Traverso’s Restaurant

Great food and service!(server Id 8, went above & beyond for 6 of us) didn’t get your name:(
Shrimp Vesuvius over angel hair was spicy and delicious. Caesar salad with salmon, very generous portion! Fresh baked bread and an atmosphere for conversation!

Have been passing by this place for years. Heard the they had Karaōke and planed on going, until I started reading the Unilocal reviews. I was surprised with the mixed reviews for a place in business so long.
Decided to give it a try and was happy I did. The pizza and garlic bread were very good, server was efficient and very friendly and the Karaōke made for a very entertaining evening. This place turned out to be an outstanding value for a Saturday night out with the wife.

Came here on our never ending quest to find a date night restaurant that I’m getting more convinced doesn’t exist unless we go into the city. We had the cheese bites — clearly from frozen but were probably the tastiest part of our meal; antipasto salad — drenched in vinaigrette; lasagna — not homemade and overly salty but ok; and taco pizza — simply awful. There was karaōke happening in the bar so we were one of 2 couples in the actual dining room and were the youngest clientele they’d likely seen in weeks (we are in our mid-​30s btw). Our waitress is the only saving grace. She didn’t lie about the food. Told us what was truly disgusting versus what was tolerable. If you’re 80 or older then I would recommend. If not, just avoid!

Wanted to give this place every benefit of the doubt. They have been here forever. Very disappointed with the hostess right off the bat. It was Monday February 15^th at 6:00. She couldn’t have been more rude and put out by having to bring us to the table. Quite different from our server Gabby who couldn’t have done a nicer job. First time a month ago we tried the pizza. Not very good in comparison to others around. Go to Ed & Joe’s in downtown Tinley Park. Much better. This time we had their «Regal Fried Chicken». Nothing regal about it. They must have forgotten to season it! There was just no taste. The Regal Potatoes were dreadful. All in all, I hope they take care of their regulars. No one new will be coming back. How sad.

We took our grandchildren to Traverso’s in Orland Park tonight; the hostess seated us and forgot to leave kids menus and crayons for the kids. When our waitress, Debbie M. came to our table, I asked her if she would please bring kids menus and crayons for the kids; she said «I’m really busy right now, but you can go to the hostess table and get them yourself!» I was so stunned by this remark that I didn’t know what to say! It would have taken her just a minute to accomodate my request; instead, she missed out on a really good tip, and Traverso’s lost a loyal customer. Customer service is everything, and she clearly missed the mark!

Well made thin crust pizza that is actually crispy. The cheesecake is light not heavy like most cheesecakes offered in Chicago. Service is attentive but not intrusive.

The food is delicious! Wine is great. The bread is served warm. Service is quick and accurate. But they could use a renovation. The atmosphere is a bit late 80s.

Yes, another old school Italian restaurant but the difference here is the pizza they serve, very good thin crust. Considering the many ways to make minestrone soup, the soup that they serve is truly different and it comes with warm bread to dunk in the broth. Their spaghetti with meat sauce is some of the best I have had at any restaurant. The sauce does not taste liked canned tomatoes, it is a home made sauce and yes, you can ask for more bread and extra sauce to dunk. Seating has the usual dining area but there are also booths in the bar area, very nice. Want to try some thing different in Italian food, this is the place. Parking is available and yes, it is for families, everyone from young to old. Great place for parties and the wait staff is on point.

Man, the people that work here are unfriendly. It’s as if they had to deal with all the hard-​of-​hearing senior citizens and by the time I arrived, they had lost all patience and were highly frustrated. The thin lady at the host stand tells my Dad and I that there will be a wait and took our last name, no problem, we took a seat and were fascinated by the nice Christmas decorations. We were pulled out of our trance not by our name being politely called, but the lady at the host stand yelling at us! All she had to say was, «_​_​_​_​_​_​_​, your table is ready» … Sorry but I don’t respond to «hey… hello guys! Umm your table is ready are you going to come up or not» she could have been talking to anybody, how were we supposed to know if we aren’t addressed properly or if someone doesn’t walk up to us… She then leads us to our table, only it’s dirty. She apologized, but didn’t lead us back to the foyer, so we just awkwardly turned around and headed back to where we were sitting.
When we finally were seated, no bread was brought to the table (a little strange for an Italian restaurant, but no big deal). The minestrone soup, which my Dad had previously raved about, was disappointing to us both; hardly any flavor. The pizza was surprisingly pretty tasty, but nothing I would go out of my way to return here for. We had a waitress from Hell, I can’t remember her name, nor do I want to (blonde, maybe late 40s). I felt worse listening to her interactions with other tables, but at least I knew she was treating all her tables equally like shit and not just us. For example, a big group of old men were trying to order, and she just abruptly yells at them, «I’m not a mind reader, I need to know what you’re going to order you guys.» Wow lady, give them another minute then! She was just awful. It was a Tuesday and there was a deal on pizza, but the place wasn’t busy.
The reason my Dad and I came here was because I just moved to the area and he said Traverso’s was the best… This I just can’t agree with him on, although I’ll never tell him; I’m sure at one time Traverso’s was a place to write home about, but that simply is not the case anymore. Maybe I’ll just take him to Rocco’s or Lou’s and he’ll see the light.

I could not have been happier with the surprise party we threw for my father and aunt this past Friday! We had an exceptional server from Ireland, and the food was so awesome!
They even had the Carl Sandberg carolers in to sing songs, which added an unbelievable touch! We were in the back room and it was quaint and sweer.
I love the pizza here, it was excellent. Salads were fresh and appetizers were on point!
Live this place and glad we got to celebrate with a large group here, it was perfect!

We love this place and their pizza is great, we try to get here at least once a month for our pizza fix

Like the reviews for so many places, I see some rave reviews and some unpleasant reviews.
I wonder if some of the critical ones are sent in by competitors and some of the favorable ones by friends or even management. How can perspective diners figure out whether they should try a place or not? I have never been to this place but I wish them well and also wish that prospective diners could somehow get some honest and accurate reviews.

Delicious Pizza, and I don’t care what anyone says, the interior is nostalgic for a reason, keeps the memories. I did hear they watered down their lasagna to save money but I haven’t tried it in a while. Probably still delicious.

Good stuff. Haven’t had a pizza from here in awhile. Was excellent. Perfect for the single fellow with a few slices left over. Cheese and sauseege $ 11.45. Can’t beat it. Well done, not burnt, with extra sauce. It was excellent!

Completely repulsed by the terrible food preparation. The server couldn’t describe the food but that’s because there’s no more than three ingredients. The «salads» (which was merely lettuce and a tomato wedge) were doused in dressing, the chicken Parmesan sandwich was flavorless, the gnocchi and meat sauce was just a glob of ground beef in tomato sauce plopped atop the dumplings. I unfortunately have nothing positive to say. STAY AWAY!

I have been going here for 30+ years and always has been my favorite pizza place.
Love the fact that inside is still the same old place that I remember as a kid
Ordered the same pizza as always this eve and quickly realized the are now using some cheap fake or imitation cheese. It was bleach white and absolutely had zero hot stringy cheese characteristics.
My family is in the food business and I know this pizza was not the authentic we once knew.
Sad to say we will not be back anytime soon
As if we want cheap imitation junk food we will just stop at our local convenience store and save the time and money.
Wish I didn’t have to write this but hopefully someone there may read and realize people will pay for quality and will not return if a bad experience!
:((

We have been here twice since my initial review. We had pizza both times. We ordered it crispy both times and it was great! It comes out a bit crispy on the crust but not at all burnt. My pizza experience here this time and for all of these years has always been consistently good.

Been here for 10 years and finally tried this place out! Décor was definitely dated, but was cozy and had old timey charm.
Didn’t get to the pizza as planned, but their signature sausage patty sandwhich, the Front Street, was really good. Minestrone was thick and hearty, and ceaser salad with homemade croutons was good. Took a bite of my partners fried chicken and it was good too. Save room for dessert cuz the Goosey Cake, a hot homemade brownie cake with icecream was Delish!!!
Would recommend this place and look forward to trying the pizza next time.

Dated décor and menu. Friendly service that kept up with our large group of 12. The food left something to be desired. Salads were overdressed & the lettuce was brown. The minestrone soup looked more like a cup of gravy. Pizza was decent for thin crust. Large portions of pasta.
I don’t think I’d come back honestly. Take out pizza might be worth it.

Pretty good Italian food at a been-​here-​for-​ever kind of place. Dark inside, a bit of an older following, ancient pictures on the walls, a number of rooms to break up the crowd, and seating for tons of people — this is a good place for large group dinners. Went on Valentine’s Day 2014 for dinner with my Valentine… nice touch in that they gave each lady a fresh long-​stem carnation.
As to the food — good and bad. I had the meat stuffed ravioli… nice tasting meat inside but the ravioli pockets were pretty blah. My wife had the gnocchi… and this was very good and fresh. Food was fast and hot — both nice attributes. Bread was pretty good … butter in those little square packets. Service was very nice and quick. Wine was ok — we just had the Ruffino chianti ($ 7.50 a glass). Would go again — especially for the gnocchi.