Best of

Best Italian restaurants in the West Loop, Chicago.

The West Loop carries one of the higher concentrations of Italian restaurants in Chicago, with everything from a Roman-style pizza counter to a wine-bar trattoria to a multi-room red-sauce destination. Below is a curated short list with every pick linking to its full business listing.

Trattorias and wine bars

Smaller-format Italian — pasta, pizza, and substantial wine programs.

Full-service Italian

Bigger rooms and broader Italian menus.

Pizza specialists

Italian places where pizza is the headline.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best Italian food in the West Loop, Chicago?
There's no single answer — for a wine-bar trattoria, Bar Tutto. For a red-sauce big-group destination at an Italian Steakhouse, Formento's & Nonna's. For Roman pizza by the slice, Bonci. For modern Italian with handmade pasta, Alla Vita.
Is there authentic Italian in the West Loop?
Bonci is the American flagship of Roman-pizza maker Gabriele Bonci, with recipes brought from Rome. The other Italian restaurants on this list are Italian-American to varying degrees — most are Chicago-owned and lean modern Italian rather than strictly regional.
Where can I get pasta in the West Loop?
Alla Vita and Bar Tutto are the most-cited pasta-focused kitchens in the West Loop. Bar Siena and Formento's also carry substantial pasta menus. Most full-service Italian restaurants on this list serve handmade pastas.
Is there Italian fine dining in the West Loop?
Alla Vita and Formento's are the higher-end Italian-specific picks in the West Loop; for full tasting-menu fine dining (not strictly Italian), see Smyth. West Loop Italian otherwise skews to "modern neighborhood Italian" — solid wine programs, polished service, but not the strict fine-dining-only format.
Where can I get Italian wine in the West Loop?
Bar Tutto leans heavily Italian in its wine program. La Serre / Bar La Rue is French-focused but stocks Italian bottles. Most full-service Italian restaurants on this list carry substantial Italian wine lists.