This was my second and last visit to Cotto A Legna. My first visit was wonderful. Server was good and the pasta was yummy. This time was a nightmare. Party of six which include three kids and our meal took 50 mins. when the meal came, she delivered two pizzas and when to serve other tables. Almost 10 mins later two more meals delivered but still two short. The last two out, plain pasta with butter. I had actually left the table twice to find our server during this time. I could go on about the poor service but I'm sure you get the point. I would also tell you about my chat with the manager, but the manager didn't bother to stop by. Instead the check came with nothing removed and 18% tip already on the bill. That was the last straw. Geneva is full of great place to eat and this simply isn't one of them. read more

Nice concept and I'm looking forward to a return visit when they've worked some of the bugs out. But right now, I've got some serious complaints. Many of those complaints are echoed in the reviews of my fellow Yelpers -- like the burnt pizza (I think it's more like burnt bits of flour stuck to the crust of the pizza - I''m guessing they just haven't figured out their oven yet), no iced tea the night we were there (it wasn't even 7pm on a Friday night), a server that didn't know what manchego cheese was - and couldn't help us decipher the cheese choices we had on the meat and cheese "piatta" menu (and not a word of explanation on the menu either), and a front door with a broken closer that left the door open and the cold air streaming in, and a noise level that precludes any comfortable conversation. Competition is fierce for restaurant business in the Fox Valley area - especially on 3rd Street in Geneva, and you have to be on your game to survive here. The pieces are all here -- i just hope they can figure out how to put them all together. read more

The pizza here was average at best. A little too done around the edges and doughy in the middle. We had the margarita, Spinnacella, and a pepperoni for our ten year old son. They were all cooked the same. The ingredients were fresh and the potential is there, they just haven't hit their stride yet. We also had the calamari and an orzo seafood dish that was on special. Both were phenomenal. Both were pricey. The seafood was fresh and cooked perfectly. We got out of there at about $200 (we thought we were just heading out for a casual pizza and were all feeling a bit underdressed) for six of us, with plenty to drink. I will not make the effort to go here again unless someone else suggests it. If I do go back I won't even order pizza and definitely wont bring any kids. Also, we all smelled like brick oven pizza for the rest of the night. I think the exhaust in the place is in need of an upgrade. read more

Visited Cotta A Legna with three friends...I think we would all go back. The pizza was quite good, but I'm only at 3 stars because I truly believe they need to take their pizzas out of the oven a tad sooner. As we waited for one of our party who was running late, I took a look around at others who had received their food. Every pizza I saw had a charred crust. I noticed one woman was certainly put off by it, as she literally just stared at her plate as the server walked away after presenting her pizza to her. Luckily, mine was not nearly as burnt as hers... it wasn't just her crust. I have had wood fired pizza many times...and never did I receive one that was burnt. I ordered the quattro w/sausage... good sausage with a unique taste. Our server was great. She was very friendly, helpful and didn't rush us, as the night we met was for our holiday gift exchange...and a birthday...so we were there quite a while. I saw a table with a larger group (8-10) who had brought their small children. A little too high end for kids, in my opinion (I have a 4 and 6 year old.) The atmosphere is tailored more to adults (I am sure this is especially true in the evening) and I'm not willing to spend $10-15 on individual pizzas for young children. Update: July 2012...I didn't enjoy this place half as much the second time. Food takes about 10 minutes longer than it should (we ordered a pizza and a pasta dish.) It is also very noisy...annoyingly so...and I don't really know why. I was also bummed because my husband didn't care for it much and actually said something about going back to another place in the area, which I had considered but thought he would like Cotto a bit more than he did. With so many other places, and a favorite or two, we may not make it back. On a more positive note...we did have a good waiter, so they seem to hire a good wait staff. read more

Bruschetta with avocado and shrimp is a must try. Salads are large enough to share. Add a protein to the harvest salad and you have a wonderful meal. The crispy onion topping on the salad give it great texture and add a savory component to the sweet apples in the harvest salad. Great ambiance and usually easy seating at lunch. Weekend dinners get crowded like all of Geneva so make a reservation or put your name in and walk around. read more

