Wow! This little gem in Lake Forest. We were running errands and it was cold and cloud day so we pulled into this cozy Italian restaurant! We were greeted by Zachary. He was incredible! He has THE BEST customer service. I knew I was going to leave a 5 star review before we even ordered. My husband wanted a Bloody Mary but can't handled spicy ones. Zachary offered to bring a sample of the base and the bartender even came over to chat about it. Btw if you like a little spice in your bloody, order it! It had the best flavor and was handmade. The food was amazing, the restaurant was clean and charming and Zachary was just so good at his job! We stayed way longer than we normally would because it was so comfortable and a place where you just want to take your time. We will absolutely will be back and look forward to another perfect experience! Portions were generous, the pizza was so good, as well as the pasta fazool, amazing! Super fresh salad, bread was fresh and warm. Go here! Ask for Zachary and enjoy a cocktail by an exceptional bartender!!
Lawdiva Y.
Excellent food and some of the most friendly and personable servers I have ever come across in a restaurant! My husband, two kids and I walked into this restaurant starving. The pastas were really delicious -- my younger son and I split the pesto pasta, and my husband and older son split a red sauce pasta (I think it was something similar to arrabiata sauce). Everything was so good. Our server was so friendly (wish I could remember her name) and another server walked up to our table and started talking to us about soccer after he saw my son wearing a soccer championship T-shirt. What great customer service. This is a an excellent, family friendly place and I would highly recommend it to everyone.
Mike C
So disappointed! I just ordered Joey’s special pizza and Caesar salad to-go. I let them know I’d be sitting in the restaurant (10 steps away from the counter) to wait and also gave them my phone number. After 30 minutes of waiting and no communication, I walked up to check on the order and there it was, on the pick up rack. When I took my first bite at the hotel down the street, it was COLD. Not exaggeration - cold. I do feel like it could’ve been really good. But unfortunately, most of it went to the trash. I’m at a hotel so there’s nothing to heat this up. Bummed.Update: I want to acknowledge Mario/ DeLucia’s accountability and ownership. Thanks for the offer to make things right, Mario. Pizza is my one cheat meal per week, so I’ll pass on the comp. I’ve adjusted my rating bc of the follow up service and I know that pizza would’ve been solid had it been fresh out of the oven. Respect!
Debora Leffler
They work hard to make it a good experience. The service was kind and friendly. The food was good. Pleasant atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
CRYSTAL RICAPORTE
We were looking for a new Italian place we have some go tos that we definitely should have gone to. Bella Roma’s a family favorite great food fresh and hot and cooked to order. We waited about 40 minutes or 25 according to the server from the time the ticket was turned in. Just glad I didn’t go for the lamb which I really wanted. I ordered the fettuccini de Lucia which you’d expect they would serve an exceptional dish since their name was in it. Basically their version of the carbonara without the egg yolks and bacon instead of the ham or prosciutto and peas. The bacon was burnt so rather than smoky the whole plate tasted burnt. The chicken parm with the meat sauce on the spaghetti. The chicken wasn’t breaded too bad but the bottom was soggy and the taste was as if the chicken or what was in the breading was about to turn. The meat sauce was more like chunky meat in ketchup no seasoning on the meat or in the sauce. The bread that we got first was crusty and airy, and the focaccia like slices that were in the bread basket also was tasty. We ordered the works pizza mini no bell pepper which wasn’t bad. The crust a little dry, but not bad. We let the server know so that other patrons could avoid possible illness from the chicken. Declined to speak to a manager since we just wanted the bad taste to go away. The server still had them take off the two entries leaving the mini pizza and drinks. Regardless, never giving them another chance to kill us.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
Mike Ramult
Insane!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Islandgyrl S
Celebration of my grandson's 2nd birthday was able to accommodate 25 people last minute. Awesome. Great selection of food. Autumn was fantastic.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cesar Salad, Calamari, Lasagna, Alfredo, Baked Ziti
Blaine Patton
The entire staff was welcoming, made me feel like at home special in the
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Veal Parmigiana
LVMYKDZ
Excellent, the best Italian around. Peppino's is back.
