Love the ambiance. Clean, tasty and presentable entree. Chocolate cake and gelato was good but did not taste as fresh.

Had a solid takeout experience. Tried numerous sandwiches (available at lunchtime) that were universally enjoyed by my guests. Will look forward to returning to dine in as well as future carry out. read more

A hit or miss, one day the food will be phenomenal, the next, not so much! It is really hard to find consistently great meals. Fried calamari, sometimes over cooked, spaghetti and meatballs, sauce too tangy vs bland vs sweet. Sometimes, they will have bread and sometimes not. read more

I was visiting Chicago from NY. This restaurant was a block away from my hotel. Very easy to get a reservation. The food was decent. Not great. read more

Went for dinner with colleagues. Beautiful clean place, great wine recommendations, delicious pasta. I have the rigatoni arrabiata and it was exactly what I was expecting, which was lovely! Paired it with a super Tuscan and had a really heartwarming meal. read more

Ordered delivery from here to my hotel. It arrived fast, hot and super tasty. I got the shrimp pasta and added spice, and THE CHOCOLATE CAKE SLICE! It was MASSIVE... you will have left overs and eat every crumb. A little pricy for delivery food but I did not regret it. read more

Excellent food and the service is stellar nice ambiance and very reasonable priced great for large parties !!

This restaurant is fabulous. The stuffed clams are delicious. The meatball salad is excellent. Veal and chicken limone were delicious. The service was exemplary. read more

This is a great dinner spot for folks who attend conferences at McCormick. Its a brisk walk away, plenty of seating and heated patio. The food was pretty great. The complimentary bread was A-OK. We had the Fried Calamari appetizer, which was great. The Burrata Salad was pretty good too. I had the Penne Buttera for my entree, and it was fantastic. It was well coated in sauce, the meat was fresh, and the peas were a nice addition. I would highly recommend it. We got the Tiramisu and the Chocolate Cake for dessert. The Tiramisu was great, and the Chocolate Cake was alright, but wouldn't get it again. read more

We had a nice dinner on Il Culaccino's patio last weekend! The covid protocol was solid and it was nice that the "outdoor" patio was very warm and tables well spaced out. We enjoyed two different pastas and the cannoli dip dessert was amazing. Overall a really good experience but only 4 stars because the cocktails left a lot to be desired especially at $15 each! read more

Il Culaccino - Cannoli Dip - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A great addition to the South Loop !! Had my first dinner at this new South Loop restaurant- great food and wonderful staff. Definitely a return visit is on the horizon. read more

Absolutely the best hidden gem in the area. Superb customer service and amazing food! The spicy penne pesto- was out of this world. And the cannoli dip desert?! Still drooling over it. read more

Il Culaccino - Spicy Penne Pesto - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is the most delicious Italian restaurant in Chicago! You must come here! Veal Milanese, tiramisu and sambuca. An absolutely delicious night! read more

Look elsewhere. We were a party of six with three of us ordering the 10 oz "Waghu" special. First mistake was ordering it with the second being not asking the price, a whopping $105. The steak was served resembling a frisbee and loaded with fat. All three of us that ordered it took one or two bites and proceeded to eat the vegetables and potatoes. We informed our server who could have cared less. We also informed another employee on the way who was also indifferent. The other three dishes were average. Find an Olive Garden and you'll get better food much cheaper. Disappointing. read more

We definitely will come back, but make a reservation- this place gets packed! Served warm bread upon seating, had a good wine list and stellar food. You definitely won't leave disappointed. read more

I'm a fan of Franco's, so this place is familiar to me, just bigger and fancier. We had the grilled calamari that comes on a really nice bed of greens with a balsamic drizzle and it was really very good. I loved the contrast between the hot grilled calamari and the cold (but not too cold) greens. Tons of flavor and you get the best of an appetizer and a salad. This particular night their risotto was with sausage (thin discs of sausage, not ground sausage) and broccoli in a light tomato sauce. Our server had no problem double checking that it was gluten free for me. Absolutely delicious. Piping hot, topped with some parmigano, perfectly creamy and very flavorful. Large helping as well. The setting is very nice, we had rose and the orange vodka drink on the cocktail menu which I loved. The staff is very warm, friendly and accommodating...what I'm used to at Franco's as well. And obviously Frankie the owner was also around and he knows what he's doing! Definitely going back. Great for big groups and small, large bar, saw some kids there too. read more

