Trattoria D.O.C.

I like to think that this is a classy, traditional Italian eatery that is run by the D.O.C. from N.W.A. Sadly, this is not the case, and it is merely a classy, traditional Italian eatery that is run by… someone else. It’s been around for quite a while, and they’ve got the operation on lock: excellent service, very solid bar that does traditional cocktails well, a quiet, intimate atmosphere, and extremely good Italian classics. I’m not especially fond of their pizza, but their pasta is as good as you’re going to find anywhere in Evanston. They’re conveniently located right near the Main stop of the Purple Line, and the staff really knows its business. A very good dinner choice, and a place you’ll want to return to.

Decent food but a little overpriced. I loved the potato leek soup and our flat bread pizza but I felt we spent too much money. The bottomless bread makes up for it though. So delicious with the Parmesan and olive oil. We sat on the patio and it was very nice.

Trattoria DOC has the most incredible gluten free pasta bolognese! The staff is knowledgable and service oriented and it is a great location.

Went for a nice family dinner. My moms phone died and they were nice enough to let her charge it at the bar. The service was great and the pizza was really yummy authentic italian style.

Finally found great Italian in Evanston. Love that you can get a half size entrée (even for dinner) if you aren’t super hungry /​watching the cals. Service is top notch as well!

Just moved into the neighborhood two weeks ago and have been here twice. Terrific food,
great service, and nice, understated ambiance. Will be going back many times. The menu is extensive and varied… much more than a pizza place (although the pizza is excellent!)

Pizza very similar to pizza in Italy. Excellent. Grilled vegetables very good. We have eaten here many times and always have a great experience with food and service.

I live up the street and have been here a handful of times in the past few years, and I always love it. It’s not flashy but rather old-​school, in a charming way. The wait-​staff are always very attentive and seem sincerely nice (shout out to Nathaniel, he’s excellent). And I love their food. There’s always a great selection. Last time I had bruschetta and the funghi parpadelle, both were delicious. I *really* appreciate that they offer ½ portions, as the servings are very generous and getting a ½ for me means I can enjoy an appetizer and/​or dessert without feeling overly indulgent. The pizzas are delicious, as are all the other pasta meals I’ve had in the past, great drinks menu/​bartender and just an all-​round really nice experience with great value for money.

We were here to meet an old friend from out of town who stood us up (excessive inebriation was to blame). This enabled me to observe the manager-​co-​owner in action. I really like the way she takes literal and figurative ownership of the place, she knows her regulars by name (Just have a seat J_​_​_​_​, your father is on his way. How nice to see you M_​_​_​_​_​_​and S_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​, it’s been over a month, how did you like Greece…). We took up a four-​top waiting over an hour (we couldn’t remember the last time we got stood up, it’s become so rare in the mobile phone — SMS age) but we didn’t get any pressure, only a seemingly sincere sympathetic concern. How could we not stay for dinner? The Italian style pizzas are delicious, there are some very tasty vegetarian combinations. The pizzas are Italian, not Chicago style, not New York style, if you’re looking for American pizza I think you’d be better off at Blaze. The calamari was perfect (you know, it’s timing, just a bit overdone and squid isn’t tender). The wine list is good, fits the cuisine quite well. The prices for the food and wine is a little high, but completely in line with Evanston for the quality and ambiance.

Great food, good service, happy to see a family business thriving on my block! They are always busy and the owners get to know and remember customers. It has a great family atmosphere and authentic Italian menu, it’s my go to for a glass of wine and classics.

This review is only for their pizza. We thought we’d give it a try based on other reviews.
Wow, what a disappointment. We ordered 2 pies. The crust was good, but the sauce had NO flavor, and there was very little sauce. The cheese was low quality, greasy, yellow in color, and lacked flavor; obviously not high quality mozzarella. We ended up throwing away our leftovers.
Having recently moved from Chicago to Evanston, we were spoiled by all the great pizza options in the city. Anyone who says this pizza is good really should venture out of Evanston to eat great pizza. Sorry DOC, we won’t be back.

This place is way underrated. The pizza margarita here is the bomb! Delicious crust, sauce and cheesy goodness you will love it. We started with their Bellini Martina’s and calamari fritti. The martini was refreshing and potent and was a great accompaniment to the crisp, and succulent, perfectly fried calamari. Tricolor salad was next along with Pizza Stagione on this visit. Delicious indeed! My only complaint is that the outdoor seating needs a major redo. I mean even I don’t have plastic Walmart chairs in my backyard! Yuck! Get some nice Trattoria chairs for God sake! There I said it! Nevertheless service (ask for Stephen) and food here are very good!

Came here for a friends birthday. Decent Italian food. I wasn’t too amused by the food selection on their menu.

Great service, authentic Italian food with good size portions. You walk in and are warmly greeted with crusty Italian bread, oil, cracked pepper and parmigiana cheese. The menu has a great mix of appetizers, salads, pasta and meat/​seafood dishes. I highly recommend the tagliatelle Bolognese. The food is amazing. Worth the drive to Evanston.

Always amazing service and delicious pizzas – wood-​burning oven and fresh ingredients! Outdoor patio also allows one to enjoy the street traffic in this quaint part of Evanston.

This was my first time here and I have to say that my meal is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Ever.
I had the blue cheese gnocchi with spinach and the flavors were spot on — really really delicious. The wine selection is solid and our server was great. I forgot her name, unfortunately but if the owners read this she was working last night with blonde-​ish brown hair.
All around, I highly recommend this place. We also got the smoked mozz appetizer and it was great. I sampled some of my party’s food — the carbanara, and some chicken dish: both of those were good too. But compared to the gnocchi that I ordered, almost nothing could stack up. Food might be ruined for me from now on. Too bad that dish is probably like 40,000 calories because that stuff is the elixir of life. Highly recommended.

It’s a popular spot among my colleagues, therefore, I go here a lot. I’ve been back maybe 6 – 7 times. Everything is usually really good, and kind of reminds me of Italy with the style of pizzas they serve, personal, uncut, and with many diverse type of toppings. I have also had the pasta, and the risotto, and I think the pasta is really delicious.
Some items could be priced a little bit more reasonably, but overall it is always a great experience. I will be back again many times I’m sure. Friendly staff too.

Sweet neighborhood restaurant. Way better than average pasta. Salmon livornese excellent. Wide variety of pizzas and nice wine list. Great service and reasonable prices.
You could easily pay much more for much less.
Go there!

This is a pleasant Italian restaurant in the middle of an old fashioned block of main street surrounded by lots of interesting shops. Pizzas are served uncut so they don’t get soggy, and there are some interesting salads. I had a combination of celery, apple and radicchio that was quite refreshing.
The wine list has some uncommon offerings by the glass, including the seldom seen primitivo.
There is some sidewalk seating that’s perfect on a nice day.
The only downside is that it’s not inexpensive, and there doesn’t seem to be a lunch menu, so two courses can result in a rather pricey noon-​time meal. But on a nice summer evening it’s certianly a good outside dining option.

I’ve been to Trattoria D.O.C. twice, and regrettably never did get my first review penned. That was back in March. We went back again for Father’s Day, and had a bit of a different experience. Allow me to elaborate:
March: We went for a birthday party where the menu had been pre-​planned and everything served family-​style, which I can get down on.
We all started with their house salad, which was very good and I like the balsamic dressing. The family style menu consisted of:
Calamari Fritti: fried calamari w/​spicy anchovy marinara. The calamari was lightly breaded and fried, not overcooked. A.
Zuppetta di Cozze: mussels sautéed in a spicy tomato sauce. I love mussels, but this wasn’t my favorite for some reason.
Pappardelle al ragu d’anatra: wide ribbon pasta sautéed with a red wine, tomato, duck sauce topped with parmigiano: good flavors, not a lot of duck, but all around yummy
Orcchiette con spinaci: spinach, red pepper flakes, evoo, garlic, butter, wine, cherry tomatoes, parmigiano. Probably my favorite pasta. I’m not one for heavy sauces and like a kick of spice.
Margherita pizza — standard
Silvio & Gabriele — tomato sauce, mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto, sliced tomato, shaved parmigiano.
Overall the meal was enjoyable, service was great and everything came out hot and ready to go.
Fast-​forward to father’s day: No family-​style this time, we all just ordered. We had a group of 10.
Most, if not all of us, complained that the food was cold and undercooked. I ordered the tricolore salad, which was actually very good, I’m a sucker for beets and endive. I followed that up with the Napoli pizza, which has anchovies and capers on it. The menu touted fresh mozzarella, but the kitchen definitely used regular mozz. The pizza had absolutely been sitting, you know the look that cheese on top of pizza gets when it’s not exactly hot anymore. I will admit I was disappointed.
Maybe we’ll give Trattoria D.O.C. another shot another time.