What do you get when a splashy Italian Top Chef alum and the owners of two permapacked River North sports bars team up? A splashy permapacked Italian joint—with undeniably delicious food.

Join the 10,000-square-foot party and prepare yourself: Fabio Viviani, Lucas Stoioff, David Rekhson, and their overly-exuberant staff jam the from-scratch concept down your throat (herbs grow on a wall behind the bar, mozzarella is crafted in-house), and they’ll all but order the gnocchi for you. One chomp of the tender nuggets—sauced with truffle cream and topped with fried sage and pancetta—and you’ll be grateful you acquiesced.

Then the bomboloni: The ever-present management raves about the pillowy, oversize doughnut holes. And again, darn it, they’re right.