A quiet Sunday afternoon. Crisp, perfectly cooked Neapolitan pizza with spinach and delicious sausage in a pleasant space with attentive service. Strong espresso with a twist of lemon. Nice wines on the list but didn't drink today. I'll definitely go back. Someone knows what they are doing here... Reasonably priced pizza. The appetizer of prawns and bacon was good but expensive at $12 I thought. read more

Solid! Great brick oven pizza. Service was solid and the pizza amazing. My husband had the veggie pizza which had balsamic reduction on it - so tasty! I had the mushroom and artichoke pizza (it came with ham and wurst - i substituted both for prosciutto) very tasty. obviously we both ordered our own pizza, but i think next time we will try an appetizer and split the pizza. glad we finally tried. read more

This place was below average. Thankfully it's my anniversary or I would have walked out. I could go down to specifics but I'll be very objective. The appetizers were ok. Our appetizers were messed up. We ordered mushroom bruschetta and we got sausage instead. Then to the main course. Our spinacella pizza turned out to be a margheritta pizza because again the order was taken wrongly. The seafood linguine entre was swimming in oil. Could make it better at home. The only thing good were the drinks. read more

Very disappointed, made a reservation on the yelp app to then find out when we got there that they're not taking online reservations and couldn't accommodate us. So we ordered food to go since they couldn't seat us and the pizza wasn't cooked through, the dough was still raw and the salad we ordered was wrong after waiting 45 minutes for food to go. Big disappointment for a Saturday night date night. read more

Fantastic place. Was with the family and we stopped in by chance. One of the best meals I've had in a long time! Everyone loved their dish. Great service, Great food, very good atmosphere! Will go again!!! read more

Apparently they don't take online reservations anymore even though I got a confirmation & reminder email & text the day of my reservation. Was told they don't accept online reservations when I showed up for the dinner I planned a week in advance & said I have to wait an hour to be seated. No thanks. Poor customer service. Went to Livia instead & sat us right away read more

Delicious food. Nothing special about atmosphere and can be a little loud, but food is well prepared and presented. Chicken Marsala and Butternut Squash outstanding. Pasta dishes are fresh and tasty and salads delicious and fresh. Have been here several times over the summer and enjoyed each meal. read more

I had the opportunity to stop in with some family from out of town. I was initially blown away by the cleanliness and ambiance of the location. We were fortunate enough to be served by the most professional server yet. Her name is Robyn. So incredibly professional and personable. Every time she greeted us with a smile and got our order perfect...listen to her when she recommends the medallions, she ain't lying, they are amazing!!!! Robyn, you got yourself a guest that will always request your service first. Managers, you have an employee that will make me return over your food, don't lose her!!!! read more

Went last night. Lets start with the positive: our server was good. She was attentive and when there was a mistake on the bill she fixed it. Now for the negatives. The pizza was not good. Our pizzas were very soggy and it was nearly impossible to pick a piece up and not have the toppings fall off. Our server took one of the pies back to the oven to see if it could crisp the crust, but it didn't really make a difference-still soggy. Another negative is that this joint can be very, very loud making it difficult to hear others at your table. Bottom line: When you go out for a dinner of four, spend $160 on a meal, and end up with soggy pizza and difficult conversations, I think you get 2 stars for that night. read more

I have visited this restaurant twice, the service was excellant, the food was very good but the hostess both times made us feel as though we were not wanted. The first time my wife and I walked in and was told you should make a reservation even though the restaurant was sat at 50%. The way she came across was very direct and rude especially the way she rushed to us from the bar area (an awkword spot for the host to great the customers). Well yesterday was my second encounter a Fathers day dinner with the family was no different again she rushed to meet us from bar with menus in hand and asked us if we had a reservation? I responded yes, she never asked me for our name and sat us near the front door versus a much less traffic area. When we entered the facility a four top was sitting in front of the windows and it looked as though a 12 top sat down the middle of the restaurant. As members of the large table arrived the hostess must have known the customers because she smiled and sat each guests as they arrived. The hostess acted like a hostess should act when greating customers as though she appreciated them coming in or they were friends. As we sat there we noticed that it was not just us she was cold to each and every guests who entered that she did not know received the same cold welcome. I like the food even though the calamari was half the order I received when it was just my wife and I 3 weeks ago. I am writing the review because I am in the hospitallty business and know that you have one chance and one chance only to make a good first impression. I fell that the hostes has made us unfortable twice and she maybe pushing business elesware. The end result is that your staff makes or breaks your business and this hostess has caused us to go elseware, it's to bad because the chef does an excellant job. read more

