Quartino Ristorante ★9.5

Quartino: River North’s Eternal Italian Evening

Every city needs one room where the evening simply works: wine arrives in little carafes, plates keep landing in the middle of the table, and nobody checks the time. In Chicago that room is Quartino — two floors of clatter, candlelight and conversation that have anchored River North nights for two decades.

The Concept

Gibsons Restaurant Group — the people behind the city’s famous steakhouse — opened Quartino in 2005 as its love letter to the Italian neighborhood trattoria. Chef John Coletta, who spent childhood summers in central and southern Italy, built a shared-plates menu around regional traditions, and the restaurant carries the Ospitalità Italiana seal awarded by the Italian government. The name is the point: wine here is poured by the quartino, the friendly quarter-liter carafe that keeps the table topped up without committing to a bottle.

What to Order

Creamy burrata with roasted beets, polenta fries with red pepper salsa, and a Neapolitan pizza blistered in the stone hearth make an easy opening trio. The short rib pasta is comfort in a bowl, the organic veal skirt steak the quiet showpiece. End with tiramisu — or a sgroppino, the lemon-sorbet-and-prosecco whip that doubles as dessert and nightcap.

The Space

Pressed-tin ceilings, salvaged subway tile, softly fogged vintage mirrors and cured meats hanging over the salumeria counter — the whole room feels borrowed from another era. It buzzes: expect a happy roar rather than hush, plus coveted sidewalk tables when Chicago finally warms up.

Who It’s For

Big birthday tables, after-work groups, pre-theater dinners and the late crowd drifting in after a show — the kitchen outlasts nearly everyone downtown.

Good to Know

Can it handle a large group? Yes — shared plates and private dining rooms make it one of downtown’s easiest group bookings.

Is it kid-friendly? Very: pizza, pasta and an early-evening bustle that swallows any noise a child can produce.

What’s the dress code? None to speak of — jeans sit next to date-night outfits without friction.

Late-night dinner possible? The full menu runs past midnight daily, making it the classic after-event landing spot.

Can I take wine home? Yes, there’s a wine-to-go selection from small Italian estates.

Opening hours