Francesco’s Hole In the Wall

This place is amazing. Food is great. It’s very small but that is part of the charm. Well worth the wait!

Very good food. Always a cozy tight atmosphere. Water must have been in short supply along with delays in getting flatware and plates for the bread & oil.

I have not eaten here in many years, but hope to again soon — tonight if we can get in. The food was always fabulous and both Frank and his father, Dom (and Lucy!), took care of you. You just had to have a bit of patience to wait for a table.
I have been eating their family fare since Papa Milano’s on Howard in Chicago, then Trattoria Gallo in Lincolnwood, and finally, here at Frank’s Hole in the Wall. Excellent food, excellent people, excellent service.

The food was delicious, we felt immediately welcomed. The Chicken Alfredo was wonderful, not on the menu but they were very accommodating. We also had the lamb chops. delish!!!

A perfect experience. I had no idea what to expect from this place and was pleasantly surprised. We were greeted right away, and ordered drinks. This place uses the small space well and has set up the waiting area to be comfortable and inviting. The service was friendly, paced appropriately, and our waitress gave great recommendations. Everything was delicious from the calamari to the cannoli! They do a great job making this place feel warm, inviting and satisfying. I’ll be back.

I want to love this place. It’s quirky, small, and full of personality. However, my most recent visit was disappointing. It was lunch and we ordered the famous Hole in the Wall salads. While the dressing was tasty, the plates were sad, covered in pale iceberg lettuce with only a small amount of tomatoes and onions. The antipasto meat and cheese were skimpy and hidden on the plate. This was supposed to be the $ 11.95 large sized salad. I had remembered eating here before with some impressive plates, but not this time. Hoping for better next visit.

This is a tough experience to review. Let’s say 2.5 stars.
We had eaten here in the past. For whatever reason, we hadn’t eaten there in over 10 – 12 years.
There were 3 of us, so we decided to dine at Hole in the Wall.
We arrived at 6:50. The first host said the wait would be 45 minutes. The other host immediately said it would be closer to an hour. We said fine and went to pick up our friend.
An hour came and went. We were given no insight from the host as to any progress.
Ninety minutes turned into 2 hours. I was prepared to leave after about an hour an a half. My two others wanted to stay.
At the 2 hour and ten minute point we were actually sat. Btw… this is exactly what happened the last time we ate there.
I mentioned the following to the host.“the is inexcusable, you have been open for something like 23 years. You should at least know how to quote an accurate wait. Her response, we try our best.” She did not seem to care!
We sat and were quickly greeted by the wait person.
We quickly ordered the hole in the wall salad. it was excellent. Shortly there after we ordered our entrees… they were all excellent. We had the same bass, eggplant parmesan, and the osso bucco. All the dishes were great. The Osso bucco was out standing!
Desert…chocolate banana cake, with gelato. Really good.
So here’s the problem… excellent food, fairly priced, great waitress server.
As was mentioned in another Unilocal posting… they do in fact treat people like animals, in regards to wait time.
I am convinced they know exactly what they are doing. They simply don’t care. The owner walks the room throughout the evening.
After we were sat he said nothing to us. As a matter of fact he said nothing to any of the other parties that waited so much longer than told.
He did spend plenty of time with Tom Waddle, who walked in and was immediately sat. This doesn’t really even bother me.
Food and table service…5 stars
The treatment of customers by the front of house staff… no stars!
I realize no one held a gun to my head and made we wait an additional hour and ten minutes. I can only blame myself for that.
Some places would buy a glass of wine. Others an appetizer.
Even to give the impression of caring about their customers, a stop by the table and an apology… even an insincere one would sure have been nice.
Years ago there may not have been many alternatives, today that is not the case.
An awesome alternative is Sarenello’s. It is at Lake Cook and Milwaukee ave. in the Westin hotel.
All pasta homemade. Great menu, fabulous service and guess what… they even take reservations!
Perhaps in another 12 years I’ll try Hole in the wall again… maybe not!
Hospitality is a key ingredient in the restaurant experience. This place makes absolutely no effort to execute this critical skill.
Perhaps one day this treatment of people will impact the number of those waiting to eat there… maybe not!
It’s a shame

