Chicago Joe’s Restaurant

the owner himself; joe had the audacity to claim if i had brought in the $ 3 dollars that i did not have from my last order of two weeks ago. what this fucking idiot doesn’t know (cause he probably only works weekends) is that i buy about 4 times a week!!!
then complained about it coming out of his own pocket.
if you complain about $ 3 dollars its either your restaurant is not making money and you are desperate or you are just suuuper petty
either way its a bad look
The minute convo killed my appetite
NOT RETURNING for being a total Asshole

This place is Las Vegas’s best kept secret. Small little place that makes the best Italian food you can ever have. I always pick the lasagna and leave with enough to have a nice size lunch at work, OMG let’s not forget about the fresh hot bread they bring you

Really not worth the gas or time to go down town from Henderson. The bread was horrible. The chicken picante was tough as hell. Same with Chicken parm. The red sauce was like out of a can. Waiter could care less. Never checked back with us. This place has been there for years. We wanted some thing different for our Valentines celebration. Very disappointed.

This place is absolutely fantastic! My husband decided to take me here tonight to celebrate Valentine’s day and I am so glad he did! I had the special (lobster and crab stuffed ravioli) and it was incredible. So glad I have left overs so I can eat it again tomorrow. And the service there is great. Our server was super friendly and the food came out super fast. This place is definitely a must to go to if you are here!

I love this place! The food is great and they have daily specials that are really tasty. It’s a converted house so the seating is a little tight, but it’s really nice for lunch or date night. I don’t know the guy with the beards name, but he is always so friendly and helpful. :)

Awesome wine list, salads included with entrees, amazingly low prices for pasta as low as 11 dollars, phenomenal quality of food with lasagna and angel hair pasta being my favorites plus free awesome homemade bread!

Wow what a great Italian meal, the food was perfect and the service for our group of 12 was top notch.

Let me start by saying I love Italian food. I am Italian, born and raised in Brooklyn New York. Dined out with a friend visiting from Chicago. As we pulled up to the restaurant my friend was amazed at the building. He said this was probably a house years ago. Walking in the restaurant brought back memories of having dinner at a friends house in Brooklyn. We walked in and found ourselves in the dining room. We said to each other we must have came in the wrong way. A couple dining looked up, smiled and said no you came in the right door. My friend loved the atmosphere. Old street signs from Chicago made him feel at home.
We started with the special appetizer of the day Shrimp Scampi baked and topped with seasoned breadcrumbs. Cooked perfectly, just the right amount of garlic, butter, and Oregano
We also had the Baked Clams. They were fresh, cooked to perfection and best of all they were large.
I had a craving for Calamari over Linguini and without looking at the menu I asked our server Lawrence if that was possible. He said sure. I said can you make it spicy like a Fra Diavolo sauce. He said how hot 1−−10 10 being ridiculously hot. I said 7. The dish came out perfect.
My friend had the Shrimp and Crab filled Ravioli. The dish was served in a lemon crème sauce and it was topped with large grilled shrimp. I did not try the dish but he said it was delicious.
Attentive service, cool atmosphere and great food makes Chicago Joes my place to go out for Italian.
By the way they are listed on Thrillist as one of the top 16 Italian restaurants in Las Vegas. Bön Appetite.

Triple threat food, service, and atmosphere. A must go for couples that want good food with romantic atmosphere

