VAI’s Italian Inspired Restaurant Kitchen + Bar

  4.7 – 2,730 reviews   • Italian restaurant

Social Profile:

Lively hub for wood-fired pizza, Italian sharing plates & full bar, plus seasonal outdoor seating.

✔️Brunch ✔️Lunch ✔️Dinner ✔️Dine in ✔️Take out ✔️Delivery VAI's Italian Inspired Restaurant Kitchen + Bar 60540

Address and Contact Information

Address: 916 Rte 59, Naperville, IL 60540

Phone: (630) 453-5200

Website: http://www.vaisnaperville.com/

Menu Photos

Order and Reservations

Reservations: tripleseat.com

vaisnaperville.com

Photo Gallery

Related Web Results

VAI’s NAPERVILLE – ITALIAN INSPIRED KITCHEN + BAR

VAI’s menu is scratch with a variety of Classic and Rustic Italian inspired dishes, all with their own modern twists.

VAI’s Naperville – Facebook

VAI’s Italian Inspired Kitchen+Bar serves American/Italian Contemporary food. Artis… See more. Italian Restaurant · $$ · (630) 453-5200.

Vai’s Italian-Inspired Kitchen + Bar (@vaisnaperville) – Instagram

3K+ followers · 2K+ posts · Italian inspired, Wood fired Pizza Small Plates, Pasta, Meats, Seafood 630-453-5200 Heated patio.

Reviews

Sarah Gustin
Literally had the BEST experience at VAIs tonight. Our server, Cindy, was AMAZING. So nice, attentive, knowledgeable, and kind. From appetizer to dessert she guided us the whole way and every recommendation was on point. We had the oysters, salmon, and ahi tuna. She then treated us to a crème brûlée which was on the house, and soooo good. On top of everything the atmosphere was very cozy and inviting. Will be returning ASAP.
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John Moore
We were excited to try this Italian restaurant as we have passed it many times when driving thru Naperville on Route 59.

They are an Italian Classic/Rustic inspired scratch kitchen with a full bar and seasonal outdoor seating.

We went on a Tuesday night for my wife’s birthday. We did have a reservation which is recommended as it was pretty crowded for midweek

Our server Brionna C was super nice and friendly. We explained to her that my wife is Gluten Free and she suggested a few entrees that they could make for her.

We started with a bottle of one of our favorite Chilean wines and split the large Vai’s Chopped salad which was fantastic and loaded with flavor. Mixed greens,fresh mozz,avocado,grilled corn,spicey soppressata,pepperoni,artichokes,charred peppers and grape tomatoes topped with a herbed vinegrette. Highly recommended.

For our main dishes I had the Shrimp and Andouille Linguine with creole spices. Super delicious.

My wife had one of their weekly specials…Seafood Etouffee which was loaded with shrimp,bay scallops ,crawfish tails in a calabrian chili cream sauce over risotto.

Portions are huge so we ended up taking half home.

They also treated my wife to a complimentary Flourless Chocolate Cake for her birthday.

A wonderful night and we will definitely be back!
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Jenna Kull
Went here for dinner and had a wonderful experience. Service was wonderful and everyone was kind and attentive. We ordered the burrata and arancini for appetizers (the burrata was my favorite part of the entire meal and arancini was my husbands). For an entree we got the vodka pasta and short rib rigatoni. The crispy prosciutto on the vodka pasta was the perfect touch. For dessert we had the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake which was 10/10. Drinks were also wonderful! They also had a ton of N/A options which I always appreciate. Would definitely return!
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Anastasia
I was going to give four stars instead of five but I understand how important reviews are and this place really does deserve five stars. The reason I considered giving only four was due to the reservation system. I made a reservation on OpenTable that Friday morning, but the only options available were 4:45 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. This was the third time within a month that I tried to book a 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. reservation the morning-of, and couldn’t because the system showed the restaurant as fully booked. Granted it was a Friday however the other times I tried to book were not. To be fair, I didn’t call the restaurant to check for availability, which I would recommend doing and will do myself in the future if OpenTable appears full. I ended up leaving work very early to make the 4:45 reservation, only to see several empty tables when 5:30, 6:00, and 6:30 rolled around. I was trying for a 6:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. reservation initially. That said, the staff was excellent. The manager, Lisa, was very kind, explaining that a large party had canceled (which I’m not completely convinced of) but also suggested calling directly next time to make the reservation. Our server, Leanne, was fantastic—fun, attentive, and perfectly paced our meal. We had a very enjoyable evening with my mom overall. The Food:The Crab Bisque was outstanding in spite of the probability that a thickener (roux) was used rather than it being a true bisque but I would absolutely order that again as the taste was delicious. I’m not a huge fan of bread but I like it with soup. I feel like it should come with a piece or offered maybe. I asked for one and she brought it quickly so that was great. My husband liked the Shrimp and Anduille Linguine and my mom liked the Margherita Pizza (which wasn’t my favorite but my husband liked it as well). The House Salad was also very good and larger than expected. The dressing (I think house) was excellent. The old fashioned I had was very good although on the sweet side but it did not prevent me from ordering another one . My husband really enjoyed his Manhattan and my mom wishes they had Coke products instead of Pepsi but she loved their lemonade!
I highly recommend Vai, just consider reserving the day before or calling the restaurant if your preferred early evening time looks unavailable online.
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Sin
We recently visited Vais to celebrate a belated birthday for our son, and wow—what a delight from start to finish! The moment we walked in, the cozy, warm, and welcoming vibe made it feel like we were settling in for something special.

