Saranello’s

Super drafty and freezing cold every time the door opened (its like 17 here), steak overcooked and doesn’t come with any sides (why?). You know how at some restaurants the expectation with table bread is to be dipped in olive oil, well this is the only place ive ever been where they dont just put a bottle on the table, just poured it out on a plate. And rather than being too little oil (what youd expect from a move so stingy) it was too much and made it impossible to balance with salt and pepper.
Good wine. Good service, but management is clearly a joke.
And seriously, overcooking a steak that expensive is unforgivable, and ive worked in food service too long and known too many cooks to ever send food back to the kitchen.

my favorite local Italian restaurant & bar! the food is homemade & they have a wide variety of menu items as well as special promotions. perfect place for a romantic dinner to a party & everything in between. we love sitting at the bar for happy hour & dinner. joann and jane are the best bartenders around. bonus, it’s a lettuce entertain you restaurant so the rewards program is a must.

My favorite restaurant with the best food. Everything I’ve tried has been delicious from the appetizer pizza with really thin crusts to the braised beef rib raviolis to my husband’s favorite the chicken and peppers that falls off the bones. Don’t forget to try heir pork meatballs!!! Service has gotten much better and we go so often the waiters all stop by and say hi when we go. Going again this week. Try to go at least every 4 – 6 weeks

The service was outstanding. My food came out very fast (but keep in mind it was a Monday night). I ordered the pork and veal meatballs to start. They were phenomenal!
For my main course, I ordered the potato gnocchi in the tomato cream sauce. Also fantastic and would definitely order again. The meal came with complimentary bread and evoo to at the beginning as well!
According to my server, everything is made in house so the food is homemade. It definitely tasted that way too!
Delicious!

I had my wedding at Saranello’s Banquet hall and it was amazing. I was very worried going into it that things wouldn’t go as planned but it went better than I ever thought it could. Lara, the event planner was on top of everything. She talked to my DJ, photographer and people helping set-​up to plan everything and make sure everything was done on time. The room was gorgeous. It was a fall wedding/​theme with reds/​oranges/​yellows as the primary colors and it went perfectly with the room. The room has dark wood all around and with the colors/​candles all lit, it was very romantic.
The food was delicious! We were able to pick 3 entrees for people to choose from. They had a wide variety of entrees to choose from depending on the price range you wanted to spend per entrée. You also got to pick 4 appetizers that they could pass around during cocktail hour. They were very accommodating with tastings, we went back twice because we couldn’t decide. They also include bread and a plate of veggies/​olives/​cheese for each table that’s included in the wedding package. They do a complimentary champagne toast and have wine on the tables as an option for additional cost. We had the room starting at 2pm until 12 – 12:30am so it was a perfect amount of time. It also was very accommodating to have the Westin attached to the restaurant so we didn’t have to worry about shuttles.
It was a great wedding and am so happy we picked Saranello’s.

Kyle our waiter was awesome. Food was excellent. 4 different meals between the 4 of us. Parmesan cheese burger to die for. Good relaxing atmosphere. Rigatoni was good mom orders it every time. Dad had veal Parmesan plate was cleared. Husband gnocchi w meat sauce– sauce was meaty no need to order meatball. Would definitely come back. BLOODY MARY homemade AWESOME

Best pastas. Hand made pastas and really feel difference. Pretty recommended. But need to make a reservation in advance. Pretty popular place.

This restaurant was conveniently located inside the hotel so that’s a plus. My scrambled eggs and sausage was good but my toast was hard as a rock that when I used my knife to cut the crust off the entire crust crumbled off.
The service was awful!!! I refilled my own orange juice because I was waiting for over 10 minutes to flag down my waiter. Waited another 15 minutes to get a spoon so my child could eat his cereal (just so you know, he used a fork and finished his cereal before the spoon ever arrived), and the bonus was there was only 3 tables in the restaurant. There was my server and one other guy who was helping him but never managed to ever glance at our table to help us out even when my entire family started walking towards the exit waiting for the bill. I finally found my waiter and paid it off.
Word of advice for customers: ask for everything you think you may need upfront bc you may never get the chance to ask or use it OR try another restaurant.
The extra star goes to the next day (Sunday) where they had a buffet so you really didn’t need a waiter and the experience was so much better.

Here’s what you need to know: Saranello’s is a feel good, casual Italian restaurant that delivers strong, uncomplicated, and comforting flavors supported by good «Lettuce Entertain You» service/​rewards. Order the Parmesan Onions for appetizers, any fresh homemade pasta with the Parmesan broth sauce for entrée and the «birthday» mousse cake for dessert.
if you’re looking for Michelin rated fine dining, this is not the place. If you’re looking for cheap $ 5 meals, go elsewhere. This is a fairly priced restaurant Italian attached to a high end hotel.
The Parmesan broth, which is served with a few of their house made pasta dishes, is the highlight of the chef’s skills — it’s delicate in its balance and powerful in its flavor. Another great entrée is the cheese ravioli, which is way more intense and flavorful than the name suggests. The Parmesan onion appetizers may be the most enjoyable app ever with its creamy yet crunch texture. They have an incredible dessert which is not listed on the menu but they always have it available. It’s the «Birthday» chocolate mousse cake. INCREDIBLE! The fried apps (like calamari) are just OK, and should be stayed away from.
They have a good wine menu too, and we’ve tried everything from the pricey Amarone to the everyday CA cabs.
The service is always great, fitting of an LEYE enterprise.

