Piccolo Mondo

There’s not a whole lot of ‘finer’ dining/​sit-​down options in Hyde Park (though that’s changing), so Piccolo Mondo kind of stands out. This place can be casual if you want it to be, or it can work for a nice date-​night dinner after work.
Is it the best Italian you’ll find in Chicago? No, but it’s pretty darn good, and for the area it’s certainly the best you’ll find. I’ve had their pasta and it’s always good, and the portions are large enough that I can usually get two meals’ worth of leftovers out of it, so it’s a good value. Price is reasonable enough as well for what you get (and the area).
Service can be a little slow, but again, since it’s a bit more ‘upscale’ I could see them doing that on purpose because of the experience. The servers have always been friendly, though. I’ve enjoyed all the food I’ve had there, save for a cheesecake I had last time I was there (I can’t remember what it was called, unfortunately).
The menu is really extensive as well, so pretty much anyone could find something they liked there, I’m sure. It’s not on the ‘main drags’ of 52^rd or 57^th, which is kind of nice that it’s tucked away a bit. A nice little hidden gem.

Typical Italian-​American fare at an okay price point.
We had pasta. The food was decent. As another reviewer said, not great, but definitely decent. Typical Italian-​American (i.e., not Italian) food. The portions were big, we ended up taking home close to half my girlfriend’s dish. The service was very good. All in all a pleasant enough experience.

Disappointing. Ordered the #2 special from bakery which was a sandwich and two cookies plus coffee or tea. $ 9.93 for this? Where are the two cookies and this sandwich is stupidly small. Since I walked over and that took 15 minutes I no longer have time to go back for the cookies I paid for. Not cool! Not cool at all. I thought the bag was awfully light so that’s on me for not checking but why should I even have to at this price point?

Don’t order via takeout.
This restaurant is close to my home, so I thought would order take out and pick it up on my way home. They got the order wrong — all it had in common with what i ordered was that it had both chicken and pasta! I ate it because I was hungry, and too lazy to go back. When I complained, they gave me the wrong information to contact the manager/​owner. Despite the fact that the person taking order over the phone admitted she got it wrong, she did not apologize, nor did anyone else when I stopped by the restaurant. There was NO attempt to address my complaint, even though I called, AND I stopped by.

I went here recently for a romantic date. Perfect little spot. Great lasagna. Great calamari. Great service.

Lunched here today for the first time with my sister (after visiting the Museum of Science and Industry). We were very pleasantly impressed. The atmosphere is very nice, with white paper-​covered table cloths and tall windows with arched tops, so the whole dining room is filled with light, and beautiful views of the park abound. Wait service was attentive and extremely nice. Menu has a generous offering of varied selections, with an emphasis on pastas. Many salad and sandwich options, too. Prices vary, with some dishes over $ 20, but an ample selection of moderate-​priced entrees, in the low teens range. Soup, salads and sandwiches are even more affordable.
We each had a pasta dish; mine was an ear-​shaped pasta cooked with mushrooms and sun-​dried tomatoes in a creamy pesto sauce. Wait time for food was very reasonable… probably within 10 minutes. My dish was very tasty, if maybe overly rich (my fault for choosing a pasta in a cream sauce) and clearly all of it was very fresh. I took half of my entrée home and it was a nice treat for dinner this evening. One extra-​authentic Italian touch is a bottle of olive oil for bread plates to moisten bread (also fresh in Italian style) as an alternative to butter (which is offered, too).
My sister was very pleased with her entrée, too, which was gnocchi. Even though I couldn’t finish my meal entrée then, I couldn’t resist ordering dessert after eyeing the bakery case in front. My sister and I shared a mini-​chocolate-​mousse-​cake, and I ordered a cappuccino too. Espresso selections are ample. Our pastry was delightful! The mousse topping was sweetly creamy and light, with a rich chocolate taste. Most heavenly was the short layer of cake underneath the mousse, lusciously chocolate– tasting and unquestionably very fresh. I have one word: sublime. The cappuccino was excellent, too, with thick foam and a swirl of cinnamon. It was a little pricey at $ 4.50, but a better buy for the money than the souvenirs at the museum gift shop, LOL.
My only complaint was the supposed parking provided for customers in a lot across the street. The parking situation was very confusing, with the only spaces vacant all designated as «reserved for tenants». I gave up and found metered street parking two blocks away. Inside the restaurant, I was advised I could’ve disregarded the signs and parked anywhere on the left side of the lot – but how would a new customer know that? Other than that, it was a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience in a community underserved in fast-​food alternatives. Definitely, I will return next time I’m in Hyde Park, and will recommend enthusiastically to friends et al!

Absolutely terrible!!! I have a food allergy and informed the server, Fransisco. When my food came out he handed me the plate and said don’t eat the mashed potatoes. Didn’t offer another side dish or didn’t take it back and made a clean plate. Basically just said eat the meat and don’t worry about it. The check came and the server didn’t comp the meal. I will not recommend this place… Very poor customer service!!!

I have gone to Piccolo Mondo quite a few times in recent year since I live in Hyde Park. Last night I was terribly disappointed to find out that the owner apparently no longer allows one to bring their own wine for a corkage fee. Their wine list is just terrible so this always helped motivate me to go back. I think it will be my last time. Food is pretty good, but eating it with bad wine is no fun. Too bad. I tried to be loyal but there are so many other options in Chicago. Very dumb decision on the part of the owner.

It was good.
Food=Not fantastic, not bad… just good. (fried calamari was very good)
Service=great
Convenience=awesome, after a day at the museum.
Don’t think I would go out of my way to go here but would definitely go back the next time we visit the museum.

This is one of those hidden gems near the Chicago waterfront. It is basically across the street from the museum of Science and Industry, so makes a great stop after seeing the sights. They have a traditional Italian dinner menu as well as tapas selections for smaller plates.
The food we had was delicious. The datiles con torino (bacon wrapped dates) were plump, crisp, juicy, and delicious. The carbonara was a treat. The fettuccini apulliana was well executed. And I’ve never had a dish quite like the gnocchi ripieno (dumplings with roasted red peppers, olives, and capers). The gnocchi were pillowey soft, and were stuffed with red pepper cheese filling! All doused with a light butter garlic sauce.
The tiramisu was as good as expected from an Italian restaurant. The flan was mediocre, but had a nice orange flavor. And the coconut iced cream was a nice light treat.
The ambiance is nice, but not stuffy. Nice glassware, but still paper table cloths. There are nice views from the ground level arched windows. Adding some light background music would help break the quiet.
We were pleasantly surprised by this place, and glad we gave them a try.

I had lunch here for the first time yesterday. I had the pollo marinato alla griglia and it was simply amazing! I cleaned the plate & I never do that in public. Both the food and service were simply divine. I’ll be back to visit this gem of Hyde Park.

As long as I have been in this neighborhood I never knew this place existed until today. Upon entering the restaurant you would walk right into a café. Which I may go and try today. They had coffee and cakes etc. then the restaurant is right behind the café. The restaurant gave you sort of an upscale feel with its table setting and placements and large see thru windows. Let’s talk about the food. They started us off with bread, butter and oils. Of course I made a Parmesan Cheese oil dip for my bread and it was yummy. We ordered the goat cheese, Mariana sauce with bruschetta and it was pretty good. The goat cheese was not strong like more of them can be. Then I ordered the lobster ravioli and it was amazing!!! Full of flavor in every bite and it wasn’t fishy. You got real bits of lobster and not the imitation kind. My friend ordered the lamb chops with spinach potato and it was delicious. The lamb chop was cooked to perfection and it was not gamey like some lamb meat can be and the spinach potato was delicious. I would have never thought to combine the two. For dessert we had the grandma cake which I didn’t to much care for. It was cold and dry in my opinion but that’s just me. Overall I enjoyed this place and I wouldn’t mind visiting again.

Went to the coffee shoot area. Probably the best pastries in a coffee shop you will ever find. Came in at 9:30am. Very fresh.

The coffee is amazing, everyone who works here is super friendly, the desserts and pastries are to die for, and for how fancy this place is, everything is very reasonably priced. Items worth trying: spaghetti carbonara, cappuccino, tiramisu, tuna pinwheel, latte and more that I have yet to try.

Food was good but the service was terrible. He walked away several times. Charged our charge $ 25 more than the bill. Will not be back!

The food will get 5 stars, because it was delicious. The service, for the most part, was good. However, this is what made me give this restaurant 2 stars: my grandfather handed the waiter the tip, and the waiter refused to take it. My mom and I did explain to my 80 year old grandfather that the average tip is 15% of the meal because my 80 year old grandfather did not know. However, my grandfather insisted on our waiter taking the tip, and took it personal that the waiter just shrugged him off. My mother added a few more dollars to the tip (again to calm my grandfather down) and then my grandfather asked our waiter to come back and explain to us why he didn’t take the tip. The waiter didn’t say anything, took the tip, and then walked away abruptly while shrugging his shoulders. Overall, that waiter made it a bad experience. I did not appreciate him being rude.
If you are a waiter, you should take any tip given to you. You need to realize that it can be insulting when you refuse a tip.

I was happy to find a second decent restaurant (i.e., a pleasant, conversation-​friendly place serving good food that’s worth what I paid) in Hyde Park. (The other place is La Petite Folie.) While Piccolo Mondo won’t be earning Michelin stars any time soon, it is a comfortable venue serving tasty Italian standards in a light, airy setting. The staff was congenial, the service attentive (if a bit slower than some), and the prices acceptable. Another plus: free parking in their lot.
The menu is mostly straight-​ahead Italian, with an additional offering of hot & cold Spanish tapas. The wine list offers many choices, most at the lower end of the price spectrum ($ 25 — $ 30 bottles). We enjoyed a Piccolo Mondo salad for starters; it was fresh & nicely dressed. My companion liked a lamb chop special (tender & tasty), and I was pleased with a seafood mixed grill (the octopus, squid and shrimp were all fresh-​tasting and nicely cooked). Portions were quite ample — we had no room for dessert.
I’ll definitely go back when I’m in Hyde Park for a play or concert. HP is sadly lacking in decent restaurants, and PM is a bright spot for me.

Adjectives: quality dishes, neighborhood gem
Dish: Duetto (ravoli and spaghetti with meat balls and meat sauce)
I love this family-​run Hyde Park gem. It has that great Hyde Park mix of long-​time HP hippies, rumpled UChicago students, and seniors who live in the building it is located in. It is on the nice side of HP restaurants, but still pretty casual. (When I lived in the Windemere building, I have wandered down in my sweatpants to take advantage of the building discount.)
The food is tasty and the portion sizes are generous for the price. Their meat sauce is fresh and flavorful, so I recommend the duetto with meat sauce. You get some of the ravioli and some of their meatballs on one fabulous plate. The wine list is compact.

I’ve long loved Piccolo Mondo for a friendly, white-​table-​cloth-​but-​not-​too-​formal lunch or dinner. They do very well with seated groups as well as cater locally. The atmosphere and food are invariably quite good as is the service. It’s two blocks from the Museum of Science & Industry, a block from the #6 bus stop at 56^th Street and South Hyde Park Blvd., two blocks from the 57^th Street Metra stop, a long pleasant stroll from the center of the University of Chicago campus, and they have a small free parking lot at 56^th & Cornell, too.
It’s such a reliably nice place, but I have to say their web site does their business no favors! What Contact Us page doesn’t have the restaurant’s phone number on it? The About Us page has been under construction for years. Frustrating!
But just writing about them makes me hungry for the spaghetti fruti di mare and the asparagus lasagna.
Strongly recommended in spite of the web page fail.

I was at a conference at the U. of Chicago, and many of us were looking for restaurants within a short walking distance of the university. Piccolo Mondo was among the few seriously good ones close to the university. Many of us had dinner here, and we all were pleased. Also it is a good restaurant for large groups, since the noise level, even when crowded, does not interfere with conversation.
In fact we chose it for a business meeting for a group of nine, and it worked out very well for our purposes.