Trattoria Gianni
Located in the heart of the Lincoln Park theatre district -- directly across the street from Steppenwolf theatre and a few doors north of The Royal George -- Trattoria Gianni's has long been a dining destination for theatergoers before and after the shows.
The service was great!
Nice place for after -theatre and great service is always pleasant.
As always, great service, great food, Maria is amazing as well as Gianni. Perfect for pre/post theater dining.
Very nice comfortable place. We had the specials and everything was surprisingly good. I had wild boar pasta. The pasta fresh and perfectly prepared and the sauce was a nice surprise. Very friendly wait staff and all recommendations were spot on. We'll definitely return.
My sister and I went there to celebrate a birthday and our waitress was wonderful, the food was wonderful, The ambience iwas wonderful… We will definitely be going back again.
This is a great location for the Royal George Theater, where we saw Woman in Black. The waiter was attentive and the service matched the need to get to the theater. The Branzino was delicious and the entrees were all excellent.
I am biased. This was where I took a girl for our 1st date in 1993. She spilled red sauce on her white blouse and didn't have a conniption. 25 years of marriage and 2 kids and we still look to Trattoria Gianni as a place to have a great meal and celebrate whatever the reason. Great food and atmosphere, reasonable prices, neat area to walk the neighborhood. It feels like an Italian restaurant ought to, not pretentious, just really good food and every time on leaving we are glad that is where we went. Just a great little restaurant.
This place is our new Saturday night go-to restaurant!
Authentic & delicious Italian food, cooked & served by real Italians. Great for pre-theatre meal, near the Royal George & Steppenwolf Theatres.
Just a great all-around restaurant
My husband and I took my mother to dinner after a play. This excursion was one of our Christmas gifts to her. There were so many options on the menu that she liked, she had a hard time choosing, and selected a couple of small plates so she could taste a number of things but not feel too full- she enjoyed warm bread and butter, lentil soup and two appetizer-sized portions: two arancini and four small and absolutely delicious veal meatballs- all with extra sauce and cheese, her favorite! She had enough to take a portion home for lunch later in the week. My husband and I enjoyed spinach ravioli in sage butter sauce and grilled branzino. Service was impeccable and warm. The price was reasonable. We left very happy and will return!
Delicious food, good wine selection and great service. Dining room gets a little crowded when they’re full but the food is definitely worth it.
We had a bad experience at Trattoria Gianni ten years ago—forgotten order, poor service, late for our play, etc.—and have avoided the restaurant for many years, even though we live in the neighborhood. We decided to give them another chance recently as we were seeing a play nearby at the Royal George Theater. This time we had a wonderful meal with great food and fine service. We look forward to welcoming this place back into our rotation and to much good food to come.
Wonderful for dinner before theater. The waiter kept us on a time schedule so we were out in time. Food was good. Would recommend for pre-theater dining
The food and the wait staff were excellent.
It is good to know the manager or the man at the door. He was so nice and friendly to people he knew. we were not treated by him in any friendly way. I came back and asked him i=if I left something at the table and he was actually quite brisk. I guess you are a peon if he doesn't know you. Left a bad taste in my mouth.
I ordered the pasta on the special menu with mushrooms and pecorino cheese - it should have been called soup, not pasta - swimming in some broth or so,etching, it was awful - wanted a second glass of wine tried to wave down several people including server, couldn’t get them - bad service and bad food!
We went here before going to a play at The Royal George Theater and boy was it a treat! Our waiter Matteo was delightful and made great suggestions. The Burrata with crostini (not on the menu) was great, the lentil and minestroni soup (also not on the menu) tasted like my nonna's. My entre Conchiglie del Mercante (shell pasta, sausage, peas, tomatoe sauce, cream & cheese) I had with housemade Pappardelle instead, Matteo's suggestion, and it was great. My husnand had veal saltimbocca which was perfectly seasoned and cooked. We thoroughly enjoyed our two hours there before the play!
Authentic Italian cusine. Eric, our server, was fantastic and helped make out dinning experience most enjoyable.
Wonderful dinner before a show at the theater across the street.
Food was not plentiful and taste was mediocre. They didn’t bring he appetizer (soon) or main course (steak knife) or dessert (spoon) with proper utensils. The pistachio desert had no flavor and when I mentioned it they happily removed it from the bill.
Great pre-theater dinner with nice GF options, including pasta. Nice ambiance, friendly service
Fantastic service. Our server was a professional--every aspect of the meal was well-supervised. He handled all questions knowledgeably and knew the menu thoroughly. Wine recommendations were spot on. The food was delicious, especially the appetizers. The octopus special appetizer was something the whole table enjoyed, along with the burrata. This is a convenient location across from the Steppenwolf.
Been there at least 4 times and each time (different dishes each time) it's been terrific!
The service was good, but the food was average. We didn't care for the risotto balls, and my veal was quite greasy.
We love Trattoria Gianni and go there regularly. Happened to go there New Years Eve, what fun!!!
We enjoyed a lovely New Years Eve celebration. The food was great and it was a good place to enjoy with children.
Absolutely delicious and cozy. This will be my go-to Italian place in LP now. Our service was excellent. Awesome old school vibes. I will return for the patio in summer.
Great place for dinner after steppenwolf event. Every dish was great. Could not ask for better service. Will do again.
great food.... We all were in the clean the plate club.
The food was good. Service was not the best. No one acknowledged me or even smiled at me while I was waiting to be seated. The restaurant had 3 full tables so it was not that they were busy. It felt like the people working did not want to be there. I, totally, understand since it was 2 days before Christmas. I will recommend it to friends but I don’t believe I will go there again.
TG is our "go-to" neighborhood restaurant for after the Steppenwolf Theater or for a late dinner on the way home after work. (We live in Lincoln Park.) It offers a totally reliable, completely satisfying experience. The service is always excellent; the restaurant is almost always quiet, cozy and inviting; the wine list is ample, and the food is excellent, though not gourmet or self-conscious. We recommend the calamari, conchiglie mercanto, grilled chicken, and salmon.
Gianni always ensures that every guest feels welcome
The service and food were both great. Osso buco was outstanding.
Great place for dinner before the theater. Food was very good.
Wonderful food and perfect before theater!
Food just OK; calamari not light...fish bland. However, very good waiter (Marcos)
I was so looking forward to the eggplant appetizer that I had ordered. I don't get eggplant often as no one in my house will eat it. I was surprised when the entrees were brought to the table, but the eggplant wasn't yet delivered. When I asked about it, the waiter said, "I thought you ordered it, but I wasn't sure."
Instead of not putting it in as an order, all he had to do was ask me to confirm. He did ask if I wanted him to put in the order after the fact, but by then, it was too late.
Aside from that mix-up, the food and service were as described and I would recommend this restaurant.
Delicious traditional Italian food served in a pleasant atmosphere that's comfortable and good for conversations. Good value on foods and wine.
We were a little late for our reservation, and time was short for us to dine and get to the theatre on time. Our waiter did a great job of getting us served quickly so we didn't have to eat in a hurry and still make our curtain. My chicken marsala was delicious, and I loved the beet salad (from the specials list). I always enjoy Trattoria Gianni.
Mediocre pre-theater food. Edible for before Steppenwolf or Royal George, but there is much better Italian elsewhere. Carpaccio was good, but our pastas were bland and the pasta itself was overlooked. Maybe we ordered wrong--could be one of those places you find what you like and keep ordering it, but we will not go back to find that out.