Gianni's Cafe — Restaurant in Palatine Township

We just visited with a group of friends and had a great time.

We were seated just inside and to the right from the entrance. There were seven of us and we were crammed into our table. Granted, we had some larger people in our party, but as soon as the slightly larger table behind us opened up, our server, Amber, offered the table to us and we gladly took it. It certainly gave us more room and pushed us a little bit more into the restaurant and away from a high foot traffic area. It's definitely a very nice restaurant for families, dates, events, and more. Nice ambience that is warm and cosy...with the exception of opening the front door. It was cold tonight and every time the door opened, cold air rushed in and chilled us.

Amber was a fabulous server. She was quick to not only take our drink orders (I think only two of us had drinks and they were both diet sodas) but to refill everyone's drinks as well.

One couple ordered the Stuffed Mushroom Caps for an appetizer and said it was really good. They kept the plate after they finished as they said the sauce was wonderful and perfect for dipping the bread into. They weren't wrong (and I hate mushrooms!)

Everyone opted for salad that came with their dinners instead of soup. They were nice side salads with a nice sized tureen of salad dressing on the side.

And we all liked our insanely sized portions. Two of us ordered the Chicken Piccata (one with the pasta and marinara sauce and the other with the pasta in the lemon sauce), two ordered the Chicken Giardiniera (one with the Italian sausage and one without), one order of the Chicken Parmesan, one Tomahawk Pork Chop, and one Country Rigatoni.

They have a very good chicken piccata (I forgot to order it without capers, but they were easy to eat around). I had the one without the marinara sauce (two sauces and one dish seemed odd to me). It was lemony but not overly so and the sauce is thick enough to not coagulate and it was flavorful.

Our friend picked the bone clean of his pork chop and said it was very good. the other piccata and the rigatoni also liked their meals and brought half of them home. The chicken parm with the side of spaghetti was huge. And very good if you like chicken parm (you won't be disappointed). And the Giardiniera dishes were so aromatic that you could smell them over the other dishes, but in a good way. Just a nice little kick with the dishes.

We didn't order dessert, but we did celebrate a birthday and they brought out a huge chunk of their tiramisu. It was light and creamy, with a hint of the alcohol flavoring, and high on sweetness. It was very good. Had I known it was that good, I would have ordered my own (regardless if my wife didn't want me to order dessert).

Gianni's has a few locations, and this one is simply better for size. There's lots of street parking so it shouldn't be hard to find a spot on the street (we didn't at 7pm on a Saturday, so shouldn't you. If you do go, make a reservation as the place was packed when we were there.

And while the food was really good, our server, Amber, was terrifically top notch. Very friendly, helpful in choosing dishes to order, johnny-on-the-spot with refills, and always checking in on is. She is one of the better servers I've had anywhere.

They are one of my favorite Italian restaurants anywhere and is definitely worth a go in you're looking for great food, great service, and a...

Came by for dinner on Friday 9/13/24 around 6:30, party of 2. We were promptly greeted & seated by the host. Our drink orders were taken and promptly received, but my boyfriend and I sat around for about 15 minutes before even meeting our server. Oil & Cheese was served but it took a bit before our bread came out… We ordered an app to start (the Eggplant Involtini, it was tasty. Cooked nicely, I personally enjoyed the “dry” ricotta that was used versus the real wet, soupy kind, and the sauce was fresh and vibrant tasting.) this took about 10-15 minutes before it came out before placing our order for our entrees. I got the Chicken Giardiniera, he got a BYO Pasta comprised of cavatelli carbonara add peas, add garlic. Entrees took about 45 minutes to come out, and in this time we didn’t see our server until we were about halfway through our meal and frankly were finished at that point. The portions were quite large in my opinion but the quality didn’t seem to justify the cost. There was SO much butter. Sooooooo. Much. Butter. in both of our dishes to the point that it was separating out and pooling on top of the dishes. Very heavy and salty. The carbonara seemed more akin to an Alfredo sauce. We didn’t see our server again until she dropped our check. Maybe she was weeded out (it seemed busy), or maybe it was in avoidance due to an error with our order, but it was hard to flag her down at times. She was very sweet and apologetic for the wait, but a little more attentiveness would have been appreciated. We’re generally patient guys, but we were closing in on nearly an hour and a half before food arrived and it was upsetting, with little communication taboot. To me it wasn’t awful but certainly could’ve been better for the $91...

We took my husband to Giannis Cafe in Palatine and rented an Igloo for his birthday. This is a new thing so we went dressed in layers in case we got cold eating outside. (Nothing is worse than being too cold when you are trying to have a nice night out am I right?)

We had never been to Giannis before but heard the food was very good and we wanted to do something different so we took a leap of faith.

Food....AMAZING! From the warm bread and flavored olive oil to the dessert, the food was delish! My daughter ordered the Burrata Ravioli (Madonna Mia!) which was to die for. Hubs ordered the pescatore pasta which had enough shellfish to feed a small family! I had the gnocchi which was divine...although I will be getting those ravioli next time.

Service.....The service was incredible, our server was fast, attentive and so very sweet. Her name was not on the recipe, it just said Host #5, but she was a champ. Tip these servers well, they are going so far above and beyond! There is a lantern you can light to get your servers attention should you need something, we did not use it once, she was on top of it.

Critique..... If I had to say something negative, it would be that when they open that door, you get a blast of cold air. The heaters and the Igloo itself stay warm, you should expect this when eating in an igloo. Bring a shawl or a small blanket and you will be fine.

All in all, EXCELLENT Food, Service and experience. It is so pretty and different and the lights outside and the trains going by only add to the experience....