Gatto’s Restaurant & Bar

A few months back we had our rehearsal dinner for our wedding here. Brittany and her staff were amazing from start to finish. From the first time we walked in until the second we walked out the door, everything was great. The food was phenominal, their semi private room was perfect for a fun and private event. We have been back once since and will be back many times again. The device for such a large group on a Friday night in the summer was impeccable. The DG car show was going on and they were packed but that didn’t slow them down. I’d recommend it to anyone. We will definitely be back!

The waiter didn’t seem like he had time for his tables. He was very short with us. My husbands steak had a weird smell to it and was over cooked and our calamari was inedible. We probably won’t return.

Well, Ive tried Gatto’s twice now. We did not enjoy either time. The first time, we had some pasta dishes and some appetizers. They were very both weak. Gravely, dry, ricotta, sauce tasted canned. We didn’t enjoy the meal at all. So we decided not to go again. We received a gift certificate for Christmas this year. Okay we’ll try it again. This was take out this time.
All I have to say is, the food was awful! It was to the point we threw most or it away. Really a sin though. The meal costed almost $ 60. And the only thing we ate was the bread. The food way over spiced. I love spicy food, but this was salt, way to much. It was like the cook purposely over salt for a joke. This was everything we order. I would of taken it back, but it was a gift certificate, so we went with it. This restaurant is typical of the Downers Grove eateries. Over priced and under flavored. I will never go Gatto’s again. We eat out a lot and drive to get good food. We have lived in Downers for 15 years and never have enjoyed any of their restaurant.
BTW: The food was cold, all of it.

Gatto’s has been a staple in Downers Grove for years and I’ve never had a bad experience. if you want completely classic, authentic, or up-​scale this might not be the option for you. However, the food is well prepared and fairly priced & portioned, service is friendly, and the location is excellent.
I’m a particular fan of the chicken vesuvio.

Outstanding. I came and met my friends at this restaurant tonight. A De Paul reunion. The service was excellent and the food was awesome. This was my first time here and can’t wait to come back. You have to come here and try their food. Appetizers were delicious. I had chicken Marsala which was to die for. Of course we didn’t miss the dessert. Yum!

1) Good food, never had a bad experience
2) Good size portions — always have lunch for the next day
3) Prices are very reasonable!
4) Good atmosphere, not extremely crowded, can typically get a table on a Friday/​Saturday walk in
5) Service is a great, never had an issue with a server — always very polite and on top of things
Nothing fancy, but an all-​around good restaurant that wont let you down.

We’ve lived in Downers for 3.5 years now and this was our «go to» place for Italian. It used to be so consistent… great food, fair price, good service. I don’t know what has happened over the past 6 – 12 months but it seems to all be headed in the wrong direction. My last 3 carry out orders have been really disappointing… the girl who takes the order has had a pour attitude (gets snippy if she cant understand something, rushes thru the order)…this last order I went and picked up right at the 15 minutes I was told it would take and the food was still 10 minutes out — meanwhile 3 servers and the bartender where all eating at the end of the bar, at least their food was ready. The most frustrating part is that the food has been sub par. Cheese in the stuffed shells was gritty and tasted old, pasta was over cooked — laundry list of other things. We threw out 2 of the 4 meals we ordered on Sunday and made a frozen pizza.
I am not writing this to get people turned off from Gatto’s, I am really hoping they get things turned around and back to the above average experience my family and I have been used to.

I could go on and on about how wonderful this restaurant is!!! We just celebrated our engagement and could not have picked a better place for the celebration. The food was outstanding! Highly recommend the garbage salad as well as linguine with broccoli and shrimp. Oh… and the Tiramisu… TO DIE FOR!!! My guests were blown away at how amazing the food was. The service was top notch as well. This is a perfect place for a celebration!!! Brittany the manager makes this place especially inviting and warm. She is the heart of this restaurant and it trickles down to her fantastic staff. Please go try the fabulous food at this very special restaurant. You will be a return customer for sure!!!

