Topo Gigio Ristorante: Old Town's Tuscan Trattoria on Wells Street

The name comes from Topo Gigio, the little puppet mouse from The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s (topo means mouse in Italian), a character Frank grew up watching before he moved to the United States from Calabria. The family recipes he carried over are still featured on the menu, which the restaurant describes as Tuscan-inspired with a modern touch. Calabria shows up on the plate too, most clearly in the house-cured Calabrese sausage steamed with Little Neck clams and West Coast mussels.

Inside, white tablecloths dress the dining room without making it formal, and the restaurant also runs an indoor bar, an outdoor bar and a back garden with a heated tent. For bigger occasions, a private banquet hall with a 25-foot ceiling and a hand-painted sun at its center seats up to 80 guests. The address puts you a block south of North Avenue, within an easy walk of The Second City, Zanies and Lincoln Park Zoo.

Thirty-eight years in, Topo Gigio holds a 4.6-star Google rating from nearly 1,900 reviews and a 4.5 on Tripadvisor, where it ranks #83 of more than 12,400 Chicago restaurants. OpenTable diners rate it 4.9 out of 5, and Zagat's survey once called it an Old Town “standout” for “pasta done perfectly” at “moderate prices.” Third-party listings put the typical bill at $20 to $60 per person.

Topo Gigio's dinner menu runs in classic Italian order, from stuzzicarelli (small plates) through soups, salads and a long pasta list to secondi piatti and a short steaks-and-chops section. The pasta list holds the best-known plates: the Linguine alla “Vic Damone” with little clams and cilantro ($26.95), the house Fusilli alla Topo Gigio in four-cheese sauce ($20.95) and the Risotto Frutti di Mare delle Marche ($32.95). Both versions of the veal saltimbocca are $32.95, and a 16-ounce bone-in rib eye tops the menu at $49.95.

Starters lean toward the sea, with Baked Clams “Topo Gigio” in caramelized onion sauce ($13.95), fried or grilled calamari ($15.95) and Scottish smoked salmon with frisée, dill and mascarpone ($17.95). If pasta isn't the plan, the Eggplant alla Parmigiana ($20.95), Lake Superior whitefish baked with lemon and capers ($28.95) and a rosemary-roasted half chicken ($26.95) each make a full meal, and Joe's Salad, billed as “everything in the pantry” minus meat and seafood, is $13.95. Gluten-free pasta is available for a $3 upcharge, and the menu marks its vegetarian and pescatarian dishes.

Lunch is the best-value time to visit, served Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the Fusilli alla Topo Gigio drops to $17.95 and most pastas cost about $3 less than at dinner. Weekend dinners are worth booking ahead on OpenTable; for carry-out or questions, call (312) 266-9355, and save room for the tiramisu ($10.95), made fresh every day. Prices here come from the restaurant's posted menus and third-party listings such as Restaurant Guru, and the restaurant notes that they shift with the market.

Read through Topo Gigio's reviews and the pasta comes up first. One Yelp reviewer wrote that the pasta dishes are “perfectly cooked” and the sauces “rich and authentic,” and a Google reviewer called the clam pasta the best they had found outside Italy. Seafood earns steady praise too: one Google reviewer found the grilled calamari tender and perfectly cooked, and OpenTable and Tripadvisor diners name the seafood risotto among the standout plates.

The second thing guests keep coming back to is the feel of the place. One Yelp reviewer compared a visit to walking into an Italian grandfather's kitchen at dinnertime and added, “The best home-y vibes over great food.” With nearly 1,000 diner photos posted to Yelp alongside more than 1,300 reviews, it is easy to preview the plates before you go.

Service, setting and portions round out the praise. A Tripadvisor reviewer from California singled out the attentive wait staff and the large portions after a 2021 visit, and The Infatuation recommends Topo Gigio for everything from big group dinners to date nights. Summer brings the patio into play, while the heated inner garden keeps outdoor-style seating going all year.