So happy I stumbled upon this Neighborhood Italian joint. I had PT nearby and my wife came here to grab a snack and drink while she waited. I came and met her afterward to find a beautiful bowl of cacio e pepe and I glass of wine. I tried the pasta, it was one of the best I've had in a long time, and come to find out it wasn't even on the menu, the bar tender asked the kitchen staff and they made it for her special. Anyway, I grabbed a glass of wine and ordered the grilled calamari, which was out of this world - probably the best fish all around I've had in a long time... I also tried the meatballs which were great as well. The staff were amazing, Katie is a great bartender, and I really enjoyed chatting with one of the family members that runs the place at the host stand. The ambiance feels like you're in Italy, and that experience was just what I needed in early February, Chicago. read more

Sal's Trattoria - Grilled Calamari - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food was delicious and the service was excellent!. We sat outside and a rainbow showed up! It was gorgeous!!

Very good neighborhood spot. We sat outside. The octopus appetizer was great and we enjoyed the pasta

Perfect in every way! The service. The food. The cocktails. The ambiance. I would recommend and come back again and again.

Went for dinner. This little spot is all you can think for a romantic cozy date or meal with your friends. Service was excellent and there is a very good selection of white wine. I would definitely come back for one more summer night. We shared the crab cakes and I tried the Lamache pasta with Spanish chorizo. Very filling and good portions. read more

Sal's Trattoria - Lamache with Spanish chorizo - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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A friend recommended Sal's and so we were excited to try it. Happy to report that we were not disappointed! The grilled squid was flavorful and briny. Service was top notch. We had reservations which I recommend. I ordered the eggplant and my mom the squid ink pasta. Yummy! read more

Sal's Trattoria - Grilled sqid in marinade with capers etc. - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Dinner was phenomenal and the service was great. Ordered grilled calamari and ceaser salad for appetizer. Grilled calamari is served in a garlic, butter, and lemon sauce that is excellent. Ordered two pastas - Carbonara and spaghetti alla nerano (spaghetti w zucchini). Happy with both choices, and the pastas were not too heavy. Loved the cheese cake for dessert. Will be coming back when in the mood for a nice Italian dinner with a neighborhood feel. read more

Sal's Trattoria - Cheescake - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food was very good. Ambience was perfect for a date night. Our service was fine, I would have liked a more interactive waiter. He seemed to whisper and it was hard to hear him. read more

Sal's Trattoria - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've loved Sal's ever since I moved to the neighborhood ~7 years ago. Delicious, seasonal plates (and cocktails), friendly staff, the coziest vibes and excellent service. Great for family, friends, date nights or even business. Whenever anyone is looking for a restaurant recommendation, this is the first place I mention! read more

Food was absolutely amazing. Cute spot. Only thing was the noise level - very loud. But the squid ink with shrimp was one of the best meals I've ever had! read more

Wow! Everything about Sal's is amazing! The Buratta is the best I've ever had! The staff is top notch and I would I highly recommend the trout and bolognese! A definite must read more

LOVE THIS SPOT!! such a classy and great place with an awesome atmosphere and even better food. came here for my anniversary and they brought us free champagne and made the night so special we love Sals!! read more

Sal's Trattoria - Cheescake - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The staff is very friendly & kind! My food was amazing. I will definitely be back here. Great cocktails as well! 10/10 in my book!

Sal's is a wonderful local Italian spot in Lakeview! I've dined both outdoors and inside here and really enjoyed both experiences. The service is friendly and helpful - our waiter recommended the house Super Tuscan that was a favorite of our group. I ordered the fettuccine carbonara, which was creamy and filling. They're generous with the parmesan too! read more

Sal's Trattoria - Fettucini Carbonara - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Wonderful spot!! Pork Chop is delicious try a meatball !! Loud but nice place to meet for some truly good food moderately priced with a friendly atmosphere. Thumbs up ! read more

I have not had worse service. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by a very rude woman. I am disabled and was made to feel extremely uncomfortable by the hostess. She not only gave me very dirty looks but tried to refuse seating me, even with my reservation. I was seated by another kinder staff member. The restaurant was so loud I could barely have any conversation. Keep in mind that I am 22 with perfect hearing and it's Thursday. Our waiter got an order wrong and instead of apologizing, he said it was our mistake. I heard it the person I was with order. The waiter was wrong. Which would normally be completely fine. But it not only contained shellfish, which I cannot eat, it was significant more expensive. The waiter refused to exchange it and it was left on the ticket. Now to the actual food, I ordered the butternut squash truffle pasta. It had no flavor, I could not taste any truffle at all and the only "flavor" was sugar. I did not eat more than 2 bites. Overall this experience was terrible and bad enough to make me redownload yelp to give a negative review. read more

