If you spend waking hours in Lincoln Square, this all-day cafe will make your life a lot better with their Roman-style sandwiches and coffee, and a comfortable space to kill time. The namesake mortadella sandwich is hard not to finish in one lift, and the margarita pizzas with pesto have a similar easy chew thanks to the sourdough focaccia. Sit in a plush chair, nod along to Italian pop, and stare out the windows at the Chicagoans outside. (Or, if you want to be a part of the action, the square’s fountain is just steps away.)

Food Rundown

Focaccia Capriccio

This namesake sandwich is our favorite thing to get here, and maybe in all of Lincoln Square. The airy focaccia is flavorful on its own, but its saltiness gets a nice sweet balance from the pistachios, mortadella, and stracciatella. Best of all, this sandwich's compact nature makes for one excellent, similar bite after another. Get the capriccio once, and you’ll wish every future lunch included it.

photo credit: Nick Allen

Margherita

A very solid vehicle for the focaccia, with bright tomatoes and a rich pesto that almost steals the show from the bread. Almost.

Professore

It’s busier than most other slices, and also one of the least exciting. Despite all of the toppings, it mostly tastes like the heat from the ’nduja and the big blanket of cheese. It also tends to be one of the greasier slices.

photo credit: Nick Allen

Avocado Toast

As much as we love the focaccia at Capriccio, their version of avocado toast banks on it too much when we also want some egg and avocado. Taken altogether, it's overly salty and a letdown.

photo credit: Nick Allen