Best Contemporary Italian Restaurants in Chicago

The only part that wasn't great was being seated at one of the two tables directly across from the entrance on a very cold night. Everything was perfect other than that 1 small thing.

Everything was fantastic about our experience! We loved Ken and meeting the two owners. We will be back!

It was Valentines Day and they ran a tight ship!! We were sat right by the kitchen door upstairs and it did continuously slam against the wall inches from my date and had her on edge the whole night. Other than that, service, food and ambiance were perfect for a romantic date!!

So glad I was finally able to get in. We had an 8:45 reservation but they were able to seat us at 7:30 because of some no shows (snow storm, lucky us!). I was a fan of when they were slinging pizzas out of Pizza, Fried Chicken, Ice Cream in Bridgeport and I’m glad they have a storefront now, it’s still my favorite tavern style pizza in Chicago. It has a true cracker crust, one that no one else in Chicago has and it makes such a difference!

Our experience at Mano A Mano was fantastic! We went right as they opened on a weeknight and it felt so intimate. I was really smitten with the dim lighting and all of the furnishings--really beautiful space. Our server was sweet and had a very contagious energy, and everyone we spoke to was amicable and warm! The happy hour deal is the value play, for sure--the pizza you get when you order a bottle of wine is the best in the area (and there's TONS of great pizza a stone's throw away). It's chewy without being tough, the salt level of the cheeses was perfect, and the crust was perfectly crispy on the bottom. We also ordered two entrees and while everything tasted AMAZING (the bone marrow and short rib agnolotti were unique and perfectly al dente), we're big eaters, so we felt like the portions were a little small for entree prices. We were grateful that we'd eaten the pizza before our entrees! The tiramisu was fluffy and creamy, and the gelato we sampled for our birthday treat was delicious and custardy. The meal was very leisurely paced (in a good way) where I never felt rushed with too many plates on the table. We didn't have a single bad bite of food here, and we'll come back to take advantage of that happy hour deal again. Thanks for a memorable experience!