Excellent ambiance, everyone is so pleasant :) the lasagna is amazing. Needless to say Friday nights they have salsa classe which is excellent
(5)
Lou P.
While restaurants like Sunny Italy and Parisis are simply relics of a prior age with dishes as stale (they'll say traditional) as their environments, Ciaos occupies a strange space between them and a truly great new Italian-American restaurant, wholly distinct. It has no legitimate competition (on the restaurant side, not the bakery. See Macri's.) in South Bend. So it sets itself back. Its excessive pricing and equally pretentious atmosphere killed any interest I would have to go there again. My rating accounts for the quality of the food and experience (which is moderate to high quality), relative to the price (which is beyond both the features of the food and experience, and well beyond its market). They serve a mostly traditional yet reimagined Italian food. I don't care if Sinatra rose from the grave, went to Chef school, cooked in New York, and made my pasta from scratch. I'm not paying $30/plate for ravioli. It's very good but it isn't that good.
(2)
KB C.
Great dinner- visiting from out of town...had a chance to meet the proprietor and she's the real deal. Great cooking...we were pleasantly surprised. (pasta fish and steaks were all good...so was the coffee!) We are spoiled living in Chicago where there are so many choices for good food, you sometimes do not expect the same when you visit smaller cities...know what I mean? PS The almond biscotti net door was incredible too. This is owned by Caio's too.
(4)
Jesse J.
We enjoyed the service, the atmosphere and the food, and wish we had tried it sooner because business doesn't appear to be going well. The chef came out to greet us and invited us to come back and try more of her desserts, offering to prepare them specially for our dietary needs. As neither of us eat dairy, one is completely vegan and the other is gluten free we have a lot of dietary restrictions and we did not expect an Italian restaurant to meet them but they cooked everything to order and it was lovely. Gluten free and regular pasta were excellent, as were fish and salads, and there were both vegan and gluten free desserts to our delight and surprise which were both excellent!
(4)
Amy H.
Ciao's recently located to the heart of downtown South Bend and I really want to like them, but unfortunately, have had two not so great experiences. The most recent was a visit with a group of five girlfriends on a Wednesday evening prior to seeing a show at the Morris Performing Arts Center. We decided to sit at the bar in the lounge and we were warmly greeted by the bartender Bobbi (she was the only positive and the reason for two stars). The Lounge may be the problem as I have heard positive feedback from several folks that sat in the dining room. We ordered a couple of carafes of their house wine, which was ok, but definitely overpriced at $25. We had the option of ordering off the regular dinner menu or the Lounge menu. They are trying to build the Lounge business so we decided to try a variety of their small plate appetizers, all reasonable priced at $5 each. We started with a couple orders of the arancini (2 per order). Tip...order off the appetizer menu and get two for $5 since the dinner menu is the same size but $11 for three. The arancini were just ok - the risotto was bland and mushy. It was served with a side of marinara which was also bland tasted like it came straight out of a jar. With a group of five, we were able to try just about everything on the Lounge menu...all of which took forever to prepared and everything was cold by the time we received it. The fried pasta was awful, like a bad scrambled eggs. The fried ravioli was actually little tortellinis, deep fried and served on a skewer (cold and with the tasteless marinara). The polpette, which took the longest to come out was actually served hot but was just a deep fried ball of mush. Bobbi, the bartender, felt terrible and she was not at all surprised with our complaints. She mentioned it to the owner who did come over and ask what was wrong, which one in the group proceeded to go down the list. He didn't apologize and seemed to be indifferent. The bartender did end up taking several things off our bills for us. We were there for two hours and barely made it to the show in time (and keep in mind it was just wine and appetizers). There was one positive on the food - the bread is really good and served with a nice olive oil for dipping. I really hope this was just a fluke and the quality of food improves.
(2)
Pilar W.
Went to this place a couple weeks ago for the 1st time & it was awesome!! I ordered the lasagna. Layers upon layers of homemade noodles and cheesy goodness with perfect sauce. Definitely going back to this place!! Our servers name was Jody and she really knew her stuff! Very impressed with the dessert plate as well. Next time I return I'd like to go with a group & be seated in one of their horseshoe shaped booths. :)
(5)
Lisa H.
Great for a date night! Very quiet and relaxed atmosphere. Everything from the wine to the bruschetta to the entrees were delicious. We were unsure beforehand since it seemed empty and hadn't heard anything about it before. We were impressed though and it made a great start to a wonderful date night. I would definitely go here again.
(5)
Natanael T.
Customer service was awesome. Place was empty when we went. Food was delicious! I highly suggest the lemon chicken! It was so good! The salmon was also delicious. Can't wait to go back and try different plates!
(5)
Susan M.
