We used Lia as our caterer. the food was great . everyone at our party was impressed. Thanks Maria and Lia. read more

Nice little restaurant off I-94 and has good Italian food. Salad had homemade blue cheese dressing and croutons. The spaghetti sauce was a little too sweet for our taste but overall not bad. My spouse said the meatball was flat tasting. The owner was delightful and the Chapman stick music was a nice touch! read more

The service was great!!! The food was quite tasty. And the decor was amazing! Very homey place to dine.

Went in for quick lunch with husband and son -- and it was so cute inside, great service, friendly owner, and meatballs and salads were delicious! A great hidden gem! read more

I had split pea soup and shrimp alfredo. It filled me up and hit the spot. All of the staff made me feel comfortable and at home. This would be a fitting place to take someone on a date. read more

The lasagna was really good and our waitress was great! The outside patio was very nice and they had great live music the night we went. I did have trouble making a reservation, I called and left my details but never got a call back, called when they were open and no answer. We were able to get in easily when we got there though it wasn't super busy. Would definitely recommend! read more

See all

Establishment charges 3.5% for use of credit cards and there is no disclosure of this before you get the check. I would say if they are being charged 3.5% by their processor then they need to change processors especially for in person transactions. I know they want to offset the fee but there should be a sign before sitting down. Also this may cause conflict with a business's T&E policy if the diner is travelling on business. Place is like dining in someone's house. Seats were not exactly comfortable. I found the TV playing music a bit annoying because flat screens without external speakers and amplification do not have the ability to create a full spectrum of frequencies. The drinks are great made with high quality spirits and are a good pour. I would say 90% on the drinks. The espresso machine I saw is of consumer grade so I didn't bother ordering an espresso at the end of my meal. The food. The food was okay. Nothing super special. The lasagna was okay seemed to be a little light on ingredients and the sauce was a little on the sweet side for my liking. A common theme throughout was very light seasoning. I did enjoy the Arancini though but again could have done with a little more seasoning or some kind of departure from just the norm. I do believe they make their own base sauce as I did not recognise it as being a premade and I'm pretty familiar with the food service distributors sauce offerings but possibly one I have not tasted. I think they may have a fixed recipe for the sauce but really you need to add your sweetening to taste just to remove the acidity not make it a sweet sauce at least in my opinion. I would say with another well known Italian restaurant in town and also some really good ones within a short drive I would make some changes: 1. Take the TV off the wall makes the place seem tacky. 2. Larger fireplace possibly gas. 3. Price menu items right and remove credit card fees. 4. Taste the sauce as sugar is added gradually so that it only the acidity is counteracted and the flavour of the tomatoes is not impaired. 5. The specials on the board should be limited time specials and not items on the menu. My opinion but specials should be limited availability offerings. 6. Get rid of the consumer grade espresso machine. Find a used commercial one that can make great coffee. 7. Maybe offer cushions to your guests to make the seats more comfortable I would probably slowly replace the chairs but I understand there may be financial constraints. read more

Cute restaurant in downtown Chesterton with cozy indoor or patio dining. Prompt friendly service. My lunch salad entree was fresh and tasty and the Lemon Berry Marscapone Cake dessert was to DIE for! YUM!! read more

Cute place, love the assortment of tables and chairs. The owners are fun - one of them especially is a riot! Love her! Definitely try one of the desserts while you're here - I love the tiramisu. Only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is I wish there were a few more menu options, and the last two times I ordered the meatball sub I had to have them re-heat it because the meatballs weren't hot inside. BUT - when they were re-heated, they were great! :) read more

Fantastic food and great service with a cozy outdoor patio in downtown Chesterton. Definitely coming back! read more

See all

What a hidden gem! My wife and I I had spent the day at the Indiana Dunes and were looking for a nice, close place to eat. This spot was perfect - it was only 10 minutes away, was very welcoming and had great food! They have a really nice shaded patio space as well. We had the homemade lasagna and eggplant parm and both were delicious. For desert, we had the Lemonberry Mascarpone Cake, and we both said it was the best piece of cake we'd ever eaten! Wait staff was very friendly and attentive - highly recommend this place! read more

Beautiful outdoor space in downtown Chesterton. Shady, comfortable and pleasant! Great menu choices too!

We ate lunch here today and had such a wonderful experience. We met one of the owners and she was just great - she let us know about the town and how she came to start a restaurant there. ALL of the employees were fantastic. Everyone made sure we were taken well care of (and to mention that they are really nice gals) and that our meals were good. Meals - amazing - from the dinner salads, to the spaghetti, to the lasagna (OMG!), it was just fantastic! Will we eat here again? Hell yeah! Loved the small town feel and this restaurant is just fantastic! We give them 5 out of 5 stars! read more

Food was fantastic. I got the sampler platter and it was great. I will definitely go back.

Pleasant day, pleasant outdoor lunch. Meatballs and a Caesar salad were more than enough for one meal. Had the leftovers for dinner. Friendly staff. Would recommend outdoor seating on a nice day. read more

Two friends and I went for dinner on a Thurs. night at 5:30 p.m. The ambiance inside was cute. We ate on the patio, which was nice but since they're only 1 block from the railroad crossing, you can't always talk. It turned out the "ask about our Daily Pasta Specials" part on the menu means only 1 choice on Thurs. nights and usually only 2 on a weekend. None of us were interested in that night's pasta option, so we ordered 3 Sharables: a Caprese salad, the Capanata, and the meatballs. The Capanata wasn't big enough to share. It said it came with 5 slices of bread. They were the size of tiny rye toasts. The Capanata was in a tiny bowl that was as small or smaller than when you order a cup of soup. The Caprese Salad was a big enough appetizer for 2. There were 3 meatballs, which were large and delicious. The meatball sandwich was the same price as the meatball appetizer, but was just 2 meatballs, so if you are a big meat eater, I recommend the meatball sharable for your entree over the meatball sub. Basically, you're trading the bread for an extra meatball, which, since I'm not big on bread, was a better deal, IMO. Two of us got the chicken pesto panini, and the chicken was so dry we had to ask for extra pesto sauce, but it really didn't help since the chicken was VERY dry. We each got dessert. A tiramisu, a white cake with a fudge center, and a lemon berry marscopone cake. The white cake with fudge filling was mediocre, and the tiramisu wasn't much better. They are only open 3 nights a week, I believe. So it's more like a catering business that kinda sorta has a restaurant on the side with about 6 appetizer selections, 3 or 4 paninis, a meatball sandwich, an Italian Beef sandwich, about 4 side salad options, and 1 pasta option. It was pay at the counter with the credit card machine, which had pre-selected tip percentages starting at 18%. So, if you didn't have a good server and only want to tip 15%, you should leave the tip on the table and pay the bill in cash Unless they start offering at least 2 pasta options on Thursday nights and 4 or 5 pasta options on weekends, I doubt we'll be back. read more

visited Lia's for lunch on a Friday afternoon. what a great surprise! the wait staff was friendly and engaging from the time we walked in the door. Server asked where we were from and made recommendations when asked. Atmosphere was very inviting. the food selections, while small, were varied and we both raved about the quality of our appetizers and main courses. small locally owned restaurant that I would highly recommen. I like to support locally owned small businesses. read more