Went there for my bday. 2nd time dinning there. Great server. Fast service. Awesome food and drink.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi, Lasagna
Antoinette Imus
On Saturday, February 10, 2024, my husband and I went there to eat At De Lucia's. We decided to go after church. He ordered the lasagna and I ordered the Olive Oil, Tomato, Basil with Angel Hair. I also ordered a Garden Side Salad and side of Angel Hair Marinara. We were very hungry. We sat down and ordered at 7:00 p.m. The salad came right away. But our dinner did not come until 8:00 p.m.! It does not take 1 hour to receive the meals you are paying for. I asked the waiter twice and then the hostess twice about our food? They kept saying the lasagna takes a long time as it has to be cooked in the oven. If you are ordering this dish and it is prepared to order, then they need to tell you that it could take a longer time than usual. Finally, I asked for the manager. The hostess told me the manager was waiting for our lasagna to come out and he would bring it to our table. They tried to pass the whole experience off by bringing my food to me only. But then I was eating without my husband because he did not have his food yet. This was not acceptable! I still waited 50 minutes for my pasta dishes. And then the manager came over to give us the lasagna, apologized and he said he would comp the lasagna. That was nice, but in my opinion, the whole dinner should have been comped! I had to wait 50 minutes and then eat without my husband. They are only concerned with making their money. Of course, they noticed the whole dinner was very late! But they only chose to comp his lasagna. And on top of it, when the waiter asked if we wanted dessert, I told him I was way too full. He then told me that next time I need to make room for dessert! That would not have been so bad had he not said it so snotty and commanding. And on top of that, I went to hand the tip to the waiter and he said, "Just leave it on the table." And shooed my hand away. I have never had any waiter ever do that! I have no idea why he was so rude! I love Italian food but there are plenty of places to go for great Italian food at a better price. Aroma, Sal's, Romano Cucina, Ciao Ristorante, etc. The food is not that great, it is overpriced, and the people that work there are very rude! Service is the largest part of a great restaurant. We were very disapppointed. We will never come here again.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Ilan Kritzer
What a shame. Not enough staff, tasted like poo poo unfortunately. Not authentic anything. Too bad cause the place was warm and inviting. 20 year veteran was over worked and under performed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
Betsy Eden
Really flavorful Italian food. I had the mushroom marinara pasta, my friend had chicken cacciotore and there were four others with us - I don't remember exactly what everyone had but we were all very impressed with the flavors and the presentation. Service was excellent. I will return there many times!
Wow! This little gem in Lake Forest. We were running errands and it was cold and cloud day so we pulled into this cozy Italian restaurant! We were greeted by Zachary. He was incredible! He has THE BEST customer service. I knew I was going to leave a 5 star review before we even ordered. My husband wanted a Bloody Mary but can't handled spicy ones. Zachary offered to bring a sample of the base and the bartender even came over to chat about it. Btw if you like a little spice in your bloody, order it! It had the best flavor and was handmade. The food was amazing, the restaurant was clean and charming and Zachary was just so good at his job! We stayed way longer than we normally would because it was so comfortable and a place where you just want to take your time. We will absolutely will be back and look forward to another perfect experience! Portions were generous, the pizza was so good, as well as the pasta fazool, amazing! Super fresh salad, bread was fresh and warm. Go here! Ask for Zachary and enjoy a cocktail by an exceptional bartender!!
Excellent food and some of the most friendly and personable servers I have ever come across in a restaurant! My husband, two kids and I walked into this restaurant starving. The pastas were really delicious -- my younger son and I split the pesto pasta, and my husband and older son split a red sauce pasta (I think it was something similar to arrabiata sauce). Everything was so good. Our server was so friendly (wish I could remember her name) and another server walked up to our table and started talking to us about soccer after he saw my son wearing a soccer championship T-shirt. What great customer service. This is a an excellent, family friendly place and I would highly recommend it to everyone.
So disappointed! I just ordered Joey’s special pizza and Caesar salad to-go. I let them know I’d be sitting in the restaurant (10 steps away from the counter) to wait and also gave them my phone number. After 30 minutes of waiting and no communication, I walked up to check on the order and there it was, on the pick up rack. When I took my first bite at the hotel down the street, it was COLD. Not exaggeration - cold. I do feel like it could’ve been really good. But unfortunately, most of it went to the trash. I’m at a hotel so there’s nothing to heat this up. Bummed.Update: I want to acknowledge Mario/ DeLucia’s accountability and ownership. Thanks for the offer to make things right, Mario. Pizza is my one cheat meal per week, so I’ll pass on the comp. I’ve adjusted my rating bc of the follow up service and I know that pizza would’ve been solid had it been fresh out of the oven. Respect!
