Riccardo Osteria - Chicago

So good! Pastas were divine and service was friendly

I had reservations with my girlfriend on a Saturday night at 8:00. When we walked in at 5 till, the place was absolutely packed. We were greeted by a very friendly hostess that informed us our table was not quite ready, and suggested we wait at the bar. I typically wouldn’t have minded the 15 minute wait but the bar was shoulder to shoulder with one bartender working. The dining area and bar were extremely close to another. I felt bad for the patrons that were eating their dinner surrounded by the unrestrained costumers at the bar. Luckily me and my girlfriend were seated closer to the back where we remained undisturbed by the crowded bar that started to dwindle as the night passed. The food was spectacular and our waitress suggested a great Asiago stuffed gnocchi. Overall we had a great dining experience and the food was fantastic.

We had a 6:30 reservation and were not seated until after 7. No offer to accomodate drinks at bar or anything else. When seated we were told there was a large party coming in and we had to put our orders in by a certain time. We were told our order had be submitted all at once as oppossed to apps first and later entrees. Really shocking ownership could do this on a Saturday night. Will not come back here.

We had an excellent dinner at Riccardo Osteria. The veal parmigiana might be the best I have ever had. Service was excellent as well.

We showed up at 5:15 for a 5:30 reservation on a sat night. Restaurant was empty so they sat us and proceeded to rush us through the meal so they could turn the table. We asked our server for a few minutes between our salad and dinner. She came back and told us that the manager told her they had a busy night and we couldn’t tie up a table then they promptly delivered our dinner which had been sitting under a heat lamp. This was 30 mins after we were seated and 15 mins after our original reservation time. The food was average at best. I would describe as above average bar food. The experience was rushed and best described as eating in a busy bar with people standing by our table by the time we left 1 hour after being seated. No thanks. We won’t be back.