Sal and Tony's Italian — Restaurant in Wheeling Township

Monday was a beautiful day in Chicago, and gave me an opportunity to play golf at the Buffalo Grove Golf Course. The highlight of my day however, was not my game, but the opportunity to once again sample the amazing pizza at Sal and Tony's, the restaurant at the golf course.

Without a doubt, their tavern style thin crust, pepperoni and sausage was as good or better than ANY thin crust pizza I have had in recent years in the Chicago area. It was perfect. Ample crisply roasted pepperoni on top; delicious, fennel forward sausage peeking out from under the optimal amount of hot tasty cheese. The salt content had me at the first smell and bite. The crust was also perfect. It was crisp and chewy in the right proportions, and the middle pieces held up with no flop or slide of sauce or ingredients. And it was not greasy, not needing any daubing of excess oil.

They are normally are not open until 3 pm on Mondays, but today was busy at the course so they let me order. I enjoyed 12” pizza at the bar, shmoozing with Sal and some of the patrons.

My go to pizzas have been Barnaby's in Northbrook and Piece in Wicker Park for sheer taste and texture. I love those pizzas, but I tell you this pizza from Sal and Tony's holds up very well by comparison, it was so damn good, I can still taste it 10 hours later (that’s a good thing). I'm gonna have to start playing at Buffalo Grove more often. Their regular menu is also fabulous. They have a nice patio for summer, and they do take out too. Sal and Tony's,...

What a hidden gem! My husband plays golf over her 5 days per week, so we wanted to try it out. Generally speaking, most golf course restaurants are great for drinks, but don’t score points with the food. Fortunately, Sal and Tony’s is different and really creates a great overall (food, drink, atmosphere) experience.

We ordered the Tony’s Special pizza but swapped the house meatball for ground beef (Italian sausage doesn’t play well with my stomach). The ricotta on this is a game changer. It makes the pizza taste like a light lasagna that is homemade. Definitely recommend! The thin crust is light and crispy so not too heavy overall.

We also had the Calamari Salad. Now, I am going to preface this by saying we have had grilled calamari all over the world, including Greece, and Sal and Tony’s was some of the best we have had. Not overly charred (thank you, cuz that just makes it bitter), super soft, well seasoned with garlic, olive oil and lemon and perfectly paired with romaine lettuce, Fontinella cheese & Kalamata olives.

Such an excellent combination and balance between the pizza and the salad. Perfect for this warm weather.

We will definitely be back. In fact, this is one of my new favorite spots to grab lunch/dinner and drinks.

To the owners and the staff, thanks for defying the odds and having a great restaurant on...

I thought long and hard about this rating because I think the food is amazing. The salad is fresh and crisp with thick rich dressings. The lasagna with marinara is the perfect blend of flavors. Cheesy and perfectly seasoned sauce. The linguine with oil and garlic with chicken manages to be subtle yet bursting with flavor and the char on the grilled chicken sends it over the top. The pizza is delicious.

The servers have been some of the best I’ve experienced. Friendly and professional.

The patio is beautiful, peaceful place to relax with a drink and enjoy your meal. The inside has nicely spaced tables.

Here comes the huge downside. The gaming machines near the entrance. The last 3 times I dined there it was being used by a small group of people who had enjoyed several drinks and were pretty loud shouting obscenities at the machine and in the outside smoking area. This last time while waiting for my party to arrive, two women were not happy with each other and yelled at me because I was waiting for the hostess to arrive. That wasn’t acceptable. If this is a regular occurrence, I’m out! You could ride up to Mambo Italiano or get a carryout. But management needs to address it because this is was not a one...