Caffe Italia

I used to go to the gym across this place and would always see this café. It seemed friendly from afar so decided to go with my brother and cousin. The server didn’t greet us; made us feel unwelcome. After receiving a menu, we waited about 20 minutes to order. My brother and cousin disliked this and decided they did not want to order food but only coffee. I ordered a panini with fries; they were good. The coffee was nothing special. When we finished, the server was nowhere to be found so we waited another 20 minutes or so. Good: panini and fries, the decoration. Bad: service, greeting, prices are pricey, the waiting to be attended is long

Was craving some gelato and decided to walk on down. The gelato was definitely on the pricier side I think I paid like $ 4-​$ 5 for a scoop… Kind of ridiculous. Pretty decent gelato, but not the best I’ve had.

Came here on a friends recommendation, good Italian neighborhood place with good pizza, well that is what we heard. We visited on Saturday 2÷28÷15 around 1:30pm. There were 2 other people in restaurant, surprising with the recommendation I had received. The windows of the restaurant which span the entire of the building were covered in muddy dirt and snow, from what looked like a snow plow coming by and splashing the windows. There was no music playing, there was a very loud soccer game on 1 of the 5 TVs that were on. The tables, bar, tile work, gelato display case, espresso machine all looked very nice, new you could see into the kitchen right to the pizza oven.
There was a Specials board that said that the soup of the day was Spinach Gnocci? When our server came by and my friend inquired about the soup of the day. She looked over at the board and said, «Whoa, that’s weird, that is my handwriting from November.» Its almost MARCH! She said the soup now was chicken noodle egg drop. Huh? Despite that, he ordered a cup. I ordered a Caesar Salad. We also had a Sprite (which was poured out of a 2 liter bottle behind the bar) and a Iced Tea (didn’t see it but it tasted like Arizona Green Tea).
The salad came out and it was not a Caesar Salad. It was a bowl filled with mixed greens and romaine tossed in a balsamic «looking» dressing. No other veggies, just greens. Not sure this salad was even on the menu. Fortunately it tasted like nail polish remover! Seriously, I had my friend taste it and he agreed. Did she ask me if I liked it? NO, she didn’t even ask me if there was something wrong with it? My friends soup, not he other hand, was exactly what he ordered, egg drop chicken noodle soup with spinach. Bland, no flavor and the chicken you could bounce on the table like a basketball. It was so rubbery and cubed that is had to have been some frozen soup mix. Not an Italian’s grandmothers recipe for sure.
Then we ordered our pizzas, a Florentina (spinach and 3 cheeses) and a Funghi (sausage and mushroom). The pizzas took about 30 minutes. Which surprised me being that we were the only ones in the restaurant eating. The other couple were just having coffee and a gelato-​shake. Every wood-​fire oven, being that is what it said on the menu, takes about 10 – 12 minutes to cook, thats the novelty. The pizza came out and the entire area around the crust was burned. When I grabbed a slice and picked it up, the slice fell and all the ingredients with it onto the plate. I piled everything back on and bit into the mound of «pizza» and realized that the underneath of the pizza was not cooked. It was doughy. I looked at the bottom of the pizza and it wasn’t even brown. Was this pizza broiled? Or baked?
Well we didn’t finish the pizza, never got asked if there was something wrong with our food but she did ask it we wanted boxes? Hmm. My friend, who recommend the place, said he would take care of the bill, he felt bad. No biggie. He didn’t own the place. So I went to use the restroom to wash up… Oh yes, this one got me. The automatic paper towel dispenser is right above the urinal. Huh? So as I walk up to the urinal a towel dispensed. Well this towel dispenser was set to roll out the maximum amount of paper. Yup, right into the urinal, were I am… Yea you got the picture.
As I come out from the restroom, my friend is holding his credit card in his had with a bewildered look on his face. I ask, «what’s up?» He tells me that the computers were down so they can’t run a credit card. So I asked the server if they had a manual one (knuckle buster). She said no, «He is gonna want cash.» She told us that there was no ATM, but there was a bank 2 blocks down the road. So with the wind out of his sales, and about to crack, my friend leaves and starts walking down the street. What I didn’t know, is that he also order two small gelato’s for us, probably to make up for his bad recommendation. So as he was out in the cold walking to the bank, that was not his bank, so he had to pay a $ 4.00 ATM fee, I was about to enjoy my chocolate gelato…
I have never had freezer burned gelato. Gelato with ice crystals surrounding it. So frozen that our server that was scooping it, couldn’t even get it out of the pan. Even though the menu said, made daily. When my friend returned with cash, he walks over to the counter and lays down the money. He looked into the kitchen and noticed the owner working on the line. The one she had pointed too saying, «he is gonna want cash.» The same guy that made my nail polish salad, which was not what I ordered, dished out the soup, and made the pizzas and served them to us in that their raw and not appealing state. My friend also noticed that the really cool pizza oven, was turned off, strange because the menu said it was a wood fire oven and there was no wood inside, just a gas oven, not even turned on. No wonder our pizzas were not cooked all the way. He had the oven turned off to save money.

