The Happy Hour Tour: Antico Posto

Days: Tuesday & Thursday

Times: All Night Long!

Food Deals: N/A

Drink Deals: Tues. - $20 bottles of wine / Thurs. - $5 glasses of wine

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Drink Up! Antico Posto has a great selection of wines and super friendly servers.

Spill the Wine: Wine is the only special offered. It’d be nice to have a regular food special, too.

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The great part of the blogger community is that bloggers are always offering up suggestions on places to check it, whether it be events, shops, and of course, bars and restaurants. A while back fellow Chicago Blog Network member, Katy of Naner a Day, suggested that I check out Antico Posto for their weekly wine specials.

Antico Posto is located at one of my favorite shopping areas in Chicagoland’s, Oakbrook Center. Although I’ve spent many a dollar at its neighbor Urban Outfitters, I never noticed the restaurant, but now I’m so glad that I did. On a Tuesday night, I met up with my friend Tamika for some after work wine. Clearly, we weren’t the only ones who had that idea because Antico Posto was packed with a 20 minutes wait for a table of two. We quickly learned that if you want to be seated right away, a reservation is recommended. We grew envious of the people who passed us by, but also took it as a sign of repeat business!

The special for the night was called “Tuesday Wine Down,” with 20 bottles of wines for $20 each. Without the Tuesday night special, a bottle of wine will run you over $30. We couldn’t decide between the two featured sauvignon blancs – Pepi or Murphy Goode. When we asked our server for his suggestion, he said Murphy Goode. I don’t exactly remember why, but his snap decision led us to believe it was the right one… and it was! While I love sauvignon blanc because it is a crisp wine, I often fail to notice the hints of fruit featured. The Murphy Goode was so good that I immediately could taste honeydew and a bit of peach. In fact, the wine was so delicious that after one sip, I said I wanted to put in my pants - damn near causing Tamika to choke mid sip in laughter. It was THAT good.

As for food, our server was very knowledgeable about the menu. There are no food deals offered, but there are special entrees featured daily, but not necessarily at a special price. However, the price for appetizers (a standard Happy Hour feature) aren’t too bad, starting at $5.95. Since I was in the mood for something light, I ordered the homemade angel hair shrimp & broccoli ($15.95). I was pleasantly surprised at how plump the shrimp was, as opposed to baby shrimp often served in pasta at other places. The light pasta hit the spot and it even made for a great lunch the following day. Since JB & I love the idea of a food deal featured at a restaurant, I suggest that Antico Posto try a wine & pizza night deal. I’d definitely be back for that!

Angel Hair Shrimp & Brocoli

Truth be told: I’ll be back to Antico Posto anyway. The food, wine, and service was some of the best service that I’ve had in awhile. The server was just attentive enough that it wasn’t annoying and he genuinely seemed to care if we enjoyed our food and drink. Unfortunately, I cannot remember his name... perhaps it was the wine! At the end of our meal, he told us that he had something coming for us and the manager brought us a complimentary Zuppa Iglese dessert, a treat for first time customers! As she explained, the dessert is like a light tiramasu with a side of amaretto soaked cherries. The dessert was far better than any tiramasu that I’ve ever had. Maybe the restaurant should promote a dessert and drinks night, too!