Ciro — Restaurant in Oak Park

Talk about serendipity! I arrived at a local hotel midday then went out for a neighborhood walk. Towards the end I decided to find a local place to eat. I’m vegetarian. I saw a small sandwich board pointing to their door so I stepped in. It was maybe 5 ish, so early for dinner. There were 3 people in the window area, and I assumed they worked there. They welcomed me in and explained how they utilized the limited space since is basically reservation only. I was alone so they made a space for me knowing they had a reserved group coming in soon. I had NO idea what I was about to experience. They made recommendations and I decided on Gnocchi Al Pesto, and a slice of focaccia. My neighbor makes gnocchi as one of my favorite meals so I thought “Let see if they can beat hers”… first, the sauce was so different AND delicious! But the little cloud like pillows of gnocchi were unbelievable! (I love my neighbor but this was supremely satisfying!) The texture and flavor was such a surprise I knew I found a place to be revisited. HOWEVER, the focaccia arrived and made me suspend my praise about the gnocchi so I could thoroughly enjoy each warm, thick, drool worthy taste of the focaccia. Then using the focaccia to mop up some of the al pesto sauce was a very simple pleasure. So, you think this review is over? Nope! There’s ALWAYS room for dessert! The tiramisu! It was suggested so I heartily agreed since I’d already packed ½ of my gnocchi for the next day. I can honestly say I’ve never had true homemade tiramisu so I was trying it without any preconceived ideas. Now I’m SURE nothing will compare til I return! It was so clean. Not heavy as I expected…lite and flavorful. A delight on the tastebuds. Also saved ½ for the next day! I asked my server the meaning of the name, Ciro. Well, I was TALKING to him, the owner! I sincerely couldn’t have walked into a better place. He was so passionate about his food. So happy to share the complete care he takes with EACH ingredient. THAT’S what I tasted! It’s called LOVE. Ahhhh, SERENDIPITY! Thank you Ciro for your spirit, Sara...

Ok, I hate myself for writing this because you’ll see a sea of 5-star reviews and it’s hard enough to run a local restaurant these days and this is a nice, small local business that works hard and as you can see by the reviews, is doing a good job. We ate here in the spring and our experience was a bit different than others, BYOB is fun (Anfora wine shop is just around the corner, have them pick a nice bottle out of you), the staff and Chef Ciro are working hard but what you need to know is that entrees are pre-made earlier in the day, portioned in aluminum take out containers, refrigerated and then when you order, they take it out of the fridge and re-heat it in a very nice convection oven, but still a convection oven. There is an exception or two (like the fusilli) that is re-heated on a cooktop. So, when you dine-in, you get the take-and-bake meals reheated and plated for you. This really threw us for a loop, never seen this before, and we do understand there isn’t room for a full service kitchen. This also doesn’t mean it’s not high quality- this is all scratch homemade food with the highest quality ingredients sourced from all over Italy, but objectively, this is not as good as fresh, made to order food you'd see at a traditional restaurant and we tasted that difference. Appetizers and salads are prepared fresh and are very good. Cool vibe, great staff, still recommend trying it but just wanted to provide more context to the...

Last night I did stop by at Ciro’s, again, in Oak Park, and I had to write a review since eve time I go I feel like I’m walking into a friend’s restaurant in my mother land. Pure telentrasportation without the jet lag effect!! Last night I was with two other Italian friends and we started off with that insanely pillowy focaccia then followed by the Eggplant Parmigiana, the gnocchi e the penne al forno: the authenticity of this place is hard to beat, everything tastes so fresh that It’s like having a piece of Italy right in your backyard. Ciro takes his passion to another level and the fact that he sources the ingredients directly from Italy and only fresh produce locally makes him my #1 destination when I’m homesick. I cook at home when I can and I do exactly what Ciro does with those high quality oven proof containers: gives me the opportunity to make a dish that otherwise would have taken at least a couple of hours to make ( yes, real homemade food takes a loooooooong time to prepare). That’s what my mom used to do too. The experience is the most palatable ever!

The cherry of the cake last night was the homemade cannnolo : sexiest dessert on earth. The ricotta was sooo creamy and the cannolo made to perfection. The pistachio were to dye for.

I just can’t wait to be back : thanks to Ciro @ Mike for an incredible authentic experience every single...