Best Restaurants for Spicy Food in Albany Park

Excellent midday meal: postickers, lemon shrimp, sole filets in black bean sauce, garlic green beans, shrimp fried rice; excellent service: quiet atmosphere at a corner table.

Great food, pricey though it was worth the cost! Servers attentive.

Mia Francesca is the classic, small setting for fine dining — cozy but not cluttered, comfortable and quiet in the early evening, becoming livelier in a “friendly” way as the evening progresses. The wait staff moves quickly but unhurriedly, always appearing at precisely the moment they are needed. Service is attentive but unobtrusive, and it is a well-coordinated team effort. Our young waiter was knowlegeable and personal. The red wine my wife and I ordered by the glass was excellent and reasonably priced for generous pours. Our friend’s Old Fashioned was perfect. The drink menu is extensive but not overwhelming in either scope or pricing. The food menu offers variety but doesn’t overwhelm, either. We had an asparagus salad that was the perfectly fresh and light starter. On the other hand, the bruschetta was a large, beautifully prepared tray of four servings that could have been a light meal in itself. It was a perfect blend of flavors and textures! Finally, we had a house prepared Rolli allá Francesca that was rich without being heavy. And it was almost to lovely to eat. My wife and I shared those three courses and had more than enough. Our friends had the same salad, the beef carpaccio — a huge plate of vegetables over thin slices of beef, a large bowl of perfectly fried calamari with a rich red sauce for dipping, and two immense meatballs, all of which they loved and fully consumed. All agreed that it was one of the best meals we’d eaten out in a long time — and we eat out often and well. Don’t miss this gem of a restaurant!

The food was great, service was excellent too. But very irresponsible of the management to not post anything on their website that there will NOT be a Bollywood DJ night on Valentine’s Day when they specify that Friday’s and Saturday’s are DJ nights on their website. That is misleading information! We reserved a late table to experience the Bollywood music only to find out that they won’t do that on Valentine’s Day which was on a Friday! Also, the management needs to better prepare of train their front desk staff who attends calls and makes reservations. She was rude, she didn’t bother to get the entrance area cleaned by someone when I told her that the floor so slippery from all the snow and muck that people bring in. The restaurant needs to be more respectful and responsible to the customers who decide not to cancel their reservation when the weather is so bad.

Great service and great food! We loved the Chicken Vesuvio and the Chicken Limon. They also have great desserts!