Trattoria Gianni

There were 5 of us that went for dinner for my mother’s 84^th birthday after a play at the Steppenwolf. What a rude beginning we experienced at this restaurant. My mother uses a walker to get around. When we came in to the restaurant the entrance was a little tight so my mother grabbed on to the wall on the right to keep her balance. There was a poinsettia plant on the ledge of this wall and the plant fell to the ground and broke. The host got rather disgusted and immediately had a worker clean up the plant and bring out another one to put in it’s place. I said «This must happen pretty often since you were so quick to put out a replacement plant». His response was «people just don’t look». He said it loud enough for all of us to hear. My mother was appalled at his comment and I don’t blame her. First of all this was a stupid place for a plant. As we dined we sat close to the front door and watched a lot of close calls where the plant almost got knocked over just by someones shoulder brushing up against this shoulder high ledge. Needless to say we had hoped for another plant to get knocked down while we dined. The fact that this host (probably the manager and maybe even the owner) said what he said tells me this has certainly happened on more than one occasion. As far as the food, it was OK. 2 of us got the gnocchi, and it would have been good had it been hot. That beginning pretty much ruined our experience and we will not go back.

We dined here in the summer after seeing a play at the Steppenwolf. The food was excellent as was the service. We liked it enough that I was intending to go there again after our most recent play. Made reservations, had them confirmed, planned our day around it ending with the play and a late dinner.
Got a call that evening telling me my reservation was for too late and they were going to close early that night, and that they had «other things to do tonight». I’m not sure what that meant, but they were superficially apologetic and not really interested in anything other than getting off the phone.
A shame, our first experience was so good I’d hoped to make it a regular thing, but this really soured me on the place. I get that things can change, but the manner in which they went about this was pretty lousy. Main recommendation is don’t count on a reservation being honored, even if it’s confirmed.
I don’t think we’ll be back.

Food was very disappointing. I had zuppe de pesche. I have had this many times at various restaurants which were head and shoulders above this entrée. Very thin broth. There were popcorn shrimp nothing larger. There was no taste at all with the entire portion. And it certainly wasn’t cheap. Four patrons, $ 250 including tip. Better they should stick to basic pastas which are cheaper and better.

Hole in the wall /​family style place that serves great Italian food. Try not to go on a theater night before 7:30pm. This place is slammed! Literally afterwards it dies down. Pretty much had the place to ourselves.
Had the ravioli and gnocchi. The restaurant lets to do half and half portions too!

We hosted our rehearsal dinner here in late October. From my first contact with them, the service at Gianni’s was fantastic! I worked directly with the owner and was able to adapt their event menu to fit my budget and the dietary needs of the guests. They even let me tweak a vegetarian option from the menu for a particularly picky vegetarian in my family. We were able to bring in our own flower centerpieces and dessert the morning of so we didn’t have to worry about bringing it with us that night.
The night of the dinner everything went perfectly! The food was delicious and each course was served promptly, plated beautifully, and there was more than enough to go around the tables (family style service). Particularly tasty were the arancini and the rigatoni nocerini. The wine we selected was also wonderful and the waiters made sure no glasses were ever empty.
The one minor hiccup was a mix up in the wine selections (my mistake to begin with) but I was able to talk to Gianni right away and it was fixed instantly. Truly wonderful service!
Trattoria Gianni gave us a wonderful experience for our rehearsal dinner; a night with family and friends we will never forget! We will absolutely be back to this neighborhood treasure!

