional $2 and believe me, it's waaayyyyyy worth it. Get them with porcini, borolo red wine, parmesan and cream and you will sing R&B with angels for eternity. Yes, really. To top it off: the bread is lovely, the service adorably shy (our waiter was so quiet and timid that it was hilarious) and the beverages 'bring-able' by you directly from your favorite liquor store. Oh - no corkage fee either. It's very darling indeed. read more

I came in with a large party of almost 16 people for a birthday dinner. We were there about 10 mintues before our 7:30 reservations and were seated right away, but after being seated we played the waiting game. Waiting for menus...waiting for our bottles to be uncorked...waiting for bread...waiting for our orders to be taken....waiting, waiting, waiting. It took almost an hour before we recieved our entrees. Now granted, we had a large party so no one minded the wait. Besides, we were busy drinking wine, chatting, and enjoying ourselves. What bothered me is that they rushed us out after our meal was finished. They told a member of our party three times that we needed to leave because they had made a 9pm reservation for another large party and it was now 9:30. Well, sorry Caro Mio. Perhaps you shouldn't give only an hour and a half for a 16 person party to eat dinner. Perhaps you shouldn't have taken so long in the beginning and we would have already been gone. The food? Eh. I ordered the spinach gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. It was ok. Nothing spectacular. The lasagna was good and so was my friend's sausage and meatballs, but the service was so horrible that the food and everything about Caro Mio just left a bad taste in my mouth. read more

Happy 100th review to me! Maybe I am a yelp dork, but I wanted my 100th to be something special. So, I decided on Caro Mio since it is where my hubby & I went to celebrate the anniversary of us getting engaged (3 years ago Oct 12)--yes we are those kind of people who like to celebrate those milestones others find annoying--to you haters out there--suck it! Okay, now that we have that out of the system--let the review begin. In all honesty, I try ever so hard to rate a place by the quality of their food, not the service. With that I feel compelled to mention, that I think we got the shaft when it came to service. Unfortunately for us, there was a HUGE group (I swear like 20 people) who arrived at the same time we did. I assume they knew about this group since they had almost all their tables in the main eating area arranged for them. Now, you would think they would have arranged for more than 2 servers to be working at that time--nope! So, my hubby & I had to deal with sub-par service, good thing for them the food was good or else I would never return. plus, our server was a bit on the snarky side, normally not something that bothers me, but when combined with an almost non-existence at our table--it is a bad combo. Now the food, was in actuality very good. Our entrees were very tasty & bountiful--I mean you probably would want to grow an extra stomach just to fit it all in. That would be awesome if you could do that, but also not gain weight in the process--one can dream can't they. My singular complaint with the food, is that it took over 40 minutes to come out. 40 MINUTES is absolutely insane for Italian food, again the flavor of the food made it worth it. I ordered the special which was homemade rigatoni, chicken parm, covered in a tomato cream sauce--very delicious, although very heavy at the same time. My hubby ordered a sausage pasta dish (the name escapes me at this moment), which I actually preferred to my dish. Since the portions were huge, we skipped dessert. I must say that at some point I will give this place another chance as the food is really good, but I hope the service will have improved by then. If you are looking for romance, I do highly recommend this place. The ambiance is UBER romantic & very intimate. That was also another saving grace of this establishment. read more

My Caro Mio habit fell away over the last couple of years, thanks to financial issues, family issues, cat issues, whatever . . . I've been wanting to revisit and see how Caro Mio changed, if it has changed, since it expanded next door into the old Cuban restaurant, and since I don't know the dining room staff anymore. While the setting is still beautiful, the food has declined. Caro Mio is still BYOB without any corkage fee, and that is a wonderful thing. Caro Mio is open on the "off" nights of Monday and Tuesday, and that is good, too. What's declined is the food. In the past, as soon as you sat down, you were given a basket of fresh, hot, crusty bread, two small plates, a bottle of olive oil, and served choices of Parmesan, garlic in olive oil, or hot pepper, so you had a wonderful little selection to start with. It really was heavenly. That's gone. We got some common bread with no side of anything after we ordered. I could get that bread at Jewel. Big disappointment. My friend ordered the gnocchi of the day, and she liked it. A huge serving, of course - she took half of it home. I ordered capellini noodles with carbonara sauce. It was dry, dry, dry. We had a small bottle of olive oil on the table, and I liberally doused my entree with it, trying to infuse it with some kind of moisture. It didn't help. Somebody eventually came by to check on our food. When asked how my entree was, I said, "It's very dry, and adding olive oil isn't helping." I think the server nodded. Certainly there was no verbal reply. We shared a tiramisu for dessert. It was very good. There are specials every night. The basic menu has not changed at all, in all the years I've come here. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending how attached you are to certain menu selections. For my part, I'm wondering if the kitchen staff has just gotten bored. I've ordered the carbonara in the past, and it was wonderful. I won't do it again. It's very sad to see a beloved neighborhood institution going downhill. I hope the people who run Caro Mio will pay more attention to the food and add some life to it. I've got several people who want to take me out to dinner for my birthday over the next few weeks, anywhere I want to go. Caro Mio is no longer at the top of my list. read more

