Dolce Italian’s {127 West Huron Street, Chicago; 312.754.0700} artfully plated pastas, unconventionally shaped pizzas, and beautiful desserts are not just prime for Instagram posting—they’ve put the two-year-old River North spot on the map in a city that excels at contemporary Italian food.
It’s no fluke that Executive Chef Nathaniel Cayer’s cooking—which blends northern Italian and Roman flavors—has stolen hearts. The Vermont native has been with the restaurant since its opening and has developed dishes that are deeply thoughtful. A driving force behind his work is a staunch commitment to sustainability—a choice that didn’t require any deliberation.
“On the East Coast, people are inherently crunchy, and I guess that rubbed off on me,” says Cayer, an avid composter who, in addition to Dolce Italian, oversees all the culinary and bar concepts at The Godfrey Hotel. “I’m always trying to go zero-waste, 100-percent yield from whatever I use,” he adds. That includes saving the fat from meat to create jam, making sugar from the bar’s leftover limes and peels to use in pastries, and preserving mango and peach pits to flavor sorbets.
As such, Cayer says he runs a 99-percent from-scratch kitchen—a fact that often surprises guests.
“What we do and the price point at which we do it makes people think we must use frozen foods,” he says. With a high volume of built in guests, thanks to The Godfrey, as well as ample River North foot traffic, Dolce Italian is able to keep its price point low. “Affordably priced dining is rare for the neighborhood, and the fact that we’re able to offer this is really a bonus for us,” Cayer notes.
Situated on The Godfrey’s ground floor, the 70-seat restaurant takes a page from Fellini’s 1960’s Rome with a contemporary atmosphere that showcases a palette of warm colors and woods. The mid-century modern dining room makes a bold statement with floor-to-ceiling geometric accents and a dramatic wine wall. A street-side patio accommodates 30 diners during warmer months.
Housemade pastas are a draw, and while Spaghetti al Pomodoro is a perennial favorite, Cayer’s less conventional options also shine. Half-moon-shaped mezzalune is stuffed with lobster and jumbo crab, yielding “the most intense lobster flavor you’ve ever had,” according to the chef.
Two other kinds of pasta, Sweet Potato Pappardelle with Italian sausage and Butternut Squash Risotto with maple-glazed pork belly showcase seasonal flavors—a focus of Cayer’s cooking no matter the time of year.
“Winter is obviously difficult, produce-wise, in the Midwest, so I extend the other seasons by doing a lot of canning and pickling,” he says. “I’m basically taking a note from my grandmother’s book.”
Neapolitan pizzas eschew tradition with topping combos that include short ribs with ramps and mushrooms; meatballs and salami with jalapeño peppers; and scallop and shrimp with white sauce. All pizzas can be ordered in the star-shaped, stuffed-crust “Stella style”—an exclusive design that essentially began as a joke, but has morphed into a very popular dish.
“One of our staffers was playing around with our housemade dough and told me, ‘I’m going to make a stuffed crust like Pizza Hut.’” Cayer’s initial reaction?
“I said, ‘Bro, that’s disgusting,’” he laughs. But he soon warmed up to the idea and joined the experimentation. After several versions, the now-signature Stella pie was born. It’s a labor-intensive process that entails making several incisions in the rolled-out dough and stuffing the gaps with ricotta before hand-shaping the star’s five points. “It’s kind of a nightmare to get hit with an order for 12 [Stella-style pizzas] at a time,” jokes Cayer, “but I suppose that’s a good problem to have.”
Photo via Dolce Italian
While dinner service has an elegant vibe, Cayer aims for a more laid-back, lively scene during weekend brunch. Fueling the festivities are bottomless mimosas, bellinis, and Bloody Marys; and the food menu is fittingly lighthearted. “For brunch, I really get to put my spin on Italian food,” says Cayer, whose creations run the gamut from pastas and pizzas, including a breakfast pie topped with a poached egg and chili oil, to decidedly less-Italian offerings like Blueberry Pancakes with coconut-bourbon syrup or Pork Belly Mac & Cheese with a fried egg. As with dinner, no aspect of Dolce Italian’s brunch is an afterthought—not even drip coffee. Beans are roasted in Italy and yield a “super-dark, super-rich” blend, according to Cayer.
Photo via Dolce Italian
Cayer also lends his culinary expertise to The Godfrey’s 10,000-square-foot, all-season rooftop lounge, I|O Godfrey. There, he crafts upscale bar bites comprised of sushi, tacos, and steak, along with a roster of scene-stealing cocktails (best enjoyed by the bi-level fire pit). While the mojito is a perpetual guest favorite, Cayer points to the Hot Toddy (Rittenhouse rye whiskey, fresh lemon juice, and honey-herb infusion) and Stolen Tradition (Botran 12 añejo rum, hazelnut Frangelico, Rumchata, coconut milk, and spices) as current standouts.
Dolce Italian’s zero-waste ritual extends to I|O Godfrey, where beverages enlist shrubs, fusions, and juices that are all made in-house, and often from kitchen ingredients. “We look at everything as a plated dish,” Cayer says of his staff’s culinary approach to the bar program. “All five tastes—sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami—are considered for each drink, and the goal is to incorporate at least three into every one,” he adds. When it comes to the beverage side of his team’s jobs, Cayer says, “We taught ourselves as we went along, and I’d say things turned out pretty well.”
This commitment to serving food that is affordable but refined, comforting yet complex, and, most importantly, sustainable and delicious has resulted in a restaurant that has become a must-try destination in River North where the notion of ‘living the good life’ is evident in every bite.
By Carly Boers
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