Where do I start. We walk in, the place reeks of fish but was willing to overlook that. We sit in the dining room and the windows were open which was nice and we had a great table. Our silverware was disgusting (can’t imagine what the back of the house looks like). The wine deals they advertise are for the bar only, great. We order, prices are average to maybe slightly high for the type of food and «low rent» restaurant. Our food could hardly be considered average, expect olive garden quality. I had the worst chicken parm I’ve ever ordered, I’m not sure how this dish can be messed up. My girlfriends pasta dish was average at best.
Then the owner had a guy working on the building/​windows during business hours which ruined the only nice thing about this place which is the street level atmosphere/​view. I will not be returning, if this place didn’t have the convenient in town location they would have been out of business a long time ago.

Really surprised the ratings aren’t higher, because we really enjoyed our visit, and had great food and service. I love mussels and tried a linguine with mussels and red sauce. The sauce was very tasty and nicely spicy, with a huge pile of tender mussels. Definitely a keeper. My wife had a pasta primavera that she also loved. Soups and salad also good, and a bottle of Italian wine was very reasonable. Definitely will be back, as there are many interesting items on the menu.

I love a restaurant with a good bar area to have a nice dinner at. This is my new favorite place to do just that.
The food here is amazing, nothing pretentious, just good Italian fare at a reasonable price. I have gotten the mussels here now every time, a huge dish of mussels in red sauce for like 12 bucks, great value.
This is the kind of restaurant anyone can go to and have a great experience. Families, people on dates, someone getting a quick bite, etc. I feel like you could dress up and do a night our or just belly up to the bar after work. The staff here is efficient and attentive. Even when they are busy you feel well taken care of.
Looking forward to trying something new next week.

My family and I love Gatto’s. They are always very accommodating. If there is not something you like on the cute chalkboard menu they will make a dish up for you!
The Maria sauce is a must try and the fried calamari is always spot on. The pasta can be overcooked at times but still tasty. And you cannot beat these prices.

Yummy chicken Vesuvio just like my mom makes. At $ 9.00 Gatto gives a savory dish worthy of Italy.

Great neighborhood bar feeling and great bartenders. The food is hit or miss, mostly miss. If you’re looking for a romantic date night with great food and service this isn’t your place. If you’re looking to take the family out and not worry about loud children, bad wait staff and an extremely casual atmosphere with reasonably priced drinks then this is your place. The bar itself is the best part of this place, its roomy and well staffed with very reasonable prices. All in all this place is a casual alternative in many ways to Capri (another Italian place) down the street.

Can’t give them 0 start else would have given it.
Server, JOE, was very rude, didn’t greet, didn’t give the complimentary bread on our table. Simply wasn’t interested in serving and was so very Aggressive while serving
Just tried Stuffed Mushroom and they were just OK. Didn’t order anything more due to the pathetic service and I just got ticked off by their attitude
WILL NEVER GO BACK AGAIN

The best Italian around and an amazingly affordable ribeye that is better than most steak houses $ 50 ribeye for half the price.

When you first enter, you see an attractive bar area and a very open and comfortable dining area. We were seated quickly on this Friday afternoon (around 5:30). The «menu» is up on a chalkboard — one-​liners displaying the selections. A plastic menu card with one-​liners was put onto the table as well. Great? Not really. To see what accompanies each selection you need to look at the outstanding Gatto’s Web site or ask the server. I think the server would get very, very tired of describing each, and I mean each, selection on the menu. A full menu with descriptions is more suitable.
I ordered the spaghetti and some meatballs, My wife ordered lasagna. Bread and butter is put on the table as soon as you sit down. We got a second serving of the «standard» bread when the food got to the table without any bread accompanying it. I guess I should have asked for some garlic bread. I settled for the default bread, which was good … not warm, but good.
The default spaghetti sauce was just okay, maybe a bit on the bland side. The meatballs, on the other hand, were very good. I should have skipped the spaghetti and just ordered a few meatballs … but I did have a taste for spaghetti. My wife’s spaghetti is far superior to Gatto’s. I should know better than to order spaghetti when we go out to dinner.
My wife’s lasagna was just so-​so with I think the same sauce. She compared the lasagna to those she orders from the relatively nearby Home Run Inn and Carraba’s. She says that those are much better than the lasagna at Gatto;s.
So … will we come back? Because of the good prices, friendly service and comfortable seating, yes, but not for any pasta dishes. I guess «Italian» is subjective term. The restaurant didn’t seem that «Italian.» We will also look at the Web site in advance to decide on a food selection.

