Osteria Langhe — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Typically, I only have good things to say about Osteria. Lived around the corner and used to frequent them as a neighborhood fav. But after visiting again recently, it just felt so off from what I remember. The service was exceptionally inattentive, which became a particular concern with an allergy in our party. To the point where its about 80% of my review now...

Group of four of us went on a Thursday for dinner service around 7pm. It was STEAMING inside the restaurant, to the point where we were fanning ourselves and asking for water refills every 5 minutes (and only 50% of the time did they actually bring the refill.. asked for multiple carafes and they only ever brought 1). It shouldn't really matter, but one of the members of our party was pregnant so that just amplified the discomfort... but physical discomfort as a baseline is not what you would expect from such a well reviewed/ nicer restaurant.

The real concern was when we put in our food order. We notified our server that a member of the party had a shellfish allergy, did not ask for modifications but just asked to tell us if we order anything that has shellfish or cross contamination. He then asked "How serious is it actually"... to which we said... it is an allergy not intolerance, she will go anaphylactic. He then asked if cross contamination was okay.... to which we said definitely not. He then said that she could not order ANY of the pastas on the menu, despite only two having some kind of allergen listed (crab ravioli & squid ink pasta with clams or something like that). We pushed on the seemingly allergen friendly options and he kept saying something about it doesnt matter what is in them because it will ruin the timing of the meal... unit we got him to clarify that it is because they use a single rolling boil for pasta water. I know this is fairly common in restaurants, sure, but we have NEVER had an issue before asking for a seafood free dish to be made without cross contamination, at a restaurant of this price point or caliber!

We really had to push him on asking the chef if there is any way to PUT A POT OF FRESH WATER ON SEPARATELY to cook a pasta safely for her. Like this was an 8+ minute back and forth convo on protocol for a fairly common allergy. It felt like he was fighting us on even asking, because it would 'ruin the coursing of the meal' and 'everyone else would have to wait for their pasta course if we do that'. I personally am willing to wait an extra 15 minutes for my friend to not die and be able to eat pasta at a restaurant renowned for their pasta, but maybe that's not the vibe in Piedmont?

Ultimately, the apps (salad & fried potato balls) and pastas (Plin, Gnocci and Ragu) were delicious and came out timely... but the whole service experience left a really bad taste. We probably would have stayed for another bottle of wine or dessert round if it hadn't felt like we had to win a freakin debate match to put in a pasta order. Just really disappointing...

Came here as a party of six. We had two kids with us and four adults. The food was excellent. We tried many dishes: the vitello tonnato was our favorite dish of the antipasti but I also loved the addition of hazelnuts to the burrata dish. Of the primi dishes, my husband love the ragu and I loved the seasonal risotto which was bright and fresh with asparagus, corn and a dash of tolerable heat from calabrian chili. The pesce (faro island salmon) was also delectable and well-cooked. We tried the panna cotta for dessert and loved it. We also had the bunet which provided a nice rich balance to the panna cotta. Overall an exceptional meal that everyone enjoyed.

The only area for improvement that I can note is with our server. He seemed baffled by some of our more simple requests, like asking for a bowl of buttered noodles for the youngest child at the table. He offered a complicated explanation of their noodle offerings, using obscure Italian names and then asking me if I've ever heard of it. It felt like he was showing off his knowledge of Italian noodles and I was left to feel stupid for not knowing what he was talking about. Once we settled on fettuccine (no explanation needed) he was unable to comprehend my request for buttered noodles with salt. He kept asking me to clarify the request " you just want noodles and butter? Nothing else? No sauce, no cheese, no meat, etc." After several iterations of these questions, I once again explained that it was for the child and then he seemed to grasp the concept. For that, I would say that this restaurant is not very kid-friendly. When it came to ordering wine the waiter gave off the same vibe of flexing his knowledge with a twinge of competitiveness over my (non-impressive) knowledge of wine. At dessert, one of the adults in our party asked for a cappuccino and the waiter responded with surprise and repeated the request, asking "you want a cappuccino???" The person then (appropriately) responded "You are an Italian restaurant aren't you?" He then acknowledged that indeed a cappuccino is a drink that we could order.

Everything else was great! The food runners were attentive and brought out extra bread and the owner/FOH manager was kind and present to greet us when we walked in.

I highly recommend this restaurant and look forward to eating at this cozy and...

Let's keep it simple. The place is small, but in an intimate way, not a cramped way. Reservations HIGHLY recommended. Staff is friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable while maintaining an atmosphere that borders on high dining while somehow also giving the feeling that you're in someone's home.

Ok.. so the food. It's just stupid good. 🙄 The Vitello Tonnato is one you shouldn't miss out on.

The Carne Cruda is bright and refreshing.

The Risotto special was perfectly cooked and seasoned.

The Coniglio...I don't think I ever before invoked a deities name aloud in a restaurant before last night... but I stand by my very loud "Jesus!".

I don't want to talk about the Plin. Suffice it to say if at some point in the future you ever read a story about a man who walked into this restaurant, and kept ordering Plin until he died, there are two things you can be sure of: Yes it was me, and no it wasn't suicide, because I was already in heaven when I was eating.

Unfortunately I had to adjust my review. Having had a reservation for many weeks, sitting in traffic for over an hour, but looking forward to this meal the entire time, I was left absolutely heartbroken and disappointed to find every single one of my favorite dishes were "out" at the start of dinner service on a Saturday night. Poor management or supply issues...? Either way, I now suggest calling ahead even with a reservation, otherwise you'll be stuck like me: paying for a meal for 6 that is disappointing before the first plate hits the table. This place has been slowly slipping further and further. Next year I'll be (sadly) giving a new restaurant a shot as my traditional celebration location. Nobody wants to start a graduation celebration or Anniversary by finding out your meal was basically a...