Enoteca Piattini

I arrived here last night to an empty place. I sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender about a glass of wine. He told me they usually have 40 glass pours. That’s just crazy talk.
My counterpart arrived a few moments later and we were seated. The server let us know they were out of the daily soup, the short ribs, and some pork dish. I was really disappointed as short ribs are my favorite thing in the entire world.
We settled on a bottle of wine and ordered the meatballs, apparently they are a family recipe, the carpaccio, and the papardelle with wild boar.
I’m not going to name names, but I happen to work the best Italian restaurant in the city, so it’s hard for me to go in to a place like this with an open mind.
The pricing on this menu was all over the place. 7 dollars for a Mista (basic salad) I thought was a little steep. Overall, very affordable though.
While nothing lacked flavors, they just seemed a bit off. The carpaccio was sliced so thick it was like lunch meat. So thick that blood was left on the plate. I don’t think that is supposed to happen. The arugula salad on top took over the entire plate. I had them add capers, balsamic and extra virgin olive oil. Without those three extras, I am not sure what this dish would have tasted like.
Meatballs were pretty darn good, and the garlic bread was perfect for dipping.
The papardelle was interesting. I couldn’t really tell, but I think the wild boar was ground? I expected chunks of meat. It more or less was spaghetti with red sauce. I was highly disappointed. Not that it didn’t have great flavor, it just wasnt what I thought it was going to be.
We were the last ones in this place and you could tell they wanted us out. I understand that when its closing time, its closing time, but I find it very rude for a place to put the chairs up all the way around your table making you feel like you are in a cafeteria. There were still a few people at the bar, and I thought it would have been nice for the server to let us know that the dining room was closed and to move to the bar. They didn’t even offer us dessert. Sad.
I would totally come back for the 40 glass pours and the bar, probably not so much for the table service or the food.

If only I had liked this place as much as I like my new friend that I met here!
The wine list is quite overwhelming. A bit too extensive. I mean… really. It would take an hour to read through that book!
Service was attentive (we were one of very few tables between 5:00 and 7:00PM on a Thursday… weird, huh?. Never a good sign.)
We did not eat. So, I can only speak for the service and wine. Which, I always love a nice glass of wine.
Not recommended for a first date or rendezvous with a buddy. We had to shout every time the EL passed by. At 5:00 on a Thursday… that is quite often.

Piattini is a pretty ok little joint. It’s nustled right in the heart of LP, on top of the El tracks. It can get noisy, but I think it adds to the ambiance. Dimly lit, intimate, tuscan style dining ares, a gorgeous copper bar, and a great outdoor patio.
The food never disappoints. The appetizers are outstanding, and if you don’t see an entrée on the menu that gets you going, ask your server what they can do for you. I have had dinner at «The P» nearly 10 times, and I’ve never ordered directly off the menu. They are always willing to accomodate your tastes, and they do so with a smile.
The wine list is like the Constitution. It’s incredibly overwhelming, however the bartender or servers are happy to make some suggestions for you.
I do know there are some GREAT servers working there (Kyle and Wendy), I just hope that I’m lucky enough to be seated in their section when I dine in.
Worth a stop. Great specials, great food, great wine.

We took a little hiatus from the delightful Sheffield Garden Walk festivities at this Italian joint. Neither of us had read/​heard about it before, so for us foodies, it was a rather chancy try. Yet, we were hungry and unable to afford another step.
Our food was pretty good. The blackened tilapia sandwich was perfectly seasoned with the chipotle mayo. The pan seared proscuitto sandwich with lemon aioli was salty, sweet, and refreshing. Our server was very attentive — especially with refilling my hot water (it was a chilly July Sunday afternoon) with lemon — and not meddlesome. The desserts — panna cotta and tiramisu — were quite good, but not good enough to earn them solid four stars. Hence, in my complete honesty, I’d give this place 3.5 stars. Really, if you claim to be an Italian joint, you should really have the tiramisu down to at least near-​perfection.
A lengthy/​bulky wine list. Might have to return to try a few with a wine-​savvy company.

I’ve been here several times with groups and its just totally meh. The portions are tiny and expensive and the quality isn’t even that ‘wow’. I suppose it’s nice to have the $ 10 wine flights or the buy one get one Sundays but after I eat there I want to go out to dinner.
*As a gossip side note: many many acquaintances of mine have had sketchy encounters with the bartenders and/​or waiters here. They are just plain creepy when they aren’t at your table (but are standing 20 feet away mentally masturbating)

I went here with a friend. It was on a Monday when their wines are ½ off. We did not have any though. Service was good. Our waiter was a little bit loud and hyper for my taste. The food took a little long to come out. The food was ok. We had the eggplant special appetizer which was good.
I ordered Pollo cacciatore with veggies and mashed potatoes. It was pretty bland. My friend had the salmon which was grilled right. but once again it was bland. We both loaded up on the salt to get some flavor with our meal. The tiramisu was fresh but not outstanding!
I have had better Italian food.

