Osteria Via Stato — Restaurant in Chicago

I can't wait to write this review especially given what I just found out (hint: it's about straws!)! My friend and I visited Osteria/Pizzeria Via Stato on January 3rd of 2019. The osteria part appeared closed, so we got seated in the smaller area by the front bar. The place was not busy at all! As we were sitting down, the server came to take our order. I asked for a rum/fruit juice drink, I wanted something with an island vibe. He cut me off abruptly and said they didn't have such drinks there. To that I replied that all he needed was some rum and some fruit juices and a creative bartender. He seemed to take offense a bit and replied (with an attitude!!!) that he was a bartender also (well, obviously not a very good one). That's the least of the issues so far. So, I got my rum drink and made sure to tell the server how much I liked it multiple times! Not that it was anything too good actually, I wanted to show appreciation for him/the bartender going the extra mile to make a drink that was not on the menu. My friend was not ready for a drink yet and asked for an iced tea with a straw. The server told her right away that they did not offer straws anymore. Not only that, but he told my friend that the WHOLE CITY passed an ordinance and no straws were allowed anywhere since the beginning of 2019! I just checked and I can't seem to find an ACTIVE ORDINANCE! Not only that , he tried to shame her for wanting a straw, which posed a grave danger to marine life (I agree and did say the same thing to my friend, but who the hell was he to shame his customers and possibly lie to them!!). As a matter of fact, if restaurants cleaned their glasses better (and yes, I DID work as a server/bartender for years!), my friend might not have asked for a straw! So, he repeatedly denied her a straw, things were getting heated, and finally he told my friend he would check if they had "kid's straws". He came back with a paper straw (AND TONS OF ATTITUDE!). So, long story short, I had TWO adult beverages, my friend had an iced tea followed by a glass of wine, we shared two appetizers because we weren't too hungry and tried to catch up on life - we had not seen much of each other for months. The whole time, the attitude-bearing server kept coming back and asking if we wanted this or that as if he were not happy with either the fact that we were not consuming more or that we stayed there too long. Before we ordered the second round of beverages, he came to the table with the bill in his hand (wasn't even trying to conceal it!) and asked if that would be all for us. We were not ready to leave and as we were making the decision to have another drink, he was already slightly extending his arm to place the bill on the table. That was interrupted by us ordering another round of drinks, so he took the bill away. Not for long though! When my friend's glass was still half-full he returned with the bill again (we didn't ask for it!) and plenty more attitude! I would somewhat understand his rushing us out of there (practically, that was what it felt like) given we were there for a while and if the restaurant was busy and tables were needed! I have attached a picture of how empty the place was when he brought us the second bill!! Plenty of empty tables! Why were we being rushed out? And why was my friend denied a straw when paper straws were available? And did he lie that the whole city had just banned them? I have checked, no such ordinance has come into effect YET! My fiancee and I considered Osteria via Stato as a potential venue for our wedding! We came in the summer, were given a tour, package options, etc. I did still consider it actually because the premises are beautiful and I am European, so the rustic Italian charm (which, by the way, can also be seen in many European countries) really spoke to me and made me feel like home. After this past experience though, not only won't I ever recommend this place to any of my friends and acquaintances, but I would DEFINITELY not consider it as a wedding venue anymore! And drop...

Wow!

We arrived a little early for our Saturday at 7:30 dinner reservations in hopes of getting seated early, if there was a chance. It was restaurant week in Chicago Osteria was very busy. Unable to get a table early, we happily sat at the bar and waited. After debating on what drinks to order, we opted for the "just bring me wine" . The bartender asked if we were having the restaurant week menu, as that had specific wines to go with the courses (which is what we went with).

We were seated a little after 7:30, no complaints on my part over that, as they were very busy.

When a place is participating in an event such as restaurant week and there is a set menu, one shouldn't expect any substitutions from said set menu. I completely understand this, although having to eat gluten free poses a bit of an issue for me. The options for the main course of the set menu wasn't going to be a problem for me. I inquired about the ingredients on the first course. I knew the bread and roasted garlic, as well as the meatballs were a no go for me and explained that I couldn't eat the prepared salad due to the croutons. Much to my glee, I was offered a caprese salad instead of the Caesar. My husband thoroughly enjoyed the bread with roasted garlic in oil and vinegar, as well as the meatballs and Caeser salad. The soup was a delicious chicken and vegetable soup.

At 8:10 started to get nervous about the time, due to us having tickets to see Drunk Shakespeare at 9pm. This was poor timing on my part, I should have reserved our table for 7pm or earlier not 7:30pm. When our waiter came over to check on us I explained that we needed to put out by 8:30(ish). Mild concern came over his eyes and he went back to check in at the kitchen.

Moments later, a gentleman came to our table (I'm assuming the manager) to discuss our predicament. He kindly explained that our main course wasn't going to be ready for another 20 minutes (the restaurant was very busy). The timing would have been just fine any other night for us, but not that night. After a discussion with the manager, we all came to an agreement of us having a second bowl of soup and paying ala carte for what we had eaten and forgoing the set menu.

I take full responsibility for our poor timing and am delighted in how the restaurant was gracious and accommodating. Our waiter brought over two glasses of chocolate wine to finish off our meal.

The food was outstanding and the service was even better.

Next time we are in Chicago, I'll make sure to set enough time aside to enjoy the full...

I made a reservation for 6 people on Sunday, May 18th at Osteria Via Stato. The food was great, the service was awful. Walking, the host staff was very crude and unfriendly. 2 people from our party showed up early and were sat right away. The waitress took their drink order. The rest of the party showed up 5 minutes later. It took 10 minutes for the waitress to come back to take the drink order for the rest of the party. Appetizers were ordered along with the rest of drinks. We received the appetizers and even finished them without the rest of the drinks. We had to flag the waitress down and ask about the drinks again which were finally brought to us 20 minutes after we ordered them. We saw the waitress checking in on two particular tables over and over again before she even came back to take our entree order. After the entree orders was placed, 4 meals were brought out first. The 5th meal was brought out 10 minutes later. The last meal brought out 10 minutes after that. We are a family that has the habit and manners to wait until everyone has their meals before we start eating. So we had to wait 20 minutes for everyone to have their meals. After we finished our entrees, we needed boxes to go. The waitress did not check in on us at any point during our dinner. We had to flag her down for refills. We again, kept seeing her check in on the same two tables over and over again. We then asked a busser for to-go boxes and asked for a dessert menu. 15 minutes after that, the waitress finally came to our table to take the dessert order. She did not ask if we needed refills, which we did, and she was not pleasant or amicable. I will note that the two tables the waitress kept checking in on were Caucasian patrons. The 3 tables of BIPOC patrons, us being one of them, were waiting long periods of time to be acknowledged.

It’s a shame that a place with amazing food doesn’t have the service to match. The entire staff looked miserable, so many glasses and bottles were being dropped, the ambience from the staff was tense. In my experience on 10 plus years in the restaurant industry, I can say that this is a reflection on the leadership in this restaurant. The food may bring people in, but the service will have them not come back ever again.

I am not asking for any refunds or credits since we enjoyed our food, this is a call to action for better training of customer service...