Dining room at Mano a Mano, Chicago
Photo by Hsing Chen
A few months ago, I detailed a wonderful new Spanish steakhouse in Chicago named Asador Bastian. The team responsible for that restaurant has recently opened Mano a Mano, an inviting new Italian dining room in the Logan Square neighborhood on Chicago’s northwest side, and while it’s never easy to write a review after only one visit, especially when a restaurant has only been open six weeks, you’re probably not going to write that you’ve discovered the finest restaurant in town, especially when we’re dealing with a restaurant city as star-studded as Chicago. But I am happy to report that Mano a Mano is off to a very fine start.
As you can see from the photo above, the interior is handsome; the bench seats are roomy and very comfortable, and the lighting is purposely not overly bright. For me, it was a bit too dark, but that’s personal opinion. I think most diners I saw that night were fine with the ambience.
Focaccaia di Recco, Mano a Mano, Chicago
Photo by Hsing Chen
But as you can’t eat the furniture, it’s all about the food, and overall, most will be pleased with the menu at Mano a Mano, especially starting with Focaccia di Recco, a wafer-like bread which is quite thin and comes off as tangy and a bit savory. It’s a nice way to start, as are the zucchini flowers, which are stuffed with buffalo ricotta. This version of this classic vegetable dish is one of the best I’ve tried, especially given its crunchy texture and delicious flavors. Prosciutto and melon is another traditional course, and is just what you’d expect (in a good way); but unfortunately the Arugula and Parmesan with Culatta ham is rather dull; the ham lacked the flavors one expects.
MORE FROM FORBES ADVISOR
For the pastas, the Cacio a Pepe, with bucatini pasta, does honors to this classic dish, while the Tortellini with spinach and buffalo ricotta is excellent, with a nice gentle hand. Less successful is the Papardelle with braised rabbit; the meat was nicely cooked and quite tasty, but unfortunately, the pasta was lacking in flavor. For a place that advertises itself as a “pasta project,” Mano a Mano needs a bit of refinement in this area.
The wine program offers a small, but thoughtful array of selections, including a highly appealing rosato from Rocca di Montegrossi in Tuscany; dry and beautifully balanced, it will pair with just about anything on the menu. My dining partner and I enjoyed a bottle of Surrau Vermentino di Sardegna 2023; with its lively acidity, beautiful freshness and subtle spice, the wine is delicious and an inspired choice for this wine program. It’s nice to see Vermentino, a wine many love, but few think of for dinner, as a selection, along with Nicosia Frappato from Sicily, a charming, medium-boded red, as well as the Mauro Molino Barbera, very reasonably priced at $50 a bottle.
I do have one suggestion regarding the wine program, and that is there are not enough choices by the glass. There is an array of wines served in a quarter to half-liter servings, priced from $16-$30, which will be fine for some diners, but as most want particular wine styles they know and love, there should be more glass choices. So a very impressive wine selection, but one that needs a bit of fine tuning.
So while there are a few growing pains at Mano a Mano, again after less than two months in business, one can expect those, and they’re not too serious. Service is personable and informal; the manager and servers are very attentive and well informed about the menu. And I did love the music selection that plays in the background – none of this wild noise that goes for music these days, but classics from the 1970s and ‘80s – Boz Scaggs anyone?
Mano a Mano
2534 N. Milwaukee, Chicago
(773) 819-7970