We had the WORST experience at Caffe Italia that we’ve ever had in a restaurant. We are never coming back and could not recommend this place in any way. Intending to celebrate a birthday, we recently made a reservation for a large party on a Saturday night, calling early in the day to make sure they could accommodate us. When we arrived, we discovered they’d gotten the reservation time wrong & had sent home their entire staff. They blamed us for it, then lied to us about being able to accommodate us anyway. The owner/​manager assured us he could still accommodate us & could cook all the orders by himself. He also promised to call back staff (who never actually showed up) in order to help him. They ended up only taking orders for 4 of us and NEVER returned to take the rest! When I tried to get the owner’s attention to ask what was going on, he wouldn’t speak to me, completely ignoring us. I then told him that since it was now clear he wasn’t able to accommodate us as he’d promised, and refused to so much as explain to us why, we were going to leave. Then he responded that he was about to serve the orders he’d managed to cook (individual pizzas). They were never served, and the only thing they managed to get on the table were 2 bottles of wine (which we’d had to pour ourselves), for which he handed us a check for $ 88! These people are desperate, pathetic, rude liars whose complete ignorance of customer service will certainly be their ultimate undoing.

What a HORRIBLE place… worst dining experience ever!
I called here early in the day one December Saturday to make certain this often empty place (for a reason) would be able to accomodate a large group at 8:30 pm following a show we were doing. We were bringing them more business than they had experienced in a month. My tip off should have been the owner’s phone manners – so slovenly I wasn’t sure I had called a restaurant. He said he could handle us and I told him we would be by at about 8:30.
When we arrived, we were instantly made to feel unwelcome. The owner and one other guy, later identified as the baker, tried to set all 12 of us up and he told us that we had said we would shop up at 7 PM and when we didn’t, HE HAD SENT HIS SERVERS HOME! Clearly he paid no attention to my call earlier. We were doing a show at 7 PM and I would never and did not say we would be by at 7:00. So after an extended period of time the owner takes the order of 3 of our party while the rest of us sit and wait for service. We ordered wine and frequently had to check on what was taking so long to get the others in our party ordered. They were clearly annoyed with us over THEIR error and we were shocked when the owner brought food out for three of our party before the other nine had even ordered! Plus, the food they brought out was supposed to be warm, but it was COLD! And when we added that to our list of complaints (cold calamari) the owner told us her had just taken it out of the oven, how could it be cold? And then he asked if we were there to MAKE TROUBLE??? At this point, made to feel like intruders and getting service no one should have to put up with, we asked for a bill and that the sandwich one of our party had ordered be wrapped… we wanted to leave. Now the owner starts arguing with us.“I am making the food,” he said… unlikely since ten of us havent even ordered… and when we got the bill, the prices we were charged were higher than stated on the menu… plus, the price of a bottle of wine is listed NOWHERE in the building so they can pretty much charge anything they wish. We were horrified by the bill and said we would pay what the menu stated and the owner continued to argue. As we left, HE FOLLOWED US ONTO THE STREET and came this close to bumping a woman in our party who was there to celebrate a birthday, claiming he would write our license plate number down and notify police! A member of our party wanted to pay with her credit card but the owner said his «credit card machine was broken»…which wasn’t our fault and they never told us they were not accepting credit. They never told us much of anything.
This place is a mess. The owner is a bully and has no business sense and made what could have been a nice evening into a complete mess. «The customer is always right» means NOTHING here and with so many good restaurants in this area (Trattoria Peppino in Elmwood Park is where we ended up and they were OUTSTANDING) Café Italia is not going to be in business much longer with the current ownership .And deservedly so. Stay away!

