Bacchanalia - Chicago

This restaurant is a old family favorite. We valet parked. We had a party of 14 on a busy Sat night. Atmosphere is cozy for a large party. We ordered antipasta platter, fried calamari, and baked clams, moscato asti, chicken vesuvio, chicken bacchanalia, lasagna, gnocchi, fettuccini, and chicken parm. Lasagna table favorite! Ambiance so quaint and pretty! Service friendly and fun! Thank you Donna Sierzega McNally

My mother and I had an excellent dinner here last weekend. We were greeted by a very lovely lady at the bar who made us feel immediately welcome. Service was prompt and friendly and the food... Let's just say there were no leftovers. It was sooo good! We loved that we didn't feel rushed at all, and I saw everyone there was taking their time and really enjoying the night. The bathrooms were clean and the space very well-kept. We didn't have a reservation but they are accepted if you call in advance. It was really an experience and I'll definitely be back!

I've been enjoying Bacchanalia's dishes since 1979. For those who are vegan/vegetarian, they are very accommodating. I ordered angel hair pasta with artichoke hearts and marinara. It was so delicious. I had to go back a second time because it was THAT good. The stuffed artichoke hearts was my appetizer and that alone was a meal in itself. Photos of my entree': Day 1 Day 2

Delicious food, good prices for how big the portions are! Owner treated us like family, had a very fun time and felt very welcomed. 10/10 dining experience

Incredible, classic Italian dishes. A wide range of imported and domestic wines not to mention an absolutely amazing selection of fresh handmade desserts. Good for a weeknight out or a romantic dinner date! Support local family owned restaurants in the original Little Italy.

A Salvador family staple. Been coming here since I was a tiny baby- if you know me I’ve told you about this place.

First our waiter Dante was great The food is fresh and taste great Nice atmosphere for a romantic dinner

I came here with some family looking to fill myself up in some homemade Italian cooking. We ordered a table full of food (for 4 of us) so we could try as much as our stomachs could hold: Chicken Parmesan, Beef Ravioli, Fried Pork Cutlet, Chicken Vesuvio, Lasagna, and two sides - sautéed spinach and green beans. The food was incredible. There wasn’t anything I didn’t think was fantastic. My favorite was the beef ravioli (fresh made pasta stuffed with perfectly cooked beef) and the lasagna. The food reminded me of dinners with my Italian family while growing up and my trips to Italy. The food, vibe, and amazing staff make this a must-go place.

Delicious, authentic Italian food in a great family setting. THE SPAGHETTI CARBONARA IS THE BEST IN CHICAGO. Excellent prices and astounding portions. If you’re looking for great Italian food without going to Little Italy, try this place. If you’re looking to impress your friends with your knowledge of great Italian establishments in Chicago, make a reservation here.

Authentic quality and prepared food expirence done the best. No cutting corners in any way, love this place 100%

Absolutely delicious lasagna, gnocchi and house sangria! Service was delightful as well!

Mouth watering lasagna with incredible 3rd generation service from Dante. Started with Caesar salad. Very amused by the dessert menu circulated at the end of the meal. A must go in Chicago !

Sat outside with tables set up on the street. Street was blocked off for safety of course. Great appetizers of brunette, calamari, stuffed clams and pallenta. Val was our server. She took care of all our request timely and with great professionalism . Made our party of 8 adults, 2 children feel welcomed. I had steak vesuvio. Steak was tender, flavorful, and mouth watering . Others in our group ordered Seafood Salad, Shrimp Bacchanalia, Pot Roast and chicken parm. Not one complaint from our guest.

Val is that girl. And the LASGANA…. I needed that whole pan TO GO. My girl ate the entire thing no breaks… please do yourself a favor and visit this gorgeous little hidden gem!

One of our favorite Italian restaurants. The food is always incredible (anything with their bolognese sauce is amazing, and they sell it by the jar!). They always take great care of us. We celebrated my moms birthday there yesterday and they were so sweet to her, singing happy birthday with a nice dessert. The dining area is a little small, but I think that makes it cozy. Highly recommend!

Perfect Saturday night with good friends and great food. Restaurant was packed, yet service was still extraordinary.

This is a great family-run establishment that really goes above and beyond for their guests. It was my partners first time here and they brought out complimentary soup for us. Will definitely be back and I urge everyone to visit asap! Also - LOVED the strawberry limoncello martinis. please make them a permanent staple on your drinks menu!

Came on NYE. Loved it. The food was so delicious. The sauces. The pasta. The Lamb Chops out of sight! Loved out waiter, Lisa, she was friendly and up for the fun our party wanted to have! The only issue I had was it was our first time so we didn’t know the entrance into restaurant was non existent and they don’t have a host so we were confused on where to go to check in or if we had come in the wrong entrance. It’s tight. The bartender looked at us and didn’t say anything. Wish he would have just acknowledged us and said go over there and blah blah. I understand it was busy but the confused look on 3 peoples faces should have warranted a stop and a hello! Will for sure be coming back! Felt like a family spot. A lot of regulars who wished the owner(working in the kitchen!) a happy new year. People knew each others name. Love that.