Specials are great. Expansive wine list. Simple small plates Italian that leaves room for dessert and sambuca. Service varies. Try the wine flights, try the after-​dinner drinks. Favorites include the octopous, mussels, spicy shrimp linguini, three cheese pasta, the quail, the steak, the lamp chops.
Casual atmosphere.

I really enjoyed Enoteca Piattini the two times I have dined here. The first time was on a bitter cold night in February — my fiancé planned a «mystery date» and he found the restaurant on Unilocal.Italian isn’t my favorite, but I was drawn to the wine list and the really yummy olive tapenade. It’s different from the standard olive oil for bread, and while I was disappointed with this substitution when it first came out, I came to appreciate the uniqueness of the tapenade. Obvious statement: it’s really olive-​y, so if you don’t like olives, skip it.
The wine list is pretty extensive, I think the most extensive one I’ve seen at a restaurant of this price level. The list is almost an inch thick I’d say and most of it is bottles, but the first two pages have a good selection of nicely priced glasses. The waitress we had our first time here wasn’t very knowledgeable about any of the wine they had — funny for a place that calls itself a wine bar — but the waitress from this evening pinpointed exactly the wine I was hoping for. I believe there is a half-​price night for glasses and beer pours — maybe Wednesday?
Onto the good stuff.
Salad: we had the Mista salad both times — really tasty, but it doesn’t really strike me as Italian. Field greens, dried cherries, bleu cheese, some kind of nut (pistachio?), and raspberry vinaigrette. Yum.
Him (first time): chicken saltimbocca, I think $ 14. Pretty tasty but different from how we normally make it. Chicken topped with prosciutto and fontina (we normally do mozzarella) in a white wine sauce (normally butter/​reduced stock). No pasta with it, but it did have some broccoli. Used the bread to soak up the sauce — pretty good. He comes from an area with better Italian food than Italy, and he was satisfied.
Him (second time): rigatoni della casa (I think?), $ 12. Rigatoni with a really delicious tomato sauce, italian sausage, and peas. I didn’t have much of it, but he ate the whooooooooooole thing (a la Alka Seltzer guy).
Me (both times because I loved it so much): gamberi diavolo, $ 13. Really, really tasty linguine with shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce — I’m fairly positive it’s the arrabiata sauce with a good amount of red pepper and big hunks o’ garlic. The sauce has a really great kick at the end and made my eyes water more than once. I highly recommend this dish if you like something on the spicy side and don’t want to waste time with vegetables.
The best thing about tonight’s meal was the Sunday night deal — buy one entrée, get a second one free. So, we had two fairly big entrees, a salad, and a glass of wine for me for about $ 30 pre-​tip. The deals listed on the front window look pretty solid. I can’t remember exactly when all of them are, but I do remember Sunday nights sounding like the best deal. There’s a fixed price/​wine flight night sometime that also sounded pretty decent.
Overall, a really cute place that I can see becoming a regular dinner spot on Sundays. I wish they would change the music though. I can’t remember exactly what was playing when we were in there, but it was a little too dance party-​ish for me. Really, I don’t need to listen to Katy Perry while eating, no matter how much she liked kissing a girl.

Maybe we went on an off night, but the ONLY reason I give two stars is because we enjoyed a stellar, reasonably priced, bottle of Pinot Noir.
We made a reservation and they didn’t have it when we got there. The hostess was rude and said «um, like, I guess you can sit over there». So, we got some crappy table between the bar/​kitchen area and the bathrooms. Then, we ordered, and the whole thing was kind of rushed. We got our food REALLY fast, but all the pasta was undercooked. Some of it was almost hard. And, the olive crap they bring with the bread is disgusting.
A good place for wine and maybe appetizers, but the food and service were both horrible. I felt like they just wanted to get us out of there as quickly as possible. And, the thing was, we probably would have ordered a second bottle, but they served us and checked us out so fast, we didn’t even have a chance.

This is my favorite Italian restaurant in the city. The menu is fabulous, but the portions aren’t ginormous as they are at most Italian places! The ambiance is really nice, and I’ve always had good service. It is definitely the type of place to bring your parents when they come to visit you in the «big city».
They have the best salads… and wine!

The place smells so good coming inside. We were seated without reservations on a Saturday night at around 7:30pm, but I don’t think they take reservations unless it’s a large group. Our water guy, or bus boy was super nice and we mistook him for our waiter. They were out of Moscato D’Asti so I had my friend’s Reisling instead so she could order another drink. We started out with the Caprese Salad and then my friend had the 3 filet sampler of 3 oz. steaks and I had the Whitefish with potatoes, spinach, asparagus and baby shrimp with a light lemon butter sauce. My fish was pretty plain tasting and my friend’s steaks were good. We finished the meal off with the pumpkin cheesecake. Overall, it was a good experience but I’ve had more better tasting Italian food elsewhere.

Enoteca Piattini is a charming little restaurant in the thick of Lincoln Park. Love the low lighting courtesy of a sparse forest of candles dotting the tables.
$ 19 three course menu and $ 10 wine flights on Tuesdays. I ordered Bette’s flight, which included a Tempranillo, Pinot Noir and a Merlot. Generous pours! And they were nice enough to swap out the Merlot for a Malbec (probably a somewhat unorthodox request).
The complimentary bread and tapenade are delicious, and my friends’ pasta dishes looked and smelled great. Next time I’ll be sure to bring my appetite!