This is a family owned Italian restaurant, and is a north shore legend. As the name would suggest, the space is very small — seems like 15 tables but might be bigger.
The menu is on a chalkboard, and includes a variety of fresh fish as well as the classic Italian dishes. One of my favorite things about Hole in the Wall is that if you want something that isn’t on the menu and they have the ingredients they are happy to make it for you.
Because of the small size the service might be a little rushed — they try to turn the tables over. No reservations, so availability is hit and miss.
Overall recommended — try it to see if it is for you.

Just left this place! Was greeted right off by a very nice hostess who got us drinks while we waited. We started off with the caprese salad. Then finished with the carbonara and bucatini. Everything was amazing and definitely homemade. Will be going back for sure.

Food and desert — very good (though «risotto», which came with Osso Bucco was nothing more than just steamed rice).
But what spoiled the evening, all of us felt that it was more important for the restaurant to get us going and clear the table for the next customers than to let us enjoy our meal. No reservations, so come by opening or expect to wait

This place is amazing! I know why there are always people waiting in line here. The food is awesome! I love the lobster here so much! The desserts are the best I have ever had in Chicago! The owner is very friendly and nice! Anyway just love here very much! I will come back for sure. Thanks for bring me here!

Wow! I don’t eat bread but I had to try theirs! Yummy! Had the Alaskan king crab, shrimp& lobster in garlic sauce, and the grilled octopus with Tuscan beans… they are both fabulous!
It’s Wednesday night at 6 pm and it’s packed!

Eh this place was really disappointing on this visit. We started off strong with the special burrata caprese salad which wasn’t really burrata. It was good don’t get me wrong but it wasn’t «classic» burrata with the cream inside. And they served it already sliced.
The other items we ordered just fell flat. The baked clams were chewy. The batter they used was undercooked and mushy.
The chicken parmesan sandwich also had batter issues. It slid right off of the chicken. I also thought the chicken itself should have been better seasoned. Though the red sauce on top was pretty good.
Service was fine throughout except for a long wait between our salad and the clams.
Sigh suburbia dining.

I wouldn’t recommend this place for carryout order. No true price$$ listed for what you are ordering on Unilocal or website, and for a salad with some pepperoni and iceberg lettuce drowning in vegetable oil/​Italian dressing… Not worth the money!!! I truly believe people don’t know what real good food is… WWWWWWWWWWWWWaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy over priced for the what you get… Authentic Italian should be delicious this was clearly not…
This will be my first and last time!!!

I’ve lived in Highland Park for eight years, and since day one I’ve been told amazing things about Francesco’s and how it’s the best hidden secret Italian stop around. I also heard that they don’t take reservations, and it’s impossible to get a table. Well…
Saturday was our 10 year wedding anniversary. With kid juggling and a babysitter situation, we were fairly certain there was no way we were leaving the house. However, after some strong arm twisting to get my teenage stepdaughter to stay with her brothers, we headed out for a super early dinner and randomly decided to try something completely out of the norm for us. We pulled into Francesco’s lot and headed in. They had literally just opened and we walked right in and got a table! Mind you, had we come 10 minutes later, we would have been out of luck. It was a packed scene in no time at all.
This place is a total charmer inside. It’s has only a few tables, and the vibe reminded me of my country club days golfing with friends. Think club house with cocktails after a long day on the course. I consider myself to be old, but it was refreshing to be the youngest person dining!
The menu changes on a regular basis, and it’s handwritten and posted on the wall. It was a bit overwhelming to decide what to get! I madly searched through Unilocal reviews to see what others had ordered, and my head was dizzy with so many recommendations. Hubby and I ended up starting out splitting the special salad for the evening. It was light and lively, loaded with fresh top quality greens, roasted figs, gorgonzola cheese, mixed nuts, sprinkled with lemon vinagrette. Next up, we went from light to hearty. I truly wavered between the lobster ravioli and sausage rigatoni. I opted for the rigatoni in a light tomato sauce, and I almost made it through to the end, but I was so full I just had to stop. Next time I think I might actually try the lasagna. In my brain I still see that menu item calling out to me… ha! Too many decisions.
The best part about dining here is that everything is made to order. You can make up your own pasta dish if you like, which is exactly why the dinner was a huge success for my vegetarian hubby. He ordered up some angel hair pasta, a light olive oil, fresh broccoli, red peppers, spinach, and I think mushrooms. I had a bite and wow wow wow was it fresh with the veggies done to perfection.
Take note: You will be presented with an attempting array of dessert options at the end. They don’t ask if you want to see it… they proudly bring it out to your table.
If you’re into a neighborhood, club house, Italian supper club vibe, you’ll love this place.

