Giuseppe’s Restaurant

Called to place a carry out order. They answered and asked me to wait and never came back to the phone for my order. So I called Aurelio’s.

Great food, décor, and service until we were ignored about 5 min. trying to pay the check while our server chatted with another table, her back turned to half the room.

Joe’s food and staff are great :-D Their Loyalty Saving app is awesome («Giuseppes Everything Italian «on Google Play)

Great food… you know it’s good when you have to wait for a table! I’m from Jersey and very fussy about my Italian food. The only thing they need to learn how to cook is a white pie. made with ricotta. Otherwise it’s worth the wait!

The place has a very nice Italian atmosphere, but it’s very small. Depending on when you go, there may be a very long wait. This place is very nice with good food and good service, and so I don’t mind the wait, but hey, an a expansion wouldn’t hurt!

Based on my earlier visit, my husband and I went in for an early dinner.
I hadn’t noticed before that there are only 8 tables in the restaurant. One of the 4-​top tables was occupied and the other subject to freezing wind blasts when the door opened, so we ended up at a 2-​top against the counter. That might have been manageable if dishes were cleared regularly, but we ended up building a teetering tower of dirty plates.
The veal Parmesan was excellent. My husband asked if minestrone was available and was told it could now be served, making me wonder if the soup served before that was left over, as I did not hear it offered again. Note, too, that all menu items are a la carte in pricing.
Wait staff got to a point where they were sitting with another party, apparently friends, but again we had to wait for the table to be bussed and our check.
After a great first experience, I don’t think I’ll be back. Too many lapses in food quality (margherita pizza olives had pits in them) and service seemingly more interested in a big-​check/​tip table.

Decided on checking this out after reading a Facebook list of the 11 best Italian restaurants in Indiana. I didn’t agree with all the choices. I had never been here, nor did I know about it so it was time to check it out.
The place is small but very cute and relaxing. It’s not Americanized for sure in the sense that there are no fountain drinks. Just a heads up. Soda and other nice beverages from a bottle, there’s also a nice selection of wines. Water with lemon is free of course.
My hubby and I ordered a meatball sandwich because I did read that the meatballs were delish. They are! The sauce on the side was a little salty but okay because the sandwich was not so the play of flavors worked well. The bun was perfect. If you would like fries, please note it is an extra charge. No big deal they do give you a nice helping.
We also ordered a pizza which seems to come in one size. It was the Neapolitan style which is cooked in a wood fired brick oven. (NOTE the other pizzas are NOT cooked in the brick oven just this style) We had the pizza with Eggplant and Mushroom. It was very delicious. I’ve seen complaints about the size/​price. I think it is enough for 2 or one hungry person. The price isn’t bad considering what you would pay for a nice meal at that price anyway. This is a gourmet pizza. A junk/​cheap pizza can be purchased at a chain restaurant. (No big deal or a reason to get offended, I eat junk pizza too)
For dessert we bought the gelato cheesecake which made me want to cry it was so good. I read the word Nutella on the menu and I was in!
Note… When paying for your bill if you want to add the tip you have to let them know how much before they ring you up. Just something with their system. I was told it would be fixed. I felt bad when I received the bill to sign not knowing that. Glad to know it now. The waiter was so nice I wanted to be sure to leave a good tip!
My hubby and I really liked it and will definitely be back for more of that delicious pizza!

Very nice décor on the inside. Not a large restaurant, but it has about a dozen tables. Very cozy. Went there for lunch. Ordered the Italian beef sandwich. It was delicious. The bread was fresh. I liked the fact that they put the sauce on the side. Some places put too much sauce and it gets the bread soggy. The service was good. Did not have to wait long to get served. They have a variety of desserts. Did not have time to try them. Will do that next time.

Since our favorite local Italian eatery closed a few month ago, we’ve been searching for another place that provides a nice quite atmosphere with authentic Italian dishes. We’ve been to Giuseppe’s a few times and found the food to be very good, but good food will never offset poor service. In our previous visits, service was not the best. Servers are not very professional. When ordering a bottle of wine the server brings the OPEN bottle to the table and sets it down so the customer pours. No presentation, no opening at the table and no tasting to insure a good bottle. While the wine was very good, it makes one wonder why they bring an open bottle to the table.
Our most recent visit will be our last visit. We went early in the evening and were seated immediately. We were given some bread and two HOT glasses with two ice cubes each and a carafe of water (no ice). It took close to 10 minutes before the only server in the place asked if we wanted something to drink. We ordered a bottle of our favorite red wine…“Ca’De’ Rocchi Montere’ Ripasso”. We were told that that they may be out but of they do have one bottle it might be chilled. We said we were ok with the chilled bottle figuring the wine glasses would be hot as the water glasses. We waited another 10… maybe 15 minutes. The server was waiting on other tables and never even gave us a look. We left. We will not be back.

I am back in town this week and had the usual meals from Giuseppe’s: the penne pasta with meatballs and the margherita pizza. Both were as excellent as they were in the past. Always a good place to stop at when in town.