Lovely place and décor, I went on a weekend for lunch and it wasn’t crowded so for me that was a plus. I had their chicken panini and it took a while but it was worth the wait! I order a capucino which was also very tasty I had to order a second round. They have a variety of gelato for desert as well. I gave them 3 stars because the service was a bit slow and they only accepted cash. Other than those 2 things I will definitely go back and try the rest of their menu.

I was so excited to try this place, as I pass it everyday, and it looks so inviting: windows open to the street in beautiful summer weather, an Italian café with a restaurant and bar and presumably good coffee to boot.
We went on a Saturday night at about 8:30pm (open until 10pm, according to the sign.) Nobody was in the restaurant except a couple of kids at a table (guessing they were an employees kids.) Needless to say, it was a little strange on a weekend. But whatever, maybe they cater more to lunch crowds.
Since it is an open kitchen concept, you can see through to the kitchen. There was a chef there, but no servers or bartender. He looked at us twice, but rolled his eyes and turned back around. Between the two of them (more blame on the adult) you would think they would know to flag a server in the back.
We discussed, perhaps, getting the attention of someone in the back ourselves, but after 10 minutes, decided that there were too many unwelcoming signs that told us to run, and not look back. I don’t really understand why they are open that late on a weekend night if they 1) don’t have the business to support, and 2) don’t want to support any business. Seeing other Unilocal reviews made me realize that we dodged a bullet. So disappointing, as this could be a really fantastic neighborhood joint.

The owner served me a gelato in a stale cone and then tried to charge me double. No customers at the restaurant but wouldn’t let me sit at a table, told me because I had just his stale gelato I needed to sit at the bar. Better gelato at mcdonalds. Owner a complete a… hoe

We went here for lunch. The two of us split a pizza and it was delicious! It was seriously a perfectly made pizza. Great prices and a decent selection of food. Their dessert menu looked fun and had a good variety. We got coffee after and it was fresh roasted and had a strong authentic flavor.
Service was average, our waitress was attentive. We were one of three tables so it wasn’t busy. The owner came by and said hi which is always impressive.
We will definitely be back.

I am wondering if this is under new management. I really want to love this place. but Food is so different not fresh tasting ingredients like before. The margarita pizza was my favorite with crispy crust, fresh mozzarella tomato and basil. It’s just a reg greasy pizza .what happened?
Please consider your recipes… Great location Beautiful Restaurant. Food needs to be reevaluated. And please bring back real Brick Oven Style Margarita pizza with fresh ingredients!!!

My friends and I came here after bowling at Mont Clare Lanes and we came with an appetite. The owner suggested some of his favorite pizzas and we ordered a couple which were so delicious! I definitely recommend you stop by and check out their food. The staff is super friendly and the food is so fresh and homemade!

Just good coffee but overpriced food with micro-​portions. The staff is not very friendly and stare a lot. Not a great place to eat or buy pizza but not bad for a coffee other than those horrible starbucks and dunkin donut corporate places with the worst customers in the world blocking up the line. This place is better and faster for a drink. Way better than standing behind some starbucks regular telling the staff he wants his coffee at exactly 150 degrees and a shot of this or that in it.
Drink and hit the road.

This place has gone downhill fast. This used to be a weekend favorite, but the service is awful and I get better cappucino at home. The waitress with the wrist tattoo is really classy and acts like you’re interrupting her night. The coffee was frothless and they made my girlfriends gelato look like a science project gone bad.
I’m giving it three stars because the pizza is outstanding and I like the atmosphere here.
That being said, I’ll still go here.

This is my favorite neighborhood pizza place. Their crust is superior to any pizza in the Elmwood Park/​Montclare area (i.e., NOT cracker crust). Also, they cut pizza like it should be cut — pie cut, NOT party cut. I’ve tried nearly all of the specialty pies, and you really can’t go wrong with any of the toppings.
The Vegetali Grigliati is my favorite starter; you get a ton of veggies for 8 bucks.
The Tavola Mista is a great antipasto; if you’re looking for a light lunch for two, paired with some house bread, this is it.
Don’t forget to save room for some delicious gelato or house-​roasted coffee. I buy their coffee in store or at Caputo’s every couple of weeks to brew at home.
I’m proud to support this local business; they do the ‘casual dining pizzeria’ thing right. Elmwood Park needs more places like this.
Now, for the downside: The service. Servers aren’t very attentive or prompt, ever. Don’t expect to feel welcomed or valued as a customer. If you can get past that, an app, a pie and a gelato at this place are worth it.

