Best Family Style Restaurants in River West

Arrived right at opening, happy to see other excited folks waiting to dine. Drink menu was original. Plates were adequately sized. It was nice to see Chef Flamm in the dining room! Our server Mario was wonderful.

Tried an assortment across the menu. The short ribbon dumplings and fish stew were magnificent. Everything else was delicious. Only little downside...we were seated in a small room with 3 or 4 other tables. Took away a bit from ambience of being out in an energetic place. But that is a small thing.

Everything was wonderful Food, cocktails Recommendations service … The ONLY thing to improve upon and it’s small.. is the restroom experience Pathway to restrooms is downstairs … and Smelled like mildew and felt like a dungeon They Obviously cared enough to make the actual restroom nice and updated, but the hallway is unfinished and needs to be basement proofed and finished to match the level that the restaurant deserves

The table bread is a must. The Cacio e Pepe pillows (so fluffy) and Rigatoni (just a little spicy in a good way) were delicious! Fried potatoes and delicate squash were excellent. Roasted chicken was just a little crispy and so flavorful. Soppressata pizza was sweet and salty. So good. Can’t wait for leftovers. Tossed salad was just ok IMO.

Elina’s is always amazing! However towards the end of our meal we ended up having a ton of food left and they took it back to wrap it up for us and never gave it back. We had 2 days worth of food in there 😂. Oh well! Anyways, great meal. Will be returning of course.