Bapi

Amazing Italian food. We were in town for the weekend and a friend recommended it. Best Italian I have had in forever. The owner, Cristiano, is really friendly and knew everyone there. Will go back again when in town.

I am sad to report that I can no longer recommend Bapi. Big Chef has opened a new Big Chef burger restaurant in Schaumburg and is not as present as he used to be. Now I KNOW there are two ways to look at that, but our recent meal on a weekend is not something that I think would have come out of his kitchen had he been present. There would have been bloodshed.
Mediocre, THE boniest rabbit I have ever had there, and somebody had decided they could serve our dinners on top of last nights now hard polenta chunks, really?
They are almost always out of the bottle of wine you want, and when somebody opens the door going in or out the temperature drops 10 degrees (do not sit close to the door). Menus are outdated online, so is the wine list, so are the times, not sure they serve Friday lunch anymore.
I think we might stop back in the summer when we can sit outside and not hear the Big Chef ranting. News Flash, it IS better with the Big Chef there– trust me.
Tip. Bapi is now on a site called SAVORED and you can save 30% by making your reservation through them, alcohol included also I believe making it a better deal than Groupon. But beware. Buon appetito.

Aweful service! It’s says they are open at 4, so we came there at 4:10 and they just threw us out, saying its opening at 4:30. Very disappointed!!!

This is a small neighborhood restaurant and a regular haunt for us.
We love the food! We come here every other week. The food is northern Italian. You will not find typical italian american food. However if asked the Chef will prepare most anything if requested.
Food is is made from scratch, and the ingredients are fresh. The place also has a good selection of italian wines.
On weekends it is a good idea to call ahead and reservations are recommended.

This is a great place! We’ve been here several times. The food is always fresh, tasty & delicious. We have never had an issue with owner or with anything. I have even brought my parents who are from the «Old Country» & they enjoyed it too. So when Maria & Alfredo give it the thumbs up, you know it’s good. «Buon Appetito!»

I had groupon went with wife she ordered vegi rivioli as per menu should have been $ 15 we were charged $ 25 I order white fish per menu should have been 20 I was charged $ 35.
I just paid but never going back again

I simply can not rate this restaurant only because … you all will hate me for this but I’ll say it anyway. I got a groupon for a date and all we did was get salad and dessert. And overall I enjoyed it. The salad had fresh spinach and a nice vinaigrette and the waitress grinned fresh pepper on our salads but the problem was the salad was 8 dollars and it seemed overpriced for such a little salad. My friend and I ordered a tramisu and gelato to share both were absolutely delicious! The tirimisu was HUGE it was served in an over sized martini glass and the coco power soft and bitter and I loved every bite of it. The gelato was very good as well but not as good as the tirimisu.

Do you like mediocre Italian food, small portions (for what you pay), sky-​high prices (for what you get) and lousy service w/​attitude? Then you’ll love Bapi!
My $ 15 dish looked like something out of a Chef Boyardee can. It was laughable.
Simply put, it’s in a strip mall next to a 7 – 11. Trust me — this alone tells you everything you need to know.
Never going back.

Decent food but very poor service. I felt sorry for the waitress who was managing all the tables while the owner joked around and did nothing to ease her work load. The waitress never even bothered to come back to ask about the food or refill our water glasses. For the price we paid, we could have gone to a higher end Italian restaurant.
Never going back to this place.

Went here from a referral from our family friend.
As some else has posted here, the portions for what we ordered were very small compared to the price.
Everything else is average for the taste of the dishes, presentation, décor, and waitressing.
The wine was average priced around $ 8 or $ 9.
The inside temperature was not warm but rather cold.
The owner? the big guy was loud, but I think customers coming to this restaurant knows about this.
The bill was around $ 180 for four people with only one glass of wine.
If you go to Olive Garden, having a bottle with 5 people full served and stuffed, you can get a lower price with this and be more happy.
I’m not a big guy, rather skinny but, I needed to get more food to eat when I got home.
This is from my food business industry experience, but when a new person comes inside the restaurant, and the owner’ish person is there, the customers should be greeted by the owner, but no greetings what so ever.
Oh, and I had the medallion steak, which was very small with no cosmetics on the side. For a really good imagination, its a three small slider hamburger size meat floating in the ocean of sauce. The steak was good, but I have to say that it is not worth the price.
Its so hard to find a decent restaurant in the suburbs and we were going to come here again with our family’s special guest, but our verdict was that it is not just worth it.
We just want a decent restaurant that we can go to which is not a franchise or anything!

