Abbiocco Italian Cuisine/ Luna Rooftop Bar — Restaurant in Chesterton

Our group of 4 dined at Abbiocco last evening and as much as we were anticipating a 5-star experience, it fell short, unfortunately. Positives of the evening included a unique, stylish dining area with an undeniable up-scale yet casual ambiance. Our server was kind and attentive and for being her 2nd day, she was trying her best. There was a respectable wine list, which offered a nice variety. The delivery of our meals was timely and our server was attentive on check-backs. After our meal, we took a look at the roof-top bar, which had a much more casual vibe and a retractable roof (pretty awesome)! The negatives of our experience included: the prices are very much Chicago prices on most of the menu items. The steaks were all based on MKT pricing. My husband and I travel extensively for work, and dine in restaurants of much higher caliber than Abbiocco, and there have been 1 maybe 2 times we have ever encountered MKT prices on steaks. NW Indiana is not a MKT price friendly area. Menu mishaps: The Capellini Pomodoro is NOT capellini... AT ALL. It is Bucatini- HUGE difference! Even in the description it stated angel hair but if anyone has not had Bucatini before- it is a much thicker noodle than even spaghetti. To throw in some kuddos- the meatballs were fantastic! Our salad we ordered for the table to share, as there was not a side-salad option was a Cesar Salad. This salad was $13. When it arrived at the table I almost asked where the rest of it was. In all honesty, it was very pretentious to be asking $13 for 3 romaine leaves. There were 2 orders of Chicken Parmesan at our table. It's quite interesting that Abbiocco is pairing the chicken with polenta. Being I like polenta, I asked our friend if he knew what polenta was, as he was ordering it, and as a chicken parm lover, he would naturally expect pasta to accompany the dish. Polenta is not pasta whatsoever so.....we asked our server if the chef could change out the polenta for a pasta. In the conversation I said that the polenta was an interesting pairing however most people may be surprised by the taste and texture of polenta if they were thinking it was a pasta and had not inquired for a substitution. She did go and inquire with the chef. Upon her return she stated that polenta is a cheese. Hmmm. Red flag. Wrong. It's corn meal. So, we sent her back and asked if they could sub in a pasta. She came back and said they could put in a risotto. OK.....for him, that would be better than polenta. The rest of us ordered and my husband ordered the Chicken Parmesan with the polenta to try it out. Our server returned after our order was in and told our Chicken Parm ordering friend that she spoke with management and they would allow a substitution of another pasta. She offered the capellini (which by seeing a patron next to us...we knew it was not that at all). The food came out in a timely manner. The food temperature was good. Then the gentlemen at our table who ordered the chicken parmesan were not at all thrilled with the chicken. It was not pounded out - the breading was as if plain bread crumbs were thrown on, and it was on the burnt/dry side. So, a thumbs down. The capellini and polenta were tasty they said. The capellini (really bucatini) had a good sauce and the meatballs were flavorful. My other friend ordered the lobster tortellini and was pleased. So, Abbiocco, we awaited your opening for such a long time and were excited to see you had later Sunday evening hours that would allow us for a later evening dinner. It was unfortunate that our experience was a mixture of pros and cons and at the end we left your restaurant not really feeling any...

We were there for Valentine's Day Dinner, We should have known something was off when the restaurant was empty at 6:30. The hostess was dressed as if she was going to the beach. Not the usual attire we have seen in our past half dozen visits. The service was POOR. Took our server over 25 minutes to bring us our cocktails. The Special menu was interesting and a bit over the edge on price. The three of us spent over $340.00 To sit in a dining room with half of the tables removed along with half of the dusty lightbulbs not working or even in some of the sockets. The only menu was a bit confusing and the waiter was a bit lost. Lost in many ways. Besides the cocktails, the bread basket showed up the after the first of four servings. The soup was cold for one of us, warm for the other, and fairly warm for the third person. How can that be? The entire menu will be remembered as one of the top five worst restaurant adventures I can remember. I wonder if the management has been on vacation. This is not the Abbiocco we had bragged about to our friends and where we enjoyed taking them. Last Saturday, we had friends stop by on their drive home from Michigan to Wisconsin. They remembered our talking about Abbiocco. We were hoping that our last visit was a fluke. Oh, how mistaken. We came in for brunch. The place was empty. The server had on a filthy apron, she did not know much of the menu as she, "didn't work brunch often". One of our guests was a vegetarian, and the only option was pancakes or grilled squash. To be fair, the Spaghetti and Meatballs were very good, the Chicken Alfredo was a tasteless adventure. The bartender did not know how to make a virgin mimosa. The Desert was poor. I wonder if it is wise to ever eat "downstairs" again. It appears that the owner has cut the menu, increased the prices, and prefers to cater to the business on the second floor. To conclude, folks the place WAS fantastic, I think they are sitting on...

By far the worst experience I’ve ever had with a “fine dining” experience. We were visiting the area for a girls weekend away and called ahead to ensure they would be able to accommodate our large group. After speaking the manager he assured us they could make it work we just had to be sure to order by 930 as it was already close to 830 and they closed at 10. We were at the establishment within 15 minutes and the entire time was a disaster. First we ordered a round of cherry bombs. We watched as the bartender poured the cherry “juice” from the garnish container into our shots and they had absolutely no Red Bull or monster. We said something and he told us this was all he had and we proceeded to pay $13 for each shot (9 total) we then went down stairs to sit for dinner and our waitress Brittany G was TERRIBLE. We had questions on the menus and drink options as they seemed to be “out” of all liquor and most wines, on a Saturday night. All she would say was I don’t know to literally every question we asked. We asked if she could check with the bar on what’s available and she came back advising the bar was now closed. Before 9 pm. The entire time we were ordering she either rolled her eyes at us or would rudely answer our questions. The last resort was when she brought out a Prosecco when the lady ordered a Moscato. We understood this is an easy mistake to make however when we informed her of the error she snapped at the entire table as she snatched the wine glass away.

The entire time dining here was a complete waste of time and money. The food was delicious but it was absolutely not worth the service we had to endure. Please please please find another...