TLDR: Lunch and dinner only; traditional décor; excellent service; not quick service
If you love traditional Chicago-​style dining or you want an off-​the-​Strip date night, come to this place. On both occasions which I enjoyed eating at this location, service was very good. We sat by the fireplace and enjoyed the traditional decorations. Drinks and bread was refilled timely and without delay. On this most recent time, I went for lunch around 11ish AM when they opened and customers were already seated inside. I asked for the whole wheat pasta with white clam sauce. It was $ 10.50, and was the median price for the lunch menu. I recommend coming to lunch to keep the wallet somewhat full. I opted for the $ 2 add-​on for the salad with the creamy garlic dressing. If you’re looking to avoid carbs, opt-​out of this dressing. The food took approximately (20 – 25) minutes to arrive, a much longer time than expected. The noodles were slightly more cooked than al dente and the sauce was at the appropriate temperature. I wouldn’t recommend getting this dish again, but I do want to try their marinara sauce. It’s a sure-​fire way to judge the basis of any Italian-​style restaurant. I had the house wine on the previous visit, and $ 18.50 for a carafe of darker red wine seems like a good deal. Just hope it’s not franzia.

WE MADE A reservation to dine there last night. When we arrived at our reservation time, we were not greeted-​stood at the front counter for five minutes before we were even acknowledged and then were told it would be a few minutes. We waited and waited, then I noticed the other diners looking around for service and no one was smiling or looking happy.
Obviously the service was terrible so I looked at my Mother and told her lets go. As we were leaving we did inform the snooty waiter he was very rude-​and that my money is better off some place else! Don’t go there! I am from Seattle were the service is spot on-​bad bad sevice!

You have got to try this place! For my family, it was perhaps the best experience we’ve ever had at a locally owned restaurant.
We brought a group of 7 to Chicago Joe’s around 720 pm. We were immediately greeted by JC, one of the friendliest and funniest servers we had met. (In hindsight, it would’ve been better for us to have made reservations, as the restaurant is located in a quaint, small stand-​alone building). The place was packed, but within five minutes, JC managed to pull a couple tables together so that we could sit together.
Once seated, we were served hot, soft, tasty bread which we devoured instantly. Our order was taken promptly, and then JC brought us some lasagna to sample. He then brought us more bread. For our first course, half of us had pasta fagioli soup and the other half had salad with a creamy garlic dressing. You can’t go wrong with either choice.
Our entrees consisted primarily of meat lasagna, cheese ravioli and fettuccine alfredo. My favorite was the lasagna, which is absolutely phenomenal, but all the entrées tasted delicious. Our son decided to go out on a limb and ordered cioppino (seafood stew), which he loved. Serving sizes were so generous that we could not even finish them.
We loved the service, ambience, reasonable prices, generous portions and excellent taste of the food. We will go back here again and again.

I was with norton around looking for some food and found that. Did hesitate to enter as this really look weirdly small from outside and wasn’t sure what is inside. What is? Well a small really comfy place to eat with really nice service. Waiter was really nice and had a quite a chat though lasagne didn’t taste that good (I mean I didn’t like SF burgers, so you have picture how do I find American food). Definitely service and mood inside this place are great.

I have eaten here for 10 years and never had a bad meal ever. Well two times this month I did and I’m disappointed. I brought 5 friends for lunch. Every one of our salads had wilted and brown lettuce. I raved about the lasagna so we all ordered it. Some of it was burning hot and the other part was ice cold. Which leads me to believe they microwave their food. Not made fresh.
I was there last week for a private event. Same thing with the salad and the lasagna was awful. The sausage smelled bad. I couldn’t eat it.
I really doubt I go back again. I know my friends aren’t. It’s unfortunate.

This place is nostalgic and delicious all in one! This isn’t your typical fancy Italian fare– it’s down home delicious Italian cooking. The lasagna was a cheesy excellence. Three stacks of meat and pasta smothered with melty cheese. Also the cheese garlic bread was an amazing cheesy goodness. The spaghetti and meatballs reminded me of home cooked meals from childhood memories. The ambiance of the restaurant also reflected this, with checkered table cloths and close seating. A definite hidden Vegas gem!

Amazing service and delicious Italian food. Generous servings of perfectly cooked pasta with just the right balance of meat and cheese. A blend of seasonings that wows the palette. Quaint environment and delicious, old-​fashioned Italian. A hidden gem!

