Little Italy — Restaurant in Portage

This fine restaurant was found by literal happenstance as my partner and I were hungry for dinner, and it came up on Google maps, so we made the decision to go. Getting access to the restaurant is weird, but if you're coming off the highway, you can access the parking by driving to the back of the building. We were greeted immediately by our waiter, jake, who allowed us to pick our own seating since it was right before dinner service. He was pleasant and professional all the way through...

The interior ambiance is well decorated and intimately lit. But I did observe that the table glass lights were not readily lit and not at every table to help enhance the atmosphere. It's not a deal breaker, but in the scope of fine dining...

My partner ordered what had to have been one of the absolutely best pizzas in both presentation and flavor! I myself ordered the pesto spicy chicken with rigatoni and sun dried tomato. The flavor of that dish literally GALVANIZED my taste buds and seduced my senses with perfectly tender cuts of chicken and rigatoni that was al dente! The pesto sauce is made fresh in-house by the Maestro Chef Sam, who coincidentally is one of the owners. His dedication to the creation of old-world Italian cuisine was noted in every bite!

I intentionally gave a 4-star review ONLY because there is room to always innovate and improve. But do NOT let that negatively influence you in any way. LITTLE ITALY is a MUST DESTINATION for anyone looking for an intimate and cozy dining experience that is not burdened with televisions like a sports bar type. This place is the-real-deal for couples, families, and more. You will NOT be disappointed AT ALL!

And when you go, make sure to see Lady Lula; wife of the Chef and the Hostess. Her humble and genuine concern for her patrons' dining experience comes from the heart with an authenticity that you can not mistake.

Although it is far from where we live, I can say with full conviction that it was money well spent, and we have placed LITTLE ITALY on our list of go-to of restaurants. Thank you for taking care of us. We will make the trip just to dine there because it was...

reminiscent of a classic supper club of the 70s as you walk through the doors Frank Sinatra crooning That's amore, we were warmly greeted and sat by the Hostess, I believe the owner as well? given our menus which were hard cover, totally classic so we opened the menu and a fantastic array on the menu all reasonably priced

Our Waitress Char then came happily to our table and we were no wheres near ready to order yet, we let her know we were in no rush and wanted to sit back relax and enjoy the experience, and their staff was more than happy to accommodate

Finally we decided on a bottle of wine 2 appetizers 2 entrees and the house salads

Char brought us our wine, poured for us along with a loaf of fresh made Italian bread with virgin olive oil to drizzle and finely grated Parmesan next our appetizers came out we had the calamari with marinara and artichoke cheese dip both excellent choices, dipping into the marinara for the first time I know were in for a fantastic meal light fresh and nothing overpowering, just like clockwork we were about finishing up with our apps and our salads were brought out, again something so simple and generally over looked at other restaurants it was presented with perfection

when our meals were brought out, I knew we were in trouble, as the apps and salad already had us full, but I wasn't going to let that stop me when I saw my cannelloni and the GF had the blackened chicken Alfredo they were almost too pretty to eat ... almost ;) this had to of been the best Italian meal I've been served everything was perfect, it's kind of tough for me to explain but nothing sat heavy on the stomach everything was fresh and light, yet packed with flavor and at the same time nothing overpowering

the staff caught wind that it was my 57th birthday and sang me happy Birthday as they brought out the Tiramisu that we ordered knowing full well we shouldn't have ordered that but somehow we found room for that as well

We will definitely be back with...

I really really really wanted this place to be good, but I agree with the other reviews that say they need to improve on food quality and service. They also need to figure out how to manage seating people because my party and 3 other parties of people were made to wait ~15 minutes for a table, when there were 4-5 visibly vacant tables that could've immediately accommodated all parties. Service needs to improve as well. Our waitress was nice enough and you could tell she was trying to do well, but the timing of the meal was not smooth, we had to ask for drink refills and my mom asked for another glass of wine, which the waitress never brought. As far as food quality, I thought the bread they provide was great, it was warm and tasty, but I wish they'd just provide more in the initial basket so you don't have to pester your server for more. I thought the broccoli cheese soup was also good, but I wish it wasn't a $2 extra charge to add soup or salad to an entree. I got the fettuccine alfredo, and was really looking forward to trying the homemade alfredo sauce, but it turned out to be quite underwhelming and bland. At $12/plate, I was extremely disappointed. My mom's chicken piccata was also very bizarre, the sauce was more like a gravy you'd get at a bad Chinese restaurant. Very unpleasant texture. I will say the bar makes a good old fashioned, and the restaurant looks nice enough. I'd maybe go back to have a drink, but I feel no need to return to this restaurant for any food. I hope the owners take this feedback into consideration and try to improve. It would be awesome to have a really good Italian place in Portage, but Little Italy still has some...