Charlatan

Great staff, awesome vibe. The homemade pasta and the rotating specials are the real gem here. We’ve dined whilst sitting at the bar and don’t feel cramped. Support these folks!

We’ve dined at the various restaurants that have occupied this space over many years, so were curious to try Charlatan. We hand a good time. The game-​inflected menu is compact, but has many good choices that are just a little different from other Italian-​themed places. The cooking was generally quite good, too. And there’s a decent list of Italian wines that includes many affordable choices.
VIBE: Rustic, gamy (e.g., the heads hanging on the walls), quirky light fixtures. Welcoming vibe from the host to the server and runners. A bit dimly lit for me, but we found a satisfactory table. A bit noisy, but it was only about half-​full, so conversation was possible.
SERVICE: Friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Server was attentive, but not hovering or intrusive.
GOOD: Clearly, the kitchen knows what it’s doing. Housemade pastas were delicious and perfectly cooked. My rabbit casoncelli was rich and nicely plated. My companion’s special black truffle pappardelle was also delicious. Sage brown butter sauce was nicely brown — not just melted butter as in some places. Seasoning balance was very good, and not over-​salted. Escarole salad with arugula pesto vinaigrette was loaded with goodies (bacon, walnuts, beets) and so yummy. For dessert, affogato was perfect, with strong, rich espresso and a generous scoop of good gelato.
NOT SO GOOD: I wish it was a little brighter and a little quieter, but no big deal.
We’re looking forward to coming back to try other things. Based on this one visit, it’s definitely a neighborhood gem.

Came here for drinks after work and had a great time. I enjoyed my cocktail (civic disobedience) and my friend enjoyed her wine. I was going to dinner after wards so We just shared the focaccia. it was crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. the staff was friendly. Plus, as I was finishing my drink he came by and asked if I wanted another, so my glass was never empty. I would definitely come here again!

The warm and intimate ambiance at Charlatan is a welcome environment on a chilly Chicago night! First stop was the bar for a pre-​dinner cocktail. The cocktail list was short, but each drink was totally unique and an eclectic mix of ingredients. I tried the Traveling Dunk Tank, made of Mezcal, Averna, Applejack, cider, black pepper and caramel.
I had pasta for dinner, and the half size was perfect (along with a tasty and very spicy meatball on the side, and a few shared appetizers). Everyone in my party ordered separate pastas and they were each delicious.
One of the specials was grated black truffle that could be added to any dish. As much as I love truffles, I wasn’t ready to shill out an additional $ 28 to add it to my pasta… When I’m rich and famous I’ll return and have all the truffle that my little heart desires!
Overall, the food was tasty and the ambiance was lovely. Charlatan is a great place for a date or intimate dinner with friends.

Came here with my wife and a friend.
We had the grilled octopus to start. The cook on the octopus was perfect, very tender with a light char on the outside. The baby carrots were very savory and could have been an appetizer on their own!
All three of us had pastas and they were each tasty in their own way. I had the black pepper rigatoni, wife had the squid ink lumache, and friend had the rabbit casoncelli.

I love the ambiance and the way this place is designed. We came here in Dec for my birthday. Its definitely cozy for a winter night.
We started with some cocktails and a cider. They were delicious! I can’t remember what I had. Something brown, maybe a Manhattan? My boyfriend tried the Run the Julip. It was refreshing! The online menu is different than the menu that they had that night. One big difference is that everyone raves about the octopus but it was not on the menu. Maybe its seasonal? So we had the daily bread. I was pretty yummy! Lots of cheese and good olive oil.
My boyfriend and best friend had the fried chicken and waffles. They have it on Mondays in honor of the previous restaurant that used to do that. There were 2 clean plates and no one offered me a bite so I assume it was delicious. I had the app size pasta. Its not on the online menu. It was cheesy and yummy. I do have a bit of a hard time with this restaurant because its very meaty. I like that a lot of their dishes are offered in a half size so you can mix and try things.
For dessert we had the pecan pie. It was unlike any other pecan pie that I’ve had in that the filling was not like a jelly custard. It was super sugary, crunchy, and really good.
The service was great. Helpful but not hovering.
I’ll have to come back for the octopus with the beef braised carrots on the side.

