The 10 best Italian restaurants in Chicago

This guide ranks the 10 best Italian restaurants in Chicago for a sit-down meal, from West Loop pasta kitchens to red-sauce dining rooms that opened before World War II. The list is written for locals planning a birthday dinner and for anyone still arguing about Taylor Street. Every pick sits inside Chicago city limits, spread across nine neighborhoods from Uptown to Little Italy.

The list favors kitchens that make their own pasta and restaurants with staying power, at a wide spread of prices. Roman-style pizzas in Uptown start at $19, and most pastas on these menus cost $20 to $35, while a 42-ounce bistecca at the Tuscan room on Wacker Drive runs $290. Read the fine print, too: several restaurants add a surcharge of 3% to 4% to every check, and Daisies adds a 25% service charge in place of a tip.

How we chose

This list is ranked. Cooking came first: how consistently each kitchen has drawn praise from independent outlets such as The Infatuation, Time Out Chicago and the Michelin Guide, across more than one season. Named awards with a year attached came next, from James Beard honors to Michelin Bib Gourmands, and longevity broke close calls. That puts the chef-driven kitchens in the top seven and three old-school rooms, each open at least 36 years, in the last three spots, where family history and a dependable red sauce count for a lot. Chains and counter-service shops were left out.

Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.

Monteverde

Pasta gets made in plain view at Monteverde, where cooks at the pastificio behind the bar roll, cut and hang sheets through the day. Chef Sarah Grueneberg opened the West Loop restaurant in November 2015 with partner Meg Sahs, and the cooking has held up for a decade. Order the cacio whey pepe, fusilloni with pecorino and lemon ricotta whey ($27), and the fusilli con ragù alla Napoletana with sausage polpettine ($28). Monteverde is The Infatuation’s favorite Italian restaurant in the city, and Time Out Chicago ranked the restaurant first among 40 Italian picks, which is why Monteverde leads here. Dinner books up far ahead, so try lunch or a first-come seat at the bar.

Hours: Tue-Thu 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; closed Sun-Mon.

Address: 1020 W Madison St, Chicago, IL 60607

Why they made the list

• Grueneberg won the James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef: Great Lakes in 2017.
• Monteverde was named Restaurant of the Year at the 2018 Jean Banchet Awards.
• Executive chef Bailey Sullivan competed on Season 22 of Top Chef.
• A 4% surcharge goes on every check, and staff will remove the charge if you ask.

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Daisies

Farm vegetables drive the pasta list at Daisies, the Logan Square restaurant Joe Frillman opened in 2017 and moved to a bigger space on Milwaukee Avenue in March 2023. His brother Tim supplies produce from a farm in Prairie View, so the menu turns with the season. The current dinner menu has pappardelle with mushroom ragù ($21), stracci with lamb sugo ($25) and cavatelli with Italian sausage, kale and white beans ($22). Start with the onion dip and house-made ruffles ($11). Michelin recognition and deeply personal cooking at mid-range prices put Daisies second. The 25% service charge replaces the tip, so no extra is expected.

Hours: Café daily 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner Tue-Thu and Sun 5 to 10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 5 to 11 p.m.

Address: 2375 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

Why they made the list

• The 2025 Michelin Guide gave Daisies both a Bib Gourmand and a Green Star for sustainability.
• Frillman and pastry chef Leigh Omilinsky were both 2025 James Beard Award semifinalists.
• Kitchen scraps feed the farm’s chickens, and their eggs come back to the restaurant, according to the Michelin Guide.
• A private dining room seats 38 for dinner or 50 for a cocktail reception.

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Tre Dita

Tuscany gets the full treatment at Tre Dita, which chef Evan Funke opened in March 2024 on the second floor of a Lakeshore East hotel tower at 401 E. Wacker Drive. Cooks make pasta daily in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room that diners can see on the way in, and the list runs from pici cacio e pepe ($28) to rigatoncini all’arrabbiata ($29). The name means three fingers, the proper thickness of a bistecca alla Fiorentina, and the 60-day dry-aged, 42-ounce porterhouse costs $290. Serious pasta plus a splurge-level steak and wine program earns third place. Reservations open 14 days ahead, and the bar keeps serving a little later than the dining room.

Hours: Sun-Thu 4 to 9:30 p.m.; Fri-Sat 4 to 10:30 p.m.

Address: 401 E Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601

Why they made the list

• The all-Italian wine list runs past 700 labels, with an emphasis on Tuscany and small producers.
• Funke’s cookbook American Sfoglino won a 2020 James Beard Foundation Award for photography.
• Valet parking is available for diners.
• A 3.5% surcharge is added to every check and can be removed on request.

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Ciccio Mio

Dim lighting and ornate chandeliers set the mood at Ciccio Mio, a small Italian-American dining room on Kinzie Street in River North. Pasta is made in house, and the rolled lasagna Bolognese rotolo ($34.99) is the dish Michelin inspectors single out. Add the spicy rigatoni vodka ($25.99) and the chicken Vesuvio with smashed potatoes ($34.99). A current Michelin Bib Gourmand and strong marks from both The Infatuation and Time Out Chicago put Ciccio Mio fourth, the highest of the red-sauce specialists. Reservations open 21 days out at 9 a.m. for parties of one to six, and lounge seats are kept for walk-ins.

Hours: Sun-Thu 4 to 10:30 p.m.; Fri-Sat 4 to 11 p.m.

Address: 226 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654

Why they made the list

• The Michelin Guide’s current Chicago selection names Ciccio Mio a Bib Gourmand.
• Valet parking runs during dinner from 230 W. Kinzie St.
• The restaurant has no private dining room, so groups larger than six need another plan.
• Focaccia with olives, garlic, fennel pollen and whipped ricotta costs $18.99.

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Munno Pizzeria & Bistro

Chef-owner Adam Weisell grew up in Rome, and Munno Pizzeria & Bistro in Uptown cooks like a Roman neighborhood spot. The oblong Roman-style pizzas come out puffy and charred; the diavola sbagliata with spicy salami, smoked scamorza and spicy Italian honey is $24. Give the house-made pastas equal attention, from pappardelle with slow-braised beef ragù ($25) to potato gnocchi with pork sausage and roasted peppers ($24). Five straight Bib Gourmands and some of the lowest prices on this list land Munno at number five. Each party may bring one bottle of wine for a $30 corkage fee.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 4656 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640

Why they made the list

• The Michelin Guide named Munno a Bib Gourmand every year from 2021 through 2025, according to the restaurant.
• A margherita pizza costs $20, and every pasta on the menu is $23 to $25.
• An adjacent lot on Clark Street is open to diners after 6 p.m. and all day on weekends.
• Parties of seven or more must call or email to reserve, and pre-ordering is strongly recommended.

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Riccardo Trattoria

A Tuscan wood-burning oven anchors the kitchen at Riccardo Trattoria, which chef Riccardo Michi and his wife, Veronica, also a chef, opened on North Clark Street in Lincoln Park in 2006. Michi grew up in a Milan restaurant family, and the menu sticks to northern Italian country cooking. Get the pappardelle Fiorentina with short rib ragù and porcini ($34), then split the 16-ounce veal shank ossobuco over saffron risotto ($54). Twenty years of steady cooking and a spot on both of The Infatuation’s 2026 Italian guides put Riccardo sixth. Dinner starts at 4 p.m. every day, which makes an early table easy to plan.

Hours: Mon-Thu 4 to 9:30 p.m.; Fri-Sat 4 to 10:30 p.m.; Sun 4 to 9 p.m.

Address: 2119 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614

Why they made the list

• The Michelin Guide awarded Riccardo Trattoria a Bib Gourmand in 2011, 2012 and 2013, according to the restaurant.
• Fettuccine alla Bolognese with beef, veal and pork ragù costs $28.
• Michi’s family has run a Tuscan restaurant in Milan since 1943.
• Trippa alla Fiorentina, honeycomb tripe with tomato and parmesan, is $18 for adventurous eaters.

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Osteria Langhe

The food of Piemonte, in Italy’s northwest corner, is the whole focus at Osteria Langhe, which opened on West Armitage Avenue in Logan Square in May 2014. Owner and wine director Aldo Zaninotto keeps the wine list to Piemonte bottles, so expect plenty of Nebbiolo and Barbera. The plin, small hand-pinched agnolotti filled with La Tur cheese and finished with thyme and butter, costs $22, and carne cruda of raw Piedmontese beef is $16. A tight regional menu and a place in the Michelin Guide put the osteria seventh. Go on a Wednesday, when four classic courses cost $55 per person.

Hours: Wed-Sat 5 to 10 p.m.; Sun 5 to 9 p.m.; closed Mon-Tue.

Address: 2824 W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

Why they made the list

• Michelin inspectors recommend the restaurant and single out the tajarin, thin egg noodles with ragù.
• On Thursdays, bottles picked by Zaninotto sell at half price.
• The dining room seats 68, with more seats at the bar and on a seasonal patio.
• A 3.75% administrative fee has been added to every check since July 2026.