The pros: The marinara sauce is crazy good. The creamy garlic salad dressing is crazy good.
The cons: WAY TOO PRICEY! 1 plate of crab/​shrimp stuffed ravioli (7 ravioli) was $ 32. Chicken Parm was $ 18. The chicken was VERY dry telling me it was way over cooked. I told the waiter it was too dry, his response was, «I’m sorry.» The stuffed ravioli wasn’t stuffed very much. The stuffing was about as thick as a quarter is thick. The atmosphere which should have been quaint, romantic and charming, was more café atmosphere. Our waiter wasn’t very friendly and seemed to be in a hurry (there were only 2 tables in his section). I would never return to this place.

Italian food is some of the cheapest food to make. I really think an Italian place needs to set themselves above and beyond in order to justify their existence. They need to have good service, good ambiance, and good food. This place really did not have any of those things.
Ambiance: Chicago Joe’s is basically in a converted old house. That in itself is unique and charming but the charm pretty much ended there. The place is cramped and you sort of pass through the kitchen to get to the bathroom. The ladies bathroom does not have a handle on the inside. It is just a rolled up piece of duct tape that you pull. I had some serious anxiety that I would end up in a «hilarious» comedy movie scenario where the «handle» would rip off and I would be trapped in there.
Service: our waiter was incredibly sweet but he was really struggling. He told us we were his only table. He never asked if I wanted anything to drink and maybe it was for the best anyways as the wine came in jam jars. Paying was quite a confusing hassle as he said he did not mind splitting up the checks but then it was a difficult task anyways since they use a written ticket system.
Food: the bread was good but I read somewhere that it is from Great Buns bakery (they are legit). The salad was standard. But the food that I tried… no. I normally like to get something unique at restaurants, but I just had a feeling that it might not be good, so I got the cheapest and most standard thing on the menu: spaghetti and meatballs. Not enough of the traditional spices. Something slightly off about both the meatballs and the marinara. I cannot put my taste buds on what was exactly lacking. I looked around for some red pepper. It may have needed some more garlic, or some basil. I don’t know, it was just very boring and had no depth to it. And I paid $ 15 for that.
Everyone knows what lasagna looks like. So I found it alarming when people kept asking what my boyfriend got because it did not resemble traditional lasagna in any way. It came in a ceramic dish drowning in marinara but the top layer, oh boy, that top layer. I was honestly a little terrified about what I can only call a small meat brick as the top layer. No bubbling cheese, just a compact brown square of ground beef. That just made it look very unappetizing. And it tasted like my meatballs did (bland). So there is that.
I came here for a friend’s birthday so I actually had a pretty great time with my dining companions, and like I said, our waiter was very nice. But it really falls short in so many areas that I would never recommend this place to anyone.

