Place looks small, but serves up big tastes with a lot of old world charm.
This restaurant was reviewed in the March 2014 LVA; some of the information contained in this review may no longer be accurate. Situated between Charleston Blvd. and downtown is one of Las Vegas’ more curious residential areas. People live in the houses, but many have been converted into businesses, mostly law offices. One of the houses on S. 4th St. is the Italian restaurant Chicago Joe’s. Yes, it’s cool being served Italian food on checkered tablecloths in a little house a stone’s throw from downtown. That it’s good Italian food makes it even better. Pasta dishes of all sorts are $10.95 to $16.95, including pasta with clams, calamari, mussels, snails, eggplant, mushrooms, meatballs, sausage, and simple marinara or garlic & oil. All meals come with choice soup or salad and a bread basket. The portions are huge, so you don’t need an appetizer, but the mushroom cap escargot is a bargain that’s hard to pass up at just $8.95. Chicken dishes are $18.95, veal is $34.95, and several lobster choices run $38.95-$46.95, but it’s tough to get away from the pastas—we had a linguini and clams (prepared spicy) in a red sauce that could stand up to any of the dishes above. Line up your entrée, add a half-carafe of red wine, and you’ll be set up exactly the way you’d expect to be in a little Italian house near downtown Vegas. But don’t go if there’s a big game on that you want to watch—there’s no bar and no TVs. Smaller portions at reduced prices and sandwiches are available for lunch. Hours are 11 am to 10 pm Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday).