AVVIO

The food was horrible. We ordered 3 different dishes and it was all bad! The only good thing was the water! The service was terrible. My nephew ordered a beer twice, and they never brought it!The restaurant looked like an old dirty restaurant. They need Gordam Ramsey help!!!

Real, authentic Italian cooking. First, a full loaf of warm bread is placed on our table after we order appetizer. Then while we are debating what to try for an entree a pizza bread arrives. The Shrimp de Jong appetizer was excellent, and my husband said it was as good as, or possibly better, than his Italian grandmother's. I got veal Toscanini and my husband splurged with the Denver Sole. We are definitely coming back here and bringing the Italian relatives who I'm sure will be impressed! Service was very attentive, dare I say impeccable?! Ambiance is the only area that I could be improved. Weird entrance where you see into the kitchen at the hostess stand. Well worth the price for the generous portions and extras like the pizza bread.

Started with baked oysters and the cheesy bread. Had gnocchi, mushroom ravioli, and tricolor pasta with chicken. Water cups were always full and server was helpful with recommendations. Quaint spot felt very Italian.

If I was just driving around looking for a place to eat, I would have passed this restaurant. The exterior looked bleak, but the inside was bustling. Tables were close together to accommodate the patrons. You'll have to strategically maneuver your way through to get to the restroom with one stall, but luckily, the place is small enough. Sat down at 615pm, and my drink order was placed. We already had a slice of bruchetta on our plate. Then cheesy bread slices came out and eventually a loaf. 7pm and our waitress hadn't taken our food orders, yet, so I gave her a stink eye as she walked by us. Finally, she took our order: husband had lasagna, I ordered the Avvio Chicken, child had buttered noodles, and bday girl had Shrimp Enzo. An order of Rockafeller Oysters was placed to start. There were 4 other people in our party, but I didn't ask what they ordered. The oyster looked like it was just spinach and cheese and I was told that's exactly how it tasted. Our soup came out first, 15 min later the salad, and then another 15 min later the main dish; 2 hours after we arrived. It was a long wait but I have to say the food was really good. I devoured my Avvio Chicken. My child enjoyed his buttered (which you can't really mess up anyway), but my husband barely touched his lasagna I think he was just not hungry cause I took a bite and I thought it was good. The rest of our party finished their plates; maybe its because we waited so long? Dessert was Baked Alaskan cause who doesn't want to see your dessert on fire? We also had cheesecake, which was ok. For drinks I would highly recommend the Lemincello sprintzer Martini (first one on the cocktail menu) - so so tasty. They also had two guys walking around serenading guests with an accordion and violin, which was a nice touch. If you want to relax and spend hours sitting, drinking, and eating a delicious meal, you should go here. They will not rush you out.

Avvio has the late, great Sabatino's DNA and it's hard to resist comparing the two. As much as Avvio's menu and recipes echo its heritage, I will try to judge Avvio on its own merits.The barely conspicuous 'kitchen' sits amid auto repair shops on a nondescript stretch of Elston. We visited on Valentine's Day. Arriving at 6:30, we were fortunate to find street parking ($5 for 2 hours) close to the restaurant. The plain jane interior was dimly lit with flickering candles reflecting off the white tablecloths.The menu--extensive for such a small dining room--dwells on old school Italian comfort foods. Trendy? Not. Our server recited a description of several Valentine's Day Specials from memory. Although the stuffed flounder, heart-shaped cheese ravioli, etc. sounded tantalizing, we went with the everyday menu. Prices appear high until you realize that all entrée prices include pizza bread (served hot), Italian bread, soup, salad, entrée AND a generous side dish. An excellent value.If you ignore the blah décor and focus on what the kitchen delivers, you'll be happy. My Missus began with a cup of hearty beef barley soup and I had the stracciatella soup (a Sabatino's carryover), followed by simple green salads with good house-made dressings. The menu lists 14 veal entrées, so how could we not order veal? I had the Veal Sorrentino. This is served on wine sauce and topped with eggplant, prosciutto, and mozzarella cheese. My Missus had the breaded veal cutlet (seems odd that the menu does not call this a "cotoletta"). The chef pounds the meat cardboard-thin to fork tenderness.Generoso sides of pasta came with our entrées. Everything was superb--nicely plated and served at the right temperature--and the portions were ample. Service was cheerful and totally professional, with an astute sense of timing. Which was no small feat, considering we visited a on a major holiday.My only grumble is their supersized dessert portions. Cannoli is the only individual-size dessert on the menu. The profiteroles ($14) was much more than my Missus could devour.

Drove by Avvio and noticed it had great reviews so we bookmarked it to return. So glad we did... this place is an absolute gem! The space is clean and comfortable with a few bar seats and fairly sizable dining room. Service was fast and friendly... they start you off with a loaf of warm Italian bread some olive oil and parmigiana. We ordered a brown butter scallops, risotto, and roasted pumpkin dish... the presentation was incredible and it tasted fantastic. For the main course we split an egg plan parmigiana... it comes with choice of soup, salad, and a side of pasta, potato, or green beans (we got pasta with meat sauce). Wow what a meal! We'll be back for more!

Been wanting to come here for a while and so glad we finally made it! The food was absolutely delicious, huge portions! The pizza bread was so good! Our server, Lynette, was AWESOME!! Will definitely be back!!

We went for a double birthday dinner on a Saturday night and were very pleased with the service, ambiance and the flavors.The black Manhattan was very strong and tasty.The Italian bread and warm focaccia with cheese were nice complementary bread service.We started with an order of the fried calamari which were light and crispy.The straciatella soup was very light in flavor with tons of egg threads and some spinach (or kale?) I ordered two appetizers and shared the oysters rockefeller. It is an interesting presentation with a hollandaise sauce instead of broiled crumb topping...not sure I prefer this as it seemed a little too "soft" and I do so like the crunchy topping of the standard presentation. The oysters themselves were very fresh.My second app for dinner was the beef breseola on arugula salad. It looked very nice however it really lacked flavor. The meat was almost completely dry and the salad totally lacked dressing and flavor. Would not order it again. Others had rack of lamb (very tasty), skate wing (nice butter sauce) and gnocci with goat cheese - everyone loved their entrees.

Avio hit the spot! The food is delicious, and the customer service top notch. They start you off with bruschetta and pizza bread! Also, the loaf of bread they bring out is huge! The entrees offer soup AND salad! By the time the entree came, I could only eat half! The drinks are delicious too! Sit outdoors on their patio. It's a little oasis.

Avvio is excellent! Great American-Italian Kitchen, their service was great and their interior atmosphere is nice. As well as their food of course. Their staff was very friendly, the menu is very impressive and easy to navigate. We ordered Tiramisu and Cannoli. We had a very awesome dine here and everything was so tasty and big portions. This is definitely the best American-Italian restaurant I have been in Chicago . Their dining area was a bit dark as it was dinner time, but still could see and has a good ambiance. We really had a great time! The tiramisu was delicious, and I was able to taste the coffee. Will definitely recommend this place to all of the people I know. Thank you, Avvio!