Chianti Il Ristorante

five stars. carpaccio. omg.
My husband and I ate dinner here while visiting Saratoga Springs for a couple of days after our wedding, and chose Chianti specifically because there was carpaccio (and a lot of it!) on the menu. Chianti did not disappoint. Omg.
We ordered the trio of beef carpaccio, and while it was all super yummy, we’d probably just get the gorgonzola version next time, because it was hands down the best of the three. It was all seriously so good, though. You know when something tastes so good you forget where you are and can’t think about anything but what you’re chewing? It was like that. So, so good.
We weren’t super hungry, so we followed the plate of carpaccio with one of their many risotto selections (we picked the d’Medici), and while it wasn’t as superlative as the carpaccio, it was definitely in the top 5 risottos we’ve eaten this year.
Follow that with another couple of cocktails and two desserts, and we walked back to our hotel very happy campers.

I’ve gone to this place a few times and every time I go there I find it very difficult to make a decision on what to order due to the lack of appealing Italian food. And whatever I end up receiving usually ends up sucking some major dick. The wait staff is very unfriendly. All the different servers I have had were not easy to get along with and wreaking of their hatred for their job. I don’t think I will ever be dining there again. It’s is an over glorified, over priced restaurant that should really get its act together. If you are a tourist to toga and looking for good Italian food, I recommend it’s sister restaurant, Forno Bistro, which is also located in Saratoga. The menu there is a lot easier to work with and the wait staff is so much friendlier. Never had a problem an Forno.

Excellente! Food and service terrific. A lively northern Italian restaurant (no red sauce) inventive combinations and flavors. An osso bucco that was just ridiculously tender and flavorful. The pasta special featured the largest shrimp that I have ever seen over a MOUND of squid ink pasta seasoned with a saffron cream sauce. Delicious entirely. Give them a try, you will not be disappointed.

Enjoyed a wonderful dinner at this fine Italian restaurant on Friday to celebrate a cousins’ reunion. Not being locals, this was the first time for us at this restaurant and we were delighted!
Our server, whose name I neglected to ask, was helpful and patient. One of the cousins has food allergies and our server as able to work with her to select the best salad and entrée. He even took a group picture for us!
I started with Romano al Salto, a pan seared salad, and it was superb! Next, Risotto Di Medici. WOW! Being from NYC originally, I was under the mistaken impression that really good Italian food could only be enjoyed in The City. Not so. This beautiful restaurant has proven me wrong! We will definitely visit this restaurant next time we’re in Saratoga Springs.

I have only visited Chianti twice and both were a very mixed bag. The place is lovely. Love the décor and the bar is very cool. The place is pretty small from my observation and the tables are close. Not bumping elbows with your neighbors close but I know what everyone around me ordered and I know how they treated the wait staff. The other thing about the room you should know is it is so loud you cannot hear or be heard unless you add to the room of shouting. Seriously, my husband was sitting right next to me and I still have no idea what he was saying.
On to the food. I don’t think you can go wrong with their risotto at all. Delicious. The sautéed spinach was really good to. They had a duck ragout as a special that was very good but my husband had they regular duck dish from the menu and it was very unevenly cooked. At first he thought it was all cooked to a leathery state but then as he worked through the last 2 Slices were perfect. He also mentioned the cherries they served with it were too sweet. Almost candy like.
That was the latest trip. The first time I went (girls night out) the table of drunken men next to us were so poorly behaved that the restaurant should have taken measures to remove them. They were throwing dishes on the floor, letting the shards scatter all over. Pouring wine on the table, breaking classes… Fortunately the food on that trip was so good I thought I would try again.
Like I said, it is a lovely décor and the food fairly good. Give it a try if you are ok with the noise… Go for one of the risotto dishes.

Wonderful dressy fine dining. Easily the best of DZ’s restaurants. Good location, great service, great food. A bit pricey but if you go in knowing that and focus on what to order, then you’ll be fine. DO NOT ask for more sparkling water, it is not complimentary and it is the only thing that is really overcharged. Wonderful date spot and group spot and they’re very accommodating.

Came here with a large group. Service was fantastic. We had a nice table right by the windows/​patio. I told them I am a vegan/​gluten free and they were extremely accommodating. My salad course came out with no meat /​cheese and they prepared a giant plate of delicious vegetables and beans as a substitute for the main course. Everyone raved about the great food and sizable portions. Would definitely recommend (especially for any groups with a difficult eater looking) for an awesome meal.

