Mia Francesca
3311 N. Clark Street, Chicago IL; Phone 773-281-3310
Date of Review: December, 2006; updated May, 2008
There are numerous Francesca restaurants throughout the Chicago land area in places like Naperville, St. Charles, West Dundee, Elmhurst and Lake Forest just to name a few. I have been to many of them and find the quality of the food to be pretty consistent no matter which Francesca restaurant I visit. In addition, each restaurant offers a similarly styled menu. Their philosophy is to offer simple, rustic cooking and flavors, great service and good prices.
My review focuses on the Mia Francesca located on 3311 N. Clark Street in Chicago. This is the location which I have visited most frequently over the years. That said, this review is applicable to any Francesca restaurant as I have dined at many of their locations quite frequently.
In terms of atmosphere, it seems that many of the locations have a similar feel which usually includes a somewhat hectic looking environment with waiters flying between tables that are placed closed to each other and a kitchen that is visible to the patrons. This is definitely the case for the Clark Street location. Mia Francesca has a lot of energy as you are in close proximity to your fellow diners and it almost feels as if you are sharing the dining experience with them, even if you never exchange a word.
The warm bread will be on your table soon after the waiter takes it out of the warming oven near the washroom in the back of the restaurant. It is a nice “starter” with some olive oil but don’t fall for the bait and have too much of it or you will spoil the next hour of dining pleasure. All of their appetizers are excellent but the ones that are freshest in my mind are the crispy calamari, any of the different bruschetta’s on the menu and the fantastic risotto appetizer of the day. The salads and pizzas are also a nice way to start a meal.
There are a variety of different pastas on the menu. I typically pass on ordering pasta because the pasta isn’t home made and I have grown quite fond of chewy home made pasta. I have had the Linguine with Frutte del Mare and while the seafood is good, I didn’t find the marinara sauce overly flavorful or exciting. The Penne alla Paesana includes sautéed Italian sausage with wild mushrooms and peas in a tomato cream sauce. It was simple, tasty and good.
There are typically a couple different chicken dishes, a veal option and 2-3 different fish courses on the menu. If it is on the menu, the Veal chop is almost the same size as a pork chop from Ditka’s and it is fantastic. I have also had the fantastic veal medallions served with wild mushrooms, prosciutto and a light brandy sauce. Yum! That said, I am partial to the fish dishes as I always feel that I am doing a disservice to myself by not ordering one. They are that good. On my last visit, I had tilapia in a light white wine sauce with a pepper, onion and mushroom garnish that was fantastic. On past visits, I have had striped sea bass over creamy polenta and roasted salmon with tomato, avocado, red onion, olive oil, basil and lemon over asparagus.
The dessert menu is varied. Mia Francesca’s version of tiramisu is very good and their gelatos and sorbets are a nice way to lightly finish off a fantastic meal.
Mia Francesca is a decent value with many reasonably priced options on the menu. You definitely don’t walk away and feel like you overpaid for the meal you just enjoyed. On my last visit, we had a $30 dollar bottle of wine, 1 appetizer and 2 entrees for $100 and that included tax and tip.
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