Siena Tavern

Has anyone had a chance to check it out yet? Curious as to how Fabio Viviani has delivered here in Chicago and if I should try to squeeze in there yet.

51 W Kinzie St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 595-1322

I met a friend at Siena Tavern Wednesday evening for an early dinner. We didn't have a reservation so she went over a little before 5pm and was able to snag a "first come" table in the bar area. Apparently there was a line of people waiting to do the same.

The service has a few kinks to work out, but overall our server was really great, very knowledgeable about the menu. We started with the Burrata from the "Mozzerella Bar". It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, although the burrata was rich and creamy, it was paired with an overly sweet tomato jam, that reminded me more of chutney. This came with some delicious grilled bread, but only three pieces. We asked for more and it took quite a while to get more bread, however when it did come they brought us tons.

We shared the Hearts of Palm Salad, which was Bibb Lettuce with watermelon radish shavings, avocado and grapefruit. We were digging into it when we noticed that there were no hearts of palm on the salad. Our server was very apologetic and quickly brought us a plate of shaved hearts of palm. The salad was very good, though perhaps a bit overdressed.

We also split the butternut squash tortellaci. This was a very good dish, and although it was sweet, it was a very rich and delicious pasta.

I tried the Cannoli for dessert, it was very good, there were two cannolis that were not traditional tasting cannoli, they had a lot of candied orange flavor. The dish came with a scoop of pistachio gelato that was very nice.

Overall it's a beautiful space, with a nice wine and cocktail list. I would go back to try some more of the pasta dishes and some of the other offerings, but I might give it a little time.

We ate at siena on Sunday and really enjoyed our dinner. Started with the meatball and the octopus. Both were pretty good but the meatball was lukewarm. Tried three of the pastas, the squid ink pasta with lobster, the gnocchi, and the carbonara. They were all great and very rich. The star of the show was the truffle mushroom pizza to which we added sausage. Fabio was in the house holding court at a table kitty corner from us. I don't watch top chef and don't know anything about him. He spent a lot of time with them, delivering their dishes etc. It was kinda strange when during our dessert the waitress inquired if we would like a visit with fabio. I would expect a chef or partner in a new restaurant to perhaps stop by to inquire how we were enjoying our meal but I wasn't interested in a requested meeting. All I really wanted was a replacement napkin at that point. I would definely return but not for a visit from fabio!

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Anyone been lately? Any reviews or feedback?

jpeac2 wrote:*bump*

Anyone been lately? Any reviews or feedback?

Although it has been over a year, ST's Coccoli (crispy dough, stracchino cheese, prosciutto di parma, truffle honey) is one of my favorite bites anywhere. It all just works perfectly together!

I was there a few weeks ago. Had burrata, the 'wagyu' meatball, and the truffle mushroom pizza. The burrata and meatball were great. I was full by the time the pizza came and only had a few bites.

I also had a bottle of 2015 Domaine Huet Vouvray - Tre Le Mont - it's got to be one of the best Chenin Blancs I've ever had.

I had a nice time. It's one of the better places in that immediate area. You can't go wrong with salads, pizzas, and pastas. And the wine list is interesting.

I went last month and had a nice meal except for the fact that our appetizer, salad and pasta (friend and I were splitting each) all arrived within minutes of one another. We were still eating our coccoli and hadn't touched the salad when they arrived with the pasta, which I asked them to take away. It was a bit odd and the waiter seemed a bit defensive -- we'd ordered a bottle of wine so there was no reason to think we wanted to get in and out of the restaurant in 25 minutes. But the food was tasty, as always!