Made a reservation for a friend’s birthday for 10 people, they accommodated a large party and we had the best food and service. All dishes from appetizers to mains were delicious and substantial. Lisa our server was so friendly and super amazing and Paula and Dante treated us like royalty. Would absolutely come back to this amazing classic Chicago establishment anytime! Thank you Team Bacchanalia for the most wonderful night!

Great service, food, and atmosphere!!! My waitress Valerie and the server Dante were so kind to my family and I. Rigatoni Vodka, Lasagna, and Baked Calms were a 10/10. The service was great, very attentive and working hard throughout the night. We deeply appreciate making our dining experience more enjoyable throughout a Friday night rush. Will definitely be back at some point.

This family owned spot is a hidden gem! We had a large group and our server Dante was amazing, he did not miss a single thing. The pasta was delicious, and so were the baked clams. We will be back!

Can't say enough amazing things. The food is spectacular, the service is so personable and nice! The drink pours are generous and just the overall vibe is very cool.

Our experience was exceptional. The cuisine was excellent., and the atmosphere was cozy and inviting, perfectly embodying the essence of an authentic Italian restaurant. We have made a reservation.

This place is ~15min walk from Western CTA station. We came here on a Monday night for a friend’s birthday. The restaurant is located in a residential area and the streets are quiet. There are fairy lights outside the restaurant so it shouldn’t be hard to find. We got some Baked Clams and Fried Calamari as appetizers to start with. I got linguine al pesto and the portion was huge. I couldn’t finish everything and had a lot to take home with me. We also got the Chicken Bacchanalia. I thought it was the best dish out of all the ones we ordered (~8 dishes) because it looked and smelled the most delicious. The dark meat came off the bone easily and the white meat was really dry but the sauce made up for that. It was very strong in garlic and I loved it. The bell pepper was soft and absorbed the sauce so it tasted really good. The dessert menu came as a photo album. It’s super cute and helped so much because I didn’t know what most of them were and would have to Google otherwise. I got the Amaretto Cheesecake; it looks plain but tastes fresh. The server brought out our desserts and with a candle on that of my birthday friend’s. She even sang the birthday song with us and helped us take photos. The decoration inside was really photo-worthy. There are vines hanging on the walls and mini Italian flags on each table. We took a bunch of pictures there. The patio seemed closed but I imagine it would be so cute to be eating out there in the summer. The vibes of this restaurant is just so romantic.

TikTok told me this was the best lasagna in the city. I may have to agree. It is EVERYTHING you would want in lasagna. With a great portion size and the right crisp on the cheese. Took a star off because they over cooked the garlic bread. Which was ordered fresh because it is not available via their website. I didn’t eat in so no comment on the atmosphere.

We came on a Monday night at about 5:30 pm with no reservation and were seated immediately. We enjoyed the food and especially enjoyed the table side bread and oil. The pasta was very good and everyone at the table had a different favorite though the vodka sauce was a clear winner. We also ordered the pesto and the Alfredo. As far as concerns I first of all felt this place was expensive for what we got. Three dishes with no drinks came out to over $70. However, my biggest gripe was that it took us over and hour and 15 mins to get our food. Our waitress was not communicative about this and we found out the kitchen was short-staffed when we overheard from another waiter. Our waitress just told us it'll be right out on a couple of occasions. Which was obviously not correct and added to my annoyance about the situation. When it came time to pay she took a long time getting us the bill. We were there for almost 2.5 hours and not at our will. I want to hope this was a one off bad day for them, but as a tourist I Likely won't be back to find out and certainly wouldn't prioritize returning.

Had a great first time experience here even with short staff . The appetizers were all great. Service was quick and thorough. The pasta was fantastic and the garlic penne literally gave me chills in a good way. Gnocchi was definitely worth it and will come back again .

Small homey place off the beaten path in Heart of Chicago neighborhood. Very quaint and amongst cute neighborhood houses. Even our Lyft driver wondered whether there was a restaurant as we approached! Pasta was excellent and wine selection solid. A bit of a gem, far from downtown and more bustling areas like Grant Park. Worth the trip.

We have been going to Bacchanalia's for over thirty years. It seemed like they only had a limited menu. Everything was al a carte. Nothing came with even a salad or soup. No special menu, which they had earlier in the summer. My food was good, but I had to initially send it back as the pasta and meatballs were tepid. Service was very attentive without being intrusive. Overall, I was disappointed.

Went on a sunday night. there were maybe 2 tables occupied. while we were there another 2 showed up. for a smallish place, we had plenty of room. Service was good. No issues. Lasagna was really good as advertised. But of the 3 orders our table received, one looked like the pictures I've seen and the other two were distinctly different, taller, more cheesy. Still, likely some of the best lasagna I've tasted. Spaghetti marinara sauce had a fennel taste and smell that turned my daughter off. Linguine with mussels in white sauce were solidly good. mussels themselves were decent. Not great but good. I cant find great mussels anymore. calamari i felt was excellent. garlic was used generously in the dishes we had. Overall a nice night for a suburban family making a trip into the city to try good food!

