Cafe 54
Italian318 W Hubbard St · Chicago, IL 60654
Upscale Italian · Dinner · $$$ · Reservations recommended
Reviews (4)
Worth every minute of the wait
Booked this two months out for our anniversary and it lived up to every bit of the hype. The tortelli in brodo was the standout for me, but my wife is still talking about the lamb. The wine pairings were a little pricey but the sommelier actually listened to what we wanted instead of pushing the most expensive bottle. Server (Anthony? I think) was attentive without hovering. We are not regulars at places like this but we felt comfortable from the minute we sat down. Will be saving up for a return visit.
Absolutely incredible, BIG TIP for diners
finally got in - theyve been booked solid for weeks. the tagliatelle was as good as everyone says, like genuinely. wine list a little intimidating but our server walked us through it without making us feel dumb. didnt love the bread basket honestly (just olive oil, nothing else?) but everything that mattered was great. would def go back for a special occasion.
Food great, vibe a little off for us
look, the cooking is excellent, im not going to pretend otherwise. we shared the agnolotti and the branzino and both were probably top 3 italian dishes ive had this year. but. its kind of a weird room? the lighting is so dim i couldnt read the wine list without my phone flashlight and the tables next to us were so close that i basically heard their entire conversation about a divorce, which... fine but not what i paid $$$ for. service was professional but a little chilly. our server corrected my pronunciation of one of the wines which honestly bro. for the price i expected somewhere I'd want to linger and instead we were kind of ready to leave. would I recommend the food? yes. would i recommend the experience? mehhh depends on what you're after. one more thing, they brought out the wrong appetizer first and instead of just apologizing they argued with us about what we ordered for like 2 minutes. small thing but at this tier it stuck with me.
the dim lighting thing is so real, we had the same issue. expected a candlelit feel got a power outage feel
Great meal, weird seating choice
Came here for my mother in law's birthday. The food was genuinely fantastic -- pici with rabbit ragu, a beet salad that I will be trying to copy at home, and the cheese course at the end is a nice touch. Knocking off a star because they sat us right next to the kitchen pass and we had servers brushing past us for the whole meal. Asked to be moved and they said the rest of the dining room was fully booked, which fair enough, but maybe don't put a 5-top there in the first place. Wine list is deep if you know what you are looking for, less helpful if you don't. Server walked us through a few options when I asked.
We had the same seat last fall. They have got to retire that table for parties bigger than 2.
Pici with rabbit was on the menu still as of last week, get it
Anthony is the best, request him if you go back!
agree on the lamb. dreaming about it ever since