I wanted to update my review for Cotto a Legna, as it's now been a year since I first started coming this restaurant. I can now say, with certainty, that this is my favorite pizza restaurant in the States. Yes, I am serious. I love Cotto. I love the food, I love the staff, and I love the outdoor patio. I love that they bring my dog cups of water. And they let my fiance's daughter watch the pizza dough being rolled and put in the oven while keeping her drink filled and telling her how adorable she is. The mussels as an appetizer are my go-to, but I love the Caprese salad as well (both are huge though, so you might want to consider sharing). The mussels are all properly cooked and the sauce is delicious. They're happy to bring extra bread and spoons to help you mop up the extra sauce if need be. It's a great dish. Initially, I was so happy to find a properly cooked margherita pizza that I didn't want to order anything else. Do you know just how rare it is to find a true margherita pizza? One that is not actually covered in cheese, but has just a few dollops of it, along with lots of olive oil, fresh herbs and tomatoes? I can assure you it is indeed a rarity. But Cotto does it and does it well. For that alone, I am grateful. But eventually, I did branch out and try some of the other pizzas, and they too have all been splendid. I cannot rave enough about the funghi pizza, but mushrooms are in fact one of my favorite foods, so I should throw out that caveat. It's a beautiful pizza, covered in mushrooms (that are actually pre-cooked, not just thrown onto the pizza raw, which is a personal pet peeve) and herbs. I honestly eat an entire funghi pizza by myself - that is how much I love it. Everyone has a different preference when it comes to pizza, so let me take just a moment to explain what you'll find at Cotto - these are thin crust, wood-fired pizzas. They should be crisp, possibly a bit charred on the edges. If you're interested in deep dish, try Lou Malnati's instead. It seems like most reviewers complaints are directed at service. We have had great service at Cotto - I cannot recommend James or Stacy enough, as both are very attentive, friendly and helpful. Loryn is another terrific waitress if you're seated in the bar area. And get to know Igor and Nick, the co-owners, if you have an opportunity. They can share with you what they're trying to do at Cotto, and can probably find the perfect dish for you. read more

I continue to like this place. I was here last night and had good food and decent wine. The three of us ordered and shared Bruschetta with artichoke (highly recommended), a gnocchi special with mushrooms (really good, but not gnocchi, more like ravioli), and a 12" pesto pizza. Washing it all down was a glass of the Estancia Cab. The food really is good. The service is decent, the menu offers new specials pretty often and I definitely recommend it. read more

I went in here skeptical and was pleasantly surprised. The stuffed grilled portabella was extremely delicious. Great flavor and obviously fresh ingredients! I split a Spinacella with my wife and we thought it was done very well. Not too heavy on ingredients, good blend of cheese, sauce - overall very tasty. I will return. The place gets busy and we ended up sitting at the bar. Service was good, food was prepared quickly. Overall ...an enjoyable meal. read more

Cotto A Legna - Yummy - Pizza Near Me - Geneva, Illinois

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This was a pleasant surprise. Not just an upscale pizza place. My wife and I ordered an entre and a pizza. They were both very delicious. My first "white" pizza... I guess I was a saucist because I had heard of white pizza and it sounded good, but I couldn't see anything but red. Atmosphere was nice. Very open feeling and nose level want bad. Our server was a lot of help. As we guided through the menu. I'm not a mushroom guy so that took away like a nice chunk of the menu add it usually does. I don't like to ask for no mushrooms when is in a sauce or anything. Having the Copa Pistachios add I type this. .. it's very good. Yummy! read more

Finishing up our meal here and food was delicious and our server, Erik, was very attentive. Recommend the fried goat cheese, yummy. Tried the honey salmon bruschetta, messy, but also super delicious. Can't go wrong with the meatball sliders or the meat lovers pizza. My son devoured the Tuscan shrimp, so I assume he loved it. read more

Delicious lunch! Service was very good! Nice atmosphere and pretty outdoor patio dining.

