Ciao Ristorante & Bar

Ciao is one of my go to places! Their food is excellent, the specials menu is always new and delicious, they have deals throughout the week that you just can not beat and with the owners there every day you always feel welcome and at home. You should definitely check it out. Some of my favorite dishes are as follows:
Lunch: southwest wrap, the beef (a mazing!), the sub, the burger and on the lighter side the chopped salad is excellent.
Dinner: the chicken piccata is to die for, the steak entrée is great, the chicken pignollo is awesome and you really can’t go wrong with any of their pastas — the bolognese sauce is simply perfect.
Enjoy! And tell Laura I said hello :)

If the musty smell of the building isn’t enough to warrant you leaving, the atrocious quality of the food definitely will. First off, the building smells moldy and musty. It makes you want to puke as soon as you walk in. Thank God we ordered the calamari, as that was the only dish that was edible! We had to use all of the lemon given to us in order to with stand the awful aroma of the restaurant. When our orders came, lasagna and ravioli, they looked decent. But when we tasted them, we were repulsed. I’m pretty sure the cheese that was inside the lasagna had been growing in the chefs toe! It had a sour, salty taste that is quite the opposite of a good lasagna. Then, the raviolis noodles tasted as if they were frozen. I’ve had better Italian cuisine from a Stouffers frozen meal! When it came time for the check, (we couldn’t eat our food so we had the waitress wrap it up,) we gave her the Groupon on the phone, and when she returned, she stated that it is necessary to tell her prior to ordering as their are some things you can’t order with a Groupon (yet the Groupon itself does not say this). You should all listen to her advice and not order anything, as this was by far one of the worst meals I’ve ever had! The Nazis served better food at concentration camps! Too soon? I think not. You know what will be too soon? Me going there again before hell freezes over! #justsayno

Went to dinner at Ciao’s tonite and was very pleased they had great Martinis and had a red pepper soup that was awesone… I had the Gnocchi which was okay I have had better it was kind of chewy and I did not like there marinara sauce tasted like it came out of a can. Did not have any dessert so I can’t comment on that.
But I would definitely go back to try other items on the menu.

Was told to «wrap it up» when we ordered our wine. Waitress was super rude and was rushing us through dinner.

I had never been to Ciao, but visited because i bought a groupon. I asked the manager if weIcould order from either menu presented with our groupon. She said we didn’t need it, their prices and specials don’t warrant a groupon. I said that it sounds like she doesn’t like the groupons and she said they’ve;had misunderstandinggs with their guests and the usually don’t tip on the groupon. I work in a restaurant and definitely tio well and told her it even says to make the tip include the groupon,
When I asked if they did anything for birthdays, my mom was celebrating 82, she said not if you have a groupon and never offered a desert menu

Here we go again! They have cleaned up main dining room a bit. But the food remains always spectacular.
A bit embarrassed to admit that I can’t NOT order the calamari app and clams linguine in white sauce every time.
Service spectacular. Just vunderbar!
Ciao ciao for now…

My review is soley based on the fact that I was trying to book an event in the party room, and I have yet to get a response back. I’ve sent 3 emails and I got a 2 word response back to my first email asking how many people does the room accomodate. I got the number and when I asked if a certain date was available I got no response. I later sent another email and still no response back. I guess they don’t want my business or they never check their emails. I guess I will be looking elsewhere for my 60+ people.

Great Italian. I appreciate the non-​pretentious atmosphere. Traditional warm bread and cheese & oil, the Calamari Fritti was delicious, simple but flavorful fresh salad, main dish Linguine, Gamberi & Broccoli. Great attentive Server! I hope they keep but the good work because I will for sure be back!

We had a gift card, and we finally got around to using it.
I had my usual veal piccata. .Hubby had chicken marsala…
Great desserts, too.
We both enjoyed our evening.

Ciao is one of the best non-​traditional but classic style Italian restaurants in SW burbs. Last Saturday I fell for the French double thick pork chop stuffed with prosciutto roasted red peppers and cheese with a Dijon sauce… perfectly cooked and delicious over rosemary mash potatoes. My partner had the Chilean sea bass with Champagne sauce. I tried it … Outstanding… Thick piece NY STYLE. This is one place where you will remember the wonderful food long after. Others had wonderful cheese topped filet and another large Gulf (?) shrimp and spaghetti. The old lady raved about it. The Campari and soda was a perfect starter with the cold seafood salad which included cuttlefish and octopus. Reasonable priced martinis too. Enjoy.