Ravenswood seems ripe with hole-in-the-wall restaurants that mask the hidden jewel within, and this is no different. Forget the rest of their filthy food, walk in right now, and demand Tiramisu. To be a little more serious, the food is nothing less than succulent, as long as you order the right thing. It seems like every day they have a different special or five, and each one of them sounds like some obscure delicacy. I was never let down by their handmade portobello mushroom ravioli in bolognese, or any of their chicken dishes, but I was sadly disappointed by the shrimp risotto. Sadly enough, they are also located next to an obnoxiously stinky and rarely emptied dumpster half a block down next to the L track, and sometimes you can actually smell it in the establishment. Considering the quality of the food here, this is a great disservice that can detract from an otherwise exquisite meal. Take my advice here: if you can smell it outside, it may be a problem inside as well. This only happened one of the times I went, so my warning may be unnecessary. But the real shining jewel here is the Tiramisu. They are family owned and operated, and the person waiting your table may have contributed somehow to your meal, so keep that in mind. More than once, our waiter was the resident Tiramisu chef, and he's so modest about that fact, it's hard to believe how shockingly divine it tastes. This is something you'll want to eat slowly, and enjoy every second. The rest of the food, no matter how delectable, doesn't exist so far as I'm concerned so long as I can order plates of this dessert. If you do nothing else, treat yourself to this. It's really a shame they're between the Damen and Montrose brown-line stops. It's a really out of the way location for a surprisingly good bite to eat. read more

Amazing!! My sister took my whole family (including my grandparents) here last week and we loved it!!! Great place for dates too, although it can be a bit pricey even though it's BYOB. My suggestions: -Share entrees if your with a special someone, or bistro style if your with a large group. -Order ANYTHING with the gravy looking Porcinni Mushroom Sauce. -Take suggestions from the wait staff (Caesar is awesome!!!) -Bring Chianti, a nice red, or Pinot Grigio if you like whites. Red wine will totally enhance your meal here, especially if you're trying multiple dishes. Go soon, while you still can. Weekdays are best. This place has just been recently reviewed in the Red Eye, and they also turned down Check, Please! b/c they don't want to have outrageous wait times....Good for you, Caro Mio!!! read more

I enjoyed the experience. It was cute inside (if a little cheesy but it's an Italian restaurant which is the one place I will allow cheese to occur). Definitely crowded. And not just because it was a Saturday night. They just packed tables into this place. Which meant that it was still romantic, but also slightly distracting. The food was good. Very tasty and I enjoyed it all, but I did feel that we were paying perhaps more for portion size (the Biggest Ever) than taste. To be honest I've never had amazing italian food in Chicago. I've had bad, decent, and in cases like this one, pretty darn good, but never great. This was more on the level of really good food that your friend's Italian mother makes. Like I would eat it and love it but I would rather pay for it in bottles of wine and compliments than in $20.00 bills. I'd come here again but it wouldn't be my first choice. read more

2.5 stars...if I could. We used to frequent Caro Mio often, but the last few visits have been mediocre at best. And the automatic 20% gratuity added to our party of 6 Saturday night was the kicker. We were seated promptly for our 7:30 reservation. However our table, clearly suitable for 5 guests - not 6, was a tight squeeze. We were also crammed in a back corner, very claustrophobic and HOT. Overall it made for a fairly uncomfortable evening. The food was average. The chicken parmesan special with homemade rigatoni was excellent, but my chicken piccata special was bland. I ate half and left the rest. One person ordered the lobster ravioli special - all we tasted was cheese filling, couldn't detect any lobster flavor. Like my dish, very pricey for what you got. Another reviewer commented on the size of the menu, and I agree. It felt like we were looking at a Cheesecake Factory menu it was so long! Maybe pairing that down would help improve quality and service. We too had to hunt-down our server EVERY step of the way resulting in a hot, uncomfortable, 3-hour dinner. So imagine our amusement when we finally hunted him down for the bill - and saw that he gave himself a hefty 20% tip! Honestly - he should have been embarrassed. The service was that poor. I miss Caro Mio. I'm sure we will try again down the road in hopes that they clean things up a bit, but it is no longer our go-to BYOB. read more

I love this place and the waitstaff is AMAZING. My friend heckled a couple of staff members and I did a fair amount of staring at our waiter in tight jeans. With all of that said AND being a large group, everyone at Caro Mio treated all of us as valued guests. It's difficult to describe the food without my mouth watering... We started off with calamari that was cooked to perfection. I had the spinach gnocchi as an entree and it was hands down, the BEST GNOCCHI I have EVER eaten. I had bites of the lobster ravioli and it was delicious but I didn't eat too much of anything else because I didn't want to (and didn't) stop eating the gnocchi. The portions are sharing sizes (for most humans but not me that night) which makes the food prices very reasonable. Caro Mio is one of the going on my list of best BYOB resturants in the city. I'm looking forward to my next visit! read more

I'd say lasagna is a pretty solid measuring stick for great Italian, and like a cranky nun at a Catholic school, Caro Mio goes the yard. That savory layer cake of pasta is pretty up there among the best I've ever had. The hearty meat, flavorful cheeses, handmade pasta, and robust sauce blend together boldly, beautifully, and barely-able-to-finish-ly. Of our table of 6, we had one person able to finish an entree, so it's safe to say that regardless of what you order you're going to have leftovers. This paired with the fact that they're BYOB, and you've got yourself two meals and a solid buzz for a pretty reasonable price tag. Service was a little slow and the lights above our table kept flickering, but for me that only kind of added to the authentic vibe. If you want a sure thing family dinner spot, Caro Mio is who to call. read more

I am not afraid that this is the worst italian meal (or sold as such) that I had since a long time (ever?). Basically, the pastas are all pasta with bland heavy cream, only the colour changes. Even simple dishes (pasta marinara or chicken with potatoes) were failures. They proudly state that it's byob without corkage, but all the pasta dishes are priced between $22 and $27 (!!!) and if that wasnt enough, you ll have to pay a $7 fee if the dishes are shared (!!). Would be funny if the dishes were decent, but honestly, it was just shameful. Dry bread, overcooked pasta, " pesto and sausage pasta " that is basically green heavy cream pasta with slices of pepperoni (I swear!!)... Pasta Bowl had a food truck downstairs my worplace: pasta + pop = $5. That was what tonight's meal was worth (no kidding). Just before you ask: I m italian. Not sure how some reviews could post that this place is " authentic ", probably fake profiles. Really... disgusting. This is what happens when an indian guy tries to open an italian restaurant. And the owner was even a " proud " guy... I support small businesses, but this is an insult to Italy. Hard pass for me, will never go back again! read more

Caro Mio is pretty much named after me, so naturally I am a fan. The place really speaks for itself though. What I love most about Caro Mio is the dimly lit, quaint dining area. The dining area is always abuzz with friendly chatter from neighborhood locals and it seems to embrace me like a hug everytime I'm here. Dining here with special friends totally gives me that happy, fuzzy feeling so it was the perfect destination for an intimate and sentimental sendoff dinner for a special friend who is moving overseas. It's BYOB, which I am a fan of. The food is exceptionally tasty but pricey. I paid $21.95 for a huge portion of Spinach Gnocchi. It was pillowy, creamy, delicious and I had plenty leftover to take home-but I can get something equivalent to this for about half the price downtown at Quartino's. The only downfall of this place. Regardless of the price factor and me being a baller-on-a-budget, I will no doubt come back. Caro Mio is a great place for a date or gathering of close friends and family. read more