My friend and I had high hopes for Bacchanalia. I have to say that we were pretty disappointed. The food didn’t hit the mark. The fried calamari dipping sauce didn’t seem to be very tasty compared to other places we have been to. The crispiness of the fried calamari was good though. We both were very disappointed in the baked clams as they all had a ton of sand in them. We have been to others places none of them had sand like Bacchanalia did. I did like the eggplant parmigiana. The service seemed to be very slow considering that we were the only customers in the restaurant. The overall atmosphere / ambiance was pretty good considering the holiday season.

★★★☆☆ Bacchanalia is a cozy, family-style restaurant with a warm atmosphere and friendly servers. It’s a nice spot to stop by, but I wouldn’t call it an authentic Italian experience. The grated Parmesan comes in a small jar, and the olive oil lacked flavor, which was a bit disappointing. We started with the calamari appetizer, which was crispy, well-seasoned, and definitely a highlight of the meal. For the mains, the linguine with mussels was **overwhelmingly garlicky**—and as a garlic aficionado, even I found it to be too much. The mussels were fine, but the pasta itself lacked depth beyond the overpowering garlic. On the other hand, the Pesto Toscana pasta was quite good, with a nice balance of flavors and a creamy texture. Overall, Bacchanalia is a decent option for a casual meal, but it doesn’t stand out as an exceptional Italian restaurant.

This cozy & small Italian restaurant has a bar in the front and dining area towards the back. All of the staff was very nice but they could have been more attentive. I enjoyed the food, they have a delicious marinara sauce! For dessert I had the tiramisu for the first time and I did not enjoy it. For reference it had a very strong coffee flavor to a point where it tasted like black coffee. Also, their website states they take & accommodate special requests but when I asked for Angel hair instead of spaghetti I was denied.

Friends went on New Years Day. They brought me back an order of mostacholli and meat balls. Of all the hype I’ve heard about this place the dinner was average at best. The main problem was the website lists it at $11.95 and $3.95 for the meat balls. The receipt in bag was for $24.15 and a 20% tip for $4.83. A tip to walk it from the kitchen to the table? I paid $28.98 total for mostacholli. You’ll never see me grace your door step

February 2026 After many years we can to visit this restaurant and we were somewhat disappointed. It looked like this restaurant did not have any work done for decades. However, the attemp ro decorate foe the Valentine's day ended up being funny - red hearts all over! Mix of porcelain and plastic plates, pressed aluminum cutlery, butter in a plastic tubs, a few ol8ves inside of the plastic tub with unknown oily substance, cramped rigid furniture....what else....by now you got my gist. But the food saved the outing. Calamari dish was plentiful and tasty, lemon veal had too much flower in it but with a good capers-lemon sauce and accompanied by a grocery chopped spinach from a bag flavored with garlic (this was a big disappointment), chicken and potatoes dish was way to greasy with big chunks of flavorless green pepper. It was a weird feeling of the food, which wants to be good or better, but not quite making over the threshold. Selection of wines- simply not good. Service- "where?" This was a poor overall ratio of value to quality.

Being generous because there were nice people and atmosphere. However… we only liked 1 dish out of 3. I am NOT picky and I basically threw away $70 worth of food(gave it away, did not waste). Including tiramisu which I usually LOVE. Maybe I came on the wrong night? Eggplant parmigiana was sooooo bad I could not eat it and I don’t like the red sauce… I’m sorry, I truly don’t know what happened based on all these reviews. It wasn’t my first time at an “authentic“ Italian place and I eat all types of food. But if this is “real” Italian as the reviews say, then I guess I don’t like Italian.

Ugh I really wanted to like this place, but food wasn’t what I expected. My pasta was hard and dry. The server is very sweet and nice, place is welcoming. Just expected more for a $30 plate of pasta.

I was so excited to come here after reading the previous reviews, but they disappointed me the service was absolutely awful. We ordered our entre with our appetizers, but it arrived so late we got up and left.

Let me start by saying the service was very good and so were the drinks. However, the food was horrible and disappointing, especially for the price. We had been to this restaurant about a year ago and the food was great at that time, so decided to go back again recently, but oh my god it was a huge mistake. Chicken parmesan was under cooked and the chicken was raw which made us sick and throw up after we got home and the pasta was very watery. My friend got the fettuccine alfredo and said it tasted like it was expired sauce and cheese and threw up after as well. We both got sick from the food. Very disappointing since we paid $30+ on each dish. Not worth waisting $100+ on this meal. Would not recommend and never coming back. Very disappointed with the waste of our hard earned money😞. EDIT: We only took the food since we did not want to waste it and ended up giving it to a homeless man. We decided not to say anything to the server because the restaurant looked over worked and did not feel good sending the food back which is why we did not finish the food and left it after a couple bites. Why leave tip for food that is not worth $90+? It was not up to standards, so why waste more? Additionally, tip is optional NOT mandatory. I have traveled all over the world and it is no where mandatory.

This was the worst dining experience I've had in the longest time. Extremely slow, ignorant and inexcusable service with overpriced billing in the end. I will NEVER visit and I encourage others to spend their money and time especially on a Friday night elsewhere. Best way to appease customers after a horrendous wait time and overlooking minority clients are FULL refunds!!!