I went to this place on a referral from a friend.
First off the prices listed in Unilocal are outdated. Average entrée now costs between $ 20-​$ 28. Portions are small for the price you are paying for going to a tiny restaurant (Rosati’s size) located in a strip mall. Taste and presentation was average, a notch or 2 above Olive Garden.
My bill came up to $ 92 for two people with 4 glasses of Castle Rock Cabernet ($ 7 a glass).
If I had known this, I should of gone to Francesca’s, Tuscany, or Maggianos for the price.
As I returned home from the restaurant, I had to stop at Portillo’s to get a Big Beef (12 inches) to cure my hunger.

Finally getting this review done; Have been to Bapi’s several times with my family.
The location is in a strip mall (in the burbs of course) — small place, the interior isn’t anything to write about, but it’s decent.
THe bread /​focaccia is warm/​homemade bread, evoo on our plates; we always order the the grilled octopus salad and calamari fritti with fried zuccini and fried parsley — it is so delicious — very addicting!
The octopus salad — fresh, lemony and very tasty.
My husband orders the Linguine Frutti de Mare — it was really outstanding — seafood was fresh, linguine cooked just right and the sauce was zesty and delicious. Just as good as any Chicago /​downtown reputable Italian entrée…
Daily specials are a lot more pricey than what’s on the menu — whereas you can get fish for $ 13-​$ 14 on avg… the fish special is $ 25… for a similar portion.
NOTE: if you have a coupon /​
— the owner Christiano can be outright rude about it — it’s ridiculous that he acts this way (then why advertise with coupons?)
We’ve also been in there when the owner has cooked — and sorry to say his cooks are better than he is… He can be fowled mouthed and very loud —
But the food: the food gets 5 stars.
Christiano get 2 stars for being a jack-​ass at times.
truth.

Upon entering Bapi, you’re supposed to associate the BIG CHEF license plates out front with the guy who runs the place, and he is big. Having been here before we know better. Big really refers to his ego. You see, Big Chef isn’t just any old cook, he’s a culinary genius. An arteest. He acts almost disappointed that we have come in to Bapi. Will we reveal ourselves to be ignorant swine, unappreciative of his talents? Clearly, he expects to be disappointed.
While our wives are ordering, Big Chef sneaks a hand into his pocket and starts to caress his carbones. Right in front of us! I don’t know how he’s going to write the order down while he’s cuddling the cacciatore but he’s really getting into it. Until he notices me watching him. Then he tries to turn it into thigh scratch. Marone, you going to touch my food with that hand?
Big Chef is annoyed when I ask about the soup special and then instead order a salad. What can I say, I don’t like potatoes in soup but I reveal myself to be a hopeless bumpkin when I ask about the pasta special. Cheffy’s disdain makes me realize that it is only on the menu to force diners to the more expensive fish special.
The floor show between courses consists of Big Chef bellowing at the open kitchen from across the restaurant «Hey, you gotta…» before dashing in and yelling into a terrified cook’s face exactly what he’s gotta do! What fun. The problem is, with prime time tv shows featuring lunatic chefs, the whole temperamental chef act is a boring cliché. Want to be cutting edge Big Chef? Try being nice.
Big Chef drops the food at our table, grunts an «Enjoy» over his shoulder and strides away. Never to return to our table. Big Chef doesn’t ask «How’s everything» He knows. His food is just that good. But then why is the homemade sausage and shells swimming in grease? And not only is my «Homemade Fettuccini with traditional meat sauce» barely cooked al’dente, it is a noticeably smaller portion than everyone else’s. Like maybe there’s going to be a run on the homemade pasta? On top of that there is no meat in the «meat sauce» I guess a question I should have asked was; define meat. Who knew?
Big Chef never returned to our table but there is one 6 top he hovers around. The people appear normal but Big Chef must be able to see their inner beauty. He has to be shooed aside by a young lady who I had not noticed before. She must be Big Chef’s daughter because she is the only employee who doesn’t appear terrified of the Big Guy. These people must pay with gold bars because Big Chef practically floats around their table. He still does not smile.
Chef is very put out when we don’t order desert but by this point we just want to stop at the 7-​Eleven next door, buy some Hostess cupcakes and go home. The whole experience has been very tiring. I mean, if you’re going to promote «Homemade» then it should be better than anything we can make at home, it can’t be swimming in grease and it damn sure ought to be cooked to temperature. I gotta tell an Italian how to cook pasta? Please. And what’s with a menu with no Italian favorites? Bruschetta is an art form. Next time we’re in the mood for Italian we’ll go to a low key place that’s light on the attitude and concentrates on the food. Badda Bing!

This is a restaurant I just don’t get. I ate dinner for the second time at Bapi the other evening. I would not have returned had it not been at the request of our friends, who really like the place. Both times I was struck (and not in a good way) by the glowering chef/​owner who came to our table to take our order. Rather than speaking in civilized tones, he bellows. Apparently he was never taught the importance of using an «inside voice.» It appears that he has favorite patrons and it was evident my party was not in this select group. As we left, the very nice busboy, who happened to be a gentleman in his sixties, said goodnight to us. I felt very sorry for him because it was obvious he was scared of Mr. Bapi. Not a warm, inviting feeling by any means on any front.
Now, let me get to the food. Um… yuck? Yeah, it was yucky. The bread with the olive oil and parmesan were delicious, but that’s a no brainer. And my spinach and pear salad with lemon vinaigrette was quite tasty, too. However, I can prepare that at home, in my sleep. I took a chance and ordered pasta with «homemade» Italian sausage. I expected to see pepper flakes, fennel, and other wonderful seasonings. All I saw was over processed meat with a robust greasy aftertaste and the pasta was swimming in said grease. The first time I dined at Bapi, I was greatly disappointed with my food as was my husband and daughter. While there are many esoteric dishes on the menu I had a hankering for a classic Italian favorite. This is not to be found at Bapi. My guess is Big Chef (yes, that’s what his vanity license plate says) is too grandiose to feed hoi polloi, such as the likes of me.

The place is small. They had a private event the day we visited and asked if we want to sit outside. We took our chance. The outside patio faces the parking lot. It is not bad as it sounds. They have some flowers + small plants hanging. So, it was all good. Food has potential but fall flat. It was ok, not great or spectacular. Prices are very reasonable. ~$ 10 for pasta dishes and ~$ 15 for meat dishes. Below was what we had
calamari: ok
braised Rabbit: ok, i love polenta
ravioli spinach butter sauce: the dough can be better. I can smell sage which was great. Super oily despite no meat in it

For full disclosure, we dined here the last night before a Groupon expired.
So we arrived promptly for our 7:30 reservation. The first seven minutes we were completely ignored, not even greeted. Finally, we were acknowledged and told it would be «just a couple minutes». Meanwhile, two kids are occupying an otherwise empty table, coloring while their horrible parents presumably finish their drinks… 10 MINUTES LATER we are finally seated. Where? At the table the kids finally got sick of occupying… Are you kidding me? You’re going to let two kids take up a table to color while paying customers WITH RESERVATIONS stand waiting for 17 minutes?! Where do I sign up for that kid-​free venue bandwagon?
After we were seated, the service gradually improved. We waited several minutes for water and several more before we were served bread. We had been there a good 40 minutes before we got salads, but the entrée came pretty quickly after the salad and they were prompt with the check (the place had started to clear out by then).
We had mixed opinions of the food. I got the lentil salad because I love all the ingredients: beets, asparagus, blue cheese… Yum! But to be honest, they don’t taste that great together. And the asparagus wasn’t prepared properly — they didn’t remove they woody bottoms.
My husband did really enjoy his beef medallions, but I was’t impressed with my gorgonzola stuffed gnocchi. In my opinion, the blue cheese was too sharp to be used in that quantity as a filling.
We felt a little bad because we knew they were probably getting slammed. I would heartily disagree that this is a «foodie» place and you will enjoy yourself — despite the service — if you’re a foodie. The food can be described as above average, if you’re being generous. As this is 30 minutes from our new house, we won’t be back.

