Davanti Enoteca

The 5 oz glass of wine was $ 10 while the 8 oz was $ 15. Huh? I get to pay a premium for the larger glass of wine. No thanks! o
One dinner arrived… five minutes later another arrived… five minutes later the last 2 arrived. And the place was not even busy. What gives?
The food was good but nothing special.

Risotto was delicious. Roasted fingerling potatoes had great flavor but were in desperate need of a sauce as they were so, so dry. Cauliflower steak was disappointing. I had it a couple years ago and it was prepared differently and tasted better. It’s the whole reason I came back, so I was pretty let down by what I got this time. Portions are very small for the price – even for tapas. Dessert list was not appealing at all. A good experience overall, but I wasn’t wowed and I left a little hungry.
Service was good, but not great. Employees were all very friendly. Server misheard my order (it is very loud in the restaurant) and brought out an entrée he thought I ordered but did not. He immediately fixed it, so no problem there. It was a real struggle to get drinks refilled, however. They were very busy, and had many larger tables, so I will cut them some slack on that front. I’m not sure if they were short staffed or not, but if this is typical Friday night busy, then more servers are needed.
I don’t understand people complaining about orders coming out at different times. It’s tapas, folks! This is how tapas works. I did not see this as a problem at all. In fact, our server told us before we even ordered that food would come to the table when it is ready.
Despite making reservations more than a week in advance, my party of 2 was seated right in the path of the kitchen and uncomfortably close to my fellow diners (so close I could have sampled the food on their table). Fortunately, my visit was not intended to be a super special one, so I’m not knocking off any stars for that. (And we did get seated immediately at our reservation time, and the restaurant was definitely packed, so that was very good.) However, if you are including Davanti in your plans for a special occasion, I would suggest that you request seating that isn’t an afterthought.
Parking lot was full when I arrived, and I was 15 minutes early. I hovered around the lot and was fortunate to see a spot open up fairly quickly. Others were not so lucky. I would recommended arriving 15 – 20 minutes early, at least, during peak dining hours. You may end up having to find street parking and huffing it back to the restaurant.

I’ve been lucky enough to dine here twice — once for work (hurray for free food!) and once on a lunch date with my mom.
Things to note:
–Service is fantastic. I think the servers do a great job of reading the type of patron you are and visiting the table as frequent (or infrequent) as necessary.
–Don’t leave without ordering the ricotta + honey comb (vasi). And when you eat it, make sure you do add the honey. It adds so much to the toast!
–If you aren’t drinking wine, try their Lemon Pellegrino. I haven’t seen it on menu’s elsewhere, and it’s super yum.
–If you are drinking wine, come back on a Wednesday — half price wine night!
As much as their entrees are appealing, I prefer more of a «tapas» style of eating. So, I’ve tried the majority of the pastas and several of the pizzas. I’d review more in depth — but I haven’t had anything I don’t love. So I recommend: all of the food!!! You can’t go wrong here.

I hosted my mothers 70^th birthday party here and it couldn’t have been nicer! All of the staff was excellent and went above and beyond for our guests. The manager made It very easy to set up the party and missed no details! They even printed out menu cards with my moms name on it. All of our guests raved about the food, service and ambiance! Wish I could give more than 5 stars! Thank you!

Beautiful interior and very friendly staff. The bartender, Serena, was so attentive. The burrata was so good. We will definitely be back!

