La Sorella Di Francesca

La Sorella Di Francesca is simply world class — from the food to the ambience to the service. The menu gets changed monthly, and we’ve never had anything that was less than outstanding. My wife, kids and I eat here at least once a month (usually more), and it’s always terrific. Favorite servers are Lizabeth and Luis — and the Management (Joe) is always friendly and professional.
If you are a true Italian food connoisseur/​aficionado, and you want authentic cuisine with superb, professional and friendly servers, then this should be your first choice. If I could give 10 Stars, I would.

I am going to attempt make this short as I feel I have wasted enough of my time trying to give this place a fair chance.
First visit was about 2 years ago my boyfriend and I wanted to try something new in Naperville, we are there quite frequently. We sat down and decided to order a bottle of Cabernet. The waitress asked for our ID’s which is perfectly fine, I’m 27 and he’s 29 and I understand thats part of your job. However, she took it upon herself to feel his ID over and over again in front of us as if it was a fake… then she says «I’ll need to have my manager take a look at this because it doesn’t feel right» Not a good start to our dinner, quite embarrassing come to think of it. She comes back and says «He said it was okay» as if we were getting away with something. My boyfriend was upset and didn’t understand what the problem was and she stated «I have children your age.» I’m sorry but at what point does that have anything to do with my dining experience? I decided it was best if we left and went somewhere else. We frequent Hugo’s Frog Bar, Catch 35 and many places in Oak Brook and have never had an issue. When I told her we were going to leave she says «Well I already rang up the bottle so you’ll have to pay for that» I told her actually you can take that off the bill because you did not bring it to the table, open it or pour our wine glasses. When we left we were in shock of what horrible service we had just experienced.
Second visit about a year later we decided to give it another shot. Called ahead on a weekday to ask if we needed reservations they said no there was plenty of room. When we got there we were taken upstairs and sat at a small 2 person table against the wall. I knew this wasn’t going to be enough room as my boyfriend is a bigger guy. I politely asked if we could sit at a bigger table or something not against the wall. They told me they had nothing available and left us standing in the middle of the restaurant while trying to figure it out with the hostess downstairs. After about 5 mins standing around she came up and offered to sit us behind the wall of the bar in this banquet section for parties I’m assuming. Why would I want to be isolated behind a wall? Why wouldn’t you estimate a time when something acceptable would be available? Disappointed again we left.
Third visit was this week, we really didn’t even want to go here but we thought what the heck third times a charm. Ordered a bottle of Cabernet, pretty sure we got the same waitress from the first visit. As my bofriend was looking over the menu she takes his ID (A new ID at that!) cocks her head to the side and bends down in front of him basically staring him dead in the face and gives it back. I literally couldn’t believe this service was happening again. When she came back we decided just to drink what we ordered and have dinner elsewhere. I asked her politely if they offered corking service to go in case we couldn’t finish the bottle. She said «you have to order a meal for us to do that.» I said oh okay then she added «it’s the law». Wow… okay lady it was just a question!
I will never recommend this place to anyone, if you want great Italian food and wonderful service try Antico Posto in Oak Brook. I highly recommend Hugo’s Frog Bar down the street we have never been disappointed there!

Francesca’s food is excellent. I had the linguine with scallops, shrimp, and clams in a spicy tomato sauce. Very tasty. Service was a little on the slow side but very friendly.

Though I’ve only done lunch here a few times, it’s been a consistently pleasing dining experience. I’m still waiting for the day I get a plate of pasta at an American restaurant that’s truly Al Dente, but Francesca’s has come closest. And the pasta sauces have been divine. Bravo, Francesca.

On a trip to come out to visit friends, we decided to try out Francesca due to their get reputation in the Chicago area. We had made reservations so we were seating quickly upon arrival and at the time, 8:30p on a Friday, they were busy, but not packed.
There were so many items on the menu that sounded great. They also had a decent list of cocktails and wine by the glass/​bottle. All of our food was amazing, but we’re pretty large portions. I would recommend sharing or else you will have enough for a second meal to take home.
My disappointments were their lack of ability to split our bottle of wine and appetizer between us (only 3 people with separate checks) and they also seem to rush people through. It was interesting because a lady at the table next to us, gave us the feedback that we should tell them up front to slow down with bringing out the food. I guess the speediness depends on your perspective. If you are in a hurry, then this is a great feature, but if you are trying to enjoy the company you are with and have a leisurely dinner then it does seem to be rushed.
I would completely come back here the next time I am in Naperville. Great food!

This place has been open in Downtown Naperville as long as I can remember (which is no small feat considering the rents in that part of town). I’ve never been but my husband and I decided to try it for our anniversary last weekend. From the outside, I always assumed the place was romantic/​upscale, just the way it looked through the large windows I guess. However, upon actually going there, that’s not really the case. Not in a bad way, but it is definitely loud, busy, and slightly cramped. It’s very nice and it actually reminded me of restaurants in the city. The service is great and the food is very good. They seem to have a limited/​highly seasonal menu. It looks like they print the menu every day, which suggests that they change it around a lot. If you have picky eaters, you won’t find a lot of the «italian» restaurant staples, but the food is delicious. My husband had the Roasted chicken and I had the butternut squash ravioli and we both loved our food. We’ll definitely be back. Just a tip, but they are on Open Table and I would make reservations if you can get them.

Food and service was pretty good, but they ran out of the gluten free pasta (which is why we went). My wife can’t eat gluten so she ordered the fish and got food poisoning. Not cool.

My husband and I were in Naperville for an event and was given a $ 10 gift card/​coupon from a friend. The gift card expired that day so we decided to go for it. Problem was, we were in workout gear from our walk that day. We stood outside the window and contemplated going in since everyone else was dressed so well. We were nervous that we were not going to get good service since we looked a bit unkempt.
No need to worry! The hostess/​servers were all very kind and friendly, never looking at us as if we were unwelcome. We weren’t super hungry, so we just ordered the neopolatana pizza, which has olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, arugula and shaved Parmesan. It was definitely large enough to share and we still had a piece left over. The meal was fantastic, the ambiance is nice and the service is outstanding. Next time we are in town, we will definitely be back and will be dressed a bit nicer :)

I’m just going to say it. Naperville tends to have, well, a reputation. This restaurant defies that particular reputation. The staff is WONDERFUL. Friendly, kind, helpful, accommodating, and attentive! They always have great suggestions and even complete my sentences when I can’t seem to decide what I’d like to have!
One thing I have to mention: I took my children there (6 and 14 at the time) after a school event and we had an appetizer and dessert since it was late. We drew on the tables with the crayons (there was paper, I promise!) and we were being silly and laughing pretty loudly that at times, I felt someone would come over and tell us to be quiet. The restaurant was just a little busy but we didn’t have anyone sitting too closely. We weren’t trying to be rude but when you’re having a great time with your kids and you’re all laughing hard, you don’t try and stop it! As we left, I apologized to the manager for being so loud and although I cannot remember what he said word for word, he essentially said he didn’t mind and that he was happy we were all laughing and having such a good time. THAT made our experience all the more special.
I’ve been going to La Sorella for many years and great service and great management keeps me coming back.
Of course, now I’ve gotten so caught up with the service I forgot to mention the food! It’s the original reason I loved La Sorella so much! The carpaccio is AMAZING. The menu changes often but that is one thing that stays and it’s the one thing I always get! Their tiramisu is THE BEST, so much so, that (am I’m kind of ashamed to say this) after a couple martinis, I told the bartender that the tiramisu was sooooo good, that I wanted to lick the plate. He said go ahead. So I did. So embarrassing but soooo good. No regrets. ;)

Very good bruschetta and tiramisù. Waiters are very nice and friendly. Pasta was not that good, but acceptable and very big dishes.

The food was ok, the pasta with garlic was not actually garlicky. I was expecting the breads to be better and warmer. The service was quick and so was our server.

I always try to get here when I am in Illinois. Their salmon dishes are to die for! I tried the prosciutto and melon to start. Great summer treat to start out with. Until next time, ciao.