I was going to rank this 2 stars, but the more I think of all the things that are off about this place, might as well just go for the gusto and make it the one star.
You don’t need to bother with this place. Don’t. There are better Italian places.
So this place basically seems to be a house converted into a tiny Italian restaurant. That’s a cool concept but when you step inside, they don’t capitalize on it. To me, I didn’t know what the theme of this place is. It’s in a tiny house, but it’s Chicago Joe’s restaurant. But what’s so damn Chicago about it? I didn’t get that from any of the décor or the atmosphere or anything. It was just there. There’s a street sign that says «ROOSEVELT DRIVE.» Maybe that’s the Chicago part. Also, the bathroom is right next to the kitchen, which is just strange. Everything just seems off. If it was marketed like grandma’s house or something, I could understand that. But maybe all bathrooms are L shaped in Chicago.
We had a table of about ten for a Birthday dinner and my girlfriend and I arrived a few minutes late. Still it took 15 minutes after we arrived before we had a server take our order. Again, this place isn’t huge. Our server even at the end of dinner told us that we were his only table, so not sure why it took so long. The server didn’t seem to know the difference between the different types of spaghetti and had trouble remembering who ordered what. Not sure why he was flustered, not like any of us were asking some hard hitting questions.
The food took even longer to come out. A few of my friends were concerned as they had a show to get to. We finally had to ask the server to expedite their orders and to bring a to go box with the meal when it came out. We had arrived an hour and a half before these friends needed to be somewhere, so you would think we would have time to eat dinner.
Dinner comes out and the server just is confused about everything. He’s giving the wrong plate to the wrong people, one dish had to be remade as it was not gluten free pasta which was requested. People were getting soup when they wanted salad. There was extra spaghetti on the table. Things were just falling off the wheels. But this is Chicago Joe’s! The food has to be good!
No.
I ordered meat lasagna. The restaurant isn’t well lit so it was hard to see but there was just a mound of meat on top of the lasagna. At least they didn’t skimp on the meat. But the lasagna was unevenly heated, as there were molten pockets of lasagna next to lukewarm patches. Figuring it was microwaved and I could only hope that it was made sometime that week. We could only hope. I ate a bit of it before it just started to hurt my stomach. Not great. Not great.
Girlfriend got spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were a joke. This is an Italian restaurant, the meatballs NEED to be good and they were bland as all hell. So we’re paying 15 bucks for some boiled grain and bland meat. By the way, prepare to pay Chicago prices. That’s what makes it so Chicago.
So everything about the night was underwhelming and the next half an hour consisted of our waiter trying to figure out how to split the bill. We were willing to do it whichever way was easiest, but he assured us that he could split the bills (and this is when he told us we were his only table). He was gone for an extended amount of time, and then when he came back he just looked at our table, made a face, and walked away without saying anything. I don’t know what that was about. I was worried about him.
We finally got the bill split figured out but it just took so long. Nothing made sense as to why everything took so long. My lasagna was reheated, why did it take so long? Why did splitting the check take THAT long? Why did taking the orders take so long? Why is the bathroom an L shape? That’s not something Chicago Joe could solve but it’s just worth asking in general.
Overall, this was not a great experience. There are much better Italian places to go to and if you wanted mediocre food, you could just go to the OG. At least it’s cheaper, and there are breadsticks.
Skip this place.

The atmosphere alone is worth coming. Busy place so calling ahead would be smart.
Food was really good but wouldn’t say it was amazing.
I’m Italian and used to having everything made from scratch so I might just be a tough critic ;).

Valentine’s Dinner 2015.
The most overwhelming thing I think of when I think of Chicago Joe’s is this: simplistic. The menu is small and simple, so is the wine list. So is the place itself. It’s small, and simple. This isn’t a bad thing.
My husband and I dined here with a 5 PM reservation for Valentine’s Day. I’d been here a couple times before and chose it for its proximity to our home and because my husband’s idea of «dressing up» is an old collared shirt, nice jeans, and shoes I force him to wear that are not flip flops or Nikes.
We were seated right away at a table for two in their back room. The place is dimly lit, and year-​round Christmas decorations adorn the walls. The menu is short and sweet. Pastas with seafood or chicken, chicken dishes, or other seafood dishes. Appetizers include cheesy garlic bread, escargot, soups and salads. Like I said: simple. I had a hard time choosing what I wanted though because typically I eat the pasta with the spicy red clam sauce. This time though, I went out on a limb and ordered the lasagna.
First to arrive was my Chianti ($ 7.50) and my husband’s New Castle, which came with small glass cups. My husband dutifully drank his beer out of the tiny cup because he proclaimed it to be «fancy». My wine was so good I had another glass.
Warm bread and butter was served with our salads — or should I say our creamy garlic dressing and some lettuce leaves. I need to learn my lesson to order dressings on the side. The creamy garlic dressing is GOOD and I do recommend it, just ask for it on the side, you’ll thank me later.
Our mushroom caps stuffed with escargot, swimming in an amazingly buttery sauce and topped with bread crumbs and spices arrived next. This dish is decadent, mostly because of the accompanying sauce. But the caps were cooked to perfection, along with the earthy escargot they make a great starter.
Entrees arrived next, my lasagna, and my husband’s chicken Alfredo. The lasagna came in a small oval platter, piping hot with the cheeses melted. It was not over-​done with cheese though, which I appreciated. The meat, noodles and sauce all melded together — this is the point of lasagna in my opinion, for not one ingredient to stand out too much, but for every piece to be a harmony of flavors, and Chicago Joe’s lasagna achieved that. I couldn’t finish it all and our server arrived with a small to-​go box for us.
Lastly, we finished the meal with the Godiva chocolate cake. A perfectly served portion, not too much, not too little, with dollops of cream. The cake is svelte and a perfect way to end any dinner.

