Jeff Mauro's Favorite Chicago Restaurant Is Famously Hard To Get Into (Even For Him)

Some places are simply impossible to book a table at, even if you know all the right people. You can also be familiar with all the smartest tactics to clinch hard-to-get restaurant reservations and yet, it still might not be enough secure you a seat. Some of the hardest restaurant reservations to get in the U.S. can even leave you waiting years for a spot. Contrary to popular belief, even chefs don't get special treatment — something Emmy-nominated Food Network host and celebrity chef Jeff Mauro is well reminded of each time he tries to get a reservation at his favorite Chicago restaurant: Trivoli Tavern. 

Considered one of the city's top restaurants, Trivoli Tavern is highly popular, which is evident from the fact prime-time tables get booked within 48 hours of becoming available. However, despite the challenges, Mauro, who co-hosts "The Kitchen" and the cooking show, "Sandwich King," remains certain about his top pick. "My current favorite is Trivoli Tavern. It is part of the Hogsalt restaurant group, which, it's notoriously hard to get into all of them," he said in an exclusive talk. "It's the one restaurant group in Chicago that I have zero pull with, even though I'm a lifelong [Chicagoan] who lives there and tries to uplift the food." 

But Mauro, who won Season 7 of the hit show, "Food Network Star," explained the wait only makes the restaurant better. "I like that it's hard [for me] to get," he told Chowhound. "And now I'll just walk in with my wife at 5:30 and hopefully sit at the bar. They always seat me and it's great."

Jeff Mauro, who joined forces with Bayer Aspirin in February for an American Heart Month campaign to promote heart health, highlighted Trivoli Tavern as the number one choice among all of the 25-plus restaurants the Hogsalt restaurant group operates in Chicago, New York, Las Vegas, and Paris. "It's like the best of all their restaurants on one menu and the service is great," Mauro pointed out. It's what makes a restaurant fine dining. 

He added that what draws him most to the place is how it feels both accessible and comfortable at the same time. "But the food is outstanding. I've never eaten a clunker there," Mauro said. "Every time I eat there I want to go right back." On whether he sticks to a particular order or tries to go with something entirely different each time, Mauro noted that he prefers to eat his way through the menu. 

Whether you start off with the slow-roasted meatballs, move on to the Trivoli cut prime rib for the main course, and end the meal with a rich, flourless molten chocolate cake, you're set for an unforgettable dining experience. "The steak is unbelievable. Their burger is very good, the salads," the chef said. "I mean, everything's good." He also praised the Greek-style lamb chops, with rosemary, olive, and garlic, sharing that he tried them the last time he dined at the restaurant. "Simple. Lamb, charred, cooked to medium," Mauro concluded. "It was like I was eating, you know, [chewing] the edge, like I was eating the bone."