Affresco Pizzeria & Lounge

Wanted to have dinner in the neighborhood and this was a great choice. We sat inside even though they had a nice patio set up outside. Food was delicious and nice size portions. Had a great meal.

Had dinner inside Affresco tonight and the meal and space was great. I had the special, fillet medallions, with roasted potatoes and veggies, my wife had the white fish Nero and it was beyond tasty. We really enjoyed our meal and the service with Amber was also great. The cooks were busy with pick up /​take out orders, but our food came very well timed from Amber and the staff. We enjoyed the experience and didn’t experience some of the negative comments on the Unilocal sight. We will certainly be back!

We are locals and have been here before without a problem. Tonight we visited exclusively for the alfresco dining due to the long awaited nice Chicago weather. Much to our surprise it was $ 5 Martini night. We ordered a round and the drinks were obviously watered down and lacked everything that a martini should contain, like VODKA!!! We complained to Eduardo, who was an attentive and polite waiter and he took one drink to «fix», brought it back and said he saw the bartender pour two extra shots of Grey Goose in the shaker. After our tasting it was no difference than the first round. It is very obvious that they water down the vodka. So, with that being saint I ordered a Vesper, which is 100% alcohol and when I tasted it, it was like water. We talked to a manager and he was attentive to our complaints of the drinks and deducted them from the bill. ($ 10, and we took one sip), however they didn’t make it right by bringing new drinks. I’m sure they could not because all of their liquor is probably watered down. My GF ordered a glass of white wine and that was fine. My entrée was white fish and it was good, my GF had gluten free pasta that was hotter then a habanero, they had to remake it for her. We are foodies and enjoy great food. We are just very disappointed with a local Italian restaurant trying to cut corners by watering down the liquor. We won’t be back, as there are a lot of other local restaurants that make great drinks and great food, combined with great service. Unfortunately this local place receives only 1star
with my experience tonight.

To start off, my fiancé and I are HUGE foodies! We are very picky about the food and service anywhere we go. We were looking for a good «wine» restaurant and landed upon Affresco in Park Ridge. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by Sergio, who was very welcoming and friendly. I commented how cute the restaurant looked right from the host stand. It felt cozy, lights hanging from the ceiling, romantic vibe. We were then greeted by our waiter… As authentic, and Italian as you can get haha. He made us feel like friends the moment we sat down. We ordered the Burrata appetizer which was filling and full of flavor. Since we stuffed ourselves on the bread and the appetizer, we decided to split a pizza. Let me tell you… The last time I had «authentic» pizza was when I spent the summer in Europe. This is the closest thing to that, and it won’t cost you a $ 1,200 plane ticket! Everything from the service to the food was spectacular! I spent the entire night telling my fiancé how I can’t wait to come here again. I am excited to say that this will be our new summer date night go to!

I do like the décor the food is just ok though. Regular menu prices are a little high for the quality I believe. I am not sure if they have any parking because I always park on the street. Usually use Affresco for their monthly specials. Those are pretty decent and there is definitely enough food for a family of 4. They change the special monthly.

First visit. Greeted warmly by our waiter «Frank.» (Real name «Francesco» — I told him to go by that from now on since he is from Italy.) My wife and I liked their bold & fruity house pinot noir, got a very generous glass full. Warm, home made garlic & oil rolls followed — I asked for more. We’re mainly vegetarians, so we had their fried zucchini — was lightly battered, almost like tempura — yum. My wife’s pesto gnocchi was full of flavor. Not many places do «gavadills”– this place has the perfect al dente 8-​fingers cavatelli. Too much food, had to take it home. Creamy smooth tiramisu to top it off. We will tell friends about Alfresco, will be back for sure.

Always a member of the family at Affresco, whether it be Sergio, Nikki, Sal, Enrico, Matt, Jimmy, Tank, etc… Affresco goes out of their way to make your dining experience feel like your meeting up with friends (who happen to be serving a variety of great Italian dishes). Try the stuffed peppers, any special that Enrico dreams up, artichoke anything, or the wood fired brick oven pizza… a great neighborhood spot in Park Ridge!

This place is really cozy, the décor is to die for very cute and warm. They brought a little basket with three small buttered bread rolls to the table unfortunately they were old and probably from the day before. Very disappointing.
We ordered the mix grill with calamari octopus and shrimp. The octopus and calamari was under cooked. Octopus almost inedible and severely under seasoned.
The rest of the food came cod with mixed veggies and roasted potatoes. Veggies were unseasoned and very watery as if they came from a bag. The cod was good a little too much flour but still tasty. The potatoes were good, the pizza was ehh. Defiantly not your brick oven wood fielded expectation… More like a small rosatis pizza. Nothing authentic to a brick over pizza here
In my opinion there is nothing special here at all. Unfortunately there’s nothing to bring me back here again. No Italian authenticity in this place at all. Pizza is sub par, drinks are fair, and the service is ok. Just my 2 cents

Every time we eat here or the family to go special the food is great and the value superb! I will say I prefer to eat here though as the atmosphere makes the experience so great but with teens it is often not possible. Hands down this is my favorite Italian style food experience. Pizza fabulous, ravioli is unbeatable, save room for the doughnut with racotta cheese dessert (I always forget name) chewy and delish!

The first time we went to this place the pizza was absolutely amazing! My 12 year old was so impressed we returned all the way from the North shore for his birthday. We enjoyed ourselves but unfortunately the pizza was not as good. As others noted the crust didn’t seem quite the same. Maybe we’ll give it one more shot. They did give my a nice treat at the end of his meal for his birthday. He loved it.