I’m ever so slightly traumatized by seeing three of my male friends dig into a pig’s head and tear Wilbur apart to his skull, breaking bones, exposing teeth, jiggling around the nose… ahhhhhh! My friend has been talking about getting this meal for month’s so I’m glad he finally got to satiate his appetite. It was a cool experience to order a giant pig head and I’ll admit the meat was quite delicious but for me that’s a one and done thing! I don’t think I could handle the dissection again.
Aside from the pig’s head ($ 60 and they say it feeds two but it fed 4 of us well with a bunch of sides), dinner included interesting dishes and most were delicious.
They have some standout pastas that are pricey but quite filling!
Black Kale Spaghetti ($ 21 for full size) — Kale & Walnut Pesto, Butternut Squash Chips, & blue cheese. I was angry I had to share this dish because the it was packed with taste and had me experiencing new flavor combinations I loved.
Black Pepper Rigatoni ($ 25 for full size) — Wild Boar Ragu, Parmesan and brussel sprouts — It packs a punch! Delicious with a tiny bit of spice that lingers, but was just the right amount for me.
If you are doing the pig’s head or their duck to share with friends, I highly recommend getting a couple of their pastas to split, as well. They are money.
The daily foccacia ($ 5) is some tasty bread but for the amount of butter they include, we would have loved a bit more bread. So much wasted, tasty, soft, garlic butter.
Our server recommended the Grilled Octopus ($ 13) dish saying it was the most popular on the menu. Makes sense because that was some soft octopus unlike I’ve ever had before with a good char on it. It came with an array of ingredients we had major issues identifying but they all went together well & my whole group loved the plate.
Charlatan’s food and service was good enough that I will be back and try more on their menu! It’s Italian with a new and interesting twist, fun new combinations of ingredients and just downright tasty.

Ate here twice now. Great dishes all around. The black kale pasta is amazing but haven’t tried something I don’t like. Definitely try it.
We did have to wait 40 minutes for our reservation, so be sure to save extra time as it’s a small place. Hopefully they recalibrate their reservation system.

highly recommend the pig head and the grilled octopus
the pig head is very satisfying, it might sound very exotic, but it is just very crisp pork skin with very rich pork meat underneath, if you have 4 or more ppl, definitely give it a try

This is my kind of place. It’s sophisticated with a casual feel. All the dishes are approachable and well executed. If I lived in the area, I could see myself eating here weekly. It’s that good!
We were lucky enough to come on a Monday where they do their Chicken and Waffle special. Trust me, come on a Monday and order-​you won’t be disappointed. Three bone in chicken thighs perfectly fried over a great waffle. Housemade hot sauce and maple syrup to drizzle. Amazing!
Of course the meal didn’t start or end there.
For appetizers, we tried the grilled octopus and the oft reviewed focaccia. The octopus was some of the best I have tried. Fork tender with a great char on it. While others rave about the focaccia, I was not as big of a fan. Unlike others, Charlatan’s has a crispy crust but ours was perhaps a little too well done. Not terrible but not something I would come back solely for.
Charlatan makes their pastas in house so we had to try a few. We opted for the smokled spaghetti carbonara and the black pepper rigatoni with wild boar ragu. Both were outstanding and I would struggle picking a favorite amongst the two.
If you haven’t been here yet, try it. You won’t be disappointed!

Charlatan is a great spot if you are looking for a laid back environment to take a date for a great dining experience. I enjoyed myself at Charlatan and will definitely be going back.
Drinks
* Civil Obedience — delicious and worth a try (4stars)
* No Dignity, No Doubt — wasn’t a fan of this because I don’t like the taste of grapefruit, but the date liked it (3.5 stars)
Food
* Cheese Plate — was differently a pleasant surprise. Worth the $ 15 and would get it again (4 stars)
* Grilled Octopus — you get a good serving size that’s big enough for two people to share. Wasn’t the best octopus I’ve had, but was good enough to eat it all (3.5 stars)
* Black Pepper Rigatoni — is a must try! The wild boar mixed with the pepper and parmesan had my taste buds thinking Christmas had come up (5 stars)
* Smoked Spaghetti Carbonara — the pork belly made this dish a must try (4 stars)

