Nestled in the heart of Northbrook, Illinois, Francesco's Hole In The Wall stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of traditional culinary craftsmanship. Located at 254 Skokie Blvd, this establishment has cultivated a reputation for providing an authentic dining experience that prioritizes quality ingredients and time-honored preparation methods. For those who appreciate the nuances of classic flavors, the restaurant serves as a welcoming retreat from the fast-paced nature of modern life, offering a space where the focus remains squarely on the harmony between the kitchen and the guest.
The philosophy behind the kitchen is rooted in simplicity and respect for the raw components of every dish. By maintaining a commitment to consistent standards, the restaurant has managed to create a loyal following among local residents and visitors alike. Whether you are seeking a quiet evening meal or a place to gather with friends, the atmosphere is designed to facilitate genuine conversation and enjoyment. Every plate that leaves the kitchen reflects a dedication to the craft, ensuring that each guest encounters the same level of care and attention to detail that has defined the establishment since its inception.
What Sets Our Dining Experience Apart
Commitment to Authentic Flavors: We believe that the foundation of a memorable meal lies in the integrity of the ingredients. By sourcing high-quality components and adhering to traditional cooking techniques, we ensure that every dish retains its intended character and depth of flavor.
A Welcoming Neighborhood Atmosphere: Situated conveniently on Skokie Blvd, our location serves as a community hub where guests can feel at ease. The interior is thoughtfully arranged to provide a comfortable environment, making it an ideal setting for both casual gatherings and more intimate dining occasions.
Consistency in Culinary Execution: Our kitchen team is dedicated to maintaining a high standard of excellence across our entire menu. We understand that our guests return for the reliability of our preparations, and we strive to deliver a consistent experience with every visit.
Focus on Guest Satisfaction: We place a high value on the relationship between our staff and our patrons. By fostering a hospitable environment and ensuring attentive service, we aim to make every guest feel like a valued member of our dining community.
A Culinary Destination in Northbrook
The culinary landscape of Northbrook is diverse, yet Francesco's Hole In The Wall occupies a unique space by focusing on the fundamentals of good food. We invite you to visit us at 254 Skokie Blvd to experience the dedication and passion that drive our daily operations. Our team is committed to providing a dining experience that honors the traditions of the past while remaining relevant to the tastes of today. We look forward to welcoming you to our table and sharing our love for quality food in a setting that feels like home.
As we continue to serve the Northbrook community, our goal remains unchanged: to provide a space where food is celebrated and guests are treated with the utmost respect. We encourage you to stop by, explore our offerings, and discover why so many have made us a regular part of their dining routine. Your presence is what keeps our kitchen vibrant, and we are honored to be a part of your culinary journey in Illinois.
Amenities and More
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible entrance
Wheelchair accessible parking lot
Wheelchair accessible seating
Service options
Takeout
Dine-in
Highlights
Great cocktails
Great dessert
Great wine list
Serves local specialty
Popular for
Lunch
Dinner
Solo dining
Offerings
Alcohol
Beer
Cocktails
Coffee
Comfort food
Hard liquor
Vegetarian options
Wine
Dining options
Lunch
Dinner
Dessert
Table service
Amenities
Restroom
Atmosphere
Casual
Cozy
Romantic
Trendy
Upscale
Crowd
Tourists
Planning
Accepts reservations
Usually a wait
Payments
Credit cards
Debit cards
Credit cards
Parking
Free parking lot
Free street parking
Paid parking lot
Usually plenty of parking
Menus
Salads
Hole in the Wall Salad (Large / Small)
Roasted Peppers or Artichoke Hearts
Dinner Salad
Appetizers
Spinach Bread
Baked Clams
Baked Mozzarella
Pizza Margherita
Pasta
Spaghetti Marinara
Baked Rigatoni
Pasta Pavarotti
Cheese Ravioli
Raviolissimo
Capellini Putanesca
Chicken Tortelloni Pasta
Rigatoni
Linguine
Entrées
Chicken Vesuvio
Vesuvio Potatoes
Eggplant Parmigiana
Eggplant Ricotta
Sausage & Peppers
Mostacioli Chicken Bolognese
Chicken Parmigiana
Photos
Reviews Francesco's Hole In The Wall
Jiaan Wang
30-05-2026
This place is a little gem. It has good atmosphere and delicious food. I ordered the lobster seafood Linguine which was tasty. It was well cooked and seafood was abundant. My wife ordered the ossobuco and it was one of the best veal we have … More
Marcia Bednar
30-05-2026
Great service and great food. Menu changes regularly. Close to Chicago Botanical Garden. Get there early. The Butter Cake is phenomenal! More
Gene Bellini
30-05-2026
DON’T PAY CASH.