Every time my husband and I eat here or we say that it is the best food in Park Ridge. You will often see the owner Sergio walking around the tables and saying hello to people. The homemade minestrone soup at lunch is amazing if you find it on the menu. Also if you’re looking for the best deal for lunch in Park Ridge they have an all you can eat pizza pasta and salad that is amazing. That is where we encountered the minestrone soup. The food is so fresh and so good. The space can get a little tight and it’s always great when it’s summertime and has outdoor seating.
The pizzas are always amazing as are cooked in a brick oven. Then there is the famous lemon chicken and potatoes that’s out of this world.
Bronzino fish is one of my favorites.
We have been going here for over 7 years and I’m surprised that this place isn’t rated one of the highest in Park Ridge.

We had a large group (11 people), the service was great, they were ready for us when we got there, everyone liked their food, the staff was friendly. I’d definately go back and I would recommend this place to family and friends.

This place offers fresh fish, quality meats and friendly service! Staff is knowledgeable and quick to respond. Prices are on point for what they offer and location. Order for takeout available, even delivery.

Had the best dining experience Valentine weekend Saturday night. Sal greeted my wife and I at the door, seated us and asked us to make sure we let him know how everything was. He said we were to have great food and fun too. He was right. The waiter «Tank» was very personable and had the time to explain how the food was prepared along with recommendations. My wife ordered a special salad with the greens she prefers and «Misto Grigliato» (not always on menu but was a special that evening). I had the Caprese Salad and the Linguini Pescatore as entre. The atmosphere where everyone is happy including the patrons made for a most delightful time to add to the premier Italian dining. I would highly recommend and plan on inviting our friends to join us for same.
Dan /​Karen Barnes

I was excited to go this «Italian» restaurant but unfortunately it was not like the good old Italian restaurants. The pluses were the rolls were very good as was the spumoni ice cream though it was a bit too cold and hard to eat.
Our server was very unprofessional to the point of having no interpersonal professional skills. The table we sat at had high chairs which were uncomfortable to sit in being grown-​ups and they all wobbled so one day that’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. The food looked great but had no flavor which was very disappointing. The prices were average. The area we were in (this place is very strange and has odd spaces all over that you are stuffed into) was very hot though the sound level was not too bad as far as acoustics. We had to climb up two flights of stairs to get to the table. Parking is basically on the street, another negative.
When we talked with the manager about our concerns she only heard some of them and then did not ask about the rest. Our meal was comped due to the problems we had.

They changed their pizza crust or someone else is making it since I last visited. It’s much thicker and doughy, not great.
Appetizers were great, baked clams and goat cheese apps were flavorful and filling.
Please fix the pizza!!! Very disappointing.

Oh my Gosh, food was amazing! Went with a group and we had Fresca pizza, Chicken Limone and Rigatoni Alforno. All we’re outstanding. Had a fabulous dessert that was delicious and staff was fantastic ~ a MUST try if you are a foodie!

Food was delicious, portions were more than enough and the service was outstanding. I’m done! :)

My co-​worker (uncle Tony) told me about his nephews restaurant Affresco Pizzeria @ 11 N Northwest Highway in Park Ridge. My wife and I decided to check it out tonight.
Affresco is located in a great area near the NE corner of Park Ridge. The exterior has a nicely designed façade with an Italian themed façade. There is also an outdoor dining area that wasn’t being used because it was a little cool and drizzling rain.
When we went in there were 2 couples waiting in the entry foyer waiting to be seated in the upstairs dining area. Uncle Tony told me to ask for Sergio (his nephew). As luck would have it Sergio was at the entry foyer when we came in. He brought us in and seated us at a small table. From this table we could see the brick oven used for cooking the pizzas and other foods. This also where the food is set for the waiters to bring out to the tables. They have a variety of Sicilian dishes that we have to go back and try sometime. We weren’t that hungry so we ordered a pizza with sausage, mushrooms, red onions, peppers, mozzarella cheese (lots of it) (& we added minced garlic). The pizza had a nice blend of the ingredients & spices, but was nothing extraordinary. The restaurant has a very nice old world ambiance with soft guitar music playing in the background. Our waiter was very good and very attentive to our needs and service. (Even though we didn’t order very much)
Overall it was a very nice dining experience the food was good, the service was great and the dining area has a very nice ambiance. We need to go back and try some of the other dishes because the food coming out of the kitchen looked great. There is also a dining area upstairs which we didn’t get to see & an outdoor dining area that could be very nice weather permitting. I would give this restaurant 4.5 stars based on the location, the food (very limited tasting), the service & the ambiance

Our experience was so great that we had to give 5 stars, which we rarely do for a neighborhood restaurant. The food, service, ambiance, and wine are all pretty good.
It’s a spacious place with plenty of room for group gatherings. Their bottomless lunch special ($ 12) is AMAZING. They give you appetizer, salad, pasta, pizza and some meat. We love Italian food and this place is Sicilian. We can taste the fresh ingredients and all was prepared fresh.
My husband has the house Cabernet and it was better than most house wines he had before. Our server was awesome too. Even when we sat in the corner of second floor, he still checked on us regularly. It’s a casual dining place that we would come back more often in the future.
Also, there are a lot of families dining here and some with small children. It’s a good sign and great news for people with kids.