I’ve been to 2 parties here: a 30^th birthday and most recently a bridal shower. Both times Gatto’s proved to be a nice place for an event such as these. They have free valet, but you can sometimes find a free street spot directly outside. Inside the restaurant is very open, with a large bar and tasteful, rustic décor. For a party such as a surprise bday or shower, they allowed the people running it to do whatever they wanted with extra decorations, seating arrangements, etc.
Food was great! I really liked the salad (one with the meats, cheeses, olives, etc) and the cavatappi with the vodka sauce. (Almost ate directly from the serving bowl but had to restrain myself from being THAT bridesmaid). It didn’t help that the servers kept offering/​bringing me more wine! Good service for sure.

My family and I live in Downers Grove and have been wanting to try Gatto’s for quite some time. We have our share of Italian in the western suburbs so, to be honest, I was not expecting anything over the top. We went to Gatto’s for our «family date night» on a Saturday night. Yep, we are yuppies.
The choices/​selection were outstanding for both adults and kids. Kids meals for $ 5, yes please! My salmon was cooked to absolute perfection where it truly melted in my mouth. My husband’s shrimp linguine was delish and the kids were actually quiet b/​c they were loving their pasta. with a giant meatball.
The prices were very reasonable, service excellent, great ambiance and delicious food. What more could a family of 5 ask for? :)

They get an up star for the personal service.
Gatto’s is a comfortable old school Italian restaurant. it’s the first time I’ve been to the one in Downers Grove, we really enjoyed the one in Tinley Park when we were there several years ago. Once again, Lisa and I were were dining with our besties; Adam and Janet (discerning foodies and dining experience buffs)
I like that they aren’t trying to be just another white table cloth Italian place (see the two down the street). It’s a warm, inviting atmosphere… we were there on probably the first great night of weather this year and they opened up the whole front of the place (we were in the opened window area) for a perfect al fresco experience.
4 appetizers, 4 entrees, sides, 1 garbage salad to share, multiple beers, sodas, bottle of Rutherford Hill Merlot and after dinner drinks (including Sambuca) A total bill under $ 200 Oh, and coffee.
The Gatto’s were in the house and Frank stopped by to visit with us for a while. It was nice (smart) of him to do. he was there having dinner with his family. it was almost like we were having dinner at his house.
For appetizers we shared: fried zucchini (Frank style. extra thin), sausage and peppers (they cut it up for us to make it easier to share) perch limon (yummy) and stuffed mushrooms which were disgusting to nobody but me. (I hate mushrooms to my very core so I didn’t try them)
Adam and Janet both got the Cowboy Steaks (16 oz bone in rib eyes) and they both made substitutions on the sides (no problem). Their steaks were done perfectly and a great deal for a full meal at $ 24.95 each.
Lisa and I were jonesing for some pasta. Lisa had the Eggplant Parmigiana (delicious, and had plenty of leftovers) I displayed my usual lack of self control, and ordered Spaghetti Bolognese with a meatball on the side AND a sausage on the side. took one look at all the food that I ordered and said out loud «uh oh». Then proceeded to eat every bite…
Our waiter was on top of things and we really enjoyed ourselves. We tipped him well because we hogged that table for a good 3 hours on a Saturday night and never once felt rushed.
Street parking was a breeze and we enjoyed a nice walk around DG afterwards. the little popcorn shop across the street was an added bonus.