I’m giving this place four stars based solely on the food I enjoyed about two hours before this review. But in looking at all the previous reviews, I can also understand the array of opinions that this restaurant has received, and it is inconsistencies like that which may ultimately prove to be its downfall.
I’ve been wanting to try this restaurant for awhile, and Groupon finally put me over the top. The Groupon noted a reservation was needed, so I called to find out, and they said just come in. I also was going to be dining by myself, and when I do that I prefer to eat at the bar. Knowing it was a small place, I asked if they had a bar and was told they did have a small one where I could eat. So on to Bapi for dinner!
The issue with eating at the bar was this — it was a four seat bar with about ½ of it being used to bus dirty glasses and for other service needs. I was sitting in about the only place that one could sit at the bar and have some room while enjoying a meal. I thought that when I sat down, the glasses would be cleared out — but they kept coming. Now, I arrived there about 8:30 probably could have moved to a table that was less congested, so I can’t really hold too much of this against the restaurant. But… because I do prefer to dine at the bar when I am by myself, this does reduce the likelihood that I will return with much frequency. I’m sure the bus stand at the bar occurs on most evenings.
As for dinner, it was really very good. I had a prosciutto appetizer that was plentiful for $ 11. It came with wonderful chunks of parmiggiano cheese, pitted kalamati olives and salami. For dinner, I enjoyed a pasta special, rotoli. Stuffed with spinach, ricotta and gorgonzola cheese and served with a creamy tomato sauce, this was robust in taste and cooked al dente. The only mild letdown was the Chocolate Gelato for dessert — it was good and a decent value, but not as flavorful as some gelatos I have had.
So that’s he scoop on Bapi. Realistically, they need a slightly larger place so they could afford to add another server. They can’t make all that much with their reasonable prices and only 13 tables inside. The four outdoor spots really can’t be counted on to provide much revenue.

This place struck me as kind of schizophrenic — it has some very nice features, but at the same time, it has some not so nice features.
Some examples:
– The owner/​manager was a pleasant enough fellow, but as other reviewers have mentioned, he definitely focused the bulk of his attention on his «regular» clientele; not totally ignoring, but certainly not paying much attention, to other diners like us.
That’d be fine — and it’s certainly his prerogative — if those regulars were keeping the lights on. But, I suspect that’s not the case. We were there for the first time because the wife purchased a Groupon. In addition, there is a big sign in the front window advertising entrees at 50% off.
That indicates the owner is trying to bring in more business. If so, it’d help to make those new customers feel welcome as well — instead of ignoring them while carrying on at length with your regulars.
– The appetizer was not so good. It was a Caesar salad that tasted like romaine lettuce with mayo on top.
On the other hand, all of our entrees were excellent. I had the Orecchiette and loved it. It really was one of the best Italian dishes I’ve had outside of Italy. Notwithstanding this place’s deficiencies, I would come back for more entrees like this.

I was expecting WAY better because of all of the 4 and 5 star reviews.
Sorry, this place just doesn’t do it for me.
I had chicken breast stuffed with mozzarella and spinach… It was bland and tasteless. I didn’t think it was possible to have such a plain piece of chicken with those delicious additions. The potatoes that accompanied my tasteless chicken tasted like they were poured out a bag of potatoes that you buy in the frozen aisle at jewel and not fresh roasted potatoes like the menu said.
Overall, Bapi place was a disappointment.

I have been here before and had a pleasant experience, until this time.
Went with a party of 6 for dinner. I presented the owner, who looks like a big bear, with a $ 25 gift certificate from restaurants. com. When I gave it to him, he gave me a smirk and acted like it was my fault for using this coupon. After that, the owner gave us attitude the whole night.
Pasta came out, and was not presented well at all… sauce was all over the rim of the plate. AT LEAST wipe it down before presenting it to people. The owner also almost threw the pasta down on the table, when serving us. Pasta was mediocre, had better elsewhere.
Not sure what his problem was, maybe the upcoming snow storm, but he lost my business… Ill go somewhere else!