Chicago, Illinois
CHI12:00 PM
Some restaurants whisper. Tre Dita commands. Rising from the St. Regis with sweeping views and even bigger ambition, this modern Italian dining room doesn’t just invite you in, it holds the door like an old friend, then dazzles you from the inside out.
There’s a confidence to Tre Dita that you feel before the first course hits the table. The kind of confidence that comes from knowing exactly what it is, and what it isn’t. It’s big. It’s bold. It’s Italian without leaning on clichés, and luxurious without ever feeling stiff.
Perched inside the St. Regis Chicago, it’s a grand, glass-walled stage for real handmade pasta and open-hearth cookery, Chicago muscle with Tuscan manners. The collaboration pairs chef Evan Funke with Lettuce Entertain You, and the name, “three fingers”, nods to the classic bistecca thickness.
Before you sit, you clock the “laboratorio”, a temperature- and humidity-controlled pasta room visible through big panes of glass. It’s deliberate theater: sfogline rolling sheets, shaping trofie, weighing dough like jewelers. The point isn’t showboating; it’s trust. You see the work, you respect the plate. Though it was empty and cleared for the evening while we were there, guests can watch the pasta being made through huge windows. Which is exactly how it feels, like a workshop turned exhibition.
On the menu they’re “Polpette di Brasato”, braised beef short-rib meatballs finished in their own sugo di brasato with a snowfall of pecorino dolce. We almost skipped the meatballs. I am glad we didn’t.
Order like you came for pasta, because you did. Start with Pici Cacio e Pepe, thick ropes with a proper pecorino punch and pepper that doesn’t apologize. Linguine al Limone is clean and bright; a palate reset between heavier hits. Tagliatelle al Ragù leans Tuscan, meat-forward, fennel whisper, pecorino to finish. If it’s running, Gnudi di Spinaci with morels and fonduta hits the comfort button hard. These are dishes that make sense after you’ve watched the dough become dinner.
“Order like you came for pasta, because you did.”
If you’re dessert-curious beyond tiramisù, the menu reads like a tidy tour: Torta all’Olio d’Oliva (olive-oil cake with marinated fruit and panna montata), the Tre Dita Gattò (devil’s-food meets dark-cherry and amaretto mousse), and Dolce al Pistacchio (pistachio praline and dacquoise under sweet cream).
For a lighter handoff, there are Baci al Limone (lemon-almond cookies), plus gelati (pistacchio, nocciola) and a Negroni Sbagliato sorbetto (watermelon–Campari with a splash of Prosecco).
If you can’t snag the dining room, the bar serves a substantial share of the menu.