My husband, daughter and I ate here yesterday for dinner. We got the fettucini alla franco and it was delicious.... so so so amazingly tasty that we decided to order it for dinner through UberEats for tonight (restaurant is 0.1 miles away from our hotel so we figured it'd be fine since we were too tired to venture out for dinner).... it was a mistake. The pasta came with sauce that was as runny as water.. making the pasta taste like plain noodles. The mushrooms also tasted different (very plain). At the restaurant, the pasta was in a think, creamy sauce that reminded me of pasta we had when we were in Italy vacationing (full of flavor). We were so excited to have it again. But this pasta tonight... huge dissapointment. I don't usually leave reviews but I think because it was so delicious yesterday and today, almost inedible... I was more upset than usual. So.. I guess, eat here at your own risk. Also, at the restaurant, you'll get a warm, tasty baguette with olive oil & parm cheese dipping sauce (complimentary of the restaurant) but if you pay the $4 for the baguette.. you don't even get a side of butter with it. Who eats just plain baguette? Also.. no utensils or napkins were given to us nor a choice to decline or accept this option. When staying in a hotel room, utensils are not easy to come by. Needless to say.. dinner went to the trash. read more

Il Culaccino - Fettuccine Alla Franco - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We are in Chicago for several events. We wanted to try an Italian spot for a potential meet and greet spot for about 20+ people. I looked online and it didn't show that a reservation was needed. We walked in. A man (who appeared to be the manager) met us coming in and said we could be seated once the hostess returned. Two white ladies that came in after us almost bypassed us asking for a table outside. When the hostess did show up, they claimed they didn't have an open spot at first. Then they changed it to say they didn't have servers. There were two people standing right there. As we were walking out, the ladies behind us were being seated. It gave racist vibes...obviously this place doesn't serve black people. Which was sad. They missed it on a great opportunity to make a good impression on a group with an influence of a million or more. It was my husband's birthday. We spent money to Uber there. Don't waste your money. And people of color? RUN AWAY. read more

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Ae were back in Chicago again. So...we had to stop here. It was my wife's first time and she loved it as much as I. The spicy Stuffed Pepper appetizer was amazing but it is extremely hot peppers but the taste is WOW! I had the Bucatini and it was INCREDIBLE! read more

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I came here because its one of the few restaurants near McCormick Place, had good reviews online and listed a vodka sauce in its menu. I love a good vodka sauce but have only found a few places were it is good. pi Good Service in a loud restaurant. Typical ambiance in a big city restaurant. The complimentary bread with olive oil was great, but not unlike other Italian restaurants. Caesar salad was good. Nothing out of the ordinary. Definitely disappointed in the pipette alla vodka. The pipette pasta were good, but very inconsistently cooked. Some were cooked al dente (which is great). But some were very mushy and overcooked. The Vodka cream sauce ranked right near the bottom of sauces I have had. It was comparable to the jarred stuff I have tried before. A good vodka sauce usually adds a bite to the sauce and sometimes give a little "heat" to the dish (a lot of times there is pepper flakes added" This sauce was bland and definitely did not pair well with the inconsistent pasta. read more

Great meal with a disappointing end. We had a large group and no one told us there was a max of four credit cards to pay. This made a total mess of our evening. Food was good, service was mixed. They accidentally threw away some food we asked to be boxed and take home. Dessert was very slow. I would hesitate to come here again. Too bad. Could have been great. Be warned. read more

Love the food! Nice patio seating. Wished the price is not that high. Nice neighborhood dining in South Loop

Bobby was our waiter - we had a great experience. He was super attentive and we felt taken care of (which is rare at most places now). Caesar and arugula salads were huge and delicious. We went with pasta for our entrees. The bucatini is amazing and the orecchiette special was also very delicious. We had a really nice time. read more

Good food and service. A gem in a food desert area. I'll go again next time I'm at a convention.

We had a nice dinner here on Thursday night. The service was great and the food matched our expectations. Thanks for a nice evening, looking forward to the next one. read more

Incredible meal! We decided to get carry-out which was great, but I immediately wished we had dined in because of the atmosphere of the restaurant - next time! Everything looked so good on the menu that we decided to try several things.We started with Candied Beet Salad and Meatballs, followed by Tortellini Carbanaro and Salmon and finishing with Cannoli Cake. Everything was simply incredible! read more

Terrible service and door man wouldn't even let me in for a pickup order just because we didn't look the "part"... Told me they were "closed" at 830 on a weekend... what a terrible experience. Not to mention cold food and they don't even keep it on a warmer. Stay away read more

Yuck. We were very disappointed with the food. The beet salad had one beat in it and was overly dressed. Salmon was drowning in tomato sauce out of a can. Eggplant Parmesan was burnt with the same canned sauce. Many better dining options in the south loop. Prices were high - but would not pay for that food at any price. read more

Good food. Great service. Wonderful entertaining ambiance. I've been back several times and intend on returning

This restaurant is top notch. From the aroma before walking in till the moment leaving. The gravies are all uniquely paired with the pastas and or accompanied dishes. Staff is knowledgeable and the menu is not overcrowded. Haven't seen a disappointed customer for as long as I have been coming here. read more

Had dinner here while in town for a conference. I had the bone-in pork chop and it was delicious. It was very tender and more than enough for dinner. Also had the caprese to start and that was very good also. My colleague had the veal parmigiana and said it was very good also. The waitstaff was helpful in selecting items to order and attentive to our drink needs. read more

Excellent Italian food! Kind of out of the way if you are staying in the hustle and bustle of Chicago, but only a 15m drive from Millennium Park. I had a conference to go to at McCormick Place and ate lunch here every day. Highly recommend. Menu is full and diverse and prices are very fair. read more

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Pastas were good but appetizers and dessert not too Much I would go back for sure and not order those desserts .

Just had the salmon for lunch. It was the best I have ever had. Carrot cake for dessert was so fresh and tasty read more

Il Culaccino - Wow enough for four - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Perfect start to a week in Chicago. Service was spectacular! Thanks Annale(prob not spelled correctly). The food was perfect. Recommend the stuffed pepper starter and the pork chop! Halibut special was exceptional also! Very clean facilities and a no pressure casual environment. read more

My husband and I went to Il Culaccino for our first dinner date since early March. All the staff had on masks and the tables on the patio were properly social distanced. The patio itself is a gorgeous outdoor dinner space! I got the Basil Strawberry Bourbon Lemonade as a drink. It is one of their new summer cocktails, and it was really refreshing on a hot muggy evening. For dinner I had the Spicy Penne Pesto. It was amazing! The mix between the spicy from the pesto and slight salt from the prosciutto is what really makes this dish unique. I highly recommend trying it. I am sad to say the reason I did not give Il Culaccino a higher rating is because of an interaction I had with someone in the wait staff. The waiter that brought our food to the table (not our main waiter) asked if we wanted hot sauce to go with our pasta. The waiter was a young White male and my husband and I are Black. I personally have not heard of hot sauce being a topping for penne or gnocchi (what my husband ordered). I know putting crushed red pepper on pasta is a thing and I often do that. I didn't hear the waiter ask the White family across from us if they wanted hot sauce with their pasta (maybe he did and I just didn't hear it). But the interaction made me feel slightly uncomfortable and made me feel like he only asked us if we wanted hot sauce because we were Black. I am not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill but this moment effected my time at the restaurant so I felt it important to mention. read more

This place is horrible. The service is down right unacceptable. Starting from the hostess to the waitress, they had no filter at all. The food is just ok. However, the bread is amazing. Our party was absolutely floored that the management would allow such rudeness. The place was pretty empty (we could see why) and the service was slow on top of being rude. They brought our appetizers and entrees out at the same time - who does that? I mean common sense says 1 before the other. If I could rate this place any lower I would. read more

Worth the walk from McCormick. We went for lunch--Food was amazing. Outside seating was so nice. I will make this a regular stop during trade shows read more

Review based only upon take out experience. My fiancé and I ordered the fettuccini allá franco, penne buttera and the meatballs. Meatballs: solid sauce, quality of the meat was questionable. Would have been nice to have been accompanied with bread. (3.5) Penne: my fiancé said that it was overall good and the sausage was tasty. The flavor for the dish mostly comes from the sausage. (3) Fettuccini: the pasta was overcooked and the dish was very bland. Could barely taste any hints of pesto. Disappointing. Large serving though. (2.5) Lastly, the meal was packaged in a white plastic bag like you would get from a fast food joint, not an Italian restaurant where I'm paying almost $70 for three items. Not a big deal but it was aesthetically displeasing While we live just down the street, I don't see us making the effort to visit here again. read more

Great place! Fantastic food and attentive staff. We had a large group that got together last minute and they accommodated us quickly! We were so thankful! Especially since they were already so busy! Food was great and reasonably priced for the portions and given you're in the city of Chicago. 10/10 would recommend-- we will definitely be back!! read more