We were a party of four and everyone had a different and delicious entrée. We had Farrotto: Farro grain, pureed spinach, goat cheese, toasted almonds and peas, Riisotto De’Medici: Filet mignon bites, truffle oil, grana padano and rosemary, and Pollo Alla Veronese: All natural French cut 8oz chicken breast pan roasted, with garlic, rosemary, white wine, a touch of spice, and dusted with fennel seed. The 3 that ate these loved them! I wanted to try something different than the usual and I asked about the rabbit. The waiter said that the rabbit isn’t «gamey» so I ordered the Spaghetti Rustici: Shredded braised rabbit, rendered guanciale, shallots and garlic, wilted spinach, Pecorino cheese. The waiter was correct! This was delicious! So glad I tried it.
Service was impeccable!
We ordered a «special» appetizer of Buffalo mozzarella, roasted red peppers, proscuitto … yummy!
The charming owner went to each table and spoke to all the patrons.
A very memorable meal!

The food was good, but not amazing. For a fine dining restaurant it was incredibly LOUD! I wouldn’t recommend it for a romantic evening. They do have a good wine list. The whole experience was underwhelming, not bad, just expected better for the price point and what they seem to be going for.

Love this place. Excellent food, Excellent happy hour, a great wait staff and bartenders.
Friendly, courteous and obliging. Highly Recommend

I’ve turned my Dad into a discerning foodie, and every time that I go up to see him, he has laid out a listing of new restaurants that we should visit in the Saratoga Springs area. He will clip restaurant reviews from the local paper, and even reads Unilocal reviews before making his suggestions. We had planned to visit Chianti on previous visits, but always seemed to get sidetracked by other restaurant choices, and so this time we put Chianti at the top of our list.
David Zecchini is the owner and inspiration behind Chianti, and the owner of the well-​known DZ Restaurant Group which also includes Luna Lounge (later Mare Ristorante), Forno Bistro, Pasta Pane, and Boca Bistro. Chianti is the jewel in his Italian restaurant crown, and it is known as a sophisticated, authentic Northern Italian restaurant in an elegant setting in downtown Saratoga Springs on Division Street. By the way, the reason they are known as Chianti II is because this is the new location of the restaurant. Totally remodeled, and built from the ground up.
The aesthetics of this restaurant are magnificent with its warm, rustic walls, hand-​etched stone floors, and the green onyx-​stone bar. The centerpiece of this restaurant is a rare, precious piece of artwork from the Vatican which is prominently displayed for everyone to enjoy. Chianti features an open kitchen concept, allowing everyone to view the action while they watch their meals being prepared.
Executive Chef, Fabrizio Bazzani was born in Isola della Scala, Italy, and grew up between the cities of Bovolone and Bardolino, where he learned to cook homemade meals with his mother and grandmother. Bazzani met Zecchini when the two were working at restaurants in Southern California, and soon after they moved to Saratoga Springs to bring their passion for fine Italian fare to the region.
The menu at Chianti is a wonderful mix of eclectic and traditional Northern Italian dishes. You’ll find some authentic bruschetta, asparagus with fried egg and prosciutto, sautéed mussels, and pan-​seared shrimp to start your meal. If you prefer, they also have several styles of beef carpaccio. Then come the salads, the risottos, and the pasta dishes. After that are the fabulous entrées like roasted sausage-​stuffed quail, roasted rabbit, pheasant, or roasted duck. You’ll find pork ossobucco, or a nice filet.
I started my meal with Romana Al Salto, which was a salad made with pan-​seared romaine lettuce, garlic oil, and anchovy filets, finished with shaved pecorino cheese, and thin roasted crostini. Dad and I then split a small order of the Capellini Alla Checca, which was Angel hair pasta with garlic, roasted cherry tomatoes, basil and olive oil. For my main course I had the pork ossobucco woth roasted veggies and new potatoes, which was just magical. Serious Yum!!!
Our server was Kevin, and he saw our obvious delight with our selection of food, and recommended that we cap off our meal with Profitteroles Al Cioccolato, which were puff pastries filled with vanilla cream, and covered in chocolate ganache. I think this is when the choir of angels appeared over our table, and I floated up out of my seat while making yummy noises.
What a superb meal, and a wonderful evening spent with my Dad. Thank you Chianti!