WHERE'S THE BEEF? And the sausage for that matter? Went to Caro Mio with very high expectations, but left a little underwhelmed. The meal started well with an excellent bruschetta topped with a generous slice of fresh mozzarella. From there, however, things started to go down hill. Our next dish was a pumpkin risotto with chicken which tasted more like mac n' cheese than risotto. Any pumpkin flavor was eclipsed by the cheese and the dish was very 'one note'. Another miss was the Italian giambotta. This dish was supposed to consist of meatballs and sausage cooked with peppers, onions, and potatoes in a marinara sauce. What we got was a giant plate of potatoes, onions, 1 tiny sausage, and 2 meatballs. After we ordered a side of meatballs, which they comped, they admitted that they had just run out of sausage. All in all it was a sub-par meal and I left without an understanding what so many people love about this place aside from the fact it's BYOB. read more

I have been in many Italiana restaurants and caro mío is one of the best In town. fresh pasta. great and generous portions and byob :) the manager Jean P is very friendly and understands customers needs I recommend This restaurant no doubt. read more

I wanted to like this place real bad. The portions are absolutely gigantic, but I imagine instead if I had one meal-sized portion instead of five, that the quality of the food could be better. I couldn't even saw through parts of my chicken parmesan with a steak knife, it was that tough. If the portions were smaller and the quality of the food were higher, I'd go back every week! Byob Italian is one of my favorite things in life. read more

Sure, its Italian food and you already have an opinion about it what it must be like. It's all the same, right? WRONG! This isn't your generic Olive Garden Italian (I had a little throw up in my mouth just then). Nope. This is legit homemade noodle, homemade sauce, delightful chef specials that will knock your socks off with flavors. Wow. Do you want to experience the difference that homemade noodles makes? Go to Caro Mio. You won't believe it. Noodles you won't see elsewhere too - thick, long, rigatoni style that were superb. Never had anything like those. Amazing. The portion sizes are huge. All 4 of us took leftovers home. We started with the calamari appetizer which was quite good. Not the best I ever had (Hello Club Lucky!) but very good. I had the rigatoni putanesca which was rich with terrific marinara sauce, black and green olives, and wonderful capers. Yum. My wife had the papperdelle arrabiatta which was a spicier sauce with amazing noodles. Wish I had ordered that! My daughter had a fabulous tortellini dish that still makes my mouth water thinking about it and my son-in-law had the best of all - a special with a huge chicken breast over the tastiest rigatoni-like noodles I ever saw. To die for. Wow. BYOB and no corkage fee. Ice bucket for the white wine too. Fabulous. Although the place is a bit disconcerting - we entered the restaurant and were greeted with "how many in your party" and were told "follow me". We proceeded to go back outside, down the sidewalk two doors to another entrance that initially said "private parties". While I didn't mind too much, it was brutally cold out that night and when they kept bringing other diners down, the constant opening of the door put a bit of a chill on things. But the food was worth it. SO worth it. I want to go back. Second best Italian food I've had in Chicago next to La Scarola. read more

Caro Mio - Rigatoni puttanesca. Yummy!! - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This quaint Italian eatery is still among my favorites in Chicago, and this was confirmed on a recent visit. A group of 14 of us descended upon there for a friend's birthday dinner, and they were pretty awesome to us. Everybody really enjoyed their food. From the homemade gnocchi to the salmon drizzled with honey soy sauce, everything was delightful. The BYOB aspect is always a crowd pleaser. And they were very accomodating to our humongous, loud group. read more

I was very disappointed with Caro Mio's food and service. We went on the coldest night of the year so far, about -15 with the windchill at the time. Upon entering, we noticed there were about 5 of the maybe 12 tables seated with people, and we waited a good 5 minutes before anyone popped their head out of the back to see if anyone came in. I know 5 mins isn't super long, but the way the restaurant is laid out, it's just awkward to stand there. A real head-case walked out and sat us by the front emergency glass door, where there was a draft of -15 degree air. Nice. We gestured from across the room for another table, and he pointed to another table, not saying a word, but his eyebrows almost touched his receding hairline. Unprofessional. Oh, our server...he was such a sweet young Italian man, but we really didn't understand more than 3 words when he was telling us the specials. He meant well, though, and tried hard. His accent was just very thick. We ordered the eggplant appetizer which I thought was very good, but the other person in my party insisted was not cooked completely. Also the table bread was stale. I had the chicken tortellini. The pasta was overcooked and almost mushy, and the chicken was just gross and dryyyyyyy. I will say, however, that their sauce is really good and fresh. For dessert, I had the tiramisu which was probably the worst I've had with way too much espresso soaked into the lady fingers. So much, that I requested a spoon to scoop it up before giving up halfway though. It was a mushy mess. But props to the lemon sorbet dessert -- it tasted amazing, actually. So, I'm torn about this place. I suppose it's possible I ordered the wrong thing, and given the other great reviews, I'm willing to try this place again sometime. But leaving the place with an $80 bill just made me feel like a fool. read more