They only want credit cards with bigger tips.
Very disturbing even with $35 tip all cash. What happened Frank. We wanted to come often. Jenny sucks. No make change of cash story? Disappointed. Bellini More
Ethel Eastman
30-05-2026
Not a big fan of the food. I ordered baked lasagna for 25 bucks and gave me maybe 2 stacks of 4 inches by 4 inches lasagna noodles. The meatballs looked pale and were not very tasty, so I ended up giving them to my table. My lasagna was in … More
Fiore Food Group
30-05-2026
Visiting Chicago for work. Amazing food! Frank Gallo the owner was a great guy and sat with us. Sharing stories about his Italian heritage. Highly recommended in my book. Will definitely be back when visiting Chicago! More
April A
30-05-2026
Small italian restaurant with inside and outside seating. Menu is written on a dry erase board, it's fine unless you are seated right under the board. Then you have to get up and take few steps back to get a good look at it. Most people go … More
Grace S
30-05-2026
Had a nice experience here on father’s day. I ordered a salad, which had a lot of weird veggies in it, but I dismissed the taste assuming it was healthy. Next, I had ravioli, which was good. There were only five pieces and most definitely … More
R J
30-05-2026
Terrific old school Italian place. Food was terrific. Our waitress was outstanding. This is a very unique place. You certainly have to be okay with being very close to other tables. More
MaK Snjs
30-05-2026
9/27/25- I was very disappointed with my visit. I came first, and waiting for 2 more family members. I told the server they are already in the parking and she gave me a table outside for three. I was thirsty and placed an order right away … More
Ron
30-05-2026
Off the beaten path is a place where earthly delights meet the essence of culinary artistry is Francesco's Hole in the Wall, a sanctuary for the discerning palate. Here, the spirit of the ancients dances with the flavors of the sea, … More
Ryan Brandes
30-05-2026
Just wow. From the fresh lightly battered calamari to the squid ink pasta with clams and mussels and then down-the-line to an amazing Tiramisu paired with a warm butter cake holy cow. This is anything but a hole in the wall it was a … More
Lisa Q.
30-05-2026
Amazing surprise find. My friend and I were looking for a place to eat dinner after the botanic gardens. Found Francesco’s on google and headed over without a reservation. The hostess very pleasantly told us it would be about 20 min for … More
Kathy
30-05-2026
So I think I've gone out to eat quite a bit to be able to say that when I send a plate back it must be really bad. I ordered the shrimp scampi. When it came out the shrimp's looked beautiful but the pasta was in watery liquid. It had no … More
Rose Panico Marino
30-05-2026
Celebrated my birthday here and it was terrific! From the appetizers, to the salad, main entre and desert, everything was delicious! Really enjoyed conversation with Frank!! Thanks for making my day so special!! We ate in the kitchen. Great experience!! More
C S
30-05-2026
It was our first time visiting and we were very impressed! Excellent food, great drinks, and good atmosphere. The owner would come by every so often to check on the guest as well. We will definitely be back for seconds!
Jim K
30-05-2026
Food and service were great. Got several appetizers, including sausage and peppers, which weren't even on the menu. The veal chop was delicious and huge; and the cannoli was the perfect way to end the meal.
My only complaint was the spacing of the tables. Because the dining room is so small, they stack the tables on top of each other. All night our chairs were banging against the people behind us, making trips to the restroom a difficult task. Even with this, I'd go back in a heartbeat.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 4
Mark Woods
30-05-2026
Nice enough meal but there was something missing from every dish. Not enough balsamic on the flat bread, Diavlo sauce fell flat, Branzino was a bit bland. I know some folks love the charm of the small room, I would have too, had the food been outstanding. Maybe I should do the obvious and stay away from seafood in the Midwest... More
Astghik Mkhitaryan
30-05-2026
This is an amazing place ❤️❤️❤️ Very cozy place with wines in the walls and chalk written menue on the side wall. It was crowded but it did not affect the quality of the service in any ways. Everything was excellent. Oh, and of course the food was delicious. More
Madeleine (The Ruiner)
30-05-2026
The food was pretty great. Despite being slightly less crispy than I like, the calamari was perfectly cooked. No tentacles though. The house salad was shared with four people, so it’s pretty big and nicely refreshing. … More
Daisy C
30-05-2026
Delicious food and cozy atmosphere!
The pasta was fresh and full of flavor, and the service was great. Definitely recommend this place! More
M Y
30-05-2026
We were told wait will be an hour and a half but they wouldn’t seat us down. They don’t accept reservations and they won’t seat you down unless the whole party is present. We waited 2 tables opened up but they were reserved for some white … More
Masha Cetnik Berardi
30-05-2026
was a little disappointed with the food. The Alfredo sauce was extremely bland, and honestly, all of our pasta seemed unsalted — maybe you have to ask for it. The bread came with butter served in small plastic cups, which doesn’t quite … More
Dude Knows
30-05-2026
Cute Italian restaurant; not far from the Botanic Gardens. Open on the weekdays for lunch. Stopped in after the Botanic Gardens for a nice lunch. Menu changes but they can make any pasta combo you want! Have lunch specials too! More
Keith Greenway
30-05-2026
Francesco's: A Hidden Gem Worth the Wait!
Five stars! My coworkers and I stumbled upon Francesco's Hole In the Wall during a recent work trip, and it was the culinary highlight of our week. Yes, there … More
Jonathon Reckles
30-05-2026
This place is small but mighty. The food is always amazing and the service is great. If you don’t want to wait, get there within 15 minutes of the restaurant opening but otherwise it’s worth the wait. We came in town to visit and made it a priority to eat here. Menu rotates via a white board. There’s a large selection and you can ask them to make you whatever you want or change anything to your liking. Tonight we had the artichokes to start. I eat a lot of artichokes and these are my favorite, along with J Alexander’s. We then had the rigatoni with sausage with is always amazing, highly recommend, and then the whitefish vesuvio. We finished off with the butter cake, which is to die for. The staff has very little turnaround and gets to know you over time. It’s a small spot and a little tight but well worth it. If you haven’t tried it yet, please do.
Order type
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$30–50
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommendation for vegetarians
Highly recommend
Vegetarian offerings
Large vegetarian selection
Vegetarian options
Get the artichokes for sure!
Parking space
Plenty of parking
Parking options
Free parking lot
Kid-friendliness
It’s a small place so if you are going to be kids, I’d do so right when the restaurant opens. That’s when we go with kids.
Wheelchair accessibility
Probably not the best given the tight layout.
Kim Nguyen
30-05-2026
Wow! Just wow! We recently moved into the area and found ourselves a new go-to Italian restaurant. We haven’t had such great Italian dishes since Italy. My husband made a reservation for our lunch date and to our surprise, the place is quite intimate. I love the atmosphere but it can be crammed for some people. The tables are really close to each other. We definitely didn’t mind that at all. It was so close that the next table can smell our food and asked what we ordered because it looked so good. I love seafood and the Seafood Diavolo didn’t disappoint. It was spicy but very tasty. The pasta cooked perfectly with plenty of lobster tails and a variety of seafoods. Can’t wait to be back and try other pastas on the menu!
Price per person
$30–50
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Noise level
Loud, but you can still talk
Group size
2 people, 3-4 people
Seating type
Indoor dining area, Outdoor patio / terrace, Booth seating
Rob H.
30-05-2026
This is the place. Hands down the best restaurant in the suburbs of Chicago. Nothing wrong except some people might not like the closeness of your fellow diners at the table next to you. The menu and food will overcome that minor obstacle. Jenny our server was attentive, sweet and fun to interact with. Our second time there when working in Chicago. Just quit looking at other restaurant reviews and go.
Price per person
$30–50
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Reservation
Walk-ins only
Noise level
Moderate noise
Seating type
Indoor dining area, Outdoor patio / terrace
Parking space
Plenty of parking
Parking options
Free parking lot
Wheelchair accessibility
There were two people at a table of 8 in wheelchairs while we were there.
Young K
30-05-2026
Great food, great service. From appetizers to desert, all are incredibly prepared with fresh ingredients. Highly recommended.
Price per person
$30–50
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Seating type
Indoor dining area, Outdoor patio / terrace
Donna Theimer
30-05-2026
What a wonderful restaurant! This little gem is the perfect spot if you want authentic Italian food. My meal was outstanding!
The interior is small, but it adds to the experience of the restaurant. Wonderful service. I loved the decor. Get there early as this place fills up quickly with lines forming at the door by 5.
Meal type
Dinner
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Jen Gosnell
30-05-2026
Large and varied menu, and they were quite accommodating to our party of 7. Every person at our table ordered something different and was delighted with their meal. I had the osso buco with risotto and it was delicious. Banana cake and butter cake for dessert were enough to feed the whole table after such a rich meal. It's the kind of place where you want to try everything on the menu because it all sounds so good. I will definitely come here again the next time I'm in town.
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$50–100
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Osso Bucco, Warm Butter Cake with Ice Cream, Banana Cake, Ossobuco
Seating type
Indoor dining area, Outdoor patio / terrace
Reviews Francesco's Hole In The Wall