This place is smaller and gets packed so I recommend making a reservation! The food was absolutely delicious. I want to try their entire menu! I cannot wait to come back. read more

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Apparently reservations are just a suggestion at this place. Showed up a few minutes before our reservation to be told they had no table for us, and there was another couple waiting in front of us - also with reservations. The grumpy older hostess couldn't tell me how long we'd have to wait - 'just until a table opened up'. So they don't know how to plan or they don't care. Finally got seated 30 minutes later at a table right by the front door which means everyone else waiting is practically standing at our table. It was really unpleasant sharing our table with 10 other people milling about. We order a glass of wine each - it comes out in short water tumblers. Our waiter leaves, we look around. EVERYONE has a stemmed wine glass but us. We sip at our wine, eventually he comes back for our order. I ask - did you run out of wine glasses? He says no, these are their trattoria classic tumblers. He says would you like a stemmed wine glass - um yea, not this kiddy glass you gave me. So off he goes to get some and transfers our wine. We order calamari. It was good, we did enjoy it. We both order the trout piccata. When they took our calamari away they also took our silverware away. So now we can't eat because they forgot to replenish it. What is it with this place? Have to flag down a waiter and ask for silverware. Trout was also good, but I thought the sauce for the calamari and trout was basically the same, so not very interesting. And finally - the noise level in there is OUT OF CONTROL. Could not talk to me friend who was 2 feet away from me without yelling. We couldn't wait to leave. 2 stars because the food was good, but the ambiance, service, hostess and reservation service was awful. S read more

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This little spot is so good. The fantastic service and delicious dishes make it our go-to place for Italian food in the city.

I love visiting Sal's. Everything about it is to my liking. I like that it's a cozy restaurant, with clean white tablecloths and soft lighting. The service is always prompt and attentive. In addition to some great cocktails, I enjoy their wine list as well and of course it wouldn't be a restaurant review without talking about the food. My god the food. Everything I've had (and I've had most of the menu) exceeds expectations. Start with the grilled calamari. You will not be disappointed. The meatballs and mussels are also amazing. The pork chop. My god, the pork chop. The gnocchi is also incredible, and bring your appetite if you like chicken parm because there's a ton of it! Close out your visit with the Tiramisu, Olive Oil Cake or Gelato. So good. I can't wait to go back!! read more

Came here for the first time on a Wednesday night with a group of 8. This place is so cute. The food is really good and they have a rotating menu based on the season. I got the special which was a gnocchi with pumpkin sauce which was super good. Also highly recommend their burrata for an appetizer. Our waiter was super nice and attentive. I will definitely be back! read more

Great experience at Sal's! The staff was friendly and welcoming. Our server was attentive and efficient. I had family in town visiting and they all agreed the experience was a 10 out of 10! Will absolutely be returning and recommending. read more

The last two times I had dinner here, while the food was good & there's nice cocktail selection, the service was painfully slow. This most recent visit, It took over 20 minutes for someone at our table to get a drink. No one came to tell us if they were short staffed or what. I eventually had to walk inside to the bar to ask what was going on. It's a nice neighborhood spot for tasty Italian. Just feel like the service is hit or miss. Ps. Bartender was great while we waiting for our table. Very attentive! read more

I love this neighborhood place! The second I walk in I'm transformed to Italy. The food and cocktails are amazing. Make sure you get the Burata as a starter! read more

An amazing meal and good time with friends at Sals!! This was my first visit and I was super impressed. Great food. They were able to make modifications for me since I am vegan as there wasn't a vegan entree on the menu. We had an incredible waiter, the service provided by him was impeccable. Also enjoyed a great bottle of wine! read more

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Sal's never disappoints! Their new seasonal pasta, trotelle, was heavenly! We always get the mussels (our absolute favorite in the city!) read more

Sal's Trattoria - Trottole - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

They do not even try to respect your reservation time. Arrived a few minutes early, and were told they were 20 minutes behind. They then kept saying the table would be ready in 10-15 mins, each time we asked until we left after an hour without being seated. read more

It's my go to neighborhood spot! The food is always fantastic and it's such a cozy atmosphere! It's great when they open up everything in the summer too! read more