I’m giving 3 stars and it is mainly because of the food. There are many problems that took away from a perfect review. Luckily the food was that good.
I’ll start with the good part.
The ambience and atmosphere are very nice. They have great lighting and tasteful decorations and wood everywhere. The music that plays over the PA is a good mix of modern and contemporary.
Our drinks were excellent. I had their whiskey sour and my wife had vodka and vermouth martini which had a name I can’t remember. Both super boozy, but well made and very tasty.
The bread and olive oil that was brought to the table were very tasty. The oil had a nice fruity taste and went so well with the crusty fresh bread and Parmesan cheese.
I had the Sedanino which is a macaroni in a chunky, spicy tomato sauce and garlic tossed with chicken and shaved parmesan. It was a very nice mix of favors that were not over powering, but not delicate. My wife had the eggplant Parmesan which had an incredibly tasty sauce and intense flavors.
The food of course is the heart of the whole thing and the excellence of the food and drink earned the 3 stars.
Now for the bad. We made a reservation through opentable and I specifically asked for a booth if available in my reservation.
First, we arrived to the restaurant and the hostess barely looked at the reservation on her computer so she clearly missed my comment request. We were walked to a regular table right by the kitchen entrance. There were several empty tables that would be much more desirable. When my wife very nicely asked the hostess for a table further out from the bustling kitchen entrance her response was a reluctant,
«Well…»
Then we were walked a couple of tables down. Not exactly the kind of service I’d expect.
Second, our server took a long time to arrive and when she did she took drink orders and made no mention of specials, recommendations or give any real guideline on ordering. It was almost like we weren’t important enough and I say this because I heard other servers giving the rundown on specials me explaining menu items. Also when our food arrived it was just warm and not piping hot as I’d expect. I have a feeling our server slacked on making sue it arrived on time.
Third, the server took a long time to come back to ask for our order after drinks. We got an appetizer and it took even longer to come back for our entrée. When we were ready to pay the check she took forever to come by and was only alerted to our impatience to pay when another server informed her that we were ready to pay.
A last disturbing note was seeing a valet speed out of a space and run over a cone and drag it along the parking lot. I’d be very nervous to hand my keys over after witnessing that.
When we go out we expect to feel special and the experience was really lacking at this restaurant. Luckily the food held up very well and respect goes to the chef. Saranello’s really needs to work on their service and the hostess’ seating skills and the dining experience would be much better.

Unfortunately I can’t give Saranello’s more than 3 stars because the dish I ordered was really not good. However, their ambiance really brought it up to me because it’s a really fun, fancy place to go. I went here for a birthday with my friends, and it was fun to get dressed up and go to a fancy Italian restaurant. Saranello’s is more of a modern take instead of that old rustic Italian feel which I really like. Also, their bathrooms are really cool because you have to walk up stairs that are lined on both sides with floor to ceiling wine racks.
The dish that I ate was parmesean crusted scallops with pea risotto, which I don’t think is on the menu anymore luckily. The risotto was good, but I thought baking sharp parmesean flavors onto a delicate scallop didn’t complement the seafood at all. Also, my scallops were incredibly undercooked, which, if you’ve ever had undercooked scallops, is not tasty at all. It’s very gummy and they don’t have that perfect smooth, flakey feel to them. Even though my food was bad, I’d be willing to give it another shot.

If I could go lower than NO stars I would! To start, the staff at the hostess desk was very rude. Told us we had to wait for them to get table ready, even with a reservation. Usually not a biggy, but the restaurant had 2 other people in it!!! Then she sat on her phone.
Horrible service, very over salted food, kitchen very unorganized.
Would NEVER recommend

When I’m not in the typical mood for craft beer then I’m probably in a mood for vino which is why I’ve been coming to Saranello’s (which is also close to work so there’s that as well). Although Saranello’s does offer craft beers, both on tap and in bottles, their wine section is more extensive. There’s plenty of red Italian wines and several more from California — basically they got the goods.
Now, when I’ve gone to Saranello’s both times I’ve only had the wine and the complementary bread so I can’t comment on the quality of the food, but believe me it all looks and smells wonderful! Perhaps next time my fiancé and I can order some calamari or lasagna — both of which look mouth-​watering. However if you’d like to just drink and majorly free load (did I say that?) off of the bread at the bar then go right ahead. The bread, olive oil and parmesan are so yummy and if you ask nicely they’ll bring you more bread after you stuff the first round down.
I wish I had more to tell you about the food, but I don’t think you’d be disappointed if you wandered in here. You’ll definitely like the ambience, though, as it will feel comfy and intimate with its dim lighting.

Our order:
1. Grilled Calamari $ 11.95 — great
2. Zuppa Di Pesce shrimp, salmon, calamari, mussles, spicy tomato broth, linguine –huge plate of noodles with very little seafood
3. Short ribs of beef — the beef was chewy
4. grilled russhing water trout– great, loved it
The noise level was very high.
Service was great

I did not realize that Saranello’s was a LEYE restaurant. I came here with my mom to celebrate her birthday before going to a show at Ravinia. We were in a bit of a rush and realized that service here was a bit slow. But, it was well worth the wait. The pasta is made from scratch and fresh here. We started with a fried calamari appetizer and no shed on bread and oil. We were both very pleased with our pasta dish as well. The portions are large here, so we had leftovers to bring home as well. The chopped salad was a bit disappointing (but large) it came with no dressing in it and it took quite a while for us to get dressing for it. They brought out a birthday dessert which was a very rich chocolate dish that we couldn’t finish between the two of us! They are connected to a hotel and do not have their own bathroom, so you have to walk through the hotel quite a while in order to find the restroom.

Went here for breakfast after staying at the Westin Hotel. Bad service, overpriced and food that was luke warm and mediocre. You would be better off going to an IHOP or Denny’s.
The décor of the place was phenomenal for a restaurant in the suburbs. This is the only reason for 2 stars. You should gain reputation by excellent food though, right?

large modern and space. creative takes on Italian classics.
Saranello’s based along that famous restaurant row of Wheeling is a heavy hitter in that lineup. They know what they are doing and have really impressed me each time I go there. I’m a local and for Italian Saranello’s is my choice.
The happy hour specials on food are from 4−6pm and only available in the bar area which does have standard tables and booths. Fresh bread is brought out to the table upon seating, its classic Italian bread with a nice salty crust and a chewy goodness at the center. drizzle some fine olive oil and parmesan cheese, and I’m happy even before my dishes come out.
We orders the mussels, mushroom caps, and the calamari giardinera. Mushroom caps were somewhat standard and what I expected nothing too much to write home about — its mushroom haha. Good texture.
Calamari was not as good this time as the first two times I had it it was really flavorful and spicy. This time it seemed like it was not incorporated well. Fried calamari and giardinera on the side almost. So I thought it needed some improvement as I know how great it could taste.
Winner this time was the zuppa di mussels. I thought it was a good broth, but they should have just squeeze lemon juice in it and left the lemon out of the dish. I never like a warm lemon accompaniment. Two pieces thick italian bread toast were provided. I slurped and slurped the dish and had a great time doing so. I think a little more parsley would have made it fantastic.
I think Saranellos is such a great spot for larger group meals since they have many options for semi-​private and private dining.
Great time as usual at my local Italian favorite that does not go cheesy like the chainy types out there.

We had a wonderful meal here. There were three of us dining for dinner and we had a reservation. For dining on a Thursday night it was needed because the place was pretty full. We sat down immediatly and they brought great bread and olive oil with a load of parmesan cheese. I added the crushed red peppers to the cheese and oil, it’s a great concoction. We all had pasta dishes. Fettucini with Italian sausage, peas, spinach and truffle cream sauce was great. I would have never ordered Calarami Linguini with squid ink pasta but it too was great. It made me want my own order. The Pappardelle with wild mushrooms in a marcella sauce was also a hit at our table as was the side order of meatballs.
For me it’s as good as it gets so the five stars for the dinner anyway. We had great service and the large menu has some very good values. Burgers, pizza, salads, seafood, steaks and chicken dishes along with a happy hour from three to six. They have a large bar area with high tops. Carryout and valet parking. Family style serving for parties of four minimum. They cover breakfast, lunch and dinner. After all it’s in the Westin Hotel.

Love this place. We’re regulars. I just want to highlight a few things here.
Their brunch is fantastic. I love the patio and their olive oil is the best I have ever had. EVER. I could come here for the bread and olive oil. But if that’s all we ate, we’d be missing out.
I love the grilled calamari and the fettuccini. It’s hard not to order it every time. Our friends love the pork chop and said it was the best they’ve ever had (which means a lot, because they’re big foodies).
The atmosphere is great. It’s a jem in the area. I love the lighting :) pictures always come out great. It’s also great for people watching.

I have been here for buffet brunch and a weekday dinner.
The brunch had a lot of variety, more «gourmet», yummy mimosas and awesome bloody marys.
For dinner we sat in the private area hidden by a curtain. Great space to have lots of family or friends and to be away from the restaurant noise.
We ordered a few appetizers including the sausage, kale salad, calamari, and a couple more that I do not remember any more. All the appetizers came out quickly and were delicious.
It took a long time for the waiters to take our main entrée orders, and by the time our food came out after the appetizers it was at least an hour wait after we placed our order. It’s good that the whole family was just socializing, if it were a calmer event people would have gotten very frustrated waiting for over an hour for their entrees. I should point out this was a week day and the restaurant was not extremely busy.
The main entrees are huge, so make sure to split a dish with someone. We tried steak, and that was perfectly medium cooked. I had a taste of the chicken parm and that was very tender and not to saucy (which I like).
Overall it was a good experience. Good food. Nice private area. Okay service. I’d come back for a celebration.