Primo · Pasta
Cacio e pepe
Spaghetti rolled at 6am, Pecorino aged 24 months, cracked black pepper from Telicherry.
$28
"Cooking the way my grandfather did, because his way is still the best way."
Ferro House opened on Randolph in 1994 when the West Loop was still warehouses and weeds. Vincent's grandfather, Salvatore, brought the family recipes from a cliffside village above Naples. His son Pasquale ran the dining room. Vincent took over the line at 22 and never left.
The menu is small on purpose. Pasta is rolled every morning. The marinara has not changed since 1962. We are open six nights a week and book three weeks ahead.
A selection rotates seasonally. The classics — handed down from Salvatore's kitchen — never leave the menu.
Vincent grew up in the kitchen of his grandfather's restaurant in Pozzuoli, outside Naples. He moved to Chicago at 19 to work in a relative's pizzeria. At 22, his father handed him the line at Ferro. Three decades later, he's still there most nights.
He doesn't post on social media. He doesn't do cooking competitions. He cooks dinner. The restaurant has held a Michelin Plate since 2017 and one star since 2022 — though he'd tell you the same food has been on the menu since long before any of that.
"Ferro House does not need to be reinvented every six months. It does not need a renovation. It needs to be what it has been for three decades — and somehow it still is."
"The branzino al sale is one of the great theatrical dishes in American Italian dining. Watching Vincent crack the salt crust is worth the price of dinner alone."
"What I love about Ferro is the patience. Nothing has been chased. The food, the room, the family — all of it has the steadiness of something built to last."
The back dining room seats up to 28 for a private dinner. Engagements, anniversaries, business closings, birthdays. We do not photocopy a chef's menu — we cook for your event specifically, working with you on the courses.
Lead time: three weeks minimum. Deposit: $500 (applied to the bill). Beverage packages available on request.
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