Hearth Crust - Chicago

I visited this location with my family after having many great experiences at their Logan Square branch. We started with calamari as an appetizer, which was delicious. However, we were disappointed with the portion size—it was so small that we could see the bottom of the plate. I wasn't keen on spending another $20 for another tiny serving. For my main course, I ordered pasta, but the selection was quite limited. As with most Italian restaurants, I expected fresh bread to accompany the meal, but it never arrived. Overall, while the food was good, the portion sizes felt inadequate for the prices charged.

This restaurant was a delightful surprise and a true hidden gem in the neighborhood. Every aspect of the meal was fantastic, with generous portions and perfectly balanced flavors. I would much rather dine here than deal with the hassle of going to the West Loop or River North, which are usually my go-to spots for date nights—it's that good! The service was excellent, and as a bonus, they treated us to some incredible cheesy, soft, and warm bread fresh from the pizza oven when we requested extra bread to soak up the sauce from the mussels.

The flavors are rich and delicate! The atmosphere is wonderfully relaxed, and the service is exceptional. What a fantastic discovery in the city!

3.5 stars rounded up I had no idea this place was under the same ownership as Buona Terra a place we enjoy, but not often enough when I picked it. I picked it mainly for menu and location (midway between a friend and I). It's nice to see some good food options in this stretch; several years ago I recall it being challenging to find a good place to eat in this area. My friend arrived first and was sat in the front area. It's almost like a little semi private glass sun room at the front. I found it to be a bit cold and was surprised that there seemed to be no heat coming off of the little fireplace looking things they had plugged in. It was no so bad that we required reseating, but if you are sensitive to cold, the front spot might not be for you. Our server was nice, but attention was inconsistent. He came by frequently when we first sat down to ensure we weren't waiting to put in an order. After that he was scarce and I had to flag someone else down for a water refill. I probably would've ordered a second drink had he been around more. To start we each ordered a glass of wine and the arancini to start. $13.95 seems a little spendy for 3 arancini a little larger than golf balls, but was very tasty. For our main, we split the H&C salad and the Green Goddess pizza. Again, the salad seemed a bit spendy for what we got. This wasn't an entrée size salad like I would've expected for $10.95 and mixed greens more than anything. The pizza was great, I always love a nice, thin brick oven pizza. It was a prefect amount for two to split. I was fairly quiet on Sunday, which was nice since our goal was to catch up. Overall, it's pretty good and I like the vibe here better than their sister restaurant.

Had been meaning to go here for a while and finally went last night. Everything was amazing! We had an incredible waiter who was very attentive and thoughtful. We had an early reservation (5:30) to accommodate our toddlers bed time, and found the place to be very child friendly. The restaurant filled up around 7, but it was quiet when we were there with only a few other tables full. They didn't have a kids menu, but even without us asking, the waiter offered us half portions of any pasta or butter noodles, or a plain cheese pizza for our daughter even though they weren't listed on the menu. We ordered the arancini to start, as well as the special potato leek soup for our toddler. The arancini wasn't my favorite but my picky toddler ate the entire soup! It was so flavorful and creamy. Our table split the special potato rosemary pizza, the green goddess pizza, farfale arrabiata and the h+c salad (all vegetarian). Pizzas were perfect and some of the best we've had in a while. Pasta could have been spicier but overall very flavorful. Salad was refreshing and tasted great. Apple pie and crème brûlée for dessert , also winners. Definitely adding this place to our regular rotation.