Update: they closed-​off the happy hour at the bar at 5:54. Even though everyone showed them their phones, they said sorry «we don’t have any control over this!» So 3.5 stars
Wow. It’s restaurant week and the food is a fantastic as ever!!!
Out with the best palettes in the world. We ordered salads, pasta penne a là vodka, pasta ragú, and salmon entrees. All 5 stars!!!
Desserts are all lovely!!! Tiramisu and chocolate mousse! Fantastic I!

I was fortunate enough to be invited by my manager (N. McDonald) for dinner at Chianti. The seven of us, were greeted by the maitre de and politely took us to our long table that overlooked the enriched cabinets of exotic wines. From the minute we’ve sat in our table, I knew the level of service was going to superb. The ambiance is perfect; a soothing Amber lighting that compliments the deep wooden interiors of the restaurant. For appetizers, we ordered the salumi board, with calamari. In addition, we’ve also ordered our own appetizers. For my personal appetizer, I ordered the GAMBERONI AL LARDO CROCCANTE. After having this I couldn’t wait to try my filetto that I ordered (try their duck, rabbit, quail, salmon dishes– you won’t be disappointed.) the timing of each course was perfectly timed and executed. Having to work at Fortina in Armonk, NY under Chef Christian Petroni, I was impressed and delighted by their stellar– well disciplined level of committed service. Like the timing from our appetizers to our main course meal, all the way to deserts were excellently timed– and they were extremely busy. The level of dedicated service, commitment, and overall décor experience allows Chianti’s to provide their customers a taste of northern Italy right in Saratoga. Try their truants for desert, it’s so fresh you will get a kick from how good the shaved chocolate is. I loved my experience there and I will be back! Thank you.

What a wonderful place for a date night! Put on your dress and tie (whIchever floats your boat) and enjoy a romantic night out in Saratoga.
We made reservations a week ahead and I was glad we did because they were full to the brim on a Saturday night at 6:30pm. We arrived on time. The table wasn’t ready but we checked our coats, ordered a drink from the bar and within moments we were seated. Very short wait from the time of the reservation. The hostess, coat check and bartender were all very friendly.
We were seated at a small table in a small space and we smiled because it reminded us of restaurants in urban parts of Italy.
We ordered the procuitto/​mozzarella/​arugula appetizer which was outstanding. The bread they brought to the table is house made and incredible. Super crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside.
For main dishes we did a classic bolognese, and a sausage stuffed Quaile with roasted potatoes and green beans.
We ordered Chianti wine (per their name sake) and took dessert to go.
The pasta was very meaty however a bit dry. We personally like a more wet pasta however the flavor was spot on. The Quaile was perfection in flavor and texture.
I would absolutely go here again. Great service. Delicious, comforting, high quality, home made food. This place is a win for romance and good eats!

After arriving at our hotel, the front desk recommended this place for dinner. Very nice atmosphere inside, perfect for a nice italian dinner with family or a date night.
I ordered the shrimp risotto, which was okay. Tasted like they put too much hot pepper in it, which kind of overpowered it. Great texture though, perfect portion size and the shrimp were cooked perfectly.
Also tasted the spaghetti bolognese, which was amazing. The bolognese was very tasty and flavorful, like it was simmering all day on the stove. highly recommended.
My mom ordered the salmon special, which I also tasted. Salmon was grilled to perfection with a very tasty and fresh herby lemon sauce drizzled on top. Delicious.
Chocolate gelato with chopped hazelnuts for dessert was amazing as well.
Overall, a great experience with great, friendly service. Highly recommended.

Recently ventured to Chianti as it is a staple in every Saratogian’s diet. It was great to hear how and where they are sourcing all of their meat. Not to mention it is a DZ Restaurant, DZ is a company after my own heart. They have a local farm where they source a majority of their produce making almost their entire company completely farm to table.
The wait staff is pleasant, the wine is good and the vodka sauce is divine. They could work on making pasta in house but other than that, I’ll continue to frequent this fabulous place.
Great spot for a date! Outside patio is lovely.

