Restaurant Review: Pizza Barra, Oak Brook, Illinois

Cuisine type: Italian/ Pizza

Price per entrée: $16.99-$28.99

Attire: Dressy Casual

Reservations: Yes

Payment: Credit Cards Accepted

Pizza Barra

3011 Butterfield Rd. Oak Brook, IL

(630) 861-6177

Monday- Thursday 11 am- 12 am

Friday- Saturday 11 am- 1 am

Sunday 11 am- 10 pm

On a Wednesday evening around 6 pm, I visited Pizza Barra for a family dinner. Being an Italian family from Chicago, we all have high expectations when it comes to pizza. So we thought we would check out Rich Labriola’s newest restaurant, knowing his name from Labriola Cafe, one of our favorite lunch spots, which he also owns.

Chef Chris Macchia and Labriola have teamed up to bring Chicago this new restaurant that strays away from their histories as pastry and bakery chefs. Their vision was to bring Chicago thin crust, pan-style and coal-fired “Neapolitan” pizzas together on one menu.

Their neapolitan pies were made to be their signature though; an attempt to fill the void of this style of pizza in a city that is exclusively famous for their thin crust and deep dish pizza.

Walking into the restaurant, I was immediately impressed by the setting. The décor was sleek and modern, while managing to be warm at the same time with dark wood and ambient lighting. The hostesses were dressed semi-formally, giving me an impression of this being a classy place.

Their dress also gave me the impression of certain great service, but it was average. Our hostess, server and waitress fulfilled expectations of good service, but nothing extra.

Going further into the dining area, I noticed the open, yet cozy and intimate feeling of the room. We sat down at our table neatly tucked away in a nook inside, but the large glass doors gave me a peek into their gorgeous patio dining area. Overlooking a large pond with a fountain, the patio made me wish we had sat outside. It looked perfect for any clear summer day.

The atmosphere was very classy and trendy. To me, it was the most notable and impressive thing about Pizza Barra overall.

When it came to the food, presentation was also the best part about it. The menu seemed to focus mostly on Italian cuisine, making me forget this was a pizza place until I reached the last corner of the menu.

I did order one of their signature coal-fired oven pizzas with ciabatta-like crust though; their version of a margherita pizza ($21). However, I ate it without noticing what made it different than any other margherita pizza I’ve had. Which is to say, it was good, but it didn’t do anything for me that the same thing from California Pizza Kitchen wouldn’t.

Overall, I’m not sure that it was worth paying so much for a pizza. Their Italian dishes according to my family; however, live up to their high prices.

My family and I all agreed that it seemed we were just at a nice, upscale Italian restaurant with contemporary presentation.

But, maybe us Chicagoans need time to get used to artisanal and traditional Italian pizza instead of our usual deep dish or thin crust. As they had intended, Pizza Barra could make that happen.

SERVICE 4/5

SETTING 5/5

FOOD 4/5

VALUE 3/5

OVERALL 4/5