Zingarella

I wanted to eat here but the place was closed. The restaurant was empty.

I used to get the lasagna specials and pasta, neither were really that impressive. I also see an exorbitant amount of senior citizens during brunch/​lunch/​dinner hours (pretty much all the time).
They do offer impeccable service though, and the owner and her brother will take great care of you for a sit-​down dinner. As for the wait staff, I can’t really comment on them since I’ve mostly just seen the owners most of the time, I can only imagine that it’s some young GBS kid. The owners, however, are both very educated on their food and have unique selections hand-​picked (and they have photographs and a story to go with most of their selections).
Had a work dinner hosted here, and they were on the ball about proper etiquette and kept checking to make sure we liked the food. a little over priced in my opinion.

Just had a birthday party with 11 and everyone enjoyed their food. I liked that the dishes were a little out of the ordinary, but not odd or working too hard. The anti pasti had the best little marinated olives and fresh mozzarella — and three people commented on how good the blue cheese was. I had the whitefish mostly because it came atop mashed turnips with sautéed spinach with almonds and capers. It was delicious with the fish cooked perfectly. A bit more butter sauce than I prefer, but easily remedied. Four people had the special butternut squash ravioli and there was not a leftover rav on any plate! Good home made Chocolate cream pie and a sampling of really good cookies. We will definitely go back.

have eaten here fro the last 5 years and every meal has been wonderful. You never worry about quality nor flavor as both are always Bonnie’s forte’ She is probably the best cook in Glenview and we are so happy she is here! Good food for a good value… always!!!

After reading some less than perfect reviews I was a little nervous about dining at Zingarella’s but I had a really wonderful dinner with two friends a couple weekends ago and would definitely come back anytime!
I enjoyed the veal osso bucco special in a wonderful gravy over mashed potatoes, carrot and celery. The portion was huge, warming and so delicious. I was really impressed. I was a little concerned this place was pretend-​upscale and they wouldn’t do the osso bucco well but the meat was so tender and so delicious. The portion size was so generous I was able to take much of it home for the bf to enjoy the next day.
One friend enjoyed the shrimp and papparadelle pasta with cream sauce, this was also a special for the evening. I believe it had bacon in it too. I sampled a piece of the pasta only — I wasn’t too blown away, as usual I thought it needed salt but my friend really liked it and that’s what counts!
Fellow Unilocaler Judy F had the whitefish but I cannot remember what it was served over, I believe an assortment of vegetables, shaved fennel atop. It was presented very beautifully though and looked very upscale. My friend loved it!
For an app we split the calamari — it was pretty good. Not too greasy (needed salt, but again I think everything needs salt) and not tough. Nothing about it made me go OH MY GOD but I certainly kept eating it!
We also split a large piece of chocolate mousse cake at our waiters suggestion. To be honest I didn’t think it was anything special. Of course it tasted good but it wasn’t particularly decadent or chocolatey. Our waiter was kind enough to admit that the carrot cake was dry that day — we appreciated his honesty. He was very funny and attentive, but not to an annoying degree.
Two of us enjoyed a glass of wine which was nice (and even better they left my wine off the bill!) and we had a really wonderful time chatting — essentially closing the place down.
All in all I had a really fabulous time out with my girlfriends and we all loved our food. I would come back here without hesitation anytime. Not being from the Glen I could probably never find it but I’ll just let my friend drive again.
I will note a few reviewers have commented on rude staff — I will say our waiter was not rude at all but I caught a glimpse of attitude from the hostess. We were seated near a window and it was FREEZING. I immediately asked to be moved and I’m pretty sure she rolled her eyes at me when I insisted it was unacceptably cold but she and our waiter assured me the place would warm up and unfortunately other tables were reserved. The attitude from the waitress is something that would normally really piss me off but I accepted my fate and she was right, the place did warm up.

Zingarella is a very welcome alternative to the never-​ending sea of chain restaurants in the northern burbs. I stop in once or twice a month, and I’ve never had a meal I didn’t like. The owner and her family are down-​to-​earth and welcoming. The wine list is small, but always matched to the menu, which changes with the seasons and includes specials that seem to change weekly or so. While the space is in a strip mall, Zingarella’s recent renovations have really made the space very inviting.

Let me start by saying the food was delicious. I will, however, never go back. The owner sort of greeted us as we walked in, then ignored us for 7 minutes. We were seated and waited 12 minutes to be acknowledged. My friend kept setting her stopwatch on her phone. The service wasn’t just slow and non-​responsive. The busboy grabbed my husband’s water glass by the rim to re-​fill it. I’m sorry, I’m not a germaphobe and it made me sick to my stomache. Our friend was handed an unwrapped straw in much the same manner. The meal took 2 ¾ hours. We were given gift certificates for a return meal (we never made a single complaint). We will not be using the gift certificate, nor would we give it to someone and subject them to this service.

The woman who seated us was M.I.A. for about 5 minutes, and then approached us while glancing at her watch. RUDE. We asked if they were still open, and she made no apology to her rude gesture, audibly sighed and said «ah, yes». I’m willing to look past this, but I do have to mention it, as some people may not and might turn around and walk right out the door. They need to figure that out… when someone walks into a restaurant, they should be greeted with a warm welcome and a smile… not signals of annoyance.
The food was decent but didn’t wow me. The menu lacks cohesion and variety in some areas. Prices were fair. Waitstaff was decent.
I wanted to like everything more than I actually did.

Full restaurant on a Friday night, and four of us had no difficulty carrying on a conversation — what a nice change! We shared an order of calamari (tasty, a little watery, nicely breaded and perfectly fried), two orders of mussels (as good as you’ll find in Chicago — plump, perfectly cooked, wonderful broth) and each of us had a different salad — all wonderful (my Caesar was particularly good). Fair prices, good portions, good service, nice ambience, free parking — hard to beat. Skip the bread.

This place seems like a fancy Italian Restaurant Wanna-​Be. It has the elements and illusion of trying to be a good restaurant, but when you get your food it’s anything but.
This had to be by far the worst Italian food I’ve ever eaten. Everything everyone ordered was lousy.
Would never go back.

I LIKE this place ! The food is always VERY good and interesting, and they appear change the menu items frequesntly. The wines are very NICE.
The service is very effiecint and friendly (and sometimes pretty funny).
This IS a NICE place and very worthwhile. I’ll be back !

I use to be a huge fan of this place — however it seems to have gone down slightly since it originally opened. The food seems just mediocre now… and I will never order another dessert from there again — it always ends up being a disappointment. I’m hoping they do some upgrades/​improvements of the overall business and bring it back to its original splendor.

Zingarella is a really cozy, delightful setting for their Opera and Cabaret Nights! The atmosphere is warm and inviting, the talent first rate and the food is delicious. The presentation is always beautiful and inventive. Some of my favorite items are the sweet potato gnocchi, the grilled shrimp over polenta and the chocolate cheesecake! MMMMM… good! I have eaten here several times and always enjoyed the food AND the music. Everything in the bakery looks almost TOO good to eat. It’s a great place — I’ll definitely go back again!

I just deleted a long detailed review I wrote for this little spot on the Glen. Instead I will keep it short and unfortunately not so sweet.
We ate here last night. The food was good, but not good enough to overcome the obvious lack of pride and interest that the woman who owns this place displays.
We arrived at 5:30 to an empty restaurant. We were seated at the worst spot in the room, along the wall next to the water station and kitchen door. Since ALL the tables were empty, we asked to sit somewhere else and were told that all the table were reserved.
We felt very unwelcome. When we left at 6:40, more than half the room was still empty.
The décor of the room is cheap ! The table settings cheap, unimaginative and more fitting of Denny’s than a pricey restaurant on the Glen.
Once again let me say that our dinner was good, surprisingly good. I just feel that there is no pride here, no one is making an effort here. The presentation of the food is terrible, almost unappetizing. The staff is unattentive, and unfriendly.
If you want to dine on the Glen there are many choices that offer better food and who pay attention to all the little details that make dining an experience.

Zingerella is a quaint Italian deli + restaurant located near the Glen in Glenview. The name, Zingarella is what the owner’s grandmother used to call her in place of Cinderella. I’ve dined there for both lunch and dinner but visit their deli and dessert section more often. Their food isn’t impressive but the pluses is the attentive service and different events they host throughout the week, such as jazz night or wine tasting. I must say the restaurant in stronger with their deli and dessert section because their gelato is comparable to the gelato I tasted in Italy and their cookies are very light and decadent. Their various salads and antipasti is also pretty good with creative touches such as walnuts and fruits added in.

Call me spoiled, but there is nothing more I dislike than to consume food that is mediocre. And unfortunately, my meal at Zingarella was just that, mediocre. The descriptions on the menu made the food sound so incredible, which just cause the actual dishes to be so much more disappointing.
We had the Calamari Fritti (actual menu description: Tender calamari fried to perfection and served with marinara sauce) and Mussels Provencal (Prince Edward Island Mussels sautéed in a garlic and white wine broth with saffron Israeli cous cous and fresh tomatoes), both dishes were very BLAND. Please, I’ve had better calamari at Joy Yee’s!
Then for entrees we had the Ravioli Calvados (actual menu description: Fresh duck ravioli with dried cherries and roasted apples in apple Brandy cream sauce) and the Chef’s special Bouillabaisse (fish stew). The Bouillabaisse was very bland and my Ravioli Calvados was greasy and didn’t have much taste either.
The only thing I enjoy at Zingarella was their bread basket, fresh and hot! The service could be better, the guy just seemed bored.

Zingarella located across street of the train station, since my boyfriend and I were looking for some new lunch spot in Glenview, after read some review from Unilocal,I guess it’s not bad to make a try. It wasn’t a busy afternoon due to the snow, waiter was friendly and service was A++, just the food made me take off some stars. Décor was OK kind of old style, they have a pretty good lunch menu just the quality wasn’t that good, I had cream of mushroom soup. hmm…tasted just funny, they ground the mushroom into a powder, it make it lost the mushroom taste, soup was too creamy, better serve with bread or crackers. I got grilled apple salad, greens weren’t that bad, just standard, not impressed, apple not sweet and not fresh. Also, they have deli in the restaurant but the dessert and salad didn’t look fresh, in general Zingarella is OK, but not great.

I stopped in for lunch on Saturday afternoon other than my girlfriend and I there was only one other table dining. When you first walk in you enter the deli and gelato area. They offer refreshments and pastries with what appears to be a full bar. There are two dining areas and many tables to seat. Each table has fresh flowers however they do not serve bread on the table I was surprised especially when they serve soup and have a deli. This immediately dropped their value when I ate my soup without bread.
Speaking of the soup I ordered cream of mushroom but it was not what I expected. The mushrooms were ground into a power and inserted in a cream base. It had a very strange texture and I probably ate ¼ of the soup I was disappointed because I like cream of mushroom and was looking forward to a bowl of good soup and quality bread so far I was disappointed. Moving on to the Sandwich portion of my lunch I had the turkey with cranberry sauce on marble rye bread accompanied by deep fried potato chips. The taste of the sandwich was appeasing however the bread was over toasted and took away from the quality of the turkey sandwich. The potato chips were interesting I have not had potato chips like these and they were descent. Overall I was not very impressed and would normally rate an experience such as this a 2 star establishment. I feel bad for doing so due to the fact that our server was very good and the food was ok along with the setting. Located near the Glen I prefer Bravo Cucina Italiana and Via Gelato 2 minutes away.

Surprisingly delicious!
The ladies and I were looking to find a new lunch spot when someone mentioned Zingarella. I did not know what to expect but guessed the food to be a higher-​end café. I was pleasantly surprised to find a French bistro with a very eye appealing menu. Now, I must clarify that the menu was not over extensive or what I like to call the Cheesecake Factory syndrome — which is when the menu has TOO much to pick from, making it hard. Instead, the menu had a pretty well rounded selection. The hard part was that everything sounded sooo delicious!
I settled on the chicken salad sandwich. It was very tasty and included a good portion of chicken to the additional ingredients such as apples and grapes. Yum. It was served with a blend of regular potato and sweet potato homemade chips. Double yum. The bread was amazing — a true signature of a successful bistro, in my eyes.
Others at my table tried the «quiche of the day.» It was tasty but one diner complained of slightly too much rosemary. Otherwise, all other comments were positive.
The service was excellent. Our waitress was almost forgettable — in a good way. We never had to look around to find her but she wasn’t constantly bugging us, either. I love servers like that. It allows me to focus on the two most important aspects of my meal — my food and my companions.

This restaurant just recently opened up in Glenview and I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon here recently. We had a private party of about 40 people and it was just great! The food was good, the wine was good, the waitstaff was very accomodating and friendly. The presentation of the food was great. I want to go back!
The restaurant is located across from D’Agostino’s Pizza Pub, just west of the Glen Train Station.
While I was there, I noticed an advertisement for an «Opera Night» that they were planning and it sounded very intriguing. They have delicious pastries and desserts. I think it’s a great addition to Glenview, a town that needs more great restaurants!
Good luck to you, Zingarella!