Charlatan is my favorite restaurant in this neighborhood. We’ve been many times for brunch and finally made it yesterday for dinner. Everything we’ve had is just spot on, they really know what they’re doing back there on the kitchen. Standout items include any of the pastas. They make the pasta in house and cook it perfectly al dente. We’ve tried the carbonara, the mushroom rotolo, and the black kale spaghettini and they are all great. Flavors are all really well balanced. The trout we had was simple and yet not at the same time. The grilled octopus was cooked perfectly tender. All the dishes are seasonal and colorful which I always appreciate. For brunch, whatever you try just make sure you also get either a side of tots or the mushroom scrapple tots.
Good drink menu as well. Bf enjoyed his old fashioned, and I got a watermelon wheat beer from a San Francisco brewery cuz it’s #summer!
The only thing I didn’t like here was the dessert unfortunately. We got the tiramisu, and although I didn’t mind that it wasn’t a standard tiramisu, it was just kinda meh and there was way too much rum in the mascarpone. If you’re gonna mess with a dessert as perfect as classic tiramisu, it should be amazing and unfortunately it was not.
Still, I love the food at Charlatan and have recommended it to everyone I know and will definitively be back!

Charlatan is one of my favorite restaurants in the city of Chicago right now! Love it here. Located in West Town on Chicago Avenue, it’s got a great view of Eckert Park, and in the summertime, they open up all the front windows to views of the greenery. This place has a perfectly laid-​back atmosphere with courteous wait staff who seem to enjoy working there. I’ve never been when it’s overly crowded, but it always has a nice little buzz. Great place to have a conversation or a date night, etc. because you can actually hear what your fellow diners are saying.
The food here is truly superb. I love the spin they put on traditional Italian dishes, and I love even more than you can order a ½ size pasta portion! The carbonara is amazing– a twist on the traditional style, they actually separate each ingredient out, and then you have the utensils at your table to mix them all in.
Their drinks are also fantastic. GO!

Brought some out of town guests to this nice spot. The service was great and the restaurant is beautifully decorated and very hip.
We split 3 pastas, the cheese plate and focaccia bread. The pastas were all delicious and very unique/​unlike any other dishes I’d had recently. My personal favorite was the kale pasta.
I’ll definitely be back!

After seeing droolworthy photo stream pics of meals here by 2 of my cousins on separate occasions, I decided it was time I trek over to Charlatan for some homemade pasta!
Charlatan’s got a date night-​y/​girls’ night out vibe and some unique cocktails. I enjoyed my citrus-​y Civil Disobedience drink. My eyes and heart were set on the black pepper rigatoni, especially after reading a handful of raving reviews on it. It was good, but I thought my friends’ black kale spaghettini was GREAT! I will definitely get a full order of the spaghettini when I return. So comforting and flavorful.
Dessert was so-​so. My BFF ordered passionfruit sorbet, which I didn’t have, since I think passionfruit tastes like how armpit/​BO smells, but I did have my fair share of the chocolate donuts with caramel dipping sauce. The choc munchkins were a little dense and flour-​y, but the caramel sauce really made the dish, and yes, we ate it by the plain spoonful!
I estimate the dining area seats 60 or so people. Note: the chairs aren’t the comfiest. +100 on OpenTable.

I thought Charlatan was fantastic. That’s not just because they have postcards of their taxidermied, mounted animal heads, though it doesn’t hurt. I should have scooped up more of those. I need to work on my correspondence.
The cocktails were great, particularly the Jeppson’s Swizzle, combining my many loves; carrot, passion fruit, crushed ice, and yes, malort. It sounds questionable, I know, but it really was delicious. Like a negroni or perhaps falling in love with a vampire, it has a bite that you get used to over time.
The food was equally good. They have either half or full sized portions of their pastas, and frankly a shared salad and a half size each for the two of us was plenty, but if you’ve got a big appetite, go for the gusto or share a bunch of little things.
We shared an escarole salad with peas, farro, pesto and some other things on it which I enjoyed. We got the lardons on the side because my companion is veg. so I got to reap double the benefits of those. He tried a black kale spaghetti dish which was gone in a flash, and I found the black pepper rigatoni with wild boar ragu to be incredible. I also added a meatball which was dense and had a kick to it. I didn’t need that meatball, but yeah I did. The marinara served with it was very nice as well.
We were too crammed with food for dessert (and had a date with Miko’s Italian Ice already) but perhaps on a future visit, which there will definitely be.

