Best Family Style Restaurants in Belmont Central / Cragin

My wife and I had an amazing evening. Abby, our server, was incredibly attentive. My wife has a food allergy and Abby knew right away. The few menu items she needed to avoid. The atmosphere is absolutely stunning. All staff members we encountered were so pleasant to engage with. And of course, the food was so wonderful. Abby helped us create a menu in which each item complemented the other. It was just perfect.

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!!!!

As fans of Rose Mary we were eager to try El Carciofi and willing to take a 4:45 reservation. This is as fun and as delicious as Rose Mary and shares the same approach to dining—shareable small plates. Interesting craft cocktails, sufficient wines by the glass, exceptionally well trained wait staff and very flavorful food. Gus menu was all Rome inspired so it was a little less diverse than Rose Mary. The artichokes were spectacular crisply Rome style. Every inch was edible. Two to an order but they bring you a serrated knife if you want to have them. We had one other appetizer (calamari), one pasta and one seafood main. The portions are great for two to share but if three or four order another something or two and expect to get just a couple bites not full servings. They have $8 servings of gelato and sorbet and a couple amazing deserts they offered to checkout coats.a nice touch in Chicago’s winter. It’s easy to spend $100 per person if you gave two drinks each and desert. We found street parking but forgot to feed the meter since the sign wasn’t obvious so double check

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!

Our night was so enjoyable, and it started with our server. He was personable, helpful and good humored. The cocktails are creative, I had the Japantown and loved it. Very original, very refreshing. We shared the garlic fried rice, brussels sprouts, fire chicken and steak kalbi. Every bit of it was delicious. Truly, could not have been happier with the experience.