I went here for a friend’s birthday party. She loves Italian food and had been wanting to check this place out for awhile. When you walk in, you instantly get the feeling you are in a little café in Italy. Lights are strung outside which gives off an elegant, «starry night» ambiance. However, since it was so hot we opted to sit inside, which was still very nice. The tables are a bit close together, but it is very charming.
The person who greeted us was very nice and had a huge smile on his face. He definitely portrays the «good time Italian» very well and you instantly feel like you are being welcomed into his home for a good meal. However, the welcome vibe begins to fade when the sour faced waiter comes to take your drink order. He was very rude. One of my friends was coughing because her wine went down the wrong pipe (I’ve never had this happen to me, but I can only imagine how awful it feels). He rudely said «Excuse me, I asked for your drink order.» So sorry her coughing was an incontinence to you. One of my friend’s is a picky eater and when he ordered the waiter said «That’s what you are getting?» Good job making your customers feel self-​conscious. If you don’t want people to order to food, maybe you should talk to owner about getting if off the menu. Geez!
The food was great, at least mine was. Not everyone at the party was particularly happy with their food, but I didn’t try it and after our awful waiter they were kind of down on the place so I’m not sure how accurate their taste buds were being. The calamari was crisp and delicious. I got the Linguine Portofino. It has scallops, shrimp, with cherry tomatoes, and olive oil and garlic. There was a ton of flavor and I didn’t leave any to take home with me. It was so good. We didn’t get dessert, because we had cake waiting back at her apartment, but I’m definitely interested in trying it.
I will most likely come back to see if I get a better waiter. He was the only damper on the night and since the person who greeted us was so welcoming, I know they have potential for great service. Maybe at the next friend’s birthday.

First of all, we were there on a Saturday just before a couple of plays were to start at the theater (we had seen ours earlier and therefore were in no hurry). The place was crazy busy, noisy, with all tables filled. Obviously, everyone had come at the same time and were going to leave at the same time to go their plays. So I will give the place a little slack for situation like that which is probably the hardest thing for a restaurant to deal with.
We got there a half hour before our reservation and sat at the bar and had a cocktail. It was obvious the bartender was new as he had to ready the cocktails specials card to know what went in to our cocktails (not a good sign). He did pre-​chill our martini glasses which is good technique. The drinks were ok but nothing special. Frankly, they were the same price as Boca’s just down the street and far inferior to Boca’s. We wished we had gone to Boca’s for a cocktail instead. (We actually did go down for one after we left Trattoria Gianni’s.)
The food was just average, mine maybe a little below average. I had a risotto special. It really had no resemblance to a real risotto, no creaminess, no richness or parmesan flavor. I really think it was just boiled and drained risotto rice mixed some chicken and rapini and a thin broth «sauce». And it was not inexpensive. My wife said her sautéed chicken dish was ok, nothing special though, and it was over $ 20. I will say our server was good, especially for the situation.
Bottom line: for the price, quality and ambiance, there are better places to spend your money on nearby. Won’t be back.

Great Italian food! The bruschetta and bolognese was phenomenal, will definitely come back again soon.

Trattoria Gianni is perhaps not as contemporary as its nearby neighbours, but it is every bit its equal. It is quintessentially and authentically Italian, and the food is consistently solid. The prices are reasonable considering the area, quality and portion, and the service is good (although at times it reminded me a bit too much of Italy).
Gianni’s derives its strength not from frenetic innovation, but the self-​assuredness that comes from knowing your food is good, always has been and always will be. I’ve fallen off of reviewing but I think the 3.5 stars that this restaurant has on Unilocal is a bit unfair. Perhaps Chicagoans are jaded, or looking for the new, and at times I am as well. But Gianni’s will be there, and does exactly what Italian comfort food should.

OK, so I wondered why I haven’t been here in years and then when I went there the other night, it all came back to me. The place itself is lovely. The waiter, lovely. I ordered their special. Veal limone. Veal limone I say! I’ve had it a million times at a million different restaurants some good, some bad, but this one was actually hilarious. For 20 some dollars, I received 3 medallions of veal. not bad in flavor except they were each an inch wide and ¹⁄₈ of an inch thick. NOT KIDDING. I thought I made a mistake and ordered half of an appetizer, but nope… it was the dinner the dinner special that is. It actually made us laugh out loud and since the wine was so good, I didn’t really care to waste my breath asking if it was a joke. Frankly, if you are going to serve that to someone please put it on a child’s menu. It was really, really insulting and so insulting that I didn’t even feel that I owed it to the owner to complain. What an idiot if that’s what he’s serving to his customers. Thank god they are across from Steppenwolf because on nights that there isn’t a show I guarantee you the place is empty. Shame on you, Trattoria Gianni for offering a dish you have no clue how to serve. Needless to say, I went home hungry and about $ 125 in the hole. BUMMER. I so wanted this place to be better than it used to be. Fail.