Absolute disappointment. Have been to multiple Francesca’s locations over the years and they have always delivered until tonight.
Filet that was so bad, even after the first attempt was sent back and second try was basically raw, that my wife opted to pass on her entrée as opposed to wait to see the third try; pork chops cooked to bone dry and a disappointing, flavorless carpaccio appetizer.
Server was pleasant and apologetic, but the fact that they sent that food out of the kitchen spoiled our night out with friends.
Won’t be back

I’ve eaten at a couple of the other Francesca restaurants and they’ve always been pretty solid. This is so far the best Francesca restaurant I’ve tried. This place looks quite fancy from the outside but is much more relaxed inside. You can dress up or down here either way would work. Reservations are a good idea as this place gets packed. Cocktails were good while we waited for our table at the bar which was nice classic big wood bar. Service was great and as you’ve probably read elsewhere the menu changes daily so you know everything is fresh. I had a Halibut in a white wine sauce and it was simply amazing. The wine selection was also very good and reasonably priced. To top it all off we had the warm apple desert which came with a small carafe of warm caramel to pour over it yourself and it was incredible. Highly recommended.

Normally this place rocks with excellent consistency in food quality and service.
Lunch service was poor, laissez-​faire server, late to table, poor drink service, overall disappointing for not being busy at all.

Another awesome place at Naperville downtwon. If you love the Francesca chain, this one is a good one to hit. Other than parking was a problem at Naperville downtown as always, My little girl and I enjoyed the girls’ night out time here.
My daughter loved mushroom and pizza. And we were lucky enough that they have mushroom pizza on the kids’ menu. I picked my usual item — seafood pasta. The pizza looked great. My daughter was already had more than half loaf of the bread down and ate half of the mushroom pizza. My seafood pasta was huge. The shrimp was plump and juicy. The soup tasted great the bread I fought from my daughter’s hand. It was excellent.
I still saved myself a bit place fore desert. The lava chocolate was delicious and then I found a tiny piece of foil at the bottom of the cake. I present it to the waitress who immediately took to the restaurant manager. They apologized to me and took the dessert charge off from the bill. I had no issues with this episode.
Most likely will dine here when come to downtown Naperville.

Several years and 4 – 5 additional dinners later, La Sorella maintains its 5 star rating.
I forgot about the smoke of yesteryear — it’s banned in Illinois restaurants now, so that problem is solved.
I most enjoy the upstairs dining room. Downstairs is more formal, and a great meal is a great meal. But I like the upstairs room very much. Lots to look at, and you appreciate the building’s age more.
The Caesar salad dressing is the test; it’s homemade and very garlicky. A flying colors pass. My date is quite the Caesar snob and he grudgingly complimented it.
The gnocchi mantovana is one of my favorites.
Last time I enjoyed a Bitter Crush cocktail. Perfect blend of sweet fruit and bitters. Bravo!

I consider myself somewhat of a Linguine ai Frutti di Mare connoisseur and I will say that this by far is my fave! The portion was insane and the size of the seafood was amazing! Loved it! Plus, our waitress was super friendly. If only they weren’t all the way in Naperville.

I found the upstairs to be a nice space for a group dinner. The area can accommodate about 50 comfortably, and it did not seem as noisy as I know the main lower dining space can be. The cheese and spinach ravioli I had for dinner entrée was delicious. The buffet appetizer spread of calamari and pizza was excellent as was the generously sized tiramisu dessert serving.

This place was pretty good. I was here for a baby shower party, so our menu was pre selected.
We had a caesar salad to start, which was quite delicious. The main course was penne pasta with grilled chicken breast, which was good too. The cream sauce it is served in is quite heavy, though. I managed to drain off as much as I could from the serving spoon (I have lactose issues).
For desert vanilla gelato with served with a cake that was brought by someone in the party. It looked good, but I don’t eat cake/​ice cream, so I cannot comment on the taste.
Our waiter was very pleasant and made sure we always had a fresh loaf of bread in front of us and our waters were filled.
I wish I could give a more thorough review, but it’s difficult when you are told what to eat and cannot select from a menu. Three stars for now; I will update my review if I go back.

Was für ein Italiener vor den Toren Chicago’s!
Schon beim Betreten empfängt die italienische Dolce Vita, die Einrichtung spartanisch, aber sehr geschmackvoll, die richtige Musik und eine Italienerin, wie Mann sie nicht in Chicago erwarten würde.
Das Essen 1A, Bedienung Klasse und eine absolute Empfehlung!