Ciao's is ok. The service is ok. I was recently there for a birthday party and most everyone had a good time. The server was very friendly. I think it's way over priced for the quality which is mediocre. The house wine is way over priced. I have also had the bad risotto that others have written about. Some of the other dishes are good.
(2)
Megan F.
Was here last night with a group of 9. Our party was taken to a table in the wrong room and then had to move. wouldnt have been a problem if the encounter between waitress and owner/manager was not SUPREMELY awkward. Then, it took like 15-20 minutes for our waitress to bring over MENUS (including just wine menus). There was an incorrect number of cups laid out, bread and bruschetta took ages to get to the table. I ordered the seafood risotto. After what felt like an eternity, I was brought a completely inedible dish. risotto was dry. shells of the seafood were broken and hidden throughout the meal. it tasted like there was sand in the risotto. I was able to take 2 bites. one of our party got the same dish and had the same problem. they didnt charge us for our dishes after we let them know the dish was literally inedible, but didnt comp any of the rest of the meal (even a token savings on a bottle of wine would have been standard at most other restaurants). service was slow, not exactly friendly, and the food was garbage. would not come back. i only gave them 2 stars because the raviolli my friend got (and shared) was fine. this is a glorified olive garden and we would have been better off going there.
(2)
Brian L.
"Sangovese awesome! The ossobuco was very tender and perfectly prepared! All of my favorite scotch!"
(4)
Jessica H.
Ciao's is a beautiful restaurant/lounge with delicious, rustic Italian food. The lasagna made by owner Adele is to DIE for, and the portion sizes are extremely generous! They offer appetizers in the lounge as affordable as $5, and the atmosphere is stunning. A local musician plays a beautiful baby grand piano on Friday and Saturday evenings from 6-9pm, which is a nice accompaniment to a fabulous meal.
(5)
Larry P.
Just took our family of four here and all of us had a great meal. Second time here and food was wonderful both times. Vegetable ravioli is a favorite. Daughter loves the Chicken Parmesan and my son loves the Eggplant Parmesan. House wine was very good. Very good service.
(4)
Brian Z.
Ciao ristorante has returned. Now back in downtown is open in the old Noma and Agave location between Trios and Club Navarre. Street parking is difficult to find but the owners tell me valet parking is coming. Ciao is a beautiful atmosphere for a very romantic dinner. It just has a good feeling about being there. I looked over the menu and had a hard time choosing as everything look great but I was set on my line up. Tonight I dinned on the Citrus Cesar salad, Truffeled Quail eggs appetizer an Aranccini and the Pheasant Tortelli for the entree. The salad was very good and I love that there is a true taste of anchovies in the salad not over powering, but I knew they were there, just perfect. My appetizer came out and right away I could see the star ingredient of the appetizer was the many shavings of imported Italian black truffles on top of a perfectly cooked sunny side up quail egg stacked on a slice of mushroom resting on a crustini. There was no skimping on the the truffles, which Adele the owner and Chef has shipped overnight from Italy. Now out came my Tortelli, and for those who aren't familiar think of large round ravioli. The Torelli pasta was fluffy and delicious little pillows filled with pheasant meat and touch of parmigiano reggiano cheese and topped with diced portabella and porcini mushrooms in light wine cream sauce. The pheasant was not masked and was the prevalent flavor it was outstanding. I went in the kitchen with Adele and watch as they hand made all their pasta and filled ravioli. Each entree is made to order. Nothing pre-made. I really loved this pasta and it so difficult to find fresh made pasta in this area. And to look at the semolina flour and egg go to the finished pasta and then to pan was fantastic. I am happy to see someone putting forth the passion and effort to keep this tradition and taste alive in our world of frozen foods and dried pasta, no comparison by the way. Desert was a combination of two Panna Cottas, one vanilla topped with chocolate hazelnut fudge (ok it was Nutella but I like Nutella and was it "F*ing" GOOD!) and another paying homage to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday was Pumpkin Panna Cotta flecked with pumpkin and spice and I think had a bit of ricotta or mascarpone cheese, just fantastic. I will tell you Adele's pastries are so great I could write a whole article about those alone. For those who didn't know Ciao came to South Bend from Naples and opened Ciao Italian Bakery were she made some of the best bread and pastries rivaling those found in the famous pasticcerias of Sicily. If you leaving her place with out trying a few of her pastries you will be sadly missing out. It will be like going to Rome and not seeing the Coliseum. I have been eating her sweets for years and I still miss Ciao Bakery but you can still taste them here and you better! Adele's passion for cooking led her and husband Angelo to open her restaurant. Ciao is not inexpensive, entrees are mostly in the $20-$30 range, but I can tell for this price I saw she uses only the best ingredients and EVERYTHING is homemade and that my friends is Priceless!