Delicious authentic Italian restaurant. The place is small and very busy but they seem to get people in and out without compromising service. The hostess was also kind enough to allow us a glass of wine while we waited near the door. The menu is posted on a board on the wall and offered so many delicious options. We had the baked clams for appetiser. They were good but I do wish the clam was minced up with the bread crumb topping instead of just the breading on top. Nonetheless was still scrumptious. Entrée ordered the seafood pasta with a lobster tail — amazing!!! They do not skimp on the seafood and it was cooked perfectly. Service was great and prices were affordable. Great hole in the wall Italian :)

Great place! Great food! Great value! People care here.
The owner came up twice to us to ask how we are doing. Dana, our server was awesome and entertaining. We had caesar salad with anchovy — awesome, sea bass-​amazing, stuffed eggplant — solid!
Deserts, drinks. Everything was 5 star.
And a really personal touch was it! It’s all about the people

Looking for places to for for dinner and saw the name of this restaurant and it just sparked this curiosity on me that I told my friends this is our place for tonight. We got there and once I saw it I knew I had made the right decision. Staff very attentive and friendly, we were a party of five and we got the kitchen table, and let me tell you it was the most beautiful and great experience we’ve had in a very long time. Just sitting right where the dishes are created, it was amazing. Frank was on top of all details from beverages to appetizers then to dinner and of course desserts. EVERYTHING WAS SPECTACULAR!!! Fresh, love guy, home made, I can’t even begin to explain as there are no words for what we experience. Osobuco risotto is highly recommended, lobster devil pasta dish, sea bass vesuvio all to die for! Artichokes were amazing, nice, soft, I would even say buttery kind soft… Desserts were out of this world and the whole experience was simply unique! I will definitely come back when in town, it was just what we needed after a long day at work. Thankful for an excellent service and amazing experience!

Was in town for business and wanted to eat somewhere — and NOT a chain restaurant! Found this on Unilocal and couldn’t have been happier! It’s super small and packed (went on Wednesday at 5:30).
Great service and great food! Had burrata, prosciutto and tomato appetizer to start — delicious! But the real gem were our fish dinners… I had salmon with avocado, tomato and jalepenos and my colleague had the Chilean sea bass — both were prepared to perfection! Melt in your mouth and delicious! We rounded out the meal with the hot butter cake — OMG — YUM! And we had the lemon tart with fresh fruit that was also delicious!
The owner comes around and checks that everything is to your liking… and he dropped a bottle of schnapps on the table compliments of the house for us to enjoy and after dinner cordial.
From beginning to end — perfection!

Great food and wine! They don’t take reservations but their food is worth the wait! I had the black linguine with clams, mussels and cherry tomatoes and it was
Phenomenal! My boyfriend had the Ziti with meatballs
And he almost licked the plate because it was so good! We had Roasted Beets with Aragula and goat cheese for appetizer, that was delicious as well. The place is small but it is a nice place, there’s just not a lot of space to move to in case you need to use the restrooms. Their free warm bread was also excellent by the way. The place gets kind of loud as the night goes on and
People gets hit by their wines but it seems like most people know each other anyway!