First, I have to say the food was quite good. We had the mussels marinera, Margherita pizza & the salad w/salmon.All fine, except that we waited 10+ mins for our waitress, she brought out the wrong item (we were offered free beer but they only paid for 1 round in the end), and then after eating only 1/2 my dinner I asked for it to be boxed. Waitress comes back &. says the busboy threw it all out! Eeek! She did replace it but man, what a lot of mistakes! I know they r only 8 mod old. I hope they hire better , more experienced staff. If I'm in town again I may give them another chance. read more

Good brick oven pizza, Cajun pasta had 50/50 chicken to penne! Good drinks, good service, clean.

We arrived before our reservation time and were seated immediately. My wife and I shared a harvest salad and a margarita pizza. Both very very good and sufficient portions for us . Emilio our server did an excellent job serving. He told us he was also training in bar tending and made a very nice Basil Hayden old fashioned. read more

Went here with a group recently and was pleasantly satisfied with the experience. The hosts of our party ordered all of the food so didn't even really look at the menu, but this is my take on what we had. First we got 2 bottles of wine. I know nothing about wine but it tasted fine. Then the apps came. The calamari was pretty delicious. It also came in a pretty hefty size which is more than I can say for some other places. I also had the caprese and I'm not a tomato fan but this was pretty delicious. The tomato and cheese were on point. We had a bunch of different pastas but the only one I tried was the boscaiola pasta which was pretty bomb. I didn't get any of the sausage in my scoop but the sauce in t his one was crazy good. We also got a lot of different pizzas but I only remember eating two of them. The margherita was pretty good, good flavor. The fina was all right, just a pain to eat. Like are you suppose to try and cut the arugula or scoop it off first, who knows. I was so lost. It's a really nice and clean place in an up and coming neighborhood it looks like. If it wasn't so far, I'd probably go back. read more

Always a solid choice. Good brick oven pizza and salads. We also love the Burrata. Easy to get reservations or even to grab a table on the fly. Good beer and wine selection as well. read more

My favorite restaurant in Geneva. Had friends in from out of town and our group kept growing from 10 to 22 and with each call to add to our reservation they were so welcoming. Food was awesome as always and the service was even better, Maria took great care and of us and so did her partner server which I do not know her name because she took care of the opposite end of our group. The entire group had a great time and everyone commented on how good their dinner was and how much fun they had. Thanks again for another great experience. Sincerely Dan & friends. read more

Not sanitary! Not safe! This used to be a place I trusted. No longer. The owner of the restaurant was by the pizza oven sticking his fingers in the ingredient bins, and eating the ingredients, sticking his fingers in his mouth!! Then he put fingers back into the ingredient bins to get more to eat. These are the ingredients they put on your pizza! And this is during a pandemic! Then he grabbed a mop, started mapping the floor, then put his fingers in those ingredients to eat again!! I It looked like the mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Disgusting! I will never go here again. And I would recommend everyone stay away from here. read more

This is one of the best Italian restaurants I have eaten at in my life. The appetizer you have to get is the fresh burratta it has so much flavor and is super creamy it is a great way to start off the meal. My family and I have loved all the entrees we have gotten from there. The pastas all have a great flavor and are worth the price. The pizzas are also have a generous amounts of toppings. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for Italian read more

The décor is good, the location is awesome, the sound level was painful. The menu was convoluted, and the lack of focus shows in the food. I ordered the sausage bruschetta from the specials menu. The sausage was tasty, and the bread was good. That having been said, it was served swimming in a pool of oil. Add that to the fattiness of the sausage and the brie cheese, and the $12 I paid for it was insulting. This price was not posted, so caveat emptor, I suppose. The signage indicates that this is an upscale pizza place. The pizza was only a very small portion of the menu, and there was not an option for a simple pepperoni pizza. They did make my husband his desired pepperoni pizza, but it was not worth a return visit. I liked my pesto pizza, which would have been better if they had not been so stingy with the sundried tomatoes. Our service was timely and attentive, without being too much so. This place has great potential. If they would handle the noise issue, simplify the menu, focus on good pizza, and quit relying on pretentious sounding ingredients, they could have my continued business. read more

Cotto Legna has been one of my top five favorite restaurants. However lately, most recently on Saturday while we were babysitting, I'm not sure if the kitchen staff has changed, the food is extremely salty. My son lives in Geneva and went a few times a month. He also said his food has been very salty lately and not as good as it had been. Today is my birthday and was asked by my children and husband where I wanted to go celebrate my birthday this weekend. I used to pick Cotto Legna but I just can't see my self going back again. I hope they figure it out and I can hear they are doing better in the kitchen read more

The service is awful. This was our second time here . The first time they forgot to put in our appetizer order. It came with dinner waitress was nice and food was average . Small menu. Soggy Pizza Our second visit today , the waiter never placed our appetizer order. Our daughter and her friends pizza came and was eaten before our Pasta, yes pasta dinners even came out. My wife went to complain to the owner who would not even stop making a pizza to listen. He said "it's not my fault " With this we walked out. Stay away from this bad service average food restaurant .. I fully expect them not to last read more

This place was alright. The food was average, and could have used a lot more spice to it. Service was quick and friendly enough for my tastes as opposed to some of the reviews I've read below. Atmosphere is nice and by far the most appealing piece of the restaurant. When I went, the group I was with got three plates worth of bruschetta, with four different types represented. The mushroom bruschetta, fava bean bruschetta, and the artichoke bruschetta were the three that I tried. Like stated above they were all average, and I didn't have any trouble with eating them, but it wasn't any thing remarkable that would be worth coming back for. Pretty lacking in flavor outside of the ingredients themselves. The main course was the vegetable pizza. It was decent. Like others have said, the outsides of the pizza were nicely cooked, but the insides were pretty goopy and doughy still, making the pizza hard to eat, albeit not impossible. The vegetable pizza had a balsamic glaze on it, which would have been good if it weren't the only ingredient that really stood out on the pizza. I couldn't tell if it was simply a lack of any flavor between the squash, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes, or if they simply used too much of the glaze such that it overpowered the pizza itself, but it made for a unremarkable pizza. It seems like they are trying to play the restaurant off as one that caters to local foods, but without really investing in good quality ingredients. There is definitely potential here, but they could stand to add some flavor to their dishes in one way or another. The dough, the sauce, the cheese, or the vegetables all have plenty of room for seasoning that just seems to have been ignored for the sake of keeping things simple beyond reason. I'd go back if a friend or family member were interested, but I would never suggest it myself. There are better options in the area. read more

I was in town visiting my parents last Friday, and had taken the train to Geneva. This place is right near the train station, so it was very convenient for us. After stopping in, we were told a wait time of about 30 minutes. It wasn't a problem for us, so we headed across the street to the Caboose to have a drink. Fastforward to when we come back on time. We still stood in the entryway for a solid 10 minutes before we were even acknowledged. We were shown to a small table, without a word being said to us. A bus boy gave us plates and utensils, but it was another 15 minutes of waiting before someone even came over to introduce themselves or pour water. It wasn't until we were about to leave that a woman came over and poured water. The waitress didn't introduce herself, or apologize for the wait or lack of service. After receiving menus, she didn't even give us time to look at the menu before asking what we would like. She didn't seem very patient while we asked questions about the entrees either. Once we placed our orders (2 pasta dishes and a salad.) We waited. And we waited. And we waited some more. It took about 60 minutes for our meals to come out. While we were waiting, we were not greeted by anyone, offered any drinks, bread or receive an apology about the wait. We saw people who had arrived after us receive hot appetizers before we even got our food. A simple "I'm sorry the kitchen is really backed up right now. Can I get you something while you wait?" would have been better than the service we received. Once the food did arrive, it didn't even come out at once. The two pasta dishes arrived 10 minutes before the salad. We thought that was a little odd. We ate our dishes and enjoyed them. The food is pretty tasty, rich and filling. When we were finished, we still had half our plates in front of us. The waitress didn't immediatley offer us boxes, just placed the check on the table and walked away. We later asked for the boxes to go. We left feeling disgruntled and put off. The atmosphere is also pretty loud, so you may have to shout to your dining companion to be heard. Although the food was good, the atmosphere and service is off. I don't think we'll be coming back here again. read more

I am going to miss this place when I move. They have a unique and my most favorite house salad with a welcome array of vegetables that breaks the crowd-pleasing monotony of Caesar and mixed field greens. The pizza is fantastic. The crust is thin and simultaneously crisp and chewy, with an excellent stretch to the dough and slightly smoky. Sometimes the pizza can be a little dark but the charcoal adds, especially with the red sauce based pizzas. And the pizzas are not overly cheesy or sauced. I think that they put crack in their fried eggplant pizza, so be careful. Subsequent cravings are powerful and intense and I suspect something equally addicting has been added to the arugula and Parmesan one, as well. For the meat-lovers the sausage is flavorful with the right amount of heat, although I would steer away from adding the wurst, just a bit weird and has the taste and texture of hot dogs. My daughter is addicted to the salmon farfalle, and although, as for myself, I am not a fan of the cream sauce, this version is light and doesn't overwhelm the salmon and I like the spinach (as does my daughter who normally hates spinach) and subtle lemon pepper in the cream sauce. Really good. Props to them for always making me linguine with clams, when the offer only A Frutte del Mar; you are awesome, I am a pain but I appreciate it. The only negative is that it can get really loud, I think it is an acoustics issue. The affability and accommodating staff can take their time, but they make up for it in kindness. read more

The bruschetta is fantastic and they will customize any pasta dish or pizza. They also have great drinks and wine selection.

I have eaten here several times with friends and even with my dog. However the other day they would only allow my dog and I to sit at tables on the sidewalk even though we have eaten at other tables in the past. All the dog tables were taken. they told me this was some new city rule. So I crossed the street to preservation and you can sit anywhere with your dog and their food is really good. So if you have a dog stay away from this place, walk across the street where you'll b welcome! read more

What a treat! Came with friends for wine and pizza and was amazed at the options on the menu. Plenty of wait staff and a great ambiance. In short, Cotto has really upped their game... It was a bitterly cold night, we came earlier than normal and couldn't do the big entrees. A return visit is definitely in order, and next time I will have more than their delicious pizza and probably the best damn arancini I have ever had. read more

We stopped by for drinks right after they opened and brought the kids there for a meal last night. Fairly busy. Room was a bit loud, but it did not bother me. Food was very good. Pizza from the wood fired oven was exceptional. Light sauce, thin crust and fresh mozzarella. Pasta and risotto dishes were delicious. Plenty of reasonably priced wines. We will definitely be back. Kids enjoyed it too. They said they will have an outdoor patio this summer....looking forward to that! read more

Great food but not worth the REALLY LONG wait. Came in on a Tuesday afternoon, well after the lunch rush and well before any dinner business. The dining room was about a quarter full, but it took fifteen minutes just to get a drink order in. Wait another fifteen minutes for the appetizer order, then another for the entree order - just to be taken. Drinks were refilled quickly enough but it was nearly 45 minutes from the time the entree order was made until it came to the table; one order was a sandwich and the other was chicken pasta. The table next to us ordered sandwiches only and still had to wait half an hour. The server said that he was training another server, resulting in him bringing everything late but we never saw them, or a manager or supervisor. Like I said, the food was really good but not worth such a long wait. read more