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Parking : Street Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Intimate Noise Level : Quiet Good For Dancing : No Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
Franxesca R.
Excellent ambiance, everyone is so pleasant :) the lasagna is amazing. Needless to say Friday nights they have salsa classe which is excellent
(5)Lou P.
While restaurants like Sunny Italy and Parisis are simply relics of a prior age with dishes as stale (they'll say traditional) as their environments, Ciaos occupies a strange space between them and a truly great new Italian-American restaurant, wholly distinct. It has no legitimate competition (on the restaurant side, not the bakery. See Macri's.) in South Bend. So it sets itself back. Its excessive pricing and equally pretentious atmosphere killed any interest I would have to go there again. My rating accounts for the quality of the food and experience (which is moderate to high quality), relative to the price (which is beyond both the features of the food and experience, and well beyond its market). They serve a mostly traditional yet reimagined Italian food. I don't care if Sinatra rose from the grave, went to Chef school, cooked in New York, and made my pasta from scratch. I'm not paying $30/plate for ravioli. It's very good but it isn't that good.
(2)KB C.
Great dinner- visiting from out of town...had a chance to meet the proprietor and she's the real deal. Great cooking...we were pleasantly surprised. (pasta fish and steaks were all good...so was the coffee!) We are spoiled living in Chicago where there are so many choices for good food, you sometimes do not expect the same when you visit smaller cities...know what I mean? PS The almond biscotti net door was incredible too. This is owned by Caio's too.
(4)Jesse J.
We enjoyed the service, the atmosphere and the food, and wish we had tried it sooner because business doesn't appear to be going well. The chef came out to greet us and invited us to come back and try more of her desserts, offering to prepare them specially for our dietary needs. As neither of us eat dairy, one is completely vegan and the other is gluten free we have a lot of dietary restrictions and we did not expect an Italian restaurant to meet them but they cooked everything to order and it was lovely. Gluten free and regular pasta were excellent, as were fish and salads, and there were both vegan and gluten free desserts to our delight and surprise which were both excellent!
(4)Amy H.
Ciao's recently located to the heart of downtown South Bend and I really want to like them, but unfortunately, have had two not so great experiences. The most recent was a visit with a group of five girlfriends on a Wednesday evening prior to seeing a show at the Morris Performing Arts Center. We decided to sit at the bar in the lounge and we were warmly greeted by the bartender Bobbi (she was the only positive and the reason for two stars). The Lounge may be the problem as I have heard positive feedback from several folks that sat in the dining room. We ordered a couple of carafes of their house wine, which was ok, but definitely overpriced at $25. We had the option of ordering off the regular dinner menu or the Lounge menu. They are trying to build the Lounge business so we decided to try a variety of their small plate appetizers, all reasonable priced at $5 each. We started with a couple orders of the arancini (2 per order). Tip...order off the appetizer menu and get two for $5 since the dinner menu is the same size but $11 for three. The arancini were just ok - the risotto was bland and mushy. It was served with a side of marinara which was also bland tasted like it came straight out of a jar. With a group of five, we were able to try just about everything on the Lounge menu...all of which took forever to prepared and everything was cold by the time we received it. The fried pasta was awful, like a bad scrambled eggs. The fried ravioli was actually little tortellinis, deep fried and served on a skewer (cold and with the tasteless marinara). The polpette, which took the longest to come out was actually served hot but was just a deep fried ball of mush. Bobbi, the bartender, felt terrible and she was not at all surprised with our complaints. She mentioned it to the owner who did come over and ask what was wrong, which one in the group proceeded to go down the list. He didn't apologize and seemed to be indifferent. The bartender did end up taking several things off our bills for us. We were there for two hours and barely made it to the show in time (and keep in mind it was just wine and appetizers). There was one positive on the food - the bread is really good and served with a nice olive oil for dipping. I really hope this was just a fluke and the quality of food improves.
(2)Pilar W.
Went to this place a couple weeks ago for the 1st time & it was awesome!! I ordered the lasagna. Layers upon layers of homemade noodles and cheesy goodness with perfect sauce. Definitely going back to this place!! Our servers name was Jody and she really knew her stuff! Very impressed with the dessert plate as well. Next time I return I'd like to go with a group & be seated in one of their horseshoe shaped booths. :)
(5)Lisa H.
Great for a date night! Very quiet and relaxed atmosphere. Everything from the wine to the bruschetta to the entrees were delicious. We were unsure beforehand since it seemed empty and hadn't heard anything about it before. We were impressed though and it made a great start to a wonderful date night. I would definitely go here again.
(5)Natanael T.
Customer service was awesome. Place was empty when we went. Food was delicious! I highly suggest the lemon chicken! It was so good! The salmon was also delicious. Can't wait to go back and try different plates!
(5)Susan M.
Ciao's is ok. The service is ok. I was recently there for a birthday party and most everyone had a good time. The server was very friendly. I think it's way over priced for the quality which is mediocre. The house wine is way over priced. I have also had the bad risotto that others have written about. Some of the other dishes are good.
(2)Megan F.
Was here last night with a group of 9. Our party was taken to a table in the wrong room and then had to move. wouldnt have been a problem if the encounter between waitress and owner/manager was not SUPREMELY awkward. Then, it took like 15-20 minutes for our waitress to bring over MENUS (including just wine menus). There was an incorrect number of cups laid out, bread and bruschetta took ages to get to the table. I ordered the seafood risotto. After what felt like an eternity, I was brought a completely inedible dish. risotto was dry. shells of the seafood were broken and hidden throughout the meal. it tasted like there was sand in the risotto. I was able to take 2 bites. one of our party got the same dish and had the same problem. they didnt charge us for our dishes after we let them know the dish was literally inedible, but didnt comp any of the rest of the meal (even a token savings on a bottle of wine would have been standard at most other restaurants). service was slow, not exactly friendly, and the food was garbage. would not come back. i only gave them 2 stars because the raviolli my friend got (and shared) was fine. this is a glorified olive garden and we would have been better off going there.
(2)Brian L.
"Sangovese awesome! The ossobuco was very tender and perfectly prepared! All of my favorite scotch!"
(4)Jessica H.
Ciao's is a beautiful restaurant/lounge with delicious, rustic Italian food. The lasagna made by owner Adele is to DIE for, and the portion sizes are extremely generous! They offer appetizers in the lounge as affordable as $5, and the atmosphere is stunning. A local musician plays a beautiful baby grand piano on Friday and Saturday evenings from 6-9pm, which is a nice accompaniment to a fabulous meal.
(5)Larry P.
Just took our family of four here and all of us had a great meal. Second time here and food was wonderful both times. Vegetable ravioli is a favorite. Daughter loves the Chicken Parmesan and my son loves the Eggplant Parmesan. House wine was very good. Very good service.
(4)Brian Z.
Ciao ristorante has returned. Now back in downtown is open in the old Noma and Agave location between Trios and Club Navarre. Street parking is difficult to find but the owners tell me valet parking is coming. Ciao is a beautiful atmosphere for a very romantic dinner. It just has a good feeling about being there. I looked over the menu and had a hard time choosing as everything look great but I was set on my line up. Tonight I dinned on the Citrus Cesar salad, Truffeled Quail eggs appetizer an Aranccini and the Pheasant Tortelli for the entree. The salad was very good and I love that there is a true taste of anchovies in the salad not over powering, but I knew they were there, just perfect. My appetizer came out and right away I could see the star ingredient of the appetizer was the many shavings of imported Italian black truffles on top of a perfectly cooked sunny side up quail egg stacked on a slice of mushroom resting on a crustini. There was no skimping on the the truffles, which Adele the owner and Chef has shipped overnight from Italy. Now out came my Tortelli, and for those who aren't familiar think of large round ravioli. The Torelli pasta was fluffy and delicious little pillows filled with pheasant meat and touch of parmigiano reggiano cheese and topped with diced portabella and porcini mushrooms in light wine cream sauce. The pheasant was not masked and was the prevalent flavor it was outstanding. I went in the kitchen with Adele and watch as they hand made all their pasta and filled ravioli. Each entree is made to order. Nothing pre-made. I really loved this pasta and it so difficult to find fresh made pasta in this area. And to look at the semolina flour and egg go to the finished pasta and then to pan was fantastic. I am happy to see someone putting forth the passion and effort to keep this tradition and taste alive in our world of frozen foods and dried pasta, no comparison by the way. Desert was a combination of two Panna Cottas, one vanilla topped with chocolate hazelnut fudge (ok it was Nutella but I like Nutella and was it "F*ing" GOOD!) and another paying homage to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday was Pumpkin Panna Cotta flecked with pumpkin and spice and I think had a bit of ricotta or mascarpone cheese, just fantastic. I will tell you Adele's pastries are so great I could write a whole article about those alone. For those who didn't know Ciao came to South Bend from Naples and opened Ciao Italian Bakery were she made some of the best bread and pastries rivaling those found in the famous pasticcerias of Sicily. If you leaving her place with out trying a few of her pastries you will be sadly missing out. It will be like going to Rome and not seeing the Coliseum. I have been eating her sweets for years and I still miss Ciao Bakery but you can still taste them here and you better! Adele's passion for cooking led her and husband Angelo to open her restaurant. Ciao is not inexpensive, entrees are mostly in the $20-$30 range, but I can tell for this price I saw she uses only the best ingredients and EVERYTHING is homemade and that my friends is Priceless!
(4)