It’s been a couple of years since I had my first taste of Chicago Joe’s, and their pasta with white clam sauce still sticks in my mind as being one of the best pasta dishes that I’ve had. However, on this last visit, one of the only memories that will stand out was some of the bland food.
Appetizer — Mushroom Cap Escargot: One of the more flavorful items that we ordered. The mushrooms and escargot were practically bathing in a small pool of olive oil and Parmesan cheese — order some bread and soak up all the excess because it’s too good to waste!
Entrée — Shrimp and Crab Ravioli in a Creamy Sauce (Special of the evening): This sounded delightful when the server spoke about it, but it was dull. Freshly ground black pepper and a bit more Parmesan cheese might’ve rescued this.
Entrée — Veal Parmigiana with Pasta: The veal was tough, and the side of fettuccine with Alfredo sauce was sadly, insipid like my order. It just didn’t have that identifiable richness that Alfredo sauce typically has.
Dessert — Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake: A decadent and heavier dessert than the others that’ll fulfill chocolate cravings. It was the perfect finale to a dinner with more lows than highs.
Service: Fine.
Other: Reservations recommended. Also, enter through the back. It’s awkward walking in through the front door.
Overall: Despite the reasonable prices and the hole in the wall charm, sadly, the lackluster food isn’t enough to lure me back.

Chicago Joe’s is a very special place, located downtown in what used to be someone’s house. It’s tiny & that’s part of the charm. It feels like you’re going to visit your relatives & they will be cooking for you.
When my office was located near this place I would have dinner here every other week & I’ve missed it!
The food is great, traditional Italian cooking & the setting is casual. The service is always fantastic & the comfy atmosphere is perfect. I highly recommend this place & if you dine before 6:30pm they offer a light menu which comes with perfectly warm & crispy French bread, a house salad with your choice of dressing (the creamy house garlic is the best) and lots of pasta & meat choices. I love the chicken parm & chicken Marsala & all the pastas are freshly made. The baked ravioli is fantastic & the eggplant parm is great. Lots of choices…
Make a reservation because the place is tiny!

Great food, great service, great ambiance! Hidden Gem in Las Vegas
Yes! I LOVE this restaurant. I’ve been to Vegas a hundred times. This trip with my girlfriends we wanted to go somewhere locals would go. Somewhere with good food but away from the fanfare of the strip. I’m so glad I found this place. It’s going to be my go-​to spot now. The kicker — Italian food is my least favorite cuisine.
We were a group of 4 on a Saturday night. The restaurant is literally a house. Walking in, it really was like walking into someone’s dining room. There is a parking lot and entrance in the back. We still walked around to the front. We wanted to take pics in front of the house and in particular we wanted to do this pre-​dinner before we had food babies. Reservation was for 8:15. This place is tiny. There are only so many tables. All were full. They staff acknowledged our reservation and were extremely apologetic that we had to wait. It was ok we didn’t wait more than 10 minute. Billy was our waiter — great service! The food: great. To start we had the garlic bread with cheese, escargot & mussels. I had the chicken parmesan. Was it the best food I’ve ever had… nope. But all the other factors made up it.
This restaurant truly is a hidden gem. If I delete this review later, it’s because I don’t want people finding out about it.