As a food product developer, I know what certain things taste like....including MSG and other flavor enhancers (like disodium inosonate and disodium guanylate). This place uses either MSG as an ingredient or commercial sauce mixes or bases which include these ingredients. I think that is cheating. I will say that the calamari salad was super good though! After that I just tasted that familiar taste that one finds in cheetos, doritos or boxed mac and cheese mix......which really does make everything taste better, but its just not right for a restaurant to rely on something so easy. Just think of that pleasant salivation and mild buffered saltiness you are left with. And an $8 fee to split an entree?! Stupid, especially when the portions are monstrous. Won't go back. read more

Definitely a great little Italian restaurant in the Ravenswood area. Pros: Intimate for a nice date, BYOB (Always a huge plus, especially if you have a consumption problem like muah.), huge portions and great service. Cons: (Only can think of one.) The restaurant is small and they try to jam as many tables as possible, so it feels like your also dining with the people next to you. My conversations usually end up being inappropriate which is kind of AWKWARD when grandma and grandpa are next to you. Definitely add it to your list of great BYOB restaurants in Chicago. P.S. Make reservations ahead of time. read more

Wow! I really don't know why I will ever go to another Italian restaurant! This place is so cute and comfortable. It smells amazing once you open the door. The staff is so friendly and great at suggestions. We enjoyed some of the best calamari, eggplant and brushetta... and that was just the beginning. It was the best gnocchi I've ever had - absolutely amazing. Its BYOB and our bill was only $30 each in the end and we all left beyond stuffed. I cannot wait to go back! ***** I just went again on Friday and have to add that the salmon is ahhhhhmazing and I do not like salmon. I couldn't get enough of this delicious fish. And again, the gnocchi was shockingly delicious yet again. I would recommend doing what we continue to do and order a few appetizers and main dishes to share with one another! Fantastic restaurant! read more

I live across the street. Star! My first time at Caro Mio, I didn't know what to order. Well, I knew I wanted something with chicken. The server (who I know realize was one of the owners) grabs my menu and brings out the best lemon chicken dish I've ever tasted. STAR! BYOB! Chicago, I love you a little more each day for introducing me to the joys of BYOB. STAR! If you get there at the right time (just before 630p), there's no wait. Even for a starving, fun loving party of six. By the end of our first bottle- err, course, the place was packed to the gills. There was a nice man observing my entree over my shoulder. Funny, the food was so good that I wasn't annoyed by this in the slightest. Wait, no that was because said boy was adorable. Moving along... The remaining stars are for the great atmosphere. The design of the place is inviting and warm. Even the artwork on the walls is fantastic. I could (and have!) easily make this my spot. You know, the place you always go for major events like Tuesday. read more

I am not sure if I'd be back here if it weren't BYOB. It's a nice little family-owned Italian restaurant next to the Metra track on Wilson. It's always decently crowded, but never too crowded. Basically, the food is way too salty, and the service is extremely slow. The waiter was very knowledgeable and all, but he couldn't have been any less attentive -but it wasn't his fault. They desperately need more WAIT STAFF!!! I couldn't believe only one guy was taking care over at least a dozen tables by himself. Not surprisingly, service is really really slow although the bus boy did a great job filling up my water glass. I had been here about 9 months ago on a date, and I went back there recently with my brother. Both times, service was consistently slow since they were short on waiters. Food was good, but consistently too saucy and salty. I usually prefer independent restaurants over chain restaurants, but I'd rather eat at Francesca's or Tuscany's before eating here. I do like their menu. Many regional specialties. It is a great addition to the neighborhood though. read more

This place is cozy, inviting and quite tasty...all the good qualities of a favorite neighborhood Italian place. I'd highly recommend the eggplant parmesan and whatever gnocchi they're offering that day. I read somewhere once that gnocchi means tiny pillows in Italian, and if that's true, then that's exactly what they look like! Plus, you get lots of food...enough for lunch the next day. Also, it's a BYOB...what's not to love!? read more