Incontro A Tavola: Means “meeting at the table” in Italian.
The South Barrington Italian restaurant serves pasta made in-house daily and its website reads “high-quality Italian cuisine in a comfortable yet elegant setting.”
“This is the diamond of the company,” said General Manager Daniel Krakowski. “It’s upscale cuisine with crystal glasses and high-end wine.”
Given its extensive list, Incontro A Tavola employs servers with extensive knowledge of Italian, French and Spanish wine. Krakowski is a sommelier and said having that in-house knowledge helps patrons who may be intimidated by so many offerings.
And then there is the food. “We have a machine from Italy that we use to make our pasta in house. We take our time. Everything is handmade, Italian old-school,” Krakowski said.
“Our best dishes are chicken limone, chicken Parmesan and chicken Vesuvio,” he said. “We specialize in soups, like minestrone with prosciutto. Our scallops and our risotto are phenomenal.”
To enhance the dining experience, Incontro A Tavola also offers live entertainment. “We have live music on Friday and Saturday and people dance,” Krakowski said. “Our crowd is 30s to seniors and they come over here to listen to old-school Italian music.”
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About the owners: Father and son Filippo Lo Bue and Massimo Lo Bue and third partner Justin Laka also own 750 Cucina Rustica in Cary and Za Za’s Tavola Italiana in Lake Barrington. Incontro a Tavola opened almost three years ago. Antonia Lo Bue, wife to Filippo and mother to Massimo, provided family recipes from Sicily to build the menu.
Philosophy: “Other restaurants are more casual but our three restaurants are like restaurants in Chicago, downtown,” Krakowski said.
Decor: “Upscale modern with lots of wood,” Krakowski said.
Prices: Antipasti (appetizers) from $6 to $15. Insalate (salad) from $8 to $15. Due (combo orders) for $12. Pasta from $11 to $18. Entrees for $15. Dinner menu adds risotti (risotto) from $19 to $28, pollo e vitello (chicken and veal) from $18 to $29, pasta from $16 to $28, terra e mare (land and sea) from $25 to $44. Dessert from $4 to $7. Wine, cocktails, coffee, tea, espresso.
Logistics: Incontro a Tavola is at 100 W. Higgins Road, Suite H-20, South Barrington. 847-836-1700. Hours are 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Go to www.incontroatavola.com.
Shonda Talerico Dudlicek is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.