Eric S.
Yelp
IS THIS LOVE?
Dinner for Valentine's Day 2019 began with a kiss and culminated in a food coma.
Nichole C's recently been on a roll with Italian places, notably Sapori Trattoria for my 28th birthday and now La Notte, one of Oak Park's many exceptional local businesses. She's got such great taste, I have no problem with letting her book the rez from now on!
Seated shortly after 7pm on 2/14/19, the dining room was packed with couples on a V-Day date. The entire restaurant was a hive of activity and the place was damn noisy! We tried having a convo, but it quickly turned into a pseudo shouting match because of the clamor.
We split a bottle of syrah ($38) to get the party started and polished that bad boy off by meal's end. Bread service here is pretty dandy: freshly baked bread (ciabatta? focaccia??) and a olive oil + cheese mixture.
Our oysters Rockefeller (6 for $20) were fantastic. A rich blend of buttery breadcrumbs and spinach topped the broiled bivalves; we destroyed the half dozen without batting an eye. I hate raw oysters, but when they're served warm with all that stuff on 'em, I love the damn things.
When dining out at an Italian restaurant, bruschetta ($8) is a must-order for us. La Notte's version didn't disappoint, with heaping mounds of diced tomato and onion in light balsamic over grilled crostini. The bread was just the slightest bit soggy which kept the toppings from falling off.
I didn't think a cup of the 'zuppa di peperoni rossi e pomodori arrostiti' -- essentially roasted red pepper soup ($4) -- would be all that noteworthy, but my god was I wrong! A touch of basil and cream really heightened the flavor profile of the pureé.
We wasted no time digging in once the main courses arrived. Her braised beef ravioli ($26) were outstanding, served in a traditional Genovese sauce (white wine, olive oil, sautéed onions). She gave it very high marks and despite the restaurant's "no sharing of entreés" policy, I snuck a few bites.
My veal saltimbocca ($28) was just as delicious. Pounded into oblivion, then breaded and topped with prosciutto over a bed of angel hair pasta, the veal cutlets were of very high quality. I appreciated that they offered choices for different styles of preparation (parmiggiana, marsala, piccata).
Bread = 4.5
Circuses = 4
Desserts ranged from excellent -- the crème brûlée ($8), with a picture perfect top and warm, smooth custard -- to unfortunate (the ricotta cheese cake [$8] was dry and without aide of a berry sauce). Getting complimentary shots of their homemade limoncello to close out the meal was a welcome gesture.
Service started horribly then improved exponentially.....for the first 10 minutes, they completely ignored us. Not greeting us or taking our order was only compounded by the fact that we were STARVING. I get that they were super busy, but that length of delay made a bad first impression. Thankfully, things got much better.
* TL;DR *
With the meal finished and my belly full like an overripe melon, I waddled home, promptly took off my pants and passed out within seconds. Meanwhile, Nichole C stayed up and played online poker. Talk about a romantic V-Day night!
Opening service snafu aside, everything at La Notte was wonderful. The oysters, bruschetta, veal, beef ravioli and crème brûlée were just about as good as we've had in recent times. The ambiance was perfect for the occasion and I'd be happy to recommend La Notte to friends.