Adesso

ADESSO HAS CLOSED
If you purchased the YouSwoop you have until 9÷2÷11 to call or email them to receive an account credit.

I went to this restaurant last year around this time and my friends and I loved the place. So we decided to go back to get dinner because we had such a good experience the last time.
We went there last weekend on a Saturday night. We got there around 7:30 and we were in no rush to get our food, because we were there to enjoy the night and drink wine. its a BYOB.
We asked for bread and the waitress told us that they didn’t get their bread delivery for the day. We thought that was very weird for an Italian restaurant. Strike one.
I decided on the spaghetti dish and when I got the dish, the serving size looked like it was for a child. It was $ 12 for this tiny bowl of spaghetti, while the table next to us received their meals and their dishes were over flowing with pasta. Not cool… strike two.
The whole time we were sitting there eating the whole restaurant was filled with smoke from the kitchen. This place is tiny and I can understand once in awhile something might go wrong in the kitchen and the smoke overflows into the eating area, but this was insane. It was actually getting hard to breathe in there and it started bothering our eyes. Strike three.
When we got our bill we saw the $ 4.00 corkage fee. We had opened two bottles of wine so we were charged $ 8.00 for opening those. That was kind of a shocker. I can understand a one time charge for the corkage fee, but for each bottle!
We were so over this place and so disappointed that we said we would never go back: (

I really didn’t want to write this review. I would rather have had a good experience.
My wife and I decided to eat here last night (it was New Year’s Eve). We live in the neighborhood and didn’t want to drive anywhere with all the drunks on the road.
We arrived at 7, and there were very few diners. I ordered the veal parm, and my wife had the lasagna.
We asked for bread, and the waitress told us they didn’t get their delivery, so they had no bread — in an Italian restaurant on New Year’s Eve! We didn’t complain, but my wife looked at all the reserved tables and said, Couldn’t they just pick some up at the Jewel???
Our food came in bowls — definitely a surprise — and was bad. BAD. The veal parm looked like they had boiled some spaghetti, threw on some sauce, an topped it with a piece of veal that they took out of the freezer, precooked and frozen, and nuked it with a little cheese. And my wife’s lasagna had some hard, dried out piece of noodle, and was passable at best.
When the waitress first asked how everything was, I lied and said fine. But when she came back, I told her that I don’t like to complain, but it was really bad. The look on her face told us that she knew, and felt bad about it. To her credit, she took $ 20 off the bill (we didn’t ask for anything) and looked sufficiently chastised, so I left her a decent tip.
Haven’t been here for a while, probably since last summer, and had decent to good food before. Hope it’s not in its death throes — I get the feeling that they’re trying to survive — because with good food, a better menu selection, and better prices (my $ 20 veal parm looked like the stuff I can buy for $ 8.99 at any number of local diners) — they could really be successful.

Came with my Homegirl, E and S M on a random Sunday Night for a girls’ night out… (Giving you a little shout out) And this is when the destruction begins
Sat down and was told half the menu was gone because they said this was the last week for people to use their Groupon. Supposedly, they were swarmed with people ordering certain items. (My take on that was, this week? Shouldn’t you be in stock everyday?)
Food– Ordered the risotto with the seafood and when it came out, it looked and tasted disgusting. It looked like they put some seafood broth and flipped a cup of crunchy brown rice on top. I’m sorry, did I enter the twilight zone? Risotto is suppose to be integrated and creamy not crunchy and separated from the sauce. If it isn’t, please let me know ASAP!
Service– Poor! Asked the guy waiter twice who was standing idly by to refill our water and said he would. Instead, he returned to his post and stared out the window. I also asked the girl waiter about the water and was told «sorry, I will refill it,» but never returned.
Water– After getting rejected by all the waiters for the refills on our water, I noticed some mysterious white cloudy filmy substance floating in my water glass. Um, what the freak? I thought maybe it was only my cup but all of my girlfriend’s cup was the same. Oh, no… Now, I was about to go Ghetto in this Crunchy Riostto restaurant! Their explanation about the substance was that it was in their tap and that’s what came out… Um, are you kidding me?
P. s. What we paid$$ for their food didn’t add up to the quality and service that we received.
Never again in my life will I ever step foot here. I will tell all who will listen and heed my warning. If you want to eat bad crunchy food and drink white ?? type of substances come here but if you don’t … please don’t even think about it
H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E