My friends took me here for my birthday in March. I like vaguely remember eating at whatever the previous restaurant was in this space, but I liked how the current owners transformed the place, including the industrialized décor.
We ordered a lot of food and shared it family style! Starters including the daily foccacia with the yummy roasted garlic butter and a little on the salty side with the Maldon, but still good. The cheese plate was underwhelming, I wish the bread that came with it was better than just toast. The Meatball had a definite kick to it. the Grilled Octopus was standard fare, also a little on the salty side. My favorite entrée was the Black Kale Spaghettini, a nice blend of flavors and textures. Second was the Black Pepper Rigatoni. Pasta was cooked right. The ½ Guinea Hen was moist, but I didn’t really care for the celery root gratin and the pomegranate threw me off. For dessert we had some sort of caramel budino which was good, but not mind-​blowing.
I wish I had a chance to try out a cocktail since it looks like they make pretty good drinks and have a good selection of beers, but will have to wait until after the baby arrives. Also, they have Fried Chicken and Waffles Mondays from 5−10pm! Who wouldn’t return for that?

This is the former West Town Tavern. The inside looks similar but even nicer. We were less adventurous than others and did not get the Pig Head or the Oxtail. However we did get the Focaccia, the charred Octopus, half orders of the Kale spaghetti, the black pepper penne, lobster risotto and several Old Fashionish, that’s what they call it. Everything was really good!
As others have mentioned, the pasta is hand made and fresh. 5 stars for Half orders. Service was excellent! My only 2 gripes — The food was a little oily and the location is not ideal. Overall 4.5 stars being upped to 5.

For all the wannabe Bourdain’s and Zimmern eaters in Chicago, Charlatan is the spot to PIG out starting with their signature dishes Pig Head and Oxtail, aptly named Heads and Tails.
When I first read about this on the interwebs, I was so, so excited to checkout the Pig head! I’m all about weird eats and having eaten my share of pig offal, from stomach, tongue, intestines, feet, adding cheek, ears and eyeball to the list seems to be the natural progression. It is not for the faint of heart, so I had to invite certain «key» friends to join me in tackling these dishes. You either love it or grossed out by it. And trust me, you need the help, these are large 14″ full cast iron pans.
The Pig came with a side of fingerling potatoes. Oxtail came with roasted crusty bread. Both are succulent, gelatinous, rich, fatty beautifully prepared meat. The old, meat falls off the bone is absolutely true. It needs to be. I love the roasted vegetables that came with it all, all cooked in the fat of the animal. Apples, vidalia onions and turnips never tasted SO GOOD. Rustic upscale.
We also ordered one of the pasta dishes. Their claim to fame is that it’s all made in house. Fabulous pasta — al dente, not to mention really interesting dish — black kale spaghetinni. The only disappointing item was the grilled octopus — it tasted like burnt ashes.
Décor was dark, moody with animal heads with pretty wallpaper and a few curse words to boot, but it’s in a foreign language, so it’s totally acceptable… even artsy! Love this place, and I love that they know how to make food is so foreign I wouldn’t really know how to cook it myself makes this place so cool. Come hungry.

I’ve lived in the neighborhood for a few years and was a big fan of the fried chicken at West Town Tavern– the restaurant this spot used to house. In fact, I work with Alonso Sotelo who was the executive chef at WTT for 10 years! I am happy to report that Charlatan is an awesome restaurant and great addition to the neighborhood.
We walked over on a snowy January Monday night for the 6PM reservation we’d made online. It got pretty busy so I’m glad we made that reservation! My girlfriend enjoyed her cocktail made with scotch, and the fact that two of the cocktails names begin with, «Don’t…» She also loved her glass of red.
For dinner we started with the beef carpaccio, which was excellently seasoned and complimented by crispy potatoes, and the grilled octopus, beautifully charred and given a hit of acid from romesco. The big hit of the night, for me, the boring one, was the spaghetti and meatballs. The spicy red sauce and especially the meatballs were delicious.
For dessert we had coffee, hot, and cold espresso poured over vanilla gelato– an affogato. We ordered just about everything except the pig’s head– 3 drinks, 2 appetizers, 2 full size pasta entrees and a side dish, dessert, and 2 coffees, and the total was just $ 100.
Everything was done very well– the coziness of the room, the flawless service, the high level of execution from the kitchen. I can’t wait to get back to Charlatan!