Restaurant Review – Italian Village

This week took me to Chicago’s oldest Italian restaurant! Italian Village opened in Chicago in 1927, boasting the most comprehensive Italian menu in the city. Alfredo Capitanini designed the restaurant to give guests a tour of Italy with different themes throughout the restaurant, as well as dishes to match the regions represented. Located at 71 W. Monroe, the restaurant is huge, with a large number of tables. We were seated in the cutest little booth, tucked away in its own private section. The menu is huge- there are so many things to choose from! After a lot of back and forth, I finally decided on the Grilled Chicken Salad: a bed of mixed greens topped with grilled chicken breast, red onions, oranges, apples, crumbled bleu cheese, and pine nuts mixed in a balsamic vinaigrette. This was absolutely delicious! The veggies were fresh and crunchy and I loved the addition of the oranges and apples- it was surprising and very refreshing. The chicken was cooked perfectly as well. One of my friends ordered the Chicken Parmigiana: breaded chicken breast baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, served over mostaccioli. Man oh man did I have food envy after tasting this! The chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I have never had mostaccioli before and it was delicious as well!

Italian Village has three restaurants at its Monroe location: The Village, Vivere, and La Cantina. The Village is open 7 days a week: Mondays through Thursdays from 11 am to midnight, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 am to 1 am, and Sundays from 12 pm to 11 pm. Vivere is open for lunch weekdays from 11:30 am to 2 pm and for dinner Mondays through Saturdays beginning at 5 pm. La Cantina is open for dinner Tuesdays through Thursdays starting at 5 pm and Fridays and Saturdays starting at 4:30 pm. Find more information and make your reservations here.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO