Sono Wood Fired

Cozy welcoming pizza and bar perfect for enjoying good food with family/​friends.
Reservation for 14 people? No problem!
When we arrived our table was ready and we were greeted by our friendly and accommodating waitress. Before taking our order she clarified and asked how we would like to split the bill. Being asked this by our waitress prior to ordering was music to my ears. Usually with a large group splitting the check can be tricky and annoying. Not here!
I was already in a good mood and I hadn’t even ordered my drink yet.
I had a refreshing pear drink which hit the spot. Not too strong but definitely felt the kick. I ordered the fig bruchette and the capricciosa pizza, I would recommend both. The rest of my family ordered a mix of pizza and pasta (which they make in-​house) and loved everything they had. We also sampled some of their dessert menu (zeppole and panna cotta) and it was the cherry on top to a good dinner. I love thin crust pizza with good ingredients and this place delivers. I will definitely be back for more!

Absolutely sensational. We just dined here for Mother’s Day. We caught a 3:00 play at Steppenwolf beforehand and had reservations at 6. We were seated earlier around 5:30. When we ordered our food, I honestly haven’t had a single bad thing here. The salad trio and pizza are super fresh, vibrant, delicious and light. My mom and I split the salad trio which was a good deal. Salads consisted of: frisée, candied walnuts and goat cheese with a tangy light vinaigrette, shaved fennel salad with crispy prosciutto and a spinach salad with tangerine segments. The pizza is probably the highlight of this place. Won’t be eating anymore deep dish after this experience. Crispy from the woodfire oven and you can taste the ingredients in all their glory. I tried a bite of pompardel pasta that my dad ordered. The lamb ragu was tender, flavorful and hardy. The pasta is scratch made. Can’t ever go wrong with that. Reasonably priced and in the heart of Lincoln Park. Awesome staff and relaxing vibes. I will return!

The food was good but some things were lacking. The Brussels sprouts hat they are adding the menu were delicious but could have used some more balsamic. Likewise the salsicia pizza had almost no red peppers. In fact, not every slice even had red peppers on them. We also ordered the verdure Bianche pizza which was good but only had sparse crumbles of cheese and, again, could have used more balsamic.
The atmosphere was good however the music was quite drab given the fact that it was 90s soft rock.

I originally came to hang out with friends I haven’t met in a while. The décor inside is really nice it wasn’t loud so being able to conversate with one another was easy.
The pizza on the other hand were decent portions and intersting toppings on each that gave them nice taste. But it’s a bit pricey. On the other hand the drink list is nice they have some wine and nice beer choices.
I would say it’s worth to go eat there once.

We had very good food and excellent attentive service. The barrato was especially delicious, creamy and served with the perfect accompanying slightly toasted rounds and braised greens. The lamb meat balls were cooked well but we’re not standouts. They were in a small amount of flavorful tomato sauce. The menu included a lot of tempting items; I wish we had had time for more.

This place was very impressive. Amazing wine and such a friendly staff. Definitely my new favorite spot.

I was last at Sono years ago, but had forgotten what it was like. I enjoyed this return visit. It was A-​OK. It advertises itself as a pizzeria, but the pizza was not what we enjoyed. There’s a nice selection of appetizers, bruschette, and salads, as well as a decent wine list.
VIBE: Open, airy, comfortable, a little dark. Not too noisy when we were there early in the evening.
SERVICE: Attentive and timely. Pizza came before we were finished with our salad, but no big deal.
GOOD: We liked a tasty kale/​arugula salad with a honey vinaigrette. Lamb meatballs were also delicious.
NOT SO GOOD: A special duck sausage pizza sounded good on paper, but did not measure up to the Neapolitan pizzas we like elsewhere in the city. The ingredients were good, but the whole thing was too dry, partly because of a wide margin of bare crust. The crust, while blistered nicely, was dry and flavorless (rather than chewy and flavorful (e.g., at Spacca Napoli).
I would return to try the pasta at Sono — it looked promising.

The only thing it’s worth a 5 star in this place is the service and the nice ambiance.
The food is a major disappointment.
Their pizza was among the most sad and pointless I ever had.
I had any kind of pizza around the globe I visited, and this one was almost a new discovery. It looked like flat bred with few toppings on top.
Pizza non buona (pessima)
A no go!

I stopped here with a couple of friends before seeing a show at the iO Theater. We got the crisp artichokes as one of our appetizers. They were weird, and none of us really enjoyed them. However, the different bruschette were all very nice. The entrées were all fine, between the four of us we had two pastas dishes and two pizzas, and we have nothing to complain about.
I was the only person who got dessert. I got the chocolate truffle cake with the sea salt caramel gelato. While I was eating it I was enjoying it so much that I tuned out the company I was with and was only brought back to real world when one of my friends shook my arm and asked me if I would like to be alone in a dark room with my dessert. When it comes to this dessert, the answer to that question is «yes, oh God, yes.»

Sono Wood Fired. WOW! If you’re trying to catch a show near the steppenwolf theater, the north/​clybourn area is not short of some great food. Sono Wood Fired is a pretty elegant place with a nice romantic and spacious interior. However, it doesn’t exude bougieness so it fares well both as a casual get together with friends or a night out with a significant other.
First off the food here is perfect for sharing! Each pizza comes with eight slices, each a solid portion. My party had the wild mushroom pizza, speck, and capricciosa. The wild mushroom was my favorite – truffle oil on anything is a huge hit. The speck had a solid helping of prosciutto on each slice and was salty+satisfying. The capricciosa was my least favorite since I thought it was the most ordinary (white pizzas are the way to go). However, each pizza was made perfectly. The dough was thin but dense enough to soak up the wetness of the ingredients while the crust was crispy and chewy.
Our server here was AWESOME. She made sure everyone was well taken care of, provided us with an extra scallop to our table of four (it wasn’t free though hah) and cracked some jokes. It was a great experience and will definitely make a trip back!

Could not have had a better experience. We had: delicious and reasonably-​priced wine, fast and accommodating service, and a truly tasty burrata bruschetta. Plus, the atmosphere was cozy and inviting.
Despite not having a reservation (not recommended), we explained that we only wanted a quick bite and a drink before our show, and thanks to Erin (I hope that’s the right name!), out hostess, we were seated promptly at a wonderful table near the window. Our waiter, Joe, understood the situation and took care of everything in such a fast and agreeable way, I just had to write a review!
Bravo, Sono. Highly recommend.

We love this place! Our apartment is right across the street so we find ourselves here quite a bit in the chilly months. The servers and bartenders we see are there every time and actually remember us each time we come in. They are very friendly, attentive, and ask about what recommendations we have.
We love the ambiance and warmth of the restaurant and are hoping they bring back the whipped feta dish soon because it is our fave!
Great place to bring friends, have a date night, or hang out at the bar with the nice bartender.

Good looking place, good flavored food but slow service. I enjoyed the Fig & Roasted Peppers bruchettes. They were nicely done & had good sweet, tangy & savory flavors. The Sopressata pizza had nice tomato sauce, subtle spiced salami & fresh basil. However, the food took unusually long to come out. Overall, a nice Napoletana pizza place. I would go again.

Great pizza and great service. Specials each day of the week and ½ price wine bottles on Sunday. Street parking is free on Clybourn in the block south of the restaurant. (Where do you find no meters in this city any more!!!). You can watch your pizza being made and it comes crisp and awesome.

We stopped by Sono Wood Fired for dinner before a show at the iO Theater nearby. It wasn’t very busy at all and we had no problem getting a table on a Friday night.
The menu had two different types of pizzas: pizza rossa, which have a tomato based sauce, and pizza bianche, which I believe have an olive oil based sauce. I was avoiding meat on this day, so we ended up going with the Bufalina pizza, which was topped with roasted garlic and oregano.
The wood-​fired oven gave a nice crispy texture to the whole pizza. The crust was thick and had huge air bubbles with the slightest char at different parts of it. There was a generous amount of red sauce, which is always a plus for me. The flavor of the sauce was a little on the sweeter side. As for the toppings, there was at least 2 chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese on every piece and whole cloves of softened roasted garlic throughout. I thought it was a really solid pizza, with fresh ingredients and real classic flavors. Being so thin, the pizza was also very light and didn’t leave you feeling overly stuffed.
The service here was super quick too. We were in and out within an hour, and it was perfect because we had a show to catch.
Overall, I liked the pizza here. Sono is a good place to get quality Neapolitan style pizzas without having the long wait like other places such as Coalfire. I’d like to come back to try some of their meat pizzas next.

I live at Sono West so it’s really convenient location since I can walk.
All staff were friendly. Place is clean and spacious. We had the table next to the window outside and I was facing the window to face the outdoor action… Thinking it was a better seat in the house but I was wrong. Better to face the inside so you can see the action inside the restaurant.
The pizza was excellent. The only reason I gave it one less star at 4 was because the cheese on the margerhetta pizza was kinda luke warm. Don’t expect the usual cheese all over pizza, it’s just some random pieces of cheese over the pizza. At first I thought ugh, no cheese. But I actually ended up loving it! Wasn’t too salty, too greasy… And I just love the dough… Very thin and chewy. Pizza here is great!
Great dinner spot!!! Nothing too fancy but pretty fancy for pizza!

We really enjoy Sono Wood Fired. The pizza is very similar to La Madia and Tre Soldi — maybe even a little like Piece — except a hair less gourmet.
We like it because it’s quick, not too far from home, affordable, solid pizza, and participates in an airline rewards program. With the exception of when they’re busy, I’ve had fabulous service. In fact, the service has been so good that I even tip when I’m picking up!
Here’s a tip for if you are driving and pick up pizza: there are two lots on either side of Sono. One is for Vitamin Shoppe and the other is owned by Sono. I’ve parked (temporarily) in both lots for free!
We like the ingredients and creativity of the pizza and salads from Sono. The only problem that we have (and this isn’t that big of a deal) is that they have a lot of crust. What I mean is this. The pizza is very thin (and even soggy/​floppy in the middle), but the sauce and toppings aren’t spread that close to the outer edge. The crust is a good 1.5″-2″ of nakedness around the perimeter before the sauce and toppings begin. That 1.5″-2″ is what really sets them apart from their more expensive (but higher quality) competitors.

Almost everyone in Chicago has one of them. That friend who won’t go past Division St. for anything other than maybe a Cubs game. Well my buddy in said category not only agreed to make the trek to Sono, but actually suggested it so I knew it had to be a pretty intriguing menu.
It didn’t disappoint. The food was delicious, the service was spot on, and the price was pretty reasonable. Whether you do the crispy crusted wood-​fired pizzas, the bomb ass burrata, or the homemade pastas it’s a pretty solid dining experience all around.
Seating is easy to obtain even on a Friday night and it’s right off a red line stop so that friend of yours who doesn’t leave the Loop area will have easy access to make it up to «Wisconsin.»
Overall well worth the trip no matter where you’re coming from.

ALL FIRED UP
When you first walk in here you will smell the wood fired oven. The smell is amazing and is enough to satisfy anyone who loves & appreciates food.
We were also lucky enough to get to meet Owner/​Chef John and Owner Martin. Both guys were really nice & very knowledgable about food & service. In fact, while we were looking at our menus we asked Chef John about the special lobster pizza. He told us all about it and we told him we really wanted that. Chef John then asked us if we wanted to order off the menu or let him make us dinner. I didn’t even hesitate & voted to let him cook for us. These moments do not happen often and you have to seize it.
We started out with a few craft cocktails and beer. I was enjoying the ice cold 312 on tap. We talked about what was going to hit the table first. We could hardly wait.
Our first dish was an amazing crab cake with roasted Midwestern corn, lemon aioli & chives. Wow was this dish really good. I would put this crab cake in my top two in Chicago. I enjoy a good crab cake that is actually all crab and less cake. This dish did not let me down. I honestly could have stopped here & have been a happy man but we had more dinning to do.
Next Chef John hit us with a variety of his bruschetta. We had fig with granny smith apple, gorgonzola dolce, crisp coppa, & balsamic. A cipollini onion jam with humbolt fog, lavender honey & a artichoke with ricotta, roasted garlic & crispy artichoke leaves. All of them were really good but if I had to pic one favorite I would go with the cipollini onion jam. The flavors in this bruschetta just jumped out at me.
Now it was time to taste some of the amazing wood-​fired pizzas. We had a soppressata divola with wood-​fired onions, fiore di latte & basil and the special Maine Lobster pizza with a white sauce. Again both were so good but my favorite was the spicy Soppressata. I love some spice in my life and the spicy sausage really made the pizza.
We then moved on to crispy chicken thighs with lemon-​garlic-​rosemary marinade, braised rapini & crisp potatoes. I loved everything about this dish. First of all chicken in a restaurant can be dried out but not here. It was juicy & delicious. I also loved the braised rapini. Being Sicilian this was a normal vegetable in our house & I very seldom see restaurants making it. Chef John prepared it perfectly and my Dad would have been proud to eat it.
I must also talk about the potatoes. The crispy potatoes were so good. I told Chef John I thought they were amazing. He then told me how to make them. He then told us an incredible story about how he acquired the recipe in New York. The story was one of the best stories I have ever heard. I am not going to share it. You’re going to have to order the potatoes & then ask Chef John for the story himself. He told it with so much passion and excitement. Even Matt Damon was in the story. Probably one of my top moments with a chef sharing a part of there life. Chef John told me that he’s thinking about making the potatoes as an appetizer. I’m wishing that becomes a reality one day.
We must have been looking a little stuffed when Chef John asked us if he should stop or keep going. We threw in the towel and told him we were finished. I then asked him what he was going to hit us with next, if we had kept going. He told us about his wood fired ribeye steak. For about two seconds I wanted to ask my party to retract the stop eating order for this one heavenly dish but I knew the right thing to do was just stop.
As we sat there, someone said to Chef John do you have dessert. Chef John smiled and said he would be right back. We ended up with three fantastic dishes to fill our sweet tooth. We had dolci which is a chocolate truffle cake with sea salt caramel gelato. The gelato was really good. A zeppole which are little doughnuts with cinnamon sugar & a hazelnut chocolate sauce. These are always a fantastic choice. Hot donuts work at any time of the day. And finally a Strawberry Crisp. This was a special on the menu. Chef John had picked up a case of ripe strawberries at the farmers market and literally whipped it up. That is what cooking is all about. Making dishes using fresh seasonal items that are available at that moment.
I really want to thank Chef John and his partner Martin for showing us a special evening. The food and conversations were out of this world. It is so much fun to have fresh food prepared for you by a passionate chef. Then to have stories that come along with the food is just priceless. It’s like watching a cooking show but you actually get to taste the food as well as be part of the action.
I can hardly wait to come back again for dinner. Tuesday night is buy one get one pizza free night and I think that would be a perfect night to bring the family by for dinner. Plus one of these nights I need to try that ribeye steak that Chef John described because I have been dreaming about it. My dinner here was a priceless moment.

One of the stops of Thursdays in the 312 and I must say I love wood fired pizza. 5 of us hit this spot up on a not so busy Thursday and none of us were disappointed!
Parking was easy the walk was painless, even in the cold weather. I like the feel of the place when you walk in. Dim, romantic, sexy, perfect for a hot date. BUT I didn’t have one of those so… moving on.
The five of us shared 3 pizzas and we each got a flight of wines. They have a very nice variety. Red wines, white wines, etc., etc. I went with the red because red just goes ridiculously well with any dinner.
Then we ordered the pizzas:
Margherita — Fiore di Latte (Fresh Mozzarella) and Basil
Salsiccia — sausage, roasted peppers, fiore di latte, basil
Spinach — ricotta, goat cheese, spinach, toasted garlic
Can you guys guess which was my fav? The Salsiccia! Pretty much anything with meat always gets my vote. The other two were really good but not as good as the Salsiccia, plus the name just sounds cooler. It was the perfect amount of spicy and cheesy. Just a great flavor over all. The crust wasn’t as crispy as I would have wanted it but the flavor made up for it.
We were all ready to order more but we opted for the gelati instead. Sea Salt caramel and Pistachio. Both drool worthy.
The service was good, the waitress suggested our wines and one of my friends was very impressed with them that she went out and bought some.
Needless to say I would definitely visit this place again. Hopefully with a date next time. ;)