Perhaps because they both came from the Calabria region of Italy, the aroma of «Mama’s» cooking threw me back to my early years walking into my Nana’s kitchen and brought a smile to my face. This charming little restaurant is a little off the beaten track, but well worth finding. Because we arrived with friends and relatives who are regulars, we were treated as family immediately, but in my experience, Italians as a whole are warm and welcoming people.
Mama, a prettier, tiny, dark haired «Sophia» from Golden Girls, creates and oversees all the authentic meals. Her meatballs are to die for, but then so is her gnocchi, stuffed shells, ravioli, etc. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the dishes offered because her excellent sauce is the basis for most, and you can taste the quality of the cheeses and other ingredients used.
I’ve been to Italy several times and go as often as I can and am probably considered a food snob by my friends, so take it from picky me, this restaurant will become a destination whenever I’m in town.
I haven’t mentioned the service, and it’s probably because it was effortless and exemplary, and when it is, you tend to take it for granted. The atmosphere is fun and casual, the service is great, and Mama’s handsome son treated us to a few shared desserts… in addition to the ones we ordered… my, my, full, but managed to fit it bites of all of them. In addition to excellent gelato, traditional cannoli and tiramisu, we tried a tasty gelato based cheesecake to die for.

I have been here at least five times and I get the stuffed shells every time! You cannot go wrong with this dish. In fact… it is the best I have ever had. I don’t like that you don’t get free refills or more bread without paying for it. AND the atmosphere could use a little work. It’s cold in the winter every time the door opens. It feels more like a fast food joint verses a nice sit down Italian restaurant. BUT you can’t beat the stuffed shells! They know what they are doing. I will continue to go back.

Small, intimate… YUMMY!

Bad service 1^st time we went– the waitress persuaded us to tip her good because she complained about the point of sale system not calculating previous tips. Their specialty pizzas really are bland and so disappointing. We’ve tried two. The margherita pizza was so paper thin I wouldn’t even consider it an appetizer & the crust is tasteless. The chicken Parmesan was good and so was the stuffed shells.

Very good Italian food. Quaint atmosphere for lunch spot. Great to carry out some good, quality food!
The meatballs are excellent. They are moist and the pasta sauce is very authentic and homemade. Yes, the fried rice balls with polenta are delicious! A great value too~!

My wife and I had dinner here a few weeks ago (just now getting to the review). As mentioned previously, their location is a bit odd as it gives you an impression it is more of a take-​out joint than a formal restaurant. We stopped in early on a week night and the restaurant was packed. This is not hard to do because it is the size of a post-​office lobby.
The restaurant only has one table and two chairs for guest to wait outside. We ended up waiting on the curb and eventually wandering next door to watch the kids practice karate. Maybe they can put a glass wall and entertain the guest while they wait? A saving grace is the owner came out and introduced himself, he was very polite and offered us a drink while we waited. Eventually the «waiting table» opened up and we were able to sit when our wine arrived. At first, I thought the wine may have been complementary because we decided to wait (while sitting on the curb)…Ah, nope.
We finally sat at our table and were surprised to see only 1 waiter. The seating area holds about ten tables (maybe more) and roughly 50 people. Needless to say we waited another 10+ minutes before he came to our table. Our waiter was unseasoned and unapologetic for his tardiness, furthermore he knew very little about the details of the food he was selling.
We decided to try the Arancini as an appetizer, okay… looks like we are back on track as it was delicious. My only complaint is that I did not order my own + maybe a bit expensive for a strip-​mall joint. Now on to dinner service… our second glass of wine came in a different wine glass and was not proportioned to the first leaving us feeling somewhat cheated. Our (my) biggest gripe was that the waiter stated they could not make any chicken that the kitchen was down (he didn’t elaborate). When we started to get huffy that we waited on the curb for a single deep fried meatball he said well I guess we can make one (order).
So, I ordered the pizza and my wife ordered the Chicken Francese (think thick lemony chicken). The food was good (pizza okay, but the wife loved her dish). Another odd point is that they try and charge you for a second order of bread for the table. It is clearly marked on the menu… but $ 2.50 for 4 slices of bread?
To wrap things up, probably won’t be back. Odd location (no parking), HORRIBLE service, does not outweigh the one or two positive things about this place.

Ordered carryout on a «12» fuggli spagullio? Which was a unique ham, portobellos, spicy sausage, almost a type of queso fundido or chihuahua cheese you would taste at a Mexican place.
The pro: the sauce was unique and delicious, the

The major points taken off here are for terrible service that just completely ruined the meal. The food was pretty good. We had calamari and the stuffed crust pizza and we liked it but the service just ruined it. We had to chase down everything. When we received the calamari I immediately asked for lemon. By the time I received it 10 minutes later, it didnt matter, the food was gone. The iced tea was served in the worlds smallest glass, I had to chase the guy down for one refill which came when I was nearly done with my food. The server laughed at us when we asked for larger plates for our pizza slices. I guess most people dont mind eating their pizza on plates smaller than the pizza slices? Then when the guy came to clear the plates away he grabbed all of our uneaten crust off of the plates with his bare hands and threw it into a cup. It was so unappetizing and then spouted out, uh… I dont know if I know what I am doing. The part that had us most annoyed is the service wasnt bad because they were swamped, it was just a matter of the servers being lazy and inattentive. They were just buzzing around the back chattign with each other.

The best Neapolitan pizza in and around Chicago area. Awesome crust and amazing fresh toppings.

Bad experience. The first and last time I went here, I saw that they only have one size 12″ pizza for a family of 5. They make larger ones. but only to go. Doesn’t make sense. So I asked the manager if I could order a family size and just eat it there with my family and order other items, to bring business you know, and he was very rude about it and had a bad attitude with me. Therefore, we just walked out and went took our business elsewhere.
He also made me pay for the bottle of coke that I did not drink out of nor said I wanted open. Wish I would have threw it through the window and shatter the glass.