OLIO E PIÙ
Italian restaurant · Near North Side ·
Lively Italian trattoria with open kitchen, patio, meat & seafood
Lively Italian trattoria with open kitchen, patio, meat & seafood
"Olio E Piú lands in a River North Hampton Inn & Suites by way of NYC, and should have stayed on the East Coast. The food is disappointing across the board (read: watery carbonara, bland meatballs, and mushy branzino), and the dining room is so loud you’ll have to shout to be heard. Skip it and visit one of the other great Italian restaurants in this city instead." - veda kilaru, john ringor
"New York City Italian restaurant Olio e Più has expanded to Chicago, serving a seasonal menu in River North that emphasizes meat and seafood. Weekend brunch brings poached eggs with prosciutto and roasted potatoes, platters of salami and cheese with housemade focaccia, and pancakes with cherry chantilly. Make a reservation through OpenTable." - Samantha Nelson, Eater Staff
"The Verdict: The dishes here only look good on TikTok—skip this. The carbonara at this buzzy River North Italian spot looks pretty good on a phone screen, and honestly, it looks pretty decent in real life, too. But past the glistening egg yolk and spaghetti, it’s a boring plate of pasta with watery sauce even salty guanciale can’t save. The mushy branzino and flavorless meatballs are also a let-down, and though the panna cotta with passion fruit is refreshing, it isn’t enough of a consolation prize. This NYC transplant should’ve stayed on the East Coast." - adrian kane, veda kilaru, john ringor, nick allen
"Chicago is no stranger to transplants like NYC’s Olio E Più, a spacious Italian spot populated with antique chandeliers, vintage posters, and a mixed bag of tourists and couples who look like they just wrapped a J. Crew photo shoot. But with its disappointing takes on classics, Olio E Più ends up being just another buzzy River North spot that you can skip. The easy-on-the-eyes carbonara turns out to be a pile of watery pasta even the salty guanciale can’t rescue from blandness. Branzino covered in tomatoes like bruschetta arrives mushy, and the lamb meatballs are similarly flavorless. And though the smooth panna cotta topped with refreshing passionfruit is solid, it isn’t enough of a consolation prize. If you’re in the area and need your red sauce fix, check out RPM Italian just across the street. photo credit: Rachel Bires" - John Ringor
"A spacious trattoria that opened in late 2023 as part of the same local expansion, located just steps from its French sister concept and serving as the first of three new projects by the hospitality group in Chicago." - Naomi Waxman