So a friend and I came here on a Sunday evening around 8pm starving.
Torta di Fresh Mozzarella is the appetizer we started with after the waitress said that she dreams about it. Nothing to write home about. It was somewhat cold and bland.
Linguini Neri con Frutta di Mare. Again blah. No real spicy to it and it came with approximately 4 mussels, 2 shrimp and 2 scallops. Rest was all calamari. Not at all close to worth the $ 19.
Tiramisu. Was hard to cut into and you could tell was quickly defrosted from a freezer.
$ 4 corkage fee
While eating leftovers today found a disturbing black hair.

For a restaurant that is surrounded by a million other restaurants on Broadway, one would think that they would try to differentiate themselves in one of two manners: quality/​taste of food or customer service. This restaurant believes in neither.
What is not okay:
— 3 of the 5 member at my table not having silverware; having to ask for it (and it not arriving in a timely manner)
— Asking for water on four separate occasions and having the waitress blame the bus boy for not bringing it while we watch her stand next to the water machine the whole night instead of attend to us.
— Discovering (while waiting for water refills still) that there is a mystery white substance at the bottom of all five of our glasses of water. The waitress’ response: I don’t know what it is, it came out of that (pointing) water filter and the ice came out of that (pointing) machine. No apologies, remorse, nothing.
— The manager come by to clear plates off our table, asks how everything was, and walks away before we could respond. Once we get up, the manager comes by again, because it is evident that we are unhappy and asks if everything was okay. We say no, and explain everything that happened above and all he could say to us was that we didn’t want the water anyway because it had stuff in it. THAT snotty remark is the reason for this Unilocal posting.
If the food was good, I could look past the terrible service, but the food was below average standards, and it was overpriced. One friend’s risotto was crunchy (rice shouldn’t be crunchy) and everyone else’s dish was bland across the board.

Came here for a Friday night b-​day dinner.
Super cute atmosphere, you can do a mid size group here, bring your family, or have a date. That works for me! Make reservations
The menu is classic Italian with a lot of choices that are original and also standard.
I love pesto, so opted for that, without chicken. I wish I did order the chicken, but the pesto was a bit bland, I had to add salt and pepper, and I’m really not that much of a salt girl. The portions are big so you can bring some home which is appreciated.
The service was excellent and the bread was delish.
The main aggrivation (and I know I saw this somewhere previously but forgot) is the charge ($ 4) for corkage fee PER bottle! When you buy cheap or expensive wine for a dinner, and you buy several, the corkage fee kinda defeats the purpose of BYO… I understand it’s great for the restaurant, but isn’t BYO mainly for the patron? Hmmm, maybe I misled myself to think that…
Anyways, they brought out a yummy mini dessert for my friend on her bday which was appreciated.
Great place, just be mindful of the corkage fee…

Adesso if you were in elementary school and your restaurant was in my class, I would have you standing against the wall during recess.
I have been singing praises about your fabulous food and sleek interior designs since I first laid eyes on your gnocchi, but I think I’m going to have to shut up for a while until your wait staff gets their cabooses in order and your bathroom gets a better drainage system.
The night before the pride parade, the boy and I came here for some bubbly and yummy Italian. We were seated by the door (not the greatest seat in the house but whatev, we’ll take it) and that’s when everything started going downhill.
— No one came by to open our wine or give us glasses for 20+ minutes. Eventually we pulled a McGuyver and opened it ourselves.
–Our waitress was all over us like white on rice for the first half of the meal (equally annoying to not being served at all I tell ya), and then pulled an Amelia Earhart for the second half and fell off the face of the earth.
–Our over-​sized appetizer plate wasn’t cleared even after our entrees arrived. And those are tiny tables.
–We waited and waited… and waited more just to receive our bill when we were itching to cross the street to Phoebe’s Cupcakes.
–The co-​ed restroom had two inches of water around the drain. Luckily I was able to put into use my two step skills to bypass the ickiness.
Not good, Adesso. Not good. Your food was fabulous as usual, which is what warranted your three stars. But you are in time out in my restaurant book.

