Antico

Delicious food, awesome service and an overall lovely feel to this restaurant!! we sat outside in the "garden" area which was well heated even in the early spring. the menu was broken into antipasti, primi, sec undo and dulce, each course was fabulous especcially the scallop special and the branzini, pastas were also super fresh!

I've been living in wicker park/bucktown for 5+ years now and always seen this place but never actually made it in. Boy, have I been missing out!This is a neighborhood gem with the most friendly and personably wait staff. My friend and I came in on a Tuesday at 6pm and no one was in the restaurant yet so we had no issue getting a seat - which we did in their lovely garden patio area. We both went with the 4 course option where we could get one of anything under each course of the menu (Antipasta, Primi, Secondi, Dolci). My friend and I split all our items and for the appetizer we got their special which was pan seared scallops 10/10 possibly best thing there - perfectly cooked. We also got seasonal special which was a fig caprese which paired well with their house focaccia. For our Primi we split the Brown Butter & Sage Gnocchi and their special that night which was a lasagna in bolognese. Both were well portioned and delicious.For our Secondi we got the Marinated Lamb Loin Chops and the Salmon. The Lamb was great and well seasoned - honestly tasted basically like a steak. The Salmon has a nice crust and also perfectly cooked with a Greek salad type dressing on top super light and refreshing.For dessert we split a chocolate tart and Italian donuts. We were stuffed at that point but still found room for their generous portion sizes. We both were in agreement that the quality of the food and service is very much up there with every other nice Italian spot in Chicago that we were surprised this place isn't packed every night. Truly a hidden gem - very much recommend making this a destination for your next Italian dinner!

Really cute, intimate neighborhood spot. Service was 10/10! The staff was helpful, friendly and extremely attentive. The was really unimpressed by the cocktails, so I'd recommend sticking to the wine. The food was so delicious. I ordered a ribeye and ragu pasta to split with one other person. The ribeye was massive and cooked perfectly to medium rare. Crostini we're delicious. I'll definitely be back!

Went here for out anniversary and didn't disappoint. Beautiful patio. Had the scallops on special, the polenta was delicious. Boyfriend had the short rib with polenta and it was juicy and flavorful. Great wine list and service. We were too full for dessert but saw around and they were amazing. Also good place for family style dinner and you get to try more dishes.

Antico is a prime example of why I rarely go to Italian restaurants. I went with a small birthday party on a very quiet week night; we six were the only patrons.We ordered most of the entrees - they were all pitifully small and flavorless. Chicken & Duck Pate: $15 for an ice cream scoop of pate on a bed of arugula (that's an odd pairing) with 4 "crostini." Low in flavor; the pate turned into liquid within 20 minutes.Risotto: made with basic white rice (not Arborio), not cooked using broth; it was just wet, flavorless rice. $16 for under 200 g of rice.Short Ribs & Polenta: the short ribs were overcooked to the point of being mushy and I'm very certain Adobo seasoning was sprinkled on it right before serving to give it a semblance of flavor. $36; and polenta is one of the cheapest foods in the world (it's just cornmeal).Marinated Lamb over Potatoes Gratin: Lamb was oversalted and tough; very difficult to cut (overcooked). The potatoes gratin were mushy and had no flavor; seemed as though they were quickly boiled together & had cheese dusted on them.Gnocchi: whoever taught Antico how to make gnocchi doesn't know how to make gnocchi. The gnocchi were basically hollow potato puffs; the red sauce was noticeably salty and the brown butter sauce tasted bland.Pappardelle: tiny portion, the pork ragu was pungent and tasted old. The sautéed mushroom serving had good mushrooms but that dish was basically oily pappardelle with mushrooms. $18 for about .4 a lb of pasta. Veal Rib Chop Milanese: not a true Milanese (veal prepared "al Milanese" is always a cutlet, not on the shank like we were served). This chop was not coated with breadcrumbs and lightly pan-fried like the traditional recipe. The Antico veal rib chop was coated in batter and deep-fried. Difficult to cut; tasted like deep fryer oil. $40 for one little veal chop. For dessert we ordered the $12 plate of zeppole/bomoboloni which were 4 shapeless lumps of dough that were deep fried. The "torta di limone" was exactly that: American mass-produced, store bought lemon sheet cake with artificial lemon flavoring & yellow food coloring plus inedible icing.Wines were average quality & overpriced.Most of the non-pasta dishes had copious amounts of arugula on the side to distract from the small portion of cooked food. Antico is billed as a "Northern Italian Restaurant." I'm of Northern Italian descent (Piemonte) and very little on the menu was authentic Italian, let alone Northern Italian. Just another expensive "Italian-Inspired" restaurant that caters to basic upper-middle class urbanites.

Yummmmm! Welcome to the neighborhood! Outstanding service, ambiance and food. We just moved to Bucktown and for our last date night without a child, we tried this place for dinner and it was incredible. We did not make a reservation and it looks like you should. They have limited hours and everyone knows it. No issue, they sat us inside but lots of people came in and were taken to the patio which we cannot wait to try. Service was outstanding. The hostess and waitress made you feel at home. And it was obvious this is normal because the number of regulars that cycled in and received hugs was incredible. Waitress recommended the scallops which were not on the menu and forever I want these scallops! They were buttery, herby, so tender. And she told us to save someOf the bread for dipping and oh man was that the move. Looking for just. Small meal, the pappadelle with wild mushroom was outstanding. Fresh pasta and ingredients was obvious. Lasagna had bechamel which is always great and portion was enough to make you happy but not go into a coma. It did have sausage or some type of meat that wasn't my favorite but my husband was in love. The pasta was super fresh too. We would have loved dessert or to try one of the secondi items but that is for next time. Ambiance is dim so pix don't do it justice. Simply wonderful and worth the price! Keep up the great work. We are looking forward to getting on the regular hug list!

Such a cute spot. Delicious pasta appetizer which we split. Followed by 2 entrees chicken and short ribs which unfortunately inedible precludes a return. Sorry

Still got it after all these years. Great gnocchi, caprese, and lamb chops. The wine list is solid, too. I like the outdoor space in the summer.

This ambiance is so amazing, been here for dates or to catch up with a friend. The outside space is temperature controlled. The staff is super knowledgeable about the wine list and menu items. I loved the duck risotto! Everyone here is always so attentive and kind. One of my favorite spots that never disappoints.

4 of us went and absolutely loved the food and the outdoor patio. Wait staff was extremely nice and helpful. Food was really really good. Had the braised short ribs, pappardelle with mushrooms, sea scallops, lasagna and the tagliatelle with bolognese. All were excellent and we highly recommend. All were excellent.