A slew of Italian restaurants have opened up over the past couple of weeks. Here's a look at the event capabilities of four of them.
1. On Thursday, Italiasia debuted in the lobby of River North's Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza. With a menu of Asian-inspired Italian fare, the restaurant offers dishes such as chicken Milanese with Indonesian curried udon nooodles and filet of beef with wasabi potato cakes. Available for full buyouts, the venue can seat 170 in wraparound booths; food can be plated, passed, or served buffet-style. Smaller semiprivate sections of the restaurant can seat anywhere from 10 to 50 guests, and a private wine room seats 8 at a communal marble table. The hotel's in-house audiovisual team can bring in equipment for meetings and events.
2. Ristorante Al Teatro, a sprawling eatery housed in a building that dates back to 1892, opened in Pilsen last Wednesday. With a double wood-burning pizza oven, the restaurant offers 20 kinds of pizza. There's also an in-house gelateria, where staffers prepare 24 flavors of gelato each day. On the first floor, a semiprivate dining room can host 80 for seated dinners and cocktail receptions for 100. Downstairs, a wine room can seat 45; an adjacent bar area seats 50 and offers two flat-screen TVs that can hook up to laptops or DVD players.
3. Salute Wine Bar opened in the Gold Coast on Thursday. With a wine list that represents each of Italy's 20 regions, the venue can host 60 for cocktails or 45 for seated dinners. At the back of the space, a curtained-off alcove seats 10, and a patio can host dinners for 20. The menu of Italian comfort food includes items such as bruschetta, four-cheese panini, and homemade tiramisu.
4. Open since Monday, Rocco's Cafe and Pizzeria offers Italian staples such as calamari fritti, Italian sausage and peppers, and classic four-cheese lasagna. Done up with vintage posters and checkered tablecloths, the laid-back Lincoln Park eatery provides seating for 200. There's also an umbrella-dotted patio that seats 150 and the private Speakeasy party room, which has its own bar and can accommodate receptions for 70.



