Munno Pizzeria & Bistro

To be sure, Munno is by no means my find. Michael Gebert wrote about Munno a few months ago and I swore then that I needed to make a visit. Then the other night Da Beef posted about Munno on Instagram. And you'll certainly know what has probably become known as a cursed space.

But ignore Munno at your own risk. Everything I tasted last night was excellent or better. Start with the salumi platter - a nice selection of deliciously fatty meats and cheese, a tangy giardiniera, and some fried bread. A perfect combination and a great beginning to a meal at Munno.






The eggplant parmigiana may have been the best version of this dish I've ever tried. Ultra thin slices of eggplant, an acidic tomato sauce and the perfect balance of eggplant, tomato and cheese.






The lasagna alla bolognese was also terrific. There might be a higher ratio of bechamel to pasta/ragu than I prefer, but that's a personal preference and I still enjoyed it immensely.





Most of you will come here for the pizza. You will not leave disappointed. There may not be a woodburning oven (hence, they call it Neapolitan-inspired), but there's a lot of great bread baked in electric ovens, and make no mistake, the crust here qualifies as great bread - terrific chew and flavor. And great care is taken with the balanced toppings, in my case tomato sauce, sausage, mozzarella, parmesan and chili oil.





In true Italian fashion, dessert is no afterthought here. The rich chocolate cake might be the best chocolate cake I've had in Chicago.





And the affogato, with house-made gelato, was also fantastic.





There's a small but very nice (and reasonably priced in my opinion) wine list, and I also enjoyed my negroni. And the staff was terrific - friendly and excellent service. You really don't want to sleep on this place. It is a real gem in this city, worth traveling for, and not merely a neighborhood-worthy place. And as I found out yesterday, they do take reservations, including during the hours before they open for business.

Munno Pizzeria & Bistro
4656 N Clark St (there's a small parking lot in addition to street parking)
Chicago, IL 60640
773.942.7575

Thursday to Saturday 5:30-10pm
Sunday 5:30-9pm
Closed Monday-Wednesday
Dine in only; no takeout or delivery

This is our neighborhood gem but I'd love to share it with the rest of Chicago. We had a wonderful restaurant week meal there on Friday. They are hosting their own RW deal linked here https://www.facebook.com/MunnoChicago/p ... =3&theater

It's 2 for $45 meal where you share antipasti (pictured above) choice of 1 pasta, 1 pizza and 1 dessert. Timing was executed perfectly. We opted for the fungi ravioli with brown butter sauce and the special pizza which I cannot remember exactly but I think involved pepperoni and a hot honey drizzle. For dessert we had the special Walnut cake with buttercream frosting.

This is a great neighborhood business! Street parking is easy but there is even an attached parking lot. Entrance through Leland St. in front of Chase Park.
Enjoy!

BR wrote:Thursday to Saturday 5:30-10pm
Sunday 5:30-9pm
Closed Monday-Wednesday
Dine in only; no takeout or delivery

Excellent review of everything you had and the experience overall, but these are oppressive business hours. For those who don't try them, it may not be the case of customers ignoring Munno, but Munno ignoring their customers.

If they can pull it off, all power to them, but playing hard to get can become tiresome real fast. When the craving hits Mon-Wed for those who enjoyed the food, they may not like the restaurant's response - tough shit.

bweiny wrote:

BR wrote:Thursday to Saturday 5:30-10pm
Sunday 5:30-9pm
Closed Monday-Wednesday
Dine in only; no takeout or delivery

Excellent review of everything you had and the experience overall, but these are oppressive business hours. For those who don't try them, it may not be the case of customers ignoring Munno, but Munno ignoring their customers.

If they can pull it off, all power to them, but playing hard to get can become tiresome real fast. When the craving hits Mon-Wed for those who enjoyed the food, they may not like the restaurant's response - tough shit.

Maybe a bit of an overreaction.

BR wrote: And as I found out yesterday, they do take reservations, including during the hours before they open for business.

That's pretty accommodating.

Cathy2 wrote:

BR wrote: And as I found out yesterday, they do take reservations, including during the hours before they open for business.

That's pretty accommodating.

Just so I'm clear, I mean they answered the phone hours before they opened for business...not that they'll give you a reservation time outside of their normal operating hours.

Was late to the party but this place is great and ez parking

I was sufficiently saddened when Bella 'Mbriana closed that I packed up and left Chicago. It was the only place in town, besides my house and probably Tony Bucini's, where you could find real 'a genuvese. I'm delighted to see Munno ("world" in napoletano) reopen and can't wait to return to try it. Until then, Nick Russo, stàtte buon', gualiò.

I celebrated my recovery from covid at Munno a few nights ago, and it's somehow gotten even better. No exaggeration - this is now my favorite pizza in the city. The pizzas are now oblong shaped rather than round, and it's more than a cosmetic difference - it changes the ratio of crispy outside to chewy interior, and it's absolutely perfect. The sauce is nicely tangy, the toppings were tasty and nicely balanced, and crust. Oh, the crust. It's weird for me to suddenly gush about a place that I've been enjoying for years, but something is different about the crust, and it's on a whole other level from what I remember.