Ristorante al Teatro - Pilsen

I wanted so much to love Ristorante al Teatro (Justin was a little more pessimistic). We've been eyeing the space at Thalia Hall since we first moved to Pilsen (3+ years ago). As documented by the Reader in late 2007, the restoration of this landmark has been a battle, but we eagerly anticipated some sort of eating establishment and tried to peek in every time we passed only to see construction. Finally, they got it together and opened Ristorante al Teatro a few weeks ago.

The space is partially beautiful (tin ceiling - original?, open) and partially tacky (uninspired murals and "columns" made of drywall). The seating is very spread out (upstairs) and odd. We sat in the second room between the staircase and the pizza ovens. They had more than enough staff on hand, but they still seemed a little out of sorts (just opened forgiveness). First wine: they have a poor list with very few available by the glass, I reluctantly chose the La Crema Pinot Noir and was told it was out because they went through a "whole case" over the weekend. Mind you, they only have two red wines available by the glass, but they do have other pinots available by the bottle - I was not offered one of these in a glass pour. No wine, just water, thanks. We were immediately serve bread with a pour of olive oil. Unfortunately the oil was tasteless and the bread was soft and boring. Skip it.

Based on the raving accolades from our server who claimed that an unnamed "restaurant critic" had come in last week and agreed that the mussels were the "best he had ever had," we decided to give them a try. I don't know how great a restaurant critic can be if the server knew he was a critic, but I have to disagree on the mussels. They were serviceable, but the broth lacked any real flavor, and I was suspicious that the mussels were artificially plumped.

I decided to try the brick oven pizza and there were definitely some good (bordering on great) things about it. First, it's huge - easily enough for two. The pizza was covered in arugula, prosciutto, and parmigiano - all of very good quality. There was a little too much mozzarella which made the interior of the pizza wet, but the outside was chewy and crisp. If the oven was hotter (say 100-150 degrees), the crust could have been really good, but it lacked the charred, blistered crust that we've all come to love and expect from Coalfire, Spacca Napoli... Figjustin had the linguine frutti di mare and it was lame (really, there is no better word); the sauce was so watered down that at the end of the meal, he was left with a pool of pale pink tomato water (not the flavorful kind). More of the mussels. One lonely shrimp. Some chewy calamari.

I can't leave a restaurant that has gelato without trying some. The menu lists quite a few flavors, but figjustin quickly learned that many weren't available (I had better luck.). He eventually settled on the mango and vanilla which were both really good. The vanilla was super yellow (I think it must have had coloring, but it could have just been egg yolks), creamy, and a good counterpoint to the slightly tart mango (which was somehow less yellow). I had the pistachio (a classic for me) and cafe mocha; the pistachio was great, very creamy and not super sweet, but the cafe mocha was awful - after identifying the flavor as weak, cold coffee I quickly separated it from my pistachio scoop and left it alone.

The service, as mentioned, wasn't great or bad. We were left waiting for water a few times. The food runner was a little unsure of when/where to set food down. The restaurant could definitely be transplanted in the suburbs and noone would ever know the difference and I think that's my major problem with it - I think restaurants should embrace the neighborhood that they're a part of and I don't think that means necessarily serving Mexican food in Pilsen, but somehow reflecting a city environment. We all know a great neighborhood restaurant when we walk into one and I just don't think Ristorante al Teatro is that restaurant...yet.

Ristorante al Teatro
1227 W 18th St
(between Racine Ave & Allport St)
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 784-9100