I would like to rate this restaurant on several factors. First off, the food. Nowhere on their website do they tell you that this is a tapas/​small plate restaurant. So you think it’s your usual mama mia’s ristorante with plenty of food. Guess again. Don’t expect any bread before your food. You get nothing. While the dishes we had (I had the Gnudi Pomodoro and a friend had the Pacceri con Sasiccia y Pomodoro al Forno) were described quite differently on the menu they had the exact same sauce. The waitress brought a dish to my place while I was washing my hands in the bathroom. When I dug into it, I realized it was not at all what I ordered but was my friend’s. I was glad because the portion was tiny. Then mine was brought out. Same sauce! It wasn’t even tiny, it was minuscule! And to make matters worse, both dishes were lukewarm even though they were supposed to be brought as soon as they were ready, thus arriving separately. («What’s in the olive salad?» «An olive.» «Just an olive?» «Yes, but it’s a very good olive.») Summary: fairly good taste but not at all warm and too teeny tiny!
Next rating will be for the wait staff. I don’t mind that the pace was slow. As a matter of fact, it made for a relaxing experience. However, the place was only half full and our waitress got our orders screwed up, was not interested in answering our questions (we only had a few, what with the menu being in Italian with incomplete translations), and basically acted like were there to interrupt her «busy» schedule. She (Katie) seldom returned to our table, taking lengthy times in between. We had to ask for grated cheese on our dishes. Refills of coffee occurred once. Soda never. Food was placed before us in a hurried sloppy half-​caring manner. The whole «why are you bothering me!» vibe was strong with this one. We had asked for separate checks, but the whole meal was combined when the check arrived. We reminded her that we had asked for separate checks. She left to straighten it out and returned with the items completely messed up on both checks. We decided we’d sort it out ourselves. Summary: why did I even bother you in the first place? Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.
I want to speak about the prices. I have to say that this is one of those places where you pay through the nose and then end up going somewhere else to eat when you leave because you’re still very hungry. It was the highest price I have paid for the least amount of food in any restaurant ever. You are not advised anywhere on their website that this is a tapas/​small plate Italian joint. I should have stayed home and bought a jar of expensive American beluga caviar ($ 1,399.95 for 14 ounces), served myself with a smile, and I would have enjoyed the experience a heck of a lot more. Summary: buy a jar of expensive beluga caviar and spare the bad experience. Or just go to Culver’s, like we did afterwards, and don’t leave hungry.
The final comments are on the atmosphere. While it’s dressed up like it’s a high end restaurant, it misses the mark. The floors weren’t especially clean. The glasses and menus are sloppily plopped on the tables in front of you. The wait staff, or at least some of them, our waitress in particular, did not have manners or patience to effect the attempted high class atmosphere. The table we sat at was lopsided and wobbled throughout the meal. The menu was in Italian with a translation page of some of the words but not all. If you don’t speak fluent Italian, don’t ask Katie for a translation because it will impinge on her «I’m overly busy» attitude. (I have waitressed before at a very busy restaurant, dear!) Summary: for a better time, consider some other restaurant for a lot less money, better service, nicer atmosphere, and equally good food. Or buy yourself a jar of American beluga caviar at an extreme high price, stay at home, and enjoy your own self service.

I made reservations for dinner tonight at Davanti on Open Table. We were running late so I called the restaurant to notify them. This girl (Karen?) that answered the phone could not grasp what I was saying…“I have a reservation and will be a few minutes late.” «You want to make a reservation?» «No, my name is Marianne and I have a reservation for 5:45pm which I made on Open Table.» A few more exchanges and she said I did not have a reservation and to hold the line for the manager… then she hung up! I called back and talked to Michael and went through the explanation again. He said I do not have a reservation (even though I had a confirmation number & email) but he’d make room for us because either they or Open Table made a mistake. When we arrived, low and behold our name was in the system and yes, we did indeed have a reservation. Ugh! With this experience, I think Davanti’s need to get better staff at the hostess stand as they were bumble bees. Thankfully, neither of these bumble bees served us. Onto the positive… this is my third visit in the past month. I love the food here and the good wine list. Tonight, our server was Victoria and she was so friendly, provided good service and made great recommendations. She made our dining experience so enjoyable. Victoria even treated us to dessert on her. She made up ten-​fold for the bumble bees’ confusion at the start of the evening. This was my husband’s first visit and he loved it as much as I do. We will definitely be back and be sure to ask for Victoria again.

Good Italian «tapas» style restaurant. Extensive wine list. Food quality and service were excellent. General issue with every small plate place is that the price per plate is always off the charts. Only complaint.

Absolutely excellent. Great portion sizes. Not the regular run of the mill Italian, but good food and great flavors. Friday and Saturday they have «chefs whim»… trust them! They had a pork chop on special and it was perfectly cooked excellently paired with apples and some sort of sauce that was Devine. I would recommend this place any day of the week!

A friend recommended we visit Davanti while on a business trip. The atmosphere was so welcoming, food was amazingly fresh with well-​balanced flavors, and Simona and chef Scott were a joy to meet! Simona detailed the plates with an obvious passion for food, and we felt transported to Italy for few hours! It was a treat to be served by her. The three of us shared a few antipasti, a pasta, and a main course (also the fig pastry and espresso). You can’t miss the wild boar pappardelle, butternut squash farro, and the octopus. We will definitely be back on the next trip!

Have been a huge fan of the Francesca’s for the last 15 years. Tried Davanti and it’s amazing just like all of the Francesca’s restaurants. I went with high expectations and food definitely hit all of the expectations. Great decord, great service, and excellent food. Focaccia with honey comb is great to share and delicious. Excellent burger, entrees, and pasta. I hope they open one in Naperville soon!

Hosted my sisters baby shower at Davanti and it was an amazing event. The venue worked with us to customize a delicious brunch menu, complete with an expansive Bloody Mary bar and mimosas.
The brunch was out of this world. Lemon ricotta pancakes, poached egg with pork belly hash and egg white with arugula just to name a few.
Service was outstanding. Would definitely go back for lunch or dinner. Great play with flavored on Italian dishes.

We had a really wonderful dinner here with friends a few months ago. It was my first time at Davanti but we’ve been to the location before when it was another restaurant. The décor is very rustic, Italian countryside — warm and inviting inside but we ate on the patio outside for this dinner, which was also very comfortable.
The service from the waitstaff was just so-so…it took forever for her to finally take our drink order and then appetizer and main course orders. I get the idea that they might be encouraging you to linger and savor and enjoy your food without rushing but she didn’t even check in during the lengthy lulls. I would have said that Davanti was a five-​star experience if not for this.
The food more than made up for the lackluster service — everything was fresh and delicious and the portions were fairly generous and suited for sharing. We thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered, including the cocktails, wine and then desserts (which we had indoors because a wicked thunderstorm blew up during our al fresco dinner and the management wanted us to move for our safety). We’re really looking forward to coming back here — very soon.

Obsessed with Davanti. Their food is amazing and their restaurant build-​out is really great as well – very industrial, wine cave-​esque, but cozy, and the music sets a nice mood too. We could easily sit here for hours just enjoying the ambiance.
They have a different Bruschetta every night which my fiancé and I always order right away with our drinks no matter what it is – because it’s always phenomenal. We also really love that their whole concept is «small plates». Their appetizers and salads are what I would consider ‘large’ small plates, but their «entrees» do seem to be truly small plates, so whenever we have actually made it far enough into the menu to get entrees we usually get a few of them. We also really like that the food is not heavy at all – the salads are delicious, but lighter, and the same for the rest of their plates. It’s so hard to find yummy but relatively healthy food in this city but you definitely can find it at Davanti!
Davanti does get pretty crowded for dinner… it seems it doesn’t really matter what night of the week it is, but we have never had a problem getting a table, and the longest we have ever had to wait is maybe 10 minutes… if that – we do prefer to sit in the bar area, but we’ve never had a problem getting a table in the dining room either. The service is also always fantastic! And location is great! Being right across the street from the tracks sometimes my fiancé will just hop off the train from work and we will just meet there.
Oh and Saturdays and Sundays they have Glazed and Infused doughnuts… which are just absolutely incredible…

I had such an enjoyable meal at Davanti, I’m not sure why this was my first time eating here.
First of all the staff is so nice. Our waiter, I don’t remember his name but I’m terrible with names so no offense, was so chill yet so helpful and knowledgeable and smiley.
I was like the first one there that Saturday afternoon at 12 meeting my mom for lunch. I had a beer while I waited and perused the menu which was fun because they have things like Ricotta and honeycomb on toast. That dish was ordered and was consumed with eyes closed while moaning. It was THAT good. We also ordered polenta and egg with veggies (awesome), mushroom/​tallegio pizza (OMG) and the escarole salad with cheese and apple and nuts and holy moly it was delicious. Could not get enough of that salad.
These are small plates, call it tapas style and meant to be shared. They also do cheese and meat boards, which we could not fit in our bellies, so that’s for next time. Yum!
Cute place too — dim, cool light fixtures, wood, outdoor seating, average bar selection as far as liquors, more wine choices for sure.

We went here last night for a friend’s birthday with a large party. We did everything we could to make this as smooth as possible, making reservations well ahead of time as well as arriving very early. Regardless, the night was an almost total clusterf*ck. We had reservations for 8:00, got there at 7:30, and were seated at 9:00… With our party split across two different tables with two different waitresses who weren’t at all on the same page. One table ordered entrees, the other didn’t, and when tables cleared out enough for us to eventually got seated together… Well, as you can imagine, half of our party got their dinner with the other half saying, «Oh, you guys ordered?» It was… Awkward.
Why four stars even though the whole night was pretty crazy? Well, the host and the guy who I can only assume was the manager was doing everything they could to make things right for us. Apparently the problem was a party who showed up at 5:00 who dug in and didn’t leave until we did at 10:00. I can’t really blame the restaurant for that, I wouldn’t schedule tables around the idea that people would sit there for FIVE HOURS. The bar was also occupied for a private event, so there really wasn’t anywhere for us to go. We all got a round of free drinks, a bunch of free appetizers, and so many apologies if I had a penny for each it would’ve covered the rest of our dinner.
ANYWAY, since you’re likely reading Unilocal reviews for a NORMAL sized party just there for a normal dinner, let’s cut to the chase– The food here was great, the appetizers we had were a variety of their different toasts. The truffle and egg one was the best, but beware if you’re weird about eating raw eggs as this is basically raw egg paradise. If you’re fine with that, you’ll be in for an amazingly creamy, crusty, truffle-​y goodness. Oh, the ricotta and honeycomb toast was nuts too.
I had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, which isn’t even on the menu, which kind of brings me to another complaint here. Before I get started, the food was great. Whoever is working in the kitchen definitely knows what they’re doing. Whoever wrote the menu though… I kind of want to give them a taste of Gordon Ramsay yelling at them a la Kitchen Nightmares. (The UK one, not the trashy US one.)
The menu is so heinously pompous and full of itself it’ll make your head spin. It seems like the menu author has nearly derived some level of gratification from using words he knows no one knows. How do I know that? The MENU INCLUDES A GOD DAMN GLOSSARY. This effectively is saying to your diners, «Don’t worry idiots, I know you don’t know the amazing things I’m about to serve you, that’s why I included a list of words to dumb this down for ya’ll.» It’s like reading A Clockwork Orange for the first time. It was clever when Anthony Burgess did it, not so much when the chef of a suburban Italian place does it.
So, yeah, that puts this review in a weird place. Our party seating was a disaster, the menu is ridiculous, but the food is great. At the end of the day, that’s the important part of a restaurant, so, whatever. I guess the rest of it just makes for an entertaining story.

Very enjoyable Friday night visit recently. Definitely call ahead and make reservations, because this place will get packed. Walking in, it almost felt like we were downtown in the Loop. Loud, crowded, busy, all normally things I try to avoid. However, they lent themselves fittingly to a unique dining experience in the Southwest suburbs. Service throughout was friendly, helpful, and very knowledgeable. For being as packed as they were, food came out in due time, and we were rarely caught waiting. Serviceable beer menu and a stellar wine and cocktails married very well with their food offerings. Anyways, on to the food…
Apps — Bruschetta of the day; Prosciutto-​Veal Meatballs; and the Riccota Honeycomb Vasi (mason jar).
Concerning the bruschetta, it was freaking amazing. Topped with whipped goat cheese, grilled asparagus, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and peppers, it was probably the best dish of the night. Perfectly seasoned, and every ingredient propelled the next to stardom.
The meatballs finished a close second. Solid seasoning and flavors however they were drier than most of your housemade Italian meatballs. The ragu paired well, and the sauteed onions, braised greens, and garlic definitely increased the dish’s appeal and flavor construction. The shaved pecorino went mostly unnoticed :(
Sadly, the ricotta honeycomb mason jar finished last. We had heard all of the hype, but for me it was almost tasteless. That, and with so much ricotta there was hardly any honeycomb to go around. If and when we make it back, I’ll have to pass on this one.
Mains — Davanti Burger, Bistecca con funghi + fonduta (steak with mushrooms, bleu cheese)
The burger was a solid 4 stars. Topped with cheese curds, bacon jam, roasted tomato, arugula, and garlic mayo, it had all the makings. Unfortunately the burger was under done and, at its center, almost raw. We enjoyed the beef blend flavor and overall presentation, but it was far from my top 5 burger list. The accompanying side of shoestring fries were well seasoned, however more or less inconsequential.
The strip steak, much like the burger, rated no higher than a 4 on the Unilocal 5 scale. Decent flavor and presentation, but nothing over the top. I tend to eat my steak plain, as to enjoy the full flavor, so the bleu cheese and porchini mushrooms (with sauce) did nothing for me. Cooked properly to our order, but again, nothing extraordinary.
Don’t get my somewhat harsh criticisms confused with what was a above average dining experience. Most every food offering we tasted was done very well. However, when dining at restaurants such as Davanti Enoteca, the level of expectation is raised, and anything less than run of the mill is hard to justify. We definitely enjoyed ourselves, and will be coming back, but a few of our choices will be modified on the next go around.

