Trattoria Demi

It's been around over 20 years, but gets little notice, and certainly not much LTH love. (It's probably overshadowed by its next-door neighbor, Edzo's Burger Shop.) It's not a blow-your-socks-off Italian restaurant, but it's a very good, reasonably priced Italian joint in downtown Evanston ... close to the Purple line's Davis St. stop.

Here's a video giving some background on the place: https://vimeo.com/26698701

The Evanston Lunch Group™ visited yesterday, and I think most of us came away impressed.

We started with the calamari, which Eddie Lakin (aka Edzo) rightfully praised. Tender, with a nice but unnecessary marinara sauce. As described on the menu, "Flash Fried and Tossed with Parmesan, Pepperoncini, Lemon, and Parsley, Served with Spicy Marinara Sauce."


The charcuterie plate had a good selection of meats, along with Arugula and Tomato, Prosciutto, Pancetta, Capicolla, Genoa Salami


For another seafood dish, we had Linguini with Clams, Mussels, Prosciutto, and White Wine Sauce


We also ordered two pizzas, both with an impressive crackery crust — the Genoa with Salami, Green Olives, Onion, Pecorino, Mozzarella, and Marinara. This was my least favorite dish; I thought it was a bit salty. But it was still a B+, IMHO.


and the Florentine, with Grilled Squash, Zucchini, Eggplant, Red Pepper, Spinach, Goat Cheese, and Marinara. Flavors were particularly vibrant.

Oh, and the Sinatra playing in the background helped set the mood.

I hadn't been there in nine or ten years; I'll be going back a little more frequently.

1571 Sherman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 332-2330

I thought Trattoria Demi was an enjoyable place with good, though not great food. The service at yesterday's Evanston Lunch Group meeting was competent and pleasant.

I agree that the calamari was an excellent dish - light and not greasy.

The charcuterie was competent, but nothing seemed outstanding.

The walnut-gorgonzola salad was excellent. Everything was fresh and the dressing was light and tasty.

I didn't try the pasta so I can't comment.

As stated both pizzas had a nice crackery crust. The toppings were generous, but I found both pizzas on the salty side.

The group was, as always, a pleasure to see again which always enhances a meal.

I'd be happy to return to try some other dishes. I noticed they have a cioppino on the dinner menu.

Overall TD is a solid restaurant, but I'm not sure it's worth a special trip for those some distance away.

I agree with George. The salad and calamari were very good. I liked the seafood pasta because it was garlicky, but it was nothing extraordinary. The meat pizza was salty. The crust was crisp but too bland. I think TD fills a niche in downtown Evanston, but not a place to travel for.

The Evanston Lunch Group punted to Trattoria Demi for a rerun when we arrived at Jilly's Bistro to find it closed. The last visit was just 2 years and 4 days ago...

We started with Calamari, fairly tender but some thought not tender enough (way better than what I make at home, but then I don't mind chewy, slows me down so I eat less). See picture from previous visit, also by ELG.

I liked the octopus, and I think those that like octopus were happy enough with it.

I gather the Tagliatelle was the sleeper, everybody liked it.

Some thought the Shrimp Risotto was too lemon-y, but I love lemon, so it was tops with me.

The Lamb Shank was the bargain, imho, enough meat for seconds and Gary took some home. Some thought the lentils were not soft enough.