Salerno’s On the Fox

It’s an oldie but a goodie. On the fox river across from Potawattomie. We usually order the traditional pizza it’s a thicker crust. It’s always on point. I prefer ordered pizza in as the cheese is always perfectly gooey!
Tonight my drinks were just so so. Service was good, waitress was on top of things, but odd of sorts… Haha. Appetizer — tomato salad was fresh and flavorful.
Lights were dim, bustling with families.
Give it a go– especially if it’s a beautiful night — they have outdoor seating.

An age ago, in deepest Berwyn, if you asked anyone who ruled the pizza roost, the answer was near unanimous. Salerno’s Restaurant on 16^th street, which started out as a tavern. Many Italian-​owned taverns had a room in the back where Mamma Mia dished out giddy acts of red-​sauce heaven. It was the Pizza at Salernos that was the knockout. Over the years, Salernos grew and grew, and eventually outgrew the old neighborhood and moved out west.
They say they don’t make ‘em like they used to, and they don’t. That’s why it’s good Salerno’s On The Fox continues the great quality of food they’ve always served. Now it’s just in a prettier building, in a prettier location.
Now you’re not going to blaze any culinary trails. You’ve had all these dishes before, but not prepared as well as you’re going to find them here. If you took any 3 serious Unilocalers, put pen and paper in their hands and said «draw up the ideal Trad Italian Restaurant Menu», you would land up with the Salerno Carte.
Yep, Red sauce and plenty of it, Veal, Pasta, Chicken, Sausage, Meatballs and a little Seafood, too.
Don’t forget that spectacular Pizza which has never changed or gone out of fashion. It’s a big, hearty pie. Serious Eating. I like mine with Anchovies and Sausage.
I won’t single out anything else, ‘cos it’s all good. Never had a duff meal in all the years.
Yes, it’s old school. Unabashedly Old School, which is jut what you want in a Trad Italian. Order some of the house Chianti, do some baked clams. If you’re there with a few people, order a pizza for the table. From there, grab the menu and just point. You can’t go wrong…

I’ve had a lot of Italian around the area, and I find that my family routinely forgets that Salerno’s on the Fox exists. Then, every time we «re-​discover» this place we ask ourselves why we don’t come here more?
The interior seems throwback Italian with low lighting, mob music, and servers pushing food around on a cart. I find the food to be very good. Just yesterday, I went out with another couple and tried the baked clams, calamari, pizza bread, dinner salad w the house dressing, and the baked penne. Everything tasted delicious and was big enough to share, my favorite was actually the pizza bread.
I thought the server was attentive and polite, my only critique is that our food and check came a little on the slow side. I’ve been to restaurants in Italy, so it wasn’t truly European slow, but it was obvious things had gotten backed up on a busy Saturday night, which the waitress apologized for. If we weren’t trying to catch a movie, I probably would not have minded that much.

The best pizza!!! I wish I lived closer. My wife and I make this drive fairly often because we can not find better pizza anywhere else!

Just had my Christmas party there Saturday night and it was awesome. We did a private menu and the food was raved about by all. The service was great. They really helped me set this up for a night well remembered. The favorite was the Chicken Limone, and Sausage Gambota, and don’t forget the Tiramisu. Would definitely do this again.