This place is good.
Good selection of food items. Good flavors.
Good selectio of beer, four dollars, which is not bad.
However…I ordered the Penne Arabiatta and nowhere on the menu does it list any sort of meat inclusion. However, upon eating the dish, I bit into something that was definitely meat.
Now suppose I was a vegetarian… I would be quite peeved.
In reality, I don’t eat red meat. And to Piattini’s benefit, I didn’t inquire, nor did I complain. If my mystery meat was beef, or even pork (which I also don’t eat) then I broke my own rule today.
To Piattini’s benefit, the mystery meat tasted good. Hence: 4 stars.
p. s. If you happen to know the identity of the mystery meat, don’t tell me.

Tuesday night is where it’s at a Piattini. $ 19 three course menu and $ 10 wine flights. We ate here last night and the food was good. Nothing spectacular, the salads were a little bland and the apps were kind of boring, but our entrees were fantastic.
The worst part of the experience was our waitress, and she wasn’t really bad, just, her timing was kind of screwy and her recommendations were boring. We might be back one day, but there are a lot of places I’ll try first before returning.

I really like this place: the atmosphere is inviting (bustling, but not too loud so that you can’t hear your date, with dark wood and low lighting) and the food is amazing. I’ve tried the roast quail (flavor explosion!) and the risotto diablo special (with marinara, red pepper flakes and baby shrimp… mmm!)…both were amazing and the portions were substantial. My boyfriend tends to get the four cheese rigatoni and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t always steal a bite or two!
Another thing I like about EP is that they don’t seem to rush you out; if the servers can tell you’re in the middle of a conversation or simply enjoying yourself, they leave you alone. I think it’s intangibles like this that separate OK restaurants you eat at once from great restaurants you frequent.

I would’ve given my first visit 2 stars (since service was terribly slow and my dish was far from delicious– some stuffed mushroom dish), but I bravely ventured back and had a fantastic dinner! See… first impressions can be deceptive. =)
On both visits I was seated right away and had attentive waiters– both of whom had fantastic personalities. And one thing I noticed is that they always squat down to take your order… maybe they’re trained to be eye-​to-​eye w/​their customers? Anyways, it was a nice touch.
Get the quail! I think it’s stuffed with some sausage and then wrapped in bacon… YUM! It’s also served on a bed of polenta (I’m partial to this).
Atmosphere is great for a date– dimly lit, quiet enough for conversation.

I came here with a group of friends, (about 8 of us), last Wednesday night. We came here not only because we heard great things about it, but because it was also half off glasses of wine. I met up a little early with two friends and started with one of my favorite wines a lovely little Malbec. As we chatted waiting for everyone else, I noticed that this is a great little date place. Dark, but not too dark, candles all around us, not too loud and now you add some wine and hopefully some food… just saying folks… just saying…
The rest of our group arrived and we sat down and my friend Jeff and I decided to order some appetizers for the group. We got some arancini, which are fried rice balls, stuffed with peas, ground beef, cheese and had marinara sauce over it. Everyone liked the balls, but then again who doesn’t like to munch on a big tasty ball in their mouth? We also got some bruschetta and an olive and cheese platter, which also went over pretty well.
I went with the pasta arrabiata and added some chicken. It had some great heat and the noodles were done quite well. Jeff had a red snapper with some spicy red sauce and oven roasted potatoes, done just right with some good flavor. The dishes weren’t huge and overflowing, but I was pretty darn full by the time I finished my pasta. We decided to skip dessert and head out for the evening, but considering the pretty attentive service, great food, really huge wine list and great atmosphere, it won’t be too long until I’ll be coming back again.

As all other reviewers have mentioned, the Sunday deal is the only reason I keep coming back. It never gets too crowded and they have a nice back room with a fireplace for the winter and outdoor seating in the summer.
The menu isn’t too complicated and they have a fair selection of salad, pasta dishes and entrees. The wine list is OK and the service is decent.
Again, worth checking out on a Sunday night.

Great deals, excellent beer and wine lists, fun wine flights, fresh and delicious salads, and very nice service! Sit outside when it’s warm or by the fire when it’s cold!
The rigatoni formaggio is decadent and worth every calorie!
Sunday: buy one entrée, get one free
Tuesday: $ 10 wine flights and you can choose any wine on the menu
Wednesday: half price wine (by the glass) and beer
Happy hour: half price all food from 4−6pm Tues. thru Fri.

We had kind of given up on this place, because when it opened we loved it, but then the service got really bad. I mean, if you’re going to have a wine list the size of college textbook, the waiter should know just a little bit about it, right? Enough to make a recommendation or two? And maybe seem eager to serve you more than one glass?
We tried it again recently, and it seemed to have rebounded quite a bit. I never had any complaints about the food, just the service. The small plates are great for you to try more than one thing. For a starter, I really dig the Olives Piattini, a nice variety of olives and cheeses. And the olive tampanade they serve with the bread is delicious.