So, the hubs asked me where we were going to dinner… Hmmm… Let’s check the bookmarks.. .
Well, although this location wasn’t bookmarked, I saw the name & knew my Unilocal!friend, Susan H. has been to the same name in University Village (not certain if they’re the same but it was worth a shot!) and I knew we had to try this place… that girl has pretty good taste.
Seated (with reservations) & greeted immediately by a very knowledgeable and friendly server. I told him my wine preference and he suggested the perfect one. What I loved the most was, the other wines he could have chose were more expensive, but instead of going with price, he went with quality. Right on man!
Here was the menu:
Bruschetta: asparagus, goat cheese, onions & peppers
Ricotta & honeycomb mason jar
Veal meatballs
Bistecca con funghi e fonduta: steak & mushrooms
Davanti burger: bacon jam, roasted tomato, cheese curd, arugula, roasted garlic mayo, shoestring fries
I can’t say anything we had was bad necessarily but some things could have been done slightly better. The Bruschetta was simply mouth watering, delicious & I can’t wait to have more. The ricotta mason jar was, well I guess it was okay but they need to infuse just a little more flavor into that jar (sorry Susan!). The veal meatballs were delish, but nothing spectacular. The steak and mushrooms were probably my least favorite of the night. The dish was flavorless, overcooked and something I definitely will not order again. The burger.. . welp, what can ya say about bacon jam, cheese curds and garlic mayo?! YUM! That burger was pretty awesome!
All in all it was a pretty successful trip & to be quite honest, I am excited to go back and try some things the table next to us had. Cheers!

A must try!
I came here on a date, felt immediately at home. The place has a cozy feel, has a strong emphasis on wine (I loved the wooden wall pieces made from wine crates!), and delicious food. What’s unique about Davanti, is that it seems like they keep the menu pretty consistent, but the way they make something might change, based on what’s in season. It’s a cool concept instead of revamping a menu every few months.
We had a bruschetta to start– garlic toasted bread with a gorgonzola cheese spread, mushrooms, and sweet onions. It was a fantastic sweet and savory mix. I loved it!
For entrees, I ordered the rigatoni/​pasta dish, my date had a seafood pasta. Portions are not huge, if you come very hungry you can easily eat it all. I did go home with some leftovers though. The seafood pasta was rich, but not overly so. My pasta was good, not over cooked, but wasn’t super memorable. I think I’d pick something else next time.
Service here was wonderful. We arrived without a reservation, and they told us it’d be a 30 minute wait (on a Friday). We were seated within 10. Our waitress was attentive and made wine suggestions to accommodate both of our differing tastes. Her suggestion was a winner for us both!
I’m happy this place is so close to home. I will be back!

Who knew warm kale could be so delicious! LOVE the warm kale salad with pecans and oranges. On the weekends they have a make your own Bloody Mary bar! Love the small plates/​large plates Italian tapas style menu. Awesome for sharing food or sampling a few things. Not to be missed: the salads (pick any one… all yummy!), the «egg toast» appetizer and the Blondie dessert. We also shared the salmon, the arugula pizza and a burger (shoe string fries are AWESOME). Everything was outstanding! It’s really a dining experience and they consistently take the extra step to make their food special. For example, the pizza was served with little dishes containing red pepper flakes, sea salt, etc.
Everything about this place is SO right! The food is exceptional, the décor is so unique and warm, service is top notch. Whoever thought of using wine crates and corks to cover the walls… genius. Perfect for a special occasion or brunch/​dinner with friends. Great outdoor patio for dining too!
Shout out to our server Katie for being so on top of everything and knowledgeable about the wine selection!