Best Fun Restaurants in Little Italy / University Village

We dined at Il Carciofo for first time 2 nights ago. We were five people, celebrating a couple birthdays. Overall, it was excellent. For antipasti, we had the artichoke, lamb ribs and calamari. All were excellent. Lamb ribs were a little fatty for my taste, but lamb is fattier, and everyone else at the table loved them. Terrific flavor with the glaze, so tender. Artichoke was also a fave. Next we had the mortadella pizza (really more like a panini) - so, so good - one of the best things we had. For pasta we had the rigatoni carbonara, rich and delicious, the oxtail tagliatelle, my personal fave, and the mezza rigatoni alla amatriciana, spicy and very good. For the forgo, we had the halibut with clams and mussels - was good, but not special, and a tad overcooked. We also had the veal saltimbocca, which was very good and enjoyed. We had the potatoes and fungji e formaggi as contort (sides). Potatoes were great; the funghi were special, really loved them. Finally for dessert we ordered pistachio gelato - did not enjoy; it was not creamy, a bit more grainy (coursely grpund pistachio?). They also brought us the Zeppole di san Giuseppe for the birthday dessert, and it was delicious. Our server was really great, attentive but not overbearing. She explained all the dishes and did a nice job on a very busy Friday. The restaurant is lively and kind of loud, but not so much that you can’t hear others at your table. Wine list is good, some nice, creative cocktails. Overall, a great experience that I highly recommend, and I congratulate Joe Flamm and his team on another great restaurant.

We brought our two grandsons (ages 5 and 3) to the Walnut Room in Chicago on 1/3/2025, to experience the holiday decor. The "fairies" circulating around to each table were so engaging while chatting with our grandsons, and explaining how to "make a wish". Our server was very friendly and efficient, even under the pressure of a very busy day at the restaurant. The food was very good, and I was pleasantly surprised to see kids menu items available, which our grandsons thoroughly enjoyed. Two small glitches. . 1. Upon arrival, there were soiled napkins/food items on the floor next to one of the chairs at our table. I was disappointed at that mess. One of the "fairies" noticed this mess and got the staff to clean it up and 2. Our cocktails were served AFTER our food arrived. Despite these two small glitches, we had a wonderful time together, and on the way home, our 5 year old grandson told us he had the BEST DAY ever.

every time we eat at girl and the goat, i fall in love all over again. the food is creative and always delicious. the ambiance feels so cozy and casual, intimate, and like a warm hug. i love that i celebrated my 40th birthday here at the king’s table and then, 10 years later visited for my 50th birthday and tho we sat at a different table, had a repeat visit from the same server - GARY!!! definitely try the steak in citrus dressing, the pork belly in crabmeat sauce, and always the pig face. always always the pig face. and the crumpets in the pate order. my GOSH so good

I recommend the RPM chopped salad, the oysters, the grilled octopus, the clam chowder soup and the filet. It was AMAZING! I apologize in advance I forgot our servers name, she remembered all my notes I put and explained the menu with details. She made it very special! Exactly what I wanted for my boyfriend’s birthday dinner! She was a pretty blonde girl, she’s wonderful! If anyone can give me her name I would love to recommend her to my friends if they want to dine here!

The welcome to the restaurant was very pleasant. The service was friendly and very attentive. This was not my first visit to.Peanut Park. They are consistently friendly and attentive. The food is always excellent and reasonably priced. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone.