Italian Village Restaurants

Has anyone been to the Italian Village Restaurants lately? We were there many years ago and was wondering if it is still as good as I remember. We ate at the one on the third floor, however I don't remember the name.

I go about once a year around Christmastime on an annual shopping excursion with my niece & nephew. We always eat at the restaurant on the upper floor (The Village) and we request one of the mini-room/booths (they won't guarantee the private booth/room, but if you make the request at reservation time they will usually be able to honor it - they hold from 2 to 6 people). The waiters are always very professional and the food is decent Italian of the spaghetti & meatballs variety. I always have the linguini con vongole in white sauce and it's serviceable - I can tell the clams are canned but otherwise it's fine. The kids usually have ravioli or lasagna and they enjoy it. We go more for the atmosphere than the food, but that said we've never had a bad food experience - just don't expect a transcendent Italian food experience. I understand that the restaurant on the lower lever is more high-end and might offer more refined dining and more adventurous choices. I think the Village is a great place to bring kids or a group of people.

One important thing - all the restaurants share the same wine list, which is one of the best in the US for (guess what) Italian wines.

Tobermory wrote:I think the Village is a great place to bring kids or a group of people.

I agree. My large extended family in the Chicago area has for the past few years foregone a vast confusing swapping of Christmas gifts for a set of tickets to a downtown show and dinner afterward at someplace that can easily handle about 25 people. Our Italian Village experience was a memorable delight - the food, the wine, and the service.