Seriously?
I just got a ‘complement’ from a Dr. David J:
«Ever thought of contacting management or ownership before trashing the place on the web u coward piece of shit!»
I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but after that charmer of a comment I won’t be eating here again.

Someone, and I presume it was the owner, left me an incredibly rude «compliment» over my previous review, saying that I knew nothing about food, and that karma would come back to bite me in the ass. Because I was a jerk.
I’ll tell you who is the jerk: the person who left me that comment. If that person thinks bad-​mouthing people who leave honest reviews is a good policy to help this restaurant, he’s wrong. I can’t believe the gall. Wow.

You, there! Yes, you! You, the one thinking about eating at this place even though it has horrible Unilocal reviews! I was once you. And it is a giant mistake. GIANT.
My dining companion and I asked our waitress to choose between two lovely appetizers. She gave us her choice… and then told us they were out of both. We chose a caprese salad, which was boring and normal. There was pesto on it, so that’s good. Then we ordered entrees.
I ordered the spaghetti «arrabiata», which was the bastard child between an actual arrabiata (spicy) and a puttanesca sauce (with olives and capers). My companion ordered the lasagna (which was full of these pellets of rock-​hard pork). Somehow, my sauce came out SWEETER than hers, with a distinct metallic flavor, like from a can.
I needed some heat, and the waitress was absent, so I decided to march to the kitchen and ask for a side of crushed red pepper. I came to the table and POURED it on the food… and what?! NO HEAT. I dipped my finger in and ate it… NO HEAT. The only conclusion is that the spice was THAT OLD. Gross.
The fact that they would serve such nasty probably-​canned sauce with spice that is so old that it’s flavorless… I can’t let it go. Y’all, don’t do it. Don’t blow off these reviews. I went with a groupon, paid eight dollars, and I still feel a little ripped off.

I got the Farmer’s Stew (seafood with rice) and my bf got the beef steak.
The seafood is above average of most Midwest restaurants. Definitely adores the mussels. Wish there were more though! The rice is really not my favorite, dry and grainy, but the creamy sauce makes it up.
My bf liked the steak and I finished all the spinach in his plate. It is by far the best cooked spinach I’ve had in American land, Loved the seasoning!
Though it doesn’t look much and I had 2 pieces of bread and still finished the stew, the rice does fill you up.
Street corner view is good for people watching, if that’s your thing.

I’ve been to Adesso a few times and it’s the kind of place that serves food that’s just average enough that I’ll forget about my experience the prior time 6 months later when I’m contemplating going back.
Enter last night. Beautiful night, they had tables out and it’s early in the warm season. We opted to eat there instead of Nookies, who also had tables out. They were very nice to put ‘rogue’ tables out for the people who were wanting to eat out. But apparently they didn’t have the staff to support it (even though there were maybe 5 tables occupied total in the whole restaurant). I’m willing to overlook all service issues because of this, but not food.
The calamari was straight out of the deep freeze and you could taste it. After about two bites it wasn’t worth eating any more for fear of food poisoning. Our bus boy took it, but our server must have seen it in the kitchen sitting because 10 minutes later he brought it back, confused if we had gotten it or not.
I ordered the fusilli with sausage. It was passable. Had I just had that and nothing else I probably would’ve left thinking I had another barely average meal. But then again, what I was served wasn’t actually even close to fusilli, it was a thick straight egg noodle.
My other half ordered a spaghetti. He ate about two bites and insisted I try. It ruined our meal. It was unquestionably the most disgusting pasta I have ever tasted at a restaurant. You know that fake sauce taste that Chef Boyardee canned pasta has? It tasted *exactly* like that, and I truly wish I was saying that to be funny, but I’m not. I didn’t really like that as a kid, and I wouldn’t expect any restaurant to be serving anything resembling it 20 years later.
Our server didn’t bother to ask us once how anything was. I’m guessing every person he asked previously in the night told them their honest opinion and he gave up on asking. He didn’t offer us bread, didn’t offer us Parmesan.
The table next to us was going on and on about how bad their food was. I feel even worse for the table on the other side of us who felt this place was worthy of bringing an expensive bottle of Turley to the table.
Not only were their tables set up illegally (which I don’t really care about), they allowed BYOB on their sidewalk café. This is completely illegal in Chicago. I partook – why wouldn’t I… but ignoring the rules gives them an unfair advantage over the other nearby restaurants who all DO follow the laws. More importantly Adesso’s breaking the law on this matter just confuses the general public who later whine to the restaurants next door when they’re not allowed BYOB outside because those places follow the law.
Also, they charge a $ 4 corkage fee which is also illegal. And for a place without a liquor license, a per bottle price is an absurd fee.
It’s pretty sad when we’re upset for not choosing the diner down the street. $ 50 for food that any fast food place could easily beat, fail Adesso.
P. S., Adesso has been practicing bad Unilocal habits. They’ve went out of their way to message threatening violence. And our waiter just posted a fake review, only he failed to leave out HIS PICTURE of his fake review? After checking my receipt, he even used his real name for his fake review. See attached business pictures for the scan.
P. P. S., since posting the above the owner has TWO months later apparently checked his Unilocal reviews and messaged me on here threatening me. A direct quote from Dr David J himself (who himself has a fake review of Adesso up…): «Go fuck yourself u piece of shit – or come in and have the nerve to speak to me directly – PLEASE!» … Unfortunately judging by so many poor reviews here and terrible food, he’s probably a «phone in» owner/​manager or I’d be able to do so. Hey guy, take your teal BMW and drive it back to the burbs for good. Please.
P.P.P.S, as proof that the staff of Adesso has reviewed their own restaurant I uploaded an image of said review as well as the copy of my receipt with the same waiter’s name as the reviewer. Unilocal HQ unfortunately found this irrelevant even though the fake reviews of Adesso are still up and not filtered by them.

I was a little worried about going here after reading the reviews, but honestly I had a great experience.
The food was excellent and well above average. I had a healthy portion of Pasta Carbenara (excuse my spelling there), the presentation was good and the taste was excellent. The bread and special butter are a must, so try all 3(butters). I have to give the server credit, I was with a BYOB group and we stayed and drank awhile after the meal and even though it was near closing she never stood over the table or rushed us in any way. Moreover, the waitress was also very attentive.
They must have been reading their review because I didn’t notice the loud music that others complained of. The atmosphere is nice and starts to border on upscale, although most people were dressed fairly casual.
Prices are decent about $ 15-​$ 16 range on the pastas, which is fair. Unfortunately, one cannot review Adesso without mentioning the $ 4 corkage fee. Fortunately, I was with a party of ten (if you have a party of ten or more the corkage fee is waived) so I didn’t have to pay it. However, I think it’s bad business charging $ 4 a bottle. Now more than ever folks don’t want to be nickel and dimed and I know people that will simply avoid BYOBs with corkage fees (especially $ 4 ones). Why not have people remember the great food & service instead of the fact that they had to pay $ 4 to have someone open their bottle of wine. If they take away the corkage fee I bet they’ll make more money off of the additional customers. However, even with the corkage fee the place deserves better than a 3 star overall rating. I’ll be back again at some point.

This place is turning out to be a real gem. 7star and I went here with three of his peeps and had an incredible dinner.
My «Farmer Stew» was incredibly rich and delicious. Juicy bits of seafood and risotto, swimming in a delicious, buttery, creamy sauce. Not something I usually order, but wow. .. this stuff is comfort food supreme. Loved every bit.
We all had salads, and all of us were gushing over our entrees. Everything is delicious here. Especially our cute Dutch waiter — adorable, fun, sweet, friendly, helpful, attentive, he made our dinner a real pleasure.
I noticed the decibel level in here was a little louder than the last time I visited, but this is so minor. The sounds of happy people eating great food? I can live with a little noise. The way this restaurant is situated makes it easy and fun to people watch the traffic on Broadway and keep tabs on cute dogs prancing by. Fast becoming a real favorite restaurant of mine.
BYOB is the ONLY way to go.
And. .. $ 130 for a gorgeous DINNER FOR FIVE!!! Suck it, Luna Caprese!

Milano.
Home of the Duomo. Fashion Capital. Close to the Lake Como.
Absolutely breathtaking.
But, let’s talk about the food. Call me crazy, but I was so sick of eating pizza and pasta after awhile. So, what was there to turn to?
Paninis. All types of paninis, too — brie and speck, prosciutto and mozzarella, four cheese. Paninis were everywhere — the malls, the train stations, the hotels. Always fresh, always hot, always amazing. *sigh* Nothing like traveling to another Italian city without a delicious panini in tow.
But, back in the States, paninis are hard to find. (Ok, scratch that — GOOD paninis are hard to find. I mean, they sell them at Dominick’s, for goodness sake!) One Sunday afternoon, my friends and I found ourselves outside Adesso — the cute, East Lakeview spot next to Ping Pong. This was one brunch destination in the ‘hood I always wanted to try, but never had the opportunity. We scored some outdoor seating and probably enjoyed the last nice weekend of the year. Lovely!
My eyes immediately were drawn to the Egg Panino ($ 7). Could this bring back those fond memories of Milan? Get this — two eggs, cappicola, roasted green peppers and fontina cheese. Drool worthy, right? It also came with a side salad, so that was a nice addition to the meal. Egg, cappicola, cheese on hot, crispy bread — my kinda sandwich! I adored it. Reminiscent of Milan, for sure.
Service was friendly and attentive, but not intrusive. We like that! Adesso is BYOB, too! There’s a $ 3 corkage fee, but if you want to bring any other types of liquor besides wine, there’s no charge. Once we figured that out, my friend went off to Treasure Island and came back with a six pack of Miller Lite. Classy, we know.
So, what’s my conclusion? Egg Panino — FTW! Can’t wait to come back to sample more of Adesso’s fare.

A group of 6 visited Adesso for a birthday dinner. A $ 4/​bottle corkage fee is as decent as it gets in the city for the lush crowd.
For appetizers, we split bruschetta Adesso, cozze al vapore, and polipo alla griglia. The first was a fresh, slightly sweet take on bruschetta — ricotta, honey, proscuitto and red onion marmalade. The second, steamed mussels in white wine, was delicious — and gigantic. Conversely, the last (grilled octopus with lemon and EVOO) was on the smaller side. Of course, these were split between 6 people.
In addition to the appetizers, the massive amounts of rolls and butter and wine I had prior to the main course did not prep me all for it. I had the pollo al mattone, or half a baked chicken with Tuscan herbs, celery root mash and grilled asparagus. Half a chicken. I made it through the celery root, asparagus and half the chicken before I gave up. But it was a great way to go, and sitting outdoors on a breezy Chicago night? It doesn’t get much better than that.

Holla for Brunch Bunch!
The scene of the crime was Adesso this time around. 6 girlfriends and 5 bottles of champs (omg) make for a fabu brunching experience. I just wish my food and the service was as good as the company.
Shock of shocks, Adesso is so NOT crowded at noon on a Sunday. Doesn’t East Lakeview brunch? And do they not know that Adesso is BYOB? With all of the foot traffic on Broadway I expected a mob scene.
The service? Eh. Our cutie-​pitootie server (Very Point Break. Thanks B!) had that whole laid-​back California surfer vibe, complete with blonde longish locks and adorable features. Isn’t it every man’s dream to serve a table of 6 hot ladies who are knocking back champagne? I guess Point Break just wasn’t that into us because my coffee mug and champagne glass was empty far too often for my liking.
The food? Just okay. I’m not an asparagus kind of girl, so the fritatta of the day was out for me, and quite honestly, some of the brekkie items seemed a bit unappealing. So I went with the classic 2 egg/​meat/​toast choice. Scrambled eggs? Okay. Chicken sausage? Blech. Sausage should be packed with spices, herbs, yumminess and lots and lots of flavor. Not so much with the Adesso chicken sausage. The fennel potato gratin was okay, but where exactly was fennel? Seemed like regular hash browns to me. Toast? Standard issue.
The atmosphere at Adesso is quite excellent, though, I must say. It’s bright, sunny, cheery and they didn’t mind that we dominated a 6 top for a solid 2 ½ hours. Or that we gossiped about boys and lingerie… quite loudly. Or that we got a little tipsy. I’d go back… I just wouldn’t get that horrid chicken sausage again!

Bubbly brunch can get expensive…
However, if I bring the bubbles… the price drops significantly. It was the perfect, random, lovely occasion for my dear friend and I to split a bottle of birthday champagne, complete with OJ, and assorted brekkie delights.
I enjoyed the Salmone Adesso, a foodie helping of smoked salmon, chopped egg, Italian toast and marscapone cream cheese. Very nice, indeed. My friend had the frittata, which caused me egg envy. Mmmm, it’s a rare day that I deviate from eggs. Sigh, regardless the meal was a success…
My only gripe was the service. Pretty inattentive (hello, we were literally the only table) with slow coffee refills, and unenthused chit chatter. Fake it, doll. Seriously.
Then the check came: $ 2 EACH for the mimosa oj, which consisted of about a quarter of a champagne flute each. $ 4 corkage, $ 2 for cold coffee that was not refilled. Eh, that’s a lot of beverage charges for a little bit of drinking. So, it wasn’t quite the deal I had anticipated, but enjoyable none the less.
If you hate to wait like I do… this is a great brunch option, for sure. Quaint menu, though it feels a bit cold in the morning with no lights on and empty tables everywhere. The energy is a bit low, but if you go… maybe there will be more? :)

Yeah. I’m looking at you, kid.
So I’ve been eyeballin’ Adesso as a future brunch spot for months now. Finally, a carefree Sunday, just me + the anticipation of hot coffee and brunch.
Adesso’s brunch menu promises to delight– frittatas, caramel apple pancakes, egg paninos, everything yum under the sun. Because I was up against a day chock full of beers and football, I wanted something filling. For the long-​haul. So I ordered the steel-​cut oatmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, dried cranberries and real cream. Divine.
Service was a bit spotty at times, especially as I was only one of three tables in the restaurant at 11 am on Sunday. But friendly, and good enough. And no wait for brunch, hint hint. You may just see me here next week with a carafe of my mimosas in hand… yep, another fabulous BYO neighborhood score for Lakeview.

Since this sleek BYO Italian restaurant can only hold 30 people I’m hesitant to share, but it looks like the word may already be out based on the other raving reviews.
We had 7:30 reservations and had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated, which personally I thought was pretty good for a Saturday night. From the start I was impressed with our attentive server, Matt, who immediately brought over a bucket of ice to cool our wine. The corkage fee here is $ 4, which ironically is more expensive than the 2 buck chuck Trader Joe’s wine we brought with us, but still well worth it.
The menu isn’t very large, but there seems to be something for everyone. Being a pasta lover the gnocchi and another shellfish pasta dish were calling my name, but figured I should check out the rest of the menu after the recent warning from my spinning instructor that the average person gains 7 – 12 lbs over the holiday season. Yikes! After Friday’s carrot cake cupcake from Alliance Bakery and the warm cookie skillet from Wildfire (YUM!) I fear I may be on my way!
The halibut looked pretty tasty and so I figured this would be a healthy option, while sneaking bites of my boyfriend’s pasta dish. However, my party pooper boyfriend wanted the halibut as well, especially since it came with his favorite mashed potatoes. We decided to be boring and both get the halibut and of course started with the fried calamari (so much for being healthy!).
The calamari was good, but not as good as the calamari at La Scarola and Sushi Samba. However, the halibut dish was a real treat. It was absolutely delicious and came with a yummy piece of bacon on top of it. Don’t tell my rabbi, but this Jewish girl ate both her bacon and her boyfriend’s bacon. Oy vey.
I didn’t have much room for dessert and wasn’t even looking forward to it after reading Amanda A’s review that they only have a few choices. However, my boyfriend is a big fan of tiramisu and couldn’t pass it up. I like tiramisu, but I’d rather have a piece of chocolate cake any day. However, this tiramisu was so amazing that it may be worth gaining 10 lbs over this holiday season! I also now understand why Adesso only has two to three dessert options– with tiramisu this good there is no need to try anything else!
The entire meal came to $ 60 (gotta love BYO) and it was worth every cent!