The food? Absolutely superb. Our family covered a good range of the menu: the chicken parm was a crispy, melty masterpiece; the blackened salmon with risotto was rich, flavorful, and perfectly cooked; and the Cajun shrimp brought just the right kick. The only tiny miss was the pasta that came with the shrimp—it leaned a little doughy, but that might just come down to personal preference or the type of pasta.

For dessert, we ordered a delicious cheesecake, and to top it all off, they surprised the birthday boy with a sweet birthday treat on the house—a thoughtful touch that truly made the night feel extra special.

Even though the place was packed, it never felt overwhelming. No shouting across the table, no elbow-to-elbow chaos—just a lively, comfortable space with great energy. We even managed to snag some pretty decent family photos despite the dim lighting (a birthday miracle!).

Overall, we had a wonderful experience, and Vais made our celebration feel genuinely memorable. We’ll definitely be back!
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Seema Choudhury
My husband and I spent our Valentine’s Day dinner at VAI’s Naperville. We ordered the Spicy Pepper Shrimp, the Chicken Pesto Pizza, Spicy Chicken Tortellaci, and the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. Every dish was so unique had so much flavor in every bite! We are so glad that we chose VAI’s for our Valentine’s Day dinner!
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Naina Desor
I came to Vai’s before and tried their wild mushroom pappardelle which was AMAZING and I celebrated my birthday too now! Their service is immaculate regardless of rush hour and the taste is exceptional! We were a large party and ordered their margherita pizza, pesto and chicken pizza (chicken removed), and their 4 cheese. I had to get the wild mushroom pappardelle once again! 10/10 must try best Italian food in the local Naperville area!
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Dimoko Kilala71
Vai is now my favorite Italian (inspired) restaurant!

For appetizer we ordered the Spicy Soppressata + Honey Neapolitan Pizza. I think this is my favorite pizza ever! The crust is thin and garlicky. Soo good!

For dinner we ordered the following from the Fresh Pasta selections:
– Vodka with steak. It’s served with stripped and toasted prosciutto it’s freaking delicious! I never had anything like it before (I’m Asian).

– Four cheese ravioli My daughter, who is a picky eater, liked it!

And my husband ordered the Chilean Sea Bass from the Bigger Plates selections and complained how small the portion of the fish was but after licking the plate off commented how full he was!

They’re all amazing!

I highly recommend this place.
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Marianne – Italianwifey
Vai’s is one of my fave restaurants. Always good food and service with the personal touch of the owners stopping by to say hello. Our server Nicole was engaging and on top of everything.
We went to dinner with another couple last night. We brought a couple bottles of our own wine, but Vai’s makes a tasty cocktail and does have a good wine list. The four of us shared three starters, the burrata, the wagyu carpaccio and the grilled octopus. The burrata was outstanding, creamy cheese on top of perfectly grilled bread. The carpaccio was good, could’ve done without the pickled onions. The octopus was a miss. Totally surprised as I order it most visits and it’s amazing. This time it was dry and chewy, however the crispy potatoes and haricot verts were perfect.
For dinner, my husband had the short rib rigatoni. The pasta is made in-house and my husband loved the creamy sauce and meat tenderness. I had the grilled romaine salad and the asiago gnocchi appetizer. The salad is so tasty with the crispy pancetta and fried leeks. The gnocchi are “pillows of air,” as owner Pete described it. He was right – light as air!
We were so surprised to receive two complimentary desserts at the end of our meal. That’s the kind of place this is, though. Customers are important to them! They brought us Sandy’s white wine cake and a salted caramel budino. That white wine cake was friggin’ amazing!! It’s Sandy (one if the owners’) family recipe. I wish she’d share!! It was a delicious evening! Highly recommend Vai’s.
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Dale Price
My girlfriend wanted to go to sister restaurant Entourage, but when they were busy, we went to this favourite instead.

First of all, great service from Eva – we never wanted for anything the entire time, and she arranged a tasty birthday surprise for my girlfriend before we left. Thanks Eva!

We split an order of arancini to start. The tomato sauce wasn’t too overbearing, and crispy onions were a nice touch. We inhaled them.

I got the Prime Burger (minus the tomato and onion) with the parmesan truffle fries. The fries had a slight flakiness to them and melted in my mouth. I got so engrossed I forgot about my burger for a moment. Rookie mistake – great flavours, and the crunch of the toasted bun added textural interest. The aioli wasn’t too messy and rounded out the flavours. McDonald’s this was not!

My girlfriend got the wild mushroom papperdelle. I would have helped her but I was stuffed.

Drink wise, I found plenty of N/A options besides pop, but opted for Stella Artois 0.0. My girlfriend had a cocktail and an apparently delicious red wine named 309. All in, reasonably priced.
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