Ninnella on Lincoln Park
Dining room features a winter fireplace
Ninnella Italian Restaurant on Lincoln Park Opens Tonight – Menu Below
by Larry Janezich
Ninnella, the new Italian restaurant on Lincoln Park, formerly the Park Café, opens tonight. Chef Emanuel Simeoni from Frioli in northern Italy joins brothers Angleo and Alessalandro Forte from Campania in southern Italy in the new joint venture. Simeoni comes to Ninnella after 15 years of experience in Italian cooking in New York City at several restaurants, including his own. Simeoni pledges at the minimum, a soft opening tonight, and offers a glass of wine on the house and maybe some appetizers when the door opens.
Although the menu currently does not feature gluten free pasta, Simeoni says that it will be offered in the future and notes that polenta is available.
The menu is as follows:
Antipasti
Mediterranean sea bass tartar, capers, citrus dressing for $12
Fried calamari, rock shrimp with Marinara sauce for $14
Buffalo mozzarella with roasted tomatoes and basil oil for $14
Barolo Marinated Rabbit Liver Pate served with crostini for $12
Baby spinach salad with walnuts and balsamic reduction for $12
Organic mixed green salad, radishes, herbs, lemon citronette for $8
Baby Rucola salad with shitake mushrooms and shaved Grana cheese for $12
Frisee salad Caesar dressing, shaved Parmesan cheese and crostini for $12
Pasta
Hand made angel hair pasta sautéed with clams, cherry tomato and zucchini for $16
Hand made Tagliatelle in classic tomato and basil sauce for $13
Hand made tagliatelle in classic Bolognese sauce for $14
Home made Pappardelle in Bolognese sauce for $14
Lasagna with lamb ragout, butternut squash, tomato sauce, grana cheese for $14
Pesce
Pan seared filet of Mediterranean sea bass with fennel creme and Beluga lentils for $26
Roast wild salmon filet, salsa verede, roasted tomatoes for $22
Roasted lamb rack served with mashed potatoes and balsamic caramelized onions for $26
Beef filet mignon served with asparagus flan, vin santo, thyme and beef sauce for $26
Dessert
Pannacotta for $10
Valrona chocolate mousse for $10
Classic Tiramisu for $10
A range of Italian wines will be served as well. A gas fireplace will provide atmosphere to the front of the restaurant during the winter months.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
‘Filet’. Not. ‘Filed’…..! !
What I would like to know: is this restaurant under new ownership? The Park Cafe sign seems to have just been painted over with the restaurant name! The type of food was never the problem for me.
Are they open today for lunch & do they take reservations? Can’t seem to find a phone #…
Seriously? This was worth the wait? I had high hopes for this place, but it looks like its another over-priced psuedo-Italian ripoff.
We needed something that was reasonably priced that meets the needs of the neighborhood. bummer.
Well, given the high costs of running a restaurant, this *is* reasonably priced. Give the place a chance.
Looks great! I just drove past and saw it open, so we’re headed over right now! No, this is not the old, over priced child-hater Park Cafe.
We need a place that is family friendly (Ted’s Bulletin style), both in price and atmosphere. This looks a little too nice for us to grab a quick dinner with all four of us. Wish you had talked to the neighborhood about their needs since that is the clientele. Hope you will add some more reasonably priced items to the menu.
I ate there Saturday and really enjoyed it. It was crowded, but they squeezed me in. Wait-staff was friendly, and the food I ordered was very good (I had the handmade tagliatelle). If you order pasta or lasagna, the prices aren’t unreasonable for dinner. (If you want seafood, it’s a bit expensive.) I’ll definitely go back. Very convenient since I live near there, and much better than Park Cafe.