Always our favorite place to go for a delicious meal and excellent service! Menu choices are exceptional, and a cocktail prepared by Max for us is a great starter! read more

What a lovely spot for dinner! Our server recommended the Bolognese and it was incredible. Everything was so fresh and cooked perfectly. The Trevi Fountain cocktail, was well balanced and not too sweet. The octopus was tender and well seasoned. The staff was attentive and knowledgeable. We made a reservation a couple hours ahead of time and were able to eat outside on a Friday night. Everything was delicious, the only thing that slightly missed the mark for us was the Tiramisu, it's served in a martini glass and was good, but not nearly up to the amazingness of everything else we had. Prices are on the higher end, but it's worth it IMO. They do have paper menus rather than QR code, but was very clean. Definitely would recommend for date night or a pre-race carbo-loading dinner! read more

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Excellent quality and unique menu. Definitely recommended it! Walking distance to the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture.

Sal's has been our Italian go-to restaurant for the past few years. Cute and quaint physical location, now featuring an outdoor patio for the summer. During covid, we ordered takeout all the time to support their business and still enjoy their food. Came back last night for the first time in over a year to eat on the patio with my husband. Our waiter, Joe, was wonderful! We enjoyed a cocktail and wine with dinner. Started off with trying their mussels which we had never had before and just WOW. Those might have been the star of the night (if I had to choose). The toasted bread they give you is perfect for dipping in that broth and the dish is elevated with the addition of Italian sausage pieces and tomatoes! This was a great portion size and super filling for 2 people. For dinner we split the veal milanese and rigatoni bolognese - delicious!!! Dessert was olive oil cake and vanilla gelato. Perfect end to the meal. Can't wait to come back and enjoy more of their food!! PS- it seems they only take reservations over the phone and don't open til 4 or 5PM some days so try to plan ahead if you want to go here for dinner. We got lucky calling the day of, leaving a voicemail, and they were able to accomodate us at 8:30 on the patio, so we really appreciated that! read more

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I almost don't want to write a review of Sal's because I LOVE how much of a hidden neighborhood gem this place is. It's the best Italian in the city. It's that good. They are so kind, it's such a cozy space, and the food is phenomenal. Stars are the burrata, spicy shrimp pasta, and mussels-- that being said, I've never had a bad meal at Sal's. 11/10 spot. read more

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Back at Sals last Friday and it was very good! Glad I went back. Apps were great, server was friendly. Chicken parm was very good. We had both the burrata app and crab cake. Burrata is a keeper!! Desserts were also good. I recommend the olive oil cake!! Enjoy! read more

Excellent service, our server was very attentive. The rabbit gnocchi was delicious!! Would definitely return!

Asked for a small, quiet table which they graciously accommodated. Wait staff was patient, we weren't rushed at all, drinks were yummy, salad and entrees were delish. Definitely one of my neighborhood favorites. Never disappointing. read more

Nice neighborhood Italian restaurant. We ended up sitting outdoors which wasn't ideal as it was post rainstorm and very humid, but despite our reservation, they couldn't seat us indoors without a delay that would make us late for a scheduled performance. The server was good at accommodating our timetable, and our requests, like splitting a salad, which they did in the kitchen. The bucatini fra diavolo was particularly delicious. read more

The food here is really good. They give you lots of bread and Parmesan cheese to start you off. Everyone on my table ordered the Bucatini Fra Diavolo and it is VERY VERY GOOD. The dish consists of several large pieces of shrimp, peppers for spice, cherry tomatoes and a lemon cream. Bucatini is basically a fat spaghetti noodle. The portions are pretty good for an Italian spot! I was able to take leftovers home for the next day. Not gonna lie, I wanted to stuff my face and eat it all but I somehow had some self control. It was that good! We tried the Panna Cotta, Gelato and Oil Cake for dessert. If you decide to get one dessert, I recommend the Panna Cotta! The gelato was amazing too and only $2.50 a scoop. read more

Sal's Trattoria - BUCATINI FRA DIAVOLO - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Exceeded our expectations. The grilled calamari, the squid ink pasta and halibut special were all highlights for us. The server helped us guide our decisions and we really enjoyed ourselves. The service was slow and it is very very loud in there on a weekend evening. Will definitely be back! read more

First time at Sal's. The food was delicious. Watermelon and cucumber salad was a perfect start to a summer meal. The fettuccine carbonara was tasty with a mix-your-own egg yolk in the center and as much freshly grated Parmesan as you like to make the sauce your own. read more