Peanut Park Trattoria

So, Peanut Park Trattoria (unbeknownst*) to me is this very good restaurant serving FAMILY STYLE portions of excellent Italian dishes.The "unbeknownst*" part was us three souls being shocked by the amount of food delivered to our table at such a reasonable price.* My first rate Pollo Parmigiana withFarmer's Focus organic chicken, tomato basil sauce, fresh mozzarella, fried basil could have fed four people - easily.* Our Chicory Salad with bitter greens, fennel,bread crumb, caesar dressing could (again) have fed four people My wife's Orecchiette pasta would have satisfied three people with no problem.And our friend's crab pasta could have (you guessed it) the same size as the above pasta.I'm not complaining, mind you; what I'm doing is giving anyone who wants to enjoy Peanut Parks accomplished food, a heads-up on what they are in store for.This lovely trattoria in Chicago's little Italy was really terrific.......and you won't leave here hungry, and that's a fact.

We walked a couple of blocks down to Lil Italy for lunch from our condo. We've always loved the Italian food scene here in Chicago. For today's adventure, we chose this little cute establishment. This is a really nice place w/ a cool interior. There is plenty of seating and a perfect sized restaurant. We chose to sit in the nice intimate back area that had a really cool art piece of a deconstructed Italian scooter mounted on the wall over to the two booths. This is a nice center piece for the dining room. The decor was really nice overall in its entirety. Our server got us alcohol beverages to start and then took our lunch orders. We started with the amazing whipped Riccota with Focaccia appetizer. We also opted for the Gnocchi & Rigatoni dishes. Both dishes were good. But we must say the Focaccia was fluffy & most delightful paired w the whipped ricotta & honey, also had garlic-herbed olive oil paired to accommodate the bread. We enjoyed our lunch and had a few more drinks. When we were ready to grab our bill, the table was finally seated next to us. At this point, our server finally noticed she never git us water, and poured us 2 glasses after pouring the new table their water, then got us our final bill. Overall, this would be a nice place for datenight or a meet-up with friends. The quaint intimate spot is perfect for dinner, etc. We enjoyed the lunch and will return one day for dinner seeing the are not far from our place.

We had the baked ziti, seafood linguini, polenta, and tiramisu. Our favorites were the linguini and polenta. The pasta noodles for both dishes were fresh and cooked very nicely - excellent consistency and bite. Unfortunately, the sauce for three ziti was too acidic for our taste and I didn't love the consistency. I was hoping for it to be a little more baked throughout. The linguini has nice flavor and the calibrian chilis were nice. I would get it again. The polenta was wonderful, rich and creamy. I loved the crispy layer of parmesan on top. The tiramisu was delicious. My husband makes a wonderful traditional tiramisu and the tiramisu at Peanut Park was solid - only complaint is that the layers of lady fingers were inconsistent or very thin. Some bites there seemed to be only 1 thin layer of lady fingers. The service was excellent and the food came out quickly. We would come again and try different things - maybe the chicken parm and pizza.

We came for an early Sunday lunch. We arrived around 11:10 to locked doors. They did open the door for us and told us they don't open for another 30 minutes. ? Google, Yelp and hell even their own website shows 11AM as their opening time. Whatever. We walked around Taylor Street for 20 minutes and then returned at 11:30am. We got seated right away and two young ladies working the floor were great. My wife and I shared their Gnocchi and their Soppressata + Honey pizza. Both were really good. The gnocchi came with a vodka sauce, pancetta, bread crumbs and chives. The gnocchi was soft, vodka sauce was amazing and the pancetta gave this dish the perfect texture to this dish. The pizza was also good. My only issue with it was the way it was served. Instead of it being served on a flat pan, it was served in a bowl. So the crust was elevated causing all the grease to gravitate towards the middle. It made the end piece extremely wet and flimsy. It was still delicious though, just very odd. I have never seen pizza served that way. We also saw one of the owners, Dave walk in. Perhaps it was his day off just checking in on his restaurant, which is always nice to see, but he walked around the place like he was some wannabe mob boss. Never once smiled with his staff or made eye contact the few of us dining in that day. A simple "how's everything? Thank you for coming in," would have been great to hear. Unfortunately Rosebud is now closed, so there's not many great Italian options on Taylor street anymore. The food was good enough to make me come back, but might look at other options before returning.

During our weekend getaway to Chicago, my boyfriend and I stumbled upon Peanut Park while exploring Little Italy. Despite being lunchtime, the restaurant wasn't overly crowded, offering a cozy setting with really cute decor. The staff was very kind and our server made sure to check in frequently.Everything was promising! Eager to fall in love with the food, we started with calamari as our appetizer. Unfortunately, the breading was disappointingly light, lacking crispiness, and most of it fell off, leaving only the calamari rings. However, the saving grace was the incredible aioli that accompanied it. Moving on to our main course, we both opted for the gnocchi, typically a safe choice. While the flavor of the vodka cream sauce was enjoyable and the pancetta added an amazing chewiness, the gnocchi itself was disappointingly dense and soft.. reminiscent of mashed potatoes. Despite this, I really do believe Peanut Park holds promise. It's possible that we simply chose the wrong dishes on this visit.

It's an extra special place with warm and welcoming staff. Location & Decor It's located on a corner in little Italy. The dining area consists of Hugh tops, tables and booths. On a busy night, the two top tables are a bit tight, especially if you have cocktails and an app. Intimate and comfortable. Perfect for a night out with friends, family or date night. Food & Cocktails Every item I tried was outstanding! Unique Italian dishes and cocktails that you're unlikely to find at other Italian restaurants. Cioppino (add pasta) 4/5 Their version of sausage and peppers 5/5 Capesante - The star of the show and unfortunately the photo doesn't do it justice. 5/5 Cavoletti - fried brussel sprouts, lemon honey and roasted squash. It's a side. 5/5 Cocktails: (1) Purple Haze- rum, violet liqueur and other deliciousness 5/5 and (2) the Limoncello Spritz 5/5 The wines were also memorable. .

LUV THIS PLACE SINCE THEY OPENED. My granddaughter/ 4.5 years eats everything. Can't go wrong. The staff are always kind, friendly and all with a smile and a laugh!

Coming in we had a reservation, they weren't too busy so the host let us pick wherever we wanted to sit. I appreciated that very much. Environment was very warm and welcoming. Sat right next to the open door windows and it was such wonderful weather. Sadly, during dinner a bug flew in my wine but our waitress was so sweet she gave me a new glass. Bread was soft and parmesan delicious. Pizza was very tasty, first slightly salty, then spicy, and then cheesy! Sausage was perfect! Pasta was good, but slightly over priced for pasta. $18 to $20 is understandable, but $24 $26 was a little extreme. Definitely not a pocket friendly everyday place to go to even though it's close to the house, but well worth the try and would go back on a special occasion.

While visiting Chicago and Little Italy, we found Peanut Park Trattoria. It's a nice little Italian restaurant with a comfortable atmosphere. My wife loves bolognese sauce and she thinks it has one of the best she's ever had. I had a chicken parmesan sandwich and it was delicious. Large portions, delicious food and reasonable prices led to a very enjoyable lunch. The service was fine and the server was very friendly. Highly recommend this place when visiting Little Italy in Chicago.

The food wasn't tasty, nor Italian for sure. I would recommend Pasta Bowl, over this. My s/o got a pasta, that tasted like ramen noodles.