Italian Homemade Company — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

The Restaurant's Team was very courteous, helpful and agreeable. They were happy to explain the menu in detail and even invited us to see the shape of pastas, that were in the fridge, since we were undecided what to order. I just love when the kitchen is in front, and you see what it is being cooked!

The quality of the ingredients is exceptional! As we know, pasta in Italy is not comparable to the available in the USA because of many factors, that make it a lot heavier (more inflammatory - way more gluten etc.). Nevertheless, Italian Homemade Company is nailing it in this important factor, because you don't feel “food coma” as you may feel it in other expensive Italian "homemade" places. This place is super close to what you can get in Italy, and I am pretty sure that is one of the key reasons they don't have "Alfredo", but they have the similar version.

The place is half fast-food and half restaurant in terms of style of service, because, you order and pay, then, they take your food to your table; so it is unfair that you would need to tip before you know how it is the service and how it is the taste of the food; also plates are made of plastic. However, the staff often come to your table in case you need something, and they take your dishes.

The drinks they offer have a lot, but a lot of sugar (would that be the reason why they have Mexican Coca-Cola, with the real sugar, on the menu?), hope they could expand the drink selection with more natural/healthier options.

I am not a fan of lasagna, but I love it in this place! (recommended) The cassone/calzone was a bit salty but good. The bolognese sauce was so good, and you can feel (and your stomach) it is more natural than others (avoiding hearth burns), cappuccino was outstanding! The tiramisu was good, nevertheless, I'm still sticking with Quartino and Eataly versions.

The music here was so cool! Which included Italian new songs.

They have high chairs, but we did not see...

TLDR: serious health code violation

Though I have no complaints about the food, I unfortunately cannot in good conscience give 5 stars, because I witnessed a calzone being dropped on the floor of the kitchen (or at least the cooks shoe, I couldn’t quite see) and then get picked up and put back on the plate, after a little brushing off to be sent out. Yes, it probably happens a lot of places more than you’d think, but generally not in an open kitchen where I can stare directly at the cook! Also, the cook (nike hat) checked with the chef (bald guy with glasses) and the manager (woman in blazer) before sending it out, so he’s no lone wolf. This was 12/6/24 at about 8pm. Yeah, I would eat it if I made it in my own kitchen, but cmon, that is seriously unacceptable. If the restaurant has a convincing explanation i’m all ears, but until then I’m giving one star.

That said my food, which as far as I know was not dropped on the floor, was very good, fresh, and well prepared. The Pappardelle had a satisfying bite with an excellently earthly pesto sauce. The build your own pasta is the way to go in my opinion. I also enjoyed the lasagne and calzone, but they were less to my taste. The lasagne was a bit overdone and calzone didn’t have enough texture in the filling for me. However, you might enjoy these aspects. I also highly endorse their house red. Largely due to their fast casual type ordering system, the service is mediocre bordering on bad, but it didn’t bother me so much, just know it coming in. Overall, I would definitely recommend for an affordable, well done italian spot in the west loop (a rare thing) but maybe sit at the bar and keep an eye on...

This was such a cute experience.

Atmosphere: ambience is on point. It had part to do with my beautiful and intelligent company. That’s for a different review though. The other major portion of it was the setting of the restaurant. The atmosphere was quiet they were cleaning everything, it was already clean. It smelled fresh, not overloaded with cleaning products, but just to fragrance reassure me that I’m eating off of clean dishes. The restaurant looks like it was recently renovated into this new space. It fit really well. I loved the interior decor. The way the tables were set up the full bar. Everything was in place and a place for everything. Loved the interiors and the colors.

Service: The service was great. Lucky for my party we happened upon one of the floor managers or general owners. He did everything in his power to make sure we had thought of every option for food or asked us any questions. Any questions about the food before ordering anything then came to check on us to make sure that the food tasted good a few times.

Food: He even recommended that we try an additional dish, but we already had full stomachs. My friend had dietary restrictions and was still able to eat a healthy plate so there are plenty of options. I myself had the red Bolognese pasta, delightful.

I can’t say this location is kid friendly as I don’t have crotch trolls to take places. I will say it’s accessible from the streetscape. There is a large amount of parking on Fulton Street depending on the time that you enter.

Final note for now is I didn’t get enough pictures or food so I...