Winter is giving out its last gasps here in Chicago, and before it’s over, I definitely wanted to publish my thoughts on our extraordinarily delicious and cozy dinner at Monteverde. This restaurant is one of the toughest reservations to get in Chicago, but when you’re willing to eat early on a Monday or Tuesday, your luck significantly increases. We ate here during Restaurant Week in 2026, but there were so many delicious looking menu items, that we opted for a la carte instead.

Monteverde is a rustic feeling place that is absolutely jammed with tables. Walking through here is tough and the vibe is quite frenetic, even at 5pm on a Monday! That said, the light woods make it feel cozy and bistro-like, and I enjoyed the design of the place. Considering how busy this restaurant is, service was still spectacular. We never felt rushed, and pacing of the different dishes was very good. This is one of those places where they ask you to order everything at once and they will pace it out for you. I am always skeptical of this request, since usually the pacing gets botched in some way or another, with either too many dishes on the table, or long waits in between courses. Monteverde did a nice job of pacing things out pretty decently.

We started with the smoked fish n’ crisps, which was a smoked fish dip topped with giardiniera. The chips were definitely home made and spiced really nicely, although I thought the dip was slightly lacking in flavor. I compare it to the brandade at Avec, or the brilliant walleye dip at Registry Bistro in Toledo, Ohio which are way more flavorful and surprising. We also got arancini, which I can never say no to when I see them on any menu. The flavors change regularly, but I thought that these, too, were lacking in flavor, and a bit too over-fried. I prefer the arancini at Eataly since they’re flakier without such a hard shell, with lots of oozy cheesy goodness inside. These at Monteverde were quite boring, and I can’t even remember what was inside them even though our meal here was only a few weeks ago.

While the nibbles and bites were good, although nothing too outstanding, the mains was where this meal really took off into outer space. They offered a wagyu short rib over polenta which was just the heartiest, winteriest dish I can imagine. Braised wagyu literally was falling apart over perfectly prepared, fluffy and silky polenta, with a very mild tomato sauce made this the absolute best cozy winter dish. It’s no longer on the menu, but I bet they bring it back next winter – do not skip this one!

Next up, I wanted to try something different, and the tortellini in brodo was calling my name. Again, another super cozy dish, you can’t go wrong with this brilliant duck, mortadella, and prociutto filled pasta somehow remaining al dente in the most flavorful “72 hour poultry bone broth.” Honestly, I don’t usually choose pasta soups since the pasta is usually mushy, and the broth itself is salty and flavorless, but this was a real delight. Another brilliant dish for winter. Following/during eating this dish, they bring you a little shot of lambrusco to cleanse your palate – a nice, traditional touch!

Finally, I needed to try their always-on-menu “caccio whey pepe.” I’m not sure if it was because we were super full by now, and we ordered too much, or that the hearty, meaty dishes came out first, making this one fall a little bit flat, but it wasn’t my favorite of the evening. I think, though, maybe if they started off with this dish and brought the heavier meat dishes afterwards, I may change my mind. It wasn’t bad at all, just underwhelming compared to the previous two dishes. I do love this shape of pasta, since it holds on to the sauces and flavors really nicely, and the sauce wasn’t too gloppy with cheese, which was good. In fact, the cheese sauce was pretty light and thin, which seems impossible for a cheese sauce!

Finally, we had to try their tiramisu and we were presented with the largest piece of tiramisu, positively dripping with marscapone cream and cinnamon, that I’ve ever seen! Enough for probably 3-4 people, this hunk of rich, fluffy, delectable cream finally beat us. It sure was tough to not overstuff ourselves, since this may have been the best tiramisu of my life, but alas, a portion was left on the plate. A serious dessert for any coffee lover! I wouldn’t hesitate to come here just for this dessert – it’s simply outstanding.

Monteverde is an extremely hyped restaurant in Chicago, and it was, indeed, very good. I loved the main, hearty dishes on offer, and the tiramisu was to die for, but the nibbles and snacks left a bit to be desired. Considering my recent forays into finer Italian dining in Chicago, I would rank Monteverde slightly behind Tre Dita and Daisies (also tough reservations to get!). I would love to come back here in the summer and see what they do with more seasonal vegetables and fruits, and snag another slice of that incredible tiramisu!