I had a meeting in Albany and we decided to drive up to Saratoga for this restaurant. This is my colleague’s go to restaurant here and he’s been raving about the food here.
We started our dinner with lattughella, nice Boston lettuce with homemade (I think) balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Crispy prosciutto added good texture and flavor to the salad and went well with the cheese.
For pasta, my colleague chose bolognese. First bite of the pasta, it was so al dente, my mind was in Italy! Sure I had good Italian food in U.S., but never found this texture of pasta served. True al dente texture, when the owner or manager came by, I started complimenting in Italian. Interesting how my taste buds remember language and come out naturally. Meat sauce was fantastic too.
For main dish, we had pollo alla Veronese. Chicken was so juicy and tender. The flavor went well with glass of red wine I chose that night.
For desert, the restaurant chose profiteroles al ciocollato. It was… I actually don’t remember how it was but it was gone before I know it, so it must have been that good if I ate the whole thing that quick.
I really enjoyed Northern Italian food that evening. It was just my colleague and me. Between two of us, we emptied two bottle of good Spanish wine at the end of dinner.

buon appetito!

Heard good things about this restaurant so decided to try it.
I asked the waitress which pastas were made in house: she said none on the menu. Sometimes they make a special one. But the sauces are made In house.
What italian restaurant doesn’t have a few homemade pastas on the menu but that’s another topic.
I ordered the beef carpaccio as the table next to us had it and it looked good.
It was ok but the suprise was a frozen piece of calamari inside the cheese that was atop of the carpaccio.
I asked the Waitress «what is this?». She confirmed my suspicion it was a frozen calamari.
She offered to get me a pasta dish and I declined for reasons above.
They did send a free dessert but the damage was done.
Things happen I get it but this place is all hype with boxed spaghetti for $ 18+ a dish. Look at the pictures of the pasta… There’s a reason they give you so much as its $ 2.99 box spaghetti.
Pass.

Ate here for the first time last week and was blown away. Fine dining in the Capital District at its best.
The décor is beautiful but not stuffy; this is a great place to grab happy hour drinks after work or take a date for a nice romantic evening out. Service was excellent; everyone was so friendly and accommodating, even on a busy night. Fully stocked bar and an excellent wine list left everyone happy.
The real show stopper, however, was the food! I was lucky enough to taste some of the Del Chianti carpaccio appetizer, which was a heavenly bite of paper-​thin, buttery filet, lightly drizzled with a gorgonzola «fondue» and truffle oil.
The salads were flavorful, nicely balanced and perfectly dressed.
I ordered one of the evening’s specials — the oxtail ragu. The pasta must have been freshly prepared (and if it wasn’t, well, they sure fooled me) — perfectly cooked and the ragu sauce had so much depth of flavor, beautiful aromatics, the right balance of salt… Just perfect.
Nice to see a local place doing real northern Italian food right. My tummy can’t wait to go back!

If you’re looking for Italian fine dining with an American upstate interpretation, Chianti will not disappoint. The lights are low, the candles on the tables flicker warmly, and the wrought iron filigrees on the windows keep the world at bay.
Our attentive server described the day’s specials in detail and answered questions appropriately. We split a large pasta as a starter then ordered two specials of the day. The pasta was Penne Con Finocchietto which was made with some excellent, pancetta-​laced sausage but did not have a detectable amount of the pan-​roasted fennel promised on the menu; in general vegetables do not seem a strong point.
My companion had an aged strip steak which was served rare, as requested, and was spectacular. Adornment was just a little olive oil and sea salt. I had the sliced duck breast which was in a sweet plum or berry sauce; the duck was tender and good but the sauce overwhelmed it. Both were accompanied by sauteed spinach and fingerling potatoes. We also ate too much of the excellent crusty table bread, served with DZ-​branded olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
As a beverage, we shared a bottle of a pleasant but not distinctive Italian red (lost the receipt so can’t be more specific) that seemed a bit pricey for the experience at $ 60. Total for the large pasta, 2 entrees and wine was $ 150 after tax but before tip.
If you want to eat for less, and have a potentially more interesting dining experience, consider sitting at the magnificent wrap around marble bar that occupies half the restaurant. While the dining room was mostly empty, the bar was packed on a snowy night with a younger crowd in hipster lumberjack attire (or maybe they were just lumberjacks). I convinced myself they were denizens of the nearby apartments and condos, managing car-​free living in the center of Saratoga.
Many nights there are bar specials to tempt this crowd, such as reduced prices on cocktails and $ 5 Piattini (small plates). Officially happy hour cuts off at 6, but when weather is bad it can last til closing.