They work hard to make it a good experience. The service was kind and friendly. The food was good. Pleasant atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We were looking for a new Italian place we have some go tos that we definitely should have gone to. Bella Roma’s a family favorite great food fresh and hot and cooked to order. We waited about 40 minutes or 25 according to the server from the time the ticket was turned in. Just glad I didn’t go for the lamb which I really wanted. I ordered the fettuccini de Lucia which you’d expect they would serve an exceptional dish since their name was in it. Basically their version of the carbonara without the egg yolks and bacon instead of the ham or prosciutto and peas. The bacon was burnt so rather than smoky the whole plate tasted burnt. The chicken parm with the meat sauce on the spaghetti. The chicken wasn’t breaded too bad but the bottom was soggy and the taste was as if the chicken or what was in the breading was about to turn. The meat sauce was more like chunky meat in ketchup no seasoning on the meat or in the sauce. The bread that we got first was crusty and airy, and the focaccia like slices that were in the bread basket also was tasty. We ordered the works pizza mini no bell pepper which wasn’t bad. The crust a little dry, but not bad. We let the server know so that other patrons could avoid possible illness from the chicken. Declined to speak to a manager since we just wanted the bad taste to go away. The server still had them take off the two entries leaving the mini pizza and drinks. Regardless, never giving them another chance to kill us.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
Insane!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Celebration of my grandson's 2nd birthday was able to accommodate 25 people last minute. Awesome. Great selection of food. Autumn was fantastic.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cesar Salad, Calamari, Lasagna, Alfredo, Baked Ziti
The entire staff was welcoming, made me feel like at home special in the
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Veal Parmigiana
Excellent, the best Italian around. Peppino's is back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We always go to the Bar Stephanie and cKat Rock.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi, Lasagna, Baked Ziti
Restaurantji Recommends
Went there for my bday. 2nd time dinning there. Great server. Fast service. Awesome food and drink.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi, Lasagna
On Saturday, February 10, 2024, my husband and I went there to eat At De Lucia's. We decided to go after church. He ordered the lasagna and I ordered the Olive Oil, Tomato, Basil with Angel Hair. I also ordered a Garden Side Salad and side of Angel Hair Marinara. We were very hungry. We sat down and ordered at 7:00 p.m. The salad came right away. But our dinner did not come until 8:00 p.m.! It does not take 1 hour to receive the meals you are paying for. I asked the waiter twice and then the hostess twice about our food? They kept saying the lasagna takes a long time as it has to be cooked in the oven. If you are ordering this dish and it is prepared to order, then they need to tell you that it could take a longer time than usual. Finally, I asked for the manager. The hostess told me the manager was waiting for our lasagna to come out and he would bring it to our table. They tried to pass the whole experience off by bringing my food to me only. But then I was eating without my husband because he did not have his food yet. This was not acceptable! I still waited 50 minutes for my pasta dishes. And then the manager came over to give us the lasagna, apologized and he said he would comp the lasagna. That was nice, but in my opinion, the whole dinner should have been comped! I had to wait 50 minutes and then eat without my husband. They are only concerned with making their money. Of course, they noticed the whole dinner was very late! But they only chose to comp his lasagna. And on top of it, when the waiter asked if we wanted dessert, I told him I was way too full. He then told me that next time I need to make room for dessert! That would not have been so bad had he not said it so snotty and commanding. And on top of that, I went to hand the tip to the waiter and he said, "Just leave it on the table." And shooed my hand away. I have never had any waiter ever do that! I have no idea why he was so rude! I love Italian food but there are plenty of places to go for great Italian food at a better price. Aroma, Sal's, Romano Cucina, Ciao Ristorante, etc. The food is not that great, it is overpriced, and the people that work there are very rude! Service is the largest part of a great restaurant. We were very disapppointed. We will never come here again.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
What a shame. Not enough staff, tasted like poo poo unfortunately. Not authentic anything. Too bad cause the place was warm and inviting. 20 year veteran was over worked and under performed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
Really flavorful Italian food. I had the mushroom marinara pasta, my friend had chicken cacciotore and there were four others with us - I don't remember exactly what everyone had but we were all very impressed with the flavors and the presentation. Service was excellent. I will return there many times!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ravioli, Marinara
Good place for Italian