VAI's Italian Inspired Restaurant Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Naperville

My new wife and I had our rehearsal dinner at Vai’s in Naperville on July 20, 2023. There is not enough I can possibly put into words on how amazing our event was. The food and service were both absolutely amazing, and our guests could not stop raving about our rehearsal dinner.

The semi-private space we were in felt very upscale, but was also relaxed and not too loud, which made for a great event, and allowed my father to give a speech where all of our 40 guests could hear him clearly. The decor and linens provided by Vai’s were also beautiful and tied the colors of our wedding together with the venue extremely nicely.

I ordered the Calabrian Spiced Whitefish, and my wife ordered the Filet Medallions. Both were outstanding, but the Parmesan-crusted filet was probably the best steak I’ve ever had - and I’ve been to so many steakhouses. We also had the opportunity to try the Wild Mushroom Sacchetti, which was a completely flavorful umami-bomb - it was outstanding! Some other outstanding items we were able to try were the Ricotta + Honeycomb appetizer and the Arancini al Forno. During the rehearsal dinner, we had the House Salad and the Parmesan Pizza Bread as family-style appetizers. Guests also raved about the Chicken Milan and the Vodka Pasta. For dessert, we had the Homemade Gelato, which had mint leaves and fresh berries. I honestly cannot wait to come back to try more dishes, because absolutely everything we tried was nothing short of fantastic. The food here honestly rivals (and even beats) many Michelin-starred restaurants I’ve had.

The service at our rehearsal dinner was also amazing. We originally spoke with Tara, the event manager, who guided us through the entire booking process. From coming in to have dinner, to providing custom menus, to accommodating our guests’ dietary restrictions, Tara helped us with every step. She made herself available at almost all hours of the day and always responded promptly and with full detail. With Tara, booking this rehearsal dinner could not have been easier. At the rehearsal dinner, my parents (the hosts), could not stop talking about the quality of service we received from the staff. The service we received was professional, quick, and each server was extremely easy to talk to. I unfortunately cannot remember her name, but I have a card that says “SB”, and if Vai’s sees this, I want to give her a HUGE shoutout. She made sure to check-in on my parents the entire night. We also had two guests with special needs/accommodations, and she made sure to go out of her way to accommodate and appreciate them.

Many of our friends and family members have gotten married recently, so we have attended our fair share of rehearsal dinners. This event at Vai’s truly exceeded expectations and was above-and-beyond the quality and service we have seen at other restaurants. We appreciate everything the staff provided for us. Many times, I go to restaurants again and I order the same thing because I know it is delicious. At Vai’s, we tried nothing that wasn’t short of amazing, so I cannot wait to come back again and again to try every single thing on their menu. Yes, the food was THAT good!

Thank you, again, Tara, “SB”, and Anthony, for providing an amazing and...

Made the reservation the night before for 6:15pm the following day and I'm glad I did. We were seated fairly quickly and the restaurant was packed and very lively. It was a bit loud inside but definitely not the restaurants fault. Our server came by to bring us water and the menus when we were seated but about 20 minutes had gone by before we saw her again. Definitely not her fault, it was clearly busier than the restaurant anticipated so I think they were bit short staffed, again not the restaurants fault, just remember to be patient!

We heard this was the best Italian food in Naperville so we were excited to check it out for ourselves!

We ordered the Arancini al Forno and Wood Grilled Romaine Salad for appetizers. The Arancini was topped with fried onions which added a nice flavor to the arancini. The sauce they were in was also very nice, not too sweet or bland either, very balanced. The Arancini had the most perfect crunch when I bit into it. They were fried perfectly and had a decent flavor. I will say they'll had way more cheese than risotto in them which kind of over powered the flavors.. I have had better but they were still good. The Wood Grilled Romain Salad was really good. The lettuce was still crispy and had a really nice smokey taste. It had delicious dressing and toppings in it. A great way to start the evening.

For entres, we ordered the Vodka Pasta,the Spicy Chicken Tortellacci, the Short Rib Rigatoni, and the Pasta Bolognese. All of their pasta is made in house and are very fresh. The best one I have to say was the Short Rib Rigatoni, the Short Rib was tender and added such good flavor to the pasta. The pasta served with it were enormous which required you to cut into it before taking a bit overall an amazing dish! The Vodka Pasta was okay honestly, the pasta served with it was pretty thick and I dont think it was cooked all the way so I taste more dough than the sauce in the pasta.. The Spicy Chicken Tortellacci had jalapeños in it making it pretty spicy but the bell peppers soaked up a lot of the sauce and flavor making for a really nice and fresh dish with a bit of heat. And the Pasta Bolognese was honestly the best bolognese I've ever had. It was well balanced, not greasy at all and the pasta was cooked perfectly. Truly an incredible bolognese! All the pastas were served with two slices of garlic bread which were nice to eat with the meal and good for soaking up sauce.

Over all it was a really great meal, I wish I had gotten a different pasta in the Vodka pasta but really with the way everything else was just so delicious, I could only give this restaurant 5 starts, they deserve...

I decided to give Vai's a try, despite having to drive 1 hour, after searching for the best Italian restaurants and WOW! I'm SO glad I did.I brought my sister with me to celebrate her birthday and the entire experience was such a delight. From the food, to the staff, to the ambiance.

For our appetizer, we tried the Zucchini Frittes. They were crispy and flavorful and the dip was a great compliment to them. It could have easily fed 3 or 4 people depending on your appetite.

For our main dishes, we both ordered the Filet Medallions (Medium, and Medium-Well) each cooked to perfection! The crispy potatoes and broccolini were superb! And the bell peppers were melt in your mouth worthy!

We also ordered the Vodka pasta. It did NOT disappoint. You could tell that Vai's uses fresh ingredients for their food. It's evident that they truly do make it their effort to give only the best to their customers without cutting corners. I regret not purchasing an order to go. It was THAT delicious.

For dessert we tried the Italian donuts which came dusted in cinnamon sugar and included 3 sauces. Chocolate honey, caramel, and raspberry. My sister is not a huge raspberry fan but loved Vai's version. It was tart and fresh. The donuts make a great sharable dessert for a group of 3-4.

While I can go on an on about the food, I have to say that our server Michael truly made our experience memorable. He was just so genuinely happy to attend to us and help make sure he answered any questions we had. He was attentive, funny, and knowledgeable. If you have the privilege of having Michael as your server, consider yourself lucky. He's a gem!

I also couldn't help but notice that the owners were out in the dinning room checking in on the customers. (Which is rare to see in the industry.) I even saw one of them helping the wait staff and filling waters. I'm not sure if they were slightly understaffed, but as a customer, you really couldn't feel the affect IF that was the case because the managers were willingly helping their team.

It was nice to meet Anthony Vai and share our experience while we were there. Overall, Vai's is now my new favorite restaurant for many reasons and I can't wait to visit again! Give them a try. I doubt you'll be...