Best Casual Restaurants in River West

The food and vibes were great! Our waitress, Casey, was amazing. Only thing that was really annoying was their obvious urge to turn tables over. In a matter of minutes, we had 4-5 separate people try to take our food that we were clearly still eating (literally said “no thank you, we’re still working on that” while we were mid-chew). The same thing happened with our drinks. We had a bottle of champagne in an ice bag that we repeatedly had people take out of the bag to check how much was remaining. Other than feeling rushed, this place was awesome.

This was one of my top five dining experiences ever! We got kitchen counter seating which I love- being right in the mix and chatting with the chefs is my jam! Cocktails were on point but the food…. I mean come on!!!! We had zucchini fritters, a butternut squash filled pasta dish that had this amazing rich and subtly sweet sauce, roasted beets with this crazy pop of pomegranate and risotto with a taleggio fonduta that I will be dreaming about for a very long time! Bravo, rose mary- you killed it!!!!

My mom and I had a great night out at the Dawson! Loved that the festive lights were still up. The chicken fried lobster and sourdough toast started us off on a delicious note, followed by the cavatelli and the roast pork chop. Those cheesy grits tho! Can’t wait to return again.

What an amazing dinner experience! The atmosphere was warm, inviting, and very well decorated. The drinks were top notch, and high quality. We started with the arancini, which was crunchy, the rice was a perfect texture, and it had just the perfect amount of cheese. The table bread was on another level. It had subtle sweet notes, which consisted of honey and orange. I had the tagliatelle. The short rib was moist and very tender, and the pasta was cooked to perfection. My wife had the rigatoni, and she said the pasta was cooked perfectly as well, and the vodka sauce was very creamy and had excellent flavor. The tiramisu was just on another level! I have already recommended Alla Vita to 3 other people in the last 2 days! A must visit......I would give 6 stars if I could!

The food was fantastic! We loved how they did Christmas carols during dinner on Christmas Eve!