La Trattoria Del Merlo: User Reviews
Walked in and was seated immediately.
Waitress was very personable but perhaps new?
Salad arrived partly frozen. We mentioned this to the waitress who told the chef who in turn told the waitress that what this was was VERY cold not frozen...ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Believe me, three diners were eating a frozen salad.....
The waitress mentioned the specials but not all the ingredients included in the specials. The "Pece del Giorno" was ordered. Could smell the Rosemary on top of this fish which the diner had an allergy to. All ingredients need to be mentioned with a special that is not on the menu. If for no other reason than this....
Had to ask for bread half way through the meal.
Pasta meals were wonderful. Perhaps they should stick to pasta only.
Let's hope they get their act together or this will be another closed restaurant in this horrid economy.
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Nothing but positive things to say... I don't understand the negative reviews!
By amycox from Lakeview, June 15, 2009
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My entire table was utterly charmed by the staff from the moment we entered to the time we politely closed down the restaurant. The staff was lovely, the menu was traditional yet had interesting twists to prevent it from being too common and the food was absolutely delicious. The fried squash blossoms were divine with a hint of anchovy and chili, the fava bean puree was perfect paired with the sheep's milk ricotta. The squid ink spaghetti was very rustic in texture and the mussels paired with it were cooked perfectly. There was a delicious potted rigatoni with house made sausage, spinach and cream that stole our hearts...we loved fighting over the few crispy pieces on top with bubbling cheese. Small, but well thought out wine list. Overall, a delight and I am already planning my next night back. Well done!
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What an Amazing Addition to the Merlo Franchise
By foodgirl09 from Gold Coast, May 13, 2009
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As someone who has dined frequently at all three of the Sassi family's restaurants, I would love to take this moment to appreciate what the family has done with their newest venture! La Trattoria del Merlo has captured exactly what it was designed to do; capsulate the love and attention to Bolognese cuisine, in a very friendly, neighborhood haunt sort of way. Upon entering the restaurant, the beautiful atmosphere was everything I knew it would be. From the beautiful chandelier to the server lighting my candle as they welcomed me....it was extremely welcoming.
Once I glanced at the menu, I knew I was at a Merlo. The menu is so well defined....highlighting everything that I know is TRUE Bolognese cuisine. And upon tasting my first bite of fresh pasta, I knew what pride was put to each dish.
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I recently ate here and the experience was terrific. The food is of the highest quality and the ambiance superb. The restaurant was nearly full and people were enjoying the experience. It's a place you will enjoy.
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I recenlty had dinner with my wife and friends at La Trattoria Del Merlo and I must say we had a wonderful experience. The wait staff was helpful and not at all stuffy. Great wine selection and the food was incredible. We would go back there in a heartbeat.
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Not one of the four appetizers or six entrées we ordered were anywhere near good. They were also all over priced for the amount of food served. While the waiter did tell us that the appetizers served 2 people, the Prosciutto di Parma appetizer for $14 came with ONE slice of prosciutto and the Carpaccio di Salmone for $10 came with ONE slice of salmon. That shouldn’t even be considered enough to serve one person, let alone two. As for the entrées, we were told that the pasta special with a duck ragu came with a pink sauce. In fact, it came with NO sauce at all. The waiter claimed it was tossed lightly with sauce but couldn’t find any sauce himself. The Maccheronicini was supposed to be spinach pasta in a cream sauce. It ended up being a flavor-lacking, crunchy flour pasta with a few pieces of spinach pasta. The rest of the entrees were just as horrible. There are two sister restaurants, Merlo on Maple and Merlo Ristorante, which we will be staying far away from.
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When A foodie says GREAT NEW RESTAURANT believe it!!!! Just when I thought I was fed up with boring, same old Italian restaurants where they all copy each others food, along comes a surprise. The food was perfectly executed. I was there with 3 other friends and we all loved it. I had the rabbit marinated in Olive oil appetizer and the lamb ragu pasta for my entree and both were fantastic. You could taste the olive oil in the tender rabbit and the home made pasta was amazing. Great wine list too. I live in the suburbs and it was worth the trip downtown. We met the chef Fabio who's not that bad to look at either. Gotta love those Italian men.
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I REALLY wanted to like this place -- but couldn't.
By SD from Rogers Park, January 25, 2009
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Lovely room and a very personable waitress couldn't overcome the underwhelming work of the kitchen. I don't mind small plates. But, I'm looking for some flavor. We had two appetizers of salads and both had NO dressing on them! My daughter got a shellfish pasta -- a special. Absolutely no flavor -- we had to drown it with cheese to make it edible. I had a baked pasta, but would have liked to have been told on the menu that it was in a cream sauce. Very heavy and rich. Could eat very little. They need to work on the wine list. With most pastas and entrees in the $16 to $22 range, it doesn't make sense to have most of the wine list at $60-plus a bottle with easily half over $75.
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I've been a huge fan of Merlo on Maple since my first visit but last night I tried LaTrattoria Del Merlo on Halsted for the first time. The atmosphere is charming, and food's excellent. We had more than enough to eat! Most charming of all, however, is the accommodating staff. The bartender went out to help find parking, and our waiter was so engaging, we wound up sitting at the bar after dinner and buying them drinks! Later we were joind by the chef who chatted with us for awhile. We left feeling like family!
I'll definitely go back again -- a great addition to the neighborhood!
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We were at this beautiful restaurant January 17 and everything was fantastic! We sat at the bar to eat, received excellent service, had wonderful wine, and absolutely loved the food! The pasta was out of this world! One person in our group spent four months in Italy, and she commented that this was the way Italians dined. We loved it!! No it isn't cheap, and the portions are exactly the size we SHOULD be eating. We will definitely be back when we are in town. As for the complaints on this site, we had olive oil and bread, wonderful attention, and the decor was warm and inviting.
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Review Summary
The following scores represent the average rating submitted by 41 users:
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