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Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap

Joseph DiBuono and his wife, Teresa Tufano, opened Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap in Little Italy in 1930, and the family still runs the tavern from the same building on Vernon Park Place. Joe DiBuono works alongside his daughter Darci, and other relatives pick up shifts waiting tables. The lemon chicken is the signature, with eggplant parmesan, sausage and peppers and the Tufano’s special salad, an antipasto platter sized for sharing. Nearly a century of family ownership and a James Beard honor make Tufano’s the top pick of the old-school tier, at number eight. Bring cash: the tap takes only cash, personal checks or Zelle.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 1073 W Vernon Park Pl, Chicago, IL 60607

Why they made the list

• The James Beard Foundation gave Tufano’s an America’s Classics award in 2008.
• Small groups are seated first come, first served, and the family books tables only for parties of 10 or more.
• The tavern appeared on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
• Teresa Tufano worked in the restaurant until she was 90, according to the family’s history.

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Club Lucky

A 1940s supper-club look and family-style platters have kept Club Lucky going in Bucktown since 1990, when Bobby Paladino and Jim Higgins opened the restaurant in a building that once held a dance hall. The homemade eight-finger cavatelli with marinara ($24.95) and the chicken Vesuvio with roasted garlic and peas ($26.95) are the standbys, and the calamari comes fried, grilled or Calabrese-style. Thirty-six years of the same comfortable formula put Club Lucky ninth. Menu prices are cash prices, and paying by card adds 3%. The Damen Blue Line station is about four blocks away.

Hours: Mon-Thu 5 to 10 p.m.; Fri 4:30 to 11 p.m.; Sat 4 to 11 p.m.; Sun 4 to 9 p.m.; lunch Wed-Fri 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Address: 1824 W Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

Why they made the list

• In February 2026, a pair of regulars left a $4,000 tip on a $140 bill, Block Club Chicago reported.
• The 606 trail runs one block north of the restaurant.
• Reservations are held for 15 minutes, and only complete parties are seated.
• Club Lucky sells a house vodka, at $36 for a one-liter bottle.

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The Village at Italian Village

Four generations of the Capitanini family have run The Village at Italian Village since Alfredo Capitanini, an immigrant from Lucca who started in Chicago as a dishwasher, opened the restaurant on September 20, 1927. The second-floor dining room on West Monroe Street in the Loop has fed theatergoers since the 1930s. Keep the order classic: spaghetti with tomato or meat sauce ($20), the house lasagne ($26) or chicken Vesuvio ($34), which needs 25 to 30 minutes, so order the dish early. Age and family continuity earn a spot, while more ambitious kitchens elsewhere keep the Village at number ten. The room is up a flight of stairs, with no elevator.

Hours: Sun-Thu 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 71 W Monroe St, Chicago, IL 60603

Why they made the list

• The wine list won Wine Spectator’s Grand Award in 1984, according to the family.
• The restaurant’s website calls The Village the oldest Italian restaurant in Chicago.
• Chicken parmigiana with baked mozzarella and mostaccioli costs $29.
• The same family runs a lower-level restaurant and a ground-floor espresso café in the building.

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Also worth knowing

For more red sauce, La Scarola on West Grand Avenue in River West has been filling plates since 1998 under walls lined with photos of well-known guests. The pasta e fagioli ($11.95) and chicken Vesuvio ($25.95) are the orders, and dinner reservations are taken by phone only.

Down on South Oakley Avenue in the Lower West Side’s Heart of Italy enclave, Bruna’s Ristorante has been open since 1933, when “Bella Bruna” Cani started the restaurant. Luciano Silvestri, a Siena native, bought the restaurant in 1981 and still makes the tiramisu ($14), and Bella Bruna’s original roast chicken recipe comes out every Sunday.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best Italian restaurants in Chicago right now?

Monteverde in the West Loop leads this list, followed by Daisies in Logan Square and Tre Dita in Lakeshore East. For red-sauce cooking, Ciccio Mio in River North holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap has served Little Italy since 1930.

Which Italian restaurants in Chicago are the oldest?

The Village at Italian Village in the Loop opened on September 20, 1927, and Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap followed in 1930. Bruna’s Ristorante on South Oakley Avenue dates to 1933, and Club Lucky in Bucktown opened in 1990.

Where can I get a sit-down Italian dinner in Chicago without spending much?

Munno Pizzeria & Bistro in Uptown sells Roman-style pizzas from $19 and house-made pastas for $23 to $25, and each party can bring one bottle of wine for a $30 corkage fee. Club Lucky’s homemade eight-finger cavatelli is $24.95 at the cash price, and Osteria Langhe serves four courses for $55 on Wednesdays.

See a place we missed or a detail that has changed? Send us a correction.