Honest intelligent review. Bad experience for the second time. Last time the chicken vesuvius was overcooked and dry while the potatoes were undercooked and flavor did not permeate into the potatoes, which tells me the dish is sautéed in sauce at the last sec. That was probably 2 years ago.
Last night we stopped in hoping for a better experience as our friend swears by it from back in the day. The ‘all day’ red sauce was spiked with way too much pepper! Not pleasing to the taste buds. My daughter wouldn’t even eat it! Not even a hint of sweetness indicating it was slow simmered all day. We ordered a side of sausage, which was obviously spicy as it tasted of red pepper flakes, which would have been nice to know per the menu. It had no ‘char’ marks of any kind and had more spicy red sauce dumped on it. Way overcooked. Tough. Bad taste, execution, and presentation of an iconic Chicago side dish!
The meatballs were decently portioned for $ 3.50, but horrible! They tasted like iron (which is usually outsourced beef from other than the US) with garlic powder, dried parsley and water that was blended in a mixer for an hour and baked. My wife did not finish hers. The owner’s son asked me why I was clearing my table & no boxes, I stated my case briefly, and the only answer I got was ‘our beef is 80/​20′. Where’s the pork & veal bud? You’re Italian no?
Our bread was not toasted, nor warm & we were brought out another loaf that was burnt but still cold by the owners son! Really? Warm bread and their delicious dipping oil are what Italian restaurants are all about! Weak! Not even an offer to correct things or make it right for a 5 year old who wouldn’t eat her favorite food!
The calamari were awesome! Great quality and cooked to perfection! Credit where it’s due!
All in all… for 3 drinks, side salad, order of spaghetti marinara, sides of meatballs & sausage, & calamari app we dropped $ 50. If you’re going to charge me that kind of $ for basically a single entrée and sides you better execute in the kitchen alot better! Our waitress acknowledged our food wasn’t decent & obviously was at odds w/​management. Service was good though.
This restaurant has great ambiance BUT WOULD NOT BE OPEN MORE THAN 6 MONTHS IF IT WAS LOCATED WITHIN EAR SHOT OF CHICAGO! Not authentic Italian American food. We gave them 2 chances. Sorry, but for $ 22+ meat entrees St. Charles has far better choices for Italian American food. Never again! Sub par food & ingredients for the prices they charge! People don’t mind paying for quality… but it’s not here!

Things never stay the same I suppose. After 20 years or so I think Salerno’s pizza ingredients or recipe has changed and it’s just not the same. It is hard to describe but it just tasted cheaper, way too much sauce and I could barely tell if it had sausage on it. We politely asked our server if anything had changed because it tasted very different. She got extremely defensive which was upsetting after already not enjoying the pizza. To make matters worse, the pizza pan was curved and not very stable so while attempting to get a slice of pizza the pan tilted and tossed the rest of the pizza on the floor. I’m sure the server thought we did it on purpose because we had already stated we did not really enjoy the pizza. She came over to help clean up and I explained to her about the pan. She continued to tell me the pan was not curved and it didn’t cause the pizza to fall on the floor. She was a terrible server, just down right rude and telling me I was wrong when clearly you could see the problem with the pizza pan (and I had mentioned it right when the pizza had been brought out to us.) What an absolute let down after going to this place for nearly 20 years. We won’t ever be going back due to how the food has changed and cheapened, and the horrendous customer service by at least that one server. If I could remember her name I would absolutely point it out. Never again. There is ZaZas and Morettis in the surrounding area and they offer better food and quality service! If you go to Salerno’s I sure hope you have a better experience than we did. It used to be so good!

We love love this awesome old school Italian joint! Between everyone in my family we have tried just about everything on the menu. While their pasta is delicious, I always get the steak. Better than any steak house, comes out tender and delicious. Love it. Oh, and they give you enough food for at least 3 meals. I love the fact that you can wear jeans and a t-​shirt or a shirt and tie/​dress and fit in just fine. The décor is definitely old school and probably needs a little face lift but it just adds to the charm. It’s right on the fox river and we always ask to sit by the window and enjoy the scenery. You can’t go wrong with this place! Enjoy!

Great! Great, Great!
Clean place. tasty food — just like NaNa used to make. Nice Italian music to round out your dining experience. A must if you are in St. Charles.
…and the waitress was a delight too.

This is an interesting place.
Situated on a lovely spot on the Fox River you’ve got some lovely views.
We’ve sat on the patio for cocktails and pizza and the location is tough to beat on a nice enough day.
Pizza is good. I will say that the crust was thicker than I expected, but it kind of grew on me. The pizza is a solid winner, so we occasionally grab it from their pickup window on the way home, which is always hopping with other like-​minded pizza grabbers, which should tell you all you need to know about that particular menu item.
We finally did the dining room also. Inside it is, as others have said, old-​school. Thing is, I like old-​school. This place has Chianti running through it’s veins it’s so Italian. If Sinatra and Sammy D were sitting at the bar knocking down a few I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
The restaurant is run and staffed by real people. They actually talk to you as if they give a damn about whatever it is you are saying and are ready for some banter if that’s your game. I like that too.
The food was excellent. All of it. I got the veal parm. yum-​yum-​gone.
My wife had chicken risotto. This took a while, although the waitress let us know that it was taking a while. For those that know risotto, this is a good thing, as it means they’re making it fresh instead of having it sit in a pan and plopping a glop on a plate, which usually is gunk. Risotto takes time to cook. I know because I cook it, and you’re looking at 20 – 30 minutes to whip it up fresh and right. So we waited, but it was delish and worth waiting for and came out in a massive mound of goodness that could have fed half the dining room.
I’m casting around for the right words to impart the feel here. It’s homey, it’s friendly with good food, and it’s a bit of time machine. It’s not uptight snobs in tuxedos waxing poetic about the delicate balance of this or that and boring the hell out of you with the phony BS designed to make you feel better about overpaying for your food. There’s a time and a place for that and there’s a time and a place for a more real experience with real people. Salerno’s brings that home, with good food at good prices– and you get all of that with a stellar view of the river.
You SHOULD be going here if you’re not already. Throw a dart at the menu, as I honestly don’t think anything would not be decent here at this point– and bring your appetite…

Even though I live in the city, I still like to come out to this pizzeria. My favorite part is all of the
cheese that they put on top! The salads are also very fresh! Great experiences every time I go!

Pizza is pitiful! Really does taste like cardboard. Who uses canned mushrooms. Cmon if that ain’t a sign. Like the owner but that’s not good enough to force down the pie! Pass

Salerno’s has a great view and very good pizza, but the good review stops there. First of all, it desperately needs a face-​lift. Everything is old and worn looking, it’s kind of depressing. I could ignore the surroundings if the food was good, but it’s not. It’s just a pizza place. I’ve had other dishes on the menu, and I have been consistently disappointed by the quality and presentation. I would never go to Salerno’s for anything but pizza, and even then, why not go somewhere great?

We pick up from here regularly… Their amazing pizzas. I’ve come here since I was a little girl, and the traditional crust pizza is to die for… And the only thing saving this star rating.
Tonight my mother wanted to go out for a late mothers day thing, so the three kidlets, myself, and grandma headed to Salernos.
The kids pizza was generous. The other two split the lasagna… One was perfectly happy, the other said mine was better.
My pasta… For 19.99 was atrocious. It was the tortellini in cream sauce with peas, mushrooms, and ham.
The tortellini was mush, it was so overcooked. The sauce was so thick, and the taste so prefab… I questioned if it was Campbell’s soup based.
The wine list is basic and uninspiring. The waitress, while kind, knew nothing about what was contained in it.
I’ll usually pay a premium for your pizza. I’m feeling completely robbed tonight…

I ate outside by the river. You have to get carry-​out for this option. The waitress forgot about us after I tipped 30 percent. We were expecting some more sauce that we had asked for. The chicken Parmesan was dry. The burger was ok.
Bartender was very courteous and helpful.
Location and view is nice but the service kind of ruined it for me, Probably won’t go back.
Choice of music outside was annoying and distracting.

Hadn’t been here in 20+ years, but I decided to go here with my girlfriend for St. Valentine’s day since we were nearby. We shared the Salerno special salad, mini heart shaped pizza, and the Steak Marsala with risotto. The risotto was the best I ever had. Salad was very tasty. Pizza was as good as I remember. Service was very good and I left a 30% tip. I used to go here as a teen because they were open late. Despite being young, we were always treated well. I will not wait another 20 years to return.
If you’re looking for a nice, but not stuffy, place with a warm atmosphere and a scenic view, it’s hard to top Salerno’s on the Fox.
P. S. I’ve seen at least two marriage proposals here.

All I can say is I LOVE THIS PLACE! Everything is delicious. Great pizza, home made sausage, authentic pasta. A come back to place.

Went here last night with a bunch of friends for late dinner. I had eaten here before as a young child many many years ago when stegosaurus burgers and raptor fingers were entrees. I remembered it being good then so was anxious to see how it held up over the 30+ years since my last visit. Time has not treated it well… nor has the décor changed at all over the last 30 years despite renovations. Disappointing.
Service was excellent as we were seated quickly, served timely and our beverages never were low without offers of refills. While that could also be a result of our table being one of 3 with people at it, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
I remember the pizza being good as a kid and several reviews here said the same so we ordered that. Bread was brought out while we waited. The bread was cold (I was hoping it would be warm) and fairly tough/​chewy. The pizza was expensive given the size IMO ($ 32 for 16″ with 3 ingredients) and came out in about 30 minutes. Maybe I have become a pizza snob over time or there are just too many quality options now but we didn’t care for it much. It was cooked about 5 – 10 minutes too long for our liking… unless you like it really well done. It was overly greasy. The sauce was a nice sweet sauce. The crust, for thin crust, was a bit thicker than we anticipated and was also tough/​chewy. It was even tough to cut with our knives let alone the serving spatula. While the pizza was disappointing, some of our friends had the pasta. It looked very good and they enjoyed it.
Overall, it was a fun night. While service was very good, we were hoping for more from this place. I don’t see us going back to try the pasta, given the cost and better pizza and pasta options available these days.

Best pizza anywhere around, hands down.
I grew up in this town and now live in North Carolina. Whenever I’m in the area, I always make sure we come here for pizza.

I wish I could bump this up to three stars because the grub is gooood, but our night ended pretty negatively at Salerno’s. My Friday Night Supper Club had 7:15pm reservations for 11 people. We were all seated and ordered drinks by 7:20. The waitress immediately told our party of 11 that she could only separate the bill on to two checks. They had done four checks for us there before, but at least she told us upfront. She was training a new waitress and I’m sure she wanted to stick to the rules for training purposes.
At 7:45pm we still had not ordered, and I needed to find a private place to nurse my baby because he was getting a little fussy, and I knew we’d be there at least another hour. It was very nice for the owner working the host stand to offer me the coat room. My other alternative was sitting in the car in the far corner of the parking lot, so I really appreciated his thoughtful and unsolicited offer!
My friends put in our orders while I was gone, somewhere around 8pm. I think that was the first issue because our order should have been put in ASAP considering we had a few kids at the table. Our food didn’t come out until about 9pm; almost an hour wait for food is just way too long in my opinion. We also got no updates on the food from our waitress. I think that would have alleviated our growing anxiousness, to get a little update/​apology for the wait, ‘Your food is almost up,’ or something! We had to ask another waitress to find our waitress to get an update on the food after about 45min.
When our dishes finally arrived it was all DELICIOUS! Hence my frustration with giving two stars! I got the Rigatoni Ala Casa and my creamy pesto sauce with spinach, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and chicken over rigatoni was really amazing! I love the Chicken Parmigiana as well, but I am so glad I tried something new!
The waitress apologized when the food came, and explained they were very busy, and all the sauces are made fresh for each plate so the wait is normal. We still thought there should have been more updates, or an apology from the manager, so someone in my group asked for a manager to come by. I think everything would have blown over if the owner had swung by in a pleasant mood and gave us another apology, but instead he was defensive and short with us.
Some members of our group were disappointed with how things ended and were making a few comments as we moved our group toward the exit. Here’s where my two star rating is originating… at this point the chef came out of the kitchen and snapped at the last few people from my party… «If you can find better food, then go there next time!» Whoa! We were all pretty shocked by this. We never criticized the food. It was only the long wait that had us squirming. This left a very bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
I hope I can get them all to try Salerno’s again someday. We’ll make sure to put in our orders as we’re seated. Some of the best Italian food in the area but expect a wait!