Really cute place in the midst of a strangely ugly part of town. During beautiful days they can open up all the windows giving you the feel of being outside. The pizza was excellent. Next time I will try some of the gelato which is apparently a specialty.

We are usually here in the morning to grab some coffee/​espresso/​cappuccino. It’s very good, very delicious and very aromatic!
The ambiance is very modern. You can enjoy your coffee sitting by the window or the outdoor/​sidewalk patio. You can also watch sporting events here.
The service is always great! We especially like the older Italian gentleman/​waiter. :)

Because we had a good experiences in the past and we like to support local business, we came by for a quick family dinner on an unusually slow Friday night. However, the service was pretty bad.
There were only about 2 other tables with people, and still our waitress’s appearances were few and far between. The prosciutto sandwich was decent, but they really skimp on the meat.
We tried coming once before after we bought the Groupon, but they were unexpectedly closed, even though according to the hours posted on their website, they should have been open. This happened to be the last week before the Groupon expired, and we were unable to go again. I tried contacting Caffe Italia via Facebook to see if we could still use the Groupon post expatriation, since they were closed on a day they should have been open, and all they said was I could redeem the Groupon for the value I purchased it for… Kind of a crappy way for a small place to treat customers who live in the neighborhood, but oh well. When we tried to redeem the Groupon for the original value, the waitress said we couldn’t because the manager didn’t renew his contract with them.
Like I said, we try to support local businesses, but between the service and the management’s disorganization and lack of proper customer service, we’ll look for other places to patronize in Galewood/​Montclare.

The food was good, the waitress very nice… ANGELO??? (customer service 101 is needed.) First impression, we were bothering him. He had to get up and seat us (OH SO SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, sir) The dinner was fine, we had a coupon from
IT CLEARLY STATED no expiration. After our waitress embarrassingly said, «the owner will not accept this,» we asked to speak to him. The fine art of conversation fails him. NO NO NO… and to top it off, he heads over to the counter to complain about US wanting to use the coupon with NO expiration date and no restrictions.
Never going back.

This is our 3^rd time dining here… Every time it has gone further and further downhill :-(I will make this review short and not so sweet as currently both myself and my boyfriend seem to be experiencing symptoms of food poisoning!
The service was horribly slow. There was a cold draft that forced (no exaggeration) half the diners to eat in full winter garb. Portion size is laughable –especially in a neighborhood that caters to Italian dining. Cost is truly not worth it -$ 6 for 3 minuscule slivers of bread on the bruschetta. My «homemade lasagna» tasted like Stoufers frozen lasagna (no joke). Martini was terrible. Water and bread were never refilled. Dirty plates were never removed. And the best part of the night was that the OWNER was sitting by the bar drinking with not a care in the world! Just watching his ship go down…

Leave it to snow flurries and a ton of traffic for my coworker to ditch the commute back to the burbs and park us a couple blocks from Caffe Italia. Though I had heard about this spot, it’s a first for me.
I must admit, the décor was more about the roast-​ability of coffee as opposed to chowing down. Still, I was looking forward to being dazzled by yet another Italian port in any snow storm.
Our hostess/​server got us going with drinks right away; we thought she was great. My friend ordered the calamari appetizer and I went with the grilled eggplant. Both sounded pretty good. As we waited, this little place began to fill up. Our «insalata» arrived and to me it reminded me of true tapas portions.
I really enjoyed my eggplant; it had a nice cilantro kick. By the time I looked up to ask how the calamari was … it was gone. Well, okay, I guess he taught classes without a lunch break today?
Our server was on top of everything and we appreciated that. My friend opted out of the salad, but I ordered the Caprese and shared it. It was a little watery, but the tomato and basil were super fresh and they used a halfway decent olive oil.
Although I sort of felt I was dining alone, my colleague perked up after deciding on the tomato and shrimp linguine. Sounded fine, but give me some kick in the hopeful form of the red pepper rapini pasta dish with alio e oli. Both of these little «tapas» entrees were tasty but they ranged in cost from 15 to 18 bucks. No major complaints.
Caffe Italia boasts great café’. Well, they had great café’. Nice.
For a first time, I somehow feel my experience was all over the place. Maybe it had less to do with the food and more to do with my dining companion. Still, no matter the traffic or precipitation, I most likely will try Caffe Italia again and see what happens.