This Place is one of the BEST! I went there last night with my Hubby and Aunt and we had a wonderful experience, First our server was Great! Myself and Aunt ordered the Lasagna and it was Fabulous! Ordered a side of sausage (Very tasty) and My Aunt Loved it as well and yes their portion was plenty and she even took some home, She ordered the minestrone soup and was so pleased, My hubby had the Linguini with shrimp & Broccoli and he was in Awe! The shrimp were huge! He was very happy. He also loved the Italian wedding soup I had the salad with the house dressing and it was wonderful, nice hot artisan bread, Met the owner on the way out to insure her she has new customers and that we will be back, for the people who have left negative reviews? I’m guessing they don’t know what good Italian food is, I am Italian and yes I Loved this place and it deserves at least 10 Stars! We will be back! Thanks Ciao for a wonderful dining experience… see ya soon!

Can’t believe this place is rated so low. Everything was amazing. The mobster wannabe owner post was totally inaccurate. The owner was very pleasant with us and spent time at our table a few different times. The lamb was absolutely butter in our mouth. Salads were sooooo fresh and let’s not even talk about how good the desserts were. Prices were very reasonable with a good wine list. We just found out new fave place literally 3 mins from our new!

This is more of a review of Ciao’s catering and party services. My family and I were very happy and impressed.
My sister’s wedding shower was held in the party room at Ciao. After enjoying their food and service, she decided to go with them as wedding caterers. I hope she gets around to review them as well, because they really went above and beyond. The food served at the wedding included: delicious chicken, stuffed shells, sausage and peppers, and roasted potatoes.
Like I said, I can only speak to their catering and party services. But both dining in their party room and having them come to and cater my sister’s wedding have been great experiences. Food has been good and service outstanding.

For Christmas, my boyfriend and I got $ 50 in gift certificates. So my review and first visit here was on the in-​laws.
I had been at this location under a different name previous to Ciao… at least I think it had a different name the first time I visited. It’s near the bridgeview courthouse and in an okay spot. It looks like a little strip mall, which doesn’t exactly scream fine dining.
My mother-​in-​law insisted that we make reservations. So in our usually style, we call about 10 minutes before we planned to get there and made a reservation. The place was far from full, so the reservation wasn’t necessary, but one phone call isn’t like the end of the world.
We were seated at a nice table with a view of the patio where some people sat and had wine (looked like a manager or friends/​family of the owner or something like that). The patio view was nice except that beyond it was big metal power structures or something.
We ordered two entrees and two desserts as well as a bottle of wine. We were trying to spend all $ 50 that night and they had a deal where you got a free bottle of wine if you spend over $ 40. That was a great little special and I was excited that the waitress told us.
The food here was really good. I had a chicken pasta with mushrooms and a creamy red sauce. I really loved my meal and was excited to have the leftovers the next day. Dan had the stuffed shells. I was lucky enough to get a little bit and they were pretty good.
Now the desserts… these were both wonderful. We ordered the tiramisu and the chocolate lava cake. So we brought home leftovers of dinner and dessert because we couldn’t eat it all.
Here’s what gets me… the bill for this whole thing was about $ 55 (two entrees and two desserts and a FREE bottle of wine). At the end of the day, the food was good and we had gift certificates… but it cost too much. In this economy, people shouldn’t blow money on overpriced food you can make at home (I do actually make my own stuffed shells).
If you like to spend a lot of food, that’s great. But I personally can’t really afford this even for special occasions… If you want to spend the money, this place is great.

Brought 10 people here over the weekend for a graduation party and I can’t tell how accommodating the manager Laura and our waitress Julie were the whole time we were there. The food was excellent. We reserved the room at the front of the restaurant so it really added to the fun and the party atmosphere. If you like to dine outside or just sit and have a cocktail on the patio you might also enjoy stopping here. Looking forward to my next visit here. I still think for the price you can’t beat this place or the hospitality. It’s in a rather obscure location but that only makes it more attractive to us. Ciao!

Went here for dinner on NYE and horrible would not sum up my experience here. The food was awful, I swear my wife’s chicken catetori was off and the eggplant parmesan I had was soggy and just plain bad. For me that should be the best and easiest dish for an Italian restaurant to make. If you screw up eggplant parm, everything else can’t possibly be better than mediocre.
When I called to make a reservation, the hostess told me that despite our reservation time of 10:30, we might still have to wait «up to 20 additional minutes» considering it’s NYE. When we got there, there were tables open everywhere and I whispered to my wife, «if they don’t seat us immediately we are out of here». I don’t understand where restaurants get off making it seem as though they are bursting at the seams with reserved tables when in actuality, they should be begging for business.
Despite the fact that this place is less than a mile from my home, I will never be back. Sorry:(

Really, people? Bashing Sam the owner as a wannabe mobster and only catering to regulars? Not true. Now, I am not a regular anymore as their current location is hell and gone from my house with no quick, easy way to get there. My husband and I had our first date at their old location in Matteson, and we even held our rehearsal dinner there years later. The food? Exceptional. The wait staff? Attentive and amazing. The long wait times for food? Well, if I wanted to be rushed out of a restaurant, I’d go to the fricking Olive Garden. But instead, sometimes we like a slow, leisurely dinner in a nice restaurant.
I like Ciao. I like Ciao a lot. I like the staff, owner and food. I like relaxed meals and not being rushed.
Went back this weekend to celebrate our anniversary and mom’s birthday. Amazing, as usual. They had taken off the escarole, sausage & beans that we used to love as an appetizer, but they made it for us specially, anyway! And it was fantastic! Sam’s brother-​in-​law was working to give Sam a father’s day break, and he was just as warm and welcoming as Sam! The food was fabulous as usual, the bread was crusty and fresh from the oven, and our service was excellent as always! Thank you for another amazing experience!

The food was ok. Service was ok for lunch. But the smell of mildew in this restaurant was very hard to get past. To bad it’s cute & cozy inside & has a nice patio. I would return but I would have to sit outside to eat due to the smell in the restaurant. Smelled like grandma old house. Not Nona’s great italian cooking. When I left I could still smell it on me. They would probably increase business if they rid of the musty smell.

I have no idea why the ratings are so low for this place…
This is literally the best food for the least amount of money in the area.
My family rarely dines in at Ciao, but we take advantage of their carry out deals. For $ 20 you can feed a family of four with left overs. Mind you, I can easily spend more than $ 20 buying myself beef and cheddar’s from that horribly unfriendly woman in the drive-​thru at Arby’s.
For $ 20 they have a dinner for four special where you get an entrée, bread and a soup or salad. For an extra charge we always get the Penne ala vodka, which is really good. There’s a few options for the dinner for four… some kind of herb chicken and potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs… I forget what else.
But get this carry out deal, it’s such a steal. It’s better than the other options around here… drive thru or mystery chinese food.

Initially I was going to give this a three-​star review, but then I woke up the following day with a wicked stomachache. I’m not entirely sure it was a result of the food at Ciao, but I’m suspicious enough to be leary of eating here again.
I’d never heard of this place, but I attended a bridal shower here last weekend. It was prior to the restaurant opening so we had the entire place to ourselves. The staff was by far the most notable aspect of this place. From taking the gifts at the door and placing them at the gift table to refills on water and food, they were happy and friendly. Refills on food and drink came quickly.
The restaurant is small, and the décor is extremely cheesy. I think they were going to sophisticated and fancy, but they definitely fell short on that.
The food was good but nothing to write home about. The desserts were the only thing that I would even consider exceptional. We got minstrone (I think) soup, a salad, roasted chicken with potatoes, mostacoli, and green beans served family style. The portions/​amount of food they brought out were way too small for the number of people it was expected to serve. There were 6 of us and the bowl of chicken and potatoes we were given was empty by the time it got to me, and it wasn’t as though my table mates were taking huge portions. They brought us more food quickly, but it was still irritating to have to wait because we weren’t given enough to begin with.