Acquaviva Winery

Address:	47W614 IL-38, Maple Park, IL 60151, USA
Phone:	+1 630-365-0333
Site:	acquavivawinery.com
Rating:	4.2
Working:	Closed 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–10PM 12–10PM 12–8PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

A Private User

My wife and I happened upon the winery while on a trip to DeKalb. In the middle of a country roadside, stands the beautiful villa which is Acquaviva Winery. Curiosity got the better of us and we stopped in for a looksee. Lunchtime on a July Sunday and the resturant had a more tables than guests, but I think this is to be expected as they are only a few weeks old. We chose a table near the window, where across the road, the grapevines full of future wine could be seen growing in perfect rows. Not quite the picturest beauty of the Napa Valley, but for rual Illinois, it was a nice change over the rows of corn or beans. We were offered a wine tasting which was only available at the bar. We chose to just order a glass of wine to drink with our lunch. The wine was very good and modestly priced by the glass or the bottle, although the menu indicated a $5.00 uncorking fee. The menu is simple with sandwiches, salads and flatbread pizza. We opted for the chopped salad and margherita pizza. The salad was fresh and large enough for us to split between us as an appitizer before the pizza. The pizza was handmade and fired in the brick oven located just behind the bar in the center of the villa. All of the ingredients were fresh and tasty and the pizza was perfect for a lunch for two. The winery has the restaurant seating on one side, with a small patio outside. The other side of the building is a deli and wine store, where wine can be purchased by the bottle along with the usual accessories like goblets and stopppers. A small refridgerated deli cooler offered a selection of cheeses and meats. Most of the selections were common brand items available in any good market. I am rating the experience as average, because the service and staff need a little aging to make bring the service up to level of the decor. Although the food was very good, the restauant seemed like an afterthought in the middle of a banquet hall. It will be interesting to see how they mature into a real dining treat.

Lucretia Martin

Beautiful art work throughout the venu with a nice view of the vineyard across the road. However, I found it puzzling that even with reservations for a wine tour and being told that the waitress "ran to the store :-/" a number of people who came in after us received a tour first. Their tour lasted about 30 minutes. They decided to give my boyfriend and I a private tour that lasted about 10 minuets (4 of those minutes we spent just standing near the machine where the wine is bottled). We werent greeted as "friendly & cheerful" as the other guest. After we finished dinning in, I needed my food boxed. A younger gentalman asked if he can take my plate and box my food for me, I asked if I can do it myself only because when we originally arrived he gave us the most unwelcoming look Ive ever seen and honestly I did not feel comfortable with him boxing up my meal, he insisted. After he brought my meal back (boxed up) he gave that same unwelcoming look as he walked away. I said thank you when returned my food and his response was "um hummmm" (amazing). As a precaution, I threw the remainder of the meal out. I have a strong feeling that the young man in one way or another tampered with my meal. Im sure the end goal was to make us not want to come back :-( luckily for me, Im not easily detoured. While I mostly willl never support their business due to the fact that it was made very clear we were unwanted, our business was not needed, and they took so many extra steps to make us feel uncomfortable instead of putting that same amount of energy into giving us a great experience. But not all was bad, there was one male waiter who picked up on the tone that was being set and took time out from servicing his tables to chat with us a little (really nice guy). I enjoyed our 2 hour drive more so then anything. But I think I would have rather spent my birthday around more POSITIVE & FRIENDLY people. Im sure if you fall into the proper "category/group" youll enjoy your experience... ;--)

A Private User

Not sure where to start so Ill start with good points. The building and decor is beautiful. The management staff is attentive and try their best to correct any problems. We ordered 3 salads, 1 fillet dish, 1 pizza and 2 fish dinners. The salads came with no dressing and they were warm, my husbands salad was a grilled one and it was cold.When we asked the waitress for dressing we never received it from her so we asked a young man and he gladly brought it over. The manager lady came to our table at this point and apologized for the issues and told us she would comp our check for all the items on our table. Well after over an hour we finally got our entrees. you would think there would be improvement in our food but it just got worse. The fish entrees were very dry and overcooked. We tried to figure out the sliced fillet entree but never did. It was maybe 3 oz at the MOST. And looked like a chopped steak appetizer. At this point we felt it was useless to say anymore about the food, it just was not worth the aggravation.The waitress was very apologetic for the problems we had. The manager lady did comp our check but only for our 2 salads and pizza. There was a issue over my pizza which was partly my fault by asking for it well done, but that worked out fine and they made a second one free of charge.Our friends had wine and said it was very good. I feel the valet parking lot is kind of silly considering it is very small and it should be an option if you want to have them park your car or not, just another way to make more money.Over all, not a very good experience. Its a shame because i really was looking forward to going there.

A Private User

We visited Acquaviva in June and were impressed enough to want to return with friends on Friday. In June, we had enjoyed the wine tasting experience and the conversation-friendly, casual atmosphere. How embarrassing to have four guests experience what was in store for us last week. Upon arriving, we found that most of the lot had been roped off to force people to use valet parking. That should have been a warning sign. Once inside, we were seated at a table near a singer and his keyboard, playing loud music such as one might hear at a wedding reception. Conversation was virtually impossible, and we were finally allowed to switch tables, after he ignored several requests from our server to lower the volume. Once we were moved to a large table in the back of the dining room, service was almost nonexistent. Once it arrived, the food was OK, yet pricey for what we ordered. Wood oven pizza should not have a chewy, limp crust and salad greens should not be drowned in dressing. When we got the check, it was a bit shocking to see that a $5.00 charge per bottle of wine was charged for uncorking and serving it. Yes, as the server pointed out, there was an explanation of this on the wine list, but who looks for fine print on a menu?? Until Acquaviva decides what it wants to be, whether a noisy, mediocre lounge with an overpriced menu, or a classy wine bar/restaurant with reasonably priced, well-prepared food, I would steer clear of it. This is a